On January 9, the Consulate General of Switzerland in Mumbai and the Poona Music Society will present an evening of opera, art song, and chamber music, titled ‘Monteverdi to Sondheim’, as a New Year’s gift to lovers of Western classical music in Pune.
The five performers – tenors Lars Fischer and Sandeep Gurrapadi; soprano Antonia Thwaites; violinist Martha-Maria Mitu and pianist Chiara Naldi – come from different countries, Switzerland, Italy, Romania, the US, the UK, and India.
“We are very excited to be here and to share our passion and love for this music with the audience,” says Lars Fischer. In an emailed interview, he speaks about the range of emotions that can be explored through the pieces during the performance and how mischievous and fun Western classical Masters could be. Excerpts from the interview:
Q. Western classical music is a niche segment in India. How did you design this concert for the Pune audience?
Fischer: A member of our group, Sandeep Gurrapadi, has done many concerts of Western classical music in India. From his experience, the audience was highly interested and excited by the music. However, names such as Beethoven and Mozart are not household names yet as there aren’t many live examples of what their music felt and sounded like. On the occasions when they are performed, it’s usually a very serious matter. So we’re hoping to showcase how mischievous and fun their compositions were.
Q. How did you decide on the pieces for the evening?
Fischer: Initially, we were leaning towards a deep dive into a more obscure repertoire that would have been artistically pushing a boundary. But, this then, would have only catered to an audience that was actively seeking out this sort of music. We, eventually, found a middle ground by having a mix of widely appealing pieces, along with some more overlooked 20th and 21st-century composers. We’re hoping to present a programme that has something for everyone to get immersed in.
Q. What is the spectrum of stories or emotions that the selection of pieces explores?
Fischer: The stories and emotions are manifold and reflect all aspects of human existence: joy, laughter, friendship, love, heartbreak, sadness, impending death, and even a little of what might be after. Though most of the music is several centuries old, the stories are relevant and relatable still today.
The event will be held at Mazda Hall, Pune, on January 9, 2023, from 7 pm onwards and at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai on January 13.
WILLIAMSTOWN — For the past dozen years, Williams College artist-in-residence and percussionist Matthew Gold has heralded in the New Year with I/O Fest, a celebration of adventurous new music for Williams students and the community at large.
Running Jan. 13 to 15, I/O Fest presents concerts and events across Williamstown at the Clark Art Institute, Williams College Museum of Art and the college’s ’62 Center for Theatre & Dance. The music is performed by Williams students and faculty as well as distinguished guest artists.
“The overall theme of I/O Fest is an opportunity to make music, to bring music to unconventional spaces that’s responsive to what’s around us, and give participants and audiences an immersive experience different than what they would have during the regular year,” Gold, the festival’s director, said during a phone interview. “During Winter Study [a month-long period each January when Williams students choose a single subject area to explore], when we’re outside of the regular context of things, we have time to really focus, to open our ears to new things. We bring in performers and composers and work that sets the tone for the new year.”
The festival will open on Friday, Jan. 13 at WCMA, beginning with a group sonic meditation in the galleries for anybody who comes by, Gold said, followed by performances, pop-ups, sound art — “a whole range of things” — over the course of the afternoon.
“There will be student compositions, and a work by Pulitzer Prize-winner Raven Chacon, a really fascinating composer. We’ll do a work for a turntable with a record played with skewers with microphones on them, and a piece by Myriam el Haik for four toy pianos. There will be music and sonic interventions throughout the galleries, transforming [WCMA] into a musical space.”
An evening concert at the ’62 Center CenterStage by I/O Ensemble will include works by composers Sarah Hennies and Katherine Balch, as well as by students.
Also at the ’62 Center on Saturday, Jan. 14, the student group New Music Williams will perform “Penelope,” an evocative 60-minute song cycle based on “The Odyssey” by Sarah Kirkland Snider, for a solo female voice and chamber orchestra, featuring Sara Stebbins.
“This is a huge project for them, it’s semi staged with lights,” Gold said. “It will be a really dramatic event, it’s a very powerful piece.”
The festival showcases a different visiting group each year. For 2023, the guest ensemble is GEORGE, a quartet founded by six-time Grammy-nominated percussionist and composer John Hollenbeck, longtime collaborator with new music pioneer Meredith Monk.
