A tip o’ the hat and a toot o’ the horn to THE BRASS ROOTS on their inaugural performance at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial on October 18th. Get Matt Murchison’s review here and hear more from The Brass Roots at www.thebrassroots.com Continue reading “Review: THE BRASS ROOTS”
The Pacifica Quartet is joined by violist David Harding for Chamber Music Pittsburgh’s second concert of the 2014-15 season on Monday, November 10, 2014, 7:30pm, in Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. The repertoire to be performed includes Ligeti’s Quartet No. 1 “Metamorphoses nocturnes”, Mozart’s Viola Quintet in G minor, K. 516, and Ravel’s Quartet in F major.
Recognized for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and often-daring repertory choices, over the past two decades the Pacifica Quartet has gained international stature as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. The Pacifica tours extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia, performing regularly in the world’s major concert halls. Named the quartet-in-residence at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music in March 2012, the Pacifica was also the quartet-in- residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009 – 2012) – a position that has otherwise been held only by the Guarneri String Quartet – and received the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance.
During the 2014-15 season, the Pacifica will record and perform the Brahms piano quintet with the legendary pianist Menahem Pressler, and will participate in weeklong residencies at the University of Iowa and at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In addition, the Quartet will return twice to Europe for four weeks of performances; in addition, the group will make its debut tour of South America.
The members of the Pacifica Quartet live in Bloomington, IN, where they serve as quartet-in-residence and full-time faculty members at the Jacobs School of Music. Prior to their appointment, the Quartet was on the faculty of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana from 2003 to 2012. The Pacifica Quartet also serves as resident performing artist at the University of Chicago.
David Harding is currently Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. He has an extensive solo and chamber music career, having performed throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, Central America and Australia, in such venues as the Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw, and Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall. His performances have been broadcast on CBC, BBC, NPR, ABC (Australia) and Deutschland Radio. He performs at many chamber music festivals throughout North America including the Sitka Chamber Music Festival and Ottawa Chamber Music Festival. In July 2012, David returned to the Australian Chamber Music Festival in Queensland.
David is a member of the flute, viola, harp ensemble, Trio Verlaine with whom he has recorded works
by Debussy and Ravel, and the Glass Chamber Players, with whom he recorded Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht” and Philip Glass’ “Sextet.” Other notable CD projects include a recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, with the string trio Triskelion for CBC records, the music of Aaron Jay Kernis with the Chester Quartet, and Brahms’ Viola Sonatas and Horn Trio for Skylark Music. A graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, David was the winner of the Sir John Barbirolli award at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. Having served on the faculty of Indiana University South Bend and the University of British Columbia, David has given master classes at the Banff International Centre for the Arts and universities throughout North America. He plays on a viola made by Pietro Antonio della Costa, Tresviso Italy, circa 1750.
There will be a lobby recital in the Grand Foyer of Carnegie Music Hall from 7:00-7:20pm.
Tickets are $39-$46, and student rush tickets are available for $15 with valid student ID one hour prior to the concert. Braille and large print programs will be provided. CMP provides concierge service to assist patrons wishing to be dropped off at the Carnegie Museums’ carriage driveway and parking facility. Carnegie Music Hall is an accessible venue. For tickets and further information, please call 412-624-4129 or visit www.chambermusicpittsburgh.org.
Chamber Music Pittsburgh (previously the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society) presents world-class chamber music ensembles and soloists, promising emerging artists, and innovative programs; and also fosters an appreciation for chamber music in the Pittsburgh community by offering educational programs and experiences. In carrying out its mandate, CMP has been guided consistently by two basic principles: quality and variety. Each year’s program is a carefully balanced menu of acclaimed chamber ensembles along with the most brilliant emerging groups.
CMP is supported by grants from the Allegheny Regional Asset District, the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust of The Pittsburgh Foundation, and the Heinz Endowments. The Heinz Endowments supports efforts to make southwestern Pennsylvania a premier place to live and work, a center for learning and educational excellence, and a region that embraces diversity and inclusion.
CMP receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
The charming, delightful, legendary mezzo-soprano Mildred Miller Posvar joins us for cocktail hour to discuss her renowned career, her 23 consecutive seasons at The Metropolitan Opera, and her founding of Opera Theater of Pittsburgh. PLUS – Pittsburgh’s got an opera version of “American Idol!” Mildred’s got the info – and you’re invited! Listen to “The Full Martini” – the complete, unedited interview in audio podcast to hear Millie’s “best advice,” adventures in fundraising, the role she considers her greatest accomplishment, reflections on teaching at Carnegie Mellon University, and her touching account of one of our greatest American tragedies. AND – which of these two downs their martini the fastest? The answer may surprise you! Don’t miss the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition!
