NYCC - In The Loop - Jan 23, 2007

Announcing the New York Composers Circle Blog! Visit (and bookmark!)
nycomposerscircle.blogspot.com. We'll keep a record here of past In
the Loops, so if you forget a date you can always look back to this
spot. Also, if you are up to speed on RSS feeds, you can subscribe to
the blog so NYCC news can be "pushed" to your feed reader. This blog
is still in its infancy, but we hope to be able to accommodate
different kinds of new music posts here. Stay tuned!
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PAUL MORAVEC, our honorary composer member, wants us to know about
the following concert. He writes: "This will be a fantastic recital
on Thursday night at Symphony Space/Thalia. It's the opening concert
in the Composers Project series. Note that rush seats @ $10 are
available beginning an hour before showtime, so one can just show up
at the box office. See you there I hope - best - Paul

John Corigliano - Mr. Tamborine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan
A part of the The Composers Project series.

Composer John Corigliano first attracted international attention for
his Sonata for Violin and Piano (1963), which was awarded top prize
at the 1964 Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. Corigliano's
score for Ken Russell's Altered States (1980) got him an Academy
Award nomination and he then went on to win the Oscar for his score
to François Girard's The Red Violin (1998). He was also awarded the
Grawemeyer Award, the most lucrative prize in the world of
contemporary classical music, for his Symphony No. 1 (1990), written
in response to the AIDS crisis.

The composer's numerous vocal and choral works include the "memory
play in the form of an oratorio", Dylan Thomas Trilogy (1999), the
song cycle Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan (2000) and his
most ambitious work to date, the opera The Ghosts of Versailles
(1991), presented in New York by the Metropolitan Opera.

Here's the link for more info:
http://www.symphonyspace.org/genres/eventPage.php?genreId=2&eventId=1796

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NYCC percussionist STEVE SOLOOK is a member of new music ensemble
Tonal Center Trio, which also features Tiffany DuMouchelle, soprano,
and Adam Berkowitz, clarinet. They will will be presenting a concert
this Friday, Jan. 26, 2007 at 8pm. The concert is at Second
Presbyterian Church, 4 West 96th St. (at Central Park West). Pieces
are by Raphael Fusco, David Loeb, Jules Massenet, Roberto Sierra,
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Heitor Villa-Lobos. Suggested donation is
$10. Hint: This group aggressively seeks out new music, so for all of
you composers out there interested in writing for an interesting
ensemble, come and see what they're all about. More info about the
group is at www.tonalcentertrio.com

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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!

NYCC - In The Loop - January 17, 2007

Happy New Year! Our first Salon of the new year is this Sunday, January 21, from 2-5 pm in the Ellington Room at Manhattan Plaza, 400 W 43, enter 9th Avenue (second floor). Hope to see you there!

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DON HAGAR will be included in a concert offering $10 admission for NYCC members: Boston's venerably irreverent Composers in Red Sneakers (celebrating 25 years of kicking new music in the ear end) presents: XANTHOS ENSEMBLE, Sunday, Jan. 28th, 2007, 3pm. $15 General Admission/$10 students & seniors, NYCC members (FREE admission for anyone wearing red sneakers!)
St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, 131 East 10th Street (at Second Ave.) Sundry sounds by: David Rakowski, Yu-Hui Chang, Howard Frazin, Donald Hagar, Margaret McAllister, Lansing McLoskey, Peter McMurray, Ronald Smith, and the winner of the 2006 National Young Composers Competition. More info at 718-302-0833 or

composersinredsneakers@gmail.com

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Just in time for Valentine's Day, RICHARD RUSSELL contributes an original pop song with a text by Sappho, I Am Greener Than Grass , to "Love Stories", a theatrical work with original dance and music, presented by the Ollom Dance Company. There are two shows, February 11, 2007 at 3pm and at 6pm. The venue is the LGB&T Center at 208 West 13th Street. The full press release is at http://www.prismaticproductions.com/onstage/productions/LoveStories/index.php and tickets may be ordered at http://www.prismaticproductions.com/onstage/productions/LoveStories/ticketform_021107.pdf.

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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!

