The Well-Tempered Ear
The UW-Madison’s Wingra Wind Quintet performs a FREE online virtual concert this Wednesday night. Plus, local music critic Greg Hettmansberger has died
4 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
NEWS ALERT: Local music critic and blogger Greg Hettmansberger (below) was killed in a car accident on Dec. 2, near Wichita, Kansas. Hettmansberger, 65, was driving when he hit a deer and then another car hit him. His wife survived but remains hospitalized in Wichita in critical condition. Here is a link to a news account: https://www.kake.com/story/42993718/man-dies-in-crash-caused-by-deer-in-pratt-county
By Jacob Stockinger
This Wednesday night, Dec. 9, the UW-Madison’s Wingra Wind Quintet (below, in 2017) will perform a FREE virtual online concert from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Here is a direct link to the pre-recorded video premiere on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/e1NhVZJW2cA
Due to the pandemic, the Wingra Wind Quintet has been unable to perform chamber music in a traditional way since March 2020. (You can hear the quintet play “On, Wisconsin” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
In response, the quintet put together a program that allowed each member to record parts separately and have those parts edited together.
Current faculty members (below) are: Conor Nelson, flute; Lindsay Flowers, oboe; Alicia Lee, clarinet; Marc Vallon, bassoon; and Devin Cobleigh-Morrison, horn
The engineer/producer is Kris Saebo.
The program is:
The first piece “Allegro scherzando” from Three Pieces by Walter Piston (below, 1894-1976)
The Chaconne from the First Suite in E-flat for Military Band by Gustav Holst (below, 1874-1934)
“Retracing” by Elliott Carter (below, 1908-2012)
Selections from “Mikrokosmos” by Bela Bartok (below, 1881-1945)
“A 6 letter letter” by Elliott Carter
Intermezzo from the First Suite in E-flat for Military Band by Gustav Holst
“Esprit rude/esprit doux” by Elliott Carter
Since its formation in 1965, the Wingra Wind Quintet at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music has established a tradition of artistic and teaching excellence.
The ensemble has been featured in performance at national conferences such as MENC (Miami), MTNA (Kansas City), and the International Double Reed Society (Minneapolis).
The quintet also presented an invitational concert on the prestigious Dame Myra Hess series at the Chicago Public Library, broadcast live on radio station WFMT.
In addition to its extensive home state touring, the quintet has been invited to perform at numerous college campuses, including the universities of Alaska-Fairbanks, Northwestern, Chicago, Nebraska, Western Michigan, Florida State, Cornell, the Interlochen Arts Academy, and the Paris Conservatoire, where quintet members offered master classes.
The Wingra Wind Quintet has recorded for Golden Crest, Spectrum, and the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music recording series and is featured on an educational video entitled Developing Woodwind Ensembles.
Always on the lookout for new music of merit, the Wingra has premiered new works of Hilmar Luckhardt, Vern Reynolds, Alec Wilder, Edith Boroff, James Christensen and David Ott. The group recently gave the Midwest regional premiere of William Bolcom’s “Five Fold Five,” a sextet for woodwind quintet and piano, with UW-Madison pianist Christopher Taylor (below).
New York Times critic Peter Davis, in reviewing the ensemble’s Carnegie Hall appearance, stated “The performances were consistently sophisticated, sensitive and thoroughly vital.”
The Wingra Wind Quintet is one of three faculty chamber ensembles in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music.
Deeply committed to the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea, the group travels widely to offer its concerts and educational services to students and the public in all corners of the state. (Editor’s note: For more about the Wisconsin Idea, which seems more relevant today than ever, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Idea.)
