NYCC | In The Loop | Nov 13, 2009

Our November Salon is Sunday, November 22, from 2-5 pm in the Ellington Room at Manhattan Plaza. Address is 400 West 43 Street, on the second floor.

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RICARDO RIVERA is performing the role of Bacchus in a new opera, "A Night of Pity" which was composed for him by Robert Cuckson. Ricardo is not just performing the lead role but also is the Artistic Director of the production in all aspects, musical, dramatic, costumes, set, etc. The performance is tonight, Friday, Nov 13, at 8:30 in Mannes' concert hall at 150 W 85th St between Amsterdam and Columbus.

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ROGER BLANC performs live at Gizzi's Coffee Bar, tonight Friday, November 13 from 7-8pm, with Billy Eric on bass & Brian O'Neill on percussion. Gizzi's Coffee Bar is at 16 W 8th Street (west of 5th Ave., east of Macdougal)

(212) 260-9700

http://www.gizzisnyc.com/About_Gizzis.html 

http://www.gizzisnyc.com/Music_Nights.html 

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CESAR VUKSIC is performing a piano solo recital at the Syosset Public Library in Long Island. The program, titled "European  and Argentinean Music," includes compositions by Chopin, Debussy, Bartok, Ginastera, and Argentinean Tango Art Music composers Piazzolla, Salgan, Cobian and Belisario Perez. Saturday, November 21 at 7:30pm. Syosset Library, 225 South Oyster Bay Road, Syosset, Long Island.

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In the next week we have more NYCC goodness from JOSEPH PEHRSON (Nov 18 at Players Theater) and SOFIA DIMITROVA singing PAUL MORAVEC (Nov. 16 at Mannes College). Can't recall the details?Remember you can always head to nycomposerscircle.blogspot.com to read an archive of older In The Loops.

NYCC | In the Loop | Nov 6 2009

Our November Salon is Sunday, November 22, from 2-5 pm in the Ellington Room at Manhattan Plaza. Address is 400 West 43 Street, on the second floor. It's been some time since I mentioned it here, but it is worth noting that our use of this room is thanks to the effort of GENE MCBRIDE. Thanks, Gene!

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The piano duo Stephanie Ho and Saar Ahuvia will perform piano four hand works by Long Island Composers Alliance composers Herbert Deutsch, Paul Hefner, Jay Anthony Gach, DANA RICHARDSON, Denise Broadhurst, Joel Mandelbaum, and Henry Martin. In addition, the duo will present the four hand version of Igor Stravinsky's ballet, Petrushka. The concert will be held this Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 2 PM at Park Ave. Methodist United Church, 106 E. 86th St. NYC, NY  Suggested Donation : $10. Reception to follow concert. For more information call 212-427-5421 or email Dana Richardson, Publicity at richardson_dana@hotmail.com

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Soprano SOFIA DIMITROVA will perform several songs by Honorary Member PAUL MORAVEC at Mannes College of Music, 150 West 85th Street, on Monday, Nov 16. The concert starts at 8pm in the second floor Concert Hall and is free. This is the fall semester version of New Music from Mannes College faculty composers: also on the bill are composers David Tcimpidis, David Loeb, and Robert Cuckson. For more information, call 212-580-0210 ext. 4817.

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JOSEPH PEHRSON shares this concert which will be of interest to listeners of new music: The Composers Concordance presents SKINS & BREATH, a concert of new music performed by soprano Melanie Mitrano and percussionist Peter Jarvis on Wednesday, November 18, 8PM at The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal St., NYC.

The concert will be in two parts: the first with noted new music soprano Melanie Mitrano, which will explore the relationship between modern classical art song and jazz. She will showcase works by composers John Musto, Paul Bowles, Lori Laitman, Christopher Berg, William Bolcom, David Eddleman and Lee Hoiby. Ms. Mitrano will be joined by classical pianist Judith Munro deWette for that part of the program. She will then join jazz pianist Matt King for renditions of 6 of her own jazz songs. The second half of the concert will be devoted to the extraordinary percussionist Peter Jarvis, who will play 5 pieces on drum set by composers Gene Pritsker, David Saperstein, Wayne Peterson, Anthony Cornicello and Carlos Delgado. Two of these pieces are world premieres and two will include electronics.

Tickets are $10, available at the door.

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Here is a composer opportunity submitted by Lawrence Kramer; note the deadline is December 1: Fordham University, in association with the University of California Press journal 19th-Century Music and the University's acclaimed series Poets Out Loud, announces a joint song recital and poetry reading on April 24, 2010 at Fordham's Lincoln Center campus. Several New York area composers will be invited to compose settings for soprano and piano of poetry by contemporary poets, including members of the Fordham English faculty and the roster of Poets Out Loud. 

Each composer will be provided with a set of poems from which to choose and allotted 7-10 minutes of music. To be considered, please submit printed scores, whether published or prepared with music notation software, of two representative compositions for voice and piano with a combined time of no more than 10 minutes, together with a CD recording (if none is available, a MIDI realization is acceptable), a brief bio with contact information, including telephone number and e-mail address, and a SASE if you want materials returned. There is no application fee. Entries must be received at the address below between November 1 and December 1, 2009. Notifications of selection will be made no later than January 21st, 2010.  Scores of finished compositions must be received by March 21st, 2010. Composers must attend the concert (the poets will be there too, to read their work). 

Send materials to Lawrence Kramer, 791 Slate Quarry Road, Rhinebeck, NY 12572.

NYCC | In The Loop | Oct 22, 2009

Our next SUNDAY SALON will be this Sunday, Oct. 25 in the Ellington Room at Manhattan Plaza, 400 West 43 Street, second floor. We'll meet from 2-5pm.

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Your friendly In the Loop editor Richard Russell (that's me) has been behind in a number of things — and that means apologies are due to those whose events were not disseminated in a timely fashion. This includes JOSEPH PEHRSON's "Slick Clicks," a duet performed by the young ladies of the duo called Zentripetal, Jennifer DeVore, cello, and Lynn Bechtold, violin, performed last Friday.

