Podcast appearances and mentions of aaron jay kernis

Two groundbreaking composers, Jean Sibelius and Aaron Jay Kernis, feature in today's episode, with music deeply inspired by our natural environment.This episode features:Grand Teton Music Festival OrchestraAaron Jay KernisMusica CelestisSir Donald Runnicles, conductorJean SibeliusSymphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43Dalia Stasevska, conductorLive from the Grand Teton Music Festival is hosted by Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles and GTMF General Manager Jeff Counts. Episodes premiere on Wednesdays at 8 PM MT on Wyoming Public Radio and are available the next day wherever you get your podcasts.The Grand Teton Music Festival, founded in 1962, unites over 250 celebrated orchestral musicians led by Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles in Jackson Hole, Wyoming each summer. Stay connected for the latest Festival updates: Instagram Facebook Email List GTMF Website

In this episode, Dave and Andrew return to the venerable string quartet for a piece that mixes tonality, modernist music, Baroque dances, and Medieval modality. But will this mixture work for them? If you'd like more information about Aaron Jay Kernis and the String Quartet #2, we recommend: Leta Miller's book Aaron Jay Kernis, the first biography of the composer that we reference several times in the episode. A conversation between Kernis and Frank Oteri right after the biography was published.

SynopsisA color wheel is a circular chart showing the relationship of the colors of the spectrum. It was originally fashioned by Isaac Newton in 1666 and still serves as a useful tool for painters and graphic designers today.Color Wheel also is the title of an orchestral showpiece by American composer Aaron Jay Kernis — a work that was premiered on today's date in 2001 by the Philadelphia Orchestra at the opening concerts of the then-new Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.“The honor of being asked to compose the first music played in this new hall led me to conceive of a ‘miniature' concerto for orchestra which treats it as a large and dynamic body of sound and color,” Kernis said.“I sometimes see colors when I compose,” he confessed, “and the qualities of certain chords do elicit specific sensation in me — for example, I see A-major as bright yellow. I've also been fascinated with Sufi whirling dervishes and their ecstatic spinning. This work may have some ecstatic moments but it is full of tension, continuous energy and drive.”Music Played in Today's ProgramAaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) Color Wheel; Nashville Symphony; Giancarlo Guerrero, cond. Naxos 8.559838

Soprano Ann Moss is an acclaimed recording artist and champion of contemporary vocal music who performs and collaborates with a dynamic array of living composers. Often described as a "fearless performer” of some of the most challenging music of our time, her high, flexible voice has been singled out by Opera News for “beautifully pure floated high notes” and by San Francisco Classical Voice for “powerful expression” … “clear, silvery tones and passionate sweetness." Mike Telin of Cleveland Classical writes, her “long fluid lines are exquisite.” In addition to working closely with well-known composers such as Jake Heggie, John Harbison, Kaija Saariaho, Aaron Jay Kernis and David Conte, Ann seeks out and performs works by new and emerging voices at forums, festivals and concert series across the USA. She has released two portrait albums: Currents (Angels Share Records 2013) and Love Life (ASR 2016), both produced and recorded by multi-GRAMMY® award winner Leslie Ann Jones at Skywalker Sound. She can also be heard on releases from labels including Albany, Arsis Audio, Jaded Ibis Productions, Naxos, Navona Records, PARMA, and Ravello Records. Moss recently made her solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony singing the music of Mozart, Gershwin and Rogers under conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser. Highlights of the 2022-23 season include performances of Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Gérard Grisey's Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil with After Everything Ensemble, and a concert tour in support of her newly released album Lifeline, which features re-imagined chants by Medieval composer Hildegard von Bingen recorded remotely with instrumental collaborators around the United States.

"In choir we have a chance to learn to embody a different culture through its language. When you're singing pieces in another language, there's a moment where you have to feel that you speak that language if only for a few words, if only a few moments. I think that has the capacity to create a kind of empathy regardless of whether that's your culture or not. To embody it does create this empathy that I really believe in as a way to make our world a little closer for the right reasons."Indian-American composer Reena Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music, and brings communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces. Esmail's life and music was profiled on Season 3 of PBS Great Performances series Now Hear This, as well as Frame of Mind, a podcast from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Esmail divides her attention evenly between orchestral, chamber and choral work. She has written commissions for ensembles including the Los Angeles Master Chorale,  Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Kronos Quartet, and her music has featured on multiple Grammy-nominated albums, including The Singing Guitar by Conspirare, BRUITS by Imani Winds, and Healing Modes by Brooklyn Rider. Many of her choral works are published by Oxford University Press.Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale's 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence, and was Seattle Symphony's 2020-21 Composer-in-Residence. She also holds awards/fellowships from United States Artists, the S&R Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Kennedy Center.Esmail holds degrees in composition from The Juilliard School (BM'05) and the Yale School of Music (MM'11, MMA'14, DMA'18). Her primary teachers have included Susan Botti, Aaron Jay Kernis, Christopher Theofanidis, Christopher Rouse and Samuel Adler. She received a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India. Her Hindustani music teachers include Srimati Lakshmi Shankar and Gaurav Mazumdar, and she currently studies and collaborates with Saili Oak. Her doctoral thesis, entitled Finding Common Ground: Uniting Practices in Hindustani and Western Art Musicians explores the methods and challenges of the collaborative process between Hindustani musicians and Western composers.Esmail was Composer-in-Residence for Street Symphony (2016-18) and is currently an Artistic Director of Shastra, a non-profit organization that promotes cross-cultural music connecting music traditions of India and the West.She currently resides in her hometown of Los Angeles, California.To get in touch with Reena, you can find her on Instagram (@reenaesmail) or check out her website: https://www.reenaesmail.com.Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode from September 16, 2022, to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson from Pexels

