Sondheim Mugged at McCarter

Tonight, we saw Into the Woods at McCarter Theatre in Princeton.  To a person, the cast can’t sing their roles. Why would they think that Sondheim’s songs, however resilient as material, would be suitable for them? Produced by Fiasco Theater, an aptly named company founded by a group of Brown grads who appear to enjoy mis-casting themselves, this is one to avoid at all costs.

Tuesday: Brouwer and Moravec at Merkin

On Tuesday, April 30 at 8 PM at Merkin Hall, the Orchestra of the Next Century, conducted by Gary Schneider, presents a concert of 20/21 music as a tribute to conductor/patron Paul Sacher (1906-’99). The program features Michi Wianko as the soloist in the Northeast premiere of Margaret Brouwer’s Violin Concerto and Yael Manor as piano soloist in the Martinu Double Concerto. Paul Moravec’s Morph and Stravinsky’s Concerto in D round out a bill sure to banish any leftover case of the Mondays.

 

 

Judging Pictures 2013 Competition

Sara Noble and I judging student works in Montclair.

Sara Noble and I judging student works in Montclair.

Yesterday, Carl Patrick Bolleia, Sara Noble, and I judged entries by pre-college and college composers to the Pictures 2013 Competition at Montclair Art MuseumProduced by NJ Arts Collective, the event (now in its ninth year) encourages student composers from New Jersey to respond to the visual arts by writing a composition based on a piece in MAM’s collection. This year, NJAC selected Manierre Dawson’s Wharf Under Mountain (1913). The concert will also include a 4-hands rendition of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring which, like the Dawson painting, celebrates its centennial this year, and other works from 1913. I’ll be creating a new vocal piece for Sara and Carl based on poetry from 1913. Almost sounds like thematic programming, doesn’t it?

judging tools

The winners will be announced soon and will get to hear their works premiered in a concert given by Sara and Carl on June 6th at the museum.

Carl Patrick Bolleia and I.

Carl Patrick Bolleia and I.

 

Friday: Judging Pictures 2013

Today, I am judging Pictures 2013: a composition competition sponsored by the Montclair Art Museum and NJ Arts Collective. I am thrilled to be working with these organizations again, and to be writing a new work for soprano Sara Noble and pianist Carl Patrick Bolleia for the upcoming Pictures 2013 Concert (based on the painting above). The concert of winning works and other selections will be on June 6 at the museum (details below).

Event Details

Pictures 2013 Concert

8th Annual New Jersey Student Composition Contest
Thursday, June 6
Pre-Concert Panel Discussion, 6:15 p.m.
Gala Awards Ceremony and Concert, 7 p.m.
FREE
Join Montclair Art Museum for a unique concert experience as New Jersey students explore the intersection of music and visual art. For the eighth annual edition of one of New Jersey’s premiere composition contests, NJ students are asked to compose music inspired by visual art exhibited in the Montclair Art Museum. Come early to hear student honorees discuss their art-inspired music in a pre-concert talk. This year’s selection is Wharf Under Mountain by Manierre Dawson, 1913, oil on canvas, Norton Museum of Art.