In addition to Hollenbeck on percussion, the ensemble is made up of Anna Webber on tenor sax and flute; Aurora Nealand on voice, sax and keyboards; and Chiquita Magic, who plays keyboards and sings. “It’s two winds, keyboard and drums which is a really unique sound,” Gold said.
“It’s a brand new group. They had their first performance this past March, and people were just raving about it,” he added. “This new project of his is really exciting.”
“They have an album called ‘Letters to George’ [where] each composition is dedicated to a different George,” Gold explained. “It began with George Floyd and the powerful emotional response John had to that, but also George Washington Carver, Georgia O’Keeffe, a whole range of Georges.”
This culminating concert Sunday, Jan. 15, 4 p.m. at the Clark is the festival’s only ticketed event.
Earlier that day at the Clark at 1 p.m., GEORGE will participate in the I/Out Loud interactive family concert, an annual festival highlight.
“My students and I will take part in one of [Hollenbeck’s] compositions called ‘Flock,’ it’s an open instrumentation work based on the movement of birds,” Gold said. “And we’ll lead the kids in an exercise with that as well.”
For the first time, the festival will include a film screening, the 2018 documentary “Full Mantis” about Milford Graves, shown at the Clark during the afternoon of Jan. 15.
“Milford was a great percussionist and composer and musical innovator who taught at Bennington College for many years,” Gold said. “He passed away in 2021.”
“This film presents the musical world and process and vocabulary [of] an extraordinary foundational artist we should know more about. The director Jake Meginsky will take part in discussions about the film and his life and work.”
Gold created the multi-day music festival back in 2010 with late faculty member Steven Bodner and then-music department chair David Kechley. The college’s landmark ’62 Center had just opened when Kechley approached Gold and Bodner.
“He said, ‘we’d like to do something in the black box theater different than what we do in our own space’,” Gold recalled. “That’s pretty much all we needed to hear. Using unconventional spaces has always been really important to me. And we just ran with that.
“The ’62 Center is an incredible space to work, but being able to go out to WCMA and the Clark is a means of connecting with the public in different spaces and places where they might not expect to hear music. It’s interacting in a different way, listening to a museum instead of just looking at it.”
The title, I/O Fest, recalls both one of Jupiter’s moons and the idea of Input/Output, Gold said.
“It’s two weeks at the start of the year when we immerse ourselves in this music and plan different kinds of events in different spaces. It’s about taking in everything around us — the music, spaces, culture, people we’re working with — and at the end of the process the music comes out.”
The festival, Gold said, “aims to create experiences for audiences and musicians that are immersive, participatory, thoughtful, engaging, often challenging, nonconventional experiences of live music. That’s really what it’s about. And bringing people together to share in this experience.”
IF YOU GO
What: I/O Fest 2023 — three days and nights of the music of now
Who: Williams College department of music
When: Jan. 13-15
Venues: ’62 Center for Theatre & Dance, 1000 Main St., Williamstown; Williams College Museum of Art, 15 Lawrence Drive, Williamstown; Clark Art Institute, 225 South St., Williamstown
COVID-19 Policy: Masks required.
More information: music.williams.edu
I/O FEST 2023 SCHEDULE
Admission: Free except as noted. Masks required.
Full listings: music.williams.edu
FRIDAY, JAN. 13
Noon to 4 p.m., I/O Ensemble at WCMA: I/O pop-ups and interventions all afternoon in the galleries. Music by Raven Chacon, Myriam el Haik, Kazuo Fukushima, and Williams students.
7:30 p.m.,Friday CenterStage: I/O Ensemble performs adventurous new music from the edge of tomorrow at the ’62 Center.
SATURDAY, JAN. 14
4:30 p.m., Film screening at The Clark: “Milford Graves Full Mantis,” a 90-minute documentary on avant-garde jazz percussionist; discussion with director Jake Meginsky
8 p.m., “Penelope” at CenterStage: New Music Williams presents “Penelope,” a 60-minute song cycle by Sarah Kirkland Snider, featuring Sara Stebbins and chamber orchestra in the ’62 Center’s CenterStage Theater.
SUNDAY, JAN. 15
1 p.m., I/Out Loud Family Concert, featuring GEORGE: New Music performs a family concert with I/Out Loud, Kids 4 Harmony, and special guest GEORGE. Concert is in the Michael Conforti Pavilion at The Clark. Gallery admission is free.
