Saturday, August 7, 2010

Daily Herald: 'Chicago Sinfonietta unveils new music director'; Paul Freeman Reflects



[Paul Freeman & Mei-Ann Chen]

By Bill Gowen
Daily Herald Columnist
Published 8/6/2010
“In 1987, Paul Freeman founded the Chicago Sinfonietta with a goal that has since become the orchestra's stated mission: 'Musical Excellence through Diversity.' That phrase, since trademarked by the Sinfonietta, has been the hallmark of Freeman's career. One of the world's leading conductors, Freeman, an African American, has championed the growth of a minority presence in orchestras here and abroad. Two years ago, Freeman announced that partly due to health reasons, he was stepping down after the 2010-11 season.

“And this week, following a lengthy international search, his successor has been named: Taiwanese native Mei-Ann Chen will officially assume the music director position in the fall of 2011 to launch the Sinfonietta's 25th anniversary season. Chen will return as a guest conductor in May and will program the 2011-12 season. She made her Chicago Sinfonietta debut in October 2009. Freeman will remain music director emeritus following his retirement. 'I fully support the selection of Mei-Ann Chen to succeed me as the music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta,' Freeman said. 'She is an amazing talent and a real presence on the podium. I couldn't ask for a better person to continue our work.'

“Chen's selection 'continues the Sinfonietta's 24-year commitment to global diversity and inclusion, and our aspiration to see the orchestra attain the highest levels of musical excellence,' said the orchestra's executive director, Jim Hirsch, at Wednesday's announcement. 'This is our commitment to continuing Paul Freeman's vision. Mei-Ann's personal commitment to the Sinfonietta's mission, combined with her stunning conducting talents, convinced all of us that she is the right person for the job.' Mei-Ann Chen, 37, this summer wrapped up a highly successful tenure as assistant conductor to Marin Alsop at the Baltimore Symphony. She has also accepted a three-year appointment as the music director of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra beginning in the 2010-2011 season.”

"'It has been a joy and a pleasure to lead the Chicago Sinfonietta for over two decades, promoting the orchestra's mission of diversity, excellence and innovative programming in classical music,' Freeman said. 'We have all worked hard to bring this fine orchestra to the point where it is ready to embrace new artistic leadership and a new era. I have the utmost confidence that Maestra Chen will bring the excellence and talent necessary to continue the orchestra's evolution, and I look forward to working with her on a successful transition over the next year.'

“The orchestra's recordings for Chicago-based Cedille Records include the critically acclaimed African Heritage Symphonic Series, which offers music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, William Grant Still, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and Adolphus Hailstork, among other composers. These recordings are available from cedillerecords.org. For additional information on the Chicago Sinfonietta's 2010-11 season, visit chicagosinfonietta.org.” [Paul Freeman, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Adolphus C. Hailstork, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and William Grant Still are profiled at AfriClassical.com]





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George Walker & Thomas Kerr in Mickey Thomas Terry Organ Recital in Hampton, VA Aug. 15


[Mickey Thomas Taylor, Ph.D.]

Organist Mickey Thomas Terry, Ph.D. has been featured on AfriClassical several times. He has sent us an announcement of an August 15 organ recital with an exceptionally diverse repertoire, including composers of African descent:

“Organist Mickey Thomas Terry will appear in recital at First Baptist Church in Hampton, Virginia on Sunday, August 15th at 4pm. Performed will be works by Bach, Dupre, Tournemire, Sowerby, Horatio Parker, as well as works by African-American composers George Walker and Thomas Kerr.”
[George Walker (b. 1922) is profiled at AfriClassical.com. His personal website is: http://georgetwalker.com/]

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Thursday, August 5, 2010

'Wine Hors d’Oeuvre & Great Music,' Aug. 15: Lettie Beckon Alston, J. H. Kwabena Nketia, Fred Onovwerosuoke & Rudy Jean Perrault


[Jean R. Perrault]

The website of African Musical Arts, Inc., http://africarts.org/ announces the final event of the 17th Season, 2009/2010:

“August 15, 2010, 4:30 PM: Wine Hors d’Oeuvre & Great Music, introducing music by Lettie Beckon Alston, J. H. Kwabena Nketia, Fred Onovwerosuoke, and Rudy Jean Perrault. AMA-Inc Studio, Creve Coeur, MO”

Dr. Fred Onovwerosuoke tells us:

“The Wine Hors d’Oeuvre & Great Music reading sessions are held to familiarize chamber musicians with African-descent composers they’d otherwise not access. The repertoire for our August 15 reading session is:

i. Four Short Pieces for Soprano & Piano by Lettie Beckon Alston
ii. Three Dream Portraits for Voice & Piano by Margaret Bonds
iii. Four More Dances for Wind Quintet by Fred Onovwerosuoke
iv. Esato (from “12 African Songs for Voice & Piano) by Fred Onovwerosuoke
v. Canzona for Flute, Oboe, Piano and Percussion by J. H. Kwabena Nketia
vi. Brother Malcolm for Cello & Piano by Rudy Jean Perrault
[Margaret A. Bonds (1913-1972) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a complete Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University Conseervatory]





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Tuesday, August 3, 2010

SoupGreens.com: Justin Holland's 'Spanish Fandango, classical/blues nexus'


[Justin Holland]

Last month AfriClassical linked to an eBay listing offering sheet music which included Spanish Fandango, composed and arranged by Justin Holland (1819-1887), who is profiled at AfriClassical.com. SoupGreens.com posted an item on the composition yesterday, and included a link to an audio sample:

SoupGreens.com
'Spanish Fandango' is the 'Smoke on the Water' of bottleneck guitar in open G. It's the first song you learn, and it's really really rootsy. But it turns out to be a piece of classical music.”

“Open Tunings & Slide – The American Legacy of 'Spanish Fandango':
In 1867, Justin Holland published his arrangement of the American popular song “Spanish Fandango”. The first recording on this page is my live recording of the original score obtained from the Library of Congress.

“'Spanish Fandango' is arranged here in its traditional tuning - ‘open G’ - in which the strings of the instrument are tuned to the notes of a Gmajor chord. Through the dissemination of sheet music publications including Holland’s, this piece became a permanent part of the American guitar repertoire.”





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'Living Composers Score Program' of 'Chicago Modern Orchestra Project'



[Renee' Baker, Artistic Director, Chicago Modern Orchestra Project]

Barbara Wright-Pryor is President of the Chicago Music Association, Branch No. 1, NANM Inc., and Classical Music Critic for The Chicago Crusader. She sends us this announcement:

CHICAGO MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT
Renee' Baker, Artistic Director
Living Composers Score Program 2010-12

Chicago Modern Orchestra Project is soliciting new compositions. Instrumentation may include any combination of instruments: strings, winds, brass or percussion. Works may be for full ensemble or any size smaller projects. Duos, trios and quartets are certainly desired.

Please submit written score w/recording (if recording is available).

DEADLINE IS NO LONGER APPLICABLE..SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED YEAR ROUND.

All scores will be retained in the library of CMOP for future performance considerations. Composers may submit numerous scores for consideration. All genres are welcome.

Scores may be manuscript, of graphic nature or computer generated.
All forms of notation are welcome. Students may apply.

*There will be 6-7 scores officially accepted to be presented during the 2011-2012 season.
Presented works during that season will carry presenting fee, to be paid by CMOP, of $300.

Please submit:
1. score (2 copies) Please indicate title, instrumentation, length of work and performance instructions when appropriate on separate sheet attached to score
2. recording if available of submitted score (only CD's please, clearly marked with composition title and composer's name)
3. resume'/bio
4. composer's artist statement.
5. short application (below)

No materials will be returned.

***************

Application:
CHICAGO MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT
Living Composers Score Program

Name
Address
City/State
Email/phone
Tell us about the genesis of your work:

*****************
Please mail all submissions to:
Chicago Modern Orchestra Project
Living Composers Score Program
425 Callery Drive
Bolingbrook, Illinois 60490
Attn: Renee' Baker





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George Walker's 'Foils for Orchestra (Hommage à Saint-George)' at Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music Aug. 15



[George Walker]

Robert Milby writes to AfriClassical about the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music of Santa Cruz, California, whose Music Director/Conductor is the renowned Marin Alsop:
“I am very excited about this concert, it is the final one in the series, and Dr. Walker's is the closing piece.”