Portions of this recording were made at the Hamel Music Center, a venue of the Mead Witter School of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tags: #20thCentury, #AlecWilder, #AliciaLee, #AmericanComposer, #BelaBartok, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CarnegieHall, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoIllinois, #ChicagoPublicLibrary, #ChristopherTaylor, #ClarinetMusic, #ConcertSeries, #ConorNelson, #ConservatoiredeParis, #CornellUniversity, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DavidOtt, #DevonCobleigh-Morrison, #DoubleReed, #EdithBoroff, #ElliottCarter, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyConcert, #FloridaStateUniversity, #FluteMusic, #GoldCrestRecords, #GregHettmansberger, #GustavHolst, #HamelMusicCenter, #HilmarLuckhardt, #HomeState, #husband-and-wife, #InterlochenArtsAcademy, #InternationalDoubleReedSociety, #JacobStockinger, #JamesChristensen, #KansasCity, #KrisSaebo, #LindsayFlowers, #LiveBroadcast, #MarcVallon, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiamiFlorida, #MilitaryBand, #MinneapolisMinnesota, #ModernMusic, #MusicCritic, #MusicEducation, #Musicfaculty, #MusicReview, #MyraHess, #NationalConferences, #NewMusic, #NewWorks, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkTimes, #NorthwesternUniversity, #OnlineConcert, #ParisConservatory, #ParisFrance, #RecordedMusic, #RegionalPremiere, #SarasotaFlorida, #SpectrumRecords, #TheEar, #TheUW, #ThreePieces, #UniversityofAlaska-Fairbanks, #UniversityofChicago, #UniversityofNebraska, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VerneReynolds, #VirtualConcert, #WalterPiston, #WesternMichiganUniversity, #WFMTRadioStation, #WichitaKansas, #Wikipediaentry, #WilliamBolcom, #WindMusic, #WingraWindQuintet, #WisconsinIdea, #WoodwindInstruments, #WoodwindMusic, #YouTubevideo, 2020, 20th-century, accident, Alaska, Alec Wilder, Alicia Lee, allegro scherzando, American, American composer, artistic, Arts, audience, auto, automobile, band, Bartok, Bassoon, bassoonist, Béla Bartók, blog, blogger, Bolcom, Boroff, Broadcast, Campus, Carnegie Hall, Carter, chaconne, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Public Library, Christensen, Christopher Taylor, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical music, college, Colleges and Universities, composer, Concert, concert series, condicition, Conor Nelson, Conservatoirre de Paris, Cornell University, coronavirus, critical, current, dame, David Ott, death, deer, Devin Cobleigh-Morrison, died, direct, double reed, drive, edited, Edith Boroff, Elliott Carter, engineer, ensemble, ever, excellence, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, faculty, Fairbanks, feature, Florida State University, flowers, flute, flutist, formation, forward, France, free, Gold Crest Records, Greg Hettmansberger, Gustav Holst, Hamel Music Center, Hilmar Luckhardt, Holst, Home, Horn, horn player, hornist, Hospital, hospitalized, husband, ILLINOIS, Interlochen Arts Academy, intermezzo, International Double Reed Society, invitational, Jacob Stockinger, James Christensen, Kansas, Kansas City, killed, Kris Saebo, Lee, letter, like, Lindsay Flowers, link, live, local, Luckhardt, Madison, Marc Vallon, march, master class, masterclass, Mead Witter School of Music, merit, Miami, Michigan, Midwest, Mikrokosmos, military, military band, Minneapolis, modern music, Music, music critic, Music education, music faculty, music review, Myra Hess, national conferences, Nebraska, Nelson, new, New Music, new works, New York, New York City, New York Times, Northwestern University, Oboe, oboist, On, online, Ott, pandemic, Paris, Paris Conservatory, parts, perform, performerance, Pianist, Piano, pieces, Piston, post, posting, pre-recorded, premiere, premiered, prestigious, producer, program, public, quintet, recorded, recorded music, regional, regional premiere, relevant, response, Reynolds, sare, selections, sensitive, separately edit, sophisticated, Spectrum Records, spirit, state, Suite, survive, tag, Taylor, teaching, The Ear, Three Pieces, today, together, tour, touring, traditional, travels, United States, universities, university, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, University of Chicago, University of Nebraska, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, update, UW, UW-Madison, Vallon, venue, Verne Reynolds, video, virtual, vital, Walter Piston, way, Wednesday, Western Michigan University, WFMT, Wichita, wife, Wikipedia, Wilder, WILLIAM BOLCOM, wind music, Wingra Wind Quintet, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Idea, woodwind, woodwind music, YouTube
Classical music: Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra music director and conductor Andrew Sewell launches his own website
5 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
Just two weeks before he mounts the podium on Friday, Jan. 25, for the first Masterworks Concert by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra this season, maestro Andrew Sewell (below) has launched his own website.