4 p.m., GEORGE in Concert at The Clark: Genre-crossing jazz and new music ensemble GEORGE, featuring composer and percussionist John Hollenbeck, performs music from their forthcoming album “Letters to George.” Tickets required. $5, general admission; $3, Clark members; $2 for students and under 21.
Jan 14 – Meet Harold and Maude Musical Composer at Birmingham Village Players Performance
Birmingham, MI – Meet the Composer! Joseph Thalken is the composer of the musical Harold and Maude which will be performed Jan. 13 – 29, 2023, at Birmingham Village Players.
We are thrilled to host a free talk back session with him immediately following the Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, performance.
This is a rare opportunity to have a discussion directly with the composer of this wonderful production. Don’t miss it!
Get tickets to the show and the free talk back at BVP100.com.
For more things to do, visit the Oakland County Times Event Page!
To submit event info email editor@oc115.com .
Thank you to Jim Shaffer & Associates Realtors for sponsoring this section!
The writer (at the back playing guitar) joins a group of music enthusiasts at Independence Square to form an alliance that believes that music heals
It all started with a wish to reach out to a world that seems to be slipping away.
After three years of Covid and lockdowns, followed by the nightmare of a crashed economy and political mayhem, everybody’s in need of help, sympathy and a degree of comfort.
But it’s hard to reach out to people in the streets. There’s a lot of mistrust. In a broken society, no one has much faith in anyone or anything.
But music is a great healer. On Christmas day, I decided to reach out to a bleak world by playing music in a public space.
I planned to go alone, but a friend volunteered to accompany me and also take a few photographs. We selected Vihara Maha Devi Park as our venue. There wasn’t the usual holiday crowd; the lack of public transport, fuel prices and cost of living inducing most people to remain home. But it was a beautiful evening and the park and the Town Hall were nicely lit.
The goal was to open a direct communication between me and the fascinating world of music and people who create marvelous sounds with all kinds of instruments, to go beyond being a listener or fan to a more proactive role as a musician
For me, it was a big psychological breakthrough as well. As an adult learner of music, I had to work very hard towards my goal of becoming a musician, and I started with the violin, a difficult instrument.
The goal was to open a direct communication between me and the fascinating world of music and people who create marvellous sounds with all kinds of instruments, to go beyond being a listener or fan to a more proactive role as a musician.
But there was an acute fear of playing for an audience. Playing for yourself at home is one thing. I remember venturing out long ago and then panic setting in.
But there comes a time when you know it’s now or never. Either it happens now or it won’t happen, ever. On Christmas day, I gathered enough nerve to venture out, and it wasn’t the same old world of complacent securities, or comfortable illusions covering up latent insecurities, that I stepped into.
But the sun sets without being overwhelmed by humanity’s myriad problems. On a good day, global warming notwithstanding, it will set a great stage for us to step out and do our thing. To go out and reach out, being comforted by the fact that you still have enough resources to offer the world a little listening pleasure.
I took the violin because it can be heard above the din of motor traffic. I played a few short pieces – Hymn for Joy from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Greensleeves and my own composition.
I was there for just half an hour, but it made a world of difference to me. A few walkers and even a motorcyclist stopped to listen. I wasn’t asking anyone for a favour. But I was doing one for myself; in terms of self confidence and self esteem.
Musicians don’t need to retire. My age group was among the worst affected by the pandemic; leading to depression and suicide. Things only got worse last year. But, if you can play any instrument, you still have a great resource. You can go out and play, and disseminate your music via social media. You don’t need to be famous or have a band or a contract. As for antiquated laws, the police often turn a blind eye to a solitary musician on the street. Or you can go to a police station and obtain permission.
The violin sounds beautiful in the dusky light. But any instrument played well can transport us to other, better, worlds. That’s the power of music.
The same night, a friend asked me to come and play near All Saints Church, Colombo 08, after the midnight mass. As I waited on the pavement, a group of policemen came to check me.
They said people inside were alarmed that a stranger with a black case was waiting outside. After checking my ID, and once I explained why I was there, they relaxed a bit, but asked me to leave.
“Go home, have a drink and have a good night’s sleep without wasting your time,” a senior policeman told me. It was a stark reminder of the times we live in. I forgot that church audiences have been traumatised by the 2019 Easter bombings.
Nothing has been resolved, but we need to move on. The healing power of music can help. The responses to my Face Book post that night was overwhelming and surprised me. There are many people out there so pleased that you have reached out to the world with a little music making in these difficult times.
One thing leads to another. Iqbal Mohomed, driving force behind the Guitar Festival who has done more than anyone else to promote free music in Sri Lanka, called and said he was performing with others at the Independence Square on the first of January by singing Guantanamera and other songs. I decided to join them. True to his political beliefs, he was celebrating Cuba’s national day as well. I don’t engage in politics, but I believe in the power and pleasure of music. Shakespeare has said a lot about music – ‘If music be the food of love, play on’, and ‘the earth has music for those willing to listen.’ He must have been a big music fan.
Iqbal was there with his wife Gayathri Gananathapillai, and old friend Rohan Silva. Gayathri plays guitar as well as flute, while Rohan can sing and play harmonica. Iqbal brought along his piano accordion.
Again, the dusky weather was lovely as we sat between the two ponds and played. The repertoire included Guantanamera and Bob Dylan’s Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Russian and Latin American folk songs and Iqbal’s own soulful orginal ballad dedicated to national hero Monaravila Keppetipola.
The crowd wasn’t large, but we had an attentive audience. A Malaysian visitor strode over to inquire about Gayathri’s Andean flute. He said there is a similar instrument in Malaysia and Indonesia. Music can get strangers talking. That’s the power of music.
Now we plan to get together again at the same venue on February fourth. Music is addictive. I think it’s the best thing one can get addicted to. As Bob Marley said, when music hits you, you don’t feel the pain.
Richard Crandell was a uniquely talented acoustic guitarist who passed largely under the radar, but rose to some prominence when his song Rebecca was covered by the great Leo Kottke. Sadly, Crandell passed away in October 2022, a fact that went largely unreported at the time.
It will come as little surprise to most of our readers to hear that the music industry is not a meritocracy and that fame is rarely directly proportional to talent. As such, Guitar World would like to take a moment to remember a player who deserved more spotlight than he received in his lifetime.
Crandell was born in 1943 and picked up the guitar in his childhood. Like many acoustic guitar players of the era, he had something of a musical revelation when he discovered the music of American primitive icon John Fahey, a player he would later support.
The guitarist spent the first decades of his life on the East Coast, initially settling down into a job and a marriage in Buffalo, New York. However, it proved unsustainable and Crandell decided to devote himself more fully to his music – a period of change that led to a move to the West Coast and the dissolution of his marriage.
Crandell’s travels led to him finding a home – and space to play – in Eugene, Oregon and eventually, to a gig with folk songwriter and activist Mimi Farina. It was in this context that Leo Kottke first encountered Crandell. The latter performed his composition, Rebecca, for Kottke, who was impressed enough that he covered the song on his 1975 album, Chewing Pine.
In 1980, Crandell was given the chance to commit his own version of Rebecca to tape on his first album, In The Flower Of Our Youth. The album was released as a limited run via Cutthroat Records and failed to make much of a commercial impact, but has since become considered one of the American primitive movement’s great acoustic records.
It is a rich, complex and perfectly-paced showcase: confident and un-showy in its raw execution, yet deeply melodic and never prone to the listless meanderings that are sometimes (unfortunately) associated with the movement.
Despite the lukewarm commercial reception, the guitarist was unabashed in his commitment to music making and recorded Oregon Hill – a duet with friend and fellow guitarist Bill Bartels – in 1983, and a handful of further albums across his career.
In The Flower Of Our Youth was reissued on CD (via Sound Advice) and vinyl (via Tompkins Square) in 2007 and 2008, respectively – proving that appreciation of Crandell’s talent had never faded. He followed it in 2016 with Then And Now – a collection of scattered but nonetheless magical compositions gathered from a 25 year period.
He also featured several times on Tompkins Square’s influential Imaginational Anthems (opens in new tab) compilations – a series that has included work from Michael Chapman, Ryley Walker, John Fahey and Steve Gunn.
In a cruel twist of fate, Crandell was diagnosed in his later years with Essential tremor, a chronic condition that caused him to suffer involuntary movements in his hands and arms, and made playing the guitar very challenging.
