Kickstart Your Summer with the Arts!

May 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Edsel and Eleanor Ford House and Daffodil Garden by Stephen J. Brown

WRCJ 90.9 FM and Edsel & Eleanor Ford House invite you to Kickstart Your Summer!

Don’t miss a fun filled event for families, students and arts and cultural organizations. You also can be part of a live radio broadcast on WRCJ 90.9 FM, hosted by Dave Wagner and Chris Felcyn.

Join us on the grounds of the historic Edsel & Eleanor Ford House on the shore of Lake St. Clair on Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Among the fun:

  • Free Admission and Free Parking
  • Live entertainment will be provided by musicians from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Livonia Symphony, Macomb Symphony, Cantata Academy Chorale, The Detroit Children’s Choir, Grosse Pointe Community Chorus, Motor City Brass Band and many others
  • Over 40 Exhibitors – Arts, Music, Educational and Civic Organizations
  • Instrument “Petting Zoo” and other children’s activities
  • Tours of the historic Edsel & Eleanor Ford House will be available with an admission fee of $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, $5 for children ages 6 – 12 and free for children under 5.

Families will be able to sample tasty food from Ford House’s Cotswold Café, Dirty Dog Jazz Café and Fresh Farms Market.

Representatives from the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Cranbrook Academy of Art & Art Museum, Cranbrook Music Guild, Dearborn Symphony, Detroit Public TV, Grosse Pointe Symphony, Michigan Opera Theatre, Windsor Symphony, and many other arts and cultural organizations will be on hand with activities and information.

The Edsel & Eleanor Ford House is located at 1100 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Shores. For more information, visit us online at www.wrcjfm.org.

The image above of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House and the Daffodil Garden is a detail from a photograph by Stephen J. Brown. Click here to see it and other photographs by Mr. Brown.

 

Filed Under: Architecture, Art & Design, Classical, Community, Culture, Dance, Detroit Inspires, Fun, History, Jazz, Music, News Tagged With: ,

20th Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival

May 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Jonathan Biss opens GLCMF

The Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival launches its celebratory 20th Anniversary Season with an opening night performance featuring Jonathan Biss and the Pacifica Quartet. The festival opens Saturday, June 8 at the Seligman Performing Arts Center.

Details from the GLCMF:

The Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary season June 8-23 with more than 20 concerts in downtown and metro venues. In celebration of a milestone year, the 2013 Festival will feature the return of favorite artists, five new commissions performed by five returning ensembles, and the return of three legendary composers. The festivities kick off on Opening Night, Saturday, June 8 at Seligman Performing Arts Center. The concert will feature world-famous pianist Jonathan Biss and Grammy Award winning ensemble, the Pacifica Quartet.

Pianist Jonathan Biss performed at the very first Festival in 1994 at the age of 13. His last Festival appearance occurred in 1998.

Jonathan Biss, who appeared on the very first Festival season in 1994 at the age of 13, has since appeared with the foremost orchestras of North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia and released a number of solo albums. The most recent album being the first CD in a nine-year, nine-disc recording cycle of Beethoven’s complete sonatas in January 2012. His last Festival appearance occurred in 1998.

Biss will bookend the concert with a performance of Beethoven’s “Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 16″ with his parents, violinist Miriam Fried and violist Paul Biss, along with cellist Andrés Díaz. Biss will also close out the evening with a performance of Dvořák’s “Piano Quintet No. 2, Op. 81″ – a work widely acknowledged as a masterpiece of its form. Biss will perform the work with the members of the Pacifica Quartet.

 The Pacifica Quartet made their Festival debut in 1998 as part of the Shouse Institute. This year marks their first return engagement.

Also featured on the evening will be a new work by composer Keeril Makan, co-commissioned by the Festival and the Boston Celebrity Series for the Pacifica Quartet. The work was premiered on the Celebrity Boston Series to a sold-out audience in October of 2012 at Bard College. Makan is an Associate Professor of Music at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome and a 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship.

The Pacifica Quartet made their Festival debut in 1998 as a part of the Shouse Ensemble Institute for young and emerging ensembles. This will be their first return performance to the Festival. Named the quartet-in-residence and full-time faculty members at Indiana University’s Jacob School of Music in March 2012, the Pacifica was the quartet-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009 – 2012) – a position previously held by the Guarneri String Quartet – and received the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance.

