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Joel Puckett commissioned as part of Chorus America’s 2013 Dale Warland Singers Commission Award

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Joel- The Crossing

 

 

The Crossing wins Chorus America’s “2013 Dale Warland Singers Commission Award”

 

 

 

 

Philadelphia, PA – May 7, 2013: The Crossing is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded the 2013 Dale Warland Singers Commission Award. The Dale Warland Singers Commission Award is presented by Chorus America in partnership with the American Composers Forum. The award was created to recognize a chorus entering into an artistically meaningful and mutually beneficial partnership with a composer of their choice to contribute a new work to the choral repertoire. Eligibility for this award rotates through a three-year cycle: professional choruses(2013), adult volunteer choruses(2014), and children/youth choruses(2015).

The Crossing proposed a fifteen-minute unaccompanied work for 24-voice chamber choir written by Baltimore-based composer Joel Puckett.

An award letter from Gayle M. Ober, Chairman, and Ann Meier Baker, President & CEO of Chorus America stated: “The selection panel unanimously agreed that not only your carefully planned partnership with Joel Puckett but also The Crossing’s commitment to fostering new repertoire for the choral field embodies the important legacy of the Dale Warland Singers.” The award will be presented at Chorus America’s National Convention in Seattle during an Awards Luncheon on June 13, 2013.

“Joel is a colorist with a unique ability to draw the listener into a new and profound world,” said The Crossing’s conductor Donald Nally. “It is spiritually-charged and emotional music; a perfect match for the aesthetic of The Crossing, as well as the interests and artistry of our singers.”

Joel Puckett’s new work will be a main feature of the seventh-annual Month of Moderns Festival in summer 2015. The Crossing has established an annual festival of new music in Philadelphia, the Month of Moderns – three concerts, each with a major premiere, over the course of one month. The festival has expanded to include ancillary events (concerts of music of the featured composers, informal discussion groups with composers, and gallery shows of work by the collaborating visual artists) and has become what one newspaper has called a “must-stop on Philadelphia’s new-music scene.”

“It is an incredible gift for me to return to the choral world with a group as spectacular as The Crossing,” said composer Joel Puckett. “Their commissioning record and consistent ability to convey the composer’s intention is an awe-inspiring achievement and I am honored to be the next to create notes with this group serving as muse. I am excited to collaborate with Donald and the group and to push ourselves to create the most meaningful music possible.”

The Crossing will present its fifth-annual Month of Moderns festival this June in Philadelphia. The festival will include three main concerts and five ancillary concert/events.

2013 Month of Moderns – The Gulf (between you and me)

Main Concerts:
Saturday, June 15, 2013 @ 8pm
Month of Moderns I
At The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral
With special guest Toshimaru Nakamura
Gene Coleman: The Gulf (world premiere)
Santa Ratniece: Chu Dal (Silent Water, 2008)
Tamar Diesendruck: Other Floods (2010)

Sunday, June 23, 2013 @ 4pm
Month of Moderns II
The IceBox at Crane Arts Center in Northern Liberties
Chris Jonas: The Gulf (world premiere)
Santa Ratniece: Horo Horo Hata Hata  (2008)
Justé Janulyté: aguarelle (Watercolor, 2007)

Sunday, June 30, 2013 @ 4pm
Month of Moderns III
At the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
Gabriel Jackson: The Gulf (world premiere)
Santa Ratniece: Saline (Salt Lakes, 2006)
John Cage: Four 2 (1992)

Ancillary Events
Friday, June 7 @ 8pm: Gene Coleman’s, Ensemble N_JP
At The International House

Saturday, June 15 @ 6pm: Pierre Joris Poetry Reading
At The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral

Wednesday, June 19 @ 8pm: Chris Jonas’s quartet, Sun Spits Cherries
At The Neighborhood House, Christ Church, Philadelphia

Wednesday, June 26 @ 6:30pm: “Inside the Composer’s Studio: Gabriel Jackson”
At the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Widener Hall

June  – Artwork Gallery Display
At The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Widener Hall