Also, CESAR VUKSIC performed a piano solo recital at the Long Beach Library on September 27. The Program was titled: "European and Argentinean Music", and explored the links and parallels between 19th and 20th century's European great composers and 20th century's well known composers from Argentina. The Program included compositions by Chopin, Debussy, Bartok, Cobian, Salgan, Belisario Perez, Piazzolla and Ginastera. In addition, Cesar was been invited to exhibit four of his Paintings at a Group Exhibition in Town Hall, Hempstead, Long Island. Cesar writes: "All my life I had a passion for the Visual Arts as strong as my passion for Music.  When I joined NYCCe about 6 years ago, I stopped painting for lack of enough time. Since I miss it terribly, I think it is time to restart that activity. Personally, I find a strong link between these 2 different forms of artistic expression. There is in me a sort of "feedback", in the sense that my Music making influences my Paintings, and Viceversa.  Certainly there are Visual Rhythms as well as Music Rhythms, and also Structural Elements similar in both disciplines.  For instance, 20th Century music's Giants like Debussy and Bartok based many of their Compositions in the Golden Section or Golden Ratio, which is a concept derived from the Visual Arts and Architecture.  Also some great Renaissance composers based their music in the Golden Section. The  Paintings I am presenting are part of my "Water Creatures Series",  Surrealist Biomorphic fantasies." The exhibition was part of the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration.

As I extend my personal apology for the lateness of this news, I trust the NYCC shares its collective congratulations!

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EUGENE MCBRIDE's premiere of a solo piano work, "Intermezzo," will premiere in a recital by David Holzman on Friday, October 23rd, 8 PM at Bargemusic. Moored in Brooklyn just under the Brooklyn Bridge, Bargemusic presents great music up to five days a week, every week of the year. ... for information and directions see www.bargemusic.org. Gene writes, "David is a marvelous pianist, a veritable champion of new music. It is an honor to have him perform my music…it's a major recital with Session's 2nd Sonata and Wolpe's "Passacaglia" plus other works. Premiers also by Shulamit Ran and Fred Lerdahl. Hope to see you there."

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Guitarist ROGER BLANC will perform live at Gizzi's, 8:00 - 9:00 PM, Saturday, October 24, with Billy Eric on bass. Gizzi's Coffee Bar is at 16 W 8th Street (west of 5th Ave., east of Macdougal). $3 per person table minimum. Head to the N or R to 8th Street, walk west, OR A,B,C,D,E,F,V to West 4th Street; walk north, then east on 8th Street.

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EUGENE MARLOW's "Heritage Ensemble" will be joined by multi-Grammy nominee guest artist Bobby Sanabria at Jazz Tuesdays on Tuesday, October 27  at the John Birks Gillespie Auditorium inside the New York City Bahá'í Center at 53 East 11th Street (between University Place & Broadway).  There will be 2 shows at 8:00 and 9:30 pm.

The Heritage Ensemble is a quintet devoted to the concert performance of Hebraic liturgical and folksong melodies in various jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and neo-classical styles. For this performance the group consists of: Eugene Marlow (founder/leader/piano/arranger), Bobby Sanabria (drums), Todd Bashore (alto/soprano saxophones), Frank Wagner (acoustic bass), and Cristian Rivera (percussion). All arrangements are by founder/leader Eugene Marlow.

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On Wednesday October 28, 8PM: Leonard Lehrman and Helene Williams perform JOSEPH PEHRSON's "Lewis Carroll Songs" written under the expert guidance of American composer legend, Elie Siegmeister.  Other composers include Tom Cipullo, Stephen Albert, Herbert Deutsch, Gerald Humel, Stephen Lawrence, Leonard Lehrman, Dana Paul Perna, and Michael Shapiro. This performance is at New York University and the address is 32 Waverly on the second floor of the Silver Building, Room 220.  A student ID is *not* necessary for admission, regardless of what the signs might say!

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DEBRA KAYE writes, "I hope you can join me for the premiere of CHANGING FORMS, a new piece for tenor saxophone and a chamber orchestra of strings, commissioned by The Classical Saxophone Project. As in most of my music, CHANGING FORMS works with contrasting elements. If this was a story - loss and regeneration would be the themes. The incarnate dissolves into the ethereal, a heart-beat pizzicato becomes a time-ticking drum beat, and resolves into an easy bossa nova. My aim is to take the listener through an emotional process that is in the end, life-affirming.

WHEN:  Saturday, November 7 at 7:30 PM (Note the early starting time.)

WHERE:  Casa Italiana at Columbia University, 1161 Amsterdam Ave, just south of 118th St.

(By Subway:  Take the 1 train to 116th St./Columbia University; walk 1 block east to Amsterdam Ave.)

The Oct 18 NYCC Gala: Program Sneak Peek

Open publication

In the Loop | Oct 4, 2009

For your calendar: Our next SUNDAY SALON will be Sunday, Oct. 25 in the Ellington Room at Manhattan Plaza, 400 West 43 Street, second floor. We'll meet from 2-5pm.

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Soprano MELISSA FOGARTY will perform with Percussia in a concert featuring six new works written especially for the ensemble. Texts are by Auden, Kipling, Gertrude Stein, and others. Composers are Jamie Keesecker, Scott J. Ordway, David Roberts, Dennis Tobenski, Matthew Welch, and Alejandro Viñao. The concert is Oct. 10 at 3:30 in the Queens Public Library, Jackson Heights Branch at 35-51 81st Street. Subway is E/F/R to Roosevelt Avenue|Jackson Heights, or you can take the 7 to 82nd Street. The concert is free admission; more info at www.percussia.org.

