Category Archives: string-news

Emily Freeman Brown guest conducts at PMEA Orchestra Festival

alumni, brass-percussion, conducting, faculty news, string-news, woodwinds

Emily-Erin

Emily Freeman Brown, Director of Orchestral Activities at BGSU, guest conducted at the PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association) Region VI (Philadelphia region) Orchestra festival. It took place March 12-14 at Oxford Area High School. The program was Summerstock Overture by Samuel Adler (who met the orchestra and spoke to the audience at the concert); Carmen Suite No. 1 by Georges Bizet, the Scherzo from Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 and the Finale from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.

BGSU alum Erin Kappulia, MM, former trumpet student of George Nowak, teaches at Oxford High School, and was host for the event.

 

BGSU Opera Theatre presents “Dialogues of the Carmelites”

brass-percussion, choral, conducting, dma, education, events, opera, string-news, student news, voice, woodwinds

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BOWLING GREEN, O. – Francis Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites” will be presented at 8 p.m. March 27 and 3 p.m. March 29 in the Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre in the Wolfe Center for the Arts on the BGSU campus.

Poulenc’s powerful 1957 opera, about an order of Carmelite nuns who refuse to renounce their beliefs in the wake of the French Revolution, is presented in collaboration with BGSU’s Department of Theatre and Film. The opera is directed by Nicholas Wuehrmann and features the orchestra conducted by Dr. Emily Freeman Brown. In accordance with Poulenc’s wishes that the opera be performed in the language of its audience, BGSU’s production will be sung in the composer’s approved English translation by Joseph Machlis.

With social unrest rippling through Paris, a timid young woman leaves her aristocratic family to seek refuge at a convent in northern France. She strives to align with her fellow sisters, who soon discover they must either abandon their monastery or face certain execution. Their act of defiance in the face of fear becomes a gripping, emotional story of loyalty, redemption, and sacrifice.

“Poulenc’s soaring score is served beautifully by The BGSU Opera Theater, and the universal themes of war, persecution, fear, faith and love are given a unique treatment by our production which transcends time,” noted Nicholas Wuehrmann, visiting director for the opera. Wuehrmann is an actor/singer/director living in New York City. He performs in musical theater, film and television, Shakespeare, comedy and drama, opera and operetta, and with symphonies.

Tickets for “Dialogues of the Carmelites” are $15 for adults and $5 for students or children when purchased in advance. On the day of the performance, all tickets are $20. To purchase tickets, visit bgsu.edu/Arts or call the Arts Box Office at 419.372.8171.

Summer Music Institute at BGSU boosts young musicians’ skills

alumni, brass-percussion, choral, composition, conducting, education, events, jazz, keyboard, string-news, voice, woodwinds

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Bowling Green State University’s critically acclaimed Summer Music Institute is open for registration. Presented by the College of Musical Arts, the institute features nine weeklong sessions, ranging from woodwinds to voice, brass and musical theater. Students will work with BGSU music faculty and guest artists who will challenge and inspire in a college setting. Register at BGSU.edu/SMI before April 30 for $40 off the registration fee.

Session one (June 14-19) includes Piano Camp, Double Reed Camp, Recording Camp, String Camp and Musical Theater. During Piano Camp, students receive private lessons, participate in master classes, play piano duos, attend recitals and perform. In Double Reed Camp, students get hands-on experience making reeds, performing in master classes and honing techniques on bassoon and oboe. Students signed up for Recording Camp, for ages 15-18, will experience a professional sound studio from both sides of the glass, performing and coordinating a recording. String students will receive coaching from the BGSU string faculty and special guests. Advanced string students are encouraged to apply for the Honors String Quartet. Members of the Honors String Quartet receive a full scholarship to cover housing, meals and the registration fee. Musical Theater Camp will focus on audition techniques.

Session two (June 21-26) comprises Brass Camp, with ensembles, private lessons, seminars and performances; Super Sax Camp, which explores both classical and improvised jazz music in private lessons, chamber rehearsals, improvisation clinics and concerts; Flute Camp, whose students will receive private lessons, seminars and master classes as well as breathing, sound, articulation and technique lessons; and Vocal Arts Camp, which educates campers in diction, vocal interpretation, audition techniques, stage deportment and other performance skills. Vocal students must be entering grade 10 or higher.

Students may commute to camp or stay on campus during the week. No audition is required. Recording students must be at least 15 years of age, though exceptions can be made.

Check-in times for each camp are the first day of camp on Sunday between 1 and 3 p.m. For more information and to register, visit BGSU.edu/smi or call 419-372-2506.

Guest soloists from Berlin, Pittsburgh to highlight Philharmonia concert

conducting, events, string-alumni, string-news

KELLY__RANDY                                     Bendix-Balgley

BOWLING GREEN, O.—The Bowling Green Philharmonia will host featured soloists Noah Bendix-Balgley, concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, and Randolph Kelly, principal violist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, on Feb. 7. The concert begins at 8 p.m. in Kobacker Hall at Bowling Green State University. Under the direction of Emily Freeman Brown, the soloists will be featured in Mozart’s “Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major for Violin, Viola and Orchestra.”

Recently appointed first concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, Bendix-Balgley has appeared internationally as a soloist to great acclaim. In 2011, he became concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where his debut recital in 2012 was named “Best Classical Concert of 2012” by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He has also performed his own version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” for solo violin in front of 39,000 fans at the Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day at PNC Park.

A laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, Bendix-Balgley won the first prize at the 2011 Vibrarte International Music Competition in Paris and was awarded first prize and a special prize for best Bach interpretation at the 14th International Violin Competition in Fermo, Italy.

Kelly has enjoyed a distinguished and multifaceted career as principal violist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he was signed by André Previn in 1976. Previn once wrote that Kelly “transformed his section into what I believe is the best viola section of any orchestra in America.” One highlight of Kelly’s tenure with the orchestra was performing the world premiere of a viola concerto written for him by Samuel Adler, commissioned for the 2000-01 season.

In addition to his orchestral career, Kelly’s virtuosity as a soloist and chamber musician has been celebrated around the world. He has collaborated with such artists as Yo-Yo Ma and Pinchas Zukerman. As a soloist, Kelly has appeared on some of the most prestigious concert stages in the world. He made his European solo début when Lorin Maazel invited him to play the “Walton Concerto” with the National Orchestra of France.

Also featured on the BGSU program is Carl Maria von Weber’s “Overture to Der Freischütz” and Paul Hindemith’s “Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Weber.”

Advance tickets for the performance are $3 for students and $7 for adults and can be purchased by visiting bgsu.edu/arts or by calling 1-419-372-8171. All tickets the day of performance are $10.

From cellist to country rock

alumni, string-alumni, string-news
Jonathan Kampfe ’05 tours the country with The Phillip Fox Band

Jonathan Kampfe ’05 used to picture himself as a professional cellist playing in ensembles — a career classical musician.

He trained for years to fulfill this dream, attending BGSU on a music scholarship and earning a bachelor’s degree in cello performance from the College of Musical Arts in 2005.

Then, an offer from an old friend changed everything, and Kampfe found himself playing music not in  symphony halls, but in stadiums, rock clubs and country western saloons.

Today, the one-time classical cellist is the bassist for the Columbus-based country-rock quartet, the Phillip Fox Band. Kampfe will return to Bowling Green on Saturday, when his band plays a 9 p.m. show on Saturday, Dec. 6 at Grumpy Dave’s Pub, 104 S. Main St.

The band is currently touring to promote its first full-length album, Heartland.

The Phillip Fox Band is a full-time gig for all of its members, Kampfe said. They don’t work side jobs and make the band their sole career focus, playing about 200 shows in 2014.

“At some point, you have to take that leap of faith,” Kampfe said. “I think one thing that helped me from the get-go was knowing there was no plan B. We all knew we wouldn’t be making money for awhile, but that just pushed us harder to make it work.”

Although the Phillip Fox Band is more popular than ever now, Kampfe struggled after graduating from BGSU to find his purpose.

“For a change of scenery, I moved to Virginia and started working for a company that did window treatments,” he said. “I did some music gigs on the side, but it didn’t take long before I knew this was not what I should be doing.”

Kampfe’s life and career took a new direction when he reconnected with a friend from the Toledo area, fellow musician Phillip Fox.

Fox told Kampfe he was looking for a bass player for a new band.

Unsure whether this was the right move for his music career, Kampfe reached out to his former BGSU professor and mentor, Dr. Alan Smith, for advice.

“I wanted to get his reaction, because he was my cello teacher, and I wasn’t sure he would take it well,” Kampfe said. “To my surprise, he told me, ‘Go for it.’”

Kampfe accepted Fox’s offer and moved to Columbus. By March 2011, Fox and Kampfe had been joined by guitarist David Morckel and drummer Austin Nill.

While the band produced the album Heartland without the support of a record label, its fans helped offset recording studio costs by raising $18,000 via the popular crowd-funding website Kickstarter.com. In return, the band took fans’ input on what songs they should include on the album.

Although they have built their biggest fan base in Ohio, the Phillip Fox Band performed last month in Houston at the APCA South Central Regional Showcase. The showcase allows entertainers to connect with university event planners to book campus appearances.

While he prefers to tour for a week or two, rather than for months at a time (he and his wife welcomed a baby boy six months ago), Kampfe hopes doors will continue to open for the band.

“We do hope for that national exposure, but the main goal is to continue to do what we love to do, and to keep finding creative ways to do it,” he said. “I think we have a bright future ahead of us.”

 

Chamber Music remix

events, jazz, string-news, woodwinds

Project Trio

 

By DAVID DUPONT, Sentinel News Editor

Project Trio doesn’t have the usual classical chamber ensemble biography.

The musicians –  flutist Greg Pattillo, cellist Eric Stephenson and bassist Peter Seymour – were “all good buddies” at the Cleveland Institute of Music in the late-1990s.

Seymour said in a recent telephone interview that they loved playing together, both within the walls of the conservatory and “extracurricular” gigs where they explored rock, hip hop and jazz.

After graduation and grad degrees, the three headed off on the difficult path of making musical careers for themselves. Still they got together when they could, and when they could they talked. Those conversations turned to the eclectic mix of music they had always enjoyed.

Seymour said they wanted “our own little project that we could do a couple times a year and make music we really wanted to do.”

After lots of talk, in 2005 they played their first show. Then in 2007, Pattillo posted a video, “Inspector Gadget Remix.” It featured his distinctive beatbox technique for flute which  incorporates vocal sounds and percussive effects into his playing.

The video exploded. It has now had 26 million views.

On the basis of that the trio was able to focus on  Project Trio full time. Since then the trio has toured worldwide. Project Trio will perform Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. in Kobacker Hall as part of Bowling Green State University’s Festival Series. Tickets are $15 and $5 for BGSU students. Visit bgsu.edu/arts or call 419-372-8171.

That video represented a lot of hard work, Seymour said, and it took more hard work to exploit its popularity to show presenters an audience existed for the ensemble’s twisted blend of musical styles.

The musicians match their stylish repertoire with an appealing stage manner.

“There’s no question that concert music, