Podcast appearances and mentions of Joan Tower

Tasha Warren  is an acclaimed clarinetist who has premiered over one hundred solo clarinet and chamber works. In this podcast you'll hear excerpts from her album “Ourself Behind Ourself, Concealed” a fantastic collaboration with cellist Dave Eggar of newly commissioned and premiered Bass Clarinet and Cello works, which earned two Grammy nominations. If you listened to my episode with Meg Okura last year, you heard a bit about this project, and Meg's episode is linked in the show notes if you missed it. Dr. Warren is Assistant Professor of Chamber Music at Michigan State University and the principal clarinet faculty of Mostly Modern Festival and you'll hear her valuable and candid perspectives on a life as an educator, concert presenter and also the challenges of balancing such a full professional life with that of being a mom. You'll also hear about her unique musical trip to India sponsored by Pitch Pipe organized by Jennifer Heemstra, among several inspiring projects in this wide-ranging episode. In this episode you'll be hearing music by Nathalie Joachim, Paquito D'rivera, Martha Redbone Pascal Le Boeuf and Cornelius Boots.  One of the wonderful surprises for me as a podcaster has been getting to know composers new to me and I encourage you to listen to Tasha and Dave's recording which is linked for you below. Like all my episodes, you can also watch this on my YouTube channel or listen to the podcast on all the podcast platforms, and I've also linked the transcript to my website Tasha Warren WebsiteOurself Behind Ourself Concealed albumIt's a joy to be able to bring these meaningful conversations to you, but this project costs me quite a bit of money and lots of time; please support this series through either my merchandise store or buy me a coffee on my Ko-fi page Newsletter sign-upSome other  episodes I've linked directly to this one, which I think may interest you, with: Meg Okura Katherine Needleman    Anthony Brandt   Naomi Moon Siegel     Sarah Jeffery of Team Recorder  Timestamps: (00:00) Intro(02:14) champion of new music, “Ourself Behind Ourself, Concealed” album with Dave Eggar(09:05) Pascal Le Boeuf(13:19) clip from Snapshots by Pascal Le Boeuf(15:00) process of choosing composers for this project, expanding styles(17:37) trip to India, Jennifer Heemstra(25:07) experiences presenting concerts in different contexts and communities(30:53) value of journaling, importance of self-awareness and practicing efficiently(36:25) Martha Redbone, about Black Mountain Calling Cherokee stomp dance(40:07) clip from Martha Redbone's Black Mountain Calling(41:19) Paquito D'Rivera, about African Tales(43:26) clip of African Tales by Paquito D'Rivera(44:37) embracing the risk of improv(46:06) other episodes you'll like and different ways to support this series(46:55)study abroad program in Israel, Klezmer improv (49:29) husband clarinetist Guy Yehuda, balancing family life with careers(52:08) dealing with gender bias as a mom and musician(58:34) Cornelius Boots(1:0:33) clip from Crow Cavern by Cornelius Boots(1:01:55) Cornelius Boots(1:02:35) Nathalie Joachim(1:05:03) clip of Lalin by Nathalie Joachim(1:06:25) the benefits of music competitions(1:09:54) solo album the Naked Clarinet, about Wings by Joan Tower, music as creativity prompt(1:13:55) engaging with different audiences

On November 16 and 17, the two-time GRAMMY Award-winning Albany Symphony will present a dazzling program at the Troy Savings Banks Music Hall in Troy, New York. The concerts will include Smetana's “Moldau,” Joan Tower's Cello Concerto, “A New Day,” and Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, “From the New World.” To tell us more we welcome Music Director David Alan Miller.

In today's episode, we talk with Erik Rohde about conducting and education!   Erik Rohde maintains a diverse career as a conductor, violinist, and educator, and has performed in recitals and festivals across the United States and in Europe and Asia.  He is the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Northern Iowa and the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Winona Symphony Orchestra (MN). Prior to his appointment at the University of Northern Iowa, Rohde served as the Director of String Activities and Orchestra at Indiana State University where he conducted the Indiana State University Symphony Orchestra and taught violin, chamber music, and Suzuki pedagogy. In Indiana, he also founded the Salomon Chamber Orchestra, an orchestra dedicated to promoting the works of living composers and of Haydn and his contemporaries. Having grown up in Rochester, Rohde is particularly excited to return to his hometown to conduct the orchestra that includes former teachers, classmates, and colleagues. He began his musical studies with Linda Thompson on the violin at the age of 4 and first heard the Rochester Symphony at one of their annual educational concerts a few years later. Having begun his musical journey in Rochester, this is an exciting chance to return and make music in a new way in a community that he loves and one that helped shape the early part of his musical journey. A committed advocate for contemporary music, he has premiered and commissioned many new works by both established and young composers, and is constantly seeking to discover new compositional voices. In addition to regularly bringing new orchestral works to programs each season, he is the violinist of the new music duo sonic apricity, which is dedicated to uncovering and commissioning new works by living composers for violin and viola. The duo released their first recording on the Navona label in December of 2022. At Indiana State University, he helped to host the annual Contemporary Music Festival – now running for over 50 years. He has worked with Joan Tower, Augusta Read Thomas, Libby Larsen, Chen Yi, Meira Warshauer, Elliott Miles McKinley, Christopher Walczak, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Pierre Jalbert, James Dillon, David Dzubay, Marc Mellits, Carter Pann, Narong Prangcharoen and countless others. In 2019, he released two recordings with composer Elliott Miles McKinley, conducting his percussion concerto Four Grooves and performing on his eighth string quartet. In his native Minnesota, Rohde has served as the Music Director of the Buffalo Community Orchestra, conductor and violinist for the Contemporary Music Workshop, Camarata Suzuki orchestra conductor for the MacPhail Center for Music, String Ensemble conductor at the Trinity School, and first violinist of the Cantiamo and Enkidu String Quartets.  Rohde holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, where he studied with conductors Mark Russell Smith, Kathy Saltzman Romey, and Craig Kirchhoff and violin pedagogue Mark Bjork. He also holds degrees in Violin Performance and Biomedical Engineering. Rohde lives in Cedar Falls, IA with his wife Erin and their children.   Betwixt Bach: Suite for Solo Violin (2021) Performed by Erik Rohde

In today's episode, we talk with Erik Rohde about conducting and education!   Erik Rohde maintains a diverse career as a conductor, violinist, and educator, and has performed in recitals and festivals across the United States and in Europe and Asia.  He is the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Northern Iowa and the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Winona Symphony Orchestra (MN). Prior to his appointment at the University of Northern Iowa, Rohde served as the Director of String Activities and Orchestra at Indiana State University where he conducted the Indiana State University Symphony Orchestra and taught violin, chamber music, and Suzuki pedagogy. In Indiana, he also founded the Salomon Chamber Orchestra, an orchestra dedicated to promoting the works of living composers and of Haydn and his contemporaries. Having grown up in Rochester, Rohde is particularly excited to return to his hometown to conduct the orchestra that includes former teachers, classmates, and colleagues. He began his musical studies with Linda Thompson on the violin at the age of 4 and first heard the Rochester Symphony at one of their annual educational concerts a few years later. Having begun his musical journey in Rochester, this is an exciting chance to return and make music in a new way in a community that he loves and one that helped shape the early part of his musical journey. A committed advocate for contemporary music, he has premiered and commissioned many new works by both established and young composers, and is constantly seeking to discover new compositional voices. In addition to regularly bringing new orchestral works to programs each season, he is the violinist of the new music duo sonic apricity, which is dedicated to uncovering and commissioning new works by living composers for violin and viola. The duo released their first recording on the Navona label in December of 2022. At Indiana State University, he helped to host the annual Contemporary Music Festival – now running for over 50 years. He has worked with Joan Tower, Augusta Read Thomas, Libby Larsen, Chen Yi, Meira Warshauer, Elliott Miles McKinley, Christopher Walczak, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Pierre Jalbert, James Dillon, David Dzubay, Marc Mellits, Carter Pann, Narong Prangcharoen and countless others. In 2019, he released two recordings with composer Elliott Miles McKinley, conducting his percussion concerto Four Grooves and performing on his eighth string quartet. In his native Minnesota, Rohde has served as the Music Director of the Buffalo Community Orchestra, conductor and violinist for the Contemporary Music Workshop, Camarata Suzuki orchestra conductor for the MacPhail Center for Music, String Ensemble conductor at the Trinity School, and first violinist of the Cantiamo and Enkidu String Quartets.  Rohde holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, where he studied with conductors Mark Russell Smith, Kathy Saltzman Romey, and Craig Kirchhoff and violin pedagogue Mark Bjork. He also holds degrees in Violin Performance and Biomedical Engineering. Rohde lives in Cedar Falls, IA with his wife Erin and their children.   Betwixt Bach: Suite for Solo Violin (2021) Performed by Erik Rohde

There aren't that many examples of a "concerto" for orchestra, and in Joan Tower's, it's an electrifying world of rhythm, motion, and even deception! John Banther and Evan Keely explore this concerto by one of the most successful and recorded American composers. Support Classical Breakdown: https://weta.org/donatefmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SynopsisFor most of the 20th century, women's history was almost totally ignored in American schools. To address this situation, an education task force in Sonoma County, California, initiated a women's history celebration in March 1978. What began as an annual Women's History Week grew over the years into a national celebration, and in 1987, Congress declared the whole of March to be Women's History Month.Appropriately enough, 1987 also saw the premiere performance of Joan Tower's Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman — music written for the same instrumentation as Aaron Copland's famous Fanfare for the Common Man.Originally, Tower chose to let the title of her Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman serve as a generic, built-in dedication to all the unsung heroes of women's struggles past and present. But eventually, Tower added a specific dedication to conductor Marin Alsop, a champion of new music.“I don't think you can play a piece of music and say whether it's written by a man or a woman,” Tower says. “I think music is genderless.”But festivals and celebrations of women in music remain important, in Tower's view, in helping to get the word out about their accomplishments.Music Played in Today's ProgramJoan Tower (b. 1938): ‘Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman'; Colorado Symphony; Marin Alsop, cond. Koch International 7469

Joan Tower in conversation with Rita Ryan of LocalMotion 1.10.24

SynopsisIn the musical world, there are many creative people with innovative ideas, but far fewer with the ability and persistence to raise the funds necessary to realize their visions.Today, a tip of the hat to American composer John Duffy, who, in 1982, was president of Meet the Composer, an organization that secured funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and other foundations for a large-scale residency program that paired rising American composers with major American orchestras. The composers included John Corigliano, Joan Tower, Stephen Paulus, Christopher Rouse, Libby Larsen and Alvin Singleton. Each wrote special works for their orchestras, works that were premiered and recorded as part of the program — a major career boost for any young composer.For example, Singleton was the composer chosen for the Atlanta residency, and on today's date in 1988, that orchestra premiered his work After Fallen Crumbs.The unusual title doesn't refer to arts funding, however apt that might seem, but derives from an earlier choral piece by Singleton whose text dealt with world hunger and closed with the lines, “An ant can feed a family with the fallen crumbs of an elephant.”Music Played in Today's ProgramAlvin Singleton (b. 1940) After Fallen Crumbs; Atlanta Symphony; Louis Lane, cond. Nonesuch 79231

Ebben epizódban a kivételes tehetségű magyar fuvolaművész, **Ábel Andrea** mesél nekünk az életéről és kultúránkról, New York-i kalandjairól. 

