Monday, November 30, 2009

Composer Award

"Spheres," a six-movement work for orchestra by German composer York Hoeller, has earned the 2010 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition.
The piece, chosen from among 136 entries worldwide, was performed for the first time in 2008 by the West German Broadcasting Corp.’s symphony orchestra in Cologne, Germany.
“The work grips you viscerally from the first bars and never lets up,” said Marc Satterwhite, a UofL music professor who directs the award.
The 40-minute, six-movement piece was inspired by literature, music of the past and the elements of air, water, earth and fire from Greek philosophy, Satterwhite said. Hoeller, who spent five years composing the work, dedicated the last movement “with love and gratitude” to his wife, Ursula, who died in 2006.
“The piece is magnificently scored, using a large orchestra to generate colors ranging from the most delicate to the most overwhelming,” Satterwhite said.
Hoeller, professor emeritus of music composition at the Cologne University of Music, is known for fusing together live and electronic sounds in his works. His compositions often incorporate references to romanticism and French-influenced orchestration along with modernist techniques.
“Spheres” is scheduled to be commercially released on CD in April by NEOS, a German company specializing in contemporary music recordings.
Five Grawemeyer Awards are presented annually for outstanding works in music composition, ideas improving world order, psychology, education and religion. Winners of the other 2010 Grawemeyer Awards also are being announced this week.

ABOUT YORK HOELLER
German composer York Hoeller is best known for fusing together live and electronic sounds and incorporating modernist techniques, references to romanticism and French-influenced orchestration into his works.
Born in Cologne in 1944, he was a music professor at Cologne University of Music, where he previously studied composition, electronics, piano and conducting. He studied philosophy and musicology at the University of Cologne.
His pieces for acoustical instruments and electronic media have been performed by major ensembles such as the Chicago Symphony, Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris and the London Sinfonietta and championed by eminent conductors such as Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez.
In the mid-1970s, he began composing at the Paris Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique, an organization devoted to avant garde electro-acoustical music. In 1990, after becoming director of West German Broadcasting Corp.’s electronic studio, he began developing “gestalt composition,” a method of writing music that orders one or more musical elements in a fixed series.
Hoeller’s 1989 opera, “Der Meister und Margarita,” which premiered at the Opera de Paris Palais Garnier, is based on a Russian novel by Mikhail Bulgakov about the devil’s visit to the Soviet Union. The same book also is said to have influenced Salman Rushdie’s novel “The Satanic Verses” and inspired Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones to write “Sympathy for the Devil.” The six movements of Hoeller’s winning piece, “Spheres,” (“Sphaeren” in German) are “Song of the Clouds,” “Wind Chime,” “Layers of Earth,” “Rain Canon,” “Fireworks” and “Mourning of the Spheres.”
Besides earning the Order des Arts et des Lettres from the French Minister of Culture in 1986, Hoeller has been a member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin since 1991. He has received the Bernd Alois Zimmermann Prize from the City of Cologne, the Foerderpreis of the State of North Rhine–Westphalia, the Prize of the International Composers’ Forum of UNESCO and the Rolf Liebermann Prize for Opera Composers.
Boosey & Hawkes, an international company specializing in 20th century classical music, publishes his work, including his Grawemeyer Award-winning orchestral piece.


The Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, given since 1985, previously has gone to musical luminaries Witold Lutoslawski, Gyorgy Ligeti and Pierre Boulez. (From the Grawmeyer website)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Classical Spotlight: USAF Band of the West

Recently TPR's John Clare spent some time with members of the USAF Band of the West at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. (Pictured left is Clare with Tsgt Steve Wilson.)
Listen to the news story here. (mp3 file)


Now, members of the unit are deployed overseas. Enjoy this performance with Top Flight, the pop music ensemble from the Band of the West:

USAF Band of the West: Top Flight from Classical Spotlight on Vimeo.



Clare also spoke with the commander of the band, Captain Cristina Moore Urrutia. Watch their interview:

Classical Spotlight: Capt. Urrutia from John Clare on Vimeo.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

SAVAE at 20 - by James Baker


About 8 months ago a committee was formed to study the possibility of presenting a series of concerts in San Antonio featuring music of Colonial New Spain. Vitally interested in the project were Father Larry Christian, Rector of the Assumption Seminary, and Renata Furst, Director of Studies at the Seminary. When they asked me how we should begin the answer came easily. Let's invite SAVAE, the San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble. Little did we realize it at the time, but through the magic of serendipity we scheduled the SAVAE concert on what turns out to be the exact 20th anniversary of the ensemble's first concert on December 4, 1989, at the San Fernando Cathedral. Needless to say, we are all thrilled to be part of this anniversary concert by SAVAE which will also serve as the inaugural event of the Celebrating Latin American Arts Series (CLAAS).