Sewell, who was born in New Zealand and became a naturalized American citizen, is the music director and conductor of the WCO, and is also now in his second season as music director and conductor of the San Luis Obispo Symphony in California. Plus, he has many guest appearances, from London to Hong Kong, and numerous awards to his credit. (You can hear an interview with Sewell in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The homepage of his new website, which features becoming black-and-white photos of Sewell, looks deceptively simple to navigate.
But there is much more than is apparent at first to learn there.
Under BIO you can read about his life in detail and also listen and watch archival videos of him conducting the Wichita and the San Luis Obispo orchestras in major works by Haydn, Beethoven, Berlioz and Brahms, along with critical praise for his performances and programming.
Under SCHEDULE, you see concert dates and soloists but no programs — at first. But if you click on the yellow words for PURCHASE TICKETS and either MASTERWORKS or CONCERT, you will be directed to full information about all the concerts by both of the orchestras he heads.
And by clicking on GALLERY you will find a generous montage of color photos, both serious and playful, of the friendly and talented Sewell at work and at ease.
Here is a link to the website:
https://www.andrewsewell.net/?fbclid=IwAR3zaRVX5psZMfYQNBW2XKIj6AvgY5fiVMQXZw-yOALDQDmZTvBElX6U3us
The Ear finds this a useful and appealing tool to learn more about a Madison maestro whose achievements have consistently stood out for almost 20 years and have altered the landscape of local music-making for the better.
The handsome new website is a job well done, and is well worth your time to check out, bookmark and use regularly.
Bravo, maestro!
Tags: #AmericanCitizen, #AndrewSewell, #BlogInterview, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberOrchestra, #ClassicalComposers, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzJosephHaydn, #GuestConductor, #HectorBerlioz, #HomeWebsite, #HongKong, #HongKongChina, #JohannesBrahms, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MusicCritic, #MusicReview, #NewZealand, #SanLuisObispo, #SanLuisObispoSymphony, #UnitedStates, #WichitaKansas, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, America, American, Andrew Sewell, Arts, audience, Audio, award, Baroque, Beethoven, Berlioz, biography, blog, Brahms, bravo, California, chamber orchestra, China, choral music, citizen, Classical era, Classical music, composer, conductor, date, Early music, Facebook, Franz Schubert, Friday, guest, Haydn, Hong Kong, interview, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Kansas, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ludwig van Bethoven, Madison, Maestro, masterwork, Mozart, Music, music critic, Music director, music review, New Zealand, Orchestra, performer, post, posting, program, programming, San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo Symphony, schedule, Season, share, soloist, symphony, tag, talent, ticjet, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, Website, Wichita, Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word, YouTube
Classical music: Maestro Andrew Sewell has been named the new music director of the San Luis Obispo Symphony in California while retaining his longtime post as music director of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
2 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra‘s longtime music director Andrew Sewell (below) has been named the new music director of the San Luis Obispo Symphony in California.
The news comes in between the end of a critically acclaimed and very successful Masterworks season in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center and the start of the upcoming and always popular summer Concerts on the Square on Wednesday evenings from June 29 through Aug. 2.
Sewell, who was born and trained in New Zealand, has been an American citizen for the past 10 years. He led the Wichita Symphony Orchestra for 10 years and the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, and he also guest conducts in Hong Kong and many other cities in the U.S. and abroad.
Asked if the move means there will be guest conductors for the WCO, Sewell told The Ear:
“I will be conducting all concerts this year. The schedules for both orchestras work surprisingly well together.
“The situation is not unlike the first 10 years of my tenure in Madison when I was music director of the Wichita Symphony concurrently with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. I’ll share my time between both communities.”
For more about Sewell’s impressive and extensive background, go to:
https://wisconsinchamberorchestra.org/about/andrew-sewell/
Here is a statement from the WCO:
“When Maestro Sewell raises his baton at Concerts on the Square this month, he will also be embarking on a new position as music director of the San Luis Obispo Symphony. (At bottom, he seen conducting the San Luis Obispo Symphony.)
“Fans of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra need not worry, though, as he will retain his position and residence here in Madison.