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EUGENE MCBRIDE encourages folks to check out his website for details on his upcoming performances, which include premieres of Intermezzo on Oct. 23rd in a recital by David Holzman at Bargemusic. See www.eugenemcbride.com for more information.

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RICHARD RUSSELL's new song cycle, The Tune is In the Tree, will receive it's premiere on Sunday, November 8 at 4:30pm. The piece was commissioned by soprano Marjorie Berg, who will also be performing pieces by Hildegard of Bingen, Barber's Hermit Songs, and a new cycle by Raphael Fusco. (Mr. Fusco is the day's accompanist.) The Tune is in the Tree is a five-song cycle based on Emily Dickinson poems. The concert is free and takes place at Mannes College of Music, 150 West 85th Street, in Goldmark Hall on the third floor.

In the Loop| Sep 13, 2009

Happy Fall! The NYCC 2009-2010 SEASON starts next Sunday, Sept 20 in the Ellington Room at Manhattan Plaza, 400 West 43 Street, second floor. This Salon will feature NYCC member EUGENE MARLOW giving a presentation on how liturgical Jewish melodies can be morphed into contemporary jazz and neo-classical styles. He says, "Essentially this is what my group, The Heritage Ensemble, does in concert performance." This will be a combination talk and music presentation. He has the melodies on CD in original form and then the way his group performs them. He will also talk about the history of the texts and the melodies.

We meet from 2-5pm. If you are new to the NYCC, now's a great time to come and get involved. As always, stay tuned to the calendar and NYCC blog at www.nycomposerscircle.org.

In the meantime, the 2009-2010 season is already taking shape and looks to be another very strong year. Hold the date of October 18 and watch for details on our special fundraiser concert. As well, keep your eye on the calendar section of the website for updates, and of course, on In The Loop. See you in September! 

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NYCC Composers who would like to schedule a work for performance at next Sunday's Salon, please send RICHARD MCCANDLESS (richard.mccandless@verizon.net) the following information: 

 

(1) title,

 

(2) instrumentation,

 

(3) performers (if it's live or a recording) and

 

(4) length.

We will take the works on a "first come, first served" basis, with the understanding that we wish to leave time for unscheduled works, as well. Following presentation of any scheduled works, we're setting aside about an hour for members (or, time permitting, guests) who bring works on a non-scheduled basis, so feel free to bring something along without formally submitting it in advance.

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World premieres of two one-act chamber operas by MARTIN HALPERN will be performed at the Church of St. Gregory the Great, 144 West 90th Street, Manhattan, on Thursday, October 1, Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 3 at 8 PM, and Sunday, October 4 at 3 PM.

 

Tickets, at $20 for adults and $10 for students, can be purchased online at www.theatermania.com or by calling Theater Mania at 212-352-3101.

 

The first opera, Purgatory, is freely based on the late play of the same name by

W. B. Yeats; the second, The Death of Oedipus, is freely based on Sophocles' last play, Oedipus at Colonus.  Each opera dramatizes the final redemption of its main character -- the guilt-ridden Old Pedlar in Purgatory and the aged and blind Oedipus in The Death of Oedipus -- after years of wandering.  Each is accompanied by one grown child – the Old Pedlar by his nameless bastard son, and Oedipus by his devoted daughter Antigone.  

 

The cast features baritone Jim Trainor as both the Old Pedlar and Oedipus; tenor Bobby Underwood as both the Young Pedlar and the Theban Officer in The Death of Oedipus; soprano Yvonne Bill as Antigone; and tenor Aram Tchobanian and baritone Joshua South as the Citizens of Colonus in The Death of Oedipus.  The pianist for both operas is Earl Buys.

 

Mr. Halpern is music director for the production. Staging is by Sonya Baehr. Costumes are by Hunter Kaczorowski and lighting by Ethan Kaplan.

 

St. Gregory the Great is between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues, and is easily reached on the 1, 2, 3, B and C trains.

18 Oct 2009 Fundraiser: Save the Date!

The NYCC will host a fundraiser concert on Sunday, October 18. The concert will feature many audience favorites from recent NYCC concerts, and many surprises as well.

The NYCC gratefully acknowledges the support of Bechstein America, which will host the concert at its New York City showroom, 207 West 58 Street.

Stay tuned for details!

In The Loop | June 13, 2009

DON HAGAR and CESAR VUKSIC will both have pieces featured in a performance by The Brooklyn Conservatory Chorale, a group that explores and performs a rich variety of musical styles, a cappella and with orchestra, from the Renaissance to the present. There will be a performance Sunday, June 14, 3:00 p.m. at Lafayette Presbyterian Church, 85 South Oxford Street (at Lafayette), Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

This performance will feature music by Stephen Chatman, Aaron Copland, Claude Debussy, Josquin des Prez, Don Hagar, Clement Jannequin, Morten Lauridsen, Claudio Monteverdi, Randall Thompson, and Cesar Vuksic.

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Christine Moore will perform CESAR VUKSIC's Nana for Mezzo, Cello, and Piano this Thursday, June 18 at Christ and St. Stephen's Church in Manhattan, 120 West 69th Street, between Broadway and Columbus. The concert is an all-Spanish affair, with pieces by (in addition to Cesar): Federico García Lorca, Enrique Granados, Frederic Mompou, Mohammed Fairouz, Antón García Abril, and Joaquin Turina. The concert will be repeated in July in Granada, Spain. Suggested donation is $20 ($10 for students/seniors).

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The NYCC in 2008-2009 — what a terrific season! There are too many countless people to thank, including our members, performers, producers, guests, donors, and so many others, each who contribute in ways large and small. For those who didn't know, programs from our past several years are posted online at our website, www.nycomposerscircle.org. In the right-hand sidebar, click on "Prior Seasons." 

In the meantime, the 2009-2010 season is already taking shape and looks to be another very strong year. Hold the date of October 18 and watch for details on our special fundraiser concert. As well, keep your eye on the calendar section of the website for updates, and of course, on In The Loop. See you in September! 