Continue reading “MILDRED MILLER POSVAR – Founder, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh”
Miss Music Nerd is back on ‘Burgh Vivant tonight to talk about the HEROES AND VILLAINS concert at Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s PNC Pops! Learn the compelling history of the score to Hitchcock’s PSYCHO, how old you should be before you see THE OMEN, and how Sheena Easton brought us back to BOND. Plus – a shout-out to George Takei, and Miss Music Nerd’d tips on where to sit at the symphony! Continue reading “Review: HEROES AND VILLAINS, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, PNC Pops”
At Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, frequent performance venue for The Brass Roots, the ensemble’s Co-Founder and Development Director Henry Attaway discusses how some of Western Pennsylvania’s finest brass musicians came together to form a group that’s quickly becoming a Pittsburgh favorite. But – will Brian Edward ever get a Christmas album? Listen to “The Full Martini” – the complete interview in audio podcast, for the inside info on life with a euphonium, the drinking habits of brass players, and dueling glasses! And catch The Brass Roots in action October 19th! www.thebrassroots.com Continue reading “HENRY ATTAWAY – Co-Founder & Development Director, The Brass Roots”
September 24, 2014 (PITTSBURGH)… MCG Jazz announces The Jazz Series, a visual art exhibit by acclaimed artist Elena Hiatt Houlihan. Houlihan has a long relationship with Bill Strickland, President and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corporation, and has previously presented this series of work at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in 1988 as well as a different collection at the MCG Downtown Gallery in 1990. The pieces in The Jazz Series have a personal Pittsburgh connection also; one in particular entitled “Lighting Drummer” was inspired by a performance of Pittsburgh jazz legend Roger Humphries.
From the artist’s statement: “The Jazz Series was inspired by a passage in Margaret Mead’s autobiography, Blackberry Winter. She described studying a tribal people who possessed synesthesia: an amazing transference of the senses in which hearing a sound causes one to see color. Are we so civilized that we have lost that ability, I wondered? Or do only certain people have it? Are we born with it and then lose it as we mature?”
Houlihan continues, “I decided to perform an artistic experiment. Could I develop the ability to see colors when I heard sounds? When I went out to listen to jazz, I would close my eyes and absorb the music in a near meditative state. A quick sketch on a napkin in a jazz cafe in San Francisco became a brilliant red painting, “Rhythm Sweet and Hot.” The plaintive notes of a haunting sax solo in “Good Night, Sweetheart” inspired “Night Wailin’.” Each large painting began as a thumbnail sketch, and each remains remarkably true to the concept of the miniature.”
Houlihan’s medium includes acrylic paint on canvas or enamel on steel with collaged elements of handmade Japanese paper. Panels are suspended from angled bars hung from the ceiling to create what she calls “mixed-media paintings.” A Japanese sensibility underlies the composition, providing layers of meaning.
All nine large scale pieces in the collection are for sale and 30% of each sale supports MCG Jazz’ programs. The collection is available to view now through December 15, 2014, Monday through Friday from 9 am until 5 pm plus evenings and weekends of scheduled MCG Jazz concerts. For additional info or to view or purchase the work in the MCG Jazz online store, please visit www.mcgjazz.org.
Chamber Music Pittsburgh will present the Takács Quartet, Monday, September 29, 2014, 7:30pm, in Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. The repertoire to be performed includes Haydn’s Quartet in Bb major, Op. 64, No. 3, Debussy’s Quartet in G minor, Op. 10, and Beethoven’s Quartet in Bb major, Op. 130, with Finale: Grosse Fuge, Op. 133. This performance marks the ninth time the Takács Quartet has appeared on Chamber Music Pittsburgh’s stage.
Recognized as one of the world’s great ensembles, the Takács Quartet plays with a unique blend of drama, warmth and humor, combining four distinct musical personalities to bring fresh insights to the string quartet repertoire.
The Takács became the first string quartet to win the Wigmore Hall Medal on May 10, 2014. The Medal, inaugurated in 2007, recognizes major international artists who have a strong association with the Hall. Recipients so far include Andras Schiff, Thomas Quasthoff, Menachem Pressler and Dame Felicity Lott. Appointed in 2012 as the first-ever Associate Artists at Wigmore, the Takacs present six concerts every season there. Other European engagements in 2014-2015 include the Edinburgh and Bath Festivals, the Louvre in Paris, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Musikverein, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, and in Geneva, Florence, Cremona and Budapest.
In 2012, Gramophone announced that the Takács was the only string quartet to be inducted into its first Hall of Fame, along with such legendary artists as Jascha Heifetz, Leonard Bernstein and Dame Janet Baker. The ensemble also won the 2011 Award for Chamber Music and Song presented by the Royal
Philharmonic Society in London. Based in Boulder at the University of Colorado, the Takács Quartet performs ninety concerts a year worldwide.
