NINA & PETER KHAN – Elite Show Band

What do Lou Reed, Davy Jones, and Donna Karan have in common? They’ve all been entertained by Nina and Peter Khan of The Elite Show Band! This class act is based in Pittsburgh and has traveled the world – but has it prepared them for the xylophone stylings of host Brian Edward? This episode has it all: a love story, an impromptu musical number, and the answer to what to do when Salma Hayek asks you to play Bruce Springsteen. Listen to “The Full Martini” – the complete, unedited interview in audio podcast to learn the trials of traveling parents, just who were “Rocks & Candy,” and what exactly Florence Henderson is the godmother of. PLUS: Rex Reed – Peter drops his name, but just what did Mr. Reed drop?? Continue reading “NINA & PETER KHAN – Elite Show Band”

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New Hazlett premieres new piece by Federico Garcia-De Castro

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Pittsburgh, PA— This August, local composer and musician Federico Garcia-De Castro kicks off a new season of Community Supported Art at the New Hazlett Theater with an evening of music arranged for two pianos. Federico’s music will make you rethink your preconceptions of piano music with four distinct yet interconnected movements including: Alexander Borodin’s “Au covent,” Simon Eastwood’s Interference for two performers at piano, Federico Garcia-De Castro’s Livre Pour Deux Pianos (Book for Two Pianos) and the world premiere of Renderings, an all-new work specially commissioned for the CSA.

“Our internal image of the sound of the piano is usually tied to the technical and aesthetic limitations of the single performer,” Federico explains. “When two performers are present, the familiar sound emancipates, takes on new roles, reveals hidden possibilities.”

Federico has a great number of conducting and composition credits to his name ranging from local performances with Alia Musica, to national and even international appearances. This past summer, Federico was featured composer in the Thailand International Composition Festival, and participated in a residency in Panama, taking to 10 the number of countries where his music has been performed. He returns to Pittsburgh this August to perform alongside Daniel Pesca in this New Hazlett CSA debut.

 

Federico Garcia-De Castro Piano Duet Concert will perform at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh PA 15212 on August 14, 2014 at 8PM.  Tickets are available at http://newhazletttheater.org/#csa

 

ABOUT THE CSA

A brand new crop of local artists takes the New Halzett stage in the 2014-2015 Community Supported Art Performance Series. Now in its second year, this performing arts harvest is particularly bountiful with seven new performance groups creating work for a unique take on the traditional CSA.

Here’s how it works: for $100 per share in the program, patrons become shareholders in the New Hazlett CSA. In addition to six fresh performances from seven performance groups (the last show of the season is a double feature), shareholders also gain access to exclusive events and opportunities to interact directly with the artists they’re sponsoring.

 

Additional Upcoming CSA Performances
Moriah Ella Mason, October 11, 2014 at 8pm

Moriah Ella Mason’s Contained walks the line between wild and domestic. Inspired by the strange assortment of creatures found in natural history museums, dancers evolve from insects to animals, from humans to monsters, myths, and beyond.

 

Jennifer Myers, December 12, 2014 at 8pm

Rivers, streets, sidewalks, and bridges…Performance artist Jennifer Myers takes six performances created for public spaces and translates them into an all-new work for the New Hazlett stage.

 

Jil Stifel and Ben Sota, February 12, 2015 at 8pm

When contemporary circus meets dance, anything is possible. Dropped into this sweeping landscape, performers ignite the world around them. Surprise and wonder merge together, forming an unbelievable kind of beauty.

 

Anya Martin, April 2, 2015 at 8pm

Anya Martin, along with the Hiawatha Project and a team of performing artists, disassembles the legendary hero of the American railroad, John Henry. JH: Mechanics of a Legend looks deep into our cultural past for the human behind the folklore.

 

CSA Double Feature

Teena Marie Custer and Roberta Gudio, June 11, 2015 at 8pm

Teena Marie Custer examines how we create personas across social networks with a solo hip-hop dance performance. Roberta Guido uses dance to explore the powerful effects of touch on human emotion.

 

 

The Sounds of Science: Symphony and Science Center partner for 21+ night

 

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PITTSBURGH, July 23, 2014 – Carnegie Science Center is teaming up with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for a special adults-only evening, featuring symphonic sounds with a scientific twist. “The Sounds of Science” is the theme of the Science Center’s next 21+ Night on Friday, Aug. 1, from 6 – 10 pm.

Throughout the evening, musicians will demonstrate their instruments, including a double bass and a bassoon. They’ll even hook up instruments to the Science Center’s Rubens’ Tube, which visually demonstrates an instrument’s sound waves and pressure by shooting flames into the air.

Visitors can dance on a giant floor piano and play a tune with Boomwhackers, hollow percussion tubes. Stations throughout the building will offer the materials for DIY musical instruments, including a one-note harmonica.

Guests can test their musical knowledge at a live action Trivial Pursuit game, complete with a prize giveaway. Visitors can pose with a Mozart-cut out – and enter to win a Mozart prize pack.

Fiddlesticks, the orchestra’s “fiddlin’ feline” ambassador, will make a special appearance.

As always, 21+ Night features music, cash bars, and the chance to experience four floors of hands-on exhibits – with no kids!

Participants get a discount on Omnimax films and laser shows that evening.

The cost of the event is just $10 with advance registration before noon on the day of the event or $15 after noon at the door. Guests will receive a voucher for $15 in free slot play at the Rivers Casino when they arrive, while supplies last.

21+ Nights are sponsored by Trib Total Media, and Bob and Q92 Radio.

For more information or to register, visit CarnegieScienceCenter.org or call 412.237.3400.

About Carnegie Science Center

Carnegie Science Center is dedicated to inspiring learning and curiosity by connecting science and technology with everyday life. By making science both relevant and fun, the Science Center’s goal is to increase science literacy in the region and motivate young people to seek careers in science and technology. One of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, the Science Center is Pittsburgh’s premier science exploration destination, reaching more than 700,000 people annually through its hands-on exhibits, camps, classes, and off-site education programs.

About Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1895, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is a collection of four distinctive museums dedicated to exploration through art and science: Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum. Annually, the museums reach more than 1.2 million people through exhibitions, educational programs, outreach activities, and special events.

About Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

For more than 116 years, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been an essential part of Pittsburgh’s cultural landscape. The Pittsburgh Symphony, known for its artistic excellence, is credited with a rich history of the world’s finest conductors and musicians, and a strong commitment to the Pittsburgh region and its citizens. This tradition was furthered in fall 2008, when Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck became music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. With a long and distinguished history of touring both domestically and overseas since 1900, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra continues to be critically acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest orchestras. The Pittsburgh Symphony has made 40 international tours, including 20 European tours, eight trips to the Far East, and two to South America. Under the baton of Gilbert Levine, the PSO was the first American orchestra to perform at the Vatican in January 2004 for the late Pope John Paul II, as part of the Pontiff’s Silver Jubilee celebration. The PSO has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and radio concerts. As early as 1936, the PSO broadcast coast-to-coast, receiving increased national attention in 1982 through network radio broadcasts on Public Radio International (PRI). The PRI series is produced by Classical WQED-FM 89.3 in Pittsburgh and is made possible by the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

 

JONATHAN EATON – Executive and Artistic Director, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh

It’s cocktails at the Twentieth Century Club with Opera Theater Executive and Artistic Director Jonathan Eaton! Martinis and showtunes are bandied about in delightful excess as Mr. Eaton recounts his Swahili roots, identifies what makes Pittsburgh a thriving home for opera, and entertains with the details on why Opera Theater’s Summerfest is a steel city standout. Listen to “The Full Martini” – the complete unedited interview in audio podcast for more on Opera Theater’s educational programming, pop-up happy hours, collaborations with Attack Theater, what’s in store for next year, and Brian Edward’s attempt at singing soprano! (Without a doubt, some of the best outtakes in ‘Burgh Vivant history.) Visit Opera Theater of Pittsburgh at www.otsummerfest.org Continue reading “JONATHAN EATON – Executive and Artistic Director, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh”

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Review: THE LOST TRAVELER, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble

Miss Music Nerd (in her debut ‘Burgh Vivant appearance) comes out for a cocktail to discuss the opening performance of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble’s 2014 season, THE LOST TRAVELER – a “spellbinding” experience that touched the very core of what it means to be human! When was the last time YOU experienced a “gesamtkunstwerk?” Listen to “The Full Martini” – the complete unedited interview in audio podcast for more on what’s to come from PNME in 2014 and the pros and cons of sandals! Visit Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble at pnme.org and follow Miss Music Nerd at missmusicnerd.com Continue reading “Review: THE LOST TRAVELER, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble”

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Keep on burnin’: RING OF FIRE extended through August 24

 

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     Pittsburgh, PA • July 9, 2014 – Due to popular demand, Ring of Fire – The Music of Johnny Cash has been extended through August 24 at the CLO Cabaret.  The show was previously scheduled to close August 17.  Tickets for all remaining performances are now on sale and can be purchased online at CLOCabaret.com, by calling 412-456-6666 or visiting the Box Office at Theater Square

Ring of Fire by the Numbers:

  • Over 5,000 audience members have enjoyed Ring of Fire since it opened at the CLO Cabaret May 22.
  • Instrumentation featured in Ring of Fire includes: Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Snare Drum, Electric Guitar, Harmonica, Washboard and Upright Bass. 
  • Ring of Fire features over 30 of Johnny Cash’s hits including “Country Boy,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Five Feet High and Rising,” “Daddy Sang Bass,” “I Walk the Line” and “I’ve Been Everywhere.”
  • Cast members Jon Rolf, Paul Koudouris and Santino Tomasetti used their musical prowess and Ring of Fire instrumentation to become one of just three national finalists in Dairy Queen’s S’mores Music Video Contest.  Voting concludes July 18.