SynopsisAngel Fire is a village in the New Mexico Rockies that hosts an annual chamber music festival.  To celebrate their 25th anniversary, Music from Angel Fire commissioned the American composer Joan Tower to write them a new work, which she titled Angels – a virtuosic String Quartet, her fourth, which received its premiere performance by the Miami String Quartet on today's date in 2008.“Having written three prior quartets and gotten to travel extensively around the world of quartets,” wrote Tower, “I have come to love the way [they] are so deeply creative and passionate about the music they play. They are really like four ‘composers' at work.”The title given the new piece is a nod to Angel Fire, New Mexico, of course, but Tower made it clear she had some other special angels in mind: six people who helped her younger brother George survive a major stroke. These were her sister, a former student named Erin, a doctor , a nurse, and a pair of real estate agents.All six appear on the score's front page beneath her dedication, “to the ‘Angels' who took care of my brother.”Music Played in Today's ProgramJoan Tower (b. 1938) Angels (String Quartet No. 4) Miami String Quartet Naxos 8.559795

Another great, short piece, here's the first of Joan Tower's Fanfares celebrating risk-taking and adventurous women. This is both celebratory and substantial, plus a workout for brass and percussion. Listening time 8 mins (podcast 5.5', music 2.5') Listen to the music, Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No.1, here on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon music played by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin. You can buy a recording of the piece here at Prestomusic.com (but you have to scroll all the way to the end of a long track listing)   On Youtube you can watch the work's dedicatee, Marin Alsop conduct this alongside Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. And here there's a nice interview with Joan Tower - she seems like a fun person! Copland's Fanfare was featured last time on Cacophony. Stravinsky's Petrushka was episode 138.   What do you think? Tell me with a comment at www.cacophonyonline.com! I'd love to hear from you!   If you'd like to support Cacophony there are easy, great, ways:   – help with the costs of running it (and me) with a one-off contribution  or with a regular payment at ko-fi.com. https://ko-fi.com/cacophonyonline – share this episode with someone you know – share the 100 second trailer: http://cacophonyonline.com/trailer – subscribe/ review and keep listening!   More episodes at: www.cacophonyonline.com/   Thanks for listening!  

Synopsis In 1933, Aaron Copland introduced Roy Harris to Serge Koussevitzky, the famous conductor of the Boston Symphony in those days. Now, Koussevitzky was one of the great patrons of American music and was always looking for new American music and new American composers. Roy Harris had been described to him as an "American Mussorgsky," which probably intrigued the Russian-born conductor. When Koussevitzky learned that Harris had been born in a log cabin in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, no less – well, perhaps he hoped the 41-year old Harris might produce music equally all-American in origin. "Write me a big symphony from the West," asked Koussevitzky, and Harris responded with a three-movement orchestral work titled: "Symphony, 1933," which had its premiere performance on today's date in 1934 with the Boston Symphony under Koussevitzky's direction. Koussevitzky loved it. "I think that nobody has captured in music the essence of American life -- its vitality, its greatness, its strength -- so well as Roy Harris," enthused the famous conductor, who recorded the piece at Carnegie Hall in New York just one week after its premiere. And it was Koussevitzky's Boston Symphony that would subsequently premiere Harris's Second, Third, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies as well. Music Played in Today's Program Roy Harris (1898 – 1979) Symphony 1933 (No. 1) Louisville Orchestra; Jorge Mester, conductor Albany 012 On This Day Births 1924 - American composer Warren Benson, in Detroit, Michigan; Deaths 1795 - German composer Johann Christioph Friedrich Bach, age 62, in Bückeburg 1993 - American composer and teacher Kenneth Gaburo, age 66, in Iowa City; Premieres 1732 - Handel: opera "Ezio" (Julian date: Jan.15); 1790 - Mozart: opera, "Così fan tutte," in Vienna at the Burgtheater; 1873 - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Feb. 7); 1882 - Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 7); 1905 - Schoenberg: symphonic poem "Pelleas und Melisande," in Vienna, with the composer conducting; 1908 - Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 8); 1911 - Richard Strauss: opera, “Der Rosenkavalier,” in Dresden at the Hofoper, conducted by Ernst von Schuch, with vocal soloists Margarethe Siems (Marschallin), Eva von der Osten (Octavian), Minnie Nast (Sophie), Karl Perron (Baron Ochs), and Karl Scheidemantel (Faninal); 1920 - Prokofiev: "Overture on Hebrew Themes," in New York by the Zimro Ensemble, with the composer at the piano; 1922 - Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 3 "Pastoral," by the Royal Philharmonic, London, Sir Adrian Boult conducting; 1934 - Roy Harris: Symphony No. 1, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1952 - Ernst von Dohnányi: Violin Concerto No. 2, in San Antonio, Texas; 1957 - Bernstein: "Candide" Overture (concert version), by New York Philharmonic conducted by the composer; The musical "Candide" had opened at the Martin Beck Theater in New York City on December 1, 1956; 1957 - Poulenc: opera, "Les dialogues des carmélites" (The Dialogues of the Carmelites) in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala, Nino Sanzogno conducting; 1962 - Diamond: Symphony No. 7, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1966 - Dominick Argento: Variations for Orchestra and Soprano (The Masque of Night"), at the St. Paul Campus Student Center of the University of Minnesota, by the Minneapolis Civic Orchestra, Thomas Nee conducting, with soprano Carolyn Bailey; A second performance took place on Jan. 27th at Coffmann Memorial Union on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota; 1967 - Frank Martin: Cello Concerto, in Basel, Switzerland; 1994 - Elisabetta Brusa: “La Triade” for large orchestra, by the Tirana (Albania) Radio and Television Orchestra, Gilberto Serembe conducting; 1994 - Christopher Rouse: Cello Concerto, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by David Zinman, with Yo-Yo Ma the soloist; 1995 - Joan Tower: "Duets for Orchestra," by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Christoph Perick conducting. Links and Resources On Roy Harris

Julia Tai, Music Director of the Missoula Symphony stops by the Trail1033 studio to chat with Mike Smith. Join the Missoula Symphony November 4th & 6th as they honor a legendary composer from our own community—the former distinguished professor of composition at the UM, Donald Johnston. His Symphony No. 4 “Lewis and Clark Symphony” exemplifies the brave spirits of the first explorers and the soundscape of the openness of the West. The concert begins with a powerful piece Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, written by Joan Tower, who was lauded by The New Yorker as “one of the most successful woman composers of all time.” Rounding out the program are Jean Sibelius' atmospheric Lemminkäinen Suite—a symphonic poem about the Finnish mythological hero—and John Williams' Superman March. REPERTOIRE: • Joan Tower: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 6 • Jean Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, No. 1, 2 & 4 • Donald Johnston: Symphony No. 4 “Lewis & Clark” • John Williams: Superman March Program Notes by James Randall Superheroes come in many forms, and our concert testifies to their diversity: some local, some national, some unsung, and some extraterrestrial. They all, however, reflect us—our fears, our hopes, and our collective desire for rescue and redemption. Tickets and details at missoulasymphony.org

Synopsis These days the cost of commissioning a major American composer to write a major orchestral work requires… well, a major amount of money. Back in 2001, a group of smaller-budget symphonies around the country decided to pool their resources and commission the American composer Joan Tower to write a new orchestral piece for them. What would have been cost-prohibitive individually proved very do-able when they all chipped in, aided by foundation grant or two. 65 orchestras from all 50 states participated, with the idea being each of them would get first performing rights to Tower's new work. "When they asked me to do this," Tower said, "they called the project ‘Made in America,' and that became the work's title. [Since] it was going across the U.S., this word 'America' kept popping up in my brain. Also, the tune 'America the Beautiful' started to come in, and I thought, 'I really love this tune. It's a beautiful tune, and I think I'll start with this.” Joan Tower's “Made in America” received its first performance by the Glen Falls Symphony Orchestra in New York State on today's date in 2005, then premiered in each of the remaining 49 states over the next two years, ending up in Alaska with the Juneau Symphony in June of 2007. Music Played in Today's Program Joan Tower (b. 1938): Made in America –Nashville Symphony/Leonard Slatkin (Naxos 8559328)

Jim Cunningham interviews cellist Alisa Weilerstein and composer Joan Tower about her piece "A New Day", plus he talks with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Melia Tourangeau about the upcoming season during the orchestra's Season Opening Concert on Friday September 23, 2022.    

Composer Joan Tower introduced her piece, "A New Day" from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Season Opening Concert on Friday September 23, 2022.  

Synopsis “In an ideal musical world,” says composer Joan Tower, “a composer should have a friendly, creative, and ongoing working relationship with performers for whom she writes.” For Tower, who has emerged as one of the most successful American composers of her generation, a friendly, creative, and ongoing relationship with chamber ensembles, symphony orchestras, and soloists has resulted in a number of musical works. Tower's Violin Concerto, for example, was written for the American violin virtuoso Elmar Oliveira, who gave its premiere performance on today's date in 1992, at a Utah Symphony concert. Tower wrote the piece with Oliveria in mind: “A lot of violinists are speed freaks,” she wrote, “but Elmar can play both virtuosically and with an innate singing ability.” The more lyrical and emotional heart of the work was written as memorial to Olivera's older brother, also a violinist, who died of cancer during work on the new concerto. That's not to say Tower didn't supply some flashy, pyrotechnical passages for her star soloist, however. As Oliviera put it: “It's the kind of flashiness an audience can relate to. Joan doesn't need avant-garde gimmicks, because now she's completely comfortable speaking her own language, one that is expressive and natural to her.” Or, as Tower herself put it: “Sometimes it's a struggle to find out what you're good at. It took me a number of years to decide how I wanted to write with my own voice.” Music Played in Today's Program Joan Tower (b. 1938) — Violin Concerto (Elmar Oliveira, violin; Louisville Orchestra; Joseph Silverstein, cond.) D'Note 1016