The Festival’s opening night performance will set the tone for the two-week festival. Upcoming concerts during the Festival’s first week will include a Sunday, June 9 at 3 p.m. performance at Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church, and four concerts running Tuesday, June 11 through Friday, June 14 at Temple Beth El and Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church. The first week concerts will feature many of the opening night artists as well a number of additional artists including: the Jupiter String Quartet, the Parker Quartet, pianist James Tocco and cellists Paul Katz and Robert deMaine. The Festival’s closing night performance will take place on Saturday, June 22. Find out more about these upcoming concerts by calling (248) 559-2097 or going online to www.greatlakeschambermusic.org.

Opening Night is sponsored by Plante Moran. Major sponsorship for the 2013 Festival is provided by JPMorgan Chase.

 

 JUNE 8 CONCERT INFORMATION

Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 16…………………………………… Ludwig van Beethoven

Miriam Fried, violin; Paul Biss, viola; Andrés Díaz, cello; Jonathan Biss, piano

Return ……………………………………………………………………………………………Keeril Makan

The Pacifica Quartet: Simin Ganatra, violin; Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Brandon Vamos, cello

 Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81…………………………………………..Antonín Dvořák

Jonathan Biss, piano; Pacifica Quartet

ABOUT THE GREAT LAKES CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL

The Festival is co-sponsored by St. Hugo of the Hills, Temple Beth El, Kirk in the Hills, and Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings. Subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale. To order or to find out more, please visit www.greatlakeschambermusic.org or call (248) 559-2097.

Filed Under: Classical, Community, Culture, Music, News, Who We Are Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Musical Evening in England

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Chamber-Music-at-the-Scarab-Club

Chamber Music at the Scarab Club celebrates the final concert of its 15th season with a program of music created by English composers. “An Evening in England” will be performed Sunday, June 2 at the Scarab Club in Detroit, beginning at 7 p.m.

The program includes the Bax Quintet for Harp and Strings, featuring harpist Maurice Draughn; York Bowen’s Quintet for Bass Clarinet and Strings with clarinetist Brian Bowman; and two selections for string quartet by Vaughan Williams and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

Tickets are $18 if reserved in advance and $22 at the door, $10 for students.

For tickets and more info, call (248) 474-8930 or email chambermusic@scarabclub.org.

 

 The Artists

Maurice Draughn – harp
Brian Bowman – bass clarinet
Velda Kelly – violin
Andrew Wu - violin
Scott Stefanko – viola
Nadine Deleury – cello

The Program

Quintet for Harp and Strings – Arnold BAX (1883-1953)
Phantasy Quintet for Bass Clarinet and Strings – York BOWEN (1884-1961)
Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes for String Quartet – Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
Fantasie-Stücke for String Quartet – Samuel COLERIDGE-TAYLOR (1875-1912)

 

More from Chamber Music at the Scarab Club:

Don’t miss the season finale of Chamber Music at the Scarab Club! Relax in the courtyard garden before and after the concert, view the current art exhibits in both galleries and enjoy Detroit chamber musicians perform English music in a perfect setting.

Arnold Bax is beginning to become a more well-known composer but his music still has not been heard by many. His Quintet for Harp and Strings is an expressive one-movement piece. Bax has a singular and very romantic style with gorgeous expansive themes. This work was written in 1919 around the time of his first visit to Ireland, a country and culture that fascinated him throughout his entire life.

York Bowen is another prolific composer who is relatively unknown. This exceptional work was luckily suggested by one of the CMSC performers. Bowen showcases the bass clarinet, an instrument rarely included in chamber music, especially not with a string quartet! This is a well-structured and exciting piece that will cause you to wonder why the bass clarinet as a chamber instrument isn’t heard more often. Bowen was a pianist, but is said to have played every instrument in the orchestra. No wonder he could write so well for this unusual combination of instruments!

Ralph Vaughan Williams is certainly a name everyone will recognize. The Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes are truly beautiful and richly melodic. The composer felt a responsibility to write works for different combinations of instruments that could be played by people “whiling away the waiting hours of war’. Written in 1940-41 for string quartet, Vaughan Williams specifically noted in the parts that these preludes could also be played by a variety of other instruments, assuming that people would use whatever they had on hand.

