Industry News
Chicago Sinfonietta Presents 'For the Common Man'
CHICAGO – August 23, 2010 – Maestro Paul Freeman and guest conductor Harvey Felder, Music Director of the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, open the Chicago Sinfonietta’s 2010-2011 season with a concert honoring the men and women builders of the world in "For the Common Man." This salute to labor will feature guest artist Tai Murray on violin and the percussive flair of Japanese taiko drummers JASC Tsukasa Taiko, led by Tatsu Aoki. The Chicago Sinfonietta will present For the Common Man on Sunday, October 3, 2010, at 2:30 p.m. at Lund Auditorium, Dominican University, 7900 West Division Street in River Forest, and Monday, October 4, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. at Orchestra Hall, Symphony Center, 220 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The Chicago Sinfonietta is grateful to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, the Chicago Sun-Times Media Group, and the Joyce Foundation for their generous support of the upcoming season.
The Sinfonietta’s For the Common Man concert will open aptly with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, a work that came about at the request of Eugene Goossens, then conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. During World War I, Goossens commissioned British composers to write patriotic fanfares to open each of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s concerts, and sought to repeat this with American composers during the World War II effort. Since its successful premiere in 1943—which took place around tax time, an idea Copland approved of because of the thematic relevance—Copland’s fanfare has since become a repertory standard for American orchestras and has also made many appearances, in one edited version or another, throughout pop culture in music, television and film.
The concert will also include Antonin Dvorák’s Slavonic Dances, op.72, no.7. Originally written for piano four hands, the Slavonic Dances were inspired by Johannes Brahms’ own Hungarian Dances, though Dvorák used Brahms’ work only as a model. Whereas Brahms’ used actual Hungarian folk melodies in his piece, Dvorák only incorporated Slavonic rhythms, creating the melodies himself. In these pieces, Dvorák captured the spirit of the folk dances; no.7 (15) is a Kolo, a round dance from Serbia.
Guest conductor Harvey Felder will take the podium as For the Common Man continues with Michael Daugherty’s Fire and Blood, where the Sinfonietta will be joined by guest violinist and native Chicagoan Tai Murray. This work was inspired by Mexican muralist Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry frescos at the Detroit Institute of Arts, commissioned in 1932 by Edsel Ford. Rivera, who came to Detroit with his wife and fellow artist Frida Kahlo, spent two years creating murals that eventually spanned four large walls of the inner courtyard at the Detroit Institute of the Arts. Daugherty’s three-movement work pays homage to Rivera’s home town of Mexico City and the fieriness of his revolutionary ideas, the spirit of his passionate but physically tormented wife, Kahlo, and the heartbeat of the factory as expressed in Rivera’s murals. The composer notes, "The violin soloist in this final movement is like the worker, surrounded by a mechanical orchestra."
An original orchestral composition by Sinfonietta principal violist Reneé Baker, Sundown’s Promise (for Taiko and Orchestra) will feature the exotic and exhilarating drumming talents of Japanese taiko drummers JASC Tsukasa Taiko, led by Tatsu Aoki. The choreographed movements of the drummers will evoke those of field laborers bringing in the crops at harvest time.
The concert will conclude with Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront. The music to Elia Kazan’s 1954 film, On the Waterfront, represents Leonard Bernstein’s only original movie score. Starring a young Marlon Brando, Eva-Marie Saint and a surplus of stars, the Oscar®-winning movie tells the story of worker unrest on the docks of New York. In 1955, Bernstein adapted the music he had produced for the film into his own vision, a continuous twenty-minute suite of symphonic music which can be appreciated independently of the film as a portrait of life in New York.
Ticket prices range from $26-$40 for concerts at Lund Auditorium and from $26-$96 for concerts at Symphony Center, with special pricing available for children and students. Call 312-236-3681 ext. 2 or visit www.chicagosinfonietta.org.
