| WE WON!! |
MONADNOCK MUSIC WINS 2008 CMA/ASCAP AWARD FOR
ADVENTUROUS PROGRAMMING OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
Five presenters and six ensembles from the East and West Coasts were recognized with CMA/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming at the Chamber Music America National Conference earlier this year. The awards are given jointly by Chamber Music America and ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). Given annually, the awards recognize ensembles, presenters, and festivals that have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to 20th- and 21st-century music, especially works written in the past 25 years. In addition to considering the applicants' originality in programming choices, the independent panel of judges looked for innovative presentation and audience-development strategies.
"Since its earliest years, Chamber Music America has supported the commissioning and performance of music by composers of our time," commented Margaret M. Lioi, Chief Executive Officer of Chamber Music America. "CMA and ASCAP have collaborated on these awards for over 20 years, and we hope that bringing attention to contemporary music in this way has stimulated its creation and performance. Chamber Music America is grateful to ASCAP for its support of this awards program, and we are happy to join them in applauding the achievements of this year's winners."
Among the awardees was Monadnock Music in the category of:
Presenter/Festivals: Ten or More Concerts
"We are thrilled to receive this overdue recognition for many years of thoughtful new music programming at Monadnock Music. At this juncture, as flutist Laura Gilbert and I take over the directorship, it's nice to get this endorsement, as this kind of programming is what we're committed to in the future," says Music Director, Jonathan Bagg, himself a renowned violist, and member of Ciompi Quartet. "Festivals like ours are a conduit to the listening public for what's new and interesting out there in the music world, and when you do it well, your concerts should push the boundaries of what people think that music can be, and in a way that's exciting and memorable."
|
| Allan Ware and
Ciompi Quartet |
 |
That's our Music Director and Ciompi Quartet violist, Jonathan Bagg, on the right, in this divine photo by Pollert! That's clarinetist, Allan Ware, on the left. Ware, Bagg, and Ciompi Quartet appear in this summer's festival througout the season - you'll be blown away, too!
|
|
| WHAT A SEASON! |
Dear Friends of Monadnock Music,
Once again this summer, Monadnock Music will fill the churches and meetinghouses of the region with free concerts of superb chamber music. At Peterborough's air-conditioned Town House, our ticketed concerts range from solo recitals to orchestra concerts, from the greatest classics to our popular "out of the box" programs. With four to five concerts a week, including 18 free concerts in historic venues in different towns around the region, we are one of New England's busiest festivals, and we truly have something for everyone!
- Jonathan Bagg and Laura Gilbert, Music Directors
UPCOMING SEASON HIGHLIGHTS! (At the Peterborough Town House, all at 8PM, unless otherwise noted):
James Bolle is our Conductor and Composer-in-Residence! On Saturday, July 12th, Maestro Bolle conducts our Serenades program, focusing on the rich, sonic possibilities of chamber music by Mozart, Stravinsky, Debussy, and Brahms. Maestro Bolle's Week begins Sunday, July 27th, with a piano recital by Konstantin Lifschitz, and ends Saturday, August 2nd, with James Bolle and The Festival Orchestra, featuring both Konstantin and cellist, Rafael Popper-Keizer.
07/09/08 - Leslie Amper (Piano Recital Series). This spectacular program, The Sound of Color - Debussy and the Visual Arts, provides a chance to see, hear and ponder the ties between musical and visual impressionism, featuring Ms. Amper on piano, and discussion by Art Historian, Ann Allen.
07/13/08, 4PM - Borromeo String Quartet. The Boston Globe cites Borromeo as four "strong virtuoso personalities blended into a vivid collective identity." We couldn't have said it better ourselves! This performance features the works of Schumann, Bartok, and Bruckner, with our Music Director Jonathan Bagg playing viola.
07/19/08 - Birth of the Modern, featuring four brilliant episodes from the brief, but momentous, era in which musical romanticism turned the sharp corner toward modernism.
07/20/08, 4PM - Rieko Aizawa (Piano Recital Series). So sayeth the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, "Who could have imagined the resonant brilliance of sound, the controlled fire, the nuanced articulation and variety of color Aizawa unleashed." Ms. Aizawa performs the works of Mozart, Takemitsu, Chopin and Messiaen.
07/26/08* - Ancient Voices, focusing on music rooted deeply in ancient culture and in the natural world. Featuring virtuoso oud musician and composer, Rahim AlHaj, with flutist David Weiss performing traditional Celtic music. Modern voices, Crumb, Messiaen and Vali weave some of these ancient strands into their music. (Follow the asterisk for information on another event this night!)
07/30/08 - Parthenia (a consort of viols), featuring the musical works of Shakespeare, Donne and Blake, in a program entitled When Music and Sweet Poetry Agree. With actor, Paul Hecht, and soprano, Ellen Hargis.
08/03/08 - Chamber Masterpieces, featuring Ciompi Quartet and Monadnock Musicians, and the music of Britten, Debussy, and Schubert.
08/08/08 - Through the Mirror, celebrating Elliott Carter's 100th birthday; a FREE concert, featuring "A Mirror on Which to Dwell," and works by his contemporaries, including Monadnock Music's James Bolle. The evening begins at 7PM with an introductory talk by Lloyd Schwartz.
08/09/08 - On The Beaten Path, featuring a Percussion Discussion at 5PM, and the performance at 8PM, featuring David Schotzko, Douglas Perkins and Nathan Davis. Audience participation will abound!
08/17/08 - Dreams and Prayers, featuring the works of Pärt, Schoenfeld, Bach, Shapey, Brahms, and Golijov, with music of deep introspection spanning nearly 300 years. Vocalists Ilana Davidson and Elizabeth Shammash sing Bach, Brahms and Shapey, with Osvaldo Golijov's famous klezmer-inspired quintet finishing the program. What a way to end the season!
*After the performance, Harlow's (across the street) features the Birch Benders, and our own David Weiss (flute), Kevin Kuhn (guitar), and Ciompi Quartet's Hsiao-mei Ku, playing there in a STRING SMACKDOWN! Don't worry - it's a jam session to be enjoyed by all, where bluegrass and classical musicians play together!
GIBBONS PLAYS GOLDBERG VARIATIONS AT ALL SAINTS CHURCH, PETERBOROUGH, Thursday, August 14th, 8PM!
Monadnock Music welcomes harpsichordist, John Gibbons, for a free concert featuring Bach's Goldberg Variations. John has appeared throughout North America, Europe and Australia as a soloist and chamber musician. He has performed with renowned chamber music societies in Boston, Houston, and the like, and performed at the Festival dei Due Mondi of Spoleto, Italy, among many others. John has recorded for the Arabesque, Centaur, and RCA Victor labels, to name but a few. We welcome this renowned musician and his unique talents.
|
Saturday, August 16th: Tenor, Philippe Castagner, performs Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin for Monadnock Music's Summer Festival, with pianist Jane Hawkins!!
Canadian-American tenor, Philippe Castagner, is recognized for his beautiful and natural sound, as well as for a fresh and appealing presence on symphonic, operatic, and recital stages. Born in Canada and raised in New Jersey, Mr. Castagner joined The Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in 2002 and made his Metropolitan Opera debut that season as the First Prisoner in Fidelio and, later, as Beppe in I Pagliacci. Since then, he has appeared with the New York City, Portland, and Granite State Opera companies, the New York Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh, Dallas, and American Symphony Orchestras, and he has performed in recitals at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, the 92nd Street Y, Washington's Terrace Theater, and Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
"His voice is beautiful, light and shimmering with subtlety. He's no crooner though, and he can rattle the rafters with the best of them. But it is his quieter, more emotional singing that is his best feature. He phrases instinctively and gorgeously, and he has the big breath to make this phrasing possible." - The Post and Courier
"Mr. Castagner is one of the most promising tenors since the late Alfredo Kraus. The manner is fresh, appealing, and winning, the voice saucy, wide-ranging, flexible....It was moving to see a few old-timers rush to the footlights (like people used to do more often) to cheer the young singer. They were on to something: with luck and the right opportunities, Mr. Castagner could be a major tenor of his generation."
- The New York Sun
|
|
Tickets are on sale and this season's programming is phenomenal!
We can't wait to see you, and appreciate your attendance and your interest. Your ongoing contributions enable us to continually bring you music in myriad venues, and unparalleled by any other festival. Monadnock Music personnel are happy to take your ticket orders and answer any questions you may have. We can be reached at (603) 924-7610, or (800) 868-9613, or mm@monadnockmusic.org.
Warmest regards,
|
|