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was an African-British composer who had a short but influential life. He made several trips from his native London to the United States and was greatly admired in this country as well as in England. Composed in 1898, the Fantasie-Stücke (Fantasy Pieces) consists of five relatively short and light-hearted works, each representing a different character or mood.

As always, each piece on the concert will be introduced by one of the musicians and the performance will be followed by a delicious and friendly reception.

 

Filed Under: Architecture, Classical, Culture, Music, News Tagged With:

Oakaloosa Takes Historic Fort Wayne

April 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Historic Fort Wayne

It’s a music festival with a great message and a good cause. The region’s first fully philanthropic music festival, Oakaloosa will take place at Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit July 27.

A percentage of every dollar raised will be put towards the restoration of Historic Fort Wayne in order to help return the Fort to its previous glory and preserve it for future generations to admire and enjoy.

Headlining the festival are national artists Girl Talk and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Local stars include Royce da 5’9’’, Jessica Hernandez, Trick Trick, Kaleido and Robert James, AKA Robert Ritchie Jr., the 19-year-old son of Kid Rock. Also performing are DJ A.M.F., Ro Spit, Hir-O, Freddy Todd and Paulina Jayne.

Tickets are $45 for general admission. They are available online at www.oakaloosa.com. The first 313 buyers will get a $10 discount.

Oakaloosa is organized and supported by Detroit Sports Zone, Inc., a non-profit group committed to exposing people of all ages to sports, cultural arts, mentoring, life-skill development and character building activities. Additional proceeds from the festival will be used to support the youth sports and mentoring programs provided through Detroit Sports Zone, Inc.

 Detroit Sports Zone Inc.

Founded in 2011, based on the vision of former Harlem Globetrotter Ernest “Wag” Wagner, Detroit Sports Zone, Inc. is committed to exposing youth, adults and older adults to sports, cultural arts, mentoring, life-skill development and character building activities. Detroit Sports Zone, Inc. is a State of Michigan 501c3 non-profit organization and is a pending IRS/501c3 non-profit organization.

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Maestro Slatkin spells out ‘Why Detroit?’

March 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Maestro Leonard Slatkin

Maestro Leonard Slatkin, music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, wrote a most interesting blog for the Huffington Post in which he talks about the arts, the metropolis, and the people who live here. An excerpt:

Nearly every subscription program is broadcast via a series of free HD webcasts. Last season we became the first orchestra in the world to offer such a product, with viewers in 75 countries and a cumulative audience approaching 300,000.

That’s not the best of it, though. Click here to read the rest of “My Town“ by Maestro Slatkin.

The webcasts are produced in partnership with Detroit Public Television Channel 56 and WRCJ 90.9 FM. Here’s the link to the DSO archive, courtesy of DPTV.

What’s not spelled out in the Huffington Post piece is why the Motor City adores Maestro Slatkin. As Artur Schnabel wrote about the spaces between the notes being the region where art resides, that indescribable bond is writ loud and clear between the lines.

 

Filed Under: Classical, Community, Culture, Detroit Inspires, Music, News, Who We Are, Words Tagged With: , , ,

DSA Performers Star at Carnegie Hall

March 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

DSA Wind Symphony

The Detroit School of Arts Wind Symphony won overall “Best Group” for its performance at Carnegie Hall the weekend of Mar. 29 & 30.

The DSA Wind Symphony, under the direction of Ronald Malabed, and DSA Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Sean Smith, participated in the National Band and Orchestra Festival held at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

The Detroit School of Arts Achievers Ladies Ensemble, under the direction of Connie Malabed, will perform at Carnegie Hall on April 28.

The National Band and Orchestra Festival featured performances from six schools across the country. DSA students were diligently working toward being adjudicated, a technical critiquing process where judges evaluate performances, and were pleasantly surprised when the judges unanimously decided that their group outperformed all other school groups.

DSA’s award-winning performance pieces included: “Robinson’s Grand Entrée March,” by Karl L. King; “An American Elegy,” by Frank Ticheli; and “Gavorkna Fanfare,” by Jack Stamp. The judges awarded DSA with a detailed vinyl banner measuring roughly 12 feet in height listing all of the participating schools.

