March 2009 Archives

La Bohème - 3^rd European Orchestra and Opera Workshop

16^th September - 13^th October 2009

The Summer Opera Bamberg is a European project aimed at promoting young orchestra and opera talent. It offers qualified students and college graduates of EU Member States the possibility to gather first practical opera experience for their professional career. Eligible are music students and young graduate musicians as well as talented vocal students and young, already professionally qualified singers with first opera experience. From the middle of September until the beginning of October Puccini's "La Bohème" will be produced together in a three-week workshop. Subsequently the opera will be presented several times in October at the theatre of Bamberg.

Edda Moser, the well known soprano singer and highly appreciated vocal teacher will offer an exclusive masterclass "singing" featuring one-on-one tuition for the soloist ensemble of the SOB. The artistic director of the house Rainer Lewandowski takes over the artistic direction. Music director of the SOB is Till Fabian Weser who already had responsibility for the successful Summer Opera Bamberg 2005 and 2007. Besides the artistic and musical courses the participants have the possibility to learn important strategies in the field of career development and self-management in personal one-on-one interviews with the career planner and tenor Dirk Schauß.

Read more about this at the Summer Opera Bamberg website:

   www.sommer-oper-bamberg.de

Summer 2009 Adult Enrichment Programs

Has it been a long time since you have had a chance to enjoy the arts and express your own creativity?

Welcome to Interlochen College of Creative Arts – a collection of workshops for adults designed to help them grow and reconnect with their favorite art form. Here you can experience a new art form or learn innovative ways to express an old talent. If you are an educator, you can earn Continuing Education Units. Interlochen College of Creative Arts has put it all together for you in a series of courses that deliver the same high-quality educational experience you would expect from Interlochen.

Our programs are planned to accommodate your busy schedule. Some workshops are just a day long; others a weekend. Many workshops immerse you in a week-long, arts-filled learning vacation. And, it is all right here in the beauty of Michigan's north woods, clear blue lakes and all the art that is Interlochen.

Read more about this at the Interlochen College website:

   www.interlochen.org/college/2009_programs

Pacific Chorale to Present Bach's St. John Passion

Concert on April 11^th - Holy Saturday - to Feature the John Alexander Singers, Musica Angelica and Pacific Chorale at the Orange County Performing Arts Center

Pacific Chorale's 2008-2009 concert season concludes April 11^th at the Orange County Performing Arts Center's Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts with Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion. The concert, sponsored in part by Phillip N. and Mary A. Lyons, will feature Pacific Chorale's 24-voice professional chamber choir, the John Alexander Singers, and period instrument ensemble Musica Angelica, echoing the performing forces of Bach's day. Members of the larger Pacific Chorale ensemble will take the role of the congregation in this Holy Saturday presentation. Featured soloists include tenor Aaron Sheehan as the Evangelist, and baritones Hugh Davies and Ralph Cato as Jesus and Pilate, respectively. One hour prior to the performance, Dr. Robert M. Istad, Director of Choral Studies at Cal State Fullerton and Assistant Conductor of Pacific Chorale, will provide insights into Bach's work and its performance in an onstage concert preview.

Pacific Chorale is one of America's great choirs, delighting national and international audiences with exceptional choral performances since 1968. Internationally recognized for exceptional artistic expression, stimulating Americanfocused programming, and influential education programs, Pacific Chorale is a touchstone in its field. Pacific Chorale presents a significant performance season of its own at the Orange County Performing Arts Center and is sought regularly to perform with the nation's leading symphonies. Under the inspired guidance of Artistic Director John Alexander, Pacific Chorale has infused an Old World art form with California's hallmark innovation and cultural independence.

Read more about this at the Pacific Chorale website:   www.pacificchorale.org

The 64^th Prague Spring International Music Festival

May 12 - June 6, 2009

In 1946 Prague and the whole Czechoslovak Republic celebrated the first anniversary of the end of the Second World War. At the same time, the Czech Philharmonic was celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of its founding, and the Prague Spring International Music Festival was born.

It was the result of almost seventy years of endeavours by people involved in music in Prague, including the German-speaking population, to organize annual music festivals with the participation of top soloists and orchestras from all over the world. Featured perfromers this year include Prague Radio Symphony Orcestra, Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, Juan Diego Flórez, Ladislav Doležel, Jaroslav Tuma, Shlomo Mintz, Janácek Chamber Orchestra, Kocian Quartet, Leonidas Kavakos, Jordi Savall, Il Giardino Armonico, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Hawthorne String Quartet, and Libor Nováček.