“We’re very proud of Andrew and what he has accomplished here in Madison, around the nation and abroad” said Mark Cantrell, CEO of the WCO. “This appointment reinforces what we already know about Andrew, that he is an exciting and impressive director and musician.
“We’re fortunate to retain him here as music director, and we look forward to many more years of him behind the baton with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. We wish him the best of luck in San Luis Obispo.”
For more about this story, use the following links:
Here is a WCO posting about the news:
Global Search Yields Symphony’s Ninth Conductor
And here is a newspaper story with many details about Sewell and his plans for the new position, including where he will live, as well as his plans for sharing repertoire and guest soloists:
SLO Symphony has a new director
Tags: abroad, American, Andrew Sewell, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, California, CEO, Chamber music, citizen, Classical music, community, Concerts on the Square, Early music, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, Hong Kong, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Kansas, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mark Cantrell, masterwork, Mozart, Music, Music director, New Zealand, Ohio, repertoire, San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo Symphony, soloist, summer, symphony, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wichita, Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world
Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra celebrates Valentine’s Day this weekend with a varied program about love and the superb Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova playing Beethoven
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
ALERT: TUESDAY is the last day for the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s special sale — two tickets for the price of one — for its Valentine’s Day concerts coming up this weekend. Read more about the players and program below.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following press release from the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below). To be honest, he cares less about the Valentine’s Day tie-ins – some of which seem tenuous – than about hearing the Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova in the Violin Concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven.
The Ear had heard all the of the Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano played by Ibragimova, with Belgian pianist Cedric Tiberghien, and thinks they rank right at the top of recorded versions. Plus, they are live!
She is clearly something very special, so The Ear says: Don’t miss her. (You can hear Alina Ibragimova and her forceful but subtle style — perfectly suited to Beethoven — in the first movement of Beethoven’s famous “Kreutzer” Sonata in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Now on to the overview, written under the headline:
“Music, the food of love” permeates Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Valentine’s Weekend Concerts on Feb. 12, 13 and 14
Love’s attractions and dilemmas infuse the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Valentine’s weekend concerts Feb. 12, 13 and 14. They feature the Madison debut of Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova in Overture Hall.
Guest conductor Daniel Hege will lead the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and substitute for music director John DeMain. (NOTE: John DeMain is in Washington, D.C., conducting a production of Kurt Weill‘s “Lost in the Stars” for the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It opens next week.)
Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers takes musical form in Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s instantly recognizable Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture.
Next, Maurice Ravel’s lush Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2 depicts lovers Daphnis and Chloe reuniting at daybreak. That is followed by a Bacchanalian dance.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s hugely influential Romantic-era Violin Concerto brings the concert to a thrilling close with technical fireworks.
The concerts are in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, 201 State St., on this Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Born in Russia, the young violinist Alina Ibragimova (below) rapidly established herself as a first-rate soloist and chamber musician with the world’s foremost ensembles. Britain’s The Guardian newspaper called her “one of the most technically gifted and charismatic instrumentalists of the age.” A highly flexible and adaptable musician, Ibragimova is equally at home on modern and baroque period instruments, and frequently tours as both soloist and director. She was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award in 2010.
The concerts cover three different periods of music.
The program begins with the late Romantic period with the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (below). The work taps into the great Shakespearean play, contrasting the rivalry between the Capulet and Montague families, with the passionate music of the second theme clearly expressing the feelings of the two young lovers.
The Impressionistic period is represented the sensuous Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2 by Maurice Ravel (below). It recounts the stirring fifth-century BCE Greek story of Daphnis and Chloe, who were abandoned as children and brought up by shepherds. The two fall in love, but Chloe is abducted by pirates. After Daphnis rescues Chloe, the couple pantomimes the tale of Pan wooing the nymph Syrinx as the sun rises. Ravel’s score originally accompanied a ballet premiered by the Ballets Russes in Paris in 1912.
Finally, the early Romantic period is featured with the technically challenging Violin Concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven (below top) which premiered in 1806. A work of beauty, the concerto did not become popular until several decades later, thanks to the advocacy of the legendary violinist Joseph Joachim (below bottom). Beethoven’s only violin concerto, this work paved the way for the great 19th-century German violin concertos by Felix Mendelssohn, Max Bruch and Johannes Brahms.