Performance Schedule for Ring of Fire

Wednesday

7:30pm

Thursday

7:30pm

Friday

7:30pm

Saturday

2:00pm & 7:30pm

Sunday

2:00pm

 Tickets

Tickets start at $34.75 and are available online at CLOCabaret.com, by calling 412-456-6666 or at the Box Office at Theater Square. Groups of 10 or more can call the Group Sales Hotline at 412-325-1582 to learn more about special discounts, priority seating and corporate discounts. Visit pittsburghCLO.org for more information.

 

PAM MURCHISON – Executive Director, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble

What’s NEW in Pittsburgh this summer? Music – and plenty of it, as the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble warms up for its 2014 season! PNME’s Executive Director Pam Murchison is tonight’s cocktail hour guest on ‘Burgh Vivant, enjoying a signature martini in the Ensemble’s performance space at the City Theatre. Explore the arena of contemporary music, the minds of modern composers, and marvel in wonder as Pam and host Brian Edward create the (very) humble beginnings of “The Song of Pittsburgh” on the spot! Listen to “The Full Martini” – the complete, unedited interview in audio podcast to get a preview of Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble’s new season and more. Continue reading “PAM MURCHISON – Executive Director, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble”

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RESONANCE WORKS | PITTSBURGH brings Natural Frequency to the Hazlett

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Innovative collaboration melds music and photography

PITTSBURGH PA – Resonance Works | Pittsburgh completes its inaugural season with Natural Frequency on June 7 and 8 at the New Hazlett Theater on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Featuring music that evokes imagery of the natural world, this program melds works of Debussy, Barber, Copland, and Pittsburgh-based composer Nancy Galbraith with projected images designed by local photographer Chuck Beard.

According to artistic director Maria Sensi Sellner, “As humans, we are all a part of nature, and our work affects and is influenced by this relationship. Natural Frequency explores the interconnectivity of nature and human innovation through music, poetry, and visual imagery.”

“The musical works chosen for Natural Frequency are so evocative on their own,” says Beard, “but I am hoping to lend a different visual concept to these pieces that people haven’t considered before. The theme of the images will range from imaginary miniature verdant forests to steel-era structures standing in decay, all arranged to echo the narrative of the music.” Photos from Beard’s “Abandoned Pittsburgh” and “Wee Grove” projects will be included, along with new images taken just for this event.

The program opens with Debussy’s landmark Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, a free-form musical depiction of the poem by Mallarme that connects nature’s inspiration with artistic innovation – a theme that permeates this program as well as the mission of Resonance Works.

CMU composition professor Nancy Galbraith’s music is praised for its rich harmonic texture, rhythmic vitality, emotional and spiritual depth, and wide range of expression. In Four Nature Canticles, Galbraith sets poetry of Emily Dickinson, Robert Browning, James Joyce, and Robert Frost for women’s vocal ensemble and chamber orchestra.

One of Pittsburgh’s favorite baritones, Daniel Teadt joins the Resonance Works String Quartet in Samuel Barber’s Dover Beach. The “darkling plain” of the Arnold poem is juxtaposed in the program with Copland’s iconic Appalachian Spring Suite, a celebration of the open fields and endless possibilities of American pioneers in the wilds of Pennsylvania.

It is an uplifting conclusion to the inaugural season for Resonance Works, and a strong indicator of what is to come from this new and exciting company.

The Resonance Chamber Orchestra and Vocal Ensemble will be conducted by Artistic Director and founder Maria Sensi Sellner. Tickets are $40 (Premium) and $20 (General admission) and are available online at www.ResonanceWorks.org. Group discounts and a student rate of $10 are available.

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About Resonance Works | Pittsburgh

Inspired by Pittsburgh’s industrial and economic reinvention, Resonance Works is a collaborative and evolving company dedicated to exploring the confluence of music, space, artist, and audience. We provide artists of the highest caliber opportunities to realize works on their own creative “bucket lists,” yielding transformative experiences for artists and audiences alike. Whether we perform in coffeehouses, churches or concert halls, our venues trigger the alchemical possibilities of art, creating unique experiences that resonate with energy and passion.

