Dean's Symposiums Begin This Month
Noted author, journalist, and commentator Norman Lebrecht joins Peabody dean Fred Bronstein for the first of the 2015-16 Dean's Symposiums on Monday, October 26,
at 2:30 pm in Cohen-Davison Family Theatre.
The new series, convened by Dean Bronstein, welcomes innovative artists and thought leaders in the music industry to address the campus community about issues and trends in the field. Other speakers in the series include Le Poisson Rouge co-founders David Handler and Justin Kantor on November 18; Howard Herring, president and chief executive officer of the New World Symphony, on February 22; International Contemporary Ensemble founder and artistic director Claire Chase on March 11; and Deborah Rutter, president and chief executive officer of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on April 6. All five planned events will be free and open to the public, as well as available to view online via live stream.
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FROM THE DEAN
During the course of a typical season, the Peabody Institute presents hundreds of concerts by faculty, students, and guest artists performing a broad range of music. The
2015-16 season is no exception. But a closer look reveals an especially eclectic series that includes presentations audiences are unlikely to experience anywhere else. And that is being noticed.
In
The Baltimore Sun's September 11
Fall Arts Guide, of the ten Classical Picks for the season, three are Peabody performances, and two additional events on the list include Peabody faculty as featured performers. So, amidst a wide array of terrific performing arts organizations that will present many performances in the greater Baltimore area this season, Peabody has seized a significant portion of some of the most anticipated events.
We saw one of the first examples just recently with the presentation of faculty composer Michael Hersch's monodrama
On the Threshold of Winter in a tour-de-force performance by soprano Ah Young Hong, also a member of the Peabody faculty. Tim Smith of
The Baltimore Sun writes, "The work's Baltimore premiere Saturday night at the Peabody Institute proved to be, in every way, an extraordinary event. The production set something of a new standard for music theater at Peabody."
With the season just started, more great concerts are coming up, and several of them will be livestreamed. I hope you'll join us for the Peabody 2015-16 season.
Fred Bronstein, Dean |
ON STAGE / OFF CAMPUS
Saturday, October 17, 8:00 pm; Sunday, October 18, 3:00 pm
Symphony Number One, a new group founded by DMA conducting student Jordan Randall Smith and junior Nicholas Bentz, will perform Antonín Dvořák's Serenade for Strings and the world premiere of Nicole Murphy's Water Mirrors at
Grace and St. Peter's Church in Baltimore. Mr. Smith will conduct the string orchestra, while Mr. Bentz will serve as concertmaster.
Monday, October 19, 8:00 pm
Time Toss - Peabody alumni Jarrett Gilgore (BM '15, Jazz Saxophone), alto saxophone, synth; and Matt Frazao (BM '02, Guitar), bass; with Liam Hurlbut, tenor saxophone and Sam Balcom, drums - will perform at Whole Gallery in Baltimore, and then continue on its Northeast tour to Burlington Vt.; Providence, R.I.; and Brooklyn, N.Y., through October.
Friday, October 23, 10:45 am; Sunday, October 25, 3:00 pm
Preparatory alumna Nadia Sirota, viola, is performing the American premiere of Nico Muhly's Viola Concerto with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Leonard Slatkin. Ms. Sirota, who studied with Preparatory faculty member Rebecca Henry, is a member of yMusic, Alarm Will Sound, and ACME (the American Contemporary Music Ensemble). Her debut album First Things First was named a record of the year by The New York Times.
Saturday, October 24, 3:00 pm
The Peabody Youth Orchestra will perform at this year's Harmony for Peace concert in the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall in Philadelphia. The program features Johan de Meij's "Lord of the Rings" Symphony. Also featured are the Chester County Youth Choir and Chorale, ChildrenSong of New Jersey, Yeou-Cheng Ma, violin, and Gohei Nishikawa, piano.
Sunday, October 25, 3:00 pm
In the first live streamed Peabody concert this season, faculty artist Marin Alsop will conduct the Peabody Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra will perform Pulitzer Prize-winning faculty composer Kevin Puts' River's Rush and Symphony No. 2 and Antonín Dvořák's "New World" Symphony. Both of the Puts works featured on this concert will also be included on the Orchestra's first major-label recording, expected to be released on the Naxos label next year.
Peabody Events highlights select off-campus or live-streamed performances featuring Peabody performers. For other events, please visit our Peabody Institute Concerts Facebook page. For the complete weekly list of concerts at Peabody, subscribe to Events at Peabody at peabody.jhu.edu/news.
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ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENTS
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Lura Johnson
Peabody faculty member Lura Johnson ('01, Piano) and cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn, performing as Duo Baltinati, won second prize in chamber music in the 22nd International Brahms Competition in Pörtschach, Austria. The duo was selected out of 32 ensembles and 77 artists. Their program included Schumann's Fantasiestücke, Bolcom's Capriccio, both Brahms Cello Sonatas, Beethoven's C Major Cello Sonata, Debussy's Cello Sonata, and Piazzolla's Le Grand Tango. Ms. Johnson teaches piano minors at Peabody.
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Daniel Kazez
Daniel Kazez (MM '82, Cello), has produced an iPhone app called InTune, to test and train intonation. The VoiceCouncil Magazine calls it "brilliantly simple" and Music Toolbox calls it "simple and elegant...delightfully simple." Mr. Kazez is the author of the college text book Rhythm Reading and has given cello recitals throughout Europe.
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Abigail Lo
Preparatory piano student Abigail Lo, a student of Hyun-Sook Park (BM '88, MM '90, DMA '99, Piano), won the junior level in piano in the Maryland Music Teachers National Association Competition held at Washington Adventist University. Ms. Lo will represent Maryland at the Eastern Division regional competition in January. Ms. Lo was also was one of eight finalists at the Kaufman Music Center International Youth Piano Competition in June.
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Jacques-Pierre Malan
Master's cello student Jacques-Pierre Malan (GPD '12, Cello; GPD '13, Chamber Music), a student of Amit Peled, won second prize in the inaugural Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (SICMF) International Study Bursary Competition - which awards the largest South African scholarship for overseas music studies. Each finalist performed a concerto (or part thereof) accompanied by the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Boico. Watch Mr. Malan's performance here.
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Alexander Norris
The latest CD release by jazz trumpet faculty artist Alexander Norris (PC '90, Trumpet; BM '90, Music Education), Extension Deadline, received 4.5 out of 5 stars in a review Down Beat magazine. The album features Mr. Norris on trumpet with drummer Rudy Royston, saxophonist and Peabody Director of Jazz Studies Gary Thomas, and pianist-organist George Colligan. Read the full review here.
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RECENT RECORDINGS
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Pianist Matthew Bengtson (MM '97, DMA '01, Piano) commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of Scriabin with the release of a recording of the composer's complete sonatas and all-Scriabin concerts in the Mid-West and northeast United States. In June, on the summer solstice, Mr. Bengtson participated in a unique tribute, "Scriabin in the Himalayas," in Ladakh, India, at high altitude in a Buddhist monastery combining music, scenery, architecture, colored lights, Cham dance, and timed scent diffusions. The performances served as the basis for a video documentary.
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César Orozco (GPD '14, Jazz Piano), Cuban and Venezuelan keyboardist and composer, and his group, Kamarata Jazz, released No Limits For Tumbao featuring faculty artist Gary Thomas. The album features a Latin jazz fusion of African, new world, folkloric changüi, and joropo rhythms. Tracks range from Orozco's six original compositions to Cuban and Venezuelan folk songs.
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