Read more about this at the Prague Music Festival website:   www.festival.cz

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony Announce 2009-10 Season

Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) today announced details of the San Francisco Symphony's (SFS) 2009-10 season, including the Orchestra's Centennial Initiatives – a multi-year expansion of its commissioning activities, an ambitious composer and artist residency project, and special programs, concerts and events designed to draw new audiences to orchestral music in Davies Symphony Hall and beyond, as the Orchestra prepares to mark its 100^th season in 2011-12.

Highlights include:

• Orchestra's 98^th Season Features Expanded Commissioning Activities and Ambitious Composer and Artist Residency Project as Part of SFS' Multi-Year Centennial Initiatives;
• New Project San Francisco Artist and Composer Residencies Feature Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Composer George Benjamin;
• Season Includes Six SFS Commissions by Peter Lieberson, Osvaldo Golijov, John Adams, Rufus Wainwright, Victor Kissine, and Thomas Larcher;
• Orchestra to Perform Three World Premieres, One U.S. Premiere and 20 SFS Premieres;
• Pianist Emanuel Ax Performs Three World Premieres with Yo-Yo Ma and Dawn Upshaw;
• Michael Tilson Thomas' Fifteenth Anniversary Season Opens September 9 in a Gala Concert with Lang Lang and Concludes with Berlioz's Large Scale Choral Masterpiece Roméo et Juliette;
• MTT Leads the Orchestra in a Three-Week Mahler Festival with Concerts Recorded and Filmed for SFS Media and Keeping Score;
• Keeping Score - Broadcasts Slated for Fall 2009 on PBS, with Episodes on Berlioz, Shostakovich and Ives;
• SFS Media to Release Orchestra's Recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand;
• SFS and Musicians Ratify New Four-Year Contract Extending Beyond 2011-12 Centennial Season; ;
• New Media Agreement Expands Orchestra's Ability to Reach New Audiences in Innovative Ways;
• National Tour Includes Performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Resurrection at Carnegie Hall;
• Distinguished Roster of Artists and Conductors Includes the SFS Debuts of Vasily Petrenko, Rufus Wainwright, Christine Schäfer, and David Fray, and the Return of Itzhak Perlman, Lang Lang, Marc-André Hamelin, Yefim Bronfman, Yuja Wang, Christian Tetzlaff, Susan Graham, and Thomas Hampson;
• Great Performers Series and Special Concerts Feature Visits by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Gustavo Dudamel, Berlin Philharmonic with Sir Simon Rattle, Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig with Riccardo Chailly, and the Mariinsky Orchestra with Valery Gergiev.

Read more about this at the San Francisco Symphony website:

   www.sfsymphony.org

Chicago Philharmonic to Celebrate Mendelssohn's 200^th Birthday with Special Concert

Chicago, IL - Join the world-renowned Chicago Philharmonic for an enchanting evening celebrating the 200^th birthday of German composer Felix Mendelssohn. Titled "Mendelssohn's 200^th Birthday," the concert begins at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 15 at Pick-Staiger Hall on the campus of Northwestern University. This is the third concert in the Chicago Philharmonic's 2008-2009 season.

The concert begins with the powerful music of Bohemian Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu, the Quartet for Clarinet, Horn, Cello and Side Drum (1924), H. 139. Following that will be Franz Schubert's popular favorite the Trout Quintet in A Major, D. 677. This graceful and lively piece will be performed with a violin, viola, cello double bass and piano. The centerpiece of the evening will be Felix Mendelssohn's Octet for Strings in E-flat major. This was a piece Mendelssohn composed at the very young age of 16 and it is one that truly demonstrates his brilliance. It will be presented by a carefully chosen ensemble comprised of four violins, two violas and two cellos.

"We are thrilled to be able to offer such an exciting evening honoring Mendelssohn's 200^th birthday. He was a remarkable composer and the Octet is a real testament to his giftedness. We hope that people will take time out of their busy schedules to experience the magic of this performance," said artistic director James Berkenstock.

Read more about this at the Chicago Philharmonic website:

   http://www.chicagophilharmonic.org/

InterHarmony International Music Festival 2009

San Francisco, California, USA
June 30 - July 12, 2009

Birklehof, Schwarzwald, Germany
July 22 - August 3, 2009

Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany
August 4 - 16, 2009

InterHarmony International Music Festival offers the opportunity to spend almost six weeks in Europe and America studying with an internationally renowned faculty of many well-known soloists and chamber musicians. The festival will be held in San Francisco, California, USA; Birklehof, Germany; and Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany. Each will offer four one-hour private lessons, ample practice facilities, and the opportunity to perform in orchestra and chamber-ensembles coached by faculty members. Master classes will be offered on various instruments and there will be numerous festival concerts, all of which will be open to the public. In addition, there will be planned excursions to a variety of fascinating destinations in each of the three locales.

Read more about this at the InterHarmony International Music Festival website:

   http://www.interharmony.com/