NYCC - In The Loop - December 18, 2006

Our RECORDED READINGS for the year are now set. The NYCC gratefully acknowledges Frank & Camille's Fine Pianos Inc, the hosts for our Recorded Readings, on the Second Floor at 29 West 57th Street, in Manhattan. Visitors are welcome to attend the Recorded Readings. Note: Due to limited seating, visitors can only be seated on a first-come, first-served basis. The dates are February 15, 2007, March 29, 2007, and April 19, 2007. Start time for each evening is 6:30. Be watching for a Call for Scores after the new year.

Also note our first Salon of the new year will be January 21, 2007 at the Ellington Room, 2-5pm.
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We join Executive Director JOHN DE CLEF PIÑEIRO in thanking JOSEPH & LINDA PEHRSON for hosting our annual holiday party! John wrote: "Our NYCC spirits were not only raised but were exemplified by the generous hospitality of our dear hosts Joe and Linda. And for that convivial afternoon (and it wasn't the first) we want to thank and acknowledge them as colleagues and friends!" (For those of you who got this email directly from John, sorry I can't include the turkey background art!)
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PETER DIZOZZA's next performance is a simple piano set at SideWalk, 94 Ave A at East 6th Street, Tuesday, December 19th at 9...
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NYCC follower HENRY GREENBERG has in storage an antique Mason Hamlin, an AA from 1929, serial #36836, that began life as a player so has a sounding board larger than a standard AA. It is now in Yonkers. He would like to donate it to an organization that can offer an IRS recognized charitable status. He writes: "It needs work and I suspect an organization would need to have a fund raiser or two to get the job done. It now resides at a warehouse/restoration shop that can do the job." If interested, contact Henry Greenberg at 212-496-2665
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From the editor: Thank you for keeping In The Loop with the New York Composers Circle. Wherever your travels this holiday season, be safe and joyous. Looking forward to a very happy new year with lots of new music! -- RR
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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!

Honorary Composer Member Paul Moravec in review

From the Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2006.

"The Musician Next Door: How to make youngsters care about artistic pursuits"

By Terry Teachout
[Excerpt]

Last Sunday I went to a concert by the Amelia Trio, an exciting young chamber-music group whose fresh-faced members teamed up with the great clarinetist Richard Stoltzman to perform "Tempest Fantasy", a piece by Paul Moravec that won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for music. Mr. Moravec, who lives in New York City, was there as well, and he talked to the audience about his piece, explaining in a clear, no-nonsense way how its various themes were musical portraits of the characters in Shakespeare's play. As Mr. Moravec spoke, the musicians played the themes associated with Ariel, Prospero, and Caliban. Then they played the whole piece from start to finish, and when they were done, "Tempest Fantasy" received the kind of standing ovation that any composer of modern music would die for.

It occurred to me as I listened that what Mr. Moravec had to say about "Tempest Fantasy," illuminating as it was, was no important than the mere fact that he was willing to get up on stage and talk about his work in so plain-spoken and unassuming a manner. Most concertgoers, after all, have never met a major classical composer, much less heard him tell a self-deprecating joke.

All at once I remembered another Sunday afternoon years ago when I tuned in one of Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts. The topic was American music, and at the end of the program Bernstein introduced an ordinary-looking man in a business suit who proceeded to conduct the finale of a symphony he'd written. The man, Bernstein explained, was Aaron Copland, and the piece was his Third Symphony, one of the permanent masterpieces of American art. Young as I was, I got the message loud and clear: Art doesn't just drop from the skies. It's a normal human activity, something that people do for a living, the same way they paint houses or cut hair. It is a message that every artist in America should be sending as clearly – and frequently – as possible.

From our Executive Director

I hope you don't get tired of hearing good news, or worse, getting used to it, but the success of last night's inaugural concert of the 2006-2007 season was yet another proofthat our NYCC is moving in the right direction for all of us!

Not only did we have a nearly full house,
not only did we have elegantly-designed programs with substantial program notes, 
not only did members and performers and audience alike express enthusiasm about how the concert went,
not only did we do very well in contribution receipts at the door,
not only did we have the pleasure of a very acoustically and aesthetically satisfying concert hall experience,
not only did we also enjoy a very warm, lively, tasty and well-arranged and well-attended post-concert reception,
and not only did all of our featured and volunteer composers give of themselves as if to support their own families,
but all of this happened on what was perhaps the coldest night that NYCC is likely to have this concert season!

In my book, you are all like stars lighting up a night sky and, your cooperative example is showing us how to make a big difference!