In 2014-2015, the Quartet performs throughout North America, returning to the Ravinia Festival and to Lincoln Center for two programs—one with guest violist Lawrence Power and the other with pianist Joyce Yang, and performs with pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin at UC Berkeley, University of Connecticut and at Orchestra Hall in Chicago. They also return after many years to Santiago, Chile, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Meryl Streep will perform Philip Roth’s “Everyman” program with the Takács at Princeton University on September 19, 2014. The program was conceived in close collaboration with Philip Roth. The Quartet is known for such innovative programming. They first performed “Everyman” at Carnegie Hall in 2007 with Philip Seymour Hoffman. They have toured 14 cities with the poet Robert Pinsky, collaborate regularly with the Hungarian Folk group Muzsikas, and in 2010 they collaborated with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and David Lawrence Morse on a drama project that explored the composition of Beethoven’s last quartets.
There will be a lobby recital in the Grand Foyer of Carnegie Music Hall from 7:00-7:20pm. This lobby recital will feature harpist Hannah Piston, a 17-year-old high academic honors student at Hickory High School in Hermitage, PA.
Tickets are $39-$46, and student rush tickets are available for $15 with valid student ID one hour prior to the concert. Braille and large print programs will be provided. CMP provides concierge service to assist patrons wishing to be dropped off at the Carnegie Museums’ carriage driveway and parking facility. Carnegie Music Hall is an accessible venue. For tickets and further information, please call 412-624-4129 or visit www.chambermusicpittsburgh.org.
About Chamber Music Pittsburgh
Chamber Music Pittsburgh (previously the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society) presents world-class chamber music ensembles and soloists, promising emerging artists, and innovative programs; and also fosters an appreciation for chamber music in the Pittsburgh community by offering educational programs and experiences. In carrying out its mandate, CMP has been guided consistently by two basic principles: quality and variety. Each year’s program is a carefully balanced menu of acclaimed chamber ensembles along with the most brilliant emerging groups.
CMP is supported by grants from the Allegheny Regional Asset District, the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust of The Pittsburgh Foundation, and the Heinz Endowments. The Heinz Endowments supports efforts to make southwestern Pennsylvania a premier place to live and work, a center for learning and educational excellence, and a region that embraces diversity and inclusion.
CMP receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
PITTSBURGH, PA — The future stars of opera will shine during the third annual Mildred Miller International Voice Competition presented by Opera Theater of Pittsburgh and the Gailliot Family Foundation on Nov. 1 and 2 during National Opera Week (Oct. 24-Nov. 2, 2014). Three top winners receive cash prizes totaling $9,000 resident artist contracts in Opera Theater’s SummerFest 2015.
Applications for singers 18-35 are open through Wed., Oct. 10 via Yaptracker.com.
Mildred Miller International Voice Competition is named in honor of the Opera Theater’s founder who created the company in 1978. Mildred Miller Posvar, one of America’s best-loved opera stars with a 25-year long career at the Metropolitan Opera, says about ‘her’ international voice competition: “It is wonderful to be able to support a new generation of talented young singers, and to help launch their careers onto the professional opera stage.”
The international panel of judges includes Mildred Miller Posvar, Robert Chafin, Robert Croan, Kevin Glavin, Eugene Perry, and Maria Spacagna.
Winners are offered monetary prizes plus contracts to perform roles in SummerFest 2015 productions. Three top prizes are sponsored by regional arts patrons:
In addition to the judge’s selections, those attending will vote for “Audience Favorite”.
Semi-finals feature up to 20 competitors on Sat., Nov. 1, 11 am–1 pm and 3–5 pm. at Carnegie Mellon University’s Mellon Institute Auditorium, 4400 Fifth Ave., Oakland (Pittsburgh, PA 15213, entrance on Bellefield Ave, opposite Heinz Chapel). As part of NATIONAL OPERA WEEK, the semi-finals are open to the public free of charge. Seats may be reserved online at otsummerfest.org or obtained at door.
Finals, hosted by Anna Singer of WQED-FM, will feature up to eight singers on Sun., Nov. 2 from 2:30 to 5 pm at the beautiful Twentieth Century Club in Oakland (4201 Bigelow Ave. at Parkman). Ms. Singer, who most recently received acclaim as the title character of OT SummerFest’s The Merry Widow, will entertain the audience as part of her emcee duties.
The $35 general admission tickets include afternoon tea during the intermission while the judges deliberate. Students with a valid ID are admitted free at the door. A VIP package for $125 includes preferred seating, afternoon tea, and a post-concert reception hosted by Mildred Miller Posvar with the contestants and judges at a private home in the historic Woodland Road district at Chatham University campus. Tickets are on sale by phone at: (412) 326-9687 or online at otsummerfest.org where parking and event details can be found.
