Miller
Theatre Columbia University
2960 Broadway (@116th), New York, NY
10027
Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 7:00 PM
As part of
Teachers College Columbia University Diversity in Classical Music Project, ENSEMBLE DU MONDE
explore the rich
history of classical music in a program that features composers from
myriad backgrounds including African American and Jewish descent, and is
highlighted by works of Pulitzer Prize wining composer George Walker and Béla Bartók, a genius who during World War II escaped his native
homeland of Hungary to immigrate to New York City to start a new life.
These
composers and their heroic stories of struggle, in their own way, changed
fabric of music, as we know it in America and throughout the world.
Special guest include features American icons Carol Jenkins, and Reginald Van
Lee who will
narrate inspirational poems of Langston Hughes and Tamam Tracy Moncur.
PROGRAM
William Grant STILL (1895 – 1978)
Mother and Child
Langston HUGHES (1902 – 1967)
Let America Be America Again
Samuel BARBER (1910 – 1981)
Adagio
Ivan FISCHER (b. 1951)
Eine Deutsch-Jiddische Kantate
I. Zweistimmige Ouverture
II. Wiegenlied
III. Deutsche Arie
IV. Jiddische Arie
V. Grabschrift
INTERMISSION
Tamam Tracy MONCUR (b. 1945)
Will the Real America Please Stand!
George WALKER (b. 1922)
Lyric
Béla BARTÓK (1881 – 1945)
Divertimento
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Molto Adagio
III. Allegro assai
______________________________
FEATURED ARTISTS BIOS
LORRAINE CURRELLEY, HOST.
Poet, writer, and multi-interdisciplinary artist, Lorraine Currelley is
a Pearls of Wisdom storyteller and Founder and Executive director for
Poets Network & Exchange, Inc. She is anthologized widely,
publications include but are not limited to the Mom Egg Review,
DoveTales, An International Journal, Belladonna, Blind Beggar Press, and
Poets/Artists Magazine.
She has performed her original works at Alice Tully Hall,
The Museum of Natural History with Gaptooth Girlfriends: The Third Act, Poets
House, Mi Gente Latinx Music Festival, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Countee
Cullen NYPL, Saint Phillips Performing and Fine Arts Center, Growing Theatre,
Bronx Library Center, Smack Mellon Gallery, Herbert H. Lehman College, College
of New Rochelle, Blind Beggar Press, Harlem State Office Building, Brooklyn
Poets, BxArts Factory, The Point CDC, and Hostos Community College, to name a
few.
She is the recipient of The 2015 Arts for A Lifetime Grant
by the New York Public Library, a Bronx Council for the Arts 2014 Seniors
Partnering with the Arts Citywide Residency, Out of the Binders Scholarships
and and Watering Hole Residencies.
Ms. Currelley is the former president of the Harlem Arts Fund and currently
is a board member at Pen To Mind Books & Child Development Concepts, Inc.,
and Blind Beggar Press, Inc., a Bronx Book Fair Organizer and a Writing for
Peace, Inc. adviser.
Upcoming events
include Bronx Book Fair and numerous spoken word performances, workshops, and
panel discussions, throughout the New York area and abroad.
______________________________
MARLON DANIEL, MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR
One of the most dynamic conductors of his generation,
Marlon DANIEL has been described as "a natural and enormous
talent" (Chicago Sun-Times) and his artistry has been hailed as
“fabulous and exceptional” (Pravda – Moscow).
Winner of the 2014 John and Mary Virginia Foncannon Conducting Award, he
has performed in some of the most prestigious venues in Europe and the United
States that range from Carnegie Hall to the Rudolfinum in Prague and several
international music festivals. He has also worked with international artists
that have included Koh Gabriel Kameda, Julian Milkis, Magali Léger, Kristin
Lewis, Rachel Barton-Pine, Eric Silberger, Russell Thomas and Deborah Voigt, to
name a few.
He has received numerous prizes and awards including the
Mabel Henderson Memorial Grant for Foreign Experience, a Rose Hanus Fellowship,
and an Honorary Key to the City of Chicago for Outstanding Musical Achievement
and the ‘Voice of the Artist’ Award from the United Nations in recognition of
his charitable work of bringing awareness to the crisis in Darfur.