SAVAE has traveled several musical roads, but their track always seems to bring them back to Colonial Latin America. This is where they made their first mark and it is certainly music to which they bring passion and authority. In speaking recently to Covita and Christopher Moroney, two of the founders of SAVAE, I found that they have been intentional in staking claim to a certain repertory, a music which speaks more directly from the New World than through the filter of European musical styles. Their performances reflect this bias through the numerous folkloric and indigenous instruments which they bring to the stage. According to the Moroneys, they typically bring about 30 instruments to their programs. These punctuate and accompany the various Latin, Spanish, Nahuatl and Quechua texts which reflect the concious effort of the Catholic Church to invite the New World to meet and mingle with the Old World.

SAVAE's concert will kick off a multi-year project in San Antonio called the Celebrating Latin American Arts Series. Future concerts will take place in a variety of venues, including Mission Conception in 2010. This first concert, however, is in a relatively new space, one which mimics the stone and mortar construction of the traditional Spanish missions of the Southwestern United States. The Assumption Seminary's Chapel was designed by the maverick San Antonio architect O'Neil Ford. More about this relatively unknown work of Ford in a future post to this blog.

SAVAE's anniversary concert will take place Friday, December 4, at the Assumption Seminary Chapel, 2600 W. Woodlawn, just West of Woodlawn Park. The concert is free and open to the public. Ample free parking is available. The concert begins at 7:30 pm, with a reception following the concert.

This concert is sponsored by MATT (Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together), and is presented in cooperation with Old Spanish Missions, Inc., San Antonio Institute of Catholic Cultures and KPAC, 88.3.

Itinerarios, airing on KPAC Sunday evening at 7, will this week feature the interview with Covita and Christopher Moroney while also previewing parts of SAVAE's December 4th concert.

Monday, November 23, 2009

AFSA Awards

The Artist Foundation of San Antonio, which gives grants to individual artists, is giving $62,000 this year, the fourth for the awards. More than 160 artists applied and eleven were selected to receive $5,000 each. Most of the awards are given for specific projects, except the George Cortes Award for Classical Singing, which recognizes opera-based vocal ability. Soprano Angela Malek will receive it this year.

$5,000 grants will go to:

Robert L. B. Tobin Award for Set Design: Steve Gilliam for his work on the Allegro Stage Company's musical “Fire on the Bayou,” opening Jan. 29 at the Woodlawn Theatre.

Robert L. B. Tobin Award for Costume Design: Jodi Karjala for costumes for AtticRep's staging of “Lydia,” opening Dec. 2.

Bernard Lifshutz Award for Visual Arts: Photographer Ansen Seale for a long-range project dealing with transferring images onto glass.

Rick Liberto Award for Visual Arts: Randy Wallace for the mixed-media project “The Thirty Days and Fifty Thousand Words.”

Literary Arts Award: Poet Pablo Miguel Martinez for a book-length piece based on the stories of Mexican guest workers.

Media Arts Award: Visual artist Julia Barbosa Landois for a multimedia installation.

Visual Arts Award: Artist Judith Cottrell for an installation built around her sculptural drawings.

Performing Arts — Original Production Award: Director Tim Hedgepeth for “Fire on the Bayou.”

Performing Arts — Musical Composition: Composer Timothy Kramer for a choral cycle dealing with Old Testament text.

Performing Arts — Dance Choreography: Britt Lorraine, for a personal, minimalist turn on the Ballet Russe's 1913 “Rite of Spring.”

Artist Interview: Walden Chamber Players

The Walden Chamber Players were in town as part of their residency with Trinity University...they sat down with John Clare for an interview. Professor Carl Leafstedt also joined the talk, who coordinated the visit!



They also played a selection from their program, Saariaho's I feel a second heart:

Friday, November 20, 2009

He was born for it

As she lay dying St. Cecilia sang out to the Lord and that is the reason given that she is the patron saint of musicians. Her feast day is November 22nd and for this occasion a number of British composers wrote Ode's in honor of Cecilia and music in general.