In The Loop | June 4, 2009

Our final SUNDAY SALON of the 2008-2009 season is this Sunday, June 7 at the Ellington Room at Manhattan Plaza. 400 West 43, Second floor. Come join us as we wrap up another season with some special guests. (See below for the lineup.) We get started at 2pm!

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Apologies to RICHARD BROOKS for the lateness of this posting, but there is still a chance to catch Part 2 of his opera, Robert and Hal, on June 21 on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. He writes: "For those residing within the metropolitan New York area I am pleased to announce that my latest opera will be broadcast by Manhattan Cable TV. This is a production staged by The Golden Fleece, Ltd, directed by Lou Rodgers, with musical director Thomas Carlo Bo, at the Stanford Meisner Theater in June 2008."

It will be broadcast in two parts with following schedule:

Part 1: Thursday May 26, 4:30 p.m.. channel 67; Sunday May 31, 10:00 p.m., channel 56

Part 2: Thursday June 4, 5:00 p.m., channel 34; Sunday June 21, 10:30 p.m., channel 56

For those outside New York City, you may view the broadcast online at exactly the times above (EST) at http://www.mnn.org/en/viewers

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OREN FADER will offer up the American premiere of a guitar concerto composed by David Del Puerto on Friday evening, June 5 at 7:30 pm. Presented by New Paths in Music, David Alan Miller, conductor. The venue is Elebash Recital Hall at Graduate Center, City University of New York; Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, Manhattan. 
Pre-concert talk at 7:00 pm; Friday June 5 at 7:30 pm

Tickets: $20, students $10, online at Smarttix.com. or 212-868-4444

For more information: www.newpathsinmusic.org. or 212-262-2509

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JOSEPH PEHRSON offers a friendly reminder of the Composers Concordance concert of Wednesday, June 10, 7PM [NOTE TIME] at the Chelsea Art Museum. The museum is at 556 West 22nd St. at 11th Ave. Since the last In The Loop, there have been some "hip additions":  for one thing VIDEO, with the remarkable Astrid Steiner. Any of you who have happened to see Astrid in conjunction with some of Gene Pritsker's activities know what I'm talking about.  She will make the dark side of our moon glow. Also, the amazing percussionist Peter Jarvis will be on our show playing Patrick Hardish's SONORITIES VI for solo vibraphone.  And, the incredibly versatile Michiyo Suzuki, one of the best "new music" performers around, will be performing in our own Dan Cooper's TRIO.  Dan is also going to be coordinating the Otto Luening pieces, as a long-time Luening assistant and authority on his works.

The original Composers Concordance press release: Performing Arts at CAM presents the Composers Concordance Spring 2009 concert Wednesday, June 10, at the Chelsea Art Museum, home of the Miotte Foundation, 556 West 22nd Street at 11th Avenue. For this second concert of the 2008-2009 season, the Composers Concordance will present a program in which On the Moon and Beyond, the theme of a multi-media summer exhibition at the museum celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first human walk on the moon, will be reflected in new pieces written for flute, clarinet and piano. The program will feature new and recent works, including three world premieres, by the directors of Composers Concordance and music by Otto Luening, a composer long-associated with the organization. There will also be large-scale projections of the visuals behind the performers: Margaret Lancaster, flute/piccolo, Esther Lamneck, clarinet, Michiyo Suzuki, bass clarinet and Paul Hoffmann, piano. Compositions include Otto Luening's Moonflight for tape-recorded flute (1968) transcribed for flute & live electronics by Dan Cooper (2009) and performed by Margaret Lancaster, Gene Pritsker's Galileo Starry Messenger for flute, clarinet, & piano (2009) (premiere) performed by Lancaster, Lamneck and Hoffmann, Patrick Hardish's  Meyer's Moon Blues for solo clarinet (2009) (premiere), a tribute to composer Meyer Kupferman written for clarinetist Esther Lamneck, Dan Cooper's Trio for flute, clarinet, & piano (2003) performed by the three players, and JOSEPH PEHRSON's new Lunar Tunes for flute, clarinet, & piano (2009) (premiere), also for Lancaster, Lamneck and Hoffmann. Otto Luening's Chords at Night for solo piano (1988) played by Paul Hoffmann will conclude the moon and star-studded program. Tickets are $15/ $10 students/seniors and are available at the door on the evening of the concert.

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Here is the lineup for this Sunday's Salon:

1.  Discussion of Organizational Matters and Reports

John de Clef Piñeiro, NYCC Executive Director, will bring us up to date on administrative matters.  (Approx. 1/2 hour.)

 

2.  Special Presentation

Contralto Christina Ascher  will present a live performance of the following two works.  (Approx. 9 min.)

Julia Werntz (1966), "This bread I break" (1996),

from "To You Strangers" text by Dylan Thomas.

Bojidar Spassov (1949), "Vili-Samovili" (1999), after texts by W. Chlebnikov.

 

3.  Audition of Members' Works

Noah Haverkamp Frere --"String Quartet" as recorded by the Portland String Quartet.  (Approx. 9 min.)

 

Dana Richardson -- "Für Elitza" for solo piano, recorded by Elitza Harbova (Approx. 17 min.)

 

The remaining time will be devoted to presenting other works by members in attendance.

 

4.  Conclusion and Refreshments

In The Loop | May 22, 2009

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Our final NYCC CONCERT of the 2008-2009 season is next Tuesday, May 26 at a traditional location familiar to all NYCC regulars, The Saint Peters Church at the Citigroup Center, Lexington Avenue at 54th Street. The concert gets underway at 8pm and will feature compositions by two of our honorary members, PAUL MORAVEC and JOHN EATON, as well as the winner of the second annual NYCC Composition competition, a piece by BRIAN FENNELLY. JACOB GOODMAN, DEBRA KAYE, RICHARD MCCANDLESS, and CHRISTOPHER MONTGOMERY round out the terrific program. 

