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Stories for August 26, 2019

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    Women Warriors: The Voices of Change releases; Chapter 6 - 'Yearning to Breathe Free'
     
    Posted At : August 25, 2019 12:00 AM

    Women Warriors: The Voices of Change multimedia concert performed by Orchestra Moderne NYC, under the direction of Amy Andersson, features the music of eight renowned female film composers and presents 800 years of women fighting for human rights and equality. This 80-minute interactive experience is a socially and culturally relevant world premiere concert which includes historical visuals from the past to present day. Women Warriors: The Voices of Change celebrates the strength and heroism of female global activists fighting for human, civil, and minority rights, environmental causes, and gender equality. Orchestra Moderne NYC and Conductor/Producer Amy Andersson team with composers Nathalie Bonin, Miriam Cutler, Anne-Kathrin Dern, Sharon Farber, Mandy Hoffman, Penka Kouneva, Starr Parodi, and Lolita Ritmanis, who together have created a rich and cinematic orchestral experience in seventeen world premiere pieces that inspire hope and courage for women and girls around the world. Special guest artists include; Afghan rapper/songwriter Sonita Alizadeh, fifteen year old singer/songwriter Isolde Fair, and violinist Nathalie Bonin. Iranian human rights activist and author Masih Alinejad is the honored guest speaker. Featured Podcast for Week 8.26.2019 is 'Chapter 6: 'Yearning to Breathe Free' with music by Sharon Farber Sharon Farber is a four time Emmy Award Nominated Film, TV and concert music composer. A graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and a member of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Farber is the recipient of a 'Society of Composers and Lyricists Award,' a 'Visionary Award In Music,' and a 'Telly Award.' Farber is a true believer in Hans Christian Andersen's quote; "When words fail, music speaks" and she is honored to be a part of the Women Warriors, Voices of Change concert and it's historical importance. Always drawn to human stories, she feels privileged to be able to musically communicate the teaching and moral of these narratives and shine light on the human experience. For Chapter Six - 'Yearning to Breathe Free,' Farber composed "Hurryiah-Wind in My Hair ", honoring Masih Alinejad and the struggle for freedom by the women of Iran. Farber says; "To feel the 'Wind in my hair' is such a simple request and yet in many parts of the world, this plea is denied." The piece was a musical opportunity for Farber to create a fusion of Middle Eastern rhythms combined with the rich sound of the orchestra, and one female voice asking for freedom. Join us at New York's Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center - September 20 2019 at 8:00pm for this historical and stunning concert experience which celebrates the strength and heroism of female global activists fighting for human and civil rights, environmental causes, and gender equality. The opening theme music for this podcast was provided by Penka Kouneva This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation. CLICK HERE FOR Medium POST

  • The Carr-Petrova Duo #50Days4Refugees releases 'The Ramazanis'
     
    Posted At : August 24, 2019 12:00 AM

    The Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project, created and directed by the Carr-Petrova Duo, is a project designed to give voice and visibility, through music and film, to the lives and struggles of both local and international refugee communities, and to encourage audiences and artists alike to become connected and involved. Since August 2018, it has brought free, interactive classical music concerts and workshops to displaced populations while increasing awareness of and raising support for both U.S.-based and international refugee-aid programs.    From August 12th to October 1st, 2019, The Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project, and the Carr-Petrova Duo are launching #50Days4Refugees - a social media campaign which walks through our past year of travels with the Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project from start to finish. We are releasing a single story/image/clip a day in order to give our followers the chance to virtually travel with us, meeting and engaging with the people, places, life-stories, cultures, music, and organizations we encountered along the way. Follow us daily as we share our journey and highlight the activities, strengths, and specific needs of the organizations we partnered with - along with what we learned about ways anyone anywhere can get involved.    Day 13: "The Ramazanis"    One of the goals of this project was to immerse ourselves in and learn from all of the different types of music we came in contact with along our journey. These little musical glimpses into other cultures served as the inspiration for the project's commissioned work Novel Voices by our project's composer, Fernando Arroyo Lascurain (coming out soon on our Novel Voices album!).    Please enjoy this clip of our new friends, the Ramazanis, singing a song from their native country: Congo. We had a blast breaking apart the rhythms in this song during our musical workshop, in order to build an entirely new rhythmic piece by overlapping and clapping the different rhythms simultaneously and polyphonically. (And let it be known: the Ramazanis put these conservatory-trained musicians to shame with their complex rhythmic abilities!!)  (LAUGHING/CRYING EMOJI) 