“I was so excited when all four of the judges told me that our DSA group performed the best, and that we were also being awarded with the banner. I had no idea anyone was going to be awarded anything,” said Ronald Malabed, DSA Director of Bands.

In recent years, DSA’s bands have traveled to Chicago, Orlando and Washington D.C. through fundraising and student payments. The Carnegie Hall performance was their most marquee trip yet, and the cost for each participant was covered completely through fundraising.

The DSA Achievers Ladies Ensemble is still accepting donations to help support their trip to Carnegie Hall. All donations are tax deductible. If you would like to make a donation, checks and money orders can be made to:

Detroit School of Arts HS, C/O Connie Malabed
123 Selden Ave. Detroit, MI 48201

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Classical, Community, Culture, Detroit Inspires, Detroit Public Schools, Music, News, Who We Are Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Congratulations, Hadiya, Tasha and Adam!

February 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Interlochen Competitors

Congratulations to Hadiya Knight of Renaissance High School on winning the $9,000 Schrock Interlochen Scholarship Competition! Tasha Wiggins of Detroit School of Arts and Adam Woodberry of Cass Technical High School also received top rankings.

The students were among the 15 Detroit Public School students from Renaissance High School, Cass Technical High School and Detroit School of Arts competing for the $9,000 scholarship to the internationally acclaimed summer music and arts camp. The scholarship enables Ms. Knight to attend the six-week Interlochen Summer Music Camp June 22-Aug. 5.

The students selected in ranking order were:

1. Hadiya Knight, 10th grade of Renaissance HS (center, photo above)
2. Tasha Wiggins, 9th grade of Detroit School of Arts (right, photo above)
3. Adam Woodberry, 12th grade of Cass Technical HS (left, photo above)

The competition was held Wednesday, Jan. 30 at Spain Elementary-Middle School. Students showcased their talents with solo performances on the harp, oboe, violin, viola, cello and piano, and vocal performances from sopranos and tenors.

 

From The Detroit News:

15 DPS students compete for $9,000 scholarship to Interlochen music camp

By The Detroit News
January 31, 2013 at 1:00 am

Detroit — The 22nd annual Schrock Interlochen Scholarship Competition held Wednesday in Detroit featured 15 Detroit Public Schools students from Cass Technical High School, Renaissance High School and Detroit School of Arts competing for a $9,000 scholarship to attend Interlochen’s six-week summer music camp.

DPS officials said students showcased their talent with solo performances on the harp, oboe, violin, viola, cello and piano, and vocal performances from sopranos and tenors at the Spain Elementary-Middle School auditorium.

The Interlochen Arts Camp is an international summer arts program for aspiring artists in grades three through 12. It attracts students, faculty and staff from all 50 states and more than 40 countries. Each summer, 2,500 students come to Interlochen to train intensively with renowned instructors, producing more than 400 presentations in music, theater, dance, visual arts, creative writing and motion picture arts.

Original Article

 

 

Filed Under: Classical, Detroit Inspires, Detroit Public Schools, Music, News, Who We Are Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Van Cliburn – The Pianist Who Conquered Russia

February 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Van Cliburn with Nikita Krushchev

It is with great sorrow that we report Van Cliburn has died. The classical concert pianist, who rocketed to international fame upon winning the 1958 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, died early Feb. 27 at his home in Fort Worth, Texas.

Carla Kemp Thompson, chairman of the Van Cliburn Foundation, reported the sad news. Mr. Cliburn was 78 and had suffered from bone cancer.

In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Mr. Cliburn with the National Medal of the Arts, the nation’s highest cultural distinction. President George Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003. During his career, Mr. Cliburn performed before every American chief executive since President Harry S Truman.

Mr. Cliburn received public adulation by fans at home and abroad usually bestowed on rock stars, unusual for a classical musician in the early 1960s. Called a combination of Elvis, Liberace and Horowitz by fans, the virtuoso pianist was universally recognized for his charisma, showmanship and artistry.

TIME magazine called him “The Texan Who Conquered Russia” in “The All-American Virtuoso,” the cover story that ran upon his victory at the inaugural 1958 Tchaikovsky International Piano and Violin competition in Moscow. The people of New York City gave Mr. Cliburn a ticker-tape parade upon his return home, the first and only time the honor has been bestowed upon a classical musician.

