Tag: music
Bill Bailey on classical music and the arts: ‘In Italy, opera is like the football!’
5 December 2022, 17:43
Picture:
Alamy
Bill Bailey joined Moira Stuart on Classic FM to speak about his music and comedy influences, his earliest memories of opera and the future of the arts – while choosing some of his favourite classical music along the way.
Music comedy legend Bill Bailey has spoken out about the hotly debated plans for the English National Opera to move to Manchester, driven by a redistribution Arts Council England funding and labelled last month as “absurd” by the ENO’s chief exec.
In an exclusive interview on Moira Stuart Meets… on Classic FM, the celebrated musician and comedian said he thought the potential relocation was “a shame”.
“You go to the great cities of Europe, and they’ve all got two or three opera houses,” Bailey told Stuart. “And this would leave us with only one, the Royal Opera House. I think a lot of people, rightly or wrongly, sort of associate opera as being quite elitist or sort of highbrow entertainment.”
Bailey went on to stress the importance in the arts of “getting people through the door”.
“We have to be more innovative more and agile about how to get more people to engage with the arts in the way that they do in Europe,” he said. “I mean I’ve been to see opera in Italy, and it’s like the football. People just buy a ticket to go and see the opera like… it’s not seen as any kind of hybrid entertainment, it’s the entertainment of everyone, for everyone.”
Read more: Leading UK opera companies have funding slashed in Arts Council announcement
Bailey reminisced about his first memory of opera: seeing Verdi’s Aida at the Arena di Verona in Italy. “I remember it so vividly,” he said. “I must have been seven or eight years old. We had to rent cushions to sit on the stone steps and you bought a candle and lit the candle and so the whole arena was full of 20,000 people holding a candle.
“It was most extraordinary experience… you know, your first exposure to opera stays with you for the rest of your life.”
In the interview (catch up on Global Player here), Bailey told Stuart about his earliest influences in comedy, crediting the legendary Danish comedian Victor Borge, whose unique marriage of humour and virtuoso pianism delighted generations.
“I would sit around with the family, and we would watch Morecambe and Wise… and Victor Borge was a big favourite. There was something about the way he used music and comedy which made a deep impression on me.”
Bailey also shared his love for Mozart’s Coronation Piano Concerto No.26 – the piece he played in his first public concert “at the encouragement of my music teacher… without whom I would never have had the confidence to do this” – as well as Bach’s seminal Prelude and Fugue No.21.
“What I loved about the 48 Preludes and Fugues was that this was an instruction manual for playing the piano, and yet it’s this beautiful selection… if you can work your way through these, you will understand all manner of performance, about syncopation, about technical ability.
“I love the fact that something so beautiful, something so extraordinarily written and so intuitive and so challenging… was written just to teach people the piano.”
Finally, Bailey touched on a campaign he is fronting this Christmas for the Kennel Club Charitable Trust which aims to feed at least 4,000 rescue dogs, with all donations doubled until midday on Tuesday 6 December, and every £10 donation ensuring they can feed one dog for two weeks.
“Being responsible for an animal is a good thing. They teach you a lot about yourself. They can enrich our lives in many ways,” Bailey said.
Catch up on the episode on Global Player.
Julian Anderson’s ‘Litanies’ wins 2023 Grawemeyer music prize
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Dec. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The Notre Dame Cathedral fire and the death of an esteemed colleague influenced the creation of “Litanies,” said Julian Anderson, a British composer who has won the 2023 Grawemeyer Award in Music Composition for the work, the University of Louisville announced today.
“Notre Dame burned while I was writing the piece,” he said. “It was traumatizing to watch such an important icon of civilization go up in flames. The experience affected my writing.” A year earlier, as Anderson was beginning “Litanies,” Oliver Knussen, an acclaimed British composer, conductor and close friend of his, died, prompting Anderson to write the slow movement of the work in his memory.