  • Sharon Fendrich's 'Red Sky Prairie' is full of lush, passionate melodies / OREGON JEWISH LIFE
     
    Posted At : August 23, 2019 12:00 AM

    Sharon Fendrich's debut new age/neo-classical album Red Sky Prairie has been submitted by a member of the Recording Academy for consideration for the New Age Grammy 2020. With deep roots in Portland's Jewish community, Sharon was profiled in Oregon Jewish Life's January 2016 issue 2016. Her children Talia and Max attend religious school at Neveh Shalom, where the family are members. Sharon serves on the steering committee of Chevra Kavod haMet. Her in-laws, Mimi and Bob Epstein, are long time members of Havurah Shalom. "Since I was a child it has been the music and song in a Jewish service that has given me the strongest sense of connection with my community," says Sharon. "I can always feel the strength, hope and healing that chanting together brings to the sacred space. This power of music is what inspires me to compose and share my music." Sharon released her self-produced debut album, Red Sky Prairie, on Aug. 1, 2019. Grounded in classical and inspired by new age, the 11 tracks are full of lush, passionate melodies. The album features Sharon on piano, along with four Dutch soloists: violinist Wilfred Sassen, cellist Joep Willems, flautists Helen Hendriks and Ies Muller, and Russian vocalist Anna Emelyanova. Within the five tracks containing lyrics, Sharon uses five languages including Esperanto. READ THE FULL OREGON JEWISH LIFE 

  • PublicRadio90: Classiclectic cracks open the brilliantly performed Camerata Chicago - Vivaldi Four Seasons
     
    Posted At : August 23, 2019 12:00 AM

    In this Classiclectic Connection, we crack open an educational recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, brilliantly performed by seventeen year old violinist Amelia Piscitelli and Camerata Chicago conducted by Drostan Hall. This Double CD set is replete with poetry written by Vivaldi himself and incorporates more than twenty musical examples of seasonal elements and characters cleverly depicted in the music - all beautifully narrated by Steve Robinson of WFMT radio station fame. PublicRadio90: Michigan's Kurt Hauswirth had an opportunity to speak with Drostan about the experience of putting together this first-ever education recording of The Four Seasons. LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

  • The Carr-Petrova Duo #50Days4Refugees releases 'The United Nations'
     
    Posted At : August 23, 2019 12:00 AM

    The Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project, created and directed by the Carr-Petrova Duo, is a project designed to give voice and visibility, through music and film, to the lives and struggles of both local and international refugee communities, and to encourage audiences and artists alike to become connected and involved. Since August 2018, it has brought free, interactive classical music concerts and workshops to displaced populations while increasing awareness of and raising support for both U.S.-based and international refugee-aid programs.    From August 12th to October 1st, 2019, The Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project, and the Carr-Petrova Duo are launching #50Days4Refugees - a social media campaign which walks through our past year of travels with the Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project from start to finish. We are releasing a single story/image/clip a day in order to give our followers the chance to virtually travel with us, meeting and engaging with the people, places, life-stories, cultures, music, and organizations we encountered along the way. Follow us daily as we share our journey and highlight the activities, strengths, and specific needs of the organizations we partnered with - along with what we learned about ways anyone anywhere can get involved.    Day 12: "The United Nations"   The path of bringing this project to life ended up being a unique mixture of blood, sweat and tears - often feeling like every fiber of the world around us was resisting any tiny step ahead, relentlessly attempting to hold us back - together with shockingly uplifting moments of almost absurd amounts of support just dropped on us out of the blue.    One of these absurd moments came when we received a call from the Assistant General Secretary at the United Nations and International Affairs asking if we would like to come speak about our Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project and perform a concert inspired by the 10 Acts for the Global Compact on Refugees and Migrants, in celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights in NYC (to which we said - YES!!!!!!). Having the chance to perform for and later speak with and get to know an audience filled with NGO's from around the world - all doing much-needed work in the world of refugees - lifted our hearts and spirits, and proved also to be very useful in connecting us with a support system for the various unexpected needs that popped up throughout the remainder of our year of travels (such as calling up HER ROYAL HIGHNESS Elizabeth of the Danish-German royalty to help us find a Danish-Arabic-English translator last-minute from her castle on the Baltic Sea… - Whaaaaaaa????!!! YUP! That really happened!!!! We're still picking our jaws up off the ground a year later after that one!). (SURPRISE EMOJI) It was quite heartening and encouraging to know that we were connected to a network of humans doing beautiful things all around the world every moment of every day - ready at a moment's notice to jump to one another's aid.    Today's clip is taken from our closing selection from that evening's performance at the United Nations: a meditative excerpt taken from the "Quartet for the End of Time" - a piece written by Olivier Messaien while he was imprisoned in a German POW camp during the Second World War. Rather than close this concert with a standard and expected rousing or virtuosic final selection, we instead chose to end with a contemplative musical prayer which blended both Messaien's dreams of a more just society in a time after the end of Time, together with the injunction of the 10th Act in the Global Compact on Refugees and Migrants - which seeks to one day build a rights-based world which eliminates the reasons behind humans becoming refugees, and one which offers the possibility of free, voluntary, protected, transparent, and accountable global migration.   

