Category - Classical Music

1
The Totenberg Strad
2
An Interview with Polyphonic’s New Editor-in-Chief, James Doser
3
PRJ Grant Recipient Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble Reflects on May 2015 Concert
4
Remembering Vic Firth
5
Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society Turns 200
6
Optimism in Omaha
7
Hidden Messages: New Vintage Baroque’s Second Season
8
You had two jobs…
9
PRJ Grant Recipient Hotel Elefant Reflects On “speakOUT” Concert
10
Kennedy Center Announces Lineup for “Shift: A Festival of American Orchestras”

The Totenberg Strad

Aug 07 2015
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Ann Drinan
Ann Drinan

Ann Drinan, Senior Editor, has been a member of the Hartford Symphony viola section for over 30 years. She is a former Chair of the Orchestra Committee, former member of the HSO Board, and has served on many HSO committees. She is also the Executive Director of CONCORA (CT Choral Artists), a professional chorus based in Hartford and New Britain, founded by Artistic Director Richard Coffey. Ann was a member of the Advisory Board of the Symphony Orchestra Institute (SOI), and was the HSO ROPA delegate for 14 years, serving as both Vice President and President of ROPA. In addition to playing the viola and running CONCORA, Ann is a professional writer and editor, and has worked as a consultant and technical writer for software companies in a wide variety of industries for over 3 decades. (She worked for the Yale Computer Science Department in the late 70s, and thus has been on the Internet, then called the DARPAnet, since 1977!) She is married to Algis Kaupas, a sound recordist, and lives a block from Long Island Sound in Branford CT. Together they create websites for musicians: shortbeachwebdesign.com.

Ann holds a BA in Music from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an MA in International Relations from Yale University.

Read Ann Drinan's blog here. web.esm.rochester.edu/poly/author/ann-drinan

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Classical Music, Instruments, Legal

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What a wonderful story we heard on NPR’s Morning Edition today – the Stradivarius violin stolen from Roman Totenberg 35 years ago was to be reunited with the family today. Nina Totenberg, famous NPR reporter, tells the story as only she can – how the violin disappeared after one of her father’s performances, how her[…]

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An Interview with Polyphonic’s New Editor-in-Chief, James Doser

Aug 05 2015
Browse archives for August 05, 2015
Polyphonic Administrator
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Ann Drinan

All of us at Polyphonic welcome Jim and are excited to begin working with him, as we bid a fond…

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Classical Music, Education, Entrepreneurship, Orchestra Life

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This summer, Polyphonic.org welcomes a new Editor-in-Chief, James Doser. He takes over for Ramon Ricker, who led Polyphonic.org since its inception in 2006. Welcome, Jim! Polyphonic: Jim – one thing that readers will find really interesting is that you actually studied with Ray Ricker, which means you are both saxophonists and that you know the[…]

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PRJ Grant Recipient Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble Reflects on May 2015 Concert

Aug 03 2015
Browse archives for August 03, 2015
Kayleigh Butcher
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Alternative Ensembles, Composition, Paul R. Judy Center for Applied Research, Performances

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Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble’s Season Closer Concert for the 2014-15 season: Spatial Palettes took place on Sunday, May 17, 2015 at 8:30pm at Constellation Chicago. We commissioned 3 new pieces with the generous support of The Paul R. Judy Center for Applied Research. One from Monte Weber, another from Levy Lorenzo, and another from Eliza[…]

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Remembering Vic Firth

Jul 31 2015
Browse archives for July 31, 2015
Ann Drinan
Ann Drinan

Ann Drinan, Senior Editor, has been a member of the Hartford Symphony viola section for over 30 years. She is a former Chair of the Orchestra Committee, former member of the HSO Board, and has served on many HSO committees. She is also the Executive Director of CONCORA (CT Choral Artists), a professional chorus based in Hartford and New Britain, founded by Artistic Director Richard Coffey. Ann was a member of the Advisory Board of the Symphony Orchestra Institute (SOI), and was the HSO ROPA delegate for 14 years, serving as both Vice President and President of ROPA. In addition to playing the viola and running CONCORA, Ann is a professional writer and editor, and has worked as a consultant and technical writer for software companies in a wide variety of industries for over 3 decades. (She worked for the Yale Computer Science Department in the late 70s, and thus has been on the Internet, then called the DARPAnet, since 1977!) She is married to Algis Kaupas, a sound recordist, and lives a block from Long Island Sound in Branford CT. Together they create websites for musicians: shortbeachwebdesign.com.

Ann holds a BA in Music from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an MA in International Relations from Yale University.

