PARMA Music
Festival, August 15-17
The 2013 PARMA Music Festival, the cross-genre/multiple
venue festival announced earlier this year to take place Thursday-Saturday
August 15-17, 2013 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is already generating buzz.
The Festival will feature Grammy Award-winning clarinetist Richard Stoltzman,
Portsmouth indie rock icons Tan Vampires, the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra,
soul music from Qwill and the Dejas, cellist Ovidiu Marinescu, and much more,
including multiple world premieres, a composers’ conference, and more than one
genre-bending experiment.
Here’s Sonic Scoop (“Creative, Technical & Business
Connections For NYC's Music & Sound Community”) weighing in:
“An energetic wave of classical – from new to historic to
experimental — is beaming out of the Northeast. It’s not south nor southwest —
but there’s a similar sense of musical adventure afoot. With a whole new
generation of dressed-down classical music fans emerging, PARMA has wisely
decided to give them a forward-thinking festival of live performances, all
their own. The result is a curator that’s extremely in synch with its audience,
sensing the readiness for a progressive presentation of classical and all its
rich guises. PARMA’s work encompasses an extraordinarily wide cross-section of
styles and presentations, and you’ll hear and see this diversity and
eclecticism throughout the Festival.”
The city-wide musical showcase is the brainchild of PARMA
Recordings, a New England-based music company specializing in orchestral,
chamber, choral, and commercial recordings as well as distribution, product
design, strategic marketing, and licensing and publishing. Other Festival
highlights include: 10 diverse daytime and evening concerts; listening parties;
and panels held at multiple venues in Portsmouth over the three days; 17 year
old harp virtuoso Anna DeLoi (winner of the PSO’s recent Student Concerto
Competition); live electronica pioneers fiveighthirteen, the New England String
Quartet; the newly-formed all-star PARMA Orchestra (including players from the
New York Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra, and the Boston
Philharmonic), a world premiere by legendary American composer Lukas Foss;
troubadour Sarah Blacker; Seacoast musical ambassador Dan Blakeslee; and much
more! And, it all takes place in what the Miami Herald calls, “New England’s
most appealing city.”
The festival is being produced by PARMA Recordings in
collaboration with Portsmouth Music and Arts Center (PMAC), Portsmouth Symphony
Orchestra (PSO), the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI), Boston New Music
Initiative (BNMI), The Music Hall, Great Bay Academy of Dance (GBAD), Classical
NH, and New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR).
The Festival at a Glance:
There will be 10 concerts (four presented by the Society
of Composers (SCI), one featuring top PARMA artists, one combining local and
international artists, a family-oriented orchestral concert, a piano bar
cabaret night, a Licensing showcase, and the main event at The Music Hall)
featuring contemporary music at seven venues over three days.
The Festival will also serve as the official host for the
2013 Region 1 Conference of the Society of Composers Incorporated (SCI), one of
the largest composer-service organizations in the country. Contemporary
classical composers from all over the world will be converging on Portsmouth –
their works will be performed by a wide array of modern music ensembles.
All but the main event are free – the closing concert at
The Music Hall’s landmark Historic Theater has a modest $10 ticket. For more
information: http://www.parmarecordings.com/festival/
--PARMA Recordings
Young People’s
Chorus of New York City Joined by Young Voices of Melbourne for Transmusic
Concert at 92nd Street Y, Sunday, June 30, at 4 P.M.
Concert highlights music of Australia, America, and other
world cultures.
Continuing its Transmusica series of concerts of
cross-cultural and transformative music designed to build bridges to other
world cultures and communities, the Young People's Chorus of New York City and
its artistic director/founder Francisco J. Núñez will be joined by the Young
Voices of Melbourne (Australia) at the 92nd Street Y Sunday afternoon, June 30,
at 4 p.m., the first stop on the Australian choir's six-city tour of America.
The joint performance will blend and highlight the music of Australia, America,
and other countries in an exciting intermingling of voices and world cultures.
Fifty-two members of the Young Voices of Melbourne under
their director Mark O'Leary will sing a program that includes stories of early
Australian settlers, folk heroes, and its indigenous people written by some of
the country's leading choral composers. Among them are Stephen Leek's
arrangement of Botany Bay about a
convict about to be sent to an Australian penal colony, Joseph Twist's Rain Dream about a child who has never
experienced rain; and of course, “Waltzing Matilda,” Australia's most familiar
song, in an arrangement that incorporates the native language of the Nyungar
people of western Australia.
Under Francisco J. Núñez, the program of the Young
People's Chorus of New York City includes music that shaped the American
songbook, from “Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal” from the time of the colonists,
through spirituals like “Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel,” to music from the
Broadway stage and jazz clubs of modern times. YPC's June 30 program offers a
thrilling showcase of the choreographed American songs the chorus will perform
for Chinese and Japanese audiences in a month-long tour of China and Japan this
summer, its fifth Asian tour.
Afterwards, both youth choirs will join together for an
international blending of voices in several songs, including Sesere Eeye, a
folk song from Queensland's Torres Straight Islands, and the YPC anthem “Give
Us Hope.”
Previous YPC Transmusica concerts have highlighted music
from Indonesia and Hispanic countries in Latin America, Europe and South
America.
Tickets, at $15 for adults and $5 for those under 18, are
available now at the 92nd Street Y box office or by calling 212-415-5500.
--Angela Duryea, Young People’s Chorus of New York
American Bach
Soloists Festival & Academy at San Francisco Conservatory of Music July 12-21,
2013
The Festival features two performances of Bach’s Mass in B Minor led by ABS Music
Director Jeffrey Thomas; Biber’s rarely performed Missa Salisburgensis receives its North American premiere; Baroque
cellist Tanya Tomkins in Distinguished Artist Recital; and Handel’s dramatic
oratorio Esther in concert with ABS Academy soloists.
The American Bach Soloists return to San Francisco’s
Conservatory of Music for the 4th annual ABS Festival & Academy—San
Francisco’s Summer Bach Festival—from July 12-21. With their most ambitious
Festival to date, music director Jeffrey Thomas and ABS are pleased to offer an
extraordinary line-up of concerts, recitals, and free educational events that
will engage and thrill audiences. In the tradition of the great summer music
festivals around the world, the ABS Festival & Academy has quickly
developed into an attraction, offering “moments of sheer magic” (Orlando
Sentinel) every summer in San Francisco.
The Festival kicks off on July 12 with an opening night
dinner at Dobbs Ferry Restaurant in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley neighborhood
followed by the inaugural Chamber Series concert featuring the members of ABS
performing works by J.S. Bach, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Heinrich Schütz,
and Antonio Vivaldi. This program of intimate delights from the Baroque chamber
repertoire will demonstrate why San
Francisco Classical Voice observed, “ABS boasts some of the greatest
period-instrument players in world.”
Among the many highlights of this year’s Festival, The Glories of Salzburg on July 13 will
present a rare opportunity to experience Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber’s
colossal Missa Salisburgensis. This
magnificent 53-part polychoral extravagance for 9 different groups of
instruments is one of the largest-scaled surviving works from the Baroque
period. First performed in Salzburg's stunning cathedral by "choirs"
of trumpets, timpani, trombones, strings, cornettos, viols, recorders, oboes,
continuo instruments, and two eight-part vocal ensembles, this performance—the
North American premiere with the instrumentation Biber composed for—will
feature the combined forces of the American Bach Soloists and Academy members.
Other works by Biber, one of the most celebrated and demanding composers of the
17th Century, will be also performed [This event is sold out].
The two Festival Sundays (July 14 and 21) are reserved for
a beloved Festival tradition: Maestro Thomas leading the ABS Academy Orchestra,
the American Bach Choir, and instrumental and vocal soloists from the Academy in
performances of Bach’s monumental masterpiece, the Mass in B Minor. Examiner.com observed, “every time Thomas brings
it [Bach’s Mass] before an audience
he always seems to have new things to bring out through performance,” and Fanfare Magazine wrote “Thomas’
direction seems just right, capturing the humanity of the music… there is no
higher praise for Bach performance.” Demand for these performances is always
extremely high, so advanced ticket purchase is strongly encouraged.
Handel's rarely performed dramatic oratorio Esther, a work that represents the birth
of the English oratorio tradition, will be performed on July 19. Originally
composed for the Duke of Chandos in 1718, Handel returned to his score in the
1730s as the enthusiasm of his London audiences for Italian opera began to
wane. This moving work is a marvelous combination of thrilling choruses and
arias, accompanied by a beautiful mélange of instruments including a triple
harp. Culminating in a glorious musical paean of rejoicing—the most grandly
scaled final chorus in all of Handel's oratorios and operas—Esther became one of the composer’s most
popular works and was performed throughout the rest of his career. ABS Academy
vocalists will be featured in roles including Mordecai, Haman, King Ahasuerus,
and his Queen Esther. The ABS Festival Orchestra and the American Bach Choir
will be conducted by Jeffrey Thomas.