About Joel Puckett
Named as one of National Public Radio’s listeners’ favorite composers under the age of 40, Joel Puckett is a composer who is dedicated to the belief that music can bring consolation, hope and joy to all who need it. The Washington Post has hailed him as both “visionary” and “gifted” and the Baltimore Sun proclaimed his work for the Washington Chorus and Orchestra, This Mourning, as “being of comparable expressive weight” to John Adams’ Pulitzer Prize winning work, On the Transmigration of Souls. Puckett’s flute concerto, The Shadow of Sirius, has been performed all over the world and commercially recorded three times. Of the University of Michigan Symphony Band’s recording, Audiophile Audition wrote, “The music … contains a density within a clarity, polyphony within the simple and – most importantly – is a beautiful and seemingly spiritual work.” In May of 2012, Puckett’s double concerto for clarinet, flute and orchestra, Concerto Duo, was premiered by brothers Anthony McGill [principal clarinet, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra] and Demarre McGill [principal flute, The Seattle Symphony] to a sold out crowd at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall.

Puckett is currently on the full-time faculty of the Peabody Conservatory of Music of Johns Hopkins University where he teaches courses in music theory, co-teaches the composition seminar and recently finished a term as the composer-in-residence for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras. He holds advanced degrees from the University of Michigan.

Music of Paul Brantley featured at 2013 Sophia Institute Conference

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The Sophia Institute, at Union Theological Seminary, has invited Paul Brantley to present a concert of his music to close their Sixth Annual Conference on December 6 in NYC. Brantley says: “The program will include this lapsed Buddhist’s settings of ‘wisdom literature,’ all from a decidedly Jungian/archetypal perspective”. Performers TBA.

Ikon

Battle Hymn (Songs of Sophia), for soprano and Pierrot ensemble, sets ecstatically beautiful utterances of “Sophia” from the Old Testament and Apocrypha, deeply inspired by C.G. Jung’s Answer to Job.

Gnostic Cantata, for mezzo-soprano, violin, and cello, collects a variety of non-canonical wisdom texts from the esoteric Judaic, Islamic, Thomasine, and Docetic traditions, and so “Jesus” as teacher, mystic, Muslim Saint, and Rabbi.

“Named in honor of Divine Wisdom, the Sophia Institute is an independent Orthodox educational charity housed at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in New York City that serves as a gathering force for contemporary Orthodox scholars, theologians, spiritual teachers, and ethicists.” You can learn about the Sophia Institute and their December 6 conference, “Monasticism, Asceticism and Holiness in the Eastern Orthodox World”, here.

A version of this program will be presented a few weeks before on the Music at St. Paul’s series at Columbia University, Tuesday, November 19 at noon.

(Icon by Eileen McGuckin, www.sgtt.org)

Boyer Symphony No. 1 premiere with Pasadena Symphony

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The Pasadena Symphony welcomes GRAMMY-nominated Peter Boyer as its Composer in Residence for the 2012-2013 season, and has commissioned his Symphony No. 1 to premiere in its landmark 85th anniversary season. This commission has been made possible through contributions by the Trustees of Claremont Graduate University. “We are very excited about working alongside such a well respected composer as we celebrate our 85th season,” explains Paul Jan Zdunek, Chief Executive Officer of the Pasadena Symphony Association. “Peter is an amazingly versatile talent, which is why he is in continuous demand in the orchestral and film industries.”

Boyer, a resident of Altadena and the Helen M. Smith Professor of Music at Claremont Graduate University, is one of the most frequently performed contemporary American orchestral composers of his generation. His work Ellis Island: The Dream of America has been performed over 125 times by nearly sixty orchestras in the last decade, and he has received commissions from organizations including the Boston Pops, Pacific Symphony, Eastern Music Festival, and the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. He has also contributed orchestrations to 20 feature film scores by top Hollywood composers.

In his role as Composer in Residence, Boyer will compose his first symphony as well as lead intimate salons with the Pasadena Symphony Association’s Fresh Ink Society. “This Society is a recently formed new music collective of the region’s most enthusiastic community leaders that are helping to realize the commission, performance and recording of its first project – the Symphony No. 1 of Peter Boyer,” states Zdunek. A wide range of community and Fresh Ink Society activities will culminate in the premiere of Boyer’s Symphony No. 1 on April 27, 2013 at Ambassador Auditorium.  Full season details of the 85th anniversary season will be announced in the coming weeks.