Sunday, August 15, 4:30 & 8pm
Music at the Mission: In Aeternam
Mission San Juan Bautista
Elena Kats-Chernin: Heaven is Closed [U.S. Premiere]
Philip Glass: Cello Concerto [Wendy Sutter, cello]
Pierre Jalbert: In Aeternam
George Walker: Foils for Orchestra (Hommage à Saint-George) [West Coast Premiere]

“The final work of this season was written by George Walker, the first African-American composer to win a Pulitzer Prize and the only living composer-pianist to be inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. Under Maestra Alsop’s baton the Festival Orchestra will present the West Coast premiere of his Foils for Orchestra (Hommage à Saint George). A work in one movement, Foils suggests swords used in a fencing match and conjures up associations with the myth of Saint George and the Dragon as well as the exploits of the Chevalier de Saint George. Walker describes the music as 'suggesting explosive clashes and a violent duel of thrusts and parrying. The victor emerges scarred, but triumphant.'" [George Walker (b. 1922) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, and his personal website is http://georgetwalker.com/]

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Monday, August 2, 2010

Roy F. Eaton Plays Piano in Bryant Park Today Through Friday, August 2-6, 2010


[Roy Eaton: The Meditative Chopin; RHAHM Records]

The pianist Roy F. Eaton is a friend of AfriClassical. On July 9, 2010 we posted: “Roy F. Eaton Plays Piano in Bryant Park Daily, August 2-6, 2010.” Roy reminds us that his week of “Piano in Bryant Park” begins today:

“Beginning Monday August 2, and running to Friday August 6, Roy Eaton returns to 'Piano in the Park' in Bryant Park, right behind the New York Public Library at 42nd Street at lunch time. Don't miss this joyful performance of his favorites, Joplin, Chopin, Mozart and Debussy. See http://www.bryantpark.org/plan-your-visit/piano.html for exact schedule.”
“Current albums include Joplin Rags on SONY Classical and Keyboard Classics for Children on SUMMIT; '24/7+7 The Complete Preludes of Chopin, Gershwin, Still' on SUMMIT; and The Meditative Chopin on RHAHM - all available at http://www.CDBaby.com/artist/Royeaton. In March, Roy was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.”

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Grace Bumbry Reflects on Châtelet Production of Scott Joplin's 'Treemonisha' in Paris


[Grace Bumbry]

BU Today
Arts & Entertainment
Boston University
August 2, 2010
By Susan Seligson
“This spring, she was lured out of retirement to perform the role of the mother in a production of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the city where she made her debut 50 years ago.” “Bumbry could not pass up the chance to be a part of the Joplin opera, a century after it was composed, heading an all-black cast from the United States and Africa. In Treemonisha, set in 1884, an adopted daughter of an Arkansas plantation manager tries to wrench her people free from ignorance and superstition. Joplin, who died of syphilis in 1917, never saw a full production of Treemonisha, which wasn’t performed until 1972, in Atlanta. Racism undoubtedly played a role in the long, crushing efforts of America’s undisputed king of ragtime to make his mark as a composer for the lyrical stage. The opera won Joplin a posthumous Pulitzer Prize.”

“A former honorary UNESCO ambassador, Bumbry is known for other off-stage roles, including founder of the Grace Bumbry Black Musical Heritage Ensemble, which she created in the 1990s to promote Negro spirituals and gospel music as concert fare. Currently dormant, the choir reflected her conviction, as she told the New York Times, that 'the spiritual is the American classic, as Brahms and Beethoven are the European classic.'”

“Although well attended, the Châtelet production of Treemonisha received lukewarm reviews, mostly for the score, summed up by critic Jorg von Uthmann as 'somewhere between an opera and a Broadway show, but not really at ease on either end.' But von Uthmann went on to describe the performance of Bumbry as 'good by any standards,' and for her age, 'nothing short of extraordinary.' Her fellow singers respectfully insisted that she come out last for curtain calls.”