“I appreciate more than you will ever know that you are honoring me, but the thing that thrills me the most is that you are honoring classical music,” Mr. Cliburn said upon being presented the key to New York City. “Because I’m only one of many. I’m only a witness and a messenger. Because I believe so much in the beauty, the construction, the architecture invisible, the importance for all generations, for young people to come that it will help their minds, develop their attitudes and give them values. That is why I’m so grateful that you have honored me in that spirit.”

The image above shows Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev, center-right, pinning the medal for First Place upon Van Cliburn, far left. Click here for images from an outstanding photo album compiled by The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Mr. Cliburn’s victory came at a particularly strained time in U.S.-Soviet relations.  A few months earlier, the Soviet Union had shocked the world by orbiting the first satellite, Sputnik 1. The technological feat caused fears in the West that the Soviets were ahead in development of nuclear warheads carried aboard intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Mr. Cliburn helped thaw the Cold War through the arts. At the finals of the 1958 Tchaikovsky competition, where he performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, the audience gave Mr. Cliburn a standing ovation that lasted eight minutes. Through his artistry, the Soviet people gained a special appreciation for America through one special classical musician.

According to legend, the contest judges were still fearful of professional and political reprisals common in the Stalin era for actions inimitable to the State. After determining the American was the winner, they first asked Krushchev for permission before announcing the results.

“Is Cliburn the best?” Krushchev is reported to have replied. “Then give him first prize.”

 

Filed Under: Classical, History, Music, News Tagged With: ,

You Can Make History – Thanks to Kroger

February 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Cadet Henry Ossian Flipper, United States Military Academy

Help Kroger celebrate Black History Month with the annual “I Can Make History” contest. The program is open to 4th through 12th grade Michigan students.

Kroger will award more than $67,000 in prizes in four categories – art, essay, music and poetry. All entries must be received by 5 p.m., Thursday, February 28, 2013. Winners will be invited to an awards luncheon held Saturday, April 13, 2013.

New this year, Kroger will honor one school with the School Leadership Award and $5,000 and the student that receives the highest score among all four categories will receive the $3,000 Best in Show Scholarship.

All entries should tie into the contests themes. Artwork entries must be original drawings, paintings, paper collages, and/or photographs. Essay entries must be the student’s own work and at least 500 words in length. Music entries must be an original work and a minimum of one minute (not exceeding four minutes). Poetry entries must be the student’s original work and no longer than 30 lines in length.

All entries must be received by 5 p.m. Friday, February 28, 2013. Learn more at http://www.icanmakehistory.com.

The image above is a photograph of Cadet Henry Ossian Flipper. Born a slave, he was the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army, where he encountered racism, bigotry and hypocrisy on the parts of his superiors, subordinates and fellow officers. After being drummed out of the Army, he continued his career as an engineer, land surveyor and land use scholar. Click here to learn more.

Filed Under: Art & Design, Community, Detroit Public Schools, For Students, History, Music, News, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Words Tagged With: , ,

Tour the Jazz and Classical Worlds

February 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Music Party by Rembrandt

Maybe classical music is your style? Or jazz? Either way, or both, odds are one needs information to get really comfortable. Two experts help enlighten us in upcoming programs at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial. Judy Adams leads us to discover contemporary Jazz and John Guinn guides us through the elements of classical music.

Details:

Feb 27 - The Basic Elements of Classical Music
Presented by John Guinn former classical music critic for The Detroit Free Press and host of “Confessions of a Music Critic” on WQRS-FM. “The Basic Elements of Classical Music” is for those who know little about classical music, but want to learn how to appreciate its artistic foundations, basic structures and forms. Wednesday, Feb. 27 2-3:30 p.m.

Feb 28 - Listening to Jazz with Judy Adams
Radio personality Judy Adams presents “Contemporary Jazz – The Modern Era 1960-2012” –Explore Post-Bop, Free Jazz, Fusion, Latin and World Jazz and the continuing evolution of jazz. Artists include Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Sun Ra, Dave Brubeck and more. Thursday, Feb. 28 7-8:30 p.m.

Cost for either program is $25 per person. For reservations, call (313) 881-7511.

The image above is a detail from “The Music Party“ painted in 1620 by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn.

 

Filed Under: Classical, Fun, History, Jazz, Music, News, Words Tagged With: , , , ,
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