Synopsis In Toronto on today's date in 2017 violinist James Ehnes gave the world premiere performance of a new violin concerto by the American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. The work was written specially for Ehnes and was a joint commission from orchestras in Toronto, Seattle, Dallas, and Melbourne. Shortly after the Toronto premiere, Ehnes performed the new concerto in Seattle with the Seattle Symphony and conductor Ludovic Morlot. A live recording of that Seattle performance was released on compact disc and was awarded not one, but TWO Grammy Awards in 2019: it was chosen as “Best Contemporary Classical Composition” and snagged the highly-competitive “Best Classical Instrumental Solo” prize. The three movements of Kernis Violin Concerto demand incredible virtuosity from the soloist, and Ehnes was up to the challenge. “James Ehnes is a truly spectacular musician and collaborator,” said Kernis. “James took everything I threw at him with good humor and generosity, and made the knuckle-busting passages and everything else I gave him sound absolutely dazzling.” As part of the commissioning agreement, Ehnes was granted exclusive performing rights of the new concerto for five years – so audiences will have to wait until March 2021 to hear if other violinist choose to tackle the demanding new Kernis Concerto! Music Played in Today's Program Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) Violin Concerto James Ehnes, violin; Seattle Symphony; Ludovic Morlot, conductor. Onyx CD 4189

Synopsis On today's date in 1998, the Lark Quartet gave the first performance of the “String Quartet No. 2” by the American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. Like much of Kernis's music, the new Quartet drew upon an eclectic variety of influences. As Kernis himself put it: “My Second String Quartet uses elements of Renaissance and Baroque dance music and dance forms as its basis and inspiration. For years I've played various Bach suites and pieces from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book at the piano for my own pleasure, and I suspected for some time that their influence would eventually show up in my own work.” The Lark Quartet had commissioned Kernis' first String Quartet, and, like the composer, were over the moon when they learned the Second had won the Pulitzer Prize for music. Just three months after its premiere, Kernis got the news by phone as he was headed to the airport to catch a flight to Spain. “I haven't had a martini in years,” recalled Kernis, “but that's sort of what it felt like.” Kernis' Second Quartet was a triple commission from Merkin Concert Hall in New York, Ohio University, and The Schubert Club of St. Paul, Minnesota, and was dedicated to Linda Hoeschler, the former Executive Director of the American Composers Forum. Music Played in Today's Program Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) String Quartet No. 2 (musica instrumentalis) The Lark Quartet Arabesque 6727

Synopsis In the hands of a great performer, the violin can sing with the personality and intensity of a great opera singer. Pyrotechnics may dazzle, but nothing moves an audience as much as when a great violinist "sings" through his instrument. On today's date in 1896, a French audience in Nancy must has been so moved when the great violinist Eugène Ysaÿe gave the first performance of this music: the Poème for Violin and Orchestra by Ernest Chausson. In addition to famous artists like Manet and Degas, Chausson counted among his friends many of the great musicians of his day, including the great violinist Ysäye. Although they admired his work, Chausson was not always appreciated by the public. But when Ysaÿe premiered Chausson's Poème in Paris in 1897, the applause went on and on. Used to just the opposite reaction, Chausson was stunned by his success, and, while thanking Ysaye profusely, kept repeating to himself: "I just can't believe it!" Two modern-day violinists, Joshua Bell and Pamela Frank, were the inspiration for this songful contemporary work by Aaron Jay Kernis. Titled Air for Violin, it was originally composed for violin and piano, and premiered in 1995 by Joshua Bell. The following year, Pamela Frank and the Minnesota Orchestra premiered a new version of Air for violin and orchestra. Music Played in Today's Program Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) Poème, Op. 25 Isaac Stern, violin; Orchestre de Paris; Daniel Barenboim, conductor. CBS/Sony 64501 Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) Air for Violin Minnesota Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor. Argo 460 226

Synopsis On this date in 1813, Beethoven's Seventh Symphony was played for the first time in Vienna. The occasion was a benefit concert in honor of the Austrian and Bavarian soldiers who had died fighting Napoleon, with the concert's proceeds donated to their widows and orphans. At its first rehearsal, some of the musicians found the part writing of the new work intimidating. A friend of Beethoven's who sat in on rehearsals later recalled: "the violin players refused to play a passage and rebuked [Beethoven] for writing difficulties that were incapable of performance. But Beethoven begged the gentlemen to take the parts home with them. If they were to practice it at home it would surely go. The next day the passage went excellently, and the gentlemen themselves seemed to rejoice that they had given Beethoven such pleasure." The slow movement of Beethoven's Symphony so pleased the Viennese audience at its premiere that it had to be encored. On today's date in 1980, a private tragedy also prompted music. On December 8th that year, ex-Beatle John Lennon was shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City. American composer Aaron Jay Kernis was then a student at the Manhattan School of Music, living not far from where Lennon was slain. The death moved Kernis to reshape elements of Lennon's song "Imagine" into an altogether new work for cello and piano titled "Meditation (in memory of John Lennon)." Music Played in Today's Program Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No. 7 Vienna Philharmonic; Carlos Kleiber, conductor. DG 447 400 Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) Meditation (in memory of John Lennon) Eberli Ensemble Phoenix 142

