Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Tuesday link

Well, forgot to post a Monday link, but here, have a Tuesday link! It's not really about choruses. Or singing. It's about dinosaurs? But they mention music? Whatever, it's summer, cut me some slack!

Hat-tip to my brother.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Summer Sings post

Finally, the moment we have all been waiting for. Here it is, your annual listing of Summer Sings in the greater Boston area! For details on whether scores are provided, whether or not the sings are free, etc., please follow the links included in each listing. This post will be updated as I get more information, so please check back, and feel free to send me updates or new postings.

Tuesday, June 14 at 8 pm (passed)
Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem
Conducted by Steven Karidoyanes, hosted by Masterworks Chorale
At the Lawrence Auditorium in the Wheeler Music Center
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive, Dedham

Tuesday, June 21 at 8 pm (passed)
Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass
Conducted by Amy Lieberman, hosted by Masterworks Chorale
At the Lawrence Auditorium in the Wheeler Music Center
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive, Dedham

Tuesday, June 28 at 8 pm
Vivaldi's Gloria
Conducted by Michael Turner, hosted by Masterworks Chorale
At the Lawrence Auditorium in the Wheeler Music Center
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive, Dedham

Monday, July 11 at 6:30 pm
Community sing and potluck
Hosted by Three Rivers Chorus
14 Lincoln Street, Maynard, MA
RSVP required; please bring a dish

Monday, July 11 at 8:00 pm
Mozart's Requiem
Hosted by The Paul Madore Chorale
Old Town Hall
32 Derby Square, Salem, MA

Tuesday, July 12 at 8 pm
Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem
Conducted by Anne Watson Born, hosted by Masterworks Chorale
At the Lawrence Auditorium in the Wheeler Music Center
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive, Dedham

Wednesday, July 13 at 7:30 pm
Mozart's Requiem
Hosted by the South Coast Community Chorale
At the Good Shepherd Parish
1598 South Main St, Fall River

Monday, July 18 at 7 pm
Mozart's Requiem
Conducted by Danica Buckley, hosted by the Choral Art Society of the South Shore
St. Mary of the Nativity Parish Hall
1 Kent Street, Scituate Harbor

Monday, July 18 at 8:00 pm
Manzoni's Requiem
Hosted by The Paul Madore Chorale
Old Town Hall
32 Derby Square, Salem, MA

Tuesday, July 19 at 8 pm
Faure's Requiem
Conducted by Steven Karidoyanes, hosted by Masterworks Chorale
At the Lawrence Auditorium in the Wheeler Music Center
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive, Dedham

Monday, July 25 at 8:00 pm
Faure's Requiem and Vivaldi's Gloria
Hosted by The Paul Madore Chorale
Old Town Hall
32 Derby Square, Salem, MA

Tuesday, July 26 at 8 pm
Bach's Magnificat
Conducted by Steven Karidoyanes, hosted by Masterworks Chorale
At the Lawrence Auditorium in the Wheeler Music Center
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive, Dedham

Monday, August 1 at 7:30 pm
Fauré's Requiem
Conducted by Betsy Burleigh, hosted by Chorus pro Musica
At Old South Church, Copley Square
645 Boylston St., Boston

Monday, August 1 at 8:00 pm
Brahms' Requiem
Hosted by The Paul Madore Chorale
Old Town Hall
32 Derby Square, Salem, MA

Tuesday, August 2 at 8 pm
Mozart's Requiem
Conducted by Steven Karidoyanes, hosted by Masterworks Chorale
At the Lawrence Auditorium in the Wheeler Music Center
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive, Dedham

Monday, August 8 at 7:30 pm
Haydn's Creation
Conducted by Betsy Burleigh, hosted by Chorus pro Musica
At Old South Church, Copley Square
645 Boylston St., Boston

Monday, August 8 at 8:00 pm
Orff's Carmina Burana
Hosted by The Paul Madore Chorale
Old Town Hall
32 Derby Square, Salem, MA

Tuesday, August 9 at 8 pm
Poulenc's Gloria
Conducted by Katherine FitzGibbon, hosted by Masterworks Chorale
At the Lawrence Auditorium in the Wheeler Music Center
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive, Dedham

Monday, August 15 at 6:30 pm
Community sing and potluck
Hosted by Three Rivers Chorus
14 Lincoln Street, Maynard, MA
RSVP required; please bring a dish

Monday, August 15 at 8:00 pm
Selections from Handel's Messiah
Hosted by The Paul Madore Chorale
Old Town Hall
32 Derby Square, Salem, MA

Monday, August 15 at 7:30 pm
Bach's Magnificat
Conducted by Betsy Burleigh, hosted by Chorus pro Musica
At Old South Church, Copley Square
645 Boylston St., Boston