This week we chat off the podium with German-born conductor Christian Reif. Christian joins the Kansas City Symphony April 1-3, 2022 conducting works by Joan Tower, W.A. Mozart and Stravinsky. We chat about his upcoming trip to KC, the illustrious world of summer music festivals, and an unfortunate slip-of-the-tongue incident in Miami BEACH. Plus, our Top 5 ballet scores. All that and more, this week on Beethoven Walks into a Bar. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zviGW1NfWD7ObjdUz8nYn?si=b6f3fb19b8334e03 (Episode 505 Playlist) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyJsiO6SbAY&t=557s (Tiny Desk Concert - Julia Bullock and Christian Reif) https://vimeo.com/433198271 (Brown Baby - Julia Bullock and Christian Reif)

In den USA ist Joan Tower eine lebende Legende, aber in Deutschland immer noch ein Geheimtipp. Die 83-jährige prägt seit mehr als 60 Jahren die amerikanische Klassikszene und Orchesterlandschaft. Ganz bewusst als Frau. Fanny Opitz hat sie interviewt. Von Fanny Opitz.

durée : 00:59:52 - En pistes, contemporains ! du dimanche 21 novembre 2021 - par : Emilie Munera - Ce dimanche, petit tour aux Etats-Unis avec la musique de Joan Tower, honneur aux quatuors avec le Quatuor Ebène et le Quatuor Hanson mais aussi le compositeur Olivier Greif à l'occasion des 70 ans de sa naissance. - réalisé par : Claire Lagarde

Joan Tower gilt mit ihren 84 Jahren als lebende Legende unter den US-amerikanischen Komponistinnen. „Meine Musik ist dramatisch, sie ist laut und vor allem sehr rhythmisch", sagt sie und wehrt sich damit gegen geschlechterspezifische Rollenzuweisungen im Musikgeschäft. Bis heute hat sie sich eine beeindruckende Energie bewahrt, als Konzertpianistin, Dirigentin, Komponistin und humorvolle Erzählerin ihres außergewöhnlichen Lebens.

Synopsis On today's date in 2020, the University of Maryland launched PriceFest–an annual festival devoted to the American composer Florence Price. The plan was to stage performances of works in the context of lectures and panels devoted to this long-neglected African-American composer. The Covid outbreak forced the first PriceFest to be an online event only, but that worked so well the 2021 PriceFest arranged for more live-streamed and interactive Zoom events. When Florence Price died at the age of 66 in 1953, she left behind instrumental, orchestra and vocal works that languished unperformed for decades until a revival of interest in music by women composers and composers of color led to a serious second look at her compositions and a rediscovery of their quality and importance. In 2009, a couple renovating an abandoned and dilapidated house in St. Anne, Illinois once owned by Price found a substantial collection of previously unknown Price scores.   As Alex Ross, writing in The New Yorker, commented: "not only did [Florence] Price fail to enter the canon; a large quantity of her music came perilously close to obliteration. That run-down house in St. Anne is a potent symbol of how a country can forget its cultural history.” Music Played in Today's Program Florence Price (1887 - 1953) – Mississippi Suite (Women's Philharmonic; Apo Hsu, cond.) Koch 75182 On This Day Births 1561 - Italian composer Jacopo Peri, in Rome; His setting of Rinuccini's poem "Dafne," staged in 1600, is credited as the first opera; Deaths 1813 - Bohemian composer Jan Krittel Vanhal (Johann Baptist Wanhal), age 74, in Vienna; Premieres 1882 - Tchaikovsky: "1812 Overture," on an all-Tchaikovsky program presented during an Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow (Julian date: Aug. 8); 1943 - Manuel Ponce: Violin Concerto, in Mexico City, conducted by Carlos Chavez; 1956 - Bliss: "Edinburgh Overture," at the opening of the Edinburgh Festival of Music and Drama; 1958 - Menotti: opera "Maria Golovin," at the International Exposition in Brussels, Belgium; 1961 - John Harbison: "Duo" for flute and piano, at the Brooklyn Museum, with flutist Neil Zaslaw and pianist Juliette Arnold; 1965 - Harrison Birtwistle: "Tragoedia" for chamber ensemble, at Wardour Castle in England, during the Castle Summer School of Music, by the Melos Ensemble conducted by Lawrence Foster; 1973 - Carl Orff: cantata "De Temporum Fine Commedia" (A Play of the End of Time) at the Salzburg Festival, with Herbert von Karajan conducting; 1979 - Harbison: opera "The Winter's Tale" in San Francisco; 1980 - Rubbra: Symphony No. 11, in London by the BBC Northern Symphony; 1992 - Joan Tower: "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman" No. 5 (dedicated to Joan Harris), at the opening of the Joan and Irving Harris Concert Hall at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. 2004 - Zhou Long: “The Immortal” for orchestra, at a BBC Proms concerts with the BBC Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting; 2004 - Peter Maxwell Davies: “Naxos Quartet” No. 4 (“Children's Games”), in the Chapel of the Royal Palace, Oslo (Norway) during the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, by the Maggini Quartet.

Join Russell Gant for this Thursday Concert with the Florida Orchestra with a program called American Heroes featuring Joan Tower's Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman and Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, as well as a Percussion Concerto featuring the orchestra's principal percussionist John Shaw. Thursday Concert with The Florida Orchestra airs Every Thursday night at 8:00 on Classical WSMR 89.1 & 103.9, online at wsmr.org.

With multiple GRAMMY nominations and wide critical acclaim to her credit, Joan Tower's latest album in the Naxos American Classics series demonstrates why she is so often performed, and why she is such a respected person among American composers. Raymond Bisha presents the programme on her new release that comprises four world premiere recordings. Soloists Dame Evelyn Glennie (percussion) and Blair McMillen (piano) feature alongside David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony Orchestra.

Synopsis The American composer Joan Tower says that explaining her own music is (quote) “sheer torture for me.” Understandably, she prefers to let her music speak for itself, and many of her works have simple generic titles like: “Piano Concerto” or “Concerto for Orchestra.” But audiences generally prefer more evocative titles, and on more than one occasion Tower has provided them.  On today's date in 1985, the Florida Orchestra premiered a piece by Tower entitled “Island Rhythms,” a celebratory work commissioned for the opening of Tampa's Harbour Island. Tower suggested that Caribbean music influenced the livelier outer sections of her new piece, and its central, slower section evoked the  image of an underwater swimmer rising slowly, but steadily towards the light. And for the St. Louis Symphony's oboist, Peter Bowman, Tower composed in 1989 an “Island Prelude,” for solo oboe and orchestra. When pressed to describe what sort of “island” she had in mind, Tower replied with (her) usual poetic eloquence: “The island is remote, lush and tropical with stretches of white beach interspersed with thick green jungle. Above is a large, powerful and brightly colored bird which soars and glides, … in complete harmony with its island home.” Music Played in Today's Program Joan Tower (b. 1938) — Island Rhythms (Louisville Orchestra; Lawrence Leighton Smith, cond.) Louisville 6 Joan Tower (b. 1938) — Island Prelude (Peter Bowman, oboe; Saint Louis Symphony; Leonard Slatkin, cond.) Nonesuch 79245

Synopsis The American composer Joan Tower says that explaining her own music is (quote) “sheer torture for me.” Understandably, she prefers to let her music speak for itself, and many of her works have simple generic titles like: “Piano Concerto” or “Concerto for Orchestra.” But audiences generally prefer more evocative titles, and on more than one occasion Tower has provided them.  On today's date in 1985, the Florida Orchestra premiered a piece by Tower entitled “Island Rhythms,” a celebratory work commissioned for the opening of Tampa's Harbour Island. Tower suggested that Caribbean music influenced the livelier outer sections of her new piece, and its central, slower section evoked the  image of an underwater swimmer rising slowly, but steadily towards the light. And for the St. Louis Symphony's oboist, Peter Bowman, Tower composed in 1989 an “Island Prelude,” for solo oboe and orchestra. When pressed to describe what sort of “island” she had in mind, Tower replied with (her) usual poetic eloquence: “The island is remote, lush and tropical with stretches of white beach interspersed with thick green jungle. Above is a large, powerful and brightly colored bird which soars and glides, … in complete harmony with its island home.” Music Played in Today's Program Joan Tower (b. 1938) — Island Rhythms (Louisville Orchestra; Lawrence Leighton Smith, cond.) Louisville 6 Joan Tower (b. 1938) — Island Prelude (Peter Bowman, oboe; Saint Louis Symphony; Leonard Slatkin, cond.) Nonesuch 79245

It's not just because Richie Hawley is a great clarinettist and has some fascinating ideas and techniques for bringing music to our ears, but this was a great conversation for the latest  episode of Harmonious World.Richie's latest album is with pianist Conor Hanick. A Gentle Notion includes the clarinet sonatas of Aaron Copland, Jennifer Higdon and Pierre Jalbert, together with Joan Tower's stunning Wings.  Thanks to Richie for allowing me to play extracts from both Wings and A Gentle Notion alongside our conversation.Follow me on instagram.com/hilaryrwriterFollow me on facebook.com/HilaryRobertsonFreelanceWriterFollow me on twitter.com/hilaryrwriterSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HWpodcast)

Synopsis Joan Tower is one of America’s most famous–and quotable–composers. She once asked audiences to imagine Beethoven as a composer-in-residence with a modern American orchestra: “If Beethoven walked in here right now,” said Tower, “I think we’d ALL be a bit shocked. He’d probably look very scruffy and be an obnoxious pain-in-the-butt. Orchestras would NEVER ask him back.” Tower can be equally blunt about her own music. Among her most frequently performed works is the series pieces entitled “Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman.” Of these, Tower remarked, perhaps with tongue firmly in cheek: “Maybe the title is better than the music.” On today’s date in 1991, Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony gave the premiere performance of Joan Tower’s “Concerto for Orchestra.” “It’s my WORST title,” Tower declared. “I really didn’t want people to think of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, but it IS a concerto in the sense that it features different parts of the orchestra.” This work was a joint commission from the St. Louis Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony. Reviewing the Chicago performance, music critic John von Rhein wrote: “Tower's talent for flinging bold, dramatic sounds over a large orchestral palette is much on display.” Music Played in Today's Program Joan Tower (b. 1938) Concerto for Orchestra Colorado Symphony; Marin Alsop, cond. Koch 7469 On This Day Births 1931 - American composer Donald James Martino, in Plainfield, N.J.; Deaths 1910 - Russian composer Mily Balakirev (Gregorian date: May 29); Premieres 1726 - Handel: opera "Alessandro" (Julian date: May 5); 1889 - Massenet: opera "Esclarmonde" at the Paris Opéra; 1948 - Quincy Porter: Viola Concerto, in New York City; 1948 - Wallingford Rieger: Symphony No. 3, in New York City; 1966 - Ralph Shapey: "Rituals," in Chicago; 1966 - Villa-Lobos: Sinfonia No. 9, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1969 - Cage: "HPSCHD," for amplified harpsichord and 51 tapes, in Urbana, Ill.; 1971 - Britten: opera "Owen Wingrave," as a telecast on BBC-TV in England and NET (National Educational Television) in the United States; 1972 - Jaocb Druckman: "Windows" for orchestra, by the Chicago Symphony; This work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1972; 1974 - Bernstein: ballet "Dybbuk," by the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, with choreography by Jerome Robbins and the composer conducting; 1991 - Joan Tower: "Concerto for Orchestra," by the St. Louis Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting; Others 1792 - The Teatro la Fenice ("The Phoenix") opens in Venice; 1888 - Emile Berliner gives the first public display of his invention, the flat gramophone disk, at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Links and Resources On Joan Tower A 1987 interview with Tower

