Calendar

Ursula Oppens — celebrated pianist and distinguished professor of music at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York — performs works by New York composers John Corigliano, Joan Tower, Tania Leon, Elliott Carter (American premiere), and Tobias Picker (world premiere) at Elebash Recital Hall, 365 Fifth Ave., on Nov. 11 (Wednesday, 7 p.m.). Ms. Oppens will be joined by fellow CUNY faculty member, clarinetist Charles Neidich.

Before the performance, several of these eminent composers will join Oppens for a conversation about composition and performance, and what it means to create and play music in New York today. $25 general admission; $10 for Graduate Center students with I.D. Tickets may be purchased at the Online Box Office. For more information: (212) 817-8215.

Chamber Music Palisades’ season opening concert on October 20, 2009, 8 P.M., at St. Matthew’s Parish in Pacific Palisades.

Monday , October 19th (1-2 pm) Sounds from the Spires will showcase Margarita Zelenaia’s “Byzantine Chants,” a sacred concerto for Solo Cello. It is performed by magnificent cellist Andrey Tchekmazov, who commissioned the Concerto.
Complete information is below:

Sounds from the Spires
features
Margarita Zelenaia’s “Byzantine Chants”
Mondays 1 pm ET
The Catholic Channe
l SIRIUS 159 and XM 117
http://www.sirius.com/thecatholicchanne
http://www.saintpatrickscathedral.org/

The internationally acclaimed flutist Carol Wincenc marks her 40th anniversary on the concert stage in the 2009-2010 season. On Monday, November 9, 2009, at 7:30 PM at Merkin Concert Hall, she begins a series of three concerts at three New York City venues each of which features premieres of new works written for Wincenc, and a stellar roster of fellow musicians.

The November 9 program, titled Carol Wincenc Ruby Anniversary Series: “Deepest Desires,” features the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Fury of Light for flute and piano, which the composer will perform with Wincenc. Heggie’s The Deepest Desire for voice, flute, and piano (texts by Sister Helen Prejean); Lukas Foss’s Three American Pieces arranged for flute and piano; Paul Schoenfield’s Six Chassidic Songs for flute and piano (written for Ms. Wincenc); and George Crumb’s landmark 1971 work Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale) for electric flute, electric cello, and electric piano, in commemoration of Crumb’s 80th birthday year.

In addition to composer Jake Heggie at the piano, Ms. Wincenc will be joined by Rafael Figueroa, principal cellist of Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; pianist Stephen Gosling, particularly acclaimed in recent months for performances of new music, and a long-time collaborator with Wincenc; and the dynamic young American mezzo-soprano Elise Quagliata.

About the flutist and his new work Jake Heggie says, “Her gorgeous tone, innate musicality, sparkle, sense of humor, heart and curiosity are there when she plays; all anchored by her tremendous humanity. The piece I have written for her is based on one of my favorite poems: ‘Sunrise,’ by Mary Oliver [see below]. It is a meditation of that timeless quest for happiness and truth that, in the past, led some people to be bound and burned at the stake, creating ‘an unforgettable fury of light.’ It also asks a question that seems particularly appropriate for a wind player: ‘What is the name of the deep breath I would take over and over for all of us?’

“Fury of Light is a response to this poem: an exploration of its fire and essence. It is dedicated lovingly to the great Carol Wincenc.” The work was commissioned by Backshore Artists Projects, Inc. and funded by a generous grant from Linda and Stuart Nelson.

The Los Angeles Master Chorale presents the Mozart “Requiem” and the Los Angeles premiere of John Adam’s “Choruses from the Death of Klinghoffer” on October 18, 7:00 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. www.lamc.org

USC Thornton School of Music presents Grammy Award-winning eighth blackbird (pictured) in a free concert on Friday, October 16, 2009, 7:30 p.m., at Alfred Newman Recital Hall on the USC campus.

O, Pioneers!, a new opera with music by Barbara Harbach, will be given its World Premiere performances on Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10, 8 PM each evening in the Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall of Touhill Performing Arts Center of the University of Missouri – St. Louis, One University Blvd. in St. Louis, Missouri.

O Pioneers! is based on Willa Cather’s novel of tragedy, transformation and redemption on the American frontier at the turn of the 20th century and is the story of a family of Swedish immigrants in the farm country near the fictional town of Hanover, Nebraska.

Barbara Harbach has again teamed with lyricist Jonathan Yordy to create O Pioneers! They last collaborated on the musical Booth!, which debuted at the Touhill Center in 2007 and made its East Coast Premiere at New York University’s Skirball Center this past June.