Remarkably, a chance discovery of the mbira – AKA the thumb piano – following a tour bus clean-out (Crandell had been driving the vehicle) saw the guitarist find a new lease of life, musically.
Two albums of mbira compositions followed in the late 00s – Mbira Magic and Spring Steel – both of which were recorded in collaboration with Brazilian-born percussionist Cyro Baptista and, by his own admission, brought him more recognition than he had ever received as a guitar player.
“I used to not think I was quite good enough, or I didn’t realize how special what I was doing was,” Crandell told NPR (opens in new tab) in 2009.
“I just kind of took it for granted. So now I’ve got this other gift of the mbira, and being able to do something with that… My mission is to calm the world with this music.”
It is a sentiment with which it is hard to find argument. RIP Richard Crandell.
New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI): The ‘Mozart of Madras’ celebrates his 56th birthday today. Known for bringing a revolution to the music of Indian cinema with his unique composition style, A.R. Rahman has indeed shown the way forward to the Indian film soundscape.
In his illustrious career spanning over 3 decades now, the legendary Tamil music composer has not only created memorable hits in Indian films but has also made his mark on world music with a number of his international projects appearing in Hollywood, Chinese and Middle-Eastern cinema as well. As our beloved musical genius rings in his big day, let us take a look at some of his most interesting musical masterpieces for international projects, which exemplify his prowess as a world musician.
JAI HO This lively and upbeat musical number from the British film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was an Indo-Hispanic fusion anthem with a global spirit. The song, which won Rahman an Oscar and a Grammy Award, featured the soaring vocals of singers Sukhwinder Singh, Vijay Prakash and Mahalakshmi Iyer, along with a Spanish portion performed Tanvi Shah.
WARRIORS IN PEACEThis harmonic and orchestral piece was composed by Rahman for the Chinese film ‘Warriors of Heaven and Earth’. Sung originally by the ‘Queen of C-Pop’ Jolin Tsai in Mandarin, the song also has an English version sung by Tamil singer Sunitha Sarathy, and a Hindi version by Bollywood playback singer Sadhana Sargam. The mellow yet intense tune showcases Rahman’s ability to transcend borders and languages with his music.
MY MIND IS A STRANGER WITHOUT YOUThis bilingual romantic duet from the American film ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’ shows the effortless ability of Rahman to fuse various musical cultures. This acoustic guitar and piano-heavy track features the Academy Award-winning composer singing in Hindi with perfectly complementing vocals by opera singer Solange Merdinian in French.
IF I RISEA duet with pop singer Dido, this number from the Hollywood flick ‘127 Hours’ evokes feelings of peace and motivation in its lyrics and sound. Featuring the duo crooning over a soft, slow-tempo instrumentation with a children’s choir at the end, the song is a brilliant example of Rahman’s ability to combine various elements to make a single musical masterpiece.
WE COULD BE KINGSThis bright and peppy number from the Disney film ‘Million Dollar Arm’ features Rahman singing complex Indian sargams accompanied by Scottish singer KT Tunstall to create a song that can best be described as a ‘desi twist’ to a pop melody. (ANI)
What to write about someone about whom everything has been already written? What to explore new about a person whose career has been discussed, factoring in every minuscule detail? What to do when all the unknown facts about him have become common knowledge? What else can you say about AR Rahman, what’s not been already said? Turns out there’s a lot. The taciturn era-defining musician has been silently giving back to society, and on his 56th birthday, we unraveled some new dimensions in a conversation with Vishal Chandrashekhar, composer of brilliant albums like Sita Ramam and Jil Jung Jak, who also happens to be a student of AR Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory.
Composer Vishal Chandrashekar.
Vishal Chandrashekhar was part of the pilot batch of the conservatory, which was founded in 2008. Even before becoming a student of AR Rahman, Vishal had been composing songs, but he joined the one-year course to further his understanding of music. “AR Rahman was my principal. He provided a great environment and faculty for us to flourish… in terms of music theory and all that. KM is a kind of place where you find students with varying degrees of strengths. Though I had been composing music, my stint as a student there helped me become more refined.”