Radio France, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and chamber orchestras in Norway, Sweden and Switzerland commissioned the winning, 25-minute concerto for cello and orchestra, which German cellist Alban Gerhardt and the National Orchestra of France premiered in 2020 at Radio France Auditorium. Anderson dedicated the concerto to Gerhardt in recognition of his special qualities as a cellist, he said.
“The piece explores virtually every sound a cello and orchestra can make together,” said Marc Satterwhite, who directs the Grawemeyer music award. “It spans a vast emotional range and is constantly inventive, but always toward an expressive end, never for the sake of novelty.”
Anderson, 55, studied with John Lambert, Alexander Goehr and Tristan Murail early in his career. Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic and Cleveland Orchestra have commissioned his work, and ensembles across Europe and the United States have performed “Khorovod” and “Alhambra Fantasy,” his most played pieces. In April, “Exiles,” a piece he wrote in 2021 for voices and orchestra, premiered in Berlin.
A professor of composition and composer-in-residence at Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London since 2007, Anderson also has taught music composition at Harvard University and the Royal College of Music. In 2021 he was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his outstanding service to music.
Schott Music Ltd. publishes his compositions written after mid-2014 and Faber Music, those written before.
Recipients of next year’s Grawemeyer Awards are being named this week pending formal approval by university trustees. The annual $100,000 prizes also honor seminal ideas in world order, psychology, education and religion. Recipients will visit Louisville in the spring to accept their awards and give free talks on their winning ideas.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1959367/Music_winner_2023_Julian_Anderson__photo_by_John_Batten.jpg
Keith Urban invites NSW students to Brisbane concert in appreciation of COVID lockdown videos
It is proof that dreams do come true as students from the tiny country town of Urbenville in northern NSW were given celebrity treatment after inviting Keith Urban to perform in their end-of-year concert.
Key points:
- Urbenville Public School students have had a private audience with Keith Urban after being invited to his Brisbane concert
- The country music superstar has invited the students back on his next tour to sing with him on stage
- Urban gave each student a bag of all his merchandise that was personally named
Urbenville Public School caught the attention of the country music superstar with their lockdown videos in 2021, singing songs of hope for other students during the pandemic.
And while he could not visit the school in person, Urban went one better, inviting the 16 students, aged between five and 12, their teacher Mel Sifko and principal Chris Sifko for a private audience during his Brisbane concert on Saturday night.
“It’s the most amazing experience I think I’ve ever had,” Mrs Sifko said.
“The generosity of Keith and his team was just amazing.”
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
The students, from a town of about 300 people, were ushered through the VIP entrance at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre into their own special room, where they spent more than half an hour chatting with their idol.
“The students had the opportunity to ask him questions and speak with him and chat with him, and he went around and gave them all a hug, and he knew them personally by name,” Mrs Sifko said.
“He gave each student a bag of all his merchandise that was personally named, with signed photos and tea towels.”
This is your utopia
“Keith told them, whatever problems you feel outside, whatever might be getting you down, while you are in the concert, put it all behind you and dance and sing and just leave everything behind and just do whatever that makes you happy,” Mrs Sifko said.
One student asked if they could go on stage and sing with him during the concert.
“He said, unfortunately, no, but next time he does a tour, that we would come up in the afternoon and hang out with him and come up and play with him and go on stage with him then,” Mrs Sifko said.
“That gave them something more to look forward to.”
And the surprises did not stop there.
When they sat down for the concert, they were seated next to Urban’s immediate family.
“They were getting photos with Keith’s brother,” she said.
“It was just the most amazing experience ever.”
From little things big things grow
Urbenville’s school’s rise to fame came through a simple act of bringing hope to students around NSW during COVID lockdowns,
The school sang songs of hope and support to students around the state each Friday, sharing the videos on Facebook.
They were so proud of the impact they were having they wrote to their idol Keith Urban, inviting him to join them at their end-of-year concert.
And he was considering it.