  • History forgot these female composers. Laura Karpman is helping us remember / Los Angeles Times
     
    Posted At : August 22, 2019 12:00 AM

    American composer Anita Owen wrote her biggest hit song, "Sweet Bunch of Daisies," in 1894. She was 20 at the time, a student at a convent outside Terre Haute, Ind. According to a 1910 article on female composers in the San Francisco Call, Owen self-published the song for less than $50. That investment paid off when the song became a hit, selling more than a million copies. According to the San Francisco Call, a "practically penniless convent girl" was transformed into a woman with "fame and fortune" whose bank account "fell only a little short of the hundred-thousand-dollar mark." If you've never heard of Owen or any of the 200-plus songs she composed during her successful career, you're not alone. "I don't want to call it a conspiracy, because I don't think it's done on purpose, but there is this falling away of women artists and artists of color that needs to stop and be corrected," says composer Laura Karpman. History may have forgotten many of them, she says, but women and people of color have always composed music. In what she calls a "small little act of course correction," Karpman is premiering an overture Thursday night at the Hollywood Bowl that incorporates melodic snippets from patriotic songs by Owen and two other early 20th century American female composers, Mildred Hill and Emily Wood Bower. The new orchestral piece, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and titled "All American," features percussion instruments crafted out of kitchen tools like baking sheets and meat tenderizers, a nod to the domestic work that historically defined so many women's lives. "It's about amplifying women," composer Laura Karpman says of her new piece "All American," a Los Angeles Philharmonic commission to be performed Thursday at the Hollywood Bowl.   PHOTO: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times READ THE FULL Los Angeles Times ARTICLE

  • John Coltrane's 'Blue World' now soon to be available / Atlanta Black Star
     
    Posted At : August 22, 2019 12:00 AM

    John Coltrane recorded at least three albums in 1964. Two of them were released and are now considered masterpieces, while one of them never saw the light of day. The LPs that hit store shelves were the late jazz saxophonist's "Crescent" and "A Love Supreme," and the unreleased album called "Blue World" will now be available to consumers for the first time. John Coltrane's album "Blue World" will be released for the very first time. The album was recorded in June of 1964 in engineer Rudy Van Gelder's New Jersey studio, in between the "Crescent" and "A Love Supreme" sessions. The 37-minute offering was made to be a soundtrack for Canadian filmmaker Gilles Groulx's film "d Le chat dans le sac" "(The Cat in the Bag)." But only 10 minutes of the session was used in the film toward the end, and it's never been put on an album. The new release is said to be mastered directly from the original analog tape as well. "Blue World" will be released by Coltrane's label Impulse!/UME, and it'll also feature the classic quartet, which consists of Coltrane, McCoy Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums and Jimmy Garrison on bass. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} READ THE FULL Atlanta Black Star ARTICLE

Top 10 for Aug

  • Sharon Isbin, Pacifica Quartet :

    Souvenirs of Spain and Italy

     Pacifica Quartet and Guitarist Sharon Isbin Offer ‘Souvenirs of Spain and Italy' on Cedille Records In their first collaboration on disc, the artists play works for guitar and strings by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Vivaldi, and Boccherini   The Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet and multiple Grammy-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin join forces for Souvenirs of Spain & Italy, an uncommon album of music for strings and guitar from the Baroque to the mid-20th century.
  • Jon Batiste :

    Anatomy of Angels

     In the fall of 2018, pianist and bandleader Jon Batiste played a six-night residency at the historic Village Vanguard in downtown New York City.
  • Philip Bailey :

