Ritz Chamber Players: 'Leon Bates, Piano, Sunday, December 4, 2011 4 p.m.' Jacksonville, FL

[Leon Bates]

Ritz Chamber Players

Recital Series

Artists

Friday Musicale

Leon Bates, Piano

Friday Musicale 645 Oak Street

Jacksonville, Florida 32204

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Maurice Ravel

Sergei Prokofiev

RileArts.com

As one of America’s leading pianists, Leon Bates has earned for himself a place on the international concert circuit. His performance schedule has included dates across the United States, in Canada, Italy, France, Austria, Ireland, England as well as Africa. He is invited to perform on the major concert stages around the world and audiences and critics find his musical spirit to possess all the elements of greatness.

Mr. Bates has performed with many of the major U.S. symphonies such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Detroit Symphony and the Boston Symphony. In Europe, he has performed with the Vienna Symphony, the Basel Symphony, the Radio-Orchestra of Dublin, the Strasbourg Symphony, Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Malmo Symphony of Sweden and more. Whether in recital or as a soloist with orchestra, his praises are enumerated in many different languages — but they all agree that Leon Bates is a major artist and one of America’s best.

Ritz Chamber Players 10th Anniversary Opening Concert Wednesday, Nov. 9, 7:30 PM

Terrance Patterson

announces

Ritz Chamber Players

10th Anniversary Opening Concert

The Ritz Chamber Players

Mainstage Concert Series

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

7:30 p.m.

Jacoby Symphony Hall/Times-Union

Center for the Performing Arts

RitzChamberPlayers.org

'CURTAIN CALL - Backstage with the Ritz Chamber Players! Sunday, October 30, 2011!'

[Terrence Wilson, Pianist]

RitzChamberPlayers.org

Ritz Chamber Players: 'BOX OFFICE IS OPEN! Celebrating 10 Years!'

The Ritz Chamber Players Announces:

Box Office is Open!

Celebrating 10 Years!

http://www.RitzChamberPlayers.org

Do Grants and Competitions Exist for Black Composers of Classical Music?

[Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Violin Concertos, Op. 5, Nos. 1 & 2; Op. 3, No. 1; Op. 8, No. 9; Bernard Thomas Chamber Orchestra; Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Violin; Arion 68093 (1990)]

A reader has asked if grants and competitions exist for Black Composers of Classical Music. We have made an initial reply, and we hope others will provide further suggestions:

A number of opportunities for composers of African descent are provided by individual performance organizations. Here are some examples:

The Sphinx Commissioning Consortium involves the Sphinx Organization and 12 U.S. orchestras:

http://www.sphinxmusic.org/programs/scc.html

The Imani Winds Quintet, http://www.imaniwinds.com/, has commissioned a number of works as part of its efffort to expand the Wind Quintet repertoire of works by composers of color.

The Ritz Chamber Players have had a number of composers-in-residence

http://www.ritzchamberplayers.org/

The pianist Terrence Wilson took an entrepreneurial approach to the commissioning process. He solicited 6 orchestras to form a consortium to commission Grammy-winning composer Michael Daugherty to write a piano concerto. The resulting work is Deus Ex Machina for piano and orchestra (2007). Naxos paired the work with Daugherty's Metropolis Symphony on its release Naxos 8.559635 (2009), performed by the Nashville Symphony under the direction of Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor.

This reply is copied to my principal associates, who may contact you if they have additional suggestions. I hope you will keep the Center for Black Music Research (CBMR) at Columbia College Chicago informed of your compositions and recordings. Its web address is: http://www.colum.edu/cbmr The CBMR has a unique and enduring research collection of scores, recordings and other materials related to Black composers.

Sincerely,

Bill Zick
[Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) is featured at AfriClassical.com]

Comment by email:
Your information was especially thorough. Precisely what I needed. Thank you very much. Steve Burks

WHEC.com: 'There are more than 70 classically trained African-American musicians' at Gateways Music Festival

[To see a video of Kelly Hall-Tompkins, click on this image in the upper right corner of the WHEC.com website]

Opening the gates to classical music

Posted at: 08/11/2011

By: Janet Lomax | WHEC.com

“They play with major orchestras and symphonies from across the country but for the next four days they are in Rochester taking part in the Gateways Music Festival. There are more than 70 classically trained African-American musicians including Grammy award winning pianist Terrence Wilson. They will all play in a variety of venues around town - from private homes to church sanctuaries to a full orchestra concert at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater on Sunday.

“For violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins this is a homecoming -- a chance to see what's changed since she graduated from Eastman School in 1993. Since then, the esteemed violinist has played all over the world as a soloist and as a member of the Ritz Chamber Players. She says this event helps link many African-American classical musicians with one another. 'The Gateways Music Festival has been significant in bringing us together and through these relationships we have cultivated, by being here, new projects have started. For example the Ritz Chamber Players started 10 years ago because of the Gateways Music Festival.'

“Barbara Jones is co-chair of the Gateways Music Festival planning committee. She told News 10NBC Gateways helps dispel myths about African-Americans and classical music. 'When you think about classical music, you must remember to include African-Americans -- that there is a clear role that we have played in the past, that we play now in composing classical music, in conducting classical music and in playing classical music.'"

Ritz Chamber Players Spring Concert Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. in Jacksonville, Florida

[Ritz Chamber Players]

Violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins
sends this news:

Spring Concert

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The Ritz Chamber Players

Mainstage Concert Series

Jacoby Symphony Hall/

Times-Union Center

for the Performing Arts

Jacksonville, Florida

Collaborative Piano: 'Some first-rate playing from a Ritz Chamber Players recital in 2010'

[Terrence Wilson]

Dr. Chris Foley of The Royal Conservatory in Toronto writes the blog Collaborative Piano, http://collaborativepiano.blogspot.com/. Yesterday he commented on a performance of The Ritz Chamber Players on a YouTube.com video (9:46) dated April 12, 2010:

Sunday, February 06, 2011

“The Ritz Chamber Players Perform the Brahms G minor Quartet, 3rd Movement

Some first-rate playing from a Ritz Chamber Players recital in 2010 - here are pianist Terrence Wilson, violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins, violist Amadi Azikiwe, and cellist Kenneth Law playing the Andante con moto from the Brahms G minor Quartet Op. 25. The Ritz Chamber Players focus on bringing both African American performers and composers to the concert stage with a mandate that consists of equal parts performance and outreach. I hope they introduce a lot of people to the joys of classical music with performances like this.”

Comment by email:
Thanks for including me in this e-mail. It was a privilege and a BLAST to perform this with the RCP. Kenneth Law, Associate Professor of Violoncello; Chair, Department of Performance, Petrie School of Music, Converse College, 580 E. Main St., Spartanburg, SC

Violist Amadi Azikiwe and Pianist Mary Prescott Perform Sun. Feb. 20, 645 Oak Street, Jacksonville, Florida

Ritz Chamber Players Presents:

Amadi Azikiwe, viola

Mary Prescott, piano

Sunday, February 20, 2011

4:00 PM

Friday Musicale

645 Oak Street

Jacksonville, Florida

FREE and open to the public

AmadiAzikiwe.com

“Amadi Azikiwe, violist and conductor, has been heard in recital in major cities throughout the United States, such as New York, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Houston, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., including an appearance at the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Azikiwe has also been a guest of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at the Alice Tully Hall in New York, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He has appeared in recital at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, on the “Discovery” recital series in La Jolla, at the International Viola Congress, and at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since then, he has performed throughout Israel, Canada, South America, Central America, India, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout the Caribbean.”

“Violist Amadi Azikiwe is a musician who plays so effortlessly that the listener does not fully appreciate what has been accomplished until reflection after the fact. … He captured perfectly the spirit of the Jewish prayer (Bruch’s Kol Nidre, Op. 47) and the technical feats demanded by the Paganini (Sonata per la Grand Viola)”

– Raoul Abdul, New York Amsterdam News New York, NY

Ritz Chamber Players 'In Remembrance of the Dream' & Honoring Carla Harris Jan. 19, 2011

8th Annual In Remembrance of the Dream Concert and Humanitarian Award Ceremony Honoring Carla Harris

Wednesday January 19, 2011

Jacoby Symphony Hall - Jacksonville, FL

Join the Ritz Chamber Players as they celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and honor Carla Harris, the 2011 Humanitarian Award Recipient!

Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges

String Quartet Op. 1 No. 1 in C major

Shostakovich

Piano Quintet

I N T E R M I S S I O N

Hailstork

Songs Of Love and Justice

Difficulties

Love

Boatner

I want Jesus to Walk With Me

Trying To Get Home

McLin

Don’t You Let Nobody Turn You ‘Round

Glory, Glory Hallelujah

Prokofiev

Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op.34

[Adolphus C. Hailstork (b. 1941) and Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) are profiled at AfriClassical.com]

'Electrifying Pianist Jade Simmons Joins acclaimed Ritz Chamber Players for Musical MLK Celebration' Jan. 19

[Revolutionary Rhythm; Jade Simmons, Piano; Russell Pinkston, Samuel Barber, John Corigliano, & Daniel Bernard Roumain, Composers; E1 Entertainment KIC CD 7760 (2009)]

Pianist Jade Simmons

“PRLog (Press Release) – Jan 12, 2011 – According to Sergio Mims of Ebony/Jet Magazine, 'Among the new generation of classical music artists, few are making the huge impact and receiving the kind of acclaim that pianist Jade Simmons has been of late.' Much of the same can be said of the Jacksonville-based Ritz Chamber Players. On Wednesday, January 19th, 2011, after years of mismatched schedules, Ms. Simmons and the Ritz are finally joining forces for what promises to be a scintillating evening on their annual In Remembrance of the Dream Concert in honor of the memory of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

Displaying her trademark versatility, Jade Simmons will join the Ritz Chamber Players quartet for a performance of the potent and playful Shostakovich Piano Quintet in G Minor as well as music by Prokofiev followed by an even more intimate collaboration on the second half with Pavarotti Competition winner, soprano Alison Buchanan. No stranger to Russian music, last season Ms. Simmons toured a program called Russian Ruminations featuring works by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Scriabin. In museums and art galleries across the country she lectured and performed as a part of a program she created called Scriabin and Kandinsky: Hearing Color, Seeing Sound which pairs the music of Alexander Scriabin with the paintings of Wassily Kandinsky, on loan to her from the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Also an avid advocate of American music, Simmons made her debut with a critically acclaimed release on E1 Records called Revolutionary Rhythm which is an eclectic collection of American works for piano featuring Russell Pinkston, Samuel Barber, John Corigliano and Daniel Bernard Roumain and including works for piano with electronics. The second half of the program with Alison Buchanan will highlight American songs by the African-American composers Adolphus Hailstork and arrangements by Roland Carter, Lena McLin and others, including renditions of popular spirituals.

As a part of The Ritz Chamber Players Mainstage Concert Series the In Remembrance of the Dream Concert takes place Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. in Jacoby Symphony Hall/Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. Single tickets are $25.00 with a reduced rate for Seniors, Military & Teachers of $20.00. Student rush tickets are $10.00. For ticket information, call: (904) 354-5547 or toll free at (877) 662-6731.

Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts is located at 300 West Water Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202. For more information on Jade Simmons, please visit http://www.jademedia.org For more information on The Ritz Chamber Players, please visit http://www.ritzchamberplayers.org

Ritz Chamber Players: Opening Concert Wed. Oct. 13, 2010 With Pianist Terrence Wilson

[Terrence Wilson, piano]

Ritz Chamber Players
Next Performance

Jacoby Symphony Hall - Jacksonville, FL
Celebrate the start of fall with the Ritz Chamber Players! Terrence Wilson, feature soloist of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra's opening concert, returns to help kickoff our 9th season in Jacksonville!

WOLF Italian Serenade
JONES Enigmatic Ambitions
CRUSELL Clarinet Quartet in C minor
BRAHMS Piano Quintet in F minor, opus 34

Terrance Patterson - Clarinet
Kelly Hall-Tompkins - Violin
Kyle A. Lombard - Violin
Chauncey Patterson - Viola
Caleb Jones - Cello
Terrence Wilson - Piano

Birmingham News: 'Ritz Chamber Players addresses classical disparity'

[Versatile and changeable, the Ritz Chamber Players mixes 20 musicians for repertoire ranging from new music by black composers to European romantics. Five from the Jacksonville, Fla., organization perform next Sunday in Birmingham. (Photo Credit: The Birmingham News)]

Birmingham News

by Michael Huebner

Sunday, September 26, 2010, 11:00 AM

"Recognizing the need to get more African-Americans involved with classical music, clarinetist Terrance Patterson set out in 2002 to bring together the best black musicians he could find. Patterson himself is an accomplished clarinetist whose career has led him from the Peabody Conservatory to European music capitals such as Paris, London, Belgrade and Moscow, as well as Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York. He returned to his native Jacksonville, Fla., to start the Ritz Chamber Players, in order to accomplish his mission of exposing young and old alike to the merits of classical music -- black composers and performers in particular.

"'We wanted to address the disparity of minorities in classical music, and to bring a new face to the 1.9 percent of African-American musicians that are represented in American orchestras, by being physically on stage and bringing in new audience members,' Patterson said last week from Jacksonville. The few that are in classical music show a united front in that regard. That's why we started the organization. The ensemble took its name from Ritz Theatre & LaVilla Museum, which was built on the site of the 1929 Ritz Theatre, a movie house in Jacksonville's LaVilla neighborhood, a historically black area once known as the 'Harlem of the South.' The chamber players are patterned roughly after the flexible-personnel model of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and the organization has built its roster to 20 performers. It has also hosted a composer-in-residence every year since its inception.

“The names are impressive -- pianists Stewart Goodyear, Leon Bates and Terrence Wilson; violist Amadi Azikiwe; flutist DeMarre McGill; composers Adolphus Hailstork, David Baker and George Walker. Honorary board members include conductors Fabio Mechetti and Michael Morgan. Goodyear, Wilson, Mechetti and Morgan have appeared with the Alabama Symphony. A Hailstork composition has been commissioned by ASO and will be premiered in January. Morgan will conduct. Five musicians from its ranks, including Patterson, will perform in Birmingham next Sunday on a Birmingham Chamber Music Society event.” [Adolphus C. Hailstork (b. 1941) and George Walker (b. 1922) are profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Ritz Chamber Players in 'Pepsi Refresh Project' for $50,000 Funds

The Ritz Chamber Players are participating in the 'Pepsi Refresh Project' and are inviting readers to vote in favor of their funding proposal on this page:

http://www.refresheverything.com/ritzchamberplayers

Vote from your mobile phone Text* 102366 to Pepsi (73774)

*Standard text messaging rates apply.

Change the face of classical music in inner-city schools.

Ritz Chamber Music Society

Goals

Inspire, excite and educate the youth in underserved communities

Celebrate black composers and musicians of past and present

Ensure the legacy of classical music in our evolving society

Overview

As the non-profit governing entity of the ensemble, the Ritz Chamber Music Society seeks to foster the appreciation of chamber music through performances and educational outreach featuring preeminent, award-winning African-American musicians and composers, with an emphasis on building audiences and arts inclusion that reflects our diverse society.

Our plan is to expand our reach and increase our impact in cities throughout the United States. Through this project we will work closely with the youth in inner-city schools of four carefully chosen cities across the country. We will remember, celebrate, and preserve the legacy of famous black composers throughout history, by taking our performances to new venues in underserved neighborhoods. We need your help to change the face of classical music by striving for more racially and age diverse participation, both on the stage and in the audience. By doing this, we can ensure a bright future for classical music in our evolving society.

Ritz Chamber Players: "'Play Your Part' in our Community Engagement”

[Ritz Chamber Players Community Engagement]

The Ritz Chamber Players understand that over and above our role on the concert stage, it is our mission to bring the art of chamber music to listeners of all ages and backgrounds – regardless of their ability to pay. Through our community initiatives we offer daytime concerts to students at under-funded schools that support intellectual inquiry, cultural enhancement, and mentoring opportunities.

Help us reach our Annual Fund goal by making a gift today! Simply click on the DONATE button at http://www.ritzchamberplayers.org/ and utilize our secure, online donation form. We accept all major credit cards.

Or send a check made out to:

Ritz Chamber Music Society, Inc.

Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts

300 Water Street, Suite 200

Jacksonville, FL 32202

Thank you very much for your support.

Terrance Patterson
Executive and Artistic Director
Ritz Chamber Players

Terrence Wilson Plays 'Sonata for Piano' of James Lee, III With Ritz Chamber Players June 9

[TOP: Ritz Chamber Players BOTTOM: Dr. James Lee, III, Composer-in-Residence]

Pianist Terrence Wilson will join members of the Ritz Chamber Players for the June 9, 2010 Season Finale. The program includes Sonata for Piano of the group's Composer-in-Residence, Dr. James Lee, III, Associate Professor of Composition/Theory, Morgan State University.

RitzChamberPlayers.org
Finale Concert
Wednesday June 9, 2010
7:30 PM

Jacoby Symphony Hall

The Ritz Chamber Players bring a close to our 2009-2010 concert season by featuring the work of a great composer’s music based on folk themes. Our departing musical gift will express Dvořák’s belief that “the future music of this country must be founded upon what are called the Negro melodies. This must be the real foundation of any serious and original school of composition to be developed in the United States.” Audiences will delight in this incredible program with the stunning and expressive Dvořák Piano Quartet No. 2 through to a vibrant work by Brazilian composer, Villa-Lobos, described as “the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music.”

MOZART Quartet for Flute and Strings no 1 in D major, K 285

JAMES LEE, III Sonata for Piano

VILLA-LOBOS Assobio a Játo (The Jet Whistle)


DVOŘÁK Piano Quartet No. 2 in E flat major

Demarre McGill – Flute

Kelly Hall-Tompkins – Violin

Amadi Azikiwe – Viola

Tahirah Whittington – Cello

Terrence Wilson – Piano

Ritz Chamber Players 'Artists Recital Series': Cellist Tahirah Whittington in Jacksonville on May 7, 2010

[Tahira Whittington]

RitzChamberPlayers.org

TahiraWhittington

“Phenomenal" – The Florida Times-Union

Tahirah Whittington Recital

A Solo Recital featuring Ritz Chamber Players cellist Tahirah Whittington. Assisted by pianist Nolan Pearson.

The Ritz Chamber Players Artists Recital Series presents

Tahirah Whittington - Cello

Friday, May 7, 2010

8:00 p.m.

St. John’s Cathedral

256 East Church Street (Duval at Market Street)

Jacksonville, FL 32202

Free and open to the public! / Suggested Donation $10

Schumann Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70

Golijov Omaramor for solo cello

Mendelssohn Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2, Op. 58

I N T E R M I S S I O N

Prokofiev Sonata for Cello and Piano in C major, Op. 119

The Ritz Chamber Music Society, Inc., sponsors a new Recital Series at the St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, which offers solo performances by members of the Ritz Chamber Players and guest artists.

Comment by email:

Play up a storm, Tahirah!! Thanks for sharing!! Timothy W. Holley (Cellist & Assistant Professor of Music, North Carolina Central University).

Pianist Terrence Wilson Plays Piano Sonata of James Lee in Ritz Chamber Players Recital April 23

[Terrence Wilson]

[Above: Terrence Wilson. Below: Michael Daugherty Metropolis Symphony, Deus ex Machina; Terrence Wilson, pianist; Nashville Symphony; Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Naxos 8.559635 (2009)]

AfriClassical has featured Pianist Terrence Wilson in recitals, orchestral appearances and his CD of Michael Daugherty's Deus ex Machina, Naxos 8.559635 (2009). On Friday, April 23, 2010 his recital program will include the Piano Sonata of James Lee, III, Composer-in-Residence of the Ritz Chamber Players.

Ritz Chamber Players Recital Series
Terrence Wilson, Pianist

Friday, April 23, 2010

8:00 p.m.

St. John’s Cathedral

256 East Church Street (Duval at Market Street)

Jacksonville, FL 32202

Free and open to the public! / Suggested Donation $10

Chopin Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23

Chopin Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52

Liszt Funérailles

Lee Piano Sonata

I N T E R M I S S I O N

Barber Piano Sonata

“Since his professional debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, American pianist Terrence Wilson has established a reputation as one of today’s most gifted young instrumentalists. He has already appeared with many other prestigious ensembles including the Houston Symphony under Christoph Eschenbach, the Atlanta Symphony under Yoel Levi, the Cincinnati Symphony under Robert Spano, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne under Jesus Lopez-Cobos, the Detroit Symphony under Neeme Järvi, the St Louis and Colorado Symphonies under Marin Alsop, the Minnesota orchestra, and the Baltimore, Dallas, Indianapolis, San Francisco, and Columbus Symphonies. He has also made highly acclaimed recital debuts in New York, at the 92nd Street Y, in Washington, at the Kennedy Centre, and in Paris, at the Louvre. In 1998 Mr. Wilson was awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant and in May 2001 he graduated from the Juilliard School where he received the prestigious Sony ES Award for Musical Excellence and most recently the William Petschek Award.”

Ritz Chamber Players $25 Package: Spring Concert April 21 & Finale Concert June 9

[Ritz Chamber Players]

AfriClassical recently posted: “Ritz Chamber Players in Jacksonville Premiere of James Lee's 'The Appointed Time' on April 21.” Attendance at that concert can now be combined with attendance at the Season Finale Concert on June 9, at a special package price of $25.00.

RitzChamberPlayers.org

The Ritz Chamber Players Special Offer

Remaining 2 concert for $25.00

Spring Concert - Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Finale Concert – Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Purchase now and with your ticket enjoy a free glass of wine and $5 select appetizers from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Before the performance at b.b's Restaurant + Bar, 1019 Hendricks Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida 32207.

Ritz Chamber Players African American History Concert at National Gallery of Art, Feb. 14, 6:30 PM

AfriClassical has received word of the African American History Month Concert of The Ritz Chamber Players, Feb. 14 at 6:30 PM:

Greetings Friends -
The Ritz Chamber Players cordially invite you to a concert on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010 at 6:30 PM at the incomparable National Galledry of Art in Washington, DC! We hope you will join us for another awe-inspiring concert featuring the work of a few great composers' music based on folk themes presented in honor of African American History Month.
Musically,
Terrance Patterson
Executive and Artistic Director
Ritz Chamber Music Society, Inc.

Music by T.J. Anderson and other African American composers
MOZART: Quartet for Flute, Violin, Viola and Cello in D major, K. 285
T.J. ANDERSON: Game Play
VILLA-LOBOS: Assobio a Játo (The Jet Whistle)
DVORAK: Piano Quartet No. 2 in E flat major

Kelly Hall-Tompkins, Violin; Amadi Azikiwe, Viola, Tahira Whittington, Cello; Terrence Wilson, Piano; Judy Dines, Flute and Ann Hobson Pilot, Harp