But COVID forced the singer to postpone his 2021 tour.
Instead, he surprised the students with a live video call, as well as donating a guitar to each and every student at the school.
During the call, Urban said he was “moved” by their performances and wanted to share his passion for music with the school.
He invited them to be his special guests during his Australian tour in December 2022.
“I’d love to properly meet you all, so that’s the best way to do it,” Urban said at the time.
“I can’t come to your concert, so maybe you can come to mine.”
What’s making us happy: A guide to your weekend listening, viewing and reading
This week: How to kick our holiday parties up a notch, when to put up your Christmas lights, and recipes for sweet treats.
Here’s what the NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour crew was paying attention to — and what you should check out this weekend.
Midwest Modern Twitter account
I spent the first 22 years of my life in the Midwest, in the Chicago area, and then in Michigan for college. So, I have a lot of pride in the region. Architecture is my first art love. And one thing that keeps both those appreciations alive is a Twitter account called Midwest Modern. It’s run by Josh Lipnik, @joshlipnik on Twitter. He mostly posts photos of buildings, but he will also post designs of things from all around the Midwest, both in big cities and small towns, of buildings from over the past century and even earlier. I think he has a really great eye, he sees value in just about everything. The account brings the beauty of the Midwest to the Internet. – Danny Hensel
Unclear and Present Danger
I recommend the podcast Unclear and Present Danger. It is hosted by Jamelle Bouie and John Ganz. The initial mission is to talk about ’90s, post-Cold War thrillers. However, they are expanding it in certain ways, including through their Patreon. I find it to be a really nice balance between fun, but also serious and analytical politics. It’s a really smart way to take popular culture and engage with its very specific moment. They also talk about The Firm and The Fugitive. They talk about a lot of films with political content that is a little different from straightforward post-Cold War films like The Hunt for Red October. – Linda Holmes
Recipes from my mom
I don’t know if it’s just because we’ve been talking about The Fabelmans which is in the context of my childhood or if it’s just the season. But I have been thinking about a couple of my mom’s holiday recipes. I am not a baker. I don’t really know how to do it, but I used to love when she would start making things. She would allow me to stick my hands into it and squish the dough together. They were just amazing. There were two things she always made. One of them was bourbon balls, and the other one was shortbread. The shortbread only had three ingredients. It had four cups of flour, a cup and a third of sugar and a pound of salted butter. Obviously good for you.
Mondello’s Mom’s Shortbread
4 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 lb (four sticks) butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut butter into flour and sugar with knife. Crumble mixture with fingers, and pat mixture into Pyrex dish. Bake for 45 minutes (10 mins into baking, poke some holes with fork). Cut shortbread into squares immediately after removing from oven (DO NOT WAIT FOR COOLING) but leave in the Pyrex dish. Remove to platter only when completely cool.
… And then, of course, you pop them in your mouth and they’re so good. The shortbread is really simple. I’ve been finding recipes online that have everything from baking soda to vanilla to salt and all kinds of other things. This recipe has just three ingredients, which I thought was fantastic. – Bob Mondello
Gemini Rights
I recently discovered Steve Lacy’s album, Gemini Rights and I have been listening to it for the last few weeks. It is for me, a no skips album. I love the song “Bad Habit.” It doesn’t sound like anything else on the radio right now, which I think is partially why it’s been so successful and, for me, such a revelation.
“Bad Habit” is a song about having a crush on someone and thinking that they weren’t into you, but then realizing maybe too late that they actually were. And questioning why you didn’t pursue it. The whole album is great. One of my other favorite songs is “Helmet,” which is kind of like Stevie Wonder meets Sly and the Family Stone in the best way possible. Steve Lacy was a guitarist and producer with The Internet and in his solo career he’s making some really interesting, fun, groovy music. – Aisha Harris
More recommendations from the Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter
by Aisha Harris
Last week, our friends on the Book Desk launched their annual “Books We Love” guide – a cornucopia of recommendations for the year’s 400-plus(!) best reads. (Which includes our very own Linda Holmes!)
