Associate Professor of Piano, Thomas Rosenkranz will be in residence at the Sidi Bou Siad Conservatory in Tunisia, North Africa for a series of masterclasses and lessons from October 23-26th. He will also be collaborating with notable Oud player, Riadh Fehri along with other local Tunisian musicians for an upcoming CD release of their improvisations.
Category Archives: keyboard
Thomas Rosenkranz to premiere new work by Paul Lansky
Associate Professor of Piano, Thomas Rosenkranz along with his contemporary piano and percussion ensemble, Hammer/Klavier will premierea new eight-movement work by composer Paul Lansky. The ensemble will give
the world premiere of the work at BGSU on Thursday, October 3rd in Bryan Recital Hall and will follow with performances at the Oberlin Conservatory and Princeton University. The group will later record the work for Bridge Records.
BGSU has “Top Talent”
By Liz CopeWhen most Americans think about extreme talent, shows like “Dancing with the Stars” or “American Idol” come to mind. Who can forget Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough’s energizing samba performance, or watching Carrie Underwood emerge to become a multi-platinum selling recording artist? Yet each weekend devotees of classical music across America tune into their local National Public Radio station to enjoy the talent of a very different kind of performer -classical music’s most gifted emerging young stars – on the acclaimed radio show “From the Top.”
On Saturday, Sept. 28, residents of northwest Ohio will have the opportunity to experience that same magic firsthand when the College of Musical Arts at Bowling Green State University presents “From the Top,” live with Christopher O’Riley, at 8 p.m. in Kobacker Hall.
According to the Boston Globe. “Each program provides a compelling and entertaining window into the world of a diverse group of young people, who pursue life with passion, determination, and joy.”
“From the Top” began as a radio experiment in 2000 and has quickly become the preeminent showcase for America’s best young musicians. The show shares the performances and stories of pre-collegiate musicians from 8 to 18 years old with dedicated listeners each week. The young musicians captivate audiences with their mature musical prowess despite their youth.
The performers on each show bring formidable musical ability and inspiring stories from diverse backgrounds. “From the Top” unleashes the potential of young musicians as leaders in the arts and inspires them to take their music beyond the concert hall and engage new audiences with classical music, reaching thousands of people across the country each year.
The musicians are inspirational role models for all ages, proving the value of hard work in the pursuit of excellence.
The show in Kobacker Hall will feature 15-year-old contrabassist Lena Goodson from York, Penn.; 15-year-old pianist Patrick Pan from Houston, and the Quartet Lumiere, based at The Academy at the Music Institute of Chicago.
Host O’Riley will join the rising musicians on stage and accompany them in their performances. Between each performance, O’Riley will chat with each performer about topics such as why they chose their instrument and the most embarrassing musical moment they’ve experienced -and in so doing, will allow the passion of the young musicians to transcend radio and connect with the live audience as well as those listening on the radio.
“From the Top” has been described by the Boston Globe as “an entertaining, accessible and inspirational mix of outstanding musical performances, informal interviews, skits and games; the show is a celebration of extraordinary musicians who happen to be teenagers leading fairly normal lives.”
For tickets and information, visit the Festival Series website. “From the Top” may be heard locally on WGTE 91.3FM on Sundays at noon. The BGSU episode will air on Nov. 4.
Countdown to ‘From the Top’ at Bowling Green State University
BOWLING GREEN, O.—Fans are counting down the days for the live public taping of “From the Top,” the preeminent showcase for young musicians, presented by Bowling Green State University’s College of Musical Arts. The popular National Public Radio program, hosted by acclaimed pianist Christopher O’Riley, is part of the BGSU Festival Series and will feature the performances and personal stories of talented young classical musicians from across the country at 8 p.m. on Sept. 28 in Kobacker Hall at the Moore Musical Arts Center.
Quartet Lumiere, first-place winners of the Junior Division of the 2013 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, will perform the first movement from String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26, by Edvard Grieg. Based at The Academy at the Music Institute of Chicago where Marko Dreher is their coach, members include 18-year-old violinist Rebecca Benjamin, 16-year-old violinist Gallia Kastner, 15-year-old violist Mira Williams, and 15-year-old cellist Josiah Yoo. Quartet Lumiere will also perform the fourth movement, “Salamandrae (Fire),” from String Quartet No. 1, “Elemental,” an original composition by 17-year-old composer Chason Goldfinger from Malvern, Penn., who will also appear on the show.
