How do you experience music in a concert setting? Do you watch the bows of the violins slide up and down? Do you watch the conductor frantically wave his arms in the air? Do you watch the soloist of the concerto piece? Or… do you close your eyes and just listen? (more…)
I am always one for supporting my fellow students, musicians, and artists when it comes to performances and shows. Ever since last year’s Dominant 7 concert featuring student composers, I’ve had a new found respect for music composition. Talking to my peers in the music program at the Aaron Copland School of Music, I’ve come to realize exactly how rigorous a music career is, and how complex the writing process can be. Tonight’s concert, presented by the Queens College New Music Group, featuring Talujon (a professional percussion ensemble) did not disappoint! The group mentored Queens College composition students for the past several weeks of this semester, culminating with the amazing feat of writing sixteen phenomenal works of art! I was, yet again, blown away by the talented musicians and composers that my school fosters. (more…)
LeFrak Concert Hall’s tracker organ is not merely a pretty backdrop for band and orchestra concerts, operas, and choirs. With 49 pipe groupings, each containing 56 notes, the musical giant hides 2744 pipes behind it’s decoratively elaborate exterior! Having only heard this particular instrument once, accompanying a Woman’s Choir concert, I was excited to see the American Guild of Organists‘ flier hanging around the Aaron Copland School of Music, inviting everyone to a concert dedicated to organ music composed by J.S. Bach.
John A. Wolfe
Prelude and Fugue in A Major, BWV 536
Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541
Janet Chung
Trio Sonata No. 6 in G Major, BWV 530
Vivace
Lento
Allegro
Joyce Chen
Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 879
From the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II
Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 547
Eric Birk
Trio Sonata No. 5 in C Major, BWV 529
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Noriko Kumada
Prelude and Fugue in E-Flat Major, BWV 552
From the Claveir-Übung III (more…)
How many times have I mentioned her name at this point? At least three (Forum, Women’s Choir, Bach Mass)? Well, she has obviously caught my attention and remained on my radar. Grace Kahl is a graduating vocal student here at Queens College at the Aaron Copland School of Music, under the direction of vocalist Dr. Sherry Overholt. Having previously attended Boston 
Conservatory, she realized that she could get a lot more “bang for her buck” at our extremely prestigious CUNY music school. This evening was Grace’s graduation recital, and having seen fliers hanging up around the music building, I thought I would go – especially since I’ve been done with finals for two days and have absolutely nothing to do! I also went to support my private clarinet teacher, Alejandro Ceballos, as he accompanied her and pianist Miori Sugiyama in Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (or in English, Shepherd on the Rock). Back in high school, I played the piano accompaniment to this piece as well (you can check out my performance on Marina’s Performances page, or on YouTube)!
Jesse Blumberg (baritone), Nathan Carlisle (tenor), Grace Kahl (soprano), James John (conductor), Sachie Ueshima (soprano), Sarah Rose Taylor (mezzo-soprano)
At the end of every year, for 72 years to be precise, the Queens College Choral Society puts on a tremendous concert featuring singers and instrumentalists. For their 72nd Annual Spring Concert, the society chose J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor (BMV 232). Five vocalists were featured (Sachie Ueshima, Grace Kahl, Sarah Rose Taylor, Nathan Carlisle, and Jesse Blumberg), as well as a myriad of instrumentalists. (more…)
I’ve been to a myriad of concerts this year, and several of them have been performed by Queens College’s Women’s Choir led by Sandra Babb. Tonight’s concert in particular was very interesting as the pieces were split up into four distinct groups: Songs of Faith and Praise, Songs of Distant Lands, Songs of Loss and Love, and Songs of Life and Hope. Along with some of their usual songs (This Little Light of Mine) were some fairly new and eccentric pieces that I’d like to have you all listen to and enjoy.
I. Songs of Faith and Praise
Laudate Pueri Dominum … Felix Mendelssohn
Kristen Cho, Organ
My last mention of the Queens College Orchestra was back during my first semester here. It was then led by Maestro Maurice Peress, but because of his sabbatical, is now being led by various guest conductors. The repertoire from tonight’s concert, conducted by JoAnn Falletta is also being performed tomorrow, conducted by Tong Chen and Alex Yu.
June 2011 … Edward Smaldone
Concerto for English Horn and Orchestra … Ned Rorem
Preamble and Amble
Love Letter
Recurring Dream
Perpetual Motion
Medley and Prayer
Scheherazade … Rimsky-Korsakoff
The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship.
The Kalendar Prince.
The Young Prince and The Young Princess.
Festival at Baghdad. The Sea. The Ship breaks against a cliff.