I rarely watch movie trailers, unless I’m already in a theater and forced to sit through previews, or it’s for a franchise where there’s little room for surprise or novelty to begin with. Which is why I’m fully on board with Vox critic Alissa Wilkinson’s argument against viewing trailers as a general rule, because most of them are really bad at conveying what a movie is actually about. Go in cold! You might like some films better if you did.
If you love Christmas music but can’t stand the new stuff or are a little over the old standbys, then check out the days-long Spotify playlist “FaLaLaLaLa Sentimental Christmas Shuffle-List.” It’s mostly songs of the easy listening/jazz variety circa the mid-20th Century, and features lesser played versions of familiar songs (Jackie Gleason – yes, from The Honeymooners – singing “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm”) as well as novelty songs you’ve likely never even heard of (“When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter” by … Captain Kangaroo?).
NPR’s Pilar Galvan adapted the Pop Culture Happy Hour segment “What’s Making Us Happy” into a digital page. If you like these suggestions, consider signing up for our newsletter to get recommendations every week. And listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Gallery: Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits wins in PÖFF main competition | News
“Driving Mum” is a co-production between Iceland and Estonia, directed by Hilmar Oddsso and scored by Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits, who receives the PÖFF award for best cinema music.
“I’m not a film composer and don’t want to be one, but the film director Hilmar Oddsson gave me a lot of creative flexibility. He had heard my music and trusted me. I also found the story-line and plot quite intriguing and interesting,” Kõrvits said.
Icelandic director Hilmar Oddsson’s dark comedy also won the festival’s grand prix for best film. “Driving Mum” is about an old boy who has lived his entire life under the thumb of his mother and who, after her death, embarks on a long journey with her corpse along bumpy Icelandic roads to bury her in her home village.
“This film captured us with its transparent, basic and yet audacious cinematic language and and subtly humorous treatment of sensitive personal issues. It is a film that conveys the message that it’s never too late,” the jury chaired by renowned Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi said.
The grand prize comes with €20,000 from the City of Tallinn.
“It is a travelogue filled with sorrow, sadness and regret, as well as with lots of black humor. It is visually captivating and artistically well-crafted, but it also has a warm humanity that makes it accessible to a wide audience,” Andrei Liimets, a film critic, said, adding that this year’s PÖFF jury picks lay a greater emphasis on formal competence and visually arresting cinematic language and less on the social and political relevance of the content.
“Driving Mum” will be released in Estonia next year.
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South Bend Symphony plays annual family concert at Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – Do you want to build a snowman? Well, how about listening to The Snowman?
The South Bend Symphony Orchestra played its annual family concert on Sunday at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.
“We’re at the South Bend Symphony’s annual family concert featuring The South Bend Symphony and Mark Doerries and the Notre Dame Children’s Choir,” said Justus Zimmerman, executive director of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra. “They’re doing The Snowman, which is this great, beautiful, animated short film about a boy discovering his best friend is a snowman, and they go meet Santa, and the music is just incredible.”
Based on the Raymond Briggs’ children’s book sharing the same name, the stage adaptation by Howard Blake showcases a full orchestra with its unforgettable soundtrack.
“The children’s choir, the symphony, it sounded like a fun experience, and these two sat still and paid attention the whole time, so that goes to show you how good it was and how entertaining,” said South Bend Resident Jessica Horvath.
Families and kids of all ages were welcomed to start the festive season off by hearing classic holiday music and a story of a boy who crosses paths with a friendly snowman.
“I kind of liked it because where the sad parts, the person that was reading he would like slow, and it was sad, and I actually cried at the end where the snowman melted,” said Emily, a young concert-goer who was excited to start the holiday season.
“They’re also going to do some traditional holiday tunes, including ones you may know and also some you may not know, so it’s going to be a really varied program of holiday music and themed music,” noted Zimmerman.