"I listen to classical music very specifically because I need to be able to feel at the end of what I'm listening to like I'm able confront the darkest sides of what I'm experiencing as well. I feel comforted by Beethoven. I feel comforted by his ability to say something to me that cannot be said any other way. A sense of hopelessness that is not without giving us some worth." This is a rebroadcast of Ep. 80, aired originally in February 2021. The conversation was recorded in October 2020. Jorja Fleezanis died on September 9th, 2022. To read Daniel Lelchuk's written appreciation of Jorja Fleezanis, click here. Violinist Jorja Fleezanis is here to talk music and the staying power of music, the spell it casts, over children and adults alike. From the first time she heard a violin record as a young child to right now, after a career of more than five decades-- what does music say to her today that it didn't then? How do the names she thinks of as the 'Mt. Rushmore' -- Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann -- sustain her and grow with her? And why is she currently listening to every song The Beatles ever recorded? Jorja and Daniel explore what it is to be in an orchestra, and how the will of the ensemble must rise above political and personal fractures. Please consider supporting Talking Beats via a one-time or recurring donation. You will contribute to us presenting the highest quality interviews with the world's most compelling people. Jorja Fleezanis is adjunct professor emerita of music in orchestral studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Fleezanis was concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1989 to 2009—the longest-tenured concertmaster in the orchestra's history and only the second woman in the U.S. to hold the title of concertmaster in a major orchestra when appointed. Prior to Minnesota, she was associate concertmaster with the San Francisco Symphony for eight years and a member of the Chicago Symphony. A devoted teacher, Fleezanis became an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota's School of Music in 1990. She has also enjoyed teaching roles with other organizations: as teacher and artist at the Round Top International Festival Institute in Texas (1990-2007); artist-in-residence at the University of California, Davis; guest artist and teacher at the San Francisco Conservatory, where she served on the faculty from 1981 to 1989; artist and mentor at the Music@Menlo Festival (2003-2008); teacher and coach at the New World Symphony (1988-present); and faculty of the Music Academy of the West since 2016. She has been a visiting teacher at the Boston Conservatory, The Juilliard School, The Shepherd School of Music, and Interlochen Academy and Summer Camp. She is also a frequent guest mentor at Britten Pears Center at Snape Maltings, England, in programs for both young musicians and professional orchestral violinists. Fleezanis has had a number of works commissioned for her, including by the Minnesota Orchestra with the John Adams Violin Concerto and Ikon of Eros by John Tavener, the latter recorded on Reference Records. Her recording of the complete violin sonatas of Beethoven with the French fortepianist Cyril Huvé was released in 2003 on the Cyprés label. Other recordings include Aaron Jay Kernis' Brilliant Sky, Infinite Sky on CRI, commissioned for Fleezanis by the Schubert Club, and, with Garrick Ohlsson, Stefan Wolpe's Violin Sonata for Koch International. Fleezanis studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Synopsis On today's date in 1937, one of Copland's less familiar works had its premiere performance – on the radio. The radio premiere was the result of a commission from the Columbia Broadcasting System, and was premiered by the CBS Symphony Orchestra. This work has at least three different titles. Originally titled simply “Music for Radio,” as requested by the network, it was given the more colorful name “Saga of the Prairies” as the result of an on-air listener contest sponsored by CBS. Later, when Copland himself published the music, it bore the title: “Prairie Journal.” So – take your pick. Copland received a $500 commission – quite generous in those days – and was thrilled that his music would reach millions of listeners with a single broadcast. Today, new music by contemporary composers is still occasionally commissioned by radio stations and radio networks. In 1993, “Still Movement with Hymn” was commissioned from Aaron Jay Kernis by American Public Radio (now American Public Media) and broadcast nationally on one of their program offerings. “Still Movement with Hymn,” is one of a series of elegiac works by Kernis, written in memory of American composer Stephen Albert, who was killed in a car accident the year before. Music Played in Today's Program Aaron Copland (1900-1990) – Music for Radio (Saga of the Prairies) (Pacific Symphony; Keith Clark, cond.) Albany TROY- 064 Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) – Still Movement with Hymn (Pamela Frank, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Carter Brey, cello; Christopher O'Riley, piano) Argo 448 174

ROCO performs works by Aaron Jay Kernis and Modest Mussorgsky.

SONY Classics announces the debut release of Philip Mann conducting Ensemble Bravura on the storied label. Mann, who has previously recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, created ‘Finding Home' with a vision of illustrating and celebrating the music of composers who unexpectedly found homes – musical and otherwise – in unexpected places. Central to this endeavor were the connections shared by American composers Aaron Copland, Michael Fine, and Aaron Jay Kernis in their Jewish and Russian heritage, while Sergei Prokofiev composed his beloved Overture on Hebrew Themes during his American residency at the behest of Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States. The result is an evocative album of music that spans more than a century but reveals timeless, shared inner bonds and immutable common inspirations.Purchase the music (without talk) at:Finding Home (classicalsavings.com)Your purchase helps to support our show! Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by La Musica International Chamber Music Festival and Uber. @khedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#LaMusicaFestival #CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber Please consider supporting our show, thank you!http://www.classicalsavings.com/donate.html staff@classicalmusicdiscoveries.com This album is broadcasted with the permission of Crossover Media Music Promotion (Zachary Swanson).