NYCC Performer and Composers members will be adding to excellent roster of players on the evening, including CESAR VUKSIC, piano, JOHN EATON, piano; DEBRA KAYE, piano; STEPHEN SOLOOK, percussion; RICHARD MCCANDLESS, percussion; they will be joined by some new and familiar faces, including Linda Larson, soprano; Nancy Ogle, soprano; Duo Parnas (Madalyn Parnas, violin; Cicely Parnas, cello); Leon Khoja-Eynatyan, percussion; Matt Smallcomb, percussion;  Christopher Oldfather, piano. 

 

For full details, including titles, bios, etc etc etc. you can read a sneak peek copy of the program at http://issuu.com/nycc/docs/2009_may_26

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The ACA Summer Music Festival, running from June 17-20 2009 celebrates many NYCC composers, including JOHN EATON, RICHARD BROOKS, MARGARET FAIRLIE-KENNEDY, BRIAN FENNELLY, HUBERT HOWE, and recent NYCC guest, RAOUL PLESKOW. See the full line-up of concerts, pieces, and performers at www.festival.composers.com. All concerts are at the Symphony Space Leonard Nimoy Thalia, Broadway and 95th

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DEBRA KAYE's The Beauty Way will premiere May 29th at the Second Presbyterian Church at 96th Street and Central Park West (south corner). The concert, billed as "Bach, Byrd, and Beyond" will include works by William Byrd, J.S. Bach, Orlando Gibb ons, Matthew Locke, Henry Purcell, Thomas Lupo, and Marin Marais. Admission is a $10 suggested donation to benefit the church's organ-restoration fund. Join the players at a post-concert reception.

 

The group is the Empire Viols, formed in 1994 and in residence at Second Presbyterian Church since 1998. The core group of two viols and harpsichord frequently expands to include more viols or other instruments, while maintaining a focus on the rich duo viol repertoire of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The $10 suggested donation is to benefit the church's organ restoration fund. More info at http://www.grenser.org/empire/

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JOSEPH PEHRSON writes in about the next Composers Concordance concert. Performing Arts at CAM presents the Composers Concordance Spring 2009 concert Wednesday, June 10, 7PM (NOTE TIME) at the Chelsea Art Museum, home of the Miotte Foundation, 556 West 22nd Street at 11th Avenue. For this second concert of the 2008-2009 season, the Composers Concordance will present a program in which On the Moon and Beyond, the theme of a multi-media summer exhibition at the museum celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first human walk on the moon, will be reflected in new pieces written for flute, clarinet and piano. The program will feature new and recent works, including three world premieres, by the directors of Composers Concordance and music by Otto Luening, a composer long-associated with the organization. There will also be large-scale projections of the visuals behind the performers: Margaret Lancaster, flute/piccolo, Esther Lamneck, clarinet, Michiyo Suzuki, bass clarinet and Paul Hoffmann, piano. Compositions include Otto Luening's Moonflight for tape-recorded flute (1968) transcribed for flute & live electronics by Dan Cooper (2009) and performed by Margaret Lancaster, Gene Pritsker's Galileo Starry Messenger for flute, clarinet, & piano (2009) (premiere) performed by Lancaster, Lamneck and Hoffmann, Patrick Hardish's  Meyer's Moon Blues for solo clarinet (2009) (premiere), a tribute to composer Meyer Kupferman written for clarinetist Esther Lamneck, Dan Cooper's Trio for flute, clarinet, & piano (2003) performed by the three players, and JOSEPH PEHRSON's new Lunar Tunes for flute, clarinet, & piano (2009) (premiere), also for Lancaster, Lamneck and Hoffmann. Otto Luening's Chords at Night for solo piano (1988) played by Paul Hoffmann will conclude the moon and star-studded program. Tickets are $15/ $10 students/seniors and are available at the door on the evening of the concert.

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If you did not receive the emails directly from JOHN DE CLEF PIÑEIRO recently, or have not heard the sad news elsewhere, you may like to know that two long time legends of New York's music scene announced their imminent closings. Manny's Music, at 156 West 48th Street near Broadway is closing after 73 years, as is Patelsons at 160 West 56, after 70 years. Both are having close-out sales, if you are interested in stopping by for a visit.

Take a sneak peek at our May 26 concert program!

May 26 2009 Concert Flier

Click to enlarge.

In The Loop | Apr 18, 2009

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Our April SUNDAY SALON is tomorrow, April 19, at The Ellington Room at Manhattan Plaza, 400 West 43 Street, second floor, from 2-5pm. GENE MC BRIDE will introduce our special guest, the esteemed composer Raoul Pleskow. Still composing at age 78, he will be speaking about changes in his personal compositional style over time, and will discuss his own life in music and his great wealth of knowledge of new music spanning many years. He will present his latest composition "Dialogue for Three Instruments." 

Also, tomorrow we will hear NATALIYA MEDVEDOVSKAYA's The First Snow for oboe, bassoon, violin, and piano recorded by the Poulenc Trio with Anton Lande, violin

And also: GENE McBRIDE's Movements for Violin and Piano presented as a Sibelius generated file.

 

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RICHARD MCCANDLESS's percussion quartet, Pile Driver, was performed this past Tuesday at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. The performance was by The Oberlin Percussion Group under the direction of Michael Rosen. Regarding Pile Driver, the Washington Post wrote "The concert ended with a piece by McCandless called 'Pile Driver,' which he introduced with the half-boast 'This piece is not subtle,' but the poetry McCandless found in the cacophony made Pile Driver absorbing." 