“I am honored and excited to accept the Pasadena Symphony’s invitation to serve as its Composer in Residence for the 2012-13 season,” says Boyer. “I have long admired this excellent orchestra, whose members include musical colleagues and friends. A commission for a first symphony is both a great challenge and splendid opportunity for any composer. I’m most grateful for this opportunity, and eagerly look forward to the collaboration ahead.”

The Fresh Ink Society is raising funds for a capstone to the season-long relationship with Boyer. “We hope to record Peter’s first symphony for the Naxos label,” continues Zdunek. “We are looking to have a few more people join us and Peter in the Fresh Ink Society, so that we may share Peter’s music and our Pasadena Symphony with listeners everywhere on this internationally released CD.” For information on how to support the Fresh Ink Society of the Pasadena Symphony Association, visit PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org or call their administrative offices at (626) 793-7172.

California Symphony debuts D.J. Sparr’s Violet Bond: Concert-Overture

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California Symphony’s Young American Composer-in-Residence, D.J. Sparr, will debut his new work Violet Bond: Concert-Overture for Electric Guitar and Orchestra this May. His tenure as Composer-in-Residence was recently extended to three years because of his inspired commitment to the post. Walter Collins, Executive Director of the CA Symphony, says, “D.J. Sparr’s artistic vision for the position, his commitment to the California Symphony’s mission, and his dedication to educational outreach made the choice to extend his residency an easy one. It is rare to find a composer willing to balance the demands of first-rank composition with dedicated community outreach on behalf of an orchestra. We’re honored to have D.J. as our Young American Composer in Residency for three years.”

Robert Trevi­ño will lead the California Symphony for three concerts on May 3 at the Bankhead Theatre in Livermore and on May 4-5 at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. This program features Berlioz’s powerful Symphonie fantastique, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto performed by the violin virtuoso Caroline Goulding, and the world premiere of Sparr’s Violet Bond: Concert-Overture.

This debut work pays homage to the memory of Sparr’s great-grandmother, Violet Bond. Nanny, as her family called her, was a staid music lover and would draw family members around her piano as she led the group in hymns. Sparr also remembers watching He-Haw with Nanny at her home and attempting to imitate Roy Clark and Buck Owens guitar playing with a broom. Perhaps she just wanted her broom back, but for Sparr’s fourth birthday Violet gave him a ukulele, thereby inspiring his tremendous career as an electric guitarist and composer.

Sparr says of his work, “The composition of this piece is not directly related to any of these memories and does not tell a story in a linear fashion. It is more the “feeling” of all of this which inspired me to create (hopefully) the most beautiful electric guitar concerto yet written.” Sparr emphasizes the pure natural sonic qualities of the electric guitar, rather than its potential for distortion. As he puts it, “I don’t think Nanny would enjoy the idea of me on stage with a heavy-metal guitar blasting everyone’s ears off!”

This work integrates the inherent improvisational aspect of the electric guitar with musical play between guitar and orchestra. Using a “loop effect,” Sparr assigns an orchestral role to the electric guitar while playing over the “loop” and highlighting the solo melody.

An accomplished composer and electric guitarist, D.J. Sparr has caught the attention of critics with his eclectic style. San Jose Mercury News described  his music as “pop-Romantic…iridescent and wondrous” and The New York Times said it “suits the boundary erasing spirit of today’s new-music world.” The Los Angeles Times praises him as “an excellent soloist” and the Santa Cruz Sentinel says that he “wowed an enthusiastic audience…Sparr’s guitar sang in a near-human voice.” Sparr currently holds the Young American Composer-in-Residence position with the California Symphony, an acclaimed program that has seen the likes of Mason Bates and Pulitzer prize winner Kevin Puts. During this tenure, Sparr’s works have been conducted by Nicholas McGegan and Donato Cabrera, among others. Sparr has also had recent world premieres performed by the Dayton Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony, Eighth Blackbird, and the Hexnut Ensemble.

