BBC Music Magazine: The Clarion Choir: East Meets West
For Steven Fox, music director of The Clarion Choir, Rachmaninov’s anniversary year presents the perfect opportunity to celebrate the composer’s often overlooked choral music, as he tells Charlotte Smith.
'In the darkest days of the pandemic, as I was sitting at home, it occurred to me that 2023 would be a significant year – the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninov’s birth. Would I live to see another anniversary of such importance? Perhaps if I lived to 90! So, I thought to myself, “If we ever get though this, I’m going to celebrate properly.”’
Steven Fox, music director of New York’s Clarion Choir, is speaking to me in a restaurant just a stone’s throw away from 505 West End Avenue, the stately New York apartment where Rachmaninov and his wife Natalia eventually settled after fleeing the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Fox is telling me about his very special project for 2023 – to conduct all of Rachmaninov’s major choral works. ‘I had no worries that orchestras would celebrate the symphonies and that pianists would perform the concertos, but so little attention is given to his choral works in general,’ he continues, ‘and they were his favourite works. The two works he was most proud of at the end of his life were the All-Night Vigil and The Bells – he even requested that part of the Vigil be sung at his funeral.’
BBC Music Magazine
By Charlotte Smith
For Steven Fox, music director of The Clarion Choir, Rachmaninov’s anniversary year presents the perfect opportunity to celebrate the composer’s often overlooked choral music, as he tells Charlotte Smith.
'In the darkest days of the pandemic, as I was sitting at home, it occurred to me that 2023 would be a significant year – the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninov’s birth. Would I live to see another anniversary of such importance? Perhaps if I lived to 90! So, I thought to myself, “If we ever get through this, I’m going to celebrate properly.”’
Steven Fox, music director of New York’s Clarion Choir, is speaking to me in a restaurant just a stone’s throw away from 505 West End Avenue, the stately New York apartment where Rachmaninov and his wife Natalia eventually settled after fleeing the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Fox is telling me about his very special project for 2023 – to conduct all of Rachmaninov’s major choral works. ‘I had no worries that orchestras would celebrate the symphonies and that pianists would perform the concertos, but so little attention is given to his choral works in general,’ he continues, ‘and they were his favourite works. The two works he was most proud of at the end of his life were the All-Night Vigil and The Bells – he even requested that part of the Vigil be sung at his funeral.’
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Isabelle Provost
Musical America: New Artist of the Month: Conductor Sameer Patel
As he describes the career choices that have led to his current position, Sameer Patel refers to a verse from the Bhagavad Gita: “‘It’s better to strive in one’s own dharma than to succeed in the dharma of another’—in other words, to follow your own virtue or path or journey.”
The San Diego-based conductor is reminded of this ancient advice when discussing how the pandemic influenced his decision to take over last year as artistic director of the San Diego Youth Symphony (SDYS). “One thing it awakened was a desire to go by my own playbook of what will bring me happiness,” he explained during a recent Zoom interview. “I’ve found that this involves a balance between working with students, traveling to exchange with different orchestras as a guest conductor, and being at home with my family.”
Musical America
By Thomas May
As he describes the career choices that have led to his current position, Sameer Patel refers to a verse from the Bhagavad Gita: “‘It’s better to strive in one’s own dharma than to succeed in the dharma of another’—in other words, to follow your own virtue or path or journey.”
The San Diego-based conductor is reminded of this ancient advice when discussing how the pandemic influenced his decision to take over last year as artistic director of the San Diego Youth Symphony (SDYS). “One thing it awakened was a desire to go by my own playbook of what will bring me happiness,” he explained during a recent Zoom interview. “I’ve found that this involves a balance between working with students, traveling to exchange with different orchestras as a guest conductor, and being at home with my family.”
Patel already showed a strong inclination to follow his own path while growing up in Port Huron, Michigan, just across from the Canadian border. His Indian American parents encouraged him to study music as an extracurricular activity that would promote well-roundedness. But they didn’t expect this to turn into a serious passion and were surprised when their son announced his determination to become a professional musician.