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Guitarist OREN FADER writes: "I'm playing two amazing pieces this Saturday, April 18th at 8 pm, accompanied by members of the Fireworks Ensemble." The pieces are Joan Tower's Snow Dreams (guitar and flute), and Charles Wuorinen's Sonata for Guitar and Piano. Also on the program: Nataraja, for flute and piano, by Jonathan Harvey; Vox Balanae, for amplified flute, cello and piano, by George Crumb; Time of Desperation, for solo piano by Caleb Burhans. The musicians are Oren Fader, guitar, Elizabeth Janzen, flute, James Johnston, piano, Leigh Stuart, cello. Details: "Members of the Fireworks Ensemble play Tenri" TONIGHT: Saturday, April 18th at 8 pm. Admission by donation at Tenri Cultural Institute, 43A West 13th Street, NY, New York 10011. 

In The Loop | Apr 11, 2009

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Our April SUNDAY SALON is a week from tomorrow, April 19, at The Ellington Room at Manhattan Plaza, 400 West 43 Street, second floor. We meet from 2-5pm and all are invited and encouraged to attend. Again we will be privileged to have a special guest: the Salon will feature a presentation by the esteemed composer Raoul Pleskow. Still composing at age 78, he will be speaking about changes in his personal compositional style over time, and will discuss his own life in music and his great wealth of knowledge of new music spanning many years. He will present his latest composition "Dialogue for Three Instruments." 

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Baritone RICARDO RIVERA has several performances of note upcoming in April. He will be singing a new piece for Baritone and Orchestra on April 13th at 8:30 with the Arts Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Stilian Kirov. Featuring new works by composition students at Juilliard and other new works including: Soliloquio en las Olas (2009) for Baritone and Orchestra, composed by Reinaldo Moya (b.1984) with a text by Pablo Neruda. Monday, April 13th, 8:30 PM, The Juilliard School, Room 309, 60 Lincoln Center Plaza (at Broadway), third floor. Admission is free, no reservations necessary.

Ricardo will also be featured in "Chromatic Voice Exchange" with conductor Saya Callner. Featuring new works for choir by composition students at Mannes and other works, including: We Are Five Friends, composed by Ronnie Reshef, a dramatic work for five solo singers and percussion on a text by Kafka. He'll also perform a song for baritone, clarinet, and piano, Shlosha Yamim (Three Days), composed by Ronnie Reshef with a text by Lea Goldberg. This event will be held Sunday, April 19th, 7:30 PM, at Mannes College of Music, Goldmark Hall on the third floor. Admission is free, no reservations necessary.

Ricardo will perform in a chamber opera, Borges and the Other #2, composed by Matthew Welch on a text by Jorge Luis Borges. The conductor is Matthew Welch, featuring his eclectic ensemble Blarvuster. Tenor Nick Hallett is also featured in this performance. Friday, April 24th, 8:30 PM at Roulette, 20 Greene Street (between Canal and Grand). 

Admission: $15 / Harvestworks & DTW members, 

Students, Under 30 & Seniors: $10; 

Roulette members / Location One members: FREE.

Reservations/Tickets: 212.219.8242 

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RICHARD BROOKS thought the NYCC readership would be interested to know about the world premiere of a new play about the life and music of Virgil Thomson. It is called Oh Virgil! A Theatrical Portrait written by Wallace Norman in collaboration with Larry Alan Smith. A two-week limited engagement will run May 1 thru May 10.  The play is produced by Woodstock Fringe in association with Judson Arts. You can learn more about this production at www.woodstockfringe.org. Tickets ($18, group rates available) can be ordered at that website or by calling (845) 810-0123. The venue is Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South (corner of West 4^th Street and Thompson Street). Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm.

April 5 Concert Program: Sneak Peak!

Here's an advance copy of this Sunday's concert at Saint Mark's Church in the Bowery; 131 East 10th Street near Second Avenue; 3pm. Click for a larger, browsable view.

In The Loop | Mar 28, 2009

REMINDER: Our THIRD CONCERT OF THE SEASON is just around the corner: Sunday, April 5 at 3pm at St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street. To see the flier (and please forward it to your colleagues!) for all the pieces and performers, click: http://www.nycomposerscircle.org/April_5_2009_Flier.jpg

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Congratulations to RICHARD BROOKS whose Lyric Piece for solo cello was premiered by Zoe Hassman on March 26 at 11:30 am at Nassau Community College in Garden City.

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CESAR VUKSIC is the recipient of a Composition Grant from "New Music Collective", a Brooklyn based organization devoted to the performance of Contemporary Music. The Grant allowed him to write for any combination of instruments or voices he wanted. His choice was writing a piece for Choir and Piano titled Wind. The composer explains: "In this composition, based in my own lyrics, I intend to express my impressions and feelings about "wind", which has been always a fascinating subject for me." The piece will be premiered on May 16 at the Brooklyn Conservatory. It will receive two more performances in June, in a Brooklyn Conservatory Chorale Program titled Songs of Nature.   

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BILL VOLLINGER will be having two premieres of his piece Raspberry Man, for narrator and instrumental ensemble, based on the story of a man who used to stand outside Jack Dempsey's Broadway Restaurant in the 1960s and stick his tongue out at the passers-by. The quartet version will be performed on March 31 at the University of Nebraska Kearney New Music Festival with Andrew White narrating, and the septet version will be performed on April 4 at the SCI National Conference in Santa Fe NM with the composer narrating. 

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Keep your announcements, concerts, and good news coming to your friendly In The Loop editor, Richard Russell, at InTheLoop@nycomposerscircle.org. (And let me know if you prefer to be removed from the list.) Until next time, let's keep each other In The Loop!

Announcing the Third Annual NYCC Composition Contest

click image for larger view

The New York Composers Circle is pleased to announce its third annual composition competition, open to composers of all ages who live in the New York metropolitan area, other than NYCC members.
The winning composition will be performed at one of the NYCC's concerts during the 2009-2010 season, and the winner will also receive one year's free membership in the NYCC.