 

Carnegie Carnegie hosts homage to Pete Seeger

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Ferla-Marcinizyn Guitar Duo at Carnegie Carnegie Hall with contralto Daphne Alderson

The Ferla-Marcinizyn Guitar Duo will perform at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall on Monday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m.  The concert will feature special guest Daphne Alderson and conclude with homage to legendary folk singer, activist and song writer Pete Seeger.  Seeger died on January 27 of this year at the age of 94.

Jim Ferla and John Marcinizyn have been performing together since­­­­­­­­­ 1989. Their repertoire spans five centuries and includes music by traditional and contemporary composers as well as folk, jazz, and popular arrangements.  They have performed throughout the United States as both soloists and ensemble players, including at the Smithsonian, the University of Akron, Arizona State, the Chautauqua Institution, Oberlin College, Florida State University, New York University, and Notre Dame. The have been heard on NPR, Voice of America, USIA, Chukyo TV-Nagayo, Japan, and locally on WQED-FM.

The Duo will be joined by frequent collaborator contralto Daphne Alderson.  Daphne Alderson’s diverse, eclectic career as lyric contralto includes opera, oratorio, chamber music and cabaret throughout the United States, Canada and Italy.  She performed two world premieres for the Library & Music Hall’s annual benefit: Songs that Oscar Taught Me (2009) and All Judy, All Heart (2010), tributes to Oscar Hammerstein, II and Judy Garland respectively.

“It’s really wonderful to come back to the Carnegie.  It’s such a beautiful hall, and I look forward to being mostly unplugged!” said Alderson.

“Those of us who had the privilege of hearing Daphne sign at Carnegie Carnegie Hall are thrilled to welcome her back,” says Executive Director Maggie Forbes.  “And I am blown away by the eclectic program that Jim, John and Daphne have put together for March 31!”

The program includes works ranging from virtuoso classical guitar pieces to French Renaissance and Portuguese art songs to traditional English folk songs to works by John Lennon, Hoagy Carmichael, an original composition by John Marcinizyn, as well as the tribute to Pete Seeger.

In addition to their extensive performance careers all three musicians are committed educators.  Ferla teaches guitar at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh; Marcinizyn, who also plays the banjo teaches guitar and composition at Carnegie Mellon and Seton Hill University and also teaches a class on slide guitar techniques at the Duquesne University Guitar and Bass Summer Workshop.  Alderson, who is married to Marcinizyn, teaches voice at Seton-Hill University.

The Ferla-Marcinizyn Guitar Duo is the penultimate concert in the ACFL&MH’s 2013-2014 Listen Locally series.  Matt Murchison Mutiny (euphonium, flute, piano, bass, and drums) will perform the final concert on of the season on April 28.

Tickets for the Listen Locally are $15 and may be purchased in advance at the ACFL&MH during library hours or at the box office the night of the concert.  A reception with the musicians follows the concert.  Please visit www.carnegiecarnegie.org  or call 412-276-3456 for more information.

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Listen Locally

at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall

The Ferla-Marcinizyn Guitar Duo

With Daphne Alderson, Contralto

 

Nowhere Man (1965)                                               John Lennon (1940-1980)

Dance of the Corregidor                            Manuel De Falla (1876-1946)

La Vida Breve

Trovas (Ballads)                                           Francisco de Lacerda  (1869-1934)

Em Cima Do Alto Monte

Nem de Chorar Sou Senhora

Quando Tu Abres Os Olhos

O Amor E Como A Sombra

Silhouette                                                     John Marcinizyn (b.1963)

Lo Que Vendra                                             Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)

Tango I

 

                                                INTERMISSION

 

Tant que vivray                                            Claude de Sermissy (1490-1562) 

Que ne puis-je la fougere                          Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)       

Scarborough Fair                                         Traditional English

Anthem                                                         Ralph Towner (b. 1940)

G Blues                                                          Joe Pass (1929-1994)

I found a new baby                                      Jack Palmer (1900-1976)/Spencer Williams (1889-1965)

Where Have All The Flowers Gone                      Pete Seeger (1919-2014)

We Shall Overcome

Turn, Turn, Turn

SARI GRUBER – Soprano, Pittsburgh Opera

Pittsburgh Opera soprano Sari Gruber shatters the misconceptions of “opera divas” with the swig of a martini and plenty of laughs.  Host Brian Edward talks with LA BOHEME’s leading lady about life upon the stage, musicals vs. operas, and more.  Listen to “The Full Martini” – the complete interview in audio podcast for further cocktail hour stories including “bloopers with bloomers,” and the scandalous tale of how Brian and Sari first crossed paths on stage – over 15 years ago!  After this high spirited interview, you won’t want to miss Sari and company in Pittsburgh Opera’s LA BOHEME, playing at The Benedum March 29th, April 1st, 4th, and 6th. Continue reading “SARI GRUBER – Soprano, Pittsburgh Opera”

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