Read more here.
I Care If You Listen: Andy Akiho Wrings New Sounds out of Colossal Sculptures
A massive bronze head, with loops jutting out from every crevice of its face, sits amongst the orchestra at The Holland Performing Arts Center, in Omaha, Neb. Though it may not look like it at first glance, the glimmering sculpture, created by Jun Kaneko, is another instrument waiting to be played, a cavernous object that holds within it a psychedelic spectrum of sound.
Composer and percussionist Andy Akiho has spent the better part of a year playing this head and other works by Kaneko, getting to know their pitches and textures. His piece Sculptures, which premiered at the Holland on March 17 and 18, reacts to and implements Kaneko’s art in nine evocative movements that seesaw between orchestra, video, and live sculpture playing. It was commissioned as part of the Omaha Symphony’s annual gala, which honored Kaneko and his wife Ree with the Dick and Mary Holland Leadership Award.
I Care If You Listen
By Vanessa Ague
A massive bronze head, with loops jutting out from every crevice of its face, sits amongst the orchestra at The Holland Performing Arts Center, in Omaha, Neb. Though it may not look like it at first glance, the glimmering sculpture, created by Jun Kaneko, is another instrument waiting to be played, a cavernous object that holds within it a psychedelic spectrum of sound.
Composer and percussionist Andy Akiho has spent the better part of a year playing this head and other works by Kaneko, getting to know their pitches and textures. His piece Sculptures, which premiered at the Holland on March 17 and 18, reacts to and implements Kaneko’s art in nine evocative movements that seesaw between orchestra, video, and live sculpture playing. It was commissioned as part of the Omaha Symphony’s annual gala, which honored Kaneko and his wife Ree with the Dick and Mary Holland Leadership Award.
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Casey Wood
The Post and Courier: Charleston’s classical scene rises ‘Under an Indigo Sky’ with Billboard No. 2 spot
Charleston’s claim to classical fame has reached a new crescendo.
Composer Edward Hart’s new recording, “Under an Indigo Sky,” has come out on a high note, hitting the No. 2 spot on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Album ranking.
The recording, released by Navona Records, includes two original works by Hart, a Charleston native.
A violin concerto, “Under an Indigo Sky” was written expressly for and features Charleston Symphony’s artistic director and concertmaster Yuriy Bekker as soloist and folds in the composer’s impressions of various regions of South Carolina.
The Post and Courier
By Maura Hogan
Charleston’s claim to classical fame has reached a new crescendo.
Composer Edward Hart’s new recording, “Under an Indigo Sky,” has come out on a high note, hitting the No. 2 spot on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Album ranking.
The recording, released by Navona Records, includes two original works by Hart, a Charleston native.
A violin concerto, “Under an Indigo Sky” was written expressly for and features Charleston Symphony’s artistic director and concertmaster Yuriy Bekker as soloist and folds in the composer’s impressions of various regions of South Carolina.
“A Charleston Concerto” spotlights the Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet in performance with Charleston Symphony, conducted by Ken Lam, during the CSO’s 2021-22 season and homes in on the past, present and future of Charleston, layering in the rhythms and cultural touchstones of the locale.
Read more here.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Pandemic pivots enrich orchestral director Sameer Patel’s family, career
Before the pandemic shutdown in March 2020, Sameer Patel was set to be at the podium of several orchestras across the country. But suddenly, he went from leading 60 to100 musicians in front of enthusiastic audiences to conducting an orchestra of one.
With all his gigs canceled, Patel, 40, stayed home with his 2-year-old son, Devan, whose preschool had closed. Patel’s wife, Shannon, a memory-care specialist, is an essential worker. After two or three weeks of caring for Devan, Sameer decided to become his teacher.