The compositions of ANDREW MAXFIELD—hailed as “rhythmically vital … superbly judged … [and] tender” by Fanfare Magazine—have been performed throughout the U.S. and Europe. A recent winner of the King's Singer's New Music Prize (Jury Special Commendation), Andrew has been a Composer Fellow of the National Collegiate Choral Organization and Composer-in-Residence for Southern Virginia University and Newburyport Choral Society. Recent commissions include choral works for the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, Hillsdale College, and Salem Hills High School; an orchestral adaptation of the Caldecott honor book, They All Saw A Cat, for the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts in New York City; and a concert-length score for SALT Contemporary Dance, showcased at Lincoln Center. His album, Celebrating Wendell Berry in Music, was released by Tantara Records and his “well-crafted, approachable” works (Dr. George Case, The Boston Cecilia) are published by Walton, Santa Barbara, and Yalecrest. Ensembles which have performed Andrew's music recently include The Gesualdo Six, USC Thornton Chamber Singers, Emporia Symphony Orchestra, Carroll University Symphonic Band and Choir, Wingate University Singers, Utah Philharmonic, The Piedmont Singers, University of Pennsylvania Chamber Choir, and Choral Arts Initiative. Andrew studied music at Brigham Young University, where he was valedictorian and where he occasionally teaches. He has pursued advanced studies in counterpoint and harmony at the EAMA–Nadia Boulanger Institute in Paris, France, graduate composition studies at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and doctoral studies at the University of Bristol (UK). His primary teachers include Philip Lasser (Juilliard), John Pickard, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and Marti Epstein, and he has also studied with Aaron Jay Kernis and Steven Sametz through the ACDA Choral Composers Forum. He also holds an MBA in Arts Administration from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Andrew lives with his wife Liz Davis Maxfield—a cellist, expert in Irish traditional music, and rock climber—and their two handsome, high-octane boys (plus a hyper puppy) just downhill from Sundance in Provo, Utah. https://andrewmaxfield.org/hello

Reena Esmail joins us to chat about integrating her Western and Hindustani roots in her composition and throughout her work as artistic director of Shastra. We chat about how she prepares listeners with less experience for musical experiences that are new to them. She speaks about her work as composer-in-residence of Street Symphony, a non-profit organization bringing music to Los Angeles-based homeless and incarcerated populations on Skid Row and beyond. And, we talk about her methods for introducing Western musicians to primarily aural traditions. Indian-American composer Reena Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music, and brings communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces. Esmail's work has been commissioned by ensembles including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Kronos Quartet, Imani Winds, Richmond Symphony, Town Music Seattle, Albany Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Girls Chorus, The Elora Festival, Juilliard415, and Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Upcoming seasons include new work for Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Amherst College Choir and Orchestra, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and Conspirare. Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale's 2020-2023 Swan Family Artist in Residence, and Seattle Symphony's 2020-21 Composer-in-Residence. Previously, she was named a 2019 United States Artist Fellow in Music, and the 2019 Grand Prize Winner of the S & R Foundation's Washington Award. Esmail was also a 2017-18 Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow. She was the 2012 Walter Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (and subsequent publication of a work by C.F. Peters). Esmail holds degrees in composition from The Juilliard School (BM'05) and the Yale School of Music (MM'11, MMA'14, DMA'18). Her primary teachers have included Susan Botti, Aaron Jay Kernis, Christopher Theofanidis and Martin Bresnick, Christopher Rouse and Samuel Adler. She received a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India. Her Hindustani music teachers include Srimati Lakshmi Shankar and Gaurav Mazundar, and she currently studies and collaborates with Saili Oak. Her doctoral thesis, entitled Finding Common Ground: Uniting Practices in Hindustani and Western Art Musicians explores the methods and challenges of the collaborative process between Hindustani musicians and Western composers. Esmail was Composer-in-Residence for Street Symphony (2016-18) and is currently an Artistic Director of Shastra, a non-profit organization that promotes cross-cultural music connecting music traditions of India and the West. The transcript for this episode can be found here. For more information about Reena Esmail, please visit her website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Synopsis At the dawn of the 20th century, Teddy Roosevelt was president and America was in an upbeat, prosperous mood. Cultural affairs were not forgotten, either. To the already established American symphony orchestras in cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati and San Francisco, new ensembles would spring up in Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Seattle. On today's date in 1903, it was Minneapolis' turn. On November 5th of that year, a German-born musician named Emil Oberhoffer led the first concert of the newly formed Minneapolis Symphony. In those days it was a 50-piece ensemble, but in the course of the next 100 years, would double in size and change its name to the “Minnesota” Orchestra. As this is the Composers Datebook, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that the Minnesota Orchestra has enjoyed a special relationship with a number of leading American composers. Aaron Copland conducted the orchestra on a memorable and televised Bicentennial Concert in 1976, and two young American composers, Stephen Paulus and Libby Larsen, served as composers-in-residence with the orchestra in the 1980s. The orchestra has also given the premiere performances of works by Charles Ives, John Adams, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Dominick Argento, and Aaron Jay Kernis, among many others. Music Played in Today's Program Dominick Argento (1927-2019) — A Ring of Time (Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, cond.) Reference 91

Interview with Pulitzer Prize and Grammy-Award winner Composer Aaron Jay Kernis - On the phone with David Serero - The Culture News.

