Be the first to discover the finest rising-star classical musicians of their generation. Astral's newest artists debut at the Winners Concert, in a showcase of masterful artistry.

Featuring:
ARKAI, string duo
Amer Hasan, clarinet
Hilda Huang, piano
Helen Zhibing Huang, soprano
Valentin Kovalev, saxophone
Julian Rhee, violin
Hao Yang, guitar

Join us for this special outdoor concert on September 25th to take in the sounds of Quinteto Latino. The concert begins at 6:00pm at Seminary Oaks Park in Menlo Park. For those planning to attend, please be sure to bring your own chair or blanket for seating. 

Performers: Diane Grubbe, flute; Kyle Bruckmann, oboe; Leslie Tagorda, clarinet; Shawn Jones, bassoon; Armando Castellano, horn.

PROGRAM

Nkeiru Okoye Movements for String Quartet
Chen Yi Shuo for String Quintet
Francis Poulenc Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano
Adolphus Hailstork "Detroit" Piano Quintet

FEATURING

Ashley Horne, Violin
Claire Chan, Violin
William Frampton, Viola
Wayne Smith, Cello
Anthony Morris, Double Bass
Hassan Anderson, Oboe
Alexander Davis, Bassoon
Lydia Brown, Piano
David Berry, Piano

*Editors note: this concert program will also take place on Friday September 24, 2021. See link below for info and tickets to either event.

SWAN SONG combines a contemporary string quartet by prolific composer Adolphus Hailstork with the unforgettable Schubert cello quintet. Schubert's final work of chamber music is often regarded as one of the finest compositions of the art form.

With the rare instrumentation of a full standard string quartet plus an additional cello, this compelling work is a favorite of many chamber music lovers. Plus, hear living composer Adolphus Hailstork's beautiful Adagio for Strings, a contemporary addition to the wonderful adagio tradition. The Parker Quartet and Marcy Rosen perform.

PROGRAM

Franz LISZT, arr. Müller-Berghaus Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

Michael TORKE SKY (Concerto for Violin)*
I. Lively;
II. Wistful;
III. Spirited
Tessa Lark, violin

William DAWSON Negro Folk Symphony
I.The Bond of Africa;
II. Hope in the Night;
III. O, Le’ Me Shine, Shine Like a Morning Star!

CONDUCTOR
Mei-Ann Chen

GUEST ARTIST
Tessa Lark, violin

*Chicago Premiere

On SKY: “The balance between the worlds of classical and vernacular music is masterly: one can bet that this work will soon be imposed as a classic of literature for violin and orchestra.” — Filippo Focosi, Kathodik

Chicago Sinfonietta’s 34th season begins with a dynamic concert drawing on the deep connections of community through works grounded in folk music. The rhythmic spontaneity and seductive expression of Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 opens the concert, followed by violinist Tessa Lark’s compelling energy in Michael Torke’s SKY, a fusion inspired by Irish reel and American bluegrass. The evening closes with American composer William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony, a Chicago Sinfonietta signature piece informed by traditional spirituals.

September 18, 2021 at 8:00 pm | Wentz Concert Hall
September 20, 2021 at 7:30 pm | Symphony Center

Approximately 70 mins, no intermission

PROGRAM

Franz LISZT, arr. Müller-Berghaus Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

Michael TORKE SKY (Concerto for Violin)*
I. Lively;
II. Wistful;
III. Spirited
Tessa Lark, violin

William DAWSON Negro Folk Symphony
I.The Bond of Africa;
II. Hope in the Night;
III. O, Le’ Me Shine, Shine Like a Morning Star!

CONDUCTOR
Mei-Ann Chen

GUEST ARTIST
Tessa Lark, violin

*Chicago Premiere

On SKY: “The balance between the worlds of classical and vernacular music is masterly: one can bet that this work will soon be imposed as a classic of literature for violin and orchestra.” — Filippo Focosi, Kathodik

Chicago Sinfonietta’s 34th season begins with a dynamic concert drawing on the deep connections of community through works grounded in folk music. The rhythmic spontaneity and seductive expression of Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 opens the concert, followed by violinist Tessa Lark’s compelling energy in Michael Torke’s SKY, a fusion inspired by Irish reel and American bluegrass. The evening closes with American composer William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony, a Chicago Sinfonietta signature piece informed by traditional spirituals.