Monday, August 22 at 7 pm
Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem
Conducted by Danica Buckley, hosted by the Choral Art Society of the South Shore
Derby Academy Larson Hall
56 Burditt Avenue, Hingham

Monday, August 22 at 7:30 pm
Brahms' Neues Liebeslieder Waltzes
Conducted by Betsy Burleigh, hosted by Chorus pro Musica
At Old South Church, Copley Square
645 Boylston St., Boston

Monday, August 22 at 8:00 pm
Selections from Haydn's Creation
Hosted by The Paul Madore Chorale
Old Town Hall
32 Derby Square, Salem, MA

Monday, August 29 at 8:00 pm
Beethoven's Choral Fantasy and Ninth Symphony (4th movement only)
Hosted by The Paul Madore Chorale
Old Town Hall
32 Derby Square, Salem, MA

Corrections? Updates? Leave me a comment; and leave a comment as well if you go to one of these!

Wednesday update

Not too much to report this week. The last official Sunday of church was this past Sunday, and now we are into summer services, for which the services of the organist and music director are not required, so I have two months to recharge. The activities of the academic year are now complete, and I am fully into my summer activities, which include voice lessons (both teaching and taking) and repertoire preparation and rehearsals for Anthology and other things.

The most time-consuming of my summer activities is proving to be giving a series of lectures at Lasell Village. Never having lectured before, I had NO idea how time-consuming it is to prepare for lectures! I am spending at least 3 hours outside the classroom for every hour inside it, and while it's nice to have an opportunity to do research on some of these topics, it's also a little overwhelming!

But maybe you can help. :) I'm teaching two lectures (8 meetings each, and 3 are already past, so I only have 5 to go). One is called "The Ten Greatest Choral Works" and that one is pretty much under control, although if anyone has a recording of Britten's War Requiem I sure would love to borrow it. I will let you in on my list of what the ten greatest works are in the coming weeks.

The other is called "Modern Music: Why It's Not That Horrible" and I'm really grateful for the excuse to force myself to learn more about what's going on right now. Here are some outstanding questions.

We'll be doing a class on opera. What are the most important operas of the last 30 years? Do you have a CD or DVD of your recommendation? (DVDs of recent operas are proving hard to come by.) Anyone have a DVD of Nixon in China?

We'll also be doing a class on symphonic works. Right now I'm thinking Schnittke, Sandstrom's Motorbike Concerto, Higdon (either Percussion or Violin Concerto), Stucky, Rautavaara, Peter Maxwell Davies, Ades, possibly Tan Dun or Corigliano or Gubaidulina. But of course I can't do all of those people, so who should I choose; and maybe I missed your favorite? (I suppose maybe Elliott Carter should be in there too, but listening to his music always seems more of a chore than a joy.)

For the class on modern song, I am shorter on ideas, but still probably have too many. Argento, Lieberson, Hundley, Cipullo, Harbison, Kernis, and...?

And we are ending with a lecture on local Bostonian composers. Harbison, Wheeler, Pinkham, Gandalfi - any other Boston Brahmins I should include?

Help me brainstorm! Free association welcome.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Monday link

Via Aaron Larget-Caplan, a hilarious xtranormal video about commissioning new music from composers. (I am allowed to make fun since I commission and perform a lot of new music!)

I have to say that xtranormal is proving an extremely valuable tool for musicians to relay stereotypical and hilarious conversations that they have! We all remember the organist-bride conversation, right?

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Weekend Concert Calendar, 6/16/11

The main event of the week and weekend is BEMF, the Boston Early Music Festival! We are lucky to have this in our town, so I encourage you to take advantage of it, and don't forget to check the Fringe schedule! Feel free to leave a comment to highlight your own Fringe event.

Tonight (Thursday) Koleinu is giving a concert of Jewish choral music, including Rosenthal's Voices of Terazin. 8 pm at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline.

On Friday at 8 pm, check out the Slava Chorale at Old South Church at 8 pm.

Saturday, the Boston Pops is having Gospel Night! Featuring the Boston Pops Gospel Choir and the Voices of Renaissance choir.

And that pretty much does it for choral music this season. Weekend Concert Calendar is going on hiatus for the summer, as usual; I will start doing it again in September. In the meantime, keep your eye on Tanglewood's schedule if you need a choral fix, and I will continue blogging over the summer (I am hoping to bring back the Conductor Interview Feature) so visit often!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Wednesday update

In bullet form; stuff that has happened.

  • Saw the Steffani opera Niobe last night at BEMF. Due to a ticket confusion, me and my companion ended up in a box! About 30 feet from the stage! (We were supposed to be in the back of the second balcony, nosebleed seats.) It was awesome. The sets and the costumes and the singers and the bear were amazing. And special kudos to star Phillipe Jaroussky, who was totally fantastic - his aria about the spheres (I wish I knew the official title) was the musical high point of the opera for me. Also, someday I hope to see Amanda Forsythe play Poppea.
  • Forgot to mention previously, but the Cohasset Mariner ran a very nice article about me a few weeks ago! I don't know if it went up online, but you can read it here. (AND I am next to a cute cat!)
  • Just heard many cars honking outside. Assumed Bruins just won; the internet tells me I am correct. Congrats to them!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Summer sings - send me info!