--American Bach Soloists
Nuns Continue #1
Reign Six Weeks Straight On Billboard Classical Traditional Chart with Their
Captivating Music And Story
The Benedictines of Mary’s Angels and Saints at Ephesus is featured in The Wall Street Journal
and Good Morning America.
The Benedictines of Mary continue their steady hold at #1
on Billboard’s Classical Traditional Chart for six straight weeks with their
new recording, Angels and Saints at
Ephesus. With their gimmick-free, radiant singing, “these isolated singers
don’t know they created a niche hit with their recordings of ancient chants and
hymns, or that it’s their second release to reach No.1 on the Billboard chart,”
reported The Wall Street Journal in an extensive feature on June 14th. Their
unusual and inspiring story was also picked up Good Morning America, and continues to garner the attention of the
public at large.
With Angels and
Saints, the Sisters once again share their genuine love of music-making
with the world, while maintaining their monastic life – something
uncharacteristic for a singing group topping the Billboard charts. Founded in
1995, The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, are a young, monastic order
of Sisters; they sing together eight times a day as they chant the Divine
Office in Latin. The order’s Prioress, Mother Cecilia, vacated her seat in the
horn section with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio to enter religious
life, despite her conservatory background where music was emphasized over
religion. A graduate of The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, in
Houston, Texas, she has arranged the songs on Angels and Saints at Ephesus. Sr. Scholastica, the Order’s sub
prioress also designed the album’s artwork.
Released on May 7th from Decca/De Montfort Music, Angels And Saints At Ephesus nabbed
significant debut slots on an impressive four Billboard Charts total, including
Heatseekers, Christian and Classical Traditional and Classical Overall – the
latter chart showing a significant jump last week to #6.
--Olga Makrias, Universal Music
Donato Cabrera
Appointed Music Director of California Symphony
Donato Cabrera, a rising young conductor well known to Bay
Area audiences through his stellar work with both San Francisco Symphony and
San Francisco Opera, has been appointed Music Director of California Symphony.
The announcement was made on Sunday, June 23 by President of the Board of
Directors Tom Overhoff at the 14th annual Virtuoso al Fresco Food and Wine
Classic, which benefits the California Symphony’s education programs. Founded
in 1986, California Symphony enters its 27th season and is recognized for its
wide range of orchestral repertoire, with an emphasis of works by American
composers, and for its passionate cultivation of talented young composers
through its Young American Composer-in-Residence Program. Maestro Cabrera signs
an initial three year contract and leads the orchestra in six of the eight
concerts during the 2013-2014 season opening September 29.
In remarks made at the announcement, President of the
Board of Directors Tom Overhoff and Dick Jarrett, Board member and Chair of the
Search Committee stated, “The appointment of Donato Cabrera as Music Director
of the California Symphony truly represents a new era in our history. A
committee made up of board members, musician representatives and patrons
conducted an extensive nationwide search, narrowing the field from nearly 100
to 7 finalists, all of whom were superb conductors. The committee unanimously
selected Donato. We are confident that Maestro Cabrera will lead us to our goal
of becoming one of the nation’s very finest regional orchestras.”
Talking of Maestro Cabrera’s March 2013 guest appearance
with the California Symphony, Georgia Rowe of the San Jose Mercury News said that they were a “perfect match” adding
that Cabrera conducted with “impressive energy and meticulous focus” drawing
“vibrant, dynamic playing from the ensemble.” Maestro Cabrera will continue to
serve as Resident Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, Wattis Foundation
Music Director of the SFS Youth Orchestra, as well as Music Director of the
Green Bay Symphony Orchestra and the New Hampshire Music Festival.
--Brenden Guy, Karen Ames Communications
Merola Opera
Program Summer Festival Present Schwabacher Summer Concert
It wil be presented at Everett Auditorium, San Francisco,
CA, on July 18, with a free community performance on July 20 at Yerba Buena
Gardens.
The Merola Opera Program’s Summer Festival continues with
the popular Schwabacher Summer Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 18 at the
Everett Auditorium and offered to the community for free at 2 p.m. on Saturday,
July 20 as part of the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival. Conducted by Kevin Murphy
and directed by Roy Rallo, the Schwabacher Summer Concert features extended
scenes from six operas: Mozart’s Don
Giovanni; Verdi’s Don Carlo;
Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri;
Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor;
Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz; and Verdi’s
Otello. Tickets for the concert at
the Everett Auditorium are affordably priced and range from $25 to $40 with a
special student price available.
