I also published an article about soprano Angela Meade in winter issue of “Scene” magazine. “Scene” is the alumni magazine at Pacific Lutheran University. Meade has been winning a ton of competitions and awards, and earlier this year (on March 21st) she replaced an ailing Sondra Radvanovsky in the role of Elvira for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Verdi’s “Ernani.”
Although I graduated from PLU in the last millennium, this marks my first time to publish a piece in “Scene.”
The Seattle Symphony is in the home stretch of their holiday season programming. Their annual performance of Handel’s Messiah begins this week. The SSO’s Messiah doesn’t get talked about as much by music folks in town, but with Benaroya’s excellent acoustics and the orchestra at the top of their game these days, it is a Messiah worth looking into.
The other event coming up for the Seattle Symphony is their annual New Year’s Evening performance/party. As is the New Year’s tradition around these parts Gerard Schwarz and the orchestra play Beethoven’s Symphony No.9. Along with this justly famous masterpiece, the orchestra is also playing music by Johann Strauss Sr. and John Phillip Sousa. And, if Beethoven, Strauss, and Sousa aren’’t enough, the Seattle Seahawk’s Blue Thunder drumline will also be playing a few pieces with the orchestra.
When the music is done, there is champagne and deserts to help give the celebration a sweet touch. No plans for New Year’s Eve? I would check out the Seattle Symphony.
Here’s a clip of Blue Thunder playing at the SSO Day of Music earlier this year.
Gregory Vajda, the resident conductor of the Oregon Symphony, will lead the orchestra this coming weekend in a special holiday concert with Chris Botti on Friday and Saturday evenings and a holiday music and dance spectacular on Sunday afternoon.
Vajda took a little time out in his busy schedule last week to chat over a cup of coffee about what he has been doing. I’ll tell you, he has been keeping a hectic scheudle. Continue reading Catching up with Gregory Vajda
Charlie Rose had the composer, Daniel Barenboim, and James Levine on his show.
The Esoterics have been celebrating Elliott Carter’s 100th birthday recently. There are concerts on Capital Hill and West Seattle this weekend. If you can’t go, but still want to experience Carter’s music, the following videos are worth a look.
Allegro from the Sonata for Cello and Piano…
Everyone is doing Carter this time of year. The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra did an homage to the 100 year old American composer the other day. So did the Boston Symphony. Locally, the Esoterics are celebrating two centenaries – Carter and Messiaen’s. From what I can tell, the Esoterics are the only group in Seattle intentionally paying tribute to Elliott Carter’s centenary.
Imagine going to a Christmas concert with no “Jingle Bells,” no “Messiah,” no “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” but coming away feeling uplifted and Christmassy. This year, Seattle Pro Musica chose to give us a gift of Christmas music from South America, half from the 20th century, half from the 16th and 17th centuries when the continent was first coping with large numbers of Europeans.
Chicago A Cappella, a top notch vocal ensemble from the Windy City, really sparkles in its new holiday recording, entitled Christmas A Cappella. The CD contains 18 songs from around the world and each number is given a superb performance by this ensemble. Continue reading Chicago A Cappella’s Christmas album sparkles with new vocal gems
As promised, here is a video of Karen Thomas, the music director of Seattle Pro Musica, discussing the group’s upcoming holiday concert and the process she went through building the concert, picking the pieces, and what listeners can expect. Here’s one hint – sounds of the Amazon rain forest. Pro Musica’s holiday concert this weekend – Navidad – focuses on Latin American music spanning hundreds of years, from the 16th Century to the present.
Today, YouTube announced that it is creating the first symphony orchestra to be created from online submissions. This is no joke. The YouTube people are putting up a lot of money to team up with Michael Tilson Thomas, Tan Dun, The London Symphony Orchestra, and Carnegie Hall to find classical musicians (no age restrictions) for this orchestra. Those who are chosen will get a chance to play a Tan Dun composition under MTT at Carnegie Hall. I think that this is a terrific opportunity. Continue reading YouTube Symphony Orchestra
Gathering Note 