Synopsis Joan Tower is one of America’s most famous–and quotable–composers. She once asked audiences to imagine Beethoven as a composer-in-residence with a modern American orchestra: “If Beethoven walked in here right now,” said Tower, “I think we’d ALL be a bit shocked. He’d probably look very scruffy and be an obnoxious pain-in-the-butt. Orchestras would NEVER ask him back.” Tower can be equally blunt about her own music. Among her most frequently performed works is the series pieces entitled “Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman.” Of these, Tower remarked, perhaps with tongue firmly in cheek: “Maybe the title is better than the music.” On today’s date in 1991, Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony gave the premiere performance of Joan Tower’s “Concerto for Orchestra.” “It’s my WORST title,” Tower declared. “I really didn’t want people to think of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, but it IS a concerto in the sense that it features different parts of the orchestra.” This work was a joint commission from the St. Louis Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony. Reviewing the Chicago performance, music critic John von Rhein wrote: “Tower's talent for flinging bold, dramatic sounds over a large orchestral palette is much on display.” Music Played in Today's Program Joan Tower (b. 1938) Concerto for Orchestra Colorado Symphony; Marin Alsop, cond. Koch 7469 On This Day Births 1931 - American composer Donald James Martino, in Plainfield, N.J.; Deaths 1910 - Russian composer Mily Balakirev (Gregorian date: May 29); Premieres 1726 - Handel: opera "Alessandro" (Julian date: May 5); 1889 - Massenet: opera "Esclarmonde" at the Paris Opéra; 1948 - Quincy Porter: Viola Concerto, in New York City; 1948 - Wallingford Rieger: Symphony No. 3, in New York City; 1966 - Ralph Shapey: "Rituals," in Chicago; 1966 - Villa-Lobos: Sinfonia No. 9, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1969 - Cage: "HPSCHD," for amplified harpsichord and 51 tapes, in Urbana, Ill.; 1971 - Britten: opera "Owen Wingrave," as a telecast on BBC-TV in England and NET (National Educational Television) in the United States; 1972 - Jaocb Druckman: "Windows" for orchestra, by the Chicago Symphony; This work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1972; 1974 - Bernstein: ballet "Dybbuk," by the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, with choreography by Jerome Robbins and the composer conducting; 1991 - Joan Tower: "Concerto for Orchestra," by the St. Louis Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting; Others 1792 - The Teatro la Fenice ("The Phoenix") opens in Venice; 1888 - Emile Berliner gives the first public display of his invention, the flat gramophone disk, at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Links and Resources On Joan Tower A 1987 interview with Tower

Synopsis On today’s date in 1825, the Italian composer Antonio Salieri breathed his last in Vienna. Gossip circulated that in his final dementia, Salieri blabbed something about poisoning Mozart. Whether he meant it figuratively or literally, or even said anything of the sort, didn’t seem to matter and the gossip became a Romantic legend. Modern food detectives suggested that if Mozart WAS poisoned, an undercooked pork chop might be to blame… In one of his last letters to his wife, Mozart mentions his anticipation of feasting on a fat chop his cook had secured for his dinner! Twenty-five years after Salieri’s death, on today’s date in 1850, the Austro-Hungarian conductor Anton Seidl was born in Budapest. Seidl became a famous conductor of both the Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic. It was Seidl who conducted the premiere of Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony. In 1898, at the age of just 47, Seidl died suddenly, apparently from ptomaine poisoning. Perhaps it was the shad roe he ate at home, or that sausage from Fleischmann’s restaurant? An autopsy revealed serious gallstone and liver ailments, so maybe Seidl’s last meal, whatever it might have been, was as innocent of blame as poor old Salieri. Music Played in Today's Program Wolfgang Mozart (1756 – 1791) Symphony No. 25 St. Martin's Academy; Sir Neville Marriner, cond. Fantasy 104/105 Antonin Dvořák (1841 – 1904) Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) Vienna Philharmonic; Rafael Kubelik, cond. Decca 466 994 Antonio Salieri (1750 – 1825) "La Folia" Variations London Mozart Players; Matthias Bamert, cond. Chandos 9877 On This Day Births 1833 - German composer Johannes Brahms, in Hamburg; 1840 - Russian composer Pyotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, in Votkinsk, district of Viatka (Julian date: April 25); 1850 - Hungarian conductor Anton Seidl, in Budapest; He was Wagner assistant at the first Bayreuth Festival performances of the "Ring" operas in 1876-79, was engaged to conduct the German repertory at the Metropolitan Opera in 1885, and in 1891 as the permanent conductor of the New York Philharmonic; He conducted the American premieres of Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" in 1886 and the world premiere of Dvorák's "New World" Symphony in 1893; He died of ptomaine poisoning in 1898; Deaths 1793 - Italian composer and violinist Pietro Nardini, age 71, in Florence; 1818 - Bohemian composer Leopold (Jan Antonín, Ioannes Antonius)Kozeluch (Kotzeluch, Koželuh), age 70, in Vienna; 1825 - Italian composer Antonio Salieri, age 74, in Vienna; Premieres 1824 - Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ("Choral") at the Kärntnertor Theater in Vienna, with the deaf composer on stage beating time, but with the performers instructed to follow the cues of Beethoven's assistant conductor, Michael Umlauf; 1888 - Lalo: "Le Roi d'Ys" (The King of Ys) at the Opéra Comique, in Paris; 1926 - Milhaud: opera "Les malheurs d'Orphée" (The Sorrows of Orpheus), in Brussels at the Théatre de la Monnaie; 1944 - Copland: "Our Town" Film Music Suite (revised version), by the Boston Pops conducted by Leonard Bernstein; An earlier version of this suite aired on CBS Radio on June 9, 1940, with the Columbia Broadcasting Symphony conducted by Howard Barlow; 1947 - Virgil Thomson: opera "The Mother of Us All," at Columbia University in New York City; 1985 - David Ward-Steinman: "Chroma" Concerto for multiple keyboards, percussion, and chamber orchestra, in Scottsdale, Ariz., by the Noveau West Chamber Orchestra conducted by Terry Williams, with the composer and Amy-Smith-Davie as keyboard soloists; 1988 - Stockhausen: opera "Montag von Licht" (Monday from Light), in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala; 1988 - Michael Torke: ballet "Black and White," at the New York State Theater, with the NY City Ballet Orchestra, David Alan Miller conducting; 1993 - Harrison Birtwistle: "Five Distances for Five Instruments," in London at the Purcell Room, by the Ensemble InterContemporain; 1998 - Joan Tower: "Tambor," by the Pittsburgh Symphony, Mariss Jansons conducting; 1999 - Robert X. Rodriguez: "Bachanale: Concertino for Orchestra," by the San Antonio Symphony, Wilkins conducting; Others 1747 - J.S. Bach (age 62) visits King Frederick II of Prussia at his court in Potsdam on May 7-8; Bach improvises on a theme submitted by the King, performing on the King's forte-piano; In September of 1747 Bach publishes a chamber work based on the royal theme entitled "Musical Offering." 1937 - The RKO film "Shall We Dance?" is released, with a filmscore by George Gershwin; This film includes the classic Gershwin songs "Beginner's Luck," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "They Can't Take That Away from Me" and an instrumental interlude "Walking the Dog" (released as a solo piano piece under the title "Promenade"). Links and Resources A BBC story on "Rehabilitating Salieri" On Anton Seidl On the Seidl papers at Columbia University

Synopsis On today’s date in 1825, the Italian composer Antonio Salieri breathed his last in Vienna. Gossip circulated that in his final dementia, Salieri blabbed something about poisoning Mozart. Whether he meant it figuratively or literally, or even said anything of the sort, didn’t seem to matter and the gossip became a Romantic legend. Modern food detectives suggested that if Mozart WAS poisoned, an undercooked pork chop might be to blame… In one of his last letters to his wife, Mozart mentions his anticipation of feasting on a fat chop his cook had secured for his dinner! Twenty-five years after Salieri’s death, on today’s date in 1850, the Austro-Hungarian conductor Anton Seidl was born in Budapest. Seidl became a famous conductor of both the Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic. It was Seidl who conducted the premiere of Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony. In 1898, at the age of just 47, Seidl died suddenly, apparently from ptomaine poisoning. Perhaps it was the shad roe he ate at home, or that sausage from Fleischmann’s restaurant? An autopsy revealed serious gallstone and liver ailments, so maybe Seidl’s last meal, whatever it might have been, was as innocent of blame as poor old Salieri. Music Played in Today's Program Wolfgang Mozart (1756 – 1791) Symphony No. 25 St. Martin's Academy; Sir Neville Marriner, cond. Fantasy 104/105 Antonin Dvořák (1841 – 1904) Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) Vienna Philharmonic; Rafael Kubelik, cond. Decca 466 994 Antonio Salieri (1750 – 1825) "La Folia" Variations London Mozart Players; Matthias Bamert, cond. Chandos 9877 On This Day Births 1833 - German composer Johannes Brahms, in Hamburg; 1840 - Russian composer Pyotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, in Votkinsk, district of Viatka (Julian date: April 25); 1850 - Hungarian conductor Anton Seidl, in Budapest; He was Wagner assistant at the first Bayreuth Festival performances of the "Ring" operas in 1876-79, was engaged to conduct the German repertory at the Metropolitan Opera in 1885, and in 1891 as the permanent conductor of the New York Philharmonic; He conducted the American premieres of Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" in 1886 and the world premiere of Dvorák's "New World" Symphony in 1893; He died of ptomaine poisoning in 1898; Deaths 1793 - Italian composer and violinist Pietro Nardini, age 71, in Florence; 1818 - Bohemian composer Leopold (Jan Antonín, Ioannes Antonius)Kozeluch (Kotzeluch, Koželuh), age 70, in Vienna; 1825 - Italian composer Antonio Salieri, age 74, in Vienna; Premieres 1824 - Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ("Choral") at the Kärntnertor Theater in Vienna, with the deaf composer on stage beating time, but with the performers instructed to follow the cues of Beethoven's assistant conductor, Michael Umlauf; 1888 - Lalo: "Le Roi d'Ys" (The King of Ys) at the Opéra Comique, in Paris; 1926 - Milhaud: opera "Les malheurs d'Orphée" (The Sorrows of Orpheus), in Brussels at the Théatre de la Monnaie; 1944 - Copland: "Our Town" Film Music Suite (revised version), by the Boston Pops conducted by Leonard Bernstein; An earlier version of this suite aired on CBS Radio on June 9, 1940, with the Columbia Broadcasting Symphony conducted by Howard Barlow; 1947 - Virgil Thomson: opera "The Mother of Us All," at Columbia University in New York City; 1985 - David Ward-Steinman: "Chroma" Concerto for multiple keyboards, percussion, and chamber orchestra, in Scottsdale, Ariz., by the Noveau West Chamber Orchestra conducted by Terry Williams, with the composer and Amy-Smith-Davie as keyboard soloists; 1988 - Stockhausen: opera "Montag von Licht" (Monday from Light), in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala; 1988 - Michael Torke: ballet "Black and White," at the New York State Theater, with the NY City Ballet Orchestra, David Alan Miller conducting; 1993 - Harrison Birtwistle: "Five Distances for Five Instruments," in London at the Purcell Room, by the Ensemble InterContemporain; 1998 - Joan Tower: "Tambor," by the Pittsburgh Symphony, Mariss Jansons conducting; 1999 - Robert X. Rodriguez: "Bachanale: Concertino for Orchestra," by the San Antonio Symphony, Wilkins conducting; Others 1747 - J.S. Bach (age 62) visits King Frederick II of Prussia at his court in Potsdam on May 7-8; Bach improvises on a theme submitted by the King, performing on the King's forte-piano; In September of 1747 Bach publishes a chamber work based on the royal theme entitled "Musical Offering." 1937 - The RKO film "Shall We Dance?" is released, with a filmscore by George Gershwin; This film includes the classic Gershwin songs "Beginner's Luck," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "They Can't Take That Away from Me" and an instrumental interlude "Walking the Dog" (released as a solo piano piece under the title "Promenade"). Links and Resources A BBC story on "Rehabilitating Salieri" On Anton Seidl On the Seidl papers at Columbia University

Synopsis “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Well, the usual reply is, “By practicing!” But back in 1891, Peter Tchaikovsky would have probably answered, “by ship”–since he had, in fact, sailed from Europe to conduct several of his pieces at the hall’s gala opening concerts. The first concert in Carnegie Hall, or as they called it back then, “The Music Hall,” occurred on today’s date in 1891, and included a performance of Tchaikovsky’s “Coronation March,” conducted by the composer. The review in the New York Herald offered these comments: “Tchaikovsky’s March... is simple, strong and sober, but not surprisingly original. The leading theme recalls the Hallelujah chorus, and the treatment of the first part is Handelian… Of the deep passion, the complexity and poetry which mark other works of Tchaikovsky, there is no sign in this march.” Oh well, in the days that followed, Tchaikovsky would conduct other works of “complexity and poetry,” including his First Piano Concerto. Tchaikovsky kept a travel diary and recorded these impressions of New York: "It is a huge city, not beautiful, but very original. In Chicago, I’m told, they have gone even further–one of the houses there has 21 floors!" Music Played in Today's Program Peter Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) Coronation March Boston Pops; John Williams, cond. Philips 420 804 Orchestral Suite No. 3, Op. 55 New Philharmonia; Antal Dorati, cond. Philips 464 747 On This Day Births 1819 - Polish composer Stanislaw Moniuszko, in Ubiel, province of Minsk, Russia; 1869 - German composer and conductor Hans Pfitzner, in Moscow, of German parents (Julian date: April 23); Premieres 1726 - Handel: opera "Alessandro," in London at King's Theater in the Haymarket, with the Italian soprano Faustina Bordini marking her London debut in a work by Handel (Gregorian date: May 16); 1917 - Debussy: Violin Sonata, in Paris, by violinist Gaston Poulet with the composer at the piano (his last public appearance); 1926 - Copland: Two Pieces ("Nocturne" and "Ukelele Serenade"), in Paris by violinist Samuel Dushkin with the composer at the piano; 1930 - Milhaud: opera "Christophe Colomb" (Christopher Columbus),at the Berlin State Opera; 1941 - Britten: "Paul Bunyan" (text by W.H. Auden) at Columbia University in New York City; 1945 - Barber: "I Hear an Army," "Monks and Raisins," "Nocturne,""Sure On This Shining Night," during a CBS radio broadcast, with mezzo Jennie Tourel and the CBS Symphony, composer conducting; 1946 - Douglas Moore: Symphony in A, in Paris; 1977 - George Crumb: oratorio "Star Child," by the New York Philharmonic, Pierre Boulez conducting; 1982 - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Symphony No. 1, at Alice Tully Hall in New York, by the American Composers Orchestra, Gunther Schuller conducting; This work won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983; 1987 - John Williams: "A Hymn to New England," by the Boston Pops conducted by the composer (recorded by the Pops and Keith Lockhardt ); 1991 - Joan Tower: "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman" No. 3(dedicated to Frances Richard of ASCAP), at Carnegie Hall, by members of the Empire Brass and the New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta conducting; 2000 - Christopher Rouse: "Rapture" for orchestra, by the Pittsburgh Symphony, Mariss Jansons conducting; 2001 - Christopher Rouse: "Rapturedux" cello ensemble, by the Royal Northern College of Music Cellists in Manchester (U.K.); Others 1891 - Carnegie Hall opens in New York City with a concert that included Beethoven's "Leonore" Overture No. 3 conducted by Walter Damrosch, and Tchaikovsky's "Marche Solennelle" (Coronation March) conducted by its composer. Links and Resources On Carnegie Hall On Tchaikovsky

Synopsis “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Well, the usual reply is, “By practicing!” But back in 1891, Peter Tchaikovsky would have probably answered, “by ship”–since he had, in fact, sailed from Europe to conduct several of his pieces at the hall’s gala opening concerts. The first concert in Carnegie Hall, or as they called it back then, “The Music Hall,” occurred on today’s date in 1891, and included a performance of Tchaikovsky’s “Coronation March,” conducted by the composer. The review in the New York Herald offered these comments: “Tchaikovsky’s March... is simple, strong and sober, but not surprisingly original. The leading theme recalls the Hallelujah chorus, and the treatment of the first part is Handelian… Of the deep passion, the complexity and poetry which mark other works of Tchaikovsky, there is no sign in this march.” Oh well, in the days that followed, Tchaikovsky would conduct other works of “complexity and poetry,” including his First Piano Concerto. Tchaikovsky kept a travel diary and recorded these impressions of New York: "It is a huge city, not beautiful, but very original. In Chicago, I’m told, they have gone even further–one of the houses there has 21 floors!" Music Played in Today's Program Peter Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) Coronation March Boston Pops; John Williams, cond. Philips 420 804 Orchestral Suite No. 3, Op. 55 New Philharmonia; Antal Dorati, cond. Philips 464 747 On This Day Births 1819 - Polish composer Stanislaw Moniuszko, in Ubiel, province of Minsk, Russia; 1869 - German composer and conductor Hans Pfitzner, in Moscow, of German parents (Julian date: April 23); Premieres 1726 - Handel: opera "Alessandro," in London at King's Theater in the Haymarket, with the Italian soprano Faustina Bordini marking her London debut in a work by Handel (Gregorian date: May 16); 1917 - Debussy: Violin Sonata, in Paris, by violinist Gaston Poulet with the composer at the piano (his last public appearance); 1926 - Copland: Two Pieces ("Nocturne" and "Ukelele Serenade"), in Paris by violinist Samuel Dushkin with the composer at the piano; 1930 - Milhaud: opera "Christophe Colomb" (Christopher Columbus),at the Berlin State Opera; 1941 - Britten: "Paul Bunyan" (text by W.H. Auden) at Columbia University in New York City; 1945 - Barber: "I Hear an Army," "Monks and Raisins," "Nocturne,""Sure On This Shining Night," during a CBS radio broadcast, with mezzo Jennie Tourel and the CBS Symphony, composer conducting; 1946 - Douglas Moore: Symphony in A, in Paris; 1977 - George Crumb: oratorio "Star Child," by the New York Philharmonic, Pierre Boulez conducting; 1982 - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Symphony No. 1, at Alice Tully Hall in New York, by the American Composers Orchestra, Gunther Schuller conducting; This work won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983; 1987 - John Williams: "A Hymn to New England," by the Boston Pops conducted by the composer (recorded by the Pops and Keith Lockhardt ); 1991 - Joan Tower: "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman" No. 3(dedicated to Frances Richard of ASCAP), at Carnegie Hall, by members of the Empire Brass and the New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta conducting; 2000 - Christopher Rouse: "Rapture" for orchestra, by the Pittsburgh Symphony, Mariss Jansons conducting; 2001 - Christopher Rouse: "Rapturedux" cello ensemble, by the Royal Northern College of Music Cellists in Manchester (U.K.); Others 1891 - Carnegie Hall opens in New York City with a concert that included Beethoven's "Leonore" Overture No. 3 conducted by Walter Damrosch, and Tchaikovsky's "Marche Solennelle" (Coronation March) conducted by its composer. Links and Resources On Carnegie Hall On Tchaikovsky