The San Diego Union-Tribune
By Beth Wood
Before the pandemic shutdown in March 2020, Sameer Patel was set to be at the podium of several orchestras across the country. But suddenly, he went from leading 60 to100 musicians in front of enthusiastic audiences to conducting an orchestra of one.
With all his gigs canceled, Patel, 40, stayed home with his 2-year-old son, Devan, whose preschool had closed. Patel’s wife, Shannon, a memory-care specialist, is an essential worker. After two or three weeks of caring for Devan, Sameer decided to become his teacher.
“I threw myself into it and consider it my greatest accomplishment of my life — teaching my son for nine months,” Patel recalled, speaking from his family’s Bankers Hill home. “I drew up lesson plans — I’d talk to my mother-in-law, a retired kindergarten teacher. I’d find little themes — volcanoes, bridges. Balboa Park became our backyard.
Read more here.
Photo: Brittany Cruz-Fejeran
Violin Channel: VC Artist Paul Huang to Join Taiwan Philharmonic on American Tour
Known in Taiwan as the National Symphony Orchestra, the Taiwan Philharmonic (NSO) is one of the first international orchestras to be presented by the New York Philharmonic in David Geffen Hall in its return to the U.S. this spring.
The NSO’s 2023 tour follows previous successful tours of the U.S. with violinist Cho-Liang Lin in 2016, and with pianist Stephen Hough and violinist Yu-Chien Tseng in 2018.
This year VC Artist violinist Paul Huang will join the NSO, and its music director Jun Märkl, for its David Geffen Hall debut on the tour’s last three days with Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy Op. 46.
Violin Channel
The Taiwan Philharmonic and conductor Jun Märkl will perform across New York City, Chicago, and Washington D.C. from April 14–23, 2023
Known in Taiwan as the National Symphony Orchestra, the Taiwan Philharmonic (NSO) is one of the first international orchestras to be presented by the New York Philharmonic in David Geffen Hall in its return to the U.S. this spring.
The NSO’s 2023 tour follows previous successful tours of the U.S. with violinist Cho-Liang Lin in 2016, and with pianist Stephen Hough and violinist Yu-Chien Tseng in 2018.
This year VC Artist violinist Paul Huang will join the NSO, and its music director Jun Märkl, for its David Geffen Hall debut on the tour’s last three days with Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy Op. 46.
The tour starts on April 14, 2023, in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, with a chamber music concert featuring members of the Taiwan Philharmonic & Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Read more here.
Photo: Marco Borggreve
KIOS-FM: The Omaha Symphony & Andy Akiho Celebrate Jun Kaneko With World Premier Performance
There’s a very special interdisciplinary collaboration between two time Grammy and Pulitzer-prize nominated composer Andy Akiho and internationally renowned local artist Jun Kaneko, who was honored with the 2021 International Sculpture Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Each movement of Akiho's new work is inspired by a particular type of Kaneko's sculptures. The musical piece is structured as movements for full symphony orchestra with interludes, during which Akiho will be playing Kaneko's multi-ton sculptures on-stage and on video. Akiho has been in residence multiple times over the past year in Omaha discovering the pitches for the sculptures and repurposing them as instruments. This will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience this work with the sculptures on-stage as performed by Akiho.
Omaha Public Radio KIOS-FM
By Mike Hogan
There’s a very special interdisciplinary collaboration between two time Grammy and Pulitzer-prize nominated composer Andy Akiho and internationally renowned local artist Jun Kaneko, who was honored with the 2021 International Sculpture Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Each movement of Akiho's new work is inspired by a particular type of Kaneko's sculptures. The musical piece is structured as movements for full symphony orchestra with interludes, during which Akiho will be playing Kaneko's multi-ton sculptures on-stage and on video. Akiho has been in residence multiple times over the past year in Omaha discovering the pitches for the sculptures and repurposing them as instruments. This will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience this work with the sculptures on-stage as performed by Akiho.
Read more here.