Please submit no more than one score, together with a CD (if available), of a solo or chamber ensemble work preferably 6-12 minutes in length, but in no event more than 15 minutes, and scored
for not more than four performers on instruments not requiring purchase, rental or cartage costs. The work should not have been previously premiered. Include in your covering letter a brief bio, a
brief program note for your work, and contact information (phone, e-mail and mailing addresses). All submissions not accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope will be discarded after
the winner is announced.  The deadline for receipt is Friday, May 15th.

Send your submission to:

           New York Composers Circle
           c/o Jacob E. Goodman
           310 West 72nd St., 16A
           New York, NY 10023
           Phone: (212) 787-8309
           E-Mail: jgoodman@ccny.cuny.edu

Submissions may also be left with the doorman at that address.

In The Loop | March 3, 2009

On March 5, STANI DIMITROVA will perform RICHARD RUSSELL's Sonata for Violin and Piano at the SUNY Stony Brook Staller Center Recital Hall. This is an afternoon concert, starting at 3pm; admission is free. For directions, see http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/Music.nsf

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Mezzo soprano ANNA TONNA and pianist Daniel Daroca will present a recital of art songs by composers from Puerto Rico on Saturday March 7, 2009, 3 PM, at La Casa, 1230 Fifth Avenue, Suite 458 (between Fifth and Madison Avenue). Suggested Donation: $10.00. For more information contact (212)722-2600 or email lacasaprnyc@verizon.net

Dominican-American mezzo-soprano Anna Tonna and Cuban pianist Daniel Daroca will showcase songs by Puerto Rican composers from the past and present. Ms. Tonna and Mr. Daroca will highlight the various compositional styles of Puerto Rico's most important classical composers in the genre of art song and their song settings of Puerto Rico's national poets. This same concert will be presented at The Casals Festival of Puerto Rico by these artists on March 19, 2009. La Casa's performance will constitute the New York premiere of several of the pieces to be performed, including the "Tres Canciones de Luis Palés Matos" by Luis Prado.

This concert demonstrates the rich repertoire and variety of Puerto Rico's classical composers, with styles that show influences from folklore to romanticism, to more modern and contemporary idioms. Ms. Tonna and Mr. Daroca will interpret songs by Héctor Campos-Parsi, Awilda Villarini, Julio Mirón, Luis Antonio Ramírez, Jack Delano, Narciso Figueroa, Ernes to Cordero and Luis Prado.

The program will conclude with "Tres Canciones de Luis Palés Matos" by the young Puerto Rican composer Luis Prado. This cycle was first premiered by the mezzo Nancy Fabiola Herrera in Philadelphia. The cycle was first presented by Ms, Tonna and Mr. Daroca in Puerto Rico at the Festival Iberoamericano de las Artes in August of 2008, and was requested again for the March 2009 Casals Festival of Puerto Rico.

Mezzo-soprano Anna Tonna returned recently from Madrid where she served as U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Spain from 2007-2008. She completed an investigation of the Spanish composer Julio Gómez (1886-1973) at La Fundación Juan March, under the tutelage of the distinguished Spanish pianists Miguel Zanetti and Jorge Robaina of the Escuela Superior de Canto of Madrid. In the fields of recital and concerts, Anna Tonna has bowed with the following organizations: Música de Cámara, Los Amigos de la Zarzuela, Elysium Between Two Continents and Joy in Singing in Nueva York. The mezzo soprano has appeared in Alice Tully Hall (Lincoln Center), Weil Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall) CAMI Hall, Merkin Hall and New York's Town Hall.

Cuban born pianist Daniel Daroca has given recitals and master classes in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Mr. Daroca has worked as an accompanist at the Juilliard School and is currently on the faculty of Kean University. He has participated in the opera seasons of Opera de Colombia and Wexford Festival Opera, among others. The Alban Berg Stiftung, the Verein der Freunde der Musiklehranstalten (Vienna), the Folkwangschule Essen, the Rotary Foundation International, and the Manhattan School of Music have endorsed his accomplishments through honors and fellowships. Mr. Daroca is a vocal coach and a frequent collaborator in vocal recitals.

In The Loop | Feb 21, 2009

Our next Sunday Salon is tomorrow, Sunday Feb 22 from 2-5pm 

Sunday, February 22, 2009, 2:00pm, Manhattan Plaza Ellington Room

400 West 43rd Street

All are invited! See the end of this In the Loop for the scheduled program.

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February and March have been very busy months for our composers and performers. Remember that you can read back issues of In The Loop by going to the blog, nycomposerscircle.blogspot.com. There you will find an archive of published In the Loops in case you can't quite remember where such-and-such performance is…

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STEPHEN SOLOOK and TIFFANY DU MOUCHELLE, performing as Aurora Borealis, will be involved in several upcoming performances. They write:

March 3, 7pm - Instituto Cervantes (211 E. 49 St.) - Ibero-American Music Festival "Lorca in New York Revisisted" - We are a large part of this one day festival, all works we are a part of are inspired by poet Federico Garcia Lorca.  Albert Carbonell's "Gacella's" (World Premiere - This is only part of this Amazing 1.5 hr. work "Divan del Tamarit"),  Raphael Fusco's "Danza da Lua en Santiago" (A georgeous gem from our repertoire), and Jorge Sosa's "El Que se Inventa Solo" (One of our earliest commissions and partially re-orchestrated)

March 4, 8pm - The Italian Academy @ Columbia University - Lucy Shelton Recital - We are very please and honored to take the stage for our first time with legendary performer Lucy Shelton!  Ms.Shelton will be performing Berio's "Sequenza" and "Folk Songs" with chamber ensemble. The duo will join Lucy for a performance of Karen Rehnqvist "Puksanger - Lokcrop" (Timpani Songs) composed for 2 sopranos and timpani.

March 22, (Time TBA, please check website for updates) - Garden City Concert Series (Garden City, Long Island) - Aurora Borealis and Lucy Shelton joint concert. We are very please for our return concert to Bruce Adolphe's concert series, after a succeful concert here last season. This concert will have a repeat performance of "Puksanger - Lokcrop" and also feature a duo for Tiffany and Lucy by Dusapen.  Other rep TBA.