    Love Will Find A Way

     Philip Bailey, the legendary falsetto voice, Grammy Award winner and co-founder of Earth, Wind & Fire announces his upcoming solo album Love Will Find A Way via Verve Records on June 21 with the release of the first single "Billy Jack," which he co-produced with Robert Glasper.
  • Nicola Benedetti :

    Marsalis -Violin Concerto in D, Fiddle Dance Suite

     Nicola Benedetti's new album on Decca Classics features premiere recordings of two works written especially for her by jazz musician Wynton Marsalis: Violin Concerto in D and Fiddle Dance Suite for Solo Violin.
  • Carr-Petrova Duo :

    Novel Voices

     The Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project, created and directed by the Carr-Petrova Duo, is a project designed to give voice and visibility, through music and film, to the lives and struggles of both local and international refugee communities, and to encourage audiences and artists alike to become connected and involved.
  • elbow :

    Dexter & Sinister

     British rock band elbow return with ‘Dexter & Sinister' - an exact seven minutes of new music, an epic melding of ominous, creeping grooves and deity denying lyrics that bursts into a sweeping second phase of lament and redemption.
  • Cast Albums :

    Oklahoma

     In 1943, Decca Broadway released the first-ever cast album of all time.
  • Cast Albums :

    Tootsie

     In 1943, Decca Broadway released the first-ever cast album of all time.
  • John Coltrane :

    Blue World

      In 1964, the National Film Board of Canada asked John Coltrane to record the soundtrack for a French-language film titled "Le chat dans le sac" ("The Cat in the Bag").
  • Laurence Hobgood :

    t e s s e t e r r a

     The Laurence Hobgood Trio with string quartet ETHEL "Two impressive things stand out: how enormous his arrangements make the string quartet sound, and how fluidly these seven musicians blend together.

Lara Downes & Hila Plitmann at Comunity makes LA Weekly's '12 best music shows this week in L.A.'

Posted: May 17, 2019 12:00 AM | By: Admin
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On her latest album, Holes in the Sky, pianist Lara Downes surrounds herself with an impressive lineup of special guests who help her cover music from across a variety of genres by such disparate women composers as Janis Ian, Clara Schumann, Georgia Stitt, Eve Beglarian, Joni Mitchell and Paola Prestini. Folk legend Judy Collins anoints the piano reverie "Albatross" with her trademark vocal grace, and Carolina Chocolate Drops' Rhiannon Giddens imbues Downes' spare, flickering piano accents with an intimate, jazzy warmth. Downes' other collaborators include Leyla McCalla, Alicia Hall Moran, and soprano Hila Plitmann, who was an eerie presence at L.A. Phil's 2017 presentation of Annie Gosfield's War of the Worlds. At Comunity, Plitmann joins the pianist for a celebration of the new album - and of the spirit of women musicians - that includes performers from the Colburn School.
-Falling James

SEE THE LA Weekly PAGE

Crossover Media Projects with Lara Downes

  • Lara Downes

    Holes In the Sky

    On March 1, 2019, American pianist Lara Downes releases her new album, Holes in the Sky, on Portrait, an imprint of the Sony Music Masterworks label.

    Holes in the Sky is a genre-fluid collection of music written and performed by today's leading female artists, celebrating the contributions of phenomenal women to the past, present, and future of American music.

    The music of Holes in the Sky tells the story of what women and girls can contribute to the world when they are given a chance - their dreams can make holes in the sky. Lara collaborates with an extraordinary multi-generational group of female guest artists on this album, including the iconic singer / songwriter Judy Collins, boundary-breaking violinist Rachel Barton Pine, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, fast-rising cellist Ifetayo Ali-Landing, and the urban youth vocal ensemble Musicality.

    The album is presented in direct support of PLAN International Because I Am A Girl, bolstering the rights and empowerment of girls and young women around the globe; Women's Empowerment in Sacramento, ending homelessness one woman - and one family - at a time; the Downtown Women's Center in Los Angeles, a permanent and supportive housing and healthcare provider for women; Girls on the Run in Spokane, teaching life skills through fun, engaging lessons that celebrate the joy of movement; and the Lower East Side Girls Club, breaking the cycle of poverty by training the next generation of ethical, entrepreneurial, and environmental leaders.

  • Lara Downes

    for lenny

    Lara Downes' new album For Lenny celebrates the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein with a special friends-and-family tribute to the man behind the music. The recording features Bernstein's aptly-named Anniversaries for Piano, new arrangements of his songs, and world premieres of works dedicated to Bernstein by leading American composers including Stephen Sondheim, John Corigliano, and Stephen Schwartz. The album is introduced by an essay from acclaimed writer Adam Gopnik.