Synopsis At Queen’s Hall in London, on today’s date in 1920, conductor Albert Coates led the premiere of the revised version of the “London” Symphony of Ralph Vaughan Williams. A longer version of this Symphony had premiered six years earlier, and Vaughan Williams would continue to tinker with this work, on and off, for decades. “The London Symphony is past mending,” wrote Vaughan Williams in 1951, “though with all its faults I love it still; indeed, it is my favorite.” For most music lovers, Vaughan Williams means English folk tunes or hymns woven into lush works for strings, or musical pictures of English countryside… But it was a city view that inspired his “London Symphony,” described by Vaughan Williams himself as “a good view of the river and a bridge and three great electric-light chimneys and a sunset.” In fact, you could call the Vaughan Williams Second a “sunset” symphony. Its final pages were inspired by an H. G. Wells novel describing a night passage on the Thames to the open sea: “To run down the Thames so is to run one’s hand over the pages in the book of England from end to end... The river passes... London passes… England passes…“ Music Played in Today's Program Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958) A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2) London Symphony; Richard Hickox, cond. Chanos 9902 On This Day Births 1744 - Austrian composer of Spanish descent Marianne (Anna Katharina) von Martínez, in Vienna; She studied composition with Haydn, and Haydn and Mozart attended her musical soirées; 1860 - Austrian composer Emil Nikolaus Von Reznicek, in Vienna; 1905 - Hungarian-born British composer and teacher Mátyás(György) Seiber, in Budapest; Deaths 1604 - Italian composer and publisher Claudio Merulo, age 71, in Parma; 1955 - Rumanian composer Georges Enesco, age 73, late on May 3 or early on May 4, in Paris; Premieres 1795 - Haydn: Symphony No. 104, conducted by the composer, at the King's Theater in London; This symphony is sometimes nicknamed the "Salomon" Symphony, although it (along with Haydn's Symphonies 102 and 103) was in fact commissioned for and premiered at Viotti's Opera Concerts, not as part of the earlier series of Haydn concerts arranged by the impresario Salomon; 1895 - Dvorák: cantata "The American Flag," Op. 102, in New York; 1920 - Vaughan Williams : revised version of Symphony No.2 ("A London Symphony") at Queens Hall in London, conducted by Albert Coates; The first version of this symphony had premiered at Queen's Hall in London on March 27, 1914, conducted by Geoffrey Toye; A final (twice revised) version of this symphony was published in 1936; 1924 - Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 6, in Moscow; 1974 - Rautavaara: Flute Concerto, in Stockholm, with flutist Gunilla von Bahr and the Swedish Radio Symphony, Stig Westerberg conducting; 1976 - Bernstein: musical "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" at the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York City, conducted by Roland Gagnon; A trial run of this show had opened in Philadelphia at the Forrest Theater on February 24, 1976; 1976 - Sondheim: revue "Side by Side by Sondheim" (compiled from various Sondheim musicals by British singer-actor David Kernan and others); This revue opened on Broadway on April 18, 1977; 1989 - Joan Tower: "Island Prelude" for oboe and strings, by soloist Peter Bowman and the St. Louis Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting. Links and Resources Vaughan Williams Society Web site (biography, timeline, and more)

Synopsis At Queen’s Hall in London, on today’s date in 1920, conductor Albert Coates led the premiere of the revised version of the “London” Symphony of Ralph Vaughan Williams. A longer version of this Symphony had premiered six years earlier, and Vaughan Williams would continue to tinker with this work, on and off, for decades. “The London Symphony is past mending,” wrote Vaughan Williams in 1951, “though with all its faults I love it still; indeed, it is my favorite.” For most music lovers, Vaughan Williams means English folk tunes or hymns woven into lush works for strings, or musical pictures of English countryside… But it was a city view that inspired his “London Symphony,” described by Vaughan Williams himself as “a good view of the river and a bridge and three great electric-light chimneys and a sunset.” In fact, you could call the Vaughan Williams Second a “sunset” symphony. Its final pages were inspired by an H. G. Wells novel describing a night passage on the Thames to the open sea: “To run down the Thames so is to run one’s hand over the pages in the book of England from end to end... The river passes... London passes… England passes…“ Music Played in Today's Program Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958) A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2) London Symphony; Richard Hickox, cond. Chanos 9902 On This Day Births 1744 - Austrian composer of Spanish descent Marianne (Anna Katharina) von Martínez, in Vienna; She studied composition with Haydn, and Haydn and Mozart attended her musical soirées; 1860 - Austrian composer Emil Nikolaus Von Reznicek, in Vienna; 1905 - Hungarian-born British composer and teacher Mátyás(György) Seiber, in Budapest; Deaths 1604 - Italian composer and publisher Claudio Merulo, age 71, in Parma; 1955 - Rumanian composer Georges Enesco, age 73, late on May 3 or early on May 4, in Paris; Premieres 1795 - Haydn: Symphony No. 104, conducted by the composer, at the King's Theater in London; This symphony is sometimes nicknamed the "Salomon" Symphony, although it (along with Haydn's Symphonies 102 and 103) was in fact commissioned for and premiered at Viotti's Opera Concerts, not as part of the earlier series of Haydn concerts arranged by the impresario Salomon; 1895 - Dvorák: cantata "The American Flag," Op. 102, in New York; 1920 - Vaughan Williams : revised version of Symphony No.2 ("A London Symphony") at Queens Hall in London, conducted by Albert Coates; The first version of this symphony had premiered at Queen's Hall in London on March 27, 1914, conducted by Geoffrey Toye; A final (twice revised) version of this symphony was published in 1936; 1924 - Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 6, in Moscow; 1974 - Rautavaara: Flute Concerto, in Stockholm, with flutist Gunilla von Bahr and the Swedish Radio Symphony, Stig Westerberg conducting; 1976 - Bernstein: musical "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" at the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York City, conducted by Roland Gagnon; A trial run of this show had opened in Philadelphia at the Forrest Theater on February 24, 1976; 1976 - Sondheim: revue "Side by Side by Sondheim" (compiled from various Sondheim musicals by British singer-actor David Kernan and others); This revue opened on Broadway on April 18, 1977; 1989 - Joan Tower: "Island Prelude" for oboe and strings, by soloist Peter Bowman and the St. Louis Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting. Links and Resources Vaughan Williams Society Web site (biography, timeline, and more)

This week on The NOVA Podcast, Jeff Counts catches up with legendary composer Joan Tower to discuss her love for chamber music, her approach to mentoring young composers, and what new pieces she has in store.Joan Tower’s Wings will be performed by clarinetist Erin Svoboda on our next virtual concert, available for free beginning Friday, March 26. You can experience this and other concerts from NOVA Chamber Music series at https://www.novaslc.org.Joan Tower | guestJeff Counts | hostproduced by Chris Myers (https://www.argylearts.com)Copyright © 2021 NOVA Chamber Music Series. All rights reserved.

For most of the 20th century, women's history was almost totally ignored in American schools. To address this situation, an Education Task Force in Sonoma County, California, initiated a "Women's History" celebration in March of 1978. What began as an annual “Women’s History Week” grew over the years into a national celebration, and in 1987, Congress declared the whole of March to be Women's History Month. Appropriately enough, 1987 also saw the premiere performance of Joan Tower’s “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman” — music written for the same instrumentation as Aaron Copland’s famous “Fanfare for the Common Man.” Originally, Tower chose to let the title of her “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman” serve as a generic, built-in dedication to all the unsung heroes of women’s struggles past and present. But eventually, Tower added a specific dedication to the conductor Marin Alsop, a champion of new music. “I don’t think you can play a piece of music and say whether it’s written by a man or a woman,” says Tower. “I think music is genderless.” But festivals and celebrations of women in music remain important, in Tower’s view, in helping to get the word out about their accomplishments.

For most of the 20th century, women's history was almost totally ignored in American schools. To address this situation, an Education Task Force in Sonoma County, California, initiated a "Women's History" celebration in March of 1978. What began as an annual “Women’s History Week” grew over the years into a national celebration, and in 1987, Congress declared the whole of March to be Women's History Month. Appropriately enough, 1987 also saw the premiere performance of Joan Tower’s “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman” — music written for the same instrumentation as Aaron Copland’s famous “Fanfare for the Common Man.” Originally, Tower chose to let the title of her “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman” serve as a generic, built-in dedication to all the unsung heroes of women’s struggles past and present. But eventually, Tower added a specific dedication to the conductor Marin Alsop, a champion of new music. “I don’t think you can play a piece of music and say whether it’s written by a man or a woman,” says Tower. “I think music is genderless.” But festivals and celebrations of women in music remain important, in Tower’s view, in helping to get the word out about their accomplishments.

durée : 01:00:09 - En pistes, contemporains ! du dimanche 21 février 2021 - par : Emilie Munera - Au menu cette semaine : une oeuvre de Graciane Finzi en écho aux Sonates pour violon et piano de Brahms ; un opéra, Senza Sangue, composé et dirigé par Péter Eötvös ; trois pièces contemporaines de compositeurs norvégiens... - réalisé par : Cyrielle Weber

Man må sno sig når coronaen driller. Og det gør Athelas Sinfonietta ved at spille denne koncert i reduceret besætning og uden publikum. Det giver dig bl.a. mulighed for at høre Stravinskijs Sacre du Printemps i version for blæserkvintet, samt musik af Ligeti, Stéphane Bossard, Joan Tower og Bent Sørensen. Fløjte: Hélène Navasse. Obo: Liza Gibbs Fox. Klarinet: Anna Klett. Fagot: Signe Haugland. Horn: Thorbjørn B. Gram. (Koncertkirken, København 15. februar). Vært: Benedikte Granvig. www.dr.dk/p2koncerten

In the musical world, there are many creative people with innovative ideas, but far fewer with the ability and persistence to raise the funds necessary to realize their visions. Today, a tip of the hat to the late American composer John Duffy, who, in 1982, was President of Meet the Composer, an organization which secured funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and other foundations for a large-scale residency program that paired rising American composers with major American orchestras. The composers included John Corigliano, Joan Tower, Stephen Paulus, Christopher Rouse, Libby Larsen, and Alvin Singleton. Each wrote special works for their orchestras, works which were premiered and recorded as part of the program – a major career boost for any young composer. For example, Alvin Singleton was the composer chosen for the Atlanta residency, and on today’s date in 1988, that orchestra premiered his score entitled “After Fallen Crumbs.” The unusual title doesn’t refer to arts funding, however apt that may seem, but derives from an earlier choral piece by Singleton, whose text dealt with world hunger, and closed with the lines, “An ant can feed a family with the fallen crumbs of an elephant.”

In the musical world, there are many creative people with innovative ideas, but far fewer with the ability and persistence to raise the funds necessary to realize their visions. Today, a tip of the hat to the late American composer John Duffy, who, in 1982, was President of Meet the Composer, an organization which secured funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and other foundations for a large-scale residency program that paired rising American composers with major American orchestras. The composers included John Corigliano, Joan Tower, Stephen Paulus, Christopher Rouse, Libby Larsen, and Alvin Singleton. Each wrote special works for their orchestras, works which were premiered and recorded as part of the program – a major career boost for any young composer. For example, Alvin Singleton was the composer chosen for the Atlanta residency, and on today’s date in 1988, that orchestra premiered his score entitled “After Fallen Crumbs.” The unusual title doesn’t refer to arts funding, however apt that may seem, but derives from an earlier choral piece by Singleton, whose text dealt with world hunger, and closed with the lines, “An ant can feed a family with the fallen crumbs of an elephant.”

Our guest is Daniel Hege, the Special Guest Conductor for the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. We're pleased to welcome Hege back to StudioTulsa as he'll soon conduct the TSO in a Radio Broadcast Concert that will air later this month on our sister station, Classical 88.7 KWTU-FM. The pre-recorded, broadcast-only concert will be heard on Saturday the 28th (at 8pm), with a replay on Sunday the 29th (at 4pm). The program will include works by Tchaikovsky, Haydn, Joan Tower, and more.