Another reason to mark St. Cecilia's Day is it is the birthdate of Benjamin Britten. Considered the finest British composer since Purcell, he wrote a great deal of music for the stage, but he was also a great pianist and on the Piano this Sunday the program celebrates Britten's birthday by exploring his thorny Piano Concerto.

The Piano, this Sunday afternoon at 5 on KPAC and KTXI.

host, Randy Anderson

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Conductor in national spotlight

Alondra de la Parra, music driector candidate for the San Antonio Symphony, recently conducted the world renowned San Francisco Symphony in concerts. During her time there, she was interviewed by NPR's Latino USA (heard locally on KSTX & KTXI Fridays at noon & 8pm).

Alondra de la Parra from NPR's Latino USA on Vimeo.

Friday, November 13, 2009

That is Mr. Footnote to you!


In the arts cream rises to the top and this process is moved along by teachers, academics and Nielsen ratings. Soon we end up with a shorthand view of the world, "Mozart was a perfect musical machine" "Beethoven is the greatest musical architect" and "Bach is the greatest musician of all time"- certainly interesting opinions, but what about the thousands and thousands of serious musicians that don't fall into these tidy boxes? These folks are relegated into footnote status, and there live in a silent limbo until some curious musician digs into the music and gives voice to what was popular long ago.

On the Piano this Sunday we dig into the past and hear the dramatic and melodic music of a man who possessed a true musical gift, learned from the most interesting teachers of his time and passed on that knowledge to a few generations of musicians to follow. Is this a wasted life; hardly. This Sunday afternoon at 5 works of Anton Arensky elevated from footnote status on KPAC and KTXI.

host, Randy Anderson

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Classical Spotlight: Everything @ once

Lots of concerts on this weekend, and many of them at the same time, Sunday afternoon @ 3pm!

The San Antonio Brass play Friday night in Kerrville, and Sunday afternoon @ 2pm in San Antonio. More on their website, and an interview with Lee Hipp on the TPR website.

Antonio Barasorda, tenor, will visit and serenade San Antonians Sunday, November 15th, at 3pm, at the Charline McCombs Empire Theater for the Puerto Rican Heritage Society's 25th Anniversary. Barasorda, visiting the area for the first time, will sing varied repertoire of Latin American popular songs, as well as songs from zarzuelas, operettas, operas, Broadway musicals and bohemias. Listen to his interview here.

Sunday, November 15 at 3 p.m. at Coker United Methodist Church, the "Arts at Coker" series presents the woodwind trio ETA3 in a FREE concert.

Sunday, November 15 at 3 p.m. at Travis Park United Methodist Church violinist Karen Stiles and pianist Vivienne Spy will offer Camerata San Antonio's recital. Listen to their interview here.

The San Antonio Symphonic Band, under the direction of conductor, Dr. Donald K. Miller, will be performing it’s first concert of the 2009-2010 series on Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. at UTSA Downtown Campus, Buena Vista Theater followed by a second performance on Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. at the same location. A guest appearance by The Black Bexar Pipe Band will be made during the performance. Program theme: Across The Pond.

Heart of Texas Concert Band plays "Symphonic Songs For Band" this Sunday at 3:00pm with Heather Blount, Soprano Soloist at Alamo Heights High School. Mark Rogers directs, and you can listen to his interview here.

Please note, the Texas Bach Choir concerts scheduled for this weekend November 14th and 15th have been canceled. They are now without an Artistic Director as Daniel Long, who served with TBC since 1990 has resigned.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Still making beautiful music together

Despite a divorce, Gheorghiu & Alagna are stellar in this new release!

Alberto Veronesi conducts Pietro Mascagni’s rarely performed opera L’amico Fritz starring soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Roberto Alagna, on a new recording to be released by Deutsche Grammophon next Tuesday, November 17, 2009. The album was recorded in 2008 during acclaimed live performances at Deutsche Oper Berlin which were called “a rare musical treat” by Das Opernglas, and for which klassik.com wrote: “The soloists gave of their phenomenal best and the orchestra under Veronesi played sensationally...I can't recall the last time I heard such enthusiastic (and prolonged) applause at the Deutsche Oper.”