  • Lara Downes

    America Again

    Pianist Lara Downes releases a solo album, America Again, worldwide on Sono Luminus on October 28, 2016. The album's title is taken from Langston Hughes' poem, Let America Be America Again, written in 1938. America Again features twenty pieces selected by Downes that explore the elusive but essential American dream, written by composers including Duke Ellington, Lou Harrison, Morton Gould, Amy Beach, George Gershwin, Angélica Negrón, Dan Visconti, Leonard Bernstein, Scott Joplin, Irving Berlin, Florence Price, Aaron Copland, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and more.

    26 NEW  67 TOTAL
    SYND:     NPR/First Listen, Classical 24, CBC
    Direct: SiriusXM, MOOD, AccuRadio
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Portland, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Denver, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Austin, Hartford, KS(Network), IN(Network), IA(Network), Canada 
    Online: The Rehearsal Studio, Second Inversion, Passion Musique et Culture, I CARE IF YOU LISTEN, therumpus, Sacramento Bee  

  • Lara Downes

    A Billie Holiday Songbook

    In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Billie Holiday's birth, Lara Downes releases: A Billie Holiday Songbook on Steinway & Sons Records, A personal tribute to this sensitive, timeless icon of American music.Radiant. Intimate.

    Lara Downes grew up listening to Holiday's recordings with her father, born and raised in Harlem. Trained in the conservatories of San Francisco, Paris, Vienna and New York, Downes acknowledges that Holiday's singing has been a lifelong influence. "As a musician, I learned from Billie Holiday to make something completely personal when you make music," she says. "something that is completely your own - maybe something unexpected, something indefinable, perhaps complicated, but beautiful. To take a chance. As the song says: "But beautiful to take a chance, and if you fall, you fall. And I'm thinking I wouldn't mind at all."

    20 NEW   49 Total
    SYND:     PRI/Classical 24
    Direct: Music Choice
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Houston, Austin, St. Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, Madison WI, Canada
    Online: Taintradio, Classical Candor, AXS, Party934

  • Lara Downes

    13 WAYS of Looking at the Goldberg

    In June of 1955, Glenn Gould made his groundbreaking recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations for Columbia Records, rescuing the Goldbergs from obscurity in one of the most significant classical recordings of a generation. Critically acclaimed pianist Lara Downes will be breaking ground of her own when Tritone Records releases her new CD 13 WAYS of Looking at the Goldberg, a fascinating new take on Bach's masterpiece. In an extraordinary coincidence of fate and timing, Lara's recording of her new Goldberg project took place over the same four days in June as Gould's historic 1955 sessions.

    11 New 'ON' this week: 93 Total
    Synd: NPR/Sunday Baroque, The Romantic Hours, PRI/Classical 24, Harmonia, Galaxy
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Seattle, Atlanta, Baltimore, St. Louis, Houston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, Berkeley CA, San Antonio, Louisville, Purto Rico
    Online: Live 365, RadioIO, Taintradio, Crystal Ball Report
  • Lara Downes

    Exiles Cafe

    Pianist Lara Downes is known for her fusing of rare pianistic sensitivity and evocative, thought-provoking concepts. Her latest album, Exiles' Café-released on the Steinway & Sons label [30016] -- is the result of a moment of inspiration after hearing a lovely little piece entitled Tango from the Exiles' Café. Downes fantasized about this café and created a narrative around it, which she describes as "both real and metaphorical." This album captures the pain, nostalgia, and freedom that are indelibly tied to this state of being-in exile. Featuring miniature works by composers such as Chopin, Milhaud, Bartok, Weill, and including a premiere work by Mohammed Fairouz, Exiles' Café goes beyond an examination of what is to be in exile, to consider the inspiration exiled composers drew from the musical communities they found in their new homes. Because in this sense, the exiles cafes were actual places – there were indeed such locations throughout history to which composers and musicians gravitated and found each other, and they and their music were influenced accordingly.

    17 New 'ON'   183 Total
    SYND:     PRI/Classical 24, The Romantic Hours
    Direct: SiriusXM, Music Choice, MOOD, Spafax
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Dallas, Houston, Cleveland, Atlanta, St. Louis, Seattle, Minneapolis, Portland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Denver, New Orleans, San Antonio, Memphis, Columbus OH, Buffalo, Louisville, Madison WI, Honolulu
    Online: Taintradio, RadioIO, WGOE