September 18, 2021 at 8:00 pm | Wentz Concert Hall
September 20, 2021 at 7:30 pm | Symphony Center

Approximately 70 mins, no intermission

About the artists:

Black Violin is an American hip hop duo from Fort Lauderdale, Florida comprising two classically trained string instrumentalists, Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste, who go by the stage names Kev Marcus and Wil B. Kev Marcus plays the violin, and Wil B. plays the viola (source)

The Blind Boys of Alabama, also billed as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama and Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, is an American gospel group. (source)

Aakash Mittal’s Nocturne suite offers listeners a reimagining of the night. The music places the density and sonic collisions of urban India alongside the meditations of a world at rest, night terrors conjured by the imagination, and the slow cadence of blue light melting into darkness. The second half of the program will feature Mittal’s new works for voice that explore dreams as a non linear space where memory, experience and premonition meet.

ARTISTS
Aakash Mittal | Alto Saxophone
Rajna Swaminathan | Mridangam
Miles Okazaki | Guitar
Jasmine Wilson | Voice
Shurmila Dhar | Voice
Eddy Kwon | Violin
Trevor New | Viola
Stephan Crump | Bass

Emerald Futures: NYPhilharmonic Very Young Composers and toy piano and composer duo, Chromic Duo, team up to create an immersive soundwalk!

About this event

Come celebrate with us! 

Immerse yourself in an evolving sound-world that changes according to your geographic location, as you listen to world premieres of pieces by the Very Young Composers at the New York Philharmonic. With GPS hotspots plotted along the route, site-specific pieces will play as you move from one contrasting natural soundscape into a future imagined by the next generation of composers and thinkers on a future that we believe in. 

Emerald Futures is an Augmented Reality Sound Walk that guides you through a year of transformation and growth, from Central Park (W. 72nd St + Central Park West) to Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya’s mural, “We Belong Here”, in response to the rise of anti-AAPI hate. 

As you reach the end of the walk at Lincoln Center, unlock a *special element* with Chromic Duo that is especially rendered for this closing event! 

Please download Gesso (available for iOS + Google Play) and have headphones ready beforehand. https://www.gesso.app/download

Duration: ~30 minutes

Benjamin Baker, violin
Brian Hong, violin and co-artistic director
Jordan Bak, viola
Alexander Hersh, cello and co-artistic director
Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson, flute
Kristina Bachrach, soprano

Augusta Read Thomas, composer and emcee

Program

Upon Wings of Words

Amy Beach: Theme and Variations for flute and string quartet
Augusta Read Thomas: Upon Wings of Words (Emily Dickinson Settings) for soprano and string quartet
—World Premiere
Alma Mahler: Five Lieder (1910) for soprano and string quartet (arr. Cliff Colnot)

Program

Sounds of Dance

Coleridge-Taylor: Danse nègre from African Suite
J. Strauss Jr.: The Blue Danube Waltz
Chopin: Grande valse brillante (arr. Stravinsky)
Price: Dances in the Canebrakes (arr. Still)
Smetana: The Moldau from My Fatherland
Dvořák: Slavonic Dance No. 8
Arturo Márquez: Conga del Fuego Nuevo

Lara Downes, piano
Rachel Barton Pine, violin
Ifetayo Ali-Landing, cello
Members of the Chicago Sinfonietta

Program

Rising Sun: Migration and Renaissance

Tracing the journey, physical and metaphorical, of the Great Migration and the creative flowering of the Chicago Black Renaissance, this program features music—by artists whose work and lives were transformed by the journey north—that tells stories of migration and metamorphosis, trial and triumph, courage, creativity, and collaboration.

Margaret Bonds: The Bells and Troubled Water from Spiritual Suite
Margaret Bonds: “Dream Variations” from Three Dream Portraits
William Grant Still: Summerland from Three Visions
Nora Holt: Nora’s Dance
Florence Price: Sketches in Sepia
Florence Price: Andante con espressione
William Grant Still: Gamin from Suite for Violin and Piano
Florence Price: Piano Quintet in A minor
Lil Hardin Armstrong: “Just For a Thrill” (arr. Jeremy Siskind)
Sam Cooke: “A Change Is Gonna Come” (arr. Jeremy Siskind)