Read Ann Drinan's blog here. web.esm.rochester.edu/poly/author/ann-drinan

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Classical Music, Entrepreneurship

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I grew up in the Boston area; Vic Firth’s name was revered as one of the most prominent “BSO men” in the area. Anastasia Tsioulcas of NPR has put together a lovely tribute to him as both a percussionist and an entrepreneur. Click here to read the remembrance at NPR’s Deceptive Cadence, complete with photos and[…]

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Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society Turns 200

Jul 13 2015
Browse archives for July 13, 2015
Ann Drinan
Ann Drinan

Ann Drinan, Senior Editor, has been a member of the Hartford Symphony viola section for over 30 years. She is a former Chair of the Orchestra Committee, former member of the HSO Board, and has served on many HSO committees. She is also the Executive Director of CONCORA (CT Choral Artists), a professional chorus based in Hartford and New Britain, founded by Artistic Director Richard Coffey. Ann was a member of the Advisory Board of the Symphony Orchestra Institute (SOI), and was the HSO ROPA delegate for 14 years, serving as both Vice President and President of ROPA. In addition to playing the viola and running CONCORA, Ann is a professional writer and editor, and has worked as a consultant and technical writer for software companies in a wide variety of industries for over 3 decades. (She worked for the Yale Computer Science Department in the late 70s, and thus has been on the Internet, then called the DARPAnet, since 1977!) She is married to Algis Kaupas, a sound recordist, and lives a block from Long Island Sound in Branford CT. Together they create websites for musicians: shortbeachwebdesign.com.

Ann holds a BA in Music from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an MA in International Relations from Yale University.

Read Ann Drinan's blog here. web.esm.rochester.edu/poly/author/ann-drinan

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Classical Music, Editor's Choice, Musicians Today, Performance Practice

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Claiming to be the oldest continuously performing orchestra in America, the Handel and Haydn Society celebrates 200 years this year. The Society gave the American premiere performances of Verdi’s Requiem in 1878 and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in 1879. The Society was created at the conclusion of the War of 1812, giving a performance of[…]

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Optimism in Omaha

Jul 06 2015
Browse archives for July 06, 2015
Stephen Danyew
Stephen Danyew

Steve Danyew is a composer, saxophonist, teacher, and arts administrator based in Rochester, NY. Danyew composes works for chamber ensembles, large instrumental ensembles, choirs and more, and currently serves as Managing Editor of Polyphonic.org. His music has been hailed as “startlingly beautiful” and “undeniably well crafted and communicative” by the Miami Herald, and has been praised as possessing “sensitivity, skill and tremendous sophistication” by the Kansas City Independent. Steve received a B.M. cum laude, Pi Kappa Lambda from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and holds an M.M. in Composition and Certificate in Arts Leadership from the Eastman School of Music.

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Classical Music, Negotiation, Orchestra Life, Orchestra Management

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An article came out a couple of weeks ago on Omaha.com with some positive news from the Omaha Symphony.  Attendance during the Symphony’s 2014-15 season was record setting, and even subscription packages to multiple concerts are on the rise. Pretty exciting.  Of course, the question is why. Why are more people coming to the symphony[…]

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Hidden Messages: New Vintage Baroque’s Second Season

Jun 18 2015
Browse archives for June 18, 2015
Francis Liu
Francis Liu

With an inclination for eclectic projects, violinist Francis Liu specializes in performing contemporary works and period interpretations of Baroque and Classical repertoire. In addition to being co-founder of New Vintage Baroque, he has appeared at the festival “Dans les Jardins de William Christie,” working with members of Les Arts Florissants. He has also been on tour with the Baroque ensemble Musica Angelica and the actor John Malkovich in two productions, “The Infernal Comedy,” and “The Giacomo Variations.” Upcoming projects include performances with the Bach Players of Holy Trinity, the Sebastians, and the New York-based contemporary ensemble, Hotel Elefant. Mr. Liu has received degrees from Rice University, the University of Maryland, and the Juilliard Historical Performance program.

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Alternative Ensembles, Entrepreneurship, Paul R. Judy Center for Applied Research, Performances

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It seems counterintuitive: how is it that so many musicians dedicate their lives to the study and practice of repertoire written so long ago by composers who no longer walk the earth? Look deep into the music, however, and one will find within it a vitality that is ripe for the harvest. This vitality is[…]

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You had two jobs…

Jun 08 2015
Browse archives for June 08, 2015
Robert Levine
Robert Levine

Robert Levine has been the Principal Violist of the Milwaukee Symphony since September 1987. Before coming to Milwaukee Mr. Levine had been a member of the Orford String Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Toronto, with whom he toured extensively throughout Canada, the United States, and South America. Prior to joining the Orford Quartet, Mr. Levine had served as Principal Violist of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for six years. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, and the Oklahoma City Symphony, as well as serving as guest principal with the orchestras of Indianapolis and Hong Kong.