Synopsis A new guitar concerto by Aaron Jay Kernis received its premiere at a Minnesota Orchestra concert on today's date in 1999. The idea for this concerto was prompted by a friend of Kernis's, guitarist David Tanenbaum, who was looking for a new work for guitar and orchestra that he could pair with the most performed of all such works, Joaquín Rodrigo's “Concierto de Aranjuez.” For his new concerto, Kernis reworked parts of two earlier works he had composed for Tannenbaum: part of a Partita for solo guitar became the concerto's opening movement, followed by two movements drawn from a Kernis chamber work for guitar and string quartet entitled “100 Greatest Dance Hits.” The middle movement, entitled "Slow Dance Ballad" is, says Kernis, "the kind of music my parents would like – what they hope to find on the radio dial." In its original form, this movement was entitled “MOR, i.e. Middle of the Road: Easy Listening.” The concerto's finale is entitled "Salsa Posada," a Spanish pun referring both to the craze for old fashioned salsa dancing and the condiment of the same name, perhaps a little “off” or past its prime. Music Played in Today's Program Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) 100 Greatest Dance Hits (David Tanenbaum, guitar; The Chester Quartet) New Albion 083

Synopsis A new guitar concerto by Aaron Jay Kernis received its premiere at a Minnesota Orchestra concert on today's date in 1999. The idea for this concerto was prompted by a friend of Kernis's, guitarist David Tanenbaum, who was looking for a new work for guitar and orchestra that he could pair with the most performed of all such works, Joaquín Rodrigo's “Concierto de Aranjuez.” For his new concerto, Kernis reworked parts of two earlier works he had composed for Tannenbaum: part of a Partita for solo guitar became the concerto's opening movement, followed by two movements drawn from a Kernis chamber work for guitar and string quartet entitled “100 Greatest Dance Hits.” The middle movement, entitled "Slow Dance Ballad" is, says Kernis, "the kind of music my parents would like – what they hope to find on the radio dial." In its original form, this movement was entitled “MOR, i.e. Middle of the Road: Easy Listening.” The concerto's finale is entitled "Salsa Posada," a Spanish pun referring both to the craze for old fashioned salsa dancing and the condiment of the same name, perhaps a little “off” or past its prime. Music Played in Today's Program Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) 100 Greatest Dance Hits (David Tanenbaum, guitar; The Chester Quartet) New Albion 083

Summary:You have a superpower, the ability to imagine completely different circumstances than what reality provides. Take a moment to look around; just about everything you see came from the fruits of someone's creativity. You have the same power, even if you don't think you do. In this episode, you'll learn how to expand and explore your creativity and our guide will be Andrew Maxfield—composer, entrepreneur, and idea factory. He's the most deliberately creative person I know and an excellent teacher. About Our Guest:Andrew studied music at Brigham Young University, where he was valedictorian and where he occasionally teaches. He has pursued advanced studies in counterpoint and harmony at the EAMA–Nadia Boulanger Institute in Paris, France, graduate composition studies at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and doctoral studies at the University of Bristol (UK). His primary teachers include Philip Lasser (Juilliard), John Pickard, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and Marti Epstein, and he has also studied with Aaron Jay Kernis and Steven Sametz through the ACDA Choral Composers Forum. He also holds an MBA in Arts Administration from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Andrew lives with his wife Liz Davis Maxfield—a professional cellist, expert in Irish traditional music, and rock climber—and their two handsome, high-octane boys (plus a hyper puppy) just downhill from Sundance in Provo, Utah. Below are some of Andrew's recent commissions, accomplishments, and those playing his music. The compositions of ANDREW MAXFIELD—hailed as “rhythmically vital … superbly judged … [and] tender” by Fanfare Magazine—have been performed throughout the U.S. and Europe. A recent winner of the King's Singer's New Music Prize (Jury Special Commendation), Andrew has been a Composer Fellow of the National Collegiate Choral Organization and Composer-in-Residence for Newburyport Choral Society. Recent commissions include choral works for the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, Hillsdale College, and Salem Hills High School; an orchestral adaptation of the Caldecott honor book, They All Saw A Cat, for the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts in New York City; and a concert-length score for SALT Contemporary Dance, showcased at Lincoln Center. His album, Celebrating Wendell Berry in Music, was released by Tantara Records and his “well-crafted, approachable” works (Dr. George Case, The Boston Cecilia) are published by Walton, Santa Barbara, and Yalecrest. Ensembles which have performed Andrew's music recently include USC Thornton Chamber Singers, Emporia Symphony Orchestra, Carroll University Symphonic Band and Choir, Wingate University Singers, Utah Philharmonic, The Piedmont Singers, University of Pennsylvania Chamber Choir, and Choral Arts Initiative. Useful Links:https://andrewmaxfield.org (Andrew's website) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O134cg7AYOw (The Door) Virtually performed by Nightingale Vocal Ensemble. "The Door" is the final piece in trUSt: A Collaboration with Andrew Maxfield. April 19, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4igHkcKHk0 (The Singing Bowl) Virtually performed by Nightingale Vocal Ensemble. “The Singing Bowl” is the third piece in trUSt: A Collaboration with Andrew Maxfield. April 16, 2021 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/615570.The_Artist_s_Way (The Artist's Way) by Julia Cameron https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/208264.Old_Masters_and_Young_Geniuses?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=mv4vc7CYCC&rank=1 (Old Masters and Young Geniuses) by David Galenson https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8567.Wendell_Berry (Wendell Berry ) He was born August 5, 1934, in Henry County, Kentucky where he now lives on a farm. The New York Times has called Berry the "prophet of rural America."  https://ianvanagas.com/2020/02/05/always-be-collecting-dots/ (Danny Myer) Always be collecting dots. https://www.franklincovey.com/habit-7/ (Stephen Covey) Sharpen the saw. Pleasant Pictures Music:Join the...