He was educated at Manhattan School of Music, Le
Conservatoire Américain - Fontainebleau (France), Centro de Estudios Musicales
Isaac Albéniz (Spain) and the Prague Academy, where he received his training in
conducting whilst serving as Associate Conductor of the Praga Sinfonietta. He
has also profited from the advice of Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin
Philharmonic as a James and Lola Faust Fellow, and Jorma Panula at the Panula
Academy in Finland.
Currently he is Artistic Director of the Festival
International de Musique Saint-Georges, the Bahamas National Orchestra
Workshops, Music Director of the Colour of Music Festival, Music Director of
Ensemble du Monde, Guest Conductor of the Pazardzhik State Symphony Orchestra,
Assistant Conductor of the Sofia Opera and Ballet in Bulgaria and a Guest
Lecturer at Yale University.
______________________________
RICHARD
FIELDS, TRUMPET
Richard
Fields made his solo debut at age
sixteen with the New World School of the Arts high school in Miami. He went on
to win awards in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Competition hosted by Wynton
Marsalis. Based based in New York City. He performs regularly with ensembles
such as the New World Symphony, Miami Symphony, Broward Symphony, Ensemble du
Monde, Bravo Vail Valley Festival Brass Quintet, and the National Symphony
Orchestra of Merida Mexico.
He received his B.M and M.M from Suny
Purchase State University of New York where his principal teachers were Graham
Ashton, Rich Klemer and Lee Soper. He has also participated in the Luzerne
Music Center and the Las Vegas Music Festival.
As a smooth jazz artist Mr. Fields is in high demand and currently featured as a performer
and composer on the new CD Walk Away
alongside Mike Marrocco.
______________________________
CAROL JENKINS, NARRATOR
Carol Jenkins
is an Emmy-award winning journalist, commentator, documentarian, media analyst,
producer and writer. She has enjoyed a 30-year, award-winning tenure with
several New York City news departments, including 23 years at WNBC-TV and
hosted Carol Jenkins Live, on WNYW-TV. She was most identified with her
reporting of national political stories, including a poignant reportage on
Apartheid and Nelson Mandela after 27 years in prison.
During her tenure as founding
president of the WMC she was awarded The
North Star News Prize, The Women’s Equality Award from The National Council of
Women’s Organizations, and the Lucretia Mott Award from Women’s Way of
Philadelphia. She has also served on the board of The African Medical Research
Foundation (AMREF) and President of the Women’s Media Center
Ms. Jenkins holds honorary
doctorates from The College of New Rochelle and Marymount Manhattan College and
has been honored by the Association of Black Journalists/New York Chapter with
Lifetime Achievement and International Reporting Awards, UPI, The Feminist
Press, The Daily News’ Front Page Award, YWCA, Girl Scouts of America, Save the
Children, Single Parents' Association, United Negro College Fund, Hale House,
National Mothers Day Committee as Mother of the Year, the Police Athletic
League as Woman of the Year, Abbot House as Humanitarian of the Year, and as
Distinguished Alumna of New York University, among many others.
______________________________
LARA NIE, SOPRANO
Recognized
for her passionate interpretation and sophisticated musicality, soprano Lara Nie is one of the most versatile
and accomplished singers performing today. She has been hailed as one of New
York’s most “prominent German lied specialists” by New York Magazine and as “an
intensely expressive artist” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. She has performed
at Altenburger Musik Festival, Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall, Cape Cod
Chamber Music Festival, Cleveland Severance Hall, the Dame Myra Hess Concert
Series, the Edgar M. Bronfman Chamber Music Series, Israel Vocal Arts, the
Ravinia Festival, Chicago Orchestra Hall, Munich Gasteig, Kentro Musikis, The
Kitchen, Merkin Concert Hall, Windermere Music Festival, the Society for
Ethical Culture and the Washington Holocaust Museum Chamber Series.
She has
collaborated with Bronfman Quartet, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, Lara Downes,
the Escher Quartet, Brandt Fredriksen, Dame Emma Kirkby, Miami String Quartet,
Jon Nakamatsu, Amit Paled, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Sun Valley
Summer Symphony, Shai Wosner and with members of Cleveland Orchestra, the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony and Washington National
Orchestra. She has also performed with with conductors that include Christopher
Eschenbach, David Gilbert, Michael Morgan, Alasdair Neale, and Benjamin Simon.