L’amico Fritz is Mascagni’s second opera; a light-hearted follow-up to his popular Cavalleria rusticana. The opera tells the story of Fritz (Alagna), a wealthy landowner and confirmed bachelor who falls for Suzel (Gheorghiu), the young daughter of one of his tenants, and includes The Cherry Duet (“Suzel, buon di”) – a love duet considered the best known piece from the opera which has long been part of Alagna and Gheorghiu’s repertoire. The cast on the recording is rounded out by Laura Polverelli as the gypsy boy Beppe, a rare trouser role for the time period, George Petean as David, Yosep Kang as Federico, Hyung-Wook Lee as Hanezó and Andión Fernández as Caterina.

PT: Five Browns

Check out Performance Today today (November 11th) who feature KPAS' presentation of the Five Browns last May in Kerrvile! And we thought you might enjoy this Rimsky-Korsakov they played as well:

Hear him in San Antonio

Great news about Olmos Ensemble member Warren Jones...well he is here every year, so he really is considered a member of Mark Ackerman's group:

Musical America, now in its third century as the indispensable resource for the performing arts, today announced the winners of the annual Musical America Awards, recognizing artistic excellence and achievement in the arts.

The announcement coincides with the publication of the 2010 Musical America International Directory of the Performing Arts, which, in addition to its comprehensive industry listings, pays homage to each of these artists in its editorial pages.

The annual Musical America Awards will be presented in a special ceremony at Lincoln Center on December 14.



COLLABORATIVE PIANIST OF THE YEAR: WARREN JONES
Warren Jones compares partnering soloists to playing doubles tennis because the endeavor has to be an equal relationship. Few collaborative pianists—a term now preferred to “accompanist”—have enhanced the performances of so many of the world’s greatest singers and instrumentalists. Among those benefitting from his nuanced, insightful, and virtuosic artistry are Marilyn Horne, Kathleen Battle, Samuel Ramey, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Stephanie Blythe. In soprano Ruth Ann Swenson’s words, “He’s one of the greatest musicians I’ve ever known. I trust him
completely.”
See Warren this next Spring:
March 16, 2010
Four Hands, Four Voices
Anne Epperson, and Warren Jones, piano,
Linda Poetschke, soprano, Ken David Masur, baritone
mezzo soprano and tenor TBA

Franz Schubert, Auf dem Strom
Franz Schubert, Fantasie for piano, four hands
Johannes Brahms, Liebeslieder Waltzes

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

20 de Noviembre on Itinerarios

When I first moved to Mexico City in the early 1980s I was astonished to find not one, but two holidays celebrating revolution in Mexico. Diez y seis de Septiembre celebrates the break with Spain, but it is Veinte de Noviembre whose scars are still found on the Mexican landscape. That’s when a president was overthrown, plunging Mexico into 10 years of chaos, from 1910 to 1920. This week on Itinerarios we will echo some of the patriotic music which will resonate across Mexico on the 20th of November. Listen in for Sones de Mariachi and much more Sunday evening at 7 o’clock.

Yes, Mexico City can be a difficult city. Its population hovers near 20 million, if not more, it’s polluted; there’s gridlock and crime, though probably not as much as we are led by the media to believe. Yes, you can get a roaring headache in Mexico City without taking even a drop of alcohol. The elevation is over 7 thousand feet. And you can become sick as a dog when you drink the water or eat tacos from the wrong sidewalk vendor.

That said, I love Mexico City. It is a place of extraordinary architecture and to see Avenida Reforma at night is to have your breath taken away. El Ángel de la Independencia ("The Angel of Independence"), anchors the grand glorietta (traffic circle) at Reforma and Florencia. This was put in place in 1910, just as Mexico slipped into 10 years of revolutionary tumult.


Another of my favorite public monuments is the Monumento a la Revolución (the Monument of the Revolution), an edifice begun just as the presidency of Porfirio Diaz was coming unwound. Originally destined to be the Legislative Palace, the construction stalled as Mexico plunged into internal turmoil. It is ironic that this structure, proudly begun by President Diaz, would eventually come to represent the Revolution which overthrew the Diaz regime. This, by the way, became the final resting place of the rebel Pancho Villa.

YOSA Podcast 2, Daron Hagen

This is the second podcast in a series for the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio...they perform the world premiere of Daron Hagen's Northern Lights, a fanfare in celebration of Troy Peters' first season as music director coming up in January 2010.