Davóne Tines, bass-baritone
Adam Nielsen, piano

Program

An exploration of the Mass woven through Western European, African American, and 21st-century traditions I. Kyrie

Caroline Shaw: Kyrie

Bach: “Wie jammern mich” from Cantata No. 170

Tyshawn Sorey: Songs for Death II. Agnus Dei

Caroline Shaw: Agnus Dei

Bach: “Komm, süßes Kreuz” from Saint Matthew Passion

Bonds: To a Brown Girl, Dead III. Credo

Caroline Shaw: Credo

Bach: “Mache dich, mein Herze, rein” from Saint Matthew Passion

Moses Hogan, arr.: “Give Me Jesus” IV. Gloria

Caroline Shaw: Gloria

Bach: “Quia fecit mihi magna” from Magnificat

Moses Hogan, arr.: “My Good Lord Done Been Here” V. Sanctus

Caroline Shaw: Sanctus

Davóne Tines, arr.: “Amazing Grace”

Eastman: Prelude to The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc VI. Benedictus

Igee Dieudonné / D. Tines: Chorale

A celebration of popular Arias and Art Songs by leading Filipino-American Classical singers

Be treated to an afternoon of glorious opera arias, and exquisite German and Filipino Art Songs by Filipino-American singers currently making waves in the classical music scene. Sopranos Nicole Besa and Margarita Giannelli, and tenors Geoffrey Agpaio and Jared Esguerra will serenade you with music by Bernstein, Mozart, Puccini, Schubert, Strauss and Verdi, and celebrated Filipino National Artists for Music Nicanor Abelardo and Francisco Santiago.

An outdoor health, wellness, and classical music festival advancing health equity amongst communities of color

Join us at VITALS, an outdoor health and wellness festival highlighting non-profit organizations and entrepreneurs advancing health equity amongst communities of color. Also featuring musicians from The Dream Unfinished, an Activist Orchestra, and the Harlem Chamber Players, in outdoor performances of works by diverse artists and composers. Free admission. 

When: August 21st, between 11 AM to 5 PM

Where: The front lawn of Jamaica Performing Arts Center. 

This event is supported in part by the Queens Council of the Arts, and is produced in partnership with Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning. 

Participating Organizations

• Sinergia

• MinKwon Center for Community Action

• Queens Community House

• South Asian Council for Social Services

• GetCoveredNYC

• Bangladeshi American Community and Youth Development Services

• includeNYC

• Make The Road New York

Seating is assigned on a first come first served basis

Description

Whether you’re looking for a beautifully unique classical music performance or a romantic candlelit experience, this performance is for you. You don’t need to know all things classical music to enjoy the evening, simply sit back and savor the stunning pieces you’ll hear. Held in specially selected venues in comfortable settings so you can enjoy classical music in a laid back yet classy atmosphere while the surroundings flicker by candlelight. Prepare to be taken into the clouds with these most treasured Latin and Tango masterpieces!

Tentative Program

• Astor Piazzolla- Fracanapa

• Laura Chavez- Blanco, Impetu

• Teresa Carreño- String Quartet in B minor, mov III

• Mariano Mores- Taquito Militar

• Osvaldo Fresedo- Vida Mia

• Julian Piana- Viejo Ciego

• Maria Granillo- Quartet No 2, Mestizo, Mov I

• José Bragato- Popular

• Maria Teresa Prieto- Cuarteto Modal para instrumentos de arcos. Mov 1: Dórico

• Ruben Gonzalez- Santa Fe

• Carlos Gardel- Por una Cabeza

• Astor Piazzolla- Deus Xango

Check in begins at 6pm

Brubeck Brothers Quartet and Classical Tahoe Quintet – Vignette No. 3
Brubeck Brothers Quartet– Blue Rondo
Maurice Ravel – Tzigane (1924)
Amaryn Olmeda, violin
Anna Stoytcheva, piano
Mendelssohn String Octet Op. 20
Allegro moderato ma con fuoco

Wm. Grant Still: Summerland
Philip Glass: “Opening” from Glassworks (1981)
Peteris Vasks: Castillo Interior (2013)
Couperin: Les barricades mysterieuses
Fred Hersch: Nocturne, from Three Character Studies (2004)
Chopin: Nocturne in B-flat, Op.62 No.1
Rachmaninov: Prelude in D, Op.23 No.4
Tchaikovsky/Pletnev: Intermezzo from The Nutcracker
————–
Liszt: Sonata in B Minor

Among his generation of concert artists, pianist Awadagin Pratt is acclaimed for his musical insight and intensely involving performances in recital and with symphony orchestras.