The Symphony Orchestra has played Ghostbusters, Día de los Muertos, and The Snowman in less than a month. Asking him how they could play such varying styles in such short succession, Zimmerman said, “Thankfully, our musicians are all incredible, they’re all professionals, and this is what they do day in and day out. They go from Hollywood to Mariachi music, to children’s Christmas music like that. It’s one of the most magical things about what we do.”
This is the beginning of the Symphony Orchestra’s winter schedule.
“Southold Dance Theater; we’re collaborating with on The Nutcracker for the first time, I think, in 20 years,” said Zimmerman. “So, we’ll be playing live while they dance to The Nutcracker. It’s one of the most popular traditions in town, and we’re so glad we can be back providing live music. It’s going to be a magical holiday season this year. There’s a lot to do.”
The South Bend Symphony Orchestra will play the Nutcracker with Southold Dance Theater at the Morris Performing Arts Center on December 9 through 11 and again at the Morris with Home for the Holidays on December 17 and 18.
“Home for the Holidays at the Morris Performing Arts Center, that’s the big Christmas extravaganza with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, fun for the whole family,” added Zimmerman.
Mark Doerries, conductor, composer, and performance artist works for the University of Notre Dame as Mellon Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Music and Interdisciplinarity and Lilly Conductor for the Notre Dame Children’s Choir.
The University of Notre Dame’s Children’s Choir is in its 10th season and welcomes singers from birth to age 17.
“Well, you know, our music director Alastair Willis says this is the most important concert we do because he does a great job translating the music for the kids and becoming a really engaging presence on stage so that kids get exposed to this new form of classical music for them,” said Zimmerman. “Usually, classical music isn’t as popular as it used to be, and so the kids get to interact with it and get this grounding in some foundational music.”
The SBSO winter family concert is part of the Shein Trust community series.
The artists included:
The South Bend Symphony Orchestra
Alastair Willis, Music Director
Mark Doerries, Guest Conductor
Dallin Baldwin, Guest Conductor
Notre Dame Children’s Choir
The program included:
- Arr. Stephen Mager – DING DONG MERRILY ON HIGH
- Howard Blake – THE SNOWMAN feat. Mark Doerries, the narrator
- Stephenson – JINGLE BELLS FROM A HOLLY AND JOLLY SING-ALONG!
- Arr. Stephen Mager – KLING, GLOCKEN, KLING
- Olatunji/Whalum – BETELEHEMU
- Leonard Cohen – HALLELUJAH
Copyright 2022 WNDU. All rights reserved.
Kim Petras Not Ashamed of Working With Dr. Luke? Pop Star Defends Working With Producer
Kim Petras is getting more recognition in the music industry after her smash collaboration hit song with Sam Smith titled “Unholy” went viral on TikTok. However, not all fans were happy as the German pop star appeared to have defended herself after working with embattled music producer Dr. Luke.
TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains topics surrounding sexual assault, battery, and abuse
It all started over the weekend when the “Coconuts” hitmaker tweeted “get talented or good at anything then talk to me,” which appeared to be a shade to her haters.
One user immediately called her out, replying that she should stop defending Dr. Luke first as he has a lot of controversies in the music industry.
Kim Petras defends her decision to work with Dr. Luke:
“5000000 ppl work with him why y’all only coming at me . I have nothing to say or be ashamed of at all. go away.” pic.twitter.com/I1D4KXY0Jv
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 27, 2022
Petras then doubled down her previous statements about the controversial record producer, writing, “500000 ppl work with him why y’all only coming at me. I have nothing to say or be ashamed of at all. go away.”
The pop star has since deleted her response, but many online users were able to screenshot the tweet and re-post it on the social media platform.
READ ALSO: The 1975’s Matty Healy Viral After Yelling at Security in Auto-Tune [WATCH]
After the post went viral, many users called out the singer and other musicians working with the producer, with one fan writing, “Pls stop supporting her and other artists working with luke.”
