Assistant Professor of Piano, Thomas Rosenkranz was in Miami, Florida recently to debut with his newly formed piano and percussion group, Hammer/Klavier on April 28th. The concert was part of the Saint Martha-Yamaha series. In addition to Rosenkranz, The group consists of acclaimed percussionists, Svet Stoyanov and Gwen Burgett and pianist Michael Sheppard. This group recently commissioned Princeton University Professor and electronic music guru, Paul Lansky for a large-scale work for their 2012-2013 season.
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Talent times two: Music students find love between the notes
Music is the connection that brought Sally Williams and Mark Minnich together, and it is music that is at the heart of their relationship.
The violin performance students met when they were in high school as members of an all-state orchestra. Their initial encounter, however, did not lead to true love. In fact, Williams recalls, she thought Minnich was “somewhat socially awkward.” They met again at a strings camp between her freshman and sophomore years at BGSU and before his freshman year.
Eventually, in the small, tight-knit community of the College of Musical Arts, where both were students of BGSU professor Vasile Beluska, they first became friends and then became inseparable in their love of music and their love for one another.
In 2008, they joined musical forces to create Revamped, playing at concerts, events, receptions and weddings. Their performances go beyond a traditional musical duet. Together they bridge the gap between the precision of classical violin and the energy of popular music by incorporating tricks and techniques that mesmerize their audiences.
As part of their classical music performances they may improvise by adding an interlude of music from “Star Wars” or “Mario.” Often Minnich will hand his violin to Williams and she gives him her bow. They play the instruments together, with her creating the pitch and him doing the bowing. Their passion for music and one another is visible during their concerts.
Williams, who grew up in Elyria, Ohio, started playing Suzuki violin at age 4. Minnich, from Swanton, Ohio, started learning violin at age 9 with Romanian violinist Anca Gavris, before switching to Beluska at BGSU the following year.
The talented couple is committed to its music, practicing a minimum of three hours a day, with at least one of those hours dedicated to their duet performances. Like true artists who live and breathe their music, “We never separate our affection from our music. The music seems like a natural extension of our relationship,” she explained.
Williams and Minnich are graduating May 4. She will earn a master’s degree, and he will receive a bachelor’s degree, both in violin performance. Beyond BGSU and the College of Musical Arts, they will become Falcon Flames when they marry this summer before heading to Penn State where they will have assistantships to earn advanced degrees. He plans to work on a master’s degree in violin performance, and she will pursue a master’s of education to further her research in the development of a new teaching method for beginner level, post-Suzuki-aged students.
“We also would like to continue our duo professionally, as well as performing in other ensembles together. As much as possible, we’d like to not distinguish what we do for fun and what we do to pay the bills,” Minnich said.
See them perform during the recent BGSU Leadership Gala at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHUvPOzEWUY&feature=youtu.be.
Prof. Sampen receives award from the North American Saxophone Alliance
BGSU Distinguished Artist Professor Dr. John Sampen was recently awarded an “Honorary Life Member Award” by the North American Saxophone Alliance. This professional organization (NASA) represents the only national association for concert saxophonists in the USA and Canada. Sampen’s “Honorary Life Membership” is distinctive and prestigious; indeed, during the last forty years, only twelve saxophonists from all over the world have been so recognized by the Saxophone Alliance.
The award was presented on March 17th, 2012 during NASA’s Biennial Convention at Arizona State University. Sampen’s plaque reads as follows:
“Honorary Life Member Award presented to Dr. John Sampen in recognition of his outstanding achievements and service to the North American Saxophone Alliance.”
World music focus of BGSU’s 2012-13 Festival Series
BOWLING GREEN, O.—The 2012-13 Festival Series at Bowling Green State University aims to “encircle the world” with a variety of artists who will share music of ethnic origin and artistic excellence.
The series opens on Sept. 29 with Klezmer Madness! As one of the foremost musicians of the vital new wave of klezmer, clarinetist David Krakauer tours the globe with his celebrated ensemble. Firmly rooted in traditional klezmer folk tunes, the band “hurls the tradition of klezmer music into the rock era,” said Jon Pareles of The New York Times.
