On February 17th, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin declared 2011 the “Year of the Composer” in Vermont, the first such proclamation in the country. Getting the proclamation itself — little more than a prosaic document signed by a friendly politician — and getting something useful out of the proclamation are two separate stories, one still in the process of being written. The proclamation is a whereas-filled document that states, “the creation and presentation of newly composed music is fundamental to the history of Vermont and provides a basis for continuing growth of educational opportunities, progress in the our cultural leadership and
Read more…it behooves all composers and musicians to participate in a little supply-side bonhomie, if you know what I mean. I’m talking self-promotion, growing your personal brand, reaching out and touching people who can do you some good. You’re in luck. The next Chamber Music America First Tuesdays workshop (which is next Tuesday) features music journalists Nate Chinen and Steve Smith who will give you the real skinny on how artists and presenters can attract print-media attention for concerts and CD releases. The particulars: Workshop Title: Meet the Music Press Speakers: Music journalists Nate Chinen and Steve Smith When: Tuesday, March
Read moreDespite driving snow and slippery roads, an eager crowd gathered Sunday evening to hear Michigan’s University Philharmonia Orchestra deliver eight world premiere performances of works by student composers. The concert is one of the most highly anticipated of the year and is a culmination not only for the student composers involved but also for the student conductors responsible for bringing their pieces to life. This year was even more special than most because all the pieces on the programs were Masters Degree theses from the 2011 class. This fact made the evening more of a watershed event than usual as
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Chamber Music, Choral Music, Composers, Concerts, Contemporary Classical, Houston, Percussion, Performers, Piano, viola
(Houston, TX) On February 25th and 26th at 8pm and February 27th at 2:30 pm (the third date added due to popular demand), the Houston Chamber Choir and Da Camera present Music for Rothko, a concert program of contemporary music in one of Houston’s most unique performance spaces. All three performances are sold out. Presented in the interior of Rothko Chapel, the Music for Rothko program includes piano works by John Cage and Erik Satie, Tagh for the Funeral of the Lord for viola and percussion by Tigran Mansurian, and choral compositions by John Cage including Four. Feldman’s Rothko Chapel
Read moreMonday night, the galleries of the Univeristy of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) were filled with the music of Stephen Harkte, John Harbison and Julia Wolfe thanks to the University of Michigan’s Contemporary Directions Ensemble (CDE) under the direction of its energetic and accomplished conductor Christopher James Lees. UMMA opened its doors to CDE in a collaborative exhibition of the evening’s music and a piece by Swiss artist Mai-Thu Pirret currently on display at the museum. The connection drawn between Mr. Hartke, Mr. Harbison, Ms. Wolfe and Ms. Perret’s output comes from the creators’ influences: extra-musical inspirations for the composers
Read moreThis week I’m going to be covering the Tune-In Festival at the Park Avenue Armory for Musical America. Earlier this month, the Armory made the news for another high profile arts endeavor. It was announced as the site for the New York Philharmonic’s performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Gruppen during the 2011-’12 season. Just as the venue’s large Drill Hall is ideal for a work such Gruppen – a spatial music extravaganza for three orchestras – it’s also ideal for a number of works on the Tune-In Festival that are conceived for unconventional venues. Tonight is the premiere of Arco, a
Read moreOne of the great perks of living in Ann Arbor, Michigan is the University Musical Society (UMS), a community group that, for 132 years, has brought diverse programs of dance, music and theater to this Midwestern cultural center. This year’s schedule has allowed me many new experiences as an audience member – most notably my first dance concerts with the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Sankai Juku – and has given all of us in the area access to many of the world’s most praised musicians, such as Renee Fleming and Wynton Marsalis. This last Saturday saw the most recent
Read moreFor those of you in the Southeastern part of Michigan and looking for something to do tomorrow through Friday, Eastern Michigan University is holding their 17th biennial Music Now Festival Feb. 16-18. Here is a link to the School of Music & Dance home page with more details about the program, which sounds pretty interesting (interesting enough for me to go tomorrow, at least). Thursday and Friday’s concerts feature the chamber and large ensemble works (respectively) of Dan Welcher and tomorrow night’s concert is a mixed bag, I’m looking forward to it.
Read moreUnsuk Chin (b. 1961) is a decorated composer and an important figure on the international scene. But even though she’s won the prestigious Grawemeyer Prize, one could still argue that she isn’t programmed nearly enough as yet in the United States. I was very taken with the Ensemble Intercontemporain’s 2009 performance of Akrostichon-Wortspiel at Alice Tully Hall. It sent me in search of scores and recordings to study. Sadly, I haven’t since had the opportunity to hear more of her work live. But tomorrow, the Talea Ensemble and guest pianist Taka Kigawa will perform an Unsuk Chin Composer Portrait at New York’s Bohemian Hall on February
Read moreI am probably shooting my career in the foot by writing this, not to mention my standing in the D.C. arts community (such as it is), but it has to be said: Michael Kaiser is just plain wrong about the state of the art. Mr. Kaiser, the president of the Kennedy Center, writes in a recent article for the Huffington Post that “the arts are in trouble because there is simply not enough excellent art being created.” He bemoans the lack of innovative artists in a fit of nostalgia, saying that “when I was a young man we had Merce
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