A native of Syracuse, New York, Kevin Murphy has been
director of music administration at the New York City Opera since September
2008. He is also an acclaimed coach and accompanist. In addition to his
collaboration with his wife, Heidi Grant Murphy, he has worked with an array of
today’s leading opera artists, including Michelle DeYoung, Bejun Mehta, Gary
Lakes, Nathan Gunn, Olaf Bär, Bryn Terfel, Marcelo Alvarez, Placido Domingo,
Frederica von Stade, Renée Fleming, Paul Groves and Cecilia Bartoli.
Internationally acclaimed stage director, Roy Rallo, has
staged numerous productions for Merola, including Il barbiere di Siviglia in
2011 and the Schwabacher Summer Concert in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Rallo’s past
work includes a new production of Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos for the Opéra
National de Bordeaux and a new music-theater piece, the Methusalem Projekt, for
the Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar.
Tickets for the July 18 Schwabacher Summer Concert are $25
and $40, in addition to a student price of $15.* Tickets for all performances
may be purchased by calling San Francisco Opera Box Office at (415) 864-3330
open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday
or online at www.sfopera.com.
*Student tickets must be purchased in person at the Box
Office window, located inside the War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Ave.
Valid student ID is required.
For more information about Merola, please visit
www.merola.org or phone (415) 551-6299
--Karen Ames Communications
Composer A. J.
McCaffrey Wins $15,000 Underwood
Emerging Composer Commission from American Composers Orchestra. Composer Nina
Young Wins Annual Audience Choice Award
American Composers Orchestra (ACO) is pleased to announce
that composer A.J. McCaffrey has been named the winner of ACO’s 2013 Underwood
Commission, bringing him a $15,000 purse for a work to be premiered by ACO in
the 2014-2015 season. Chosen from six finalists during ACO’s 22nd Underwood New
Music Readings on April 8 and 9, 2013, in one of the most coveted opportunities
for emerging composers in the United States, A.J. won the top prize with his
work Thank You for Waiting.
In addition, for the fourth year, audience members at the
Underwood New Music Readings had a chance to make their voices heard through
the Audience Choice Award. The winner this year was composer Nina Young, for
her piece Remnants. As the winner,
Nina was commissioned to compose an original mobile phone ringtone which is
available to everyone who voted, free of charge.
“A.J.’s orchestral writing impresses at every level – the
clarity of his sonic concept, the deft handling of often viscerally dense
counterpoint, and above all, the energy that he gets from the ensemble through
his orchestrational approach,” said Underwood New Music Readings mentor
composer Christopher Theofanidis. Joan Tower, also a mentor composer this year,
added, “A.J. McCaffrey is a composer with extraordinary chops. I am hoping his
newly commissioned work will push the envelope further by taking musical risks
that could create a formidable piece for orchestra.” Mentor composer and ACO
Artistic Advisor Laureate Robert Beaser praised A.J. as well, saying, “A.J. is
a composer who combines prodigious craft with a quirky sensibility. He produces
works in a variety of styles – always surprising and arresting.”
Upon winning the Underwood commission, A.J. McCaffrey
said, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with ACO. I witnessed
first-hand how well they tackle new music during the Readings this past spring,
and I cannot wait to begin composing for them. It is overwhelming to be chosen
– ACO had a fabulous group of pieces and composers to choose from and I am
humbled to have been selected.”
A.J. McCaffrey is a songwriter and composer of
instrumental, vocal and electronic music. With backgrounds and interests in
theater, fine arts and literature, and an upbringing that fostered a love for a
wide variety of musical styles, A.J. writes music that strives to tell a story.
His works are theatrical in nature, employing harmonically rich and lyrically
striking sound worlds to create moving, dramatic narratives. A.J.’s music has
been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Tanglewood Music Center, and
the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. In addition to ACO, his works have been
performed by the New Fromm Players, Radius Ensemble, Atlantic Chamber Ensemble,
and members of the Chiara Quartet, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Alarm Will
Sound, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. A fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center
and Aspen Music Festival and School, A.J. has been a featured composer on
BMOP's The Next Next series, Tanglewood's Festival of Contemporary Music, and
the New Gallery Concert Series.
A.J. McCaffrey holds degrees in music composition from
Rice University, The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and the
University of Southern California, and has studied with Richard Lavenda, James
MacMillan, Donald Crockett, and Stephen Hartke. A passionate educator, he is an
instructor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Composer Fellowship Program and
the Longy School of Music at Bard College’s Masters of Arts in Teaching Music.
--Christina Jensen PR