"I listen to classical music very specifically because I need to be able to feel at the end of what I'm listening to like I'm able confront the darkest sides of what I'm experiencing as well. I feel comforted by Beethoven. I feel comforted by his ability to say something to me that cannot be said any other way. A sense of hopelessness that is not without giving us some worth." Violinist Jorja Fleezanis is here to talk music and the staying power of music, the spell it casts, over children and adults alike. From the first time she heard a violin record as a young child to right now, after a career of more than five decades-- what does music say to her today that it didn't then? How do the names she thinks of as the 'Mt. Rushmore' -- Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann -- sustain her and grow with her? And why is she currently listening to every song The Beatles ever recorded? Jorja and Daniel explore what it is to be in an orchestra, and how the will of the ensemble must rise above political and personal fractures. A longtime mentor, friend, and teacher of Daniel, the conversation goes in many directions-- and the emotions run high. Support Talking Beats with Daniel Lelchuk on Patreon. You will contribute to continued presentation of substantive interviews with the world's most compelling people. We believe that providing a platform for individual expression, free thought, and a diverse array of views is more important now than ever. For more information, visit talkingbeats.com Jorja Fleezanis is adjunct professor emerita of music in orchestral studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Fleezanis was concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1989 to 2009—the longest-tenured concertmaster in the orchestra's history and only the second woman in the U.S. to hold the title of concertmaster in a major orchestra when appointed. Prior to Minnesota, she was associate concertmaster with the San Francisco Symphony for eight years and a member of the Chicago Symphony. A devoted teacher, Fleezanis became an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota's School of Music in 1990. She has also enjoyed teaching roles with other organizations: as teacher and artist at the Round Top International Festival Institute in Texas (1990-2007); artist-in-residence at the University of California, Davis; guest artist and teacher at the San Francisco Conservatory, where she served on the faculty from 1981 to 1989; artist and mentor at the Music@Menlo Festival (2003-2008); teacher and coach at the New World Symphony (1988-present); and faculty of the Music Academy of the West since 2016. She has been a visiting teacher at the Boston Conservatory, The Juilliard School, The Shepherd School of Music, and Interlochen Academy and Summer Camp. She is also a frequent guest mentor at Britten Pears Center at Snape Maltings, England, in programs for both young musicians and professional orchestral violinists. Fleezanis has had a number of works commissioned for her, including by the Minnesota Orchestra with the John Adams Violin Concerto and Ikon of Eros by John Tavener, the latter recorded on Reference Records. Her recording of the complete violin sonatas of Beethoven with the French fortepianist Cyril Huvé was released in 2003 on the Cyprés label. Other recordings include Aaron Jay Kernis' Brilliant Sky, Infinite Sky on CRI, commissioned for Fleezanis by the Schubert Club, and, with Garrick Ohlsson, Stefan Wolpe's Violin Sonata for Koch International. Fleezanis studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

A color wheel is a circular chart showing the relationship of the colors of the spectrum. It was originally fashioned by Sir Isaac Newton back in 1666, and still serves as a useful tool for painters and graphic designers today. “Color Wheel” is also the title of an orchestral showpiece by the American composer Aaron Jay Kernis–a work that premiered on today’s date in 2001 by the Philadelphia Orchestra at the opening concerts of the then brand-new Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. “The honor of being asked to compose the first music played in this new hall led me to conceive of a ‘miniature’ concerto for orchestra which treats it as a large and dynamic body of sound and color,” said Kernis. “I sometimes see colors when I compose,” Kernis confessed, “and the qualities of certain chords do elicit specific sensation in me—for example, I see A major as bright yellow. I’ve also been fascinated with Sufi whirling dervishes and their ecstatic spinning. This work may have some ecstatic moments but it is full of tension, continuous energy and drive.

