Existential Pilot New Music Collective is presenting two concerts of contemporary chamber music by composers William Zuckerman, Ezra Donner, and Jonathan Lubin on March 2-3 in New York City and Philadelphia. The concert will feature the performing talents of clarinetist Mark Dover, soprano Claire DiVizio, and violinist Zoë Aqua, as well as the featured composers.

The program represents an eclectic range of stylistic and literary influences, from traditional Jewish and American vernacular music, to avant-garde electronic music, to works inspired by the popular South Park television series.

Existential Pilot is a new music collective started by students and alumni of the University of Michigan, dedicated to the performance of dynamic and relevant contemporary music. The group is particularly committed to showcasing the talents of young and emerging composers and performers.

Tickets are $7 pre-sale and $9 at the door.  To reserve yours, please click on the links below.

Carlos Chavez: A Celebration!

Carlos Chavez in 1940

Rachel Rosales, soprano

Claudia Schaer, violin

Bruce Wang, cello

Nuiko Wadden, harp

Max Lifchitz, piano

Saturday, Nov 14 at 3 PM

Bruno Walter Auditorium

Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts

111 Amsterdam Ave (at 65th St)

New York City

Rachel Rosales

On Saturday, November 14 at 3 PM North/South Consonance, Inc. will present a program devoted to the music of Carlos Chávez, the late Mexican composer and conductor who lived between 1899 and 1978.

The event will take place at the Bruno Walter Auditorium of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (111 Amsterdam Ave at 65th St) in New York City. Admission is free. No Tickets required.

One of Latin America’s most famous composers, Chávez was a powerful figure in México’s cultural life. He founded the National Symphony Orchestra and also directed México’s National Conservatory. In 1947, Chávez became the founding director of the National Institute of Fine Arts.

Well known in the US and Europe as a conductor and lecturer, Chavez appeared at the helm of most major symphony orchestras and delivered the 1959 Charles Elliot Norton Lectures at Harvard University. His most popular work is the Sinfonía India, an orchestral fresco full of vigorous, obsessive rhythms reminiscent of Aztec dances. His musical output is vast and exhibits great variety and diversity.

Chávez is closely identified with the artistic movement known as the “Aztec Renaissance.” This movement aimed to revive the music of Pre-Columbian México hence creating a true, non-European, Mexican sound.

The concert will feature vocal and instrumental compositions written during a span of approximately 55 years, from around 1915 until the early 1970’s. Included in the program will be the youthful arrangements of Mexican corridos (popular revolutionary songs) published in 1915 as well as the Madrigal for cello and piano written in 1920. Also included will be the three seminal Sonatinas written in 1924 (one for solo piano, one for violin and one for cello) written in 1924 that exhibit all the elements of Chávez’s mature, nationalistic style will also be performed. The Invention for Harp and High Vocalisse (1970) for coloratura soprano will also be performed. These works exemplify the composer’s infatuation with the modernism and experimentation rampant in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Chavez’s masterful arrangement of Four Traditional Ecuadorian Songs written in 1942 while traveling in South America will also be performed.

For more information about this exciting concert series including complete schedule please visit

http://www.northsouthmusic.org

To stream and/or download the entire catalogue of recordings issued by the

North/South Recordings label please visit

http://www.classicsonline.com/North_South_Recordings

Villa-Lobos: Modinhas & Canções

Stela Brandão, soprano
Max Lifchitz, piano

Sunday, November 8 at 3 PM

Christ & St Stephen’s Church
120 West 69th St (bet Bway & Columbus), NYC
Free Admission. No tickets required.

Celebrating the 4th Annual Latin American Cultural Week in NYC

http://www.northsouthmusic.org

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North/South Consonance, Inc. inaugurates its 30th consecutive season with a special concert focusing on the vocal music of Heitor Villa-Lobos, the great Brazilian master on Sunday, November 8 at 3 PM.

The event will feature soprano Stela Brandão accompanied by pianist Max Lifchitz in the performance of the complete cycle of Songs and Modinhas by Villa-Lobos. It will be held at the auditorium of Christ & St. Stephen’s Church (120 West 69th St) in Manhattan. Admission is free.

The concert is part of the 4th Annual Latin American Cultural Week in New York City organized by the Pan American Musical Art Research, Inc. (PAMAR).

A native of Rio de Janeiro, soprano Stela Brandão studied voice at the University of Brasilia before going on to earn a masters degree in performance from Brooklyn College (CUNY) and a doctorate from Teachers College at Columbia University. She advanced her vocal studies with Caroline Murdoch, Richard Barrett, Eleanor Clark and Jan Prokop and coached with, among others, Dalton Baldwin, Nico Castel and Eleanor Steber. A strong advocate of Brazilian music and culture, Ms. Brandão has performed throughout her native country as well as at the United Nations and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. As a guest professor, she taught the course African Roots of Brazilian Music at Hunter College, and has been invited to teach Brazilian and Latin American repertoire nationwide at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Workshops (NATS), at Mannes College of Music, at the Project Canción Española in Granada, and at the Barcelona Festival of Song. She has also researched and written extensively about the Brazilian vocal repertoire including a highly regarded article about the Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by the Brazilian master Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Active as pianist and composer, Max Lifchitz is a native of Mexico City and has resided in New York City since 1966. Described by the American Record Guide magazine as “one of America’s finest exponents of contemporary piano music,” Mr. Lifchitz has released 9 compact disc albums featuring piano music by composers from the Americas. A graduate of The Juilliard School and Harvard University, Mr. Lifchitz has appeared as soloist and recitalist throughout the US, Europe and Latin America. Praised by the New York Times for his “clean, measured and sensitive performances,” Lifchitz has performed in major Brazilian cities at the invitation of the Academia Brasileira de Musica and the Festival Musica Nova.

The artists will be available for interviews and other media related events. They may be contacted through our office at (212) 663-7566 or via e-mail at

North/South Consonance’s 2009-10 season is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Additional support comes from the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University in the City of NY; the Music Performance Funds of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians; and contributions from many generous individuals.

For further information about its activities, including concerts and recordings, please visit http://www.northsouthmusic.org/