Also on the broadcast: Patrick Pan, a 15-year-old pianist from Houston, is the 2013 winner of BGSU’s David D. Dubois Piano Competition. A student at Clear Lake High School, Pan studies piano with John Weems. Fifteen-year-old contrabassist Lena Goodson from York, Penn., attends Central York High School and studies bass with Devin Howell, the principal bassist of Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. Fifteen-year-old violinist Sein An is a student at Temple Music Prep and is a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award.
For tickets and information, visit www.bgsu.edu/festivalseries. “From the Top” may be heard locally on WGTE 91.3 FM Sundays at noon. This episode will air on Nov. 4, 2013.
Prof. Satterlee in China for recitals and master classes
Robert Satterlee, Associate Professor of Piano, will travel to China in May for concerts and master classes at the Shenyang Conservatory of Music and the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu.
Series tickets on sale for Festival Series
BOWLING GREEN, O.—The College of Musical Arts at Bowling Green State University invites the community to “Experience the Top” during the 2013-14 Festival Series. Highlighting performances in a variety of categories, the series features artists who are rising to the top. Series tickets are available now online at the BGSU box office.
The series begins on Sept. 28 in Kobacker Hall, where guests can listen to outstanding young musicians at a live taping of the popular National Public Radio show “From the Top,” hosted by acclaimed pianist Christopher O’Riley, who also performed as a soloist in the 2012 BGSU Festival Series.
What began as a radio experiment in 2000 quickly became one of the fastest growing and most popular weekly classical music programs on public radio. Broadcast on nearly 250 stations nationwide to an audience of more than 700,000 listeners each week, “From the Top” celebrates the performances and stories of America’s best pre-college classical musicians.
“‘From the Top’ gives young musicians the stage but lets them act their age. It’s serious music but classically kids,” said The New York Times.
Continuing the series, guests will experience an extravaganza of BGSU’s top artistic talent on Dec. 6 at a special holiday concert that will be part of the annual ArtsX event. In the first ever such large-scale collaboration, the College of Musical Arts, the School of Art, and the departments of theater and film, creative writing, and dance will present an artistic showcase themed “Wonderland.” The concert will include ensembles from the University and community, as well as readings, performances and artistic expressions celebrating the season from students and faculty in theater, film, dance and fine art. This is a holiday event that encompasses all the talents among the arts at BGSU, and will be an evening for all ages.
In the spring of 2014, Festival Series will welcome one of today’s top pianists, Jeremy Denk, performing on Feb. 15. “Mr. Denk, clearly, is a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs, in whatever combination – both for his penetrating intellectual engagement with the music and for the generosity of his playing,” said the New York Times.
An American pianist with an international reach, Denk has steadily built a reputation as an unusual and compelling artist, with a broad and thought-provoking repertoire. He has appeared as soloist with many major orchestras in the United States and around the world. But beyond that, Denk is also known for his witty and personal music writing, which has appeared in The New Yorker and Newsweek, on the front page of the New York Times Book Review, on the NPR Music website and in his widely read blog.
The Festival Series concludes April 5, 2014, on a comic note with the renowned Improvised Shakespeare Company (ISC). Based on an audience suggestion, the company creates a fully improvised play in Elizabethan style. Each of the players has brushed up on his “thee’s” and “thou’s” to produce evening of off-the-cuff comedy using the language and themes of William Shakespeare. Any hour could be filled with power struggles, star-crossed lovers, sprites, kings, queens, rhyming couplets, insults, persons in disguise and all that we’ve come to expect from the pen of the Great Bard. The night could reveal a tragedy, comedy, or history. Nothing is planned out, rehearsed, or written. Each play is completely improvised, so each play is entirely new.
The Improvised Shakespeare Company, founded in 2005, has been performing its critically acclaimed show every Friday night at the world-famous iO Theater in Chicago and entertains audiences around the globe. It has been named Chicago’s best improvisation group by both the Chicago Reader and the Chicago Examiner and has received a New York Nightlife Award for “Best Comedic Performance by a Group.”
The Festival Series is one of the oldest running performance series at BGSU, and is made possible by the support of the community. Series tickets range from $58-$147 and are available online, or by calling the Arts Box Office at 419-372-8171. Individual event tickets will be available in August. Visit the Arts Box Office website for specific ticket prices and event times.