Special Thanks to Patricia Leonard for producing a very successful concert;
to our featured composers (Roger Blanc, Alla Borzova, Richard Brooks, Peter Dizozza, Victor Frost, Martin Halpern, Patricia Leonard and Eugene Marlow) for proving that we can all reach our audience;
to our fine roster of performers, members and non-members alike (Mary Barto, Roger Blanc, David Ciucevich, Jennifer DeVore, Peter Dizozza, Oren Fader, Victor Frost, Sibylle Johner, Adam Kent, Nataliya Medvedovskaya, Ana Milosavljevic, and Christopher Oldfather) for sharing their artistry;
to Tamara Cashour, Lois Dilivio, Gene McBride, Chris Montgomery, and Miki Nakanishi for all of your vital support (with the reception and the contributions table);
to Richard Russell for a very fine printed program and other publicity;
to Eugene Marlow for his press outreach and related publicity and for obtaining the Engelman Recital Hall for our use; and, finally, to all of our members who notified others of, or encouraged attendance at, our concert.

Thank you all for showing the NYCC spirit!

JOHN

NYCC Holiday Party REMINDER

Hello all,

For those of you who attended last night's NYCC concert -- thank you so much for braving the cold and supporting new music! And if you were unable to attend, be sure to mark our next two dates in your calendar: 3/9/07 and 6/5/07. Details about these concerts are at www.nycomposerscircle.org (as is information about our first salons of the new year). (Click on CALENDAR.)

But for now, it's time to celebrate the holiday season. Our December Salon is a Holiday Party being hosted by JOSEPH and LINDA PEHRSON. (Large, large thanks to them!) We get underway at 3pm, Sunday, December 10. 

The last announcement omitted the apartment letter, so be sure to make a note of it: 484 W. 43 St. #35H (Manhattan Plaza). 

Remember, if you plan to present some music, *live* music is especially encouraged.

See you there!

NYCC - In The Loop - Dec 5, 2006

Our first concert of the season is just three days away! EUGENE MARLOW, the Director of Media Relations for the NYCC, provides the following easy-to-remember summary for the concert this Friday. (Be sure to have a look at the linked directions to the hall -- very helpful!)

WHO:    The New York Composers Circle
WHAT:   Eight original chamber music works
DATE:    Friday, December 8, 2006
TIME:     8:00 p.m.
PLACE:  Engelman Recital Hall, Baruch College, C.U.N.Y.
               55 Lexington Avenue
               (between 24th and 25th Streets)
 
TICKETS: $15 suggested donation, payable at the door 

For a full list of composers and pieces on this concert, click here.

For directions to Engleman Recital Hall click here.

Reception to follow the concert!

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In all the excitement of preparation for our first concert of the year, let's not forget that our December Salon is this Sunday, December 10... And as is fast becoming a highlight tradition of the NYCC's year, we again thank JOSEPH AND LINDA PEHRSON for agreeing to host our annual holiday bash. In the spirit of keeping things festive, *live* music and performance is strongly encouraged (although a CD player is on hand if needed). We'll be getting started at 3pm (not 2pm, as in prior meetings), at 484 West 43 Apartment #35 (10th Avenue, Manhattan Plaza). The most frequently asked question: "What should I bring?" Answer? From Joe himself: "We ask that people not bring anything.  We will have everything necessary." Let's all get together and celebrate our first concert of the year and the coming holidays.

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While you've got your calendar out, our next two salons will be January 21 and February 18, again at the Ellington Room, and again at 2pm. More to follow as we get closer to these dates. Thanks to GENE MCBRIDE for making the arrangements.

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Apologies to OREN FADER for getting this out so late, but it sounds so interesting! He'll be playing a new electric guitar concerto with the Sarah Lawrence College Orchestra, Martin Goldray, conductor. The piece, Concerto for Electric Guitar and Orchestra, is written by John Yannelli and is receiving its premiere tonight, Tuesday, December 5th, 8 pm at Reisinger Hall, Sarah Lawrence College, 1 Mead Way in Bronxville. This is a free concert.

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A correction from JENNIFER GRIFFITH. On Wednesday (Dec 6th), she will be playing piano with the CUNY Graduate Center Contemporary Music Ensemble, performing the new piece "Tania," a tribute to composer Tania León -- The concert is at 8pm (and not 7:30 as previously announced.) Visit www.jennifergriffith.com for more details about this piece and the performance. Admission is free. 

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