The cast includes Gina Galati in the lead role as Alexandra Bergstrom, Ann Hoyt as Marie, the Bohemian lover of Emil and Tomas Wazelle as Emil. St. Louis area groups, including Dimensions Dance Center, the St. Louis Women’s Chorale and the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ College of Fine Arts and Communication will also participate in the production.

Tickets for O Pioneers! are $35 and are available at the Touhill Center box office, by phone at 314-516-4949 or at https://touhillpac.umsl.edu/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=3264. To further enhance performances of O Pioneers!, the Touhill Center is offering the free E3! program, Explore, Experience, Engage, in association with the Saturday 8 p.m. performance. More info at https://touhillpac.umsl.edu/tickets/production.aspx?performanceNumber=3264..

MSR Classics has released two new CDs by Ms. Harbach: Toccatas, Flourishes & Fugues, A Celebration of Hymns (MS1254 – http://www.msrcd.com/1254/1254.html), in which she performs on the Aeolian-Skinner Organ of Christ Church Cathedral, St Louis, Missouri, and Chamber Music II (MS1255 – http://www.msrcd.com/1255/1255.html), works for string orchestra and woodwind quintet. These are, respectively, Volumes 3 and 4 of the Music of Barbara Harbach CD series. Her website is at http://www.barbaraharbach.com/.

Next Generation: Juventas premieres works by Boston Conservatory Composers

Thursday, 10/8, 8:00pm
Seully Hall, The Boston Conservatory

FREE ADMISSION

Juventas continues its third year in residency at the Boston Conservatory, premiering works written specifically for the ensemble. Check out new trends in music from some of the city’s most talented student composers.

For more information, visit www.JuventasMusic.com.

The World Premiere of American composer Dan Locklair’s new anthem for SATB chorus, a cappella, In the Sight of God, will be performed by the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, John Scott, Conductor, at their services on Sunday, October 4 at  11 AM at Saint Thomas Church, 1 West 57^th Street in Manhattan.

In the Sight of God is dedicated to the St. Thomas Choir and its Director, John Scott. Dan Locklair’s Brief Mass and motet, Pater Noster, will also be heard during this service. The choir has previously recorded Brief Mass and Pater noster as part of their American Music from Saint Thomas CD for Koch International Classics.

For more information about the October 4 service, please contact Saint Thomas Church at 212-757-7013 or visit them at http://www.saintthomaschurch.org.

Mr. Locklair’s latest newsletter is at http://www.jamesarts.com/releases/june09/DL_nws_060309.pdf.

For more information about composer Dan Locklair, including a bio, list of works, discography and much more, please visit http://www.locklair.com

On October 13 Cadillac Moon Ensemble begins its season with a rhythmically driven concert including three premieres of commissions by Cadillac Moon Ensemble of works by Zack Browning, Quinn Collins, and Malina Rauchenfels. Also on the program are works by Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann and Tristan Perich.  This program revels in post-minimalist, rock-inspired music juxtaposed with slow, calm, meditative works, all written within the last four years.  The concert is October 13, 2009, 8 PM at St. Peter’s Church (619 Lexington Ave., New York, NY). Tickets are $10 and are available at the door.

Cadillac Moon Ensemble is changing the idiom of quartet music.  With its unique instrumentation of flute, violin, cello, and percussion, the ensemble is dedicated to retaining the intimacy and artistry of traditional chamber music while constantly challenging the way composers view a quartet. CME is focused on commissioning new works from and developing integral relationships with emerging and established composers. Recently signed by New Dynamic Records, CME is slated to record its debut CD under the New Dynamics Records label in 2010/2011. Making commissioning and premiering new works by up-and-coming composers a priority, CME is becoming an important and exciting vehicle for new music and composers. Recent performances include: Hits of the Avant Garde at LaGuadia Performing Arts Center, Kathleen Supové’s Music With a View series at The Flea Theater, Vox Novus Composer’s Voice Series, and performances at Pianos, the Gershwin Hotel, Nicholas Roerich Museum, Waltz-Astoria, and SUNY-Purchase. For more information, please see www.CadillacMoonEnsemble.com.

PROGRAM
Malina Rauchenfels                         Five Sketches (2009)*
Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann     Pensar Geométrico al Trasluz (2005)
Quinn Collins                                    Churn (2008)*
Tristan Perich                                   J’ai quand même une tête bizarre (2007)
Zack Browning                                 Moon Thrust (2009)*

*a Cadillac Moon Ensemble commission premiere