Krakauer is both a master of Eastern European Jewish klezmer music and a major voice in classical music. He has appeared with the Tokyo, Kronos, Orion, and Emerson string quartets, plus as soloist with orchestras internationally. In December 2009 he premiered a new, klezmer-inspired concerto written for him by the young Polish composer Wlad Marhulets. Major appearances of Klezmer Madness! have included Carnegie Hall and the Venice Biennale.
Begin the holiday season on Nov. 30 with New York Polyphony (NYP) in its program, “I Sing the Birth.” Establishing a reputation as one of the world’s finest a cappella vocal ensembles, NYP was praised for a “rich, natural sound that’s larger and more complex than the sum of its parts” by National Public Radio.
The four men of NYP apply not only refined musicianship and interpretive detail but also a uniquely modern sensibility to their varied repertoire, which ranges from austere medieval melodies to cutting-edge contemporary works. Hailed as a “stunning tour through chant, polyphony and renaissance harmonies” by Minnesota Public Radio, the group’s most recent CD, “Tudor City,” spent three weeks in the Top 10 of Billboard’s classical album chart. The ensemble has participated in major concert series and festivals throughout the U.S., Mexico and Europe. NYP has been heard on Public Radio International, Minnesota Public Radio, and National Public Radio. Recent engagements include a residency at Dartmouth College and the premiere of “Missa Charles Darwin,” a newly commissioned secular Mass setting based on texts of Charles Darwin by composer Gregory Brown, at a TEDx event in Woods Hole, Mass. In Decembr 2011, New York Polyphony made its national television debut on “The Martha Stewart Show.”
Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe join the series on Feb. 9, 2013. They are perhaps the most thrilling young piano duo performing today, offering adrenalized classical concerts that are revolutionizing the duo experience for the 21st century. Described as “Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers transposed from the dance floor to the keyboard” by The Southampton Press and “the intense synchronization of genius” by ThirdCoast Digest, the Steinway Artists bring their joyous camaraderie and refined artistry to the concert stage as a four-hand and two-piano team.
Graduates of The Juilliard School, Anderson and Roe are featured on the “Sounds of Juilliard” CD celebrating the school’s centennial year. The duo has appeared on NPR and MTV, toured extensively across North America (and beyond), and performed in nearly every New York City venue imaginable, from Carnegie Hall to children’s hospitals. The duo released their debut album, “Reimagine,” in 2008, and their music videos have been viewed millions of times on YouTube alone.
In honor of Black History Month, celebrate the Negro spiritual on Feb. 23 with the American Spiritual Ensemble. Comprised of some of the finest classically trained singers in the United States, the ensemble’s mission is to keep the American Negro spiritual alive. Since its inception by Dr. Everett McCorvey in 1995, its vocalists have thrilled audiences around the world with their dynamic repertoire ranging from spirituals to classical to jazz and Broadway numbers highlighting the black experience.
The American Spiritual Ensemble is unique in that over 90 percent of the members are accomplished soloists who have sung in theaters and opera houses world wide. The resulting sound of this group is something that choral groups with two or three featured soloists cannot duplicate.
Legendary South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela closes the series on April 3. An innovator in the world music and jazz scene, active as a performer, composer, producer and activist, this iconic artist is best known for his integral role in Paul Simon’s tour behind the classic album “Graceland.” Masekela’s Grammy Award-winning hit “Grazing in the Grass” sold over 4 million copies and made him an international star. He has collaborated with numerous artists in the U.S., Africa and Europe including Miriam Makeba, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Belafonte and Herb Albert. Masekela also co-created the Broadway smash musical “Sarafina” that introduced the sounds and passion of South African music to theater audiences worldwide.
Masekela’s work as an activist raised international awareness of the South African government’s restrictive apartheid policies. In the 1980s, Masekela’s hit song “Bring Him Back Home” became an anthem for the Free Nelson Mandela movement. Articulate and brilliantly musical in a number of genres, Masekela has been a defining force in world music and the struggle for human rights both in Africa and around the world.
Current series subscribers can save 20 percent and keep their same seats by renewing by July 1, 2012. New subscribers can get that same early bird 20 percent discount until May 15, 2012; where after that it will be 15 percent. For series information, visit http://www.bgsu.edu/festivalseries or call the box office at 419-372-8171.
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Congratulations to the 2012 Conrad Art Song Competition Winners
Congratulations to the 2012 Chamber Music Competition Winners