After a full day of volunteering – handing out stickers and making arts and crafts – at the Museum of Natural History for WNET’s PBS show Sid the Science Kid, I went with my parents to a concert at The Church of St. Ignatius of Antioch in the Upper West Side. The concert was titled “La Flor de España,” featuring the choral group Polyhymnia, a group that sings early choral music. There was also an organist, Sarah Davies, who played several “interesting” pieces. Not only were the composers featured in this concert of Spanish origin – like me – but they were from one of my favorite musical time periods – 13th to 16th century! (more…)
And here’s the second opera I went to this past weekend: L’Incoronazione di Poppea! Before starting with a summary, describing the set, or raving about the music and talent, I want to give the photography credit to Sean Moonsammy – a student at the Aaron Copland School of Music as well as one of the leads (Ottone) in the Thursday and Saturday performances of the opera. (more…)
It’s been such a horrific day outside. I woke up this morning seeing snow on the ground, but by the time I first stepped foot out of doors at 9:30, all the snow had been washed away by cold, puddly rain. The sky was gray with no hope of letting the sun peak through. It was a slow day filled with napping, moping, and moaning about the hundreds of pages I needed to read for class. I had no plans for the evening, and was hoping for something interesting to happen.
Who knew there was a concert tonight at LeFrak Concert Hall? I definitely didn’t! Luckily, in calling a friend, I found out that a visiting school was planning on performing with our own Queen’s College Women’s Choir. Due to the inclement weather, 
however, the concert was pushed to 6:00 instead of 7:30, leaving me in a rush without dinner.
As I approached the Aaron Copland School of Music, I saw young girls in black dresses rushing to the front doors with their camera phones out. Were they excited to see someone coming to their concert? I didn’t realize, though, that they had never seen snow before! These children are from Florida, a place where snow never falls. They were in a winter wonderland!
Now, what is the Gulf Coast Youth Choir?
Founded in 1992 by Dr. Lynne Gackle, the choir is a not-for-profit, choral arts organization for young people in the Tampa Bay and surrounding metropolitan area. This community is dedicated to excellence in the performance of choral music and to the creation of an environment which fosters musical development.
Within this Youth Choir, there were various small groups – the Voce di Vita, Mannchor, Girl Choir, and Le Petit Choeur. They each had their moment to shine, and I shall highlight one song from each group. (more…)
I believe this guitar recital was last minute in every sense – as of last week, my cousin (Zeke Bardash who’s a classical guitar performance major at the Aaron Copland School of Music) wasn’t even sure there would be one! And with 
regards to me, I woke up at 6:30 today after a nap and planned to regretfully skip it, but thanks to some pushy parents made it there just in time! (more…)
The name “Vienna Boys Choir” is somewhat of a misnomer today. Though the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle is still based in Vienna, the boys that sing in the choir come from all over the world and are not all genuine Viennese children – one of the singers today even comes from Virginia! That being said, I find the history of the group very interesting. Did you know that these young boys used to be shielded away from public eye, only to perform for the imperial court? This was the case all the way up until 1918! Though that is almost 100 years ago, it’s relatively recent in a historical perspective. Today, the boys are split up into groups of 25 and travel the world to perform for the general population. (more…)
Quick fun fact from WQXR: Did you know that “carols” were not originally songs that people sung going from door to door on Christmas? In the 12th century, carols weren’t even choral songs at all, but dances! What one can learn when being softly lulled to sleep by classical radio!
What I’m really here for today is not to talk about the history of the carol, but to talk about the Holiday Gala at the Aaron Copland School of Music presented by the CSCDC (Classical Singers Career Development Club) and NAfME (National Association for Musical Education). The cabaret style performance included many musical numbers including vocal pieces, instrumental, and even a cappella groups! Raffles were available to raise money for victims of Super Storm Sandy – gift cards to music stores, tickets to comedy shows, and even an iPad! (more…)
The Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela was founded in 1975 by economist and conductor Jose Antonio Abreu, who said, “An orchestra means joy, motivation, teamwork, [and] the aspiration to success.” This orchestra comprises more than 200 musicians ages 18-28, representing the most polished students who learned music through El Sistema – the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela. Much more than a music education program, El Sistema is a visionary global movement based on Maestro Abreu’s philosophy that learning music as a collective practice can teach youth values and skills that will help them achieve their full potential in life. The program currently serves 400,000 people across Venezuela, 75% of whom live below the poverty line. There are a growing number of programs modeled after El Sistema in the US.
The above blurb came from the KidsNotes activity booklet that I received earlier today at the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra performance at Carnegie Hall. The concert was geared towards young children. One piece, La Conga del Fuego Nuevo by Arturo Marquez, introduced the different instrument families to the audience as they passed a melody back and forth between the various instruments. Here is the full program (click to hear!): (more…)
Dominant 7 is an initiative at the Aaron Copland School of Music to have undergraduate and graduate composition students have their pieces performed in front of a live audience. There are six recitals every year featuring various student artists. On December 7, at 7:00 PM in the LeFrak Concert Hall, Vanessa Carmela, Anthony Izzo, Michael Lofaso, Britlin Losee, Ely Moskowitz, George Weisman, and Andrew Whitbeck were spotlighted. These students range from 19 to 27 years, showing that compositional talent has no age. The pieces performed were extremely varied in terms of for whom they were written. There were vocalists, violinists, flautists, pianists, and even a marimba player! (more…)