So, I was going to do my annual Summer Sings post this evening, but there are quite a few groups who have not publicized their information yet. Masterworks Chorale is the only group for which I can find all the information. Everyone else - comment on this post and leave me links to the relevant information on your websites, please!

And in the meantime, the first summer sing is tomorrow night!

Tuesday, June 14 at 8 pm
Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem
Conducted by Steven Karidoyanes, hosted by Masterworks Chorale
At the Lawrence Auditorium in the Wheeler Music Center
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive, Dedham

Monday link - BEMF!

I mentioned this on the most recent Weekend Concert Calendar, but it bears repeating:

This week is the Boston Early Music Festival (also known as BEMF!)

Go see the King's Singers!
Go see Les Voix Baroques!
Go see the Tallis Scholars!
Go see the opera, Niobe!
Go see my my friend and colleague, the vibrant fortepianist Sylvia Berry, in concert with the exquisite soprano Clara Rottsolk!

And leave a comment advertising your own Fringe event on this post!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Weekend Concert Calendar, 6/9/11

Even as summer approaches, there are still plenty of fine choral concerts to attend!

Friday: Check out the Arlington-Belmont Chorale, which together with the Arlington Philharmonic Orchestra will present a spring Pops! concert. 7:45 pm (yes, you read that right!) at the Arlington Town Hall.

Also on Friday: Boston Gay Men's Chorus, Swingle Singers with the Boston Pops, Three Rivers Chorus.

Saturday: The only choral concert I can find on Saturday is the Three Rivers Chorus, which will perform at the Old Manse in Concord from 1-2:30 pm. I don't know a lot about them, so if you go, do tell me about it!

Sunday: The Boston Gay Men's Chorus' annual Pride concert will be all-Beatles! 7 pm at John Hancock Hall in Boston.

Also on Sunday: French Choir of Boston, Oriana Consort.

The Boston Early Music Festival starts on Sunday! There will be many fine choral concerts; check the schedule for listings, and don't forget to also check the Fringe schedule. The King's Singers will be at BEMF on Tuesday!

Also, Summer Sings start next Tuesday, with the Masterworks Chorale leading a sing of the Brahms' Requiem. The Summer Sings post should be coming soon!

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Wednesday update

Whoops, I forgot to do a Wednesday update last week; that is because I have so much to update about! The irony of the musician's life; the less you know about what we are doing, the busier we probably are, and the more concerts we ought to be telling you about.

It's a busy week, so how about a bulleted list?
  • Anthology is singing at Gore Place in Waltham tonight at 7:30 pm! This is a really beautiful historic Massachusetts estate, and it's a good concert series that we are honored to be on.
  • Therefore, too bad that I woke up with a bad stomach-ache! Anyone have any remedies? Ginger-ale is in the fridge.
  • I'm giving some music history lectures at Lasell Village this summer; the first lectures were Monday, so last week was a flurry of preparation. My students are extremely engaged with the material, so I think this will be fun! I'll be posting more about the lecture topics soon.
  • I want to post about this in more detail, but in case I don't get the chance; I saw the Chorus pro Musica concert last Sunday, which had a premiere of Abbie Betinis' new work "Expectans Expectavi." It was very personal, very angry, and very wonderful. And hallelujah, the concert got a Globe review!

Friday, June 03, 2011

Weekend Concert Calendar, 6/2/11

I can think of no pithy little intro this week. On to the concerts!

Friday: The Voices of Metrowest will present a "Best of the Beatles" concert. At 7 pm at First Congregational Church in Natick.

Saturday: Go see Voices Rising present a concert called "All the Wild Wonders" at 7:30 pm at First Church in Boston.

Also on Saturday: Chorus North Shore, Coolidge Corner Community Chorus, Polymnia.

Sunday: I'll be heading to Chorus pro Musica's final concert of the season, where in addition to presenting Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms they will be presenting a new commission by the young American composer Abbie Betinis. 3 pm at NEC's Jordan Hall!

Also on Sunday: Sharing a New Song, Voices Rising.

Next Tuesday, check out the Spivery Hall Children's Chorus at the King's Chapel Noon Concert Series. And next Wednesday, check out the first annual Somerville Public Schools Choral Festival. It will be from 1:00-2:30 pm in the Somerville High School Auditorium at 81 Highland Ave, Somerville. And in addition to the All City Elementary Choir and the Somerville High School Chorus, the Swingle Singers will be there! The Swingle Singers will also be singing with the Boston Pops on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.