Background:
About the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition
“Our competition is different – as well as awarding monetary prizes, we offer young singers leading roles in productions, helping them develop their performing experience and build their repertoire,” says Opera Theater’s Artistic Director Jonathan Eaton.
The previous three top MMIVC award winners are already embarking on stellar careers. Countertenor Andrey Nemzer, 2011 first-place winner, was cast in leading roles in SummerFest productions and went on to win the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was a third place winners in the prestigious Operalia competition led by Placido Domingo. Nemzer now has a contract at the Met. Tenor Juan José de León, 2012 winner, was showcased at SummerFest, has also won contracts at the Met and the operas of Paris and Rome. Elizabeth Baldwin, the 2013 first place MMIVC winner, received critical acclaim for her performance in the title role of Ariadne on Naxos in SummerFest 2014, and has contracts with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.
The 2013 MMIVC attracted 185 emerging young professionals (ages 19-35) from throughout North America (US, Canada, Mexico), Bulgaria, France, Russia, Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan.
About National Opera Week
National Opera Week, Oct. 24-Nov. 2, 2014, is led by OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. National Opera Week celebrates the vibrancy of opera in America today, and brings the inventiveness and excitement of opera to a national audience. The strength and diversity of established opera companies, community opera ensembles, and opera training programs across the United States will be shared through free, dynamic activities designed to engage novices, opera lovers, and everyone in between.
About Opera Theater of Pittsburgh and SummerFest
Since its founding in 1978 by Mildred Miller Posvar, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh has served a diverse market of music drama audiences in Western Pennsylvania. Jonathan Eaton has served as artistic and general director since 1999. By presenting high-quality productions of music drama not available elsewhere, the company works at the forefront of the genre. In its 36-year history, Opera Theater has presented more than 50 Pittsburgh premieres, many of them American operas that would not have been produced by other regional companies. Opera Theater reaches out across traditional lines of demarcation in the arts, presenting works which engage diverse, new and younger audiences, bringing in supporters of music, theater, dance and the visual arts.
Over its first three seasons, SummerFest drew more than 22,000 people to operas, musicals, new works and recitals. SummerFest features a company of performers including top national and regional singers, and rising stars from its Young Artist Program. Members of the six-week Young Artist Program are recruited from more than 300 candidates in auditions in Pittsburgh and six cities across the US. It combines performance opportunities for emerging professionals with a comprehensive training experience including coaching, master classes, and a variety of special events. Thirty-seven young artists, including singers, pianists and stage directors from the US, Korea, China, Japan, Russia, Belgium, France, Argentina, and Canada took part in SummerFest 2014.
(Harmony Township, PA) Legendary Concert Promoter Rich Engler will be displaying an awesome exhibit of Rockstar Memorabilia at ZanaFest 2014 with some never before seen pieces – A Carlos Santana signed guitar and 2 museum quality pieces from Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon. Engler will also be personalizing and signing copies of his book “ Behind the Stage Door”. You can see the exhibit and meet Rich & Cindy Engler at ZanaFest 2014 on Friday, Sept 19, 6 – 8 PM and Sunday, Sept 21, 3 – 7 PM.
ZanaFest is a music festival and celebration of the life and career of one of Beaver County’s most influential educators, Richard D. Zana. It is organized by an appreciative volunteer group of former students and col- leagues. The mission of ZanaFest is to support the Richard D. Zana Memorial Fund, of the Beaver County Foundation, a 501(C) (3) Community Foundation. The purpose of the fund is to provide music scholarships for talented area students and to benefit cancer organizations.
ZanaFest 2014, The 6th Annual Richard Zana Music Festival, will take place indoors and outdoors over 5 days, September 17-18-19-20-21 at Harmony Ridge Golf Club, 1280 Breitenstein Road (Rt 989) in Am- bridge, PA. http://www.harmonyridgeevents.com/. 57 acts will perform virtually all genres of music this year at the 5 day Music Festival making ZanaFest 2014 one of the Largest Music Festivals ever produced in the region.
All correspondence regarding ZanaFest should be directed to Greg Paul at (412) 877-3997, email: g.a.paul@att.net For more details please go to www.zanafest.org
Tonight, Kristen Linfante, Executive Director of Chamber Music Pittsburgh shatters any misconceptions you may have had about chamber music, and host Brian Edward learns that the viola isn’t just someone’s name. Plus – does the instrument you play say something about your personality? Listen to “The Full Martini” – the complete, unedited interview in audio podcast to hear Kristen’s tales from performing around the world, classic chamber music bloopers, and more! Chamber Music Pittsburgh’s 2014 – 2015 season begins Sept. 29th. www.chambermusicpittsburgh.org Continue reading “KRISTEN LINFANTE – Executive Director, Chamber Music Pittsburgh”