In 1992 Mr. Pratt won the Naumburg International Piano Competition and two years later was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Since then, he has played numerous recitals throughout the US including performances at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the White House, Ravinia, Blossom, Wolftrap, Caramoor, Aspen and the Hollywood Bowl. Internationally, Mr. Pratt has toured Japan four times and performed in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Israel, Columbia and South Africa.

Saturday, August 14, 7PM

Orchestra Concert

Gabriela Díaz-Alatriste, conductor
Brubeck Brothers Quartet with the Classical Tahoe Orchestra
Billy Hunter, trumpet

A Celebration of Centenary Jazz Great Dave Brubeck

Each summer, Classical Tahoe brings together America’s leading classical musicians for a three-week festival of orchestra concerts on the campus of Sierra Nevada University in Incline Village, Nev.

Orchestra and Chamber Concerts are held on the campus of Sierra Nevada University,

Gabriela Díaz-Alatriste, conductor
Márquez: Danzón No. 2 (1993)
Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, op. 61 (1880)
Amaryn Olmeda, violin
Intermission
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, op. 36 (1878)

Imani Winds
Brandon Patrick George, flute
Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe
Mark Dover, clarinet
Kevin Newton, horn
Monica Ellis, bassoon

VALERIE COLEMAN (b. 1970)
Umoja

RUTH CRAWFORD SEEGER (1901-1953)
Suite for Wind Quintet
Allegretto
Lento rubato
Allegro possibile

REENA ESMAIL (b. 1983)
The Light is the Same
(commissioned by the Lied Center at the University of Kansas; premiered March 15, 2017)

VALERIE COLEMAN (b. 1970)
Afro-Cuban Concerto
Afro
Vocalise
Danza

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Michael Stern, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin
Larisa Martínez, soprano

4:30 PM - Donor Gates Open

5:00 PM - Public Gates Open

8:00 PM - Concert Starts

Program

Voice and the Violin

Rossini: Overture to La scala di seta

Mendelssohn: “Ah, ritorna, età dell’oro” (Cavatina) from Infelice (1834) (adapt. Stephenson)

Dvořák/Kreisler: Slavonic Fantasy (after Songs My Mother Taught Me) (adapt. Stephenson)

Delibes: Les filles de Cadix

Sarasate: Habanera from Carmen Fantasy (adapt. Stephenson)

Hérold: “Jours de mon enfance” from Le pré aux clercs

Chopin: Nocturne in E-flat major, op. 9, no. 2 (arr. Bell/Wallace)

Berlioz: Overture to Béatrice et Bénédict

Bernstein: West Side Story Medley (arr. Brohn/Czarnecki, adapt. Stephenson)

New Music Gathering is an annual conference/festival hybrid dedicated to the performance, production, promotion, support, and creation of new and forward-thinking music.

With concerts, lecture/recitals, roundtable discussions, talks, and choreographed socializing like musician meet-ups and live action role playing games, NMG aims to be both a conference in the traditional sense but also quite literally a collective place for things to grow, improve, solidify, and above all get personal!

Aug. 12-14: Landmark Center, Landmark Plaza, Mears Park & Studio Z

Aug. 12-18: Online

Friday, July 30, 7PM PT
Opening Night Orchestra Concert

Ming Luke, guest conductor
Montgomery: Starburst (2012)
Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs) (1948)
Laquita Mitchell, soprano
Intermission
Mozart: “Chi’o mi scordi di te”, Scene and Rondo, K.505 (1786)
Laquita Mitchell, soprano
Anna Stoycheva, piano obbligato
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A Major, op. 90 (“Italian”) (1833)

This concert is being broadcast and streamed live on 98.7WFMT/wfmt.com.

The Festival welcomes the young artist hailed for his “prodigious talent and scintillating personality.” Flutist Anthony Trionfo plays the rarely heard Flute Concerto by Saverio Mercadante. Also on the program, Carlos Kalmar conducts Debussy's haunting classic Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and Saint-Saëns's Second Symphony.

Claude Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Saverio Mercadante: Flute Concerto
Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 2