YOSA Podcast: Daron Hagen 2 from Classical Spotlight on Vimeo.



YOSA features a studio recital "Flute with Students of Tal Perkes", Wednesday, December 2, 2009 @ 6:30 p.m. in the Radius Center. Also, their Junior Strings Series: Winter Delights is December 06, 2009 in Magik Theatre @ 4 p.m.. Get in the holiday spirit with a concert featuring YOSA's Prelude and Capriccio Strings. Program includes 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with guest narrator Rosenda Rios from KSAT 12. This concert is part of the Junior Strings Series which feature elementary and middle school performers; all concerts are free.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Own your very own

The American Music Center is having an auction, check it out online: https://www.cmarket.com/auction/item/Browse.action?auctionId=92570727
It includes everything to vacations, to a recital by Jennifer Koh for you and your friends (she was just here in San Antonio playing Prokofiev) and autographs of composers like Robert Xavier Rodriguez, John Corigliano and many more.

On the comeback

Good news about Liona Boyd, from the Globe & Mail:
The virtuoso guitarist has faced down a painful neurological disorder to emerge with a new career: singer-songwriter. Here is the whole article.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Power of the piano

I was quite touched about this story involving Andre Watts from ArtsJournal:

When Doug McLennan asked me to write this blog, he told me that the most
successful ones connect the writing to the experiences the blogger has in daily
life. I write about building arts communities, and for several weeks I've been
thinking that the following story should be told. It certainly grows out of real
life, and the lives involved are close to me and involve a musician whose
artistry is legendary.
Last April my brother, Jim, copied an e mail he had
sent to the great pianist, Andre Watts. Since it says everything better than I
possibly could, I'll just let the letter tell the story:
Dear Mr. Watts,
For years our family has admired you, the gift of musical talent you have
been given, and the obvious discipline you have followed to develop and maintain
your skills. Your music has touched the hearts of many people, but you have
touched the hearts and lives of our family in a special way.
Our family is
deeply indebted to you because of an episode of Mr. Rogers you taped. I have a
daughter (Jamie) who is 29 years old and is severely disabled and profoundly
retarded. She has had many challenges; among them was the desire to eat. For
years, Jamie did not want to eat and we struggled at every mealtime to feed her.
Early on, we discovered that music either distracted her or stimulated her and
so we began playing music as she would eat her food.

Take a moment out to read the entire letter and story here. I've had the good fortune to hear Watts play several times, and remember as a teenager seeing his 25th anniversary concert on tv. Just a few years ago I saw Andre play with the Philadelphia Orchestra in the summer, Beethoven's Emperor Piano Concerto on the same program as Penderecki's Second Symphony, with the composer himself conducting. While Charles Dutoit was leading the rest of the program, it was interesting to see Watts and Penderecki interact during the rehearsal.
Have you been moved by a performer or performance? Got a story to share about Watts or classical music? Pass it along in the comments!
And don't forget about the Piano Sunday afternoon at 5pm on KPAC & KTXI!

- Afternoon host John Clare

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Classical Spotlight: Guy Fawkes Day

Lots of great music ahead to enjoy this weekend!
GERALD SELF
Music for recorder trio: 17 short pieces and one major sonata, assisted by David Eaton playing on a virginal and on the big St. Luke's organ, as well. The concert begins at 5:00 this coming Saturday afternoon, Nov. 7, at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, the concert is free and open to the public.

SACMS
November 8th, 2009
Shanghai String Quartet
Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 20, No. 4
Yi-Wen Jiang: Chinasong (Chinese folk songs)
Penderecki: String Quartet No. 3 - Leaves from an Unwritten Diary
Debussy: String Quartet in G minor. Op. 10
Temple Beth-El 3:15 PM

YOUTH ORCHESTRAS SAN ANTONIO
New YOSA Music Director Troy Peters makes his San Antonio debut in a concert celebrating YOSA's upcoming 8th International Tour, "The Great Tour of China," departing June 2010. Hear music from across four continents with pieces that evoke Africa, old Europe, the New World and Asia. Travel assistance provided by San Antonio Symphony principal tuba Lee Hipp in the form of Vaughn Williams' exciting concerto.
Trinity University's Laurie Auditorium 4 p.m. Students and children FREE.
Li Huanzhi: Spring Festival Overture
Smetana: The Moldau
Vaughan Williams: Tuba Concerto, Lee Hipp soloist
Jose Elizondo: Estampas Mexicanas
Saint-Saens: Algerian Suite, Op. 60