“career hasn’t even started and already needs to be cancelled,” another one wrote.
Dr. Luke’s controversy started when singer/songwriter Kesha accused him of sexual assault in 2014.
Kim Petras Cut Ties With Dr. Luke in Latest Single
In early reports, Kim Petras made a name for herself for releasing hit pop songs independently. In 2016, she moved to Los Angeles, California, to work on her music career full-time and she was signed under Prescription Songs, an imprint of Lukasz Gottwald, popularly known as Dr. Luke.
However, in her recent project, it appears that Petras has severed her ties with the embattled record producer as he wasn’t credited in the track.
In an interview with i-D Magazine, the “Can’t Do Better” songstress praised Republic Records co-president Wendy Goldstein for the latest era of her new music as she was the person who helped her write better songs.
As of this writing, Kim Petras has not confirmed whether she would stop working with Dr. Luke for good or if she would still collaborate with him on future projects.
READ MORE: Britney Spears New Explicit Photo With Crude Caption Sparks Psychoanalysis Amidst Pregnancy Allegations
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SPACE programme to provide primary school teachers with a range of online resources as well as access to workshops and live performances
Schoolchildren will get to immerse themselves in the joy of music, from Bach to Bowie, thanks to a new programme designed to inspire creativity in the classroom.
Saffron Hall has launched Saffron Sounds: SPACE to provide primary school teachers with a range of online resources as well as access to workshops and live performances.
The initiative will help Key Stage 2 pupils fall in love with a wide range of genres, with the centrepiece being an online hub containing video resources filmed at Saffron Hall, featuring the Jess Gillam Ensemble.
The content includes lively introductions and performances of music, demonstrations of key musical concepts such as pitch, rhythm and timbre as well as ideas for musical games and warm-ups for use in the classroom.
The Saffron Walden venue will also offer in-school workshops using the Saffron Sounds resources as a starting point from the spring, and a Saffron Sounds LIVE! concert for schools, featuring the Jess Gillam Ensemble, will take place in May.
“Connecting our world-class programme with schools and the wider community is central to Saffron Hall Trust’s work and we are so excited to make Saffron Sounds available for use by any school that wishes to register,” said the trust’s learning and participation director Thomas Hardy.
“Jess Gillam has been a regular performer at Saffron Hall for a long time and we hope that the inspirational performances and clear demonstrations she and her ensemble have created will be of use to teachers and students across Essex and beyond.
“The online resources will also support and inspire the programme of work we deliver in schools, including a sensational Saffron Sounds LIVE! performance with Jess and her ensemble at Saffron Hall in May.”
The web pages include clearly signposted links to the National Curriculum, model music curriculum and ideas for follow-on work, allowing teachers to integrate use of Saffron Sounds into existing schemes of work or to use them as inspiration for new ways of working.
“Saffron Sounds is a superb resource that provides access to high-quality music for schools and enables young people to see, hear and benefit from the excitement of live music,” said Peter Lovell, lead officer at Essex Music Services.
“The resource contains videos which helpfully explain musical details about the pieces performed. They enrich and reinforce the interrelated dimensions of music, and the teaching of any good music curriculum in school.
“I am sure all teachers will welcome the access to this resource, the enrichment it will bring to their music delivering within their school and the inspiration it will offer young people.”
The Saffron Sounds hub can be accessed at https://sounds.saffronhall.com.
Westerly High Music HOF announces new slate of inductees | Daily-news-alerts
WESTERLY — The Westerly High School Music Hall of Fame will induct 10 new members at a ceremony scheduled for April 2, according to Louis M. Toscano and Thomas J. Liguori, members of the selection committee.
The inductees include Angela (Lombardo) Bacari, George Bookataub, Marilyn Frechette Brockmann, Margaret Day, John Graham, Robert Guarino, Albert Norcia, Florence Soloveitzik, William Thorpe and the late David DeAngelis.