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There is going to be one more memorial concert in New York in honor of the memory of former NYCC member TERRY WINTER OWENS. The internationally acclaimed English twin pianists Claire and Antoinette Cann are performing at the Yamaha Piano Salon, 689 Fifth Avenue, New York on Tuesday March 10th  at 7.30pm. Their virtuosic programme on 2 pianos includes Borodin's Polovtsian Dances, Rachmaninoff's Suite No. 2 , Lutoslawski's Paganini Variations, Strauss' Blue Danube Waltzes and three works by the late distinguished New York composer, Terry Winter Owens, in whose memory this recital is given.

Tickets are $10 available from (212) 339-9995 or e-mail yasi@yamaha.com

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Program for the February 22 Sunday Salon

 

1.  Discussion of Organizational Matters and Reports

John de Clef Piñeiro, NYCC Executive Director, will bring us up to date on administrative matters.  (Approx. 30 min.)

 

 

2.  Audition of Members' Works

Gene Marlow - "Undiminished" for string orchestra in a Sibelius MIDI version.  (11 min.)

 

Dana Richardson - "Viola Sonata No. 2, Second Mvmt."  This recording features

violist Liuh-wen Ting and pianist Chris Oldfather.  (9 min.)

 

3. Special Guest Performers

 

Olga Subbotina - "The Flap of the Wing of a Violet Butterfly" 

for solo piano performed live by the composer.  (5 min.)

 

Olga Subbotina - "The Hieroglyph of a Ship" for reciter and piano. 

Set to a poem of Igor Vishnevetsky.  Olga Subbotina, piano; Igor Vishnevetsky, reciter.  Live performance (7 min.)

 

Arthur Lourie (1892-1966) "Formes en l'Air" for solo piano. 

A live performance by Olga Subbotina, piano.  (7 min.)

 

Igor Vishnevetsky will talk about his activities as a poet and his new biography of Serge Prokofiev to be published this spring.  (10 min.)

  

4.  Conclusion and Refreshments

February 14, 2009 Program

Click the program to read through the pages!

Get your own - Open publication

In The Loop | Feb 14, 2009

CORRECTION: Regarding last week's post about the concert of Mannes College faculty and alumni on Sunday, February 15. The concert begins at 1:30pm, not 1pm. (This is the concert with RICHARD RUSSELL's two premieres: a string quartet "Adagio" with NYCC performer member STANICHKA DIMITROVA on first violin; along with "When Time is Over," a collection of four Emily Dickinson songs featuring SOFIA DIMITROVA accompanied by TAMARA CASHOUR on piano. DEBRA KAYE will also be represented by two pieces: one for bass and piano, and one for solo viola da gamba.)

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Speaking of DEBRA KAYE, her piano trio, Incidental Ducklings, will be streaming live on WFMT (98.7), Chicago's classical music station on Friday, February 20th.  The concert by the new music group, Accessible Contemporary Music, begins at 12:15 pm, and includes works by Joan Tower, Paul Shoenfield, and a world premiere by Minnesota composer Justin Rubin.  

To tune in:  http://www.acmusic.org/concert_fazioli_2009.html

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STEPHEN SOLOOK will premiere Robert Cuckson's "Three Dances for Marimba" on February 19 in a concert of Mannes College Division Composition faculty. Mannes is at 150 West 85th Street. The concert starts at 8pm and will feature other Mannes faculty composers; admission is free.

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ANNA TONNA writes in that she will be singing the role of St. Theresa II in Four Saints in Three Acts. The performance is with Encompass New Opera Theater, Directed by Nancy Rhodes and conducted by Mara Waldman on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the premiere of this opera by Virgil Thomson, libretto by Gertrude Stein. This will be the oratorio version with full chorus, soloists and orchestra, to be performed on Feb. 20th at 6:30 PM, CUNY Graduate Center, Elebash Hall (34th and Fifth avenue), free admission.

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MELISSA FOGARTY, soprano, continues her February Frenzy of concerts:

Betrayal. Murder. Revenge. Passion. All are coming to the stage at The Harlem School of the Arts during Black History Month in Strange Fruit, a new American opera adapted from Lillian Smith's best-selling novel whose title was taken from the famous Billie Holiday song of the same name. Composed by Chandler Carter with libretto by Joan Ross Sorkin, Strange Fruit in Concert is being presented by The Harlem School of the Arts in association with New York City Opera. The cast of the opera includes: Janinah Burnett, Daniel Neer, Robert Hughes, Tamara Haskin, Edward Pleasant, Djoré Nance, Heather Hill, Abby Fischer, Matthew Kreger, Dominic Inferrera, Daniel Yarzebinski, Karen Lehman, Abigail Brown and Lindsay O'Neil. Melissa be playing the role of Dorothy. Performances will be conducted by Steven Gross and accompanied by Marijo Newman on piano. 

Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 at 8pm and Sunday, March 1 at 2pm. 

HSA Gathering Space, 645 St. Nicholas Avenue 

(between W. 141 & 145 St), NYC

Admission $15. Tickets on sale now. Call 212-926-4100, ext.304.

Original musical documentary theater: Eve Sicular investigates her activist / pianist / psychiatrist Grandma's Cold War time capsule. Featuring Metropolitan Klezmer bandmates, acclaimed actor Moe Angelos and me, leaving most of my  opera chops at the door and showcasing a few other tricks I have up my sleeve. I portray a couple of different characters, improvise an operatic recitative a la 18th c. style, and sing jazz (improv too), rock and klezmer!

The premiere was a Time Out NY Critics' Pick.

Saturday, Feb 28, 2009 8 pm

Puffin Cultural Forum, 20 Puffin Way, Teaneck NJ 07666

Suggested $5 donation. 

Info: (201) 836-8923 or http://www.puffinfoundation.org/forum/forum_new