Presenter: Boston Modern Orchestra Project (Roslindale, MA) Artist: Thomas Oboe Lee (Roslindale, MA) / Artist: Lewis Spratlan (Roslindale, MA)
Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) is widely recognized as the premiere orchestra in the United States. Each season, BMOP presents new works and re-discovered “classics” of the 20th century. With this in mind, they’ve invited composers Thomas Oboe Lee and Lewis Spratlan to collaborate with the orchestra. In addition to public concerts, both artists will lead special workshops for teenagers in Dorchester and the Boston Arts Academy.
Presenter: Bowdoin International Music Festival (Brunswick, ME) Artist: Don Freund (Bloomington, IN)
Bowdoin International Music Festival will present musician, composer, and educator, Don Freund, to participate in their upcoming season. Freund will perform a new work during the Festival’s Upbeat! Concert series, preceded by a short introductory discussion with the audience. In addition, Freund will be in a three-week residency to provide individual lessons to ten emerging composers in the Festival’s renowned compositions program. The composer will also lead three different master classes for the general public.
Presenter: Cantata Singers (Cambridge, MA) Artist: Andy Vores (Boston, MA)
Cantata Singers’ long line of commissioned choral works continues with Andy Vores’ Natural Selection, a celebration of the natural world and of Charles Darwin, whose 200th birthday is in 2009. Vores will have the opportunity to connect with fourth grade students from the Neighborhood House Charter School through the Cantata Singers’ in-school music composition program. The composer will use student melodies as the basis for his own setting. The NHCS students will perform this composition work along with the Boston Children’s Chorus.
Presenter: International Festival of Arts & Ideas (New Haven, CT) Artist: Phil Kline (New York, NY)
The International Festival will present three performances of the world premiere of Really Real, a dance and music collaboration using only the human body and voice. Phil Kline, a composer known for using instrumentation in his work, will compose an entirely a capella piece to complement the dance movement. In addition to an open rehearsal and working with a youth chorus, the composer will lead a discussion describing his process of creating original music and composing for dance choreography.
Presenter: Judy Dworin Performance Project, Inc (Hartford, CT) Artist: Leslie Bird (Hartford, CT)
As a dance and theater artist, Judy Dworin is interested in creating a form that blends dance, text, story, and song in an approachable way. To complement this philosophy, Judy Dworin’s Performance Project will host songwriter Leslie Bird in their collaborative piece Dreamings. Bird will be creating songs based on her experience as a teaching artist-in-residence at York Correctional Institution. Multiple residencies, talk-back sessions, study guides, and school and public performances are planned throughout the area.
Presenter: Litchfield Performing Arts (Litchfield, CT) Artist: Avery Sharpe (Amherst, MA)
Bassist, composer, and educator Avery Sharpe will compose a new work performed by an all-bass ensemble during his residency at the Litchfield Jazz Camp. In addition, Mr. Sharpe will coach a combo ensemble, lead theory classes, give master classes, participate in History of Jazz sessions, and perform for students, parents, and the general public during the 14th Annual Litchfield Jazz Festival.
Presenter: New Hampshire Theatre Project (Portsmouth, NH) Artist: Randy Armstrong (Dover, NH)
As a special component of their 20th Anniversary season, New Hampshire Theatre Project has commissioned Randy Armstrong to create an original score for the Senior Youth Repertory Company's full-length production of Hamlet. The score will be performed by the composer and a senior student from a local high school. The composer will also lead a workshop for aspiring composers and improvisational musicians and will assist with a workshop entitled Rhythms of Shakespeare.
Presenter: Stonehill College (Easton, MA) Artist: Gwyneth Walker (Braintree, VT)
Stonehill College will host composer Gwyneth Walker to highlight their Concentration in Music program. Her performance will serve as a catalyst for the growth and development of the course. Ms. Walker will lead a three-day residency, where students will observe rehearsals and participate in master classes. Her visit will culminate in a concert which will serve as the Spring 2009 piece on their Nakamichi Fine Arts Series.
Presenter: Waterbury Symphony Orchestra (Waterbury, CT) Artist: Ysaye Barnwell (Washington, DC)
Waterbury Symphony Orchestra (WSO) has invited Dr. Ysaye Barnwell, a member of vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, to perform a commissioned piece, Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem. The cantata will be the setting for a poem about the life of an 18th century African American enslaved in a household in Waterbury, CT. Due to the historical and political nature of the performance, WSO has planned numerous outreach activities, including lectures hosted by historians and anthropologists, a choral workshop and community sing-a-long, a pre-concert lecture, and post-concert Q&A and reception.
Presenter: Wesleyan University Center for the Arts (Middletown, CT) Artist: Barbara Croall (Milton, Ontario)
Wesleyan University Center for the Arts is piloting a project entitled Feet to the Fire: Exploring Global Climate Change from Science to Art. They are commissioning Native American composer Barbara Croall to compose a new work, Messages, inspired by the issues surrounding global climate change. The work will be developed and performed by the Wesleyan University Orchestra. The commission is one part of a residency that will also include a Music Department colloquium, discussions with high school students, a symphonic workshop, and world premiere of the piece.
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