He has performed as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Oklahoma City Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, the Midsummer Mozart Festival (San Francisco), and numerous community orchestras in Northern California and Minnesota. He has also been featured on American Public Radio's nationally broadcast show "St. Paul Sunday Morning" on several occasions.

Mr. Levine has been an active chamber musician, having performed at the Festival Rolandseck in Germany, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Palm Beach Festival, the "Strings in the Mountains" Festival in Colorado, and numerous concerts in the Twin Cities and Milwaukee. He has also been active in the field of new music, having commissioned and premiered works for viola and orchestra from Minnesota composers Janika Vandervelde and Libby Larsen.

Mr. Levine was chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians from 1996 to 2002 and currently serves as President of the Milwaukee Musicians Association, Local 8 of the American Federation of Musicians, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the League of American Orchestras. He has written extensively about issues concerning orchestra musicians for publications of ICSOM, the AFM, the Symphony Orchestra Institute, and the League of American Orchestras.

Mr. Levine attended Stanford University and the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland. His primary teachers were Aaron Sten and Pamela Goldsmith. He also studied with Paul Doctor, Walter Trampler, Bruno Giuranna, and David Abel.

He lives with his wife Emily and his son Sam in Glendale.

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Conducting

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Two things I’d like to see conductors do: Not let the orchestra slow up when it shouldn’t Not let the orchestra speed up when it shouldn’t Is that too hard? Apparently it is. That is all.

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PRJ Grant Recipient Hotel Elefant Reflects On “speakOUT” Concert

Jun 08 2015
Browse archives for June 08, 2015
Mary Kouyoumdjian & Leaha Maria Villarreal
Mary Kouyoumdjian & Leaha Maria Villarreal

HOTEL ELEFANT IS A CONTEMPORARY MUSIC ENSEMBLE DEDICATED TO THE WORKS OF INNOVATIVE, LIVING COMPOSERS.

Founded by composers Leaha Maria Villarreal and Mary Kouyoumdjian, Hotel Elefant brings an awareness of today’s music to the general public through commissions, performances, and moderated discussions between composers, performers, and audiences. Committed to modern sounds and sonic explorations, this "audacious and unafraid" (New Music Box) ensemble highlights living composers who are blurring lines, pushing boundaries, and fostering creativity. With a flexible roster of more than twenty musicians, Hotel Elefant works closely with a broad spectrum of progressive artists including John Luther Adams, Richard Carrick, Michael Gordon, David T. Little, Angélica Negrón, and Chinary Ung. Past performances include Lincoln Center, Look and Listen Festival, and the Bang on a Can Marathon; collaborations with IKTUS Percussion and The Nouveau Classical Project; partnerships with Experiments in Opera, Ear Heart Music, and Opera on Tap; and a debut Carnegie Hall performance praised by The New York Times as “deeply felt.”

The ensemble has enjoyed the attention of such outlets and publications as Alex Ross' blog The Rest is Noise, radio station Q2 Music, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. Time Out New York hails Hotel Elefant as “one of New York’s fastest rising new-music outfits.”

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Alternative Ensembles, Entrepreneurship, Paul R. Judy Center for Applied Research, Performances

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Hotel Elefant’s “speakOUT” spring 2015 concert by was hosted by the downtown New York venue SubCulture on International Women’s Day, representing female artists who utilize music to reflect on issues both personal and political. The generous funding from the Paul R. Judy Center for Applied Research helped present cutting-edge works by women, with works specifically[…]

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Kennedy Center Announces Lineup for “Shift: A Festival of American Orchestras”

Jun 02 2015
Browse archives for June 02, 2015
Stephen Danyew
Stephen Danyew

Steve Danyew is a composer, saxophonist, teacher, and arts administrator based in Rochester, NY. Danyew composes works for chamber ensembles, large instrumental ensembles, choirs and more, and currently serves as Managing Editor of Polyphonic.org. His music has been hailed as “startlingly beautiful” and “undeniably well crafted and communicative” by the Miami Herald, and has been praised as possessing “sensitivity, skill and tremendous sophistication” by the Kansas City Independent. Steve received a B.M. cum laude, Pi Kappa Lambda from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and holds an M.M. in Composition and Certificate in Arts Leadership from the Eastman School of Music.

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Classical Music, Concerts, Performances

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With the closing of the “Spring for Music” festival in NYC this past year, the Kennedy Center has announced that it will create a similar festival of American Orchestras. The new festival will take place during late March and early April 2016, and will feature the Boulder Philharmonic, the North Carolina Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony[…]

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