Known for his novel interpretations of standard repertoire, Colorado native Daniel Hege (below) is Music Director and Conductor of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and a frequent guest conductor of orchestras throughout the United States including the Houston, Detroit, Seattle and Indianapolis symphonies.
One hour before each performance, Randal Swiggum (below), artistic director of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, will lead a FREE 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience.
More background on the music can also be found in the Program Notes by MSO trombonist Michael Allsen at: http://www.madisonsymphony.org/ibragimova
Single Tickets are $16 to $85 each, available at http://www.madisonsymphony.org/ibragimova and through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street or call the Box Office at (608) 258-4141.
Groups of 15 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734.
For more information visit, www.madisonsymphony.org/groups
Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $12 or $15 tickets. More information is at: www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush. Students can receive 20% savings on seats in select areas of the hall on advance ticket purchases.
Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Major funding for the February concerts is provided by Irving and Dorothy Levy Family Foundation, Inc., Johnson Bank, and Cyrena and Lee Pondrom. Additional funding is provided by John A. Johnson Foundation, a component fund of the Madison Community Foundation, Gary and Lynn Mecklenburg, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Tags: Alina Ibragimova, Arts, Baroque, Beethoven, Brahms, Britain, Classical music, Colorado, Compact Disc, concerto, conductor, cupid, D.C., Daniel Hege, Daphnis and Chloe, Detroit, Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, England, Felix Mendelssohn, France, Houston, ILLINOIS, Indianapolis, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Joseph Joachim, Kreutzer, Kurt Weill, Lost in the Stars, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Max Bruch, Music, Music director, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, Orchestra, Overture Center, Prelude, program notes, Randel Swiggum, Ravel, Romeo and Juliet, Russia, sale, Seattle, Shakespeare, Sonata, Suite, Tchaikovsky, Trombone, UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Valentine's Day, Violin, Violin Sonata, Washington, Washington National Opera, Wichita, Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Arts Board, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: Meet Mariana Farah, the new choral director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Following a national search, Mariana Farah (below) has been chosen to succeed Beverly Taylor as the new director of choral activities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
Due to prior commitments, Farah cannot start her duties until the fall of 2021. But the delay is understandable given that the coronavirus pandemic continues and group singing remains a particularly hazardous or high-risk activity during the public health crisis. (See her comments about choral singing during Covid-19 in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
(In case you are wondering, Taylor, who retired from the UW-Madison last spring, will continue as director of the Madison Symphony Chorus. One wonders if she will still have a chance to do performances of the requiems by Verdi and Dvorak, both of which were canceled due to Covid-19.)
At a time when more focus is being placed on diversity, the Brazilian-born Farah (below) seems an especially apt choice.
Here is the official UW press release about Farah’s appointment along with much biographical material:
“Mariana Farah is the Associate Director of Choral Activities at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, where she teaches courses in graduate choral literature and conducting, directs the university’s Concert Choir and Women’s Chorale (below bottom), and helps oversee all aspects of the choral program.
Born in Brazil, Farah received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas; her Master’s degree from the University of Iowa; and her Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Her choirs have successfully performed at the Missouri and Kansas Music Educators Association conventions and at the 2008 and 2018 Southwestern ACDA conferences.
Farah’s research focuses on Brazilian choral music, particularly the a cappella choral works of Ernani Aguiar (b. 1950, below). Her edition of Aguiar’s “Três Motetinos No. 2” has been published by Earthsongs, and she expects to introduce more of his music to the United States through performances, recordings, editions and future publications of his unknown choral literature.
In addition to her work at KU, Farah (below) maintains an active schedule as a clinician for festivals in Brazil and in the U.S., where she is often sought out for her expertise in Brazilian choral music.
Farah has presented at several conferences for the National Association for Music Education and the American Choral Directors Association.
Recent engagements include appearances as a conductor at the 2019 Northwest Kansas Music Educators Association High School Honor Choir; the 2018 Southwestern ACDA conference, 2016 and 2014 Kansas Music Educators Association Convention; Universidade de São Paulo-Ribeirão Preto; Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Universidade Estadual de Maringá; Festival de Música de Londrina; Adams State Honor Choir Festival; the 2015 Kantorei Summer Choral Institute, a residency with the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum; and the 2014 Idaho All-State Treble Choir.