One of the high points of his life is when he presented his research work to Rahman, says Vishal. “This was after I graduated from KM. As I was working on my research work, I realised how brilliantly Rahman had structured the course because it came in handy for what I was doing. So, when I mailed him explaining what I had done at 11.50 pm, he replied saying ‘it’s good’ at 11.55 pm… within five minutes. More than anything his gesture stood out because all of this is his way of giving back to society.” Vishal fondly cherishes that reply even now.
When asked to elaborate on how the conservatory is AR Rahman’s way of ‘giving back to society, Vishal Chandrashekhar says, “See, it is something not anyone can imagine doing. For example, I am recording with a lot of violin players. And all of them are above the age of 45. As musicians, we have realized that the new generation of string players is slowly vanishing. What he is doing with KM is that he is bringing in a lot of underprivileged students with a good musical sense and teaching them for free. Not many people know. I know because I was there.”
He adds, “We won’t feel the impact of all of this now. But down the line say after ten years… we will realise it. He is creating an orchestra that can give a fight to international ones like any Macedonian or Budapest orchestra. I had the experience of recording in Budapest and in Chennai for Sita Ramam. There’s a huge difference in the understanding of music between us and them. Rahman is bridging that gap by creating new talents who are well-adapted not just to Indian music but to Western music too. He has already created so many opportunities for musicians here, and after a decade, you can see a lot more of what he has been doing all these years.”
While signing off, Vishal says, “We say Ilaiyaraaja and AR Rahman are all like a vast sea, but after my research work and working experience, they are like the ocean. There is so much more to their music than we know.”
For its upcoming Locally Sourced Sounds concert (Jan. 9) at The Old Church, Fear No Music will highlight pieces by several alums of its incredibly successful Young Composers Project.
Founded by pianist Jeff Payne in 1997 to teach and promote the complex art and craft of writing music, YCP has influenced the lives of several hundred participants over the past 25 years. Many have gone on to write music for choirs, orchestras, chamber ensembles, individual artists, musical theater, folk groups, film and television, the game industry, and other areas.
Open to students from grades 5 through 12, YCP gives young composers the opportunity to develop their ideas with professional musicians through workshops and a concert.
“The kids get three workshops, which includes feedback,” Payne said. “A student submits a piece, which might be as simple as eight measures with a melody and some chords. A group of professional musicians from the Oregon Symphony and top freelancers play through it and make suggestions on how to improve the piece. What do you think about doing this with different instrument or another combination? Perhaps add another section of music? Then we record it and send the kids home for a couple of months for the next workshop. We go through the process again, seeking to develop and improve the piece, and make a recording and send them home again. The third time they come back we have a finished product that we then put on in a public concert. It’s a very hands-on experience.”
Participants can take YCP more than once and the cost is $275, with scholarship funding for those who cannot afford it.
Portland-based composer Ryan Francis did the program in 1998 and 1999, and received a bachelors from the University of Michigan and a masters and doctorate from The Julliard School of Music. His work has garnered accolades from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and several foundations. Francis currently teaches at Pacific University and helps run YCP as its program manager.
During the first half of the Fear No Music concert, violinist Inés Voglar Belgique and Payne will perform Francis’ “Sillage.”
“Sillage is a French word for wake,” explained Francis. “It means to feel one’s presence, even when they are not there. In the context of this concert, it acknowledges the legacy of Tomáš Svoboda who recently passed away.”
A giant among composers in Portland, Svoboda’s “Marimba Concerto” was recorded by the Oregon Symphony and nominated for a Grammy award in 2003. The concert will begin with Svoboda’s “Suite for Piano 4-hands,” featuring Monica Ohuchi and Payne.
The program also includes a piece by 20-year-old Grace Miedziak, who participated in YCP in 2018 and 2019.
“YCP opened a lot of doors for me,” said Miedziak. “It was my first opportunity to write a proper piece that would be performed by a group of musicians. It helped me when I applied to the Thornton School of Music at USC. That was my dream school, and now I’m a junior there, studying composition and music production.”
Cellist Nancy Ives will play “Trout and the Hatch,” which Miedziak wrote last year.
“I grew up in Bend, and my parents took me camping every year,” said Miedziak, “often to East Lake near La Pine. My piece refers to the magical experience of being on the lake at sunset when insects would hatch on the surface of the water and that brings out the fish – jumping over our canoes to feast on the insects.”
Ives and Ohuchi will perform “Dead Ends” by Rohan Srinivasan, who did YCP four years while attending Sunset High School. Now the 19-year-old is in his second year at Julliard studying composition with Andrew Norman.