The Chicago Sinfonietta’s 2010-2011 season continues at the end of October as the Sinfonietta commemorates the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) honoring the dearly departed. Guest conductor Hector Guzman leads the orchestra through vivid sounds and imagery that contrasts the somber European traditions of mourning with the more jubilant celebrations of Latino cultures. The Day of the Dead concert takes place at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph Drive, on Saturday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Now entering its 24th season, the Chicago Sinfonietta has a proud history of having enriched the cultural, educational, and social quality of life in Chicago, while gaining significant recognition on the national and international stage. Performing at Chicago’s Symphony Center and Lund Auditorium of Dominican University, the Sinfonietta presents a full season of symphonic concerts as well as a Chamber Series. The Chicago Sinfonietta has also served as the official orchestra of The Joffrey Ballet since 2003. Under the guidance of Founding Music Director Paul Freeman, the orchestra performs at the highest artistic level and has achieved an outstanding reputation for its innovative programs. The Sinfonietta is dedicated to the authentic performance of Classical, Romantic and Contemporary repertoire and excels at presenting imaginative new works by composers and soloists of color. Chicago Sinfonietta musicians truly represent the city’s rich cultural landscape and continue to fulfill the orchestra’s mission of Musical Excellence through Diversity™. A 2007 survey of major orchestras revealed that the Chicago Sinfonietta is the most diverse professional orchestra in the United States. Through this distinction, the Chicago Sinfonietta serves as a national model for inclusiveness in classical music.
The Chicago Sinfonietta’s 2010-2011 Season is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, The Chicago Sun-Times Media Group, the Joyce Foundation, and the Fairmont Hotel. Additional support for the opening concert, For the Common Man, is generously provided by Mrs. Bettiann Gardner, the Albert Pick Jr. Fund, the Chicago Federation of Labor, ABC7, WBEZ 91.5FM, the Illinois Arts Council, CityArts, the Chicago Defender, and the Chicago Crusader.
Violinist Tai Murray is a rising star of her generation and is increasingly in demand for both recitals and orchestral engagements. She has performed on the stages of Berlin's Konzerthaus, Chicago's Orchestra Hall, Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, Shanghai’s Concert Hall and New York's Carnegie Hall and has collaborated with a wide range of conductors and instrumentalists including Marin Alsop, Alan Gilbert, Richard Goode, Jaime Laredo, Hannu Lintu, Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Mitsuko Uchida. Other recent debuts include those with the Cincinnati and Dallas symphony orchestras, Shanghai Symphony, London’s BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC Proms, the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. A native of Chicago, Murray studied with Yuval Yaron and Franco Gulli at Indiana University and Joel Smirnoff at The Juilliard School. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2004, Murray is currently a BBC New Generation Artist (2008-2010). She performs on a violin made for her in 2007 by distinguished and extraordinary luthier Mario Miralles.
Harvey Felder is currently the Music Director of the Tacoma Symphony. Equally at home with repertoire ranging from Bach and Mahler to Gershwin and Ellington, Felder leads the Tacoma Symphony in a season of subscription, family, education, outreach and pops concerts. Also active as a guest conductor, Harvey Felder made his Carnegie Hall debut during the 1991 "Carnegie Hall at 100" celebration, leading the American Symphony Orchestra in a series of young people's concerts. These appearances launched a guest conducting career which has included engagements with the National, Omaha, Baltimore, Seattle, American, Delaware, Honolulu, New Jersey, Baton Rouge, Santa Fe, North Carolina, Indianapolis, Madison, Missouri and Grant Park Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Kansas City, Rochester, Dayton, Orange County and Boulder Philharmonics, the Concord Chamber Orchestra, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia and the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra. He conducted the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in outreach, education and family concerts, as well as a holiday concert that was nationally televised on PBS. With the Chicago Symphony, Mr. Felder has led family and education concerts, as well as a nationally televised concerto competition concert on PBS. Outside of the U.S. Felder has appeared with the Osaka Telemann Chamber Orchestra on two occasions, the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estados de Mexico, the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Costa Rica, and the New Japan Philharmonic. He has collaborated with such distinguished artists as Sarah Chang, Jeffrey Siegel, Jennifer Koh, Claude Frank, Pamela Frank, Ida Kavafian, Jos Feghali, Nathaniel Rosen, Leon Bates and pops artists Doc Severinson, Maureen McGovern, the Dallas Brass and Marvin Hamlisch.
