Da Capo Chamber Players Presents 'Musical Offerings For Human Rights.' A Virtual Three-Concert Series April 27, May 25, & June 22, 2021

The internationally heralded New York-based Da Capo Chamber Players will present Musical Offerings for Human Rights, three-concert virtual series through YouTube Premiere. The first event, Hearing the African-American Experience, will premiere on YouTube on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, at 7 pm EDT; followed by Asian Echoes, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, 7 pm EDT; and Paean To Merging Cultures, Wednesday, June 22, 2021, 7 pm EDT. The three online concerts combine performances from the ensemble’s archives with conversations between the ensemble and guest speakers.

The series is anchored by Da Capo Chamber Players’ conviction that the more we understand cultural differences as captured in music, the more we honor and celebrate every individual's right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The works performed will be by noted composers Luciano Berio, Wendell Logan, Chinary Ung, Chou Wen-chung, Valerie Coleman, and Kyle Gann.

Tickets are free for each of the three virtual concerts; the concerts will premiere on their YouTube channel. For more information please visit Da Capo Chamber Players’ website.

 

Program details follow:

 

Hearing the African-American Experience, 7 pm EDT, Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Hearing the African-American Experience will feature composer Wendell Logan’s Runagate, Runagate, a musical embodiment of the spirit and determination to be free; and composer Luciano Berio’s O King, a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Host: Carman Moore

Speakers: David Rakowski, David Sanford, members of Da Capo Chamber Players

 

Wendell Logan (1940-2010)            Runagate, Runagate (1989)

Performers: Robert Mack, tenor; Curtis Macomber, violin; Chris Gross, cello; Patricia Spencer, flute and piccolo; Marianne Gythfeldt, clarinet and bass clarinet; Christopher Oldfather, piano; Michael Lipsey, percussion; Marcus Parris, conductor

(Recorded: February 12, 2020, Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center)

 

Luciano Berio (1925-2003)               O King (1968)

Performers: Lucy Shelton, soprano; Curtis Macomber, violin; Chris Gross, cello; Patricia Spencer, flute; Meighan Stoops, clarinet; Steven Beck, piano

(Recorded: May 1, 2019, Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center)

 

 

Asian Echoes, 7 pm EDT, Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Asian Echoes will include composer Chingary Ung’s Child Song, delighting in and preserving the Cambodian tradition of children singing; and Chou Wen-chung’s Ode to Eternal Pine, a musical reflection of the Chinese terms “tian di ren – heaven, earth, and humanity.”

Host: Lucy Shelton

Speakers: Michael Lipsey, Chinary Ung, members of Da Capo Chamber Players

 

Chinary Ung (b. 1942)                      Child Song (1985)

Performers: Curtis Macomber, violin; Chris Gross, cello; Patricia Spencer, flute; Steven Beck, piano

(Recorded: June 5, 2019, Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center)

 

Chou Wen-chung (1923 - 2019)       Ode to Eternal Pine (2009)

Performers: Curtis Macomber, violin; Chris Gross, cello; Patricia Spencer, flute, piccolo, alto flute; Nuno Antunes, clarinet and bass clarinet; Steven Beck, piano; Michael Lipsey, percussion

(Recorded: June 5, 2019, Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center)

 

 

Paean to Merging Cultures, 7 pm EDT, Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Paean to Merging Cultures will present Valerie Coleman’s Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, an exploration of Native American history merging with African-American history – as well as Native American History as memorialized in Kyle Gann’s Hovenweep.

Host: Bruce Adolphe

Speakers: Valerie Coleman, Kyle Gann, members of Da Capo Chamber Players

 

Valerie Coleman (b. 1970)                             Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes (2014)

Performers: Patricia Spencer, flute and piccolo; Meighan Stoops, clarinet and bass clarinet; Curtis Macomber, violin; Gregory Hesselink, cello; Blair McMillen, piano

(Recorded: May 23, 2016, Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center)

Kyle Gann (b. 1955)              Hovenweep (2000)

Performers: Curtis Macomber, violin; Chris Gross, cello; Patricia Spencer, flute and piccolo; Marianne Gythfeldt, clarinet and bass clarinet; Margaret Kampmeier, piano

(Recorded: March 10, 2020, Bitó Performance Space, Bard College Conservatory of Music)

 

The Da Capo Chamber Players has been hailed by The New Yorker as a "distinguished ensemble...at the center of the New York new-music scene for forty-five years" (May 2016). Winner of the Naumburg Chamber Music Award early in its trajectory (1973), the ensemble is about to enter its 50th season. It is a five-member "Pierrot" ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano). The internationally acclaimed group has worked closely with today's most respected composers, building a heritage of present-day American chamber music drawn from an enormous spectrum of styles.

Known for its unique and dedicated attention to every work, its dynamic performances are consistent with the highest musical standards found in performances of traditional repertoire. A further very important goal is to bring exciting American music to other destinations around the world, and to present musics of global cultures for American audiences.

The Da Capo Chamber Players' annual New York series has been praised for "superb" and "gripping" performances. Ground-breaking programs have included premieres by Elliott Carter, George Perle, Louis Karchin (AMERICAN VISIONS, setting of poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, with the poet as guest reader), Joan Tower, Shulamit Ran, Chinary Ung, and countless others. The five ensemble members bring years of creative insight, involvement and artistic vision to their work and performances of today's repertoire, including over 150 works written especially for the group. Adventuresome programs with electronic sounds, works by young composers, and collaborations with choreographers—all have sparked the imagination of listeners. Their Merkin Concert Hall celebration of the centenary of Schoenberg's PIERROT LUNAIRE (with Lucy Shelton) received a standing ovation, just as it did again at New Music New College in Sarasota, FL, in 2016.

In 2010, NPR named the ensemble's recording, Chamber Music of Chinary Ung (Bridge Records), as one of the five Best Contemporary Classical CDs of the Year.

Educational outreach has always been and continues to be a vital part of Da Capo’s work. The ensemble shares its love and commitment to this important repertoire with next generation artists through its ongoing residency at Bard College and touring engagements that feature masterclasses, readings and performances. Further—as young composers continue to develop, after graduation, Da Capo continues to program them, helping them with career-building.

 

 

For more information, please contact Hemsing Associates at (212) 772 1132 or visit www.hemsingpr.com. 

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