Idaho Mountain Express: Sun Valley Music Festival gets down to 'brass' tacks
The odd, oft-misquoted adage, “Talking about music is like dancing about architecture” points out how useless it is to define music in words.
Sun Valley Music Festival (SVMF) Director Alasdair Neale disagrees. But, it takes someone as knowledgeable and eloquent as Neale to harness the transcendence of music through the English language. And, only a rare professional can explain complex theory to a gathering of curious ears.
That’s exactly what he does in his beloved “Upbeat with Alasdair” sessions at The Community Library. Anyone who has sat in the Sun Valley Pavilion during a bombastic SVMF concert on a summer night has likely wondered how the many parts make a coherent, often beautiful whole. What really goes on behind the curtain to bring all this magic together?
Idaho Mountain Express
By Joey Thyne
The odd, oft-misquoted adage, “Talking about music is like dancing about architecture” points out how useless it is to define music in words.
Sun Valley Music Festival (SVMF) Director Alasdair Neale disagrees. But, it takes someone as knowledgeable and eloquent as Neale to harness the transcendence of music through the English language. And, only a rare professional can explain complex theory to a gathering of curious ears.
That’s exactly what he does in his beloved “Upbeat with Alasdair” sessions at The Community Library. Anyone who has sat in the Sun Valley Pavilion during a bombastic SVMF concert on a summer night has likely wondered how the many parts make a coherent, often beautiful whole. What really goes on behind the curtain to bring all this magic together?
Read more here.
Gramophone: Video of the Day: Marc-André Hamelin plays Ives
Marc-André Hamelin performs 'Alcotts' from the Concord Sonata
Marc-André Hamelin has recorded Charles Ives's Concord Sonata on two occasions, the first recording (for New World Records) was singled out for praise by Philip Clark in his overview of the available recordings of the work for Gramophone, writing: 'Hamelin’s technique can take him places other pianists can’t reach'.
Gramophone
Marc-André Hamelin performs 'Alcotts' from the Concord Sonata
Marc-André Hamelin has recorded Charles Ives's Concord Sonata on two occasions, the first recording (for New World Records) was singled out for praise by Philip Clark in his overview of the available recordings of the work for Gramophone, writing: 'Hamelin’s technique can take him places other pianists can’t reach'.
Read more here.
Datebook: Review: Clarion Choir shines in a Berkeley oratorio performance
Most of us, if we’re being honest, go to classical musical events and keep our eyes and ears on the star performers — the lead singers, the instrumental soloists, the conductor. But sometimes the stars are elsewhere.
During the performance of Handel’s oratorio “Solomon” presented by Cal Performances on Sunday, March 5, in UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, the dazzling heroism came from the rear of the stage, where the chorus was arrayed.
Not that they got top billing. The headliner was the English Concert, the estimable British early-music ensemble led by conductor and harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Also on hand were a handful of established singers, including mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg in the title role of the biblical king, and soprano Miah Persson as his unnamed queen.
Yet Sunday’s 3½-hour offering came most vividly to life whenever the chorus got into the action. The Clarion Choir, led by Artistic Director Steven Fox, provided episode after episode of luxuriant and richly hued singing.
Datebook
By Joshua Kosman
Most of us, if we’re being honest, go to classical musical events and keep our eyes and ears on the star performers — the lead singers, the instrumental soloists, the conductor. But sometimes the stars are elsewhere.
During the performance of Handel’s oratorio “Solomon” presented by Cal Performances on Sunday, March 5, in UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, the dazzling heroism came from the rear of the stage, where the chorus was arrayed.
Not that they got top billing. The headliner was the English Concert, the estimable British early-music ensemble led by conductor and harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Also on hand were a handful of established singers, including mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg in the title role of the biblical king, and soprano Miah Persson as his unnamed queen.
Yet Sunday’s 3½-hour offering came most vividly to life whenever the chorus got into the action. The Clarion Choir, led by Artistic Director Steven Fox, provided episode after episode of luxuriant and richly hued singing.
Read more here.