“Ryan Francis and YCP helped me to convince my parents that I was decent enough to have a shot at this music thing,” said Srinivasan. “‘Dead Ends’ is slow and sort of meditative. The piece is made of little sections that don’t entirely relate to one another. They are like different snapshots that run out of steam.”
Showing the variety of YCP’s reach, the concert will feature several pieces by singer-songwriter Rachel Jumago. She took part in YCP during its first five years, and then went to Whitman College, where she received a bachelors in Biology and Environmental Studies.
Jumago kept developing her talents in folk music, taking songwriting workshops at the Sisters Folk Festival, and formed Arbielle with Katie Fitzgerald while teaching at Sandy High School. Jumago (age 38) plays piano, banjolele (banjo-ukulele), and sings her own compositions. Fitzgerald plays guitar, banjo and harmonizes.
For the concert, Arbielle will perform several numbers from their latest album “Little One,” which is available on Bandcamp and other streaming platforms.
After 25 years, it turns out that Payne’s original students are bringing their students to YCP. You could say that Payne is a granddaddy, a moniker that he laughs off. But if he is involved for another 10 years or more, he is going to acquire great-grandaddy status.
7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9, The Old Church, 1422 S.W. 11th Ave.; admission by donation; app.arts-people.com
— James Bash
Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma artist Anita Fields has been selected to receive the Women in the Arts Recognition Award from the Cimarron Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
Fields, a member of the Osage and Muscogee tribes, is noted for her clay and textile arts that reflect her native Osage culture. She was born in Oklahoma and is a graduate of Oklahoma State University. The Cimarron Chapter — located in Stillwater, in partnership with the OSU Museum of Art — nominated Fields for this award.
An award ceremony and reception will be 5-7 p.m. Jan. 19, at the OSU Museum of Art.
The Women in the Arts Recognition Award recognizes women for outstanding achievements in the non-performance arts, including fiber arts, fine arts, sculpture, music composition, literature and drama authorship, jewelry, metalwork, decorative painting and pottery. Recipients of the award demonstrate an outstanding contribution to their artistic field beyond mastery of technique. This may include innovative design work, featured exhibitions, publication, research and technique development. The criteria for this award are strict, and not all nominations are successful.
“Fields’ resume features an extensive list of exhibitions, publications and highly-coveted artist residencies for which she has been invited to participate,” Vicky Berry, OSU Museum of Art director said. “As an Osage textile and ceramic artist, she portrays her cultural influences through her highly textured and layered works. In addition to her work as an artist, Anita is recognized as an advocate for the Osage community and is an accomplished and highly sought-after teaching artist. Fields’ achievements are well-deserving of such an award.”
Her work can be found in several collections, such as the Minneapolis Institute of Art; Museum of Art and Design, New York City; Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, N.M.; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Ark.; Heard Museum, Phoenix; and the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.
An Emmy-winning and multiplatinum-selling musician will bring his music education program to Auburn High School in March.
Mark Wood, an original member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, will work with the school’s band, choir and orchestra through his program, Electrify Your Symphony. Together, they will create a rock orchestra that will perform for the public on Tuesday, March 14, in the auditorium of the school, 250 Lake Ave., Auburn. Tickets will be $10 for adults, $5 for students and free for Auburn district students.
Proceeds from the concert will support Auburn school music programs. Tickets will be available at the door and at showtix4u.com.
“The Auburn Music Boosters, the high school music department and the Auburn Enlarged City School District are thrilled to be able to provide our students with this amazing musical opportunity,” Auburn High School representative Allison Fennessy said in a news release.
People are also reading…
Wood will perform with the students on his handcrafted seven-string fretted electric Viper violin, his invention, while performing his original material and his arrangements of music by Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and more. Vocalist Laura Kaye, who is Wood’s wife, will also perform. Before the performance, Wood and Kaye will prepare students in workshops, teaching improvisation, composition and more.
The program has been featured on “The Today Show,” “CBS Evening News” and more.
“(Electrify Your Symphony) builds on the strong foundation provided by the classically trained music teachers, creating a partnership that inspires students and boosts their self-esteem and motivation on stage and off,” the program said in the news release.
For more information, visit electrifyyoursymphony.com.