This Summer, Centaur Records is releasing a CD of Sparr’s chamber music, entitled 21207 which was supported by a grant from New Music USA’s CAP Recording Program and in June, the Washington National Opera will premiere Sparr’s “Approaching Ali,” commissioned on behalf of their American Opera Initiative, based on the acclaimed novel “The Tao of Muhammad Ali” by Davis Miller.

Sparr was awarded the $10,000 grand prize in the orchestra category of the BMG/Williams College National Young Composers Competition and has received awards and recognition from BMI, the American Music Center, Eastman School of Music, George Washington University, the League of Composers/ISCM, and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. A fast rising star, D.J. Sparr’s musical vision is bound to catapult him to the realm of indispensable American composers.

This season, the California Symphony is trying on seven different guest conductors. Ninety candidates applied for the maestro’s job, says symphony Executive Director Walter Collins. After an extensive interview process, seven finalists were selected to design a concert, work with musicians and perform for symphony audiences. Robert Treviño is the final guest conductor during this 2012-2013 season, aptly entitled “The Search is On.” Other music director candidates performing this past season have been Robert Moody, David Commanday, Michael Butterman, Sean Newhouse, Alastair Willis and Donato Cabrera. Audiences, including those at the upcoming concerts in Livermore and Walnut Creek, are invited to participate in choosing the symphony’s next permanent music director by filling out a survey on the Symphony’s website. The symphony’s board of directors will make the final decision later this spring.

Kahane’s GABRIEL’S GUIDE TO THE 48 STATES

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Commissioned by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for their 40th anniversary, Gabriel’s Guide to the 48 States is a tribute to the New Deal’s W.P.A. project. Compiled from text in the American Guide series, a collection of guidebooks that were commissioned to provide employment for writers during the depression, they provide a fascinating picture of America by some of its best writers. Scored for baritone and chamber orchestra (Flute/Piccolo, Oboe/English Horn, 2 Clarinets/Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, Trumpet, Trombone, Percussion, Electric Guitar/Banjo Strings) the work is 45 minutes long. The text is compiled from the American Guide Series and the Sacred Harp hymn “Marlborough.” The world premiere performance was given at Dartmouth College on April 19, 2013. Orpheus will give the New York premiere on April 27 2013 at Carnegie Hall.

 

 

PAUL BRANTLEY to present a CONCERT SPIRITUEL on the CONCERTS IN THE HEIGHTS series.

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On March 21st, at eight p.m., composer and cellist Paul Brantley will be joined by mezzo-soprano, Janna Baty; flutist, Marya Martin; and pianist, Pedja Muzijevic, in a program of vocal and chamber pieces by Brantley, Mozart and Ravel.

This concert is modeled after the 18th century Parisian, “Concerts Spirituels”, which were designed to uplift and edify the public with “spiritual” music.

The program will include Mozart’s Violin Sonata in e minor — here in Brantley’s adaptation for cello and piano; Ravel’s Chansons madécasses performed by the entire ensemble; and as a companion piece the premiere of Brantley’s Sigewif — which sets an 9th century Anglo Saxon “Charm: for a swarm of bees” (in the original Anglo Saxon), as well as “Brünhilde’s Peroration”, a setting of Wagner’s unused ‘Schopenhauer ending’ to the Ring Cycle — both about archetypal “warrior women”. The program will close with Brantley’s Swevens Sonata for flute and piano, which was commissioned and premiered by Marya Martin at the Bridgehampton Festival this past summer.

Thursday, March 21st at 8pm

Fort Washington Collegiate Church,
729 W. 181st, NYC

$12 general/$7 students/seniors

http://www.concertsintheheights.org

New Carnegie Hall Commission for David Bruce

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Fresh from her title role in John Adam’s The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the wonderful mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor will premiere a new work David Bruce is writing for her as part of a US tour with soprano Jessica Rivera in October 2013. The new work, provisionally titled That Time with You, is a further collaboration with Glyn Maxwell, though here in rather darker and more sombre mode, with poignant lyrics reflecting on death and loss. Bruce continues his long relationship with Carnegie Hall, who has co-commissioned this work with Kelley O’Connor.