“Bumbry herself found the production exhilarating. 'It was just one of those productions when everyone, even the performers, left the theater in a happy spirit,' she says. 'That’s unusual.'” “As for her own wide-ranging career, Bumbry says: 'I made mistakes … but too few to mention.' The famous voice erupts in a benevolent, throaty laugh.” This story originally appeared in the summer 2010 issue of Bostonia. Read more. [Scott Joplin (1868-1917) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

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Sunday, August 1, 2010

'Lyric' Quartet of William Grant Still in Richmond VA Chamber Players’ 'Interlude Series' Aug. 29



[Oregon Festival of American Music Presents William Grant Still; Koch 3 7546 2H1 (2002)]

His blog says of Clarke Bustard: “A music critic and cultural writer based in Richmond, VA, Bustard wrote for the Richmond Times-Dispatch for 36 years.”

Letter V
The Virginia Classical Music Blog
Sunday, August 1, 2010
The Richmond Chamber Players’ Interlude series returns this month with Sunday afternoon concerts at 3 p.m. Aug. 8, 15, 22 and 29 at Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road. Joining pianist and artistic director John Walter are violinists Catherine Cary and Susy Yim, violist Stephen Schmidt, cellist Neal Cary, flutist Mary Boodell, oboist Gustav Highstein, clarinetist David Niethamer, bassoonist Jonathan Friedman and tenor Tracey Welborn.”

“Aug. 29 (3 p.m.)
Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road, Richmond
Richmond Chamber Players
William Grant Still: 'Lyric' Quartet
Catherine Cary & Susy Yim, violins
Stephen Schmidt, viola
Neal Cary, cello”

Other composers whose works are on the program are Randall Thompson, Jennifer Higdon and Antonin Dvořák. Information is available at: (804) 272-7514, ext. 312. William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a complete Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University Conservatory. He provides this entry on the Lyric suite, string quartet,which William Grant Still composed in 1960:

“Lyric suite, string quartet (1960). Mission Viejo CA: WGS Music.
1. The sentimental one; Moderately; 2. The quiet one; Moderately slow; 3. The jovial one; Moderately fast. Dedication: Joachim Chassman. Duration: 9:00. Alternate title: Lyric quartette. Withdrawn.

CD: Oregon String Quartet [Kathryn Lucktenberg, Fritz Gearhart, violins; Leslie Straka, viola; Steve Pologe, cello]. Koch International 7546 (2002; Oregon festival of American music).

----- for saxophone quartet, arr. by Rudy Volkmann. [Released on The Toledo Clarinets, Cambria CD 1190 (2009)]





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'A Tribute To Leo Brouwer' in 'Art Of The Guitar' at 92nd Street Y, April 23, 2011, 8 PM


[Leo Brouwer]

The renowned 92nd Street Y of New York City announces plans for an April tribute to legendary Afro-Cuban classical guitarist, conductor and composer Leo Brouwer:

“Saturday, April 23, 2011, 8pm

“Benjamin Verdery, artistic director
Additional artists to be announced

“The series ends with a succession of guitarists saluting the beloved Cuban composer/guitarist Leo Brouwer (b. 1939). His works have become standards and some were written specifically for tonight's artists, making this a particularly personal and joyous celebration.

“Pre-concert talk at 7 pm with Benjamin Verdery of Yale University. Subscribe and Save! This event can also be purchased as part of the following subscription(s): Art of the Guitar-Series Subscription.”

The Afro-Cuban classical guitarist, conductor and composer Leo Brouwer is profiled at AfriClassical.com. His publisher is Chester Novello, http://www.chesternovello.com. Leo Brouwer was named Juan Leovigildo Brouwer when he came into the world in Havana, Cuba on March 1, 1939. His enormous influence on guitar music in particular and classical music in general is demonstrated by more than a hundred recordings on which he has played, composed or conducted. Brouwer's compositions reflect classical, Afro-Cuban, jazz and avant-garde influences. His many film scores, including Like Water for Chocolate, have brought his music to the attention of a huge audience around the world.





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