Ms. Nie has recorded Mozart and Schubert lieder on the Silver Bay
Label and performed on Chicago’s WFMT, Florida Public Radio, Radio Free Europe,
New York’s WQXR Artist Showcase with Robert Sherman, and at Cape Cod Chamber
Music Festival, the Chagrin Valley Chamber Music Concert Series and the
Kosciuszko Foundation’s Chamber Music Series.
______________________________
REGINALD VAN LEE, NARRATOR
Reginald Van Lee is a retired Executive Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton, where he
recently led the U.S. Commercial business. In his 32 years with the firm,
he oversaw hundreds of engagements for corporate, government and Not-for-Profit
clients across the globe and was a trusted advisor to C-suite executives and
boards of directors. He is the co-author of the book, “Megacommunities -
How Leaders of Government, Business and Non-Profits Can Tackle Today’s Global
Challenges Together.”
Born in Houston, Texas, Mr. Van Lee attended Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, where he received his Bachelors and Masters of Science
degrees. After a brief stint working for Exxon, Reggie went back to school to
complete his MBA from the Harvard Business School and joined Booz Allen
Hamilton directly after HBS.
In 2008, Mr. Van Lee received the Black Engineer of the Year
Award, and Consulting magazine
named him as one of the top 25 consultants in the world; he was recognized as
one of the 2009 Washington Minority Business Leaders by the Washington
Business Journal. Mr. Van Lee serves as Chairman of the board of the
Washington Performing Arts and of the National CARES Mentoring Movement.
He is a Trustee of the Studio Museum in Harlem and is a member of the
Executive Leadership Council. He is Vice Chair of the board of The Washington
Ballet and Chairman Emeritus of the Evidence Dance Company. He was appointed by President Obama to the Board of
Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Former board roles include Chair of the Board of the Dance Theatre
of Harlem, Treasurer of the MAC AIDS Fund board, Trustee of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Chair of the Advisory Board of the USC School of
Business, Chair of the Corporate Advisory Board of the Thurgood Marshall
Scholarship Fund, and Chair of the board of the NY International Ballet
Competition. He was formerly appointed by President Obama to the
President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
______________________________
ENSEMBLE DU MONDE
Hailed
as “… the future of classical music on
stage” by Time Out, Ensemble du Monde is one of the most dynamic and
innovative chamber orchestras on the classical music scene today. Founded in
New York City in 2000, it was named to reflect the diversity of its members who
hail from over fifteen countries, cultures and backgrounds.
In 2000 the ensemble was selected by Daimler Chrysler and
Mercedes Benz to perform at the world première inauguration of their new
MAYBACH Car, an event that received worldwide multimedia press coverage. A
Lincoln Center début followed in 2002, and in 2004 the ensemble made its
Carnegie Hall début, which included renowned soprano, Deborah Voigt.
The members of Ensemble du Monde are graduates of some of the
most prestigious institutions in the world, including the Beijing Conservatory,
Cleveland Institute of Music, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de
Danse de Paris, Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music Indiana
University, Mannes College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Moscow
Conservatory, The Julliard School, Prague Academy of Music (HAMU) and
Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien to name a few. In addition to
performing with Ensemble du Monde, members have independent careers as solo artists
and work with other prestigious international groups.
The orchestra performs concerts throughout New York in venues
including Carnegie Hall, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York
Society for Ethical Culture, Tenri Cultural Institute and Merkin Concert Hall,
Kaufman Center in New York, where it performs innovative concerts throughout
the year. In 2011 the Ensemble served as Ensemble-in-Residence for the International
Festival Saint-Georges in Guadeloupe and in 2012 for the Nassau Music Society’s
Festival of Afro-Caribbean Composers in the Bahamas, sponsored by Atlantis
Resort, Alliance Française, Société Générale and the United States Embassy.
Comment by email:
Thanks, Bill--so glad to have this. [Judith Anne Still]
Thanks, Bill--so glad to have this. [Judith Anne Still]
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