Farah is the music director at First Presbyterian Church in Lawrence, Kansas, where she directs the Chancel Choir and oversees a thriving music program. She also serves as the interim 2019-20 conductor for the Wichita Chamber Chorale (below) and as a board member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization.
She has served as the president elect (2018-2020) and R&R Chair for Ethnic and Multicultural Perspectives (2014-2018) for the ACDA Southwestern Division.
As a singer, Farah performed with the Kansas City Te Deum Chamber Choir (2015-2018) and participated in their 2016 recording of Brahms’ “A German Requiem” (Centaur Records). The recording was recognized by The American Prize, naming Te Deum a semi-finalist for best Choral Performance (community division) for the 2019-20 contest.
Do you have an observation or words of welcome to say?
Please use the Comment section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #ACappella, #ACappellaMusic, #AGermanRequiem, #All-State, #AmericanChoralDirectorsAssociation, #AmericanPrize, #AntoninDvorak, #AssociateDirector, #BachelorofMusic, #BeverlyTaylor, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoardMember, #BrazilianComposer, #BrazilianMusic, #CentaurRecords, #ChamberChoir, #ChancelChoir, #ChoralDirector, #ChoralUnion, #ChoralWorks, #ChristianChurch, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #CulturalDiversity, #DoctorofMusicalArts, #ErnaniAguiar, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstPresbyterianChurch, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GraduateSchool, #Harvard-RadcliffeCollegiumMusicum, #HarvardUniversity, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #KansasCity, #KansasCityTeDeumChamberChoir, #LivingComposer, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarianaFarah, #Master'sDegree, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicDirector, #MusicEducation, #MusicEducators, #Musicfaculty, #NationalAssociationforMusicEducation, #NationalCollegiateChoralOrganization, #NewMusic, #PortugueseLanguage, #PressRelease, #RadcliffeCollege, #SaoPaulo, #TeDeum, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #UniversityofIowa, #UniversityofKansas-Lawrence, #UniversityofMissouri, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWConcertChoir, #VerdiRequiem, #VocalMusic, #WichitaChhmaberChorale, #WichitaKansas, #Women'sChorale, #WomenPerformers, #YouTubevideo, 2021, a cappella, A German Requiem, active, American Choral Directors Association, American Prize, Antonín Dvořák, APT, aspects, associate director, Bachelor of Music, best, Beverly Taylor, biography, blog, board member, born, Brahms, Brazil, Brazilian, Brazilian composer, Brazilian music, Centaur Records, chair, Chamber choir, chance, Chancel Choir, choice, Choir, choral, choral director, choral music, Choral Union, choral works, Chorale, chorus, church, Classical music, clinican, comment, community, composer, Concert, Concert Choir, Conducting, contest, convention, coronavirus, courses, cultural diversity, delay, direct, director, director]activities, directs, diversity, division, Doctor of Musical Arts, duties, Dvorak, Earthsongs, edition, educator, Ernani Aguiar, expertise, Facebook, fall, female, festival, First Presbyterian Church, Focus, forward, future, Giuseppe Verdi, Graduate School, group, Harvard University, Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, hazardous, high-risk, Idaho, Institute, introduce, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, Kansas, Kansas City, Kansas City Te Deum Chamber Choir, Lawrence, like, link, Living composer, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mariana Farah, masters degree, Mead Witter School of Music, motet, MSO, multicultural, Music, Music director, Music education, music educators, music faculty, national, National Association for Music Education, National Collegiate Choral Organization, new, New Music, next season, next year, nominated, northwest, observation, official, oversee, pandemic, performances, performers, perspective, Portuguese, post, posting, President-elect, press release, program, publication, publish, Publishing, Radcliffe College, recognize, recording, Requiem, research, retired, Sao Paulo, schedule, search, Season, semi-finalist, share, singer, Singing, southwestern, Spring, start, summer, tag, Te Deum, teach, The Ear, U.S., United States, university, University of Iowa, University of Kansas, University of Kansas-Lawrence, University of Missouri, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unknown, UW, UW Concert Choir, UW-Madison, Verdi, Verdi Requiem, vocal music, welcome, Wichita, Wichita Chamber Chorale, women, women's, Women's Chorale, words, YouTube