Angel Fire is a village in the New Mexico Rockies that hosts an annual chamber music festival. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, Music from Angel Fire commissioned the American composer Joan Tower to write them a new work, which she titled “Angels”–a virtuosic String Quartet, her fourth, which received its premiere performance by the Miami String Quartet on today’s date in 2008. “Having written three prior quartets and gotten to travel extensively around the world of quartets,” wrote Tower, “I have come to love the way [they] are so deeply creative and passionate about the music they play. They are really like four ‘composers’ at work.” The title given the new piece is a nod to Angel Fire, New Mexico, of course, but Tower made it clear she had some other special angels in mind: six people who helped her younger brother George survive a major stroke. These were her sister, a former student named Erin, a doctor , a nurse, and a pair of real estate agents. All six appear on the score’s front page beneath her dedication, “to the ‘Angels’ who took care of my brother.”

Angel Fire is a village in the New Mexico Rockies that hosts an annual chamber music festival. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, Music from Angel Fire commissioned the American composer Joan Tower to write them a new work, which she titled “Angels”–a virtuosic String Quartet, her fourth, which received its premiere performance by the Miami String Quartet on today’s date in 2008. “Having written three prior quartets and gotten to travel extensively around the world of quartets,” wrote Tower, “I have come to love the way [they] are so deeply creative and passionate about the music they play. They are really like four ‘composers’ at work.” The title given the new piece is a nod to Angel Fire, New Mexico, of course, but Tower made it clear she had some other special angels in mind: six people who helped her younger brother George survive a major stroke. These were her sister, a former student named Erin, a doctor , a nurse, and a pair of real estate agents. All six appear on the score’s front page beneath her dedication, “to the ‘Angels’ who took care of my brother.”

This week we hear works by Philippe de Monte, William Lawes, Pieter Bustijn, Antonio Soler, Alexander Alyabyev, Amanda Röntgen-Maier, Peter Warlock, and Joan Tower. Week of June 08, 2020 – 128 Minutes

Joan Tower loves dancing. Joan and Kai talk about how growing up in Bolivia was the best thing that happened to her (4:50), the importance of having a sense of urgency (17:07), and her first terrible compositions at age 18 (24:23). They also discuss what kept her going through those first compositions (27) and what propels her to work at 81 years old (33:45).  

This episode features a conversation between Chamber Music America CEO, Margaret M. Lioi, and composer, pianist, and educator Joan Tower. Listen in as they discuss Tower's life and work that has made her one of the most important American composers living today. Joan Tower will receive the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award Visionary Award as part of CMA’s 2020 Conference, Music, Equity, and Our Future. For more information, visit http://conference.chamber-music.org. Music featured in this podcast: Joan Tower "Night Fields" performed by participants in the Britt Institute's String Quartet Academy.

durée : 00:25:11 - Joan Tower "Made in America" - par : Anne-Charlotte Rémond - Musicopolis plonge dans une oeuvre originale de la compositrice américaine Joan Tower (née en 1938). "Made in America" : Une commande de 65 orchestres pour célébrer la musique symphonique américaine d'aujourd'hui. - réalisé par : Philippe Petit

Ginger Minniman and Dory Ayres Wright State School of Music Women's Chorale Music: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No.7 by Joan Tower

This week, I have the incredible honor of welcoming renowned pianist Ursula Oppens to the show. A legend among American pianists, Ursula is widely admired for both her original and perceptive readings of new music, and for her knowing interpretations of the standard repertoire. As you'll hear in the episode, she's an incredibly passionate and wise musician!  Her and I covered several topics, from the reality of a career in music today, to how she approaches learning repertoire, and how she's stays focused in the practice room! In this episode, Ursula expands on: Her love of new music and how it developed early on in her life How she approaches bringing new music to life Why she doesn't think musicians should have a niche but should, instead, be interested in learning Her view of the musical landscape of today What improvisation can bring to our playing How she loves practicing (and I love that she said that so much!) How mental and muscle memory develop together Why she thinks it's important to memorize music in order to learn it better Her strategies to find energy, motivation, and focus to practice Why flexibility is a crucial skill to develop How a well-rounded education is also very helpful Her very wise piece of advice for young musicians Ursula is a force of nature and very generous with her insight. I know you'll love this discussion!     The Mind Over Finger Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtQSB1IVNJ4a2afT1iUtSfA/videos   Sign up for my newsletter to get your free guide to a super productive practice using the metronome!  This guide is the perfect entry point to help you bring more mindfulness and efficiency into your practice and it's filled with tips and tricks on how to use that wonderful tool to take your practicing and your playing to new heights! TURN THE METRONOME ON AND START PRACTICING BETTER AND LEARNING FASTER RIGHT NOW!  GET YOUR FREE METRONOME GUIDE TODAY! Click HERE or visit www.mindoverfinger.com!   MORE ABOUT URSULA: Website: https://colbertartists.com/artists/ursula-oppens/ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqj7e-6dIIBw2OkKmHxYItw   Ursula Oppens, a legend among American pianists, is widely admired particularly for her original and perceptive readings of new music, but also for her knowing interpretations of the standard repertoire. No other artist alive today has commissioned and premiered more new works for the piano. A prolific and critically acclaimed recording artist with five Grammy nominations, Ms. Oppens most recently released a new recording of Frederic Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated, nominated for a Grammy in 2016, and Piano Songs, a collaboration with Meredith Monk. Earlier Grammy nominations were for Winging It: Piano Music of John Corigliano; Oppens Plays Carter; a recording of the complete piano works of Elliott Carter for Cedille Records (also was named a “Best of the Year” selection by The New York Times long-time music critic Allan Kozinn); Piano Music of Our Time featuring compositions by John Adams, Elliott Carter, Julius Hemphill, and Conlon Nancarrow for the Music and Arts label, and her cult classic The People United Will Never Be Defeated by Frederic Rzewski on Vanguard. Ms. Oppens recently added to her extensive discography by releasing a two-piano CD for Cedille Records devoted to Visions de l'Amenof Oliver Messiaen and Debussy's En blanc et noir performed with pianist Jerome Lowenthal. Over the years, Ms. Oppens has premiered works by such leading composers as John Adams, Luciano Berio, William Bolcom, Anthony Braxton, Elliott Carter, John Corigliano, Anthony Davis, John Harbison, Julius Hemphill, Laura Kaminsky, Tania Leon, György Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski, Harold Meltzer, Meredith Monk, Conlon Nancarrow, Tobias Picker, Bernard Rands, Frederic Rzewski, Allen Shawn, Alvin Singleton, Joan Tower, Lois V Vierk, Amy Williams, Christian Wolff, Amnon Wolman, and Charles Wuorinen. As an orchestral guest soloist, Ms. Oppens has performed with virtually all of the world's major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), and the orchestras of Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco, and Milwaukee. Abroad, she has appeared with such ensembles as the Berlin Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Deutsche Symphonie, the Scottish BBC, and the London Philharmonic Orchestras.  Ms. Oppens is also an avid chamber musician and has performed with the Arditti, Cassatt, JACK, Juilliard, and Pacifica quartets, among other chamber ensembles. Ursula Oppens joined the faculty of the Mannes College of Music in the fall of 2017, and is a Distinguished Professor of Music at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. From 1994 through the end of the 2007-08 academic year she served as John Evans Distinguished Professor of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. In addition, Ms. Oppens has served as a juror for many international competitions, such as the Concert Artists Guild, Young Concert Artists, Young Pianists Foundation (Amsterdam), and Cincinnati Piano World Competition.   If you enjoyed the show, please leave a review on iTunes!  I truly appreciate your support! Visit www.mindoverfinger.com for information about past and future podcasts, and for more resources on mindful practice. Join the Mind Over Finger Tribe here!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindoverfingertribe/     THANK YOU: Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme!  Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson. Also a HUGE thank you to my fantastic producer, Bella Kelly!   MIND OVER FINGER: www.mindoverfinger.com https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/ https://www.instagram.com/mindoverfinger/    

Ginger Minniman and Dory Ayres Wright State School of Music Women's Chorale Music: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No.7 by Joan Tower

TBJ113: Rebecca Cherian on encouraging young women players, the importance of allies and the Bernstein Bounce. Rebecca Cherian is Co-Principal Trombone of the Pittsburgh Symphony. From her bio: Rebecca Cherian was awarded the position of co-principal trombone of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra by Lorin Maazel in 1989. She has been trombone instructor at Carnegie Mellon University since 1993. Cherian was a founding member of the International Women’s Brass Conference in 1994 and served as the IWBC Newsletter Editor for five years.  As a California native, Cherian began her professional career at the age of 16 as trombonist with the San Jose Symphony under the direction of George Cleve. At the age of 17, she appeared as a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony as a result of winning First Prize in their Young Musicians’ Awards. Cherian earned her Bachelor of Music Degree from the California Institute of the Arts and her Master of Music Degree from the Yale School of Music. While in school she was awarded First Place in the Atwater Kent Brass Competition and Outstanding Chamber Music Performer at Yale. She studied with Miles Anderson, Robert Szabo, and John Swallow. Before becoming a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Cherian held positions of principal trombone with the Springfield Symphony in Massachusetts and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. She was trombone instructor at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, the Hartt School of Music and Wesleyan University. As a freelance artist, she toured with the Israel Philharmonic under the Direction of Leonard Bernstein, performed with the Boston Opera, New York City Ballet, Hartford, New Haven, and Vermont Symphonies and Goodspeed Opera House. In September 1993, Cherian enjoyed the honor of performing at the White House in Washington, D.C. as part of a 15-woman ensemble of brass and percussion players for the opening reception of the Annual International Women’s Forum. The group performed the world premiere of Joan Tower’s fanfare, Celebration, which was dedicated to Hillary Clinton. Cherian appears regularly as a soloist and master class Clinician at the IWBC. Cherian released her second solo CD, “L’Invitation au Voyage,” in 2015. Both her first CD, “Water Awakening,” and “L’Invitation au Voyage.” are available through cdbaby.com or amazon.com. She can also be heard on “From the Back Row,” a recording on Albany Records of the Low Brass Section of the Pittsburgh Symphony and numerous recordings of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons and Manfred Honeck. In this fun and lively discussion, we cover: The dramatic Rebecca/Becky controversy Playing with the PSO The recent PSO concert at Lincoln Center in NYC Technical difficulties Becky still has a home phone (thankfully!)! The state of the PSO How social media played a part in getting the word out about the PSO player's positions Her first gig was in San Antonio Symphony at 16 years of age Losing her slide story Women in the career field, how things have changed and what work there still is to do The importance of building allies in a group How to coach and encourage young women players (and the men too!) Diversity issues in general Picking the instrument in school, despite trombone not being a "girl's" instrument Soloing with the San Francisco Symphony at 17 Lance's monumental frack  Playing under Bernstein with the Isreal Philharmonic on tour in Mexico and Texas (and learning Rite of Spring and bass trumpet in one day) Meeting Bernstein Bernstein falling off the podium (and bouncing back), AKA the "Bernstein Bounce" Herp Alpert Playing at the White House Links: PSO Bio CMU Bio Shires Trombone Artist Page Becky's CD Baby store From the Back Row CD (with the PSO low brass section) Want to help the show? Here are some ways: Help others find the show by leaving a rating and review on iTunes. Show us some love on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Help us pay the bills (and get regular bonus episodes!) by becoming a Patreon patron. Show some love to our sponsors: The brass program at The Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University and Parker Mouthpieces (including the Andrew Hitz and Lance LaDuke models.) Tell your friends! Expertly produced by Will Houchin with love, care, and enthusiasm.