Schweitzer & Bach
Tues. November 10
Presentation: 6-8 PM
Open Cast Party: 8-9 PM
Health Science Center Auditorium
7703 Floyd Curl Dr.
Words of Schweitzer & the Music of Bach
Join the Center on November 10 to remember and honor Dr. Albert Schweitzer, a deep thinker, an accomplished musician, a sensitive healer and a generous soul.
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of Schweitzer’s visit to America!
This original multimedia musical dramatization, written and produced by Thurston Moore, brings the importance of Schweitzer's philosophy and work to life. The 267 images shown on the screen from the beginning to the end of the 90-minute drama are a chronicle of his life from birth through his days of scholarship and intellectual quest, culminating in his actualization as a medical missionary deep in the forests of French Equatorial Africa where he founded the Lambaréné Hospital and discovered his philosophy of reverence for life.
Featuring Dr. Richard Lange as Albert Schweitzer, with live music by David Eaton, UTSA and David Heller, Trinity organists.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Keeping Score on demand

Coinciding with the current PBS telecasts of the second season of the San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score documentary series hosted by Michael Tilson Thomas, the orchestra is releasing on CD concert performances of all of the works featured in the series. The CDs include Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Ives’s Holidays Symphony paired with Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, Stravinsky’s Firebird and selections from The Rite of Spring, Beethoven’s Eroica and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

These CDs are in addition to the orchestra’s releases of all Keeping Score documentaries and performances on DVD, as well as the Season 2 documentaries and performances on Blu-Ray. The Season 2 Keeping Score documentaries, currently airing on PBS stations across the country (check local listings), explore the music and stories behind Hector Berlioz’s symphonic love letter Symphonie fantastique, Charles Ives’s sonic portrait of New England in his Holidays Symphony, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, a work that may have saved his life.

In addition, PBS is making all Keeping Score documentary episodes available for free on-demand.. The new Season 2 episodes (Berlioz, Ives, and Shostakovich), as well as previous Keeping Score documentaries on Beethoven, Copland, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky can be viewed on demand at http://video.pbs.org/searchForm/?q=Keeping+Score

YOSA: Podcast 1 Hagen

This is the first podcast in a series for the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio...they perform the world premiere of Daron Hagen's Northern Lights, a fanfare in celebration of Troy Peters' first season as music director coming up in January 2010.

YOSA Podcast: Daron Hagen 1 from Classical Spotlight on Vimeo.



YOSA plays their first concert under the direction of Troy Peters this Sunday afternoon @ 4pm in Laurie Auditorium.

Sing a long

RUSH HOUR BIG SING – Come sing with Conspirare!
Thursday, November 12
5:30 p.m.
St. Martin's Lutheran Church, 606 W. 15th St.
Admission is FREE!

Conspirare is excited to present its inaugural Rush Hour Big Sing – a free community event where the audience is the choir! Conspirare's acclaimed artistic director Craig Hella Johnson will lead the gathering in breathing exercises, vocal warm-ups, and short, melodic songs that can be easily learned. Conspirare Symphonic Choir members will sit among the audience to sing along and provide musical support and encouragement during the one-hour event.

The concert is open to all – no musical background required. Through this no-pressure group sing, you'll learn basic vocal technique, experience the body as an instrument, and sing as one with hundreds of others. If you've ever dreamed of singing under the direction of a world-renowned conductor, this is your opportunity – and your friends' and coworkers'. Get off the road at rush hour and join us for a relaxed, fun experience. No ticket needed – see you there!