A color wheel is a circular chart showing the relationship of the colors of the spectrum. It was originally fashioned by Sir Isaac Newton back in 1666, and still serves as a useful tool for painters and graphic designers today. “Color Wheel” is also the title of an orchestral showpiece by the American composer Aaron Jay Kernis–a work that premiered on today’s date in 2001 by the Philadelphia Orchestra at the opening concerts of the then brand-new Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. “The honor of being asked to compose the first music played in this new hall led me to conceive of a ‘miniature’ concerto for orchestra which treats it as a large and dynamic body of sound and color,” said Kernis. “I sometimes see colors when I compose,” Kernis confessed, “and the qualities of certain chords do elicit specific sensation in me—for example, I see A major as bright yellow. I’ve also been fascinated with Sufi whirling dervishes and their ecstatic spinning. This work may have some ecstatic moments but it is full of tension, continuous energy and drive.

(S3, EP 5) In this week's episode, I spoke with my old friend Tereza Lee back in July. Tereza is a mother of 3, professional pianist, and a long-time immigration rights activist. Tereza was one of the pioneers of the DREAM movement in the early 2000's when her then-undocumented status inspired US-IL Senator Dick Durbin to sponsor the first DREAM Act proposal in 2001. In this interview, Tereza shared her experiences growing up undocumented, and how her music teacher inspired her to share her story to Senator Durbin. She reminisces back on the struggles of the undocumented movement, but also hopes for this current generation of DACA / undocumented activists. She recently received her doctorate, and talked about her research of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák and his mentorship of Harry Burleigh, one of the earliest African American composers as well as his work with Black and Indigenous music students. We talked about her experiences living in NYC during this Covid-19 era. Hope you get to listen in, and hear her powerful journey! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special thanks to my sponsor, Lawrence and Argyle, a Viet-American owned merchandise line representing immigrant empowerment. Get yourself a pin, hoodie or t-shirt and show off your immigrant pride. Visit them at www.lawrenceandargyle.com or on Instagram @lawrenceandargyle or on their Facebook page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bio -- Tereza Lee is a pianist “whose touch is exceptionally clear” (—Chicago Sun-Times), who is also a prominent advocate for immigrant rights. She began her performing career at the age of 11, as the pianist at her family's church. At 16, she became the first student from an inner-city school to win first prize in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition, and performed with the C.S.O. She has gone on to perform as a soloist at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Barge Music, Lincoln Center and the Ravinia Festival in Chicago. She has premiered works by Aaron Jay Kernis, Augusta Read Thomas, Ned Rorem, Josephine Lee, and Kenneth Frazelle. Tereza's role in helping to inspire Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois to introduce the DREAM Act has been documented in The New York Times, PBS, NPR, USA Today, The Economist, NY1, and WNYC. She has been engaged in activism especially on immigration issues, supporting the New York State Liberty Act, the New York State DREAM Act, Greenlight NY and Driver's License For All Campaigns. Tereza recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Manhattan School of Music. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/banhmichronicles/support

I had a chance to speak with grammy award winning guitarist, Jason Vieaux a couple of weeks ago in light of his upcoming release with the Escher String Quartet. Our interview was not quite as long as some of the others, but we were able to cover several really interest topics. Grammy winner Jason Vieaux, “among the elite of today's classical guitarists” (Gramophone), is the guitarist that goes beyond the classical. His most recent solo album, Play, won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo.Jason Vieaux has performed as soloist with over 100 orchestras in the U.S. and abroad. Additional recent and future highlights include performances at Caramoor Festival as Artist in Residence, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society the National Gallery of Art, San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colon, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, New York's 92Y, Ravinia Festival, and many other distinguished series. A first rate chamber musician and programmer, he frequently collaborates with artists such as the Escher Quartet, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis,accordion/bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro, and violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. His passion for new music has fostered premieres by Jonathan Leshnoff, Avner Dorman, Jeff Beal, Dan Visconti, David Ludwig, Vivian Fung, José Luis Merlin, and more.Vieaux’s latest CD release is a performance of Jonathan Leshnoff’s Guitar Concerto with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (Naxos). He has two upcoming releases on Azica Records: a new album, Dance, with the Escher String Quartet (July 19, 2019), featuring works byBoccherini, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and Aaron Jay Kernis; as well as a new solo Bach album. Recent recordings include Jeff Beal’s “Six Sixteen” Guitar Concerto with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra (BIS); Infusion (Azica) with accordionist/bandoneonist Julien Labro; Ginastera’s Guitar Sonata, which is featured on Ginastera: One Hundred (Oberlin Music) produced by harpist Yolanda Kondonassis; and Together (Azica), a duo album with Kondonassis. In 2012, the Jason Vieaux School of Classical Guitar was launched with ArtistWorks Inc., an interface that provides one on one online study with Vieaux for guitar students around the world. In 2011, he cofounded the guitar department at the Curtis Institute of Music, and in 2015 was invited to inaugurate the guitar program at the Eastern Music Festival. Vieaux has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music since1997, heading the guitar department since 2001. He has received a Naumburg Foundation top prize, a Cleveland Institute of Music Distinguished Alumni Award, GFA International Guitar Competition FirstPrize, and a Salon di Virtuosi Career Grant. His primary teachers were Jeremy Sparks and John Holmquist. Vieaux was also the first classical musician to be featured on NPR’s “Tiny Desk” series.You can find out more about his upcoming performances, appearances and recordings at jasonvieaux.comI caught up with Jason in between his busy family schedule. He was gracious with his time and we were able to chat about his upcoming releases, and some other really good things like how his approach to recording has changed over the years, his teaching career, balancing family life with performing, and much more.

Hosted by the award-winning classical music radio announcer, Naomi Lewin, this episode features Aaron Jay Kernis, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer, and explores two pieces he wrote for Tippet Rise: First Club Date, for piano and cello, and Oasis, for string quartet. We hear musicians, audience members and the art center’s cofounders reflect on Kernis’ work, and we hear the composer discuss a major inspiration for Oasis: the rugged Montana landscape, which he calls “a heavenly place.”

Pamela Stein Lynde is a busy person. She is a singer, composer, producer, and music educator. She began her career as a classically trained singer but as the years went on she realized that her abilities were applicable in other areas. We go into detail about the journey of her career and how she was able to create two non-profits that help musicians, composers, and singers. MEET PAMELA STEIN LYNDE Praised for her “rich dramatics” (The Boston Globe), Pamela Stein Lynde is a versatile soprano, composer, contemporary music performer, music educator, and producer, known for inspiration, introspection, and passion in all aspects of her work. Recent performances have included premiering Lesley Flanigan’s haunting sound sculpture VOICES for four singers and loop pedals at Roulette; premiering New York-based composer Eric Lemmon’s The Impossible Will Take a Little While with the Highline Chamber Ensemble at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music; and performing a concert of chamber music by contemporary female composers, including a premier by Philadelphia-based composer Jenny Beck, at the National Opera Center. The 2015 launch of her company Stone Mason Projects has brought exciting performances of contemporary vocal chamber music to the National Opera Center, Arts on Site, Wilmer Jennings Gallery, and multiple other venues across the ti-state area, about which reviews have said, “The singing was stellar, on par with anything I’ve heard recently at higher profile venues such as Zankel Hall or National Sawdust. These concerts deserve a wider audience.” In the fall of 2016, Stone Mason Projects released its first music video, From the Mountain, a co-production with Contemporary Undercurrent of Song Project. Stone Mason’s upcoming endeavors include the commissioning and producing of a new chamber opera and the launch of the inaugural New Hope Sound(e)scape Festival in New Hope, PA in June of 2017. Stone Mason Projects has appeared on a panel discussing contemporary opera creation with will New York Opera Alliance during New York Opera Festival and will be presenting this May at the third annual New Music Gathering conference at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Pamela has appeared as a singer in prior seasons with Helix New Music Ensemble, The Nouveau Classical Project, American Opera Projects, Beth Morrison Projects, Rhymes With Opera, Saratoga Fine Arts Festival, Yamaha Concert Artist Series, Yale’s New Music, New Haven series, and many others. She has worked with award-winning composers including David Lang, Tristan Perich, Jacob Cooper, Trevor Weston, Daniel Felsenfeld, Lisa Bielawa, Jenny Beck, and many others. She appears as a vocalist on minimalist composer Alexander Turnquist’s album Flying Fantasy, released on the Western Vinyl label. She was a featured guest composer at Phoenix’s OME New Music Marathon concert in 2015 and has had her compositions premiered by Patchwork American Song Project in both New York and Chicago, Guided Imagery Opera, Princeton-based group CUSP, and many other ensembles across the country. Pamela has taught voice, composition, music theory, vocal pedagogy, music history, performance practice and chamber music at the College of Saint Elizabeth, Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, and City College of New York. Pamela teaches masterclasses and workshops and gives lectures on creating new music for voice at colleges, universities, and conservatories around the country. She was invited to speak about teaching new music in higher education at the inaugural New Music Gathering conference at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Her organization Your Music Bus, co-founded with superstar composers Lisa Bielawa and Aaron Jay Kernis, has been serving the needs of the university and conservatory composition students and departments across the country since 2014. CONTACT: www.pamelasteinlynde.com (http://www.pamelasteinlynde.com)...

Violinist James Ehnes shares the process of working with composer Aaron Jay Kernis on a new work. Plus, Daniel Okulitch discusses a new work by Owen Pallett. Both new pieces are performed as part of the New Creations Festival.

The Ohio premiere of composer Aaron Jay Kernis’s trumpet concerto, “A Voice, a Messenger” will be February 25 by the Ohio State University Wind Symphony, featuring Michael Sachs, principal trumpet player for the Cleveland Orchestra. Commissioned by the NY Philharmonic and  Big … Continue reading → The post Aaron Jay Kernis first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.

Aaron Jay Kernis, Yale faculty member and recent winner of Northwestern University's Nemmers Prize, visits to talk music, life and everything. Hosted by Seth Boustead Produced by Jesse McQuarters Ecstatic Meditations Mikrokosmos Chamber Choir/Loïc Pierre conducting Sym of Meditations, Meditation on Oneness Yale Symphony Orchestra & Glee Club/Kernis; Amanda Hall, sop. Double Concerto, I Cho-Liang Lin, v. & Sharon Isbin, g.; Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra/Hugh Wolff Pandora Dance from Colored Field San Francisco Symphony/Alasdair Neale; Julie Ann Giacobassi, english horn Two Movements with Bells, I James Ehnes, v.; Andrew Armstrong, p. Too Hot Tocatta (excerpt) Grant Park Symphony Orchestra/Carlos KalmarPurchase