In this episode, I chat with Marina Thibeault, solo violist and chamber musician.  We discuss mindfulness, presence, and efficiency in the practice room, the importance of letting the music sing when we play, and her upcoming new recording featuring works by women composers.  Her and I also have a little surprise for our French speaking listeners: we will continue the discussion in French following the English!  Marina's approach to music making is authentic and fresh, and her insight on musicality is spot on!  I'm sure you will enjoy her point of view and get a lot of value from this episode! Marina elaborates on: Her beginnings on the violin, deeply rooted in French Canadian folk music How yoga was an integral part of her violin routine from the very beginning Her studies, from the Quebec Conservatory to the Curtis Institute, studying with Michael Tree When and why she switched to viola Her work with a sport psychologist How she plans her practice How knowing yourself is important in planning your work How planning helps her being more present in her practice and keeps her focused What being present in the practice room means to her: listening and singing Her advice on how to start listening to ourselves How working on musicality is more like “option adventure” rather than “problem-solving” How it was to work with Michael Tree – how he trusted and nurtured all of his students, and how he was teaching “a lifestyle” How she picked the pieces for her upcoming album: all written by female composers How she feels there's a need for more room for female composers How she practiced creativity and feeling free in the practice room in preparation for her first album How being a good human is good!

Flute 360 | Episode 33: “An Interview with Nicole Chamberlain” (32:14) In today’s episode, Heidi talks with Nicole Chamberlain who is a flutist and a composer who resides in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S.). She received her Bachelor’s in Music Composition from the University of Georgia. To read Nicole’s full biography, please click here. Episode 33 – Main Points: 1:03 – Nicole’s Background 1:48 – Nicole has written for larger ensembles, too! 2:54 – Question: Why did you choose the flute? 3:31 – “The clarinet was available to me at the time.” – Nicole 6:10 – “I sing, and I use a keyboard for pitch references and harmonies.” – Nicole 6:49 – Question: What inspired you to start composing? 7:07 – “I thought movie composing was the way to go.” – Nicole 9:17 – Composing for animation was an experience. 9:49 – Question: What’s your compositional process like? 10:29 – Nicole answers the question. 11:27 – “I start improvising.” – Nicole 12:00 – Commissioned works. 13:10 – A piece for tuba and fixed media (electronics) by Nicole. 14:04 – Seeing the process/piece unfold from start to finish is exhilarating. 14:33 – “That is the payoff for me – hearing my piece played live.” – Nicole 14:49 – A story about John Mackey. 15:39 – Heidi’s composition friend. 16:23 – Nicole playing with Dr. Mary Matthews. 17:18 – Question: Do you have a composition that is your all-time favorite? 17:32 – Nicole answers the question. 17:45 – Three-Nine Line for flute and piano (flute sonata) 18:31 – Orchestral work: Ogeechee by Nicole 19:17 – Elizabeth Gilbert’s book: Big Magic 20:03 – Question: For the budding new composer what advice would you give them? 20:20 – “Write everyday even when it doesn’t sound good.” – Nicole 21:14 – “Write for yourself.” – Nicole 21:40 – Advice from Joan Tower. 22:00 – “Organize your website via instrument.” – Nicole 22:43 – “Wail!” for Flute and Trombone 23:16 – “It’s hard to use your imagination if you use a MIDI file.” – Nicole 23:40 – Heidi’s creative student. 25:52 – “It’s a whole process and being patient with yourself.” – Nicole 25:58 – “I have a hard time calling myself a composer, because it seems a bit too much.” – Nicole 26:08 – Picks! Picks: Nicole Aaron Copland’s Autobiography in 2 volumes: 1900-1942 and Since 1943 Website:Mymusicstaff.com Heidi Essential Oils: Lemongrass Clary Sage Episode 33 – Resources Mentioned: Nicole Chamberlain’s Website Nicole Chamberlain’s YouTube Channel Nicole Chamberlain’s Album Nicole Chamberlain’s Album via iTunes Heidi Kay Begay’s Website J&K Productions’ Website 

Conductor and Composer Jack Stamp shares his story, including his early musical education and the people and experiences that contributed to his remarkable career. Topics: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity”: Jack’s education and eclectic musical background including the story about how and why he taught himself to play the piano from popular music lead sheets. How an experience playing the Persichetti Symphony for Band in high school taught Jack to listen beyond his own part as a percussionist and hear what everyone else in the band was doing. Jack’s first teaching job, how that experience taught him about teaching and dealing with students, and what he misses about teaching at the high school level. The story of the Gavorkna Fanfare and how the “Gavorkna Factor” changed Jack’s career. Links: Jack Stamp Stamp: Gavorkna Fanfare “Why Music Matters” Persichetti: Symphony for Band Vaughn Williams: Symphony no. 5, Third Movement Prayers for a Troubled Nation Biography: Dr. Jack Stamp is currently adjunct Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where he teaches conducting. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Stamp served as Director of Band Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania for 25 years. In addition, he served as chairperson of the music department for six years. He holds a DMA degree in Wind Conducting from Michigan State University where he studied with Eugene Corporon. Prior to his retirement from IUP, he served as chairman of the Division of Fine Arts at Campbell University in North Carolina. He also taught for several years in the public schools of North Carolina. In addition to these posts, Dr. Stamp served as conductor of the Duke University Wind Symphony (1988-89) and was musical director of the Triangle British Brass Band, leading them to a national brass band championship in 1989. Dr. Stamp's primary composition teachers have been Robert Washburn and Fisher Tull, though he was strongly influenced by his music theory teachers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and East Carolina. Other studies include work with noted American composers David Diamond, Joan Tower and Richard Danielpour. He is active as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and composer throughout North America and Great Britain. His compositions have been commissioned and performed by leading military and university bands across the United States. He has won the praise of American composers David Diamond, Norman Dello Joio, Ron Nelson, Michael Torke, Samuel Adler, Robert Ward, Robert Washburn, Fisher Tull, Nancy Galbraith and Bruce Yurko for performances of their works. He is also a contributing author to the "Teaching Music Through Performance in Band" series released by GIA Publications. In 1996, he received the Orpheus Award from the Zeta Tau Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha for service to music and was named a "Distinguished Alumnus" of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 1999, he received the "Citation of Excellence" from the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association. In 2000, he was inducted into the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. He was awarded the title of "University Professor" for the 2008-2009 academic year at IUP. This is the highest award the university gives to a professor.  

Grammy-winning composer, pianist and conductor, Joan Tower, has been said to be “one of the most successful women composers of all time” by The New Yorker. This year she's celebrating her 80th birthday and we're celebrating by talking with her about her most memorable works and stories. The Grammy-award winning Made in America made the cut and you'll be surprised by Joan's insight on how the piece came to be. Hosted by Seth Boustead Produced by Sarah Zwinklis Music Fanfare No. 1 for the Uncommon Woman Marin Alsop, Conductor; Colorado Symphony Orchestra Black Topaz Laura Flax, Clarinet; Patricia Spencer, Flute; Deborah Moore, Jonathan Haas, Percussion; Stephen Gosling, piano; Mike Powell*, trombone; Chris Gekker, trumpet Silver Ladders Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor Petroushskates Eighth Blackbird Made in America Nashville Symphony; Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Flute 360 | Episode 9: “An Interview with Carol Wincenc” (25:44) In September of 2017, Carol Wincenc visited the Texas Tech University’s School of Music. During her residency, Heidi interviewed the “Queen of the flute” (New York Magazine) and asked her questions about artistry, flute tone, and much more! Episode 9 – Main Points: Introduction Question 1 (1:07) Carol’s fine arts background: ballet & theater Pursue your dream! (2:23) Family’s musical background (2:54) Giving back to the community (3:21) Finding your niche (3:51) Inner calling (4:07) Carol’s son, Nicola Wincenc (5:28) Carol’s father was a violinist (6:14) Core of the sound (7:34) Flute sonorities (8:41) Visual art (9:54) Performing on stage (10:32) We are always learning! (11:54) Christopher Rouse’s Flute Concerto (12:59) Joan Tower’s Rising (15:16) Lukas Foss’ Renaissance Concerto (16:28) Living in Rome, 1966-1967 (18:16) Final question (21:22) Being of service (22:55) Episode 9 – Resources Mentioned: Carol Wincenc’s Website Christopher Rouse’s Flute Concerto Joan Tower’s Rising Lukas Foss’ Renaissance Concerto Heidi Kay Begay’s Information: Website: https://heidikaybegay.com E-mail: heidikaybegay@gmail.com Flute 360's Sponsor: J&K Productions

Today in 1987, Joan Tower premiered her composition Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman.  The work, by one of the foremost American composers at the end of the twentieth century--male or female--is a direct response to Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. On today's "A Classical Day in the Life", we explore Tower's work and the uncommon woman to whom it's dedicated.  

Composers like Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Bartók and have sought to musically depict their environs for centuries. How are landscapes, both urban and pastoral, being represented musically today? Hosted by Seth Boustead Produced by Jesse McQuarters David Sampson: Grant Park from Chicago Moves Gaudete Brass Toshio Hosokawa: Landscape V (excerpt) Munich Chamber Orchestra/Alexander Liebreich; Mayumi Miyata, sho Peter Sculthorpe: From Oceania New Zealand SO/James Judd Michael Daugherty: George Washington fr. Mount Rushmore Pacific Symphony/Carl St. Clair Joan Tower: Big Sky Chee-Yun, v.; André Emelianoff, vc.; Joan Tower, p.; John Luther Adams: The Far Country of Sleep (excerpt) Cabrillo Music Festival Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta Christopher Tin: Haf Gengr Hriðum (The Storm-Driven Sea) Royal Philharmonic & Schola Cantorum/Christopher Tin Pierre Jalbert: Glass is a Place fr. Icefield Sonnets Ying Quartet

Christopher Grymes of Open G Records speaks with Joan Tower about music, process and life in general

A percussion quintet with Victor Nava, Scott McAuliffe, Daniel Eisenberg, Jamie Lew and Wyatt Harmon perform this piece by Joan Tower.