For more information on the Chicago Sinfonietta please visit www.chicagosinfonietta.org. # # #
The Sinfonietta’s For the Common Man concert will open aptly with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, a work that came about at the request of Eugene Goossens, then conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. During World War I, Goossens commissioned British composers to write patriotic fanfares to open each of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s concerts, and sought to repeat this with American composers during the World War II effort. Since its successful premiere in 1943—which took place around tax time, an idea Copland approved of because of the thematic relevance—Copland’s fanfare has since become a repertory standard for American orchestras and has also made many appearances, in one edited version or another, throughout pop culture in music, television and film.
The concert will also include Antonin Dvorák’s Slavonic Dances, op.72, no.7. Originally written for piano four hands, the Slavonic Dances were inspired by Johannes Brahms’ own Hungarian Dances, though Dvorák used Brahms’ work only as a model. Whereas Brahms’ used actual Hungarian folk melodies in his piece, Dvorák only incorporated Slavonic rhythms, creating the melodies himself. In these pieces, Dvorák captured the spirit of the folk dances; no.7 (15) is a Kolo, a round dance from Serbia.
Guest conductor Harvey Felder will take the podium as For the Common Man continues with Michael Daugherty’s Fire and Blood, where the Sinfonietta will be joined by guest violinist and native Chicagoan Tai Murray. This work was inspired by Mexican muralist Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry frescos at the Detroit Institute of Arts, commissioned in 1932 by Edsel Ford. Rivera, who came to Detroit with his wife and fellow artist Frida Kahlo, spent two years creating murals that eventually spanned four large walls of the inner courtyard at the Detroit Institute of the Arts. Daugherty’s three-movement work pays homage to Rivera’s home town of Mexico City and the fieriness of his revolutionary ideas, the spirit of his passionate but physically tormented wife, Kahlo, and the heartbeat of the factory as expressed in Rivera’s murals. The composer notes, "The violin soloist in this final movement is like the worker, surrounded by a mechanical orchestra."
An original orchestral composition by Sinfonietta principal violist Reneé Baker, Sundown’s Promise (for Taiko and Orchestra) will feature the exotic and exhilarating drumming talents of Japanese taiko drummers JASC Tsukasa Taiko, led by Tatsu Aoki. The choreographed movements of the drummers will evoke those of field laborers bringing in the crops at harvest time.
The concert will conclude with Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront. The music to Elia Kazan’s 1954 film, On the Waterfront, represents Leonard Bernstein’s only original movie score. Starring a young Marlon Brando, Eva-Marie Saint and a surplus of stars, the Oscar®-winning movie tells the story of worker unrest on the docks of New York. In 1955, Bernstein adapted the music he had produced for the film into his own vision, a continuous twenty-minute suite of symphonic music which can be appreciated independently of the film as a portrait of life in New York.
Ticket prices range from $26-$40 for concerts at Lund Auditorium and from $26-$96 for concerts at Symphony Center, with special pricing available for children and students. Call 312-236-3681 ext. 2 or visit www.chicagosinfonietta.org.
The Chicago Sinfonietta’s 2010-2011 season continues at the end of October as the Sinfonietta commemorates the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) honoring the dearly departed. Guest conductor Hector Guzman leads the orchestra through vivid sounds and imagery that contrasts the somber European traditions of mourning with the more jubilant celebrations of Latino cultures. The Day of the Dead concert takes place at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph Drive, on Saturday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Now entering its 24th season, the Chicago Sinfonietta has a proud history of having enriched the cultural, educational, and social quality of life in Chicago, while gaining significant recognition on the national and international stage. Performing at Chicago’s Symphony Center and Lund Auditorium of Dominican University, the Sinfonietta presents a full season of symphonic concerts as well as a Chamber Series. The Chicago Sinfonietta has also served as the official orchestra of The Joffrey Ballet since 2003. Under the guidance of Founding Music Director Paul Freeman, the orchestra performs at the highest artistic level and has achieved an outstanding reputation for its innovative programs. The Sinfonietta is dedicated to the authentic performance of Classical, Romantic and Contemporary repertoire and excels at presenting imaginative new works by composers and soloists of color. Chicago Sinfonietta musicians truly represent the city’s rich cultural landscape and continue to fulfill the orchestra’s mission of Musical Excellence through Diversity™. A 2007 survey of major orchestras revealed that the Chicago Sinfonietta is the most diverse professional orchestra in the United States. Through this distinction, the Chicago Sinfonietta serves as a national model for inclusiveness in classical music.
The Chicago Sinfonietta’s 2010-2011 Season is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, The Chicago Sun-Times Media Group, the Joyce Foundation, and the Fairmont Hotel. Additional support for the opening concert, For the Common Man, is generously provided by Mrs. Bettiann Gardner, the Albert Pick Jr. Fund, the Chicago Federation of Labor, ABC7, WBEZ 91.5FM, the Illinois Arts Council, CityArts, the Chicago Defender, and the Chicago Crusader.
Violinist Tai Murray is a rising star of her generation and is increasingly in demand for both recitals and orchestral engagements. She has performed on the stages of Berlin's Konzerthaus, Chicago's Orchestra Hall, Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, Shanghai’s Concert Hall and New York's Carnegie Hall and has collaborated with a wide range of conductors and instrumentalists including Marin Alsop, Alan Gilbert, Richard Goode, Jaime Laredo, Hannu Lintu, Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Mitsuko Uchida. Other recent debuts include those with the Cincinnati and Dallas symphony orchestras, Shanghai Symphony, London’s BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC Proms, the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. A native of Chicago, Murray studied with Yuval Yaron and Franco Gulli at Indiana University and Joel Smirnoff at The Juilliard School. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2004, Murray is currently a BBC New Generation Artist (2008-2010). She performs on a violin made for her in 2007 by distinguished and extraordinary luthier Mario Miralles.
Harvey Felder is currently the Music Director of the Tacoma Symphony. Equally at home with repertoire ranging from Bach and Mahler to Gershwin and Ellington, Felder leads the Tacoma Symphony in a season of subscription, family, education, outreach and pops concerts. Also active as a guest conductor, Harvey Felder made his Carnegie Hall debut during the 1991 "Carnegie Hall at 100" celebration, leading the American Symphony Orchestra in a series of young people's concerts. These appearances launched a guest conducting career which has included engagements with the National, Omaha, Baltimore, Seattle, American, Delaware, Honolulu, New Jersey, Baton Rouge, Santa Fe, North Carolina, Indianapolis, Madison, Missouri and Grant Park Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Kansas City, Rochester, Dayton, Orange County and Boulder Philharmonics, the Concord Chamber Orchestra, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia and the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra. He conducted the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in outreach, education and family concerts, as well as a holiday concert that was nationally televised on PBS. With the Chicago Symphony, Mr. Felder has led family and education concerts, as well as a nationally televised concerto competition concert on PBS. Outside of the U.S. Felder has appeared with the Osaka Telemann Chamber Orchestra on two occasions, the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estados de Mexico, the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Costa Rica, and the New Japan Philharmonic. He has collaborated with such distinguished artists as Sarah Chang, Jeffrey Siegel, Jennifer Koh, Claude Frank, Pamela Frank, Ida Kavafian, Jos Feghali, Nathaniel Rosen, Leon Bates and pops artists Doc Severinson, Maureen McGovern, the Dallas Brass and Marvin Hamlisch.
For more information on the Chicago Sinfonietta please visit www.chicagosinfonietta.org. # # #
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