Monday, November 2, 2009

KPAC Listener's TOP 100

100 SIBELIUS SYMPHONY # 2 FINALE
99 SAINT-SAENS SYMPHONY # 3
98 ROSSINSI WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE
97 RODRIGO CONCIERTO DE ARANJUEZ 2ND MOVEMENT
96 RACHMANINOFF RHAPSODY ON A THEME OF PAGANINI
95 PUCCINI VISSI D'ARTE - TOSCA
94 PROKOFIEV ROMEO AND JULIET SUITE
93 MUSSORGSKY NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN
92 MOZART SYMPHONY #41
91 MOZART SYMPHONY #40
90 MOZART MOTET AVE VERUM CORPUS
89 MOZART Marriage of Figaro
88 MOZART HORN CONCERTO #4
87 MOZART CLARINET CONCERTO IN A
86 MOZART Ave verum corpus
85 MENDELSSOHN SYMPHONY # 4
84 KHACHATURIAN SPARATUS ADAGIO PF SPARATUS &PHRYGIA
83 HANDEL XERXES-LARGO
82 GERSHWIN CONCERTO IN F
81 ELGAR POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE
80 DE BUSSY PRELUDE TO THE AFTERNOON OF A FAUN
79 COPLAND RODEO
78 BRAHMS SYMPHONY # 4
77 BRAHMS PIANO CONCERTO #1
76 BORODIN PRINCE IGOR POLOVTSIAN
75 BERLIOZ SYMPHONIA FANTASTIQUE
74 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY # 4
73 BEETHOVEN STRING QUARTET
72 BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO # 3
71 BACH, J S ST MATTHEW PASSION
70 BACH, J S JOY OF MAN'S DESIRING
69 BACH, J S CELLO SUITE #1
68 VERDI GRANDE MARCH FROM AIDA
67 TCHAIKOVSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO #1
66 STRAUSS DER ROSENKAVALIER SUITE
65 SIBELIUS FINLANDIA
64 MOZART PIANO CONCERTO #21
63 MOZART CA CI DAREM LA MANO FROM DON GIOVANNI
62 HANDEL WATER MUSIC
61 HANDEL MUSIC FOR THE ROYAL FIREWORKS
60 GLUCK DANCE OF THE BLESSED SPIRITS
59 FAURE REQUIEM
58 ELGAR ENIGMA VARIATIONS
57 ELGAR CELLO CONCERTO IN E MINOR
56 DVORAK SLAVONIC DANCES
55 COPLAND FANFARE TO COMMON MAN
54 BRAHMS SYMPHONY #1
53 BRAHMS PIANO CONCERTO # 2
52 BARBER VIOLIN CONCERTO
51 BACH PASSACAGLIA &FUGUE IN C
50 WIDOR ORGAN SYMPHONY #5 TOCATA
49 TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY #6
48 TCHAIKOVSKY SWAN LAKE
47 TCHAIKOVSKY ROMEO AND JULIET
46 STRAVINSKI RITE OF SPRING
45 RACHMANINOFF PIANO CONCERTO # 3
44 PUCCINI MADAME BUTTERFLY
43 MUSSORGSKY PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
42 MENDELSSOHN VIOLIN CONCERTO IN E
41 MAHLER SYMPHONY #1
40 MAHLER SYMPHONY # 5
39 DE BUSSY SUITE BERGAMASQUE CLAIRE DE LUNE
38 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY #6
37 BARTOK CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA
36 BACH, J S GOLDBERG VARIATIONS
35 BACH, J S BRANDENBURG CONCERTO #3
34 RESPIGHI THE PINES OF ROME
33 MOZART MAGIC FLUTE
32 GRIEG PEER GYNT SUITE #1
31 CHOPIN NOCTURNE IN E FLAT
30 BEETHOVEN MOONLIGHT SONATA IN C
29 SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY # 5
28 RAVEL BOLERO
27 PUCCINI TURANDOT NESSUN DORMA
26 MOZART EINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIK
25 HOLST THE PLANETS
24 TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO # 1
23 TCHAIKOVSKY OVERTURE OF 1812
22 BEETHOVEN VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D
21 BACH, J S BRANDENBURG CONCERTO #2
20 WAGNER RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES
19 BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO # 5
18 TCHAIKOVSKY THE NUTCRACKER
17 ORFF CARMEN BURANA
16 COPLAND APPALACHIAN SPRING
15 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY # 7
14 SMETANNA MY COUNTRY THE MOLDAU
13 MOZART REQUIEM
12 GERSHWIN RHAPSODY IN BLUE
11 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY # 5
10 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY # 3
9 BACH, J S TOCCATA AND FUGUE IN D
8 RIMSKY-KORAKOV SCHEHERAZADE
7 RACHMANINOFF PIANO CONCERTO # 2
6 BARBER ADAGIO FOR STRINGS
5 BRAHMS GERMAN REQUIEM
4 HANDEL MESSIAH
3 VIVALDI THE FOUR SEASONS
2 DVORAK SYMPHONY #9
1 BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY # 9