“It’s a great group,” said Toscano, who, like Liguori, is a member of the Westerly High School class of 1970. “The emphasis is on music educators.”
Members of the class of 1970 created and endowed the hall of fame as their 50th anniversary class gift in October of 2021. In November, they held an induction ceremony at Westerly’s United Theatre.
“We decided to move the ceremony to the spring so we could showcase the Westerly High School bands,” Toscano said.
Interestingly, Liguori said, three members of the Westerly High School class of 1966 are included on the list of 2023 nominees.
DeAngelis, the 2002-03 Westerly Teacher of the Year, taught music and theater at Westerly High School for 33 years. He also founded the high school’s Theater Scrapbook Company and served as music director at Our Lady of Victory Church from 1993 to 2014.
Bacari, a 1961 graduate of Westerly High School, has had a lifelong career in the music industry. A mentor to Liza Minnelli and Billy Gilman, she has made a number of hit records, toured with such celebrities as Don Rickles, Rodney Dangerfield and Norm Lewis, and has appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show,” “The Dinah Shore Show,” “The Virginia Graham Show” and many Jerry Lewis muscular dystrophy telethons.
Bookataub, also a 1961 graduate of the Westerly High School — where he was voted “Class Musician” — was a member of the first graduating class of Berklee College of Music in 1966, has served as a high school band director for 40 years, and was an instructor of percussion at the University of Maine, Portland.
Brockmann, a graduate of Westerly High School with the class of 1945, performed on Broadway in “All for Love” and road productions of “Blossom Time” and “Miss Liberty.” A regular performer at Fay’s Theater in Providence, she was the soloist at the 1948 Cherry Blossom Festival, performed at the Latin Quarter and has maintained a lifelong love of music.
Day, a 1955 graduate of Westerly High School, studied harp at Julliard School of Music, was the principal harpist for Providence Harp Ensemble and played with a number of local organizations, such as Pfizer Players, St. Pius Church Choir, Immaculate Conception Church Choir, Colonial Theatre and Mystic River Chorale.
Graham, a member of the Westerly High School class of 1966, toured Europe with School Band of America in 1966, taught music in the West Warwick schools from 1970 to 2000 and has performed with both the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Eastern Connecticut Symphony orchestras.
Guarino, also a member of the Westerly High School class of 1966, holds a master’s in voice from Manhattan School of Music and was a tenor soloist with symphony orchestras in Boston, San Antonio, Harrisburg Opera, Orchestra of New York, Princeton Pro Musica and New Haven Chorale. He has performed as lead with Michigan Opera, Atlanta Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera and Wolf Trap Opera. He is professor emeritus at The College of New Jersey and founder of Collegium Musicum, and currently directs Stonington Madrigal Singers.
Norcia, a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music, taught for more than 20 years in the Westerly school system. He composed the Babcock Junior High School song, wrote and published “Voice,” an instructional guide to singing, judged many statewide student vocal competitions and served as an evaluator of music programs in public schools.
Soloveitzik, a 1922 graduate of Westerly High School, studied at Julliard School of Music and Yale Conservatory and taught piano in Westerly for many years. Her pupils included hall of famers George Greeley and Al Copley.
Thorpe, another member of the Westerly High class of 1966, earned degrees from Boston Conservatory of Music in piano and New England Conservatory in voice. A member of Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, he has performed in 32 states, was a soloist on the CBS-TV broadcast celebrating the Cole Porter Centennial, represented the United States at a United Nations concert in Shanghai, was soloist at the Bethlehem Music Festival, Missouri River Festival, Arizona Heritage Festival, Boston Lyric Orchestra, Boston Civic Symphony, and many other East Coast orchestras. He is also founder of Thorpe Music Publishing Company.
More information about the April 2 induction ceremony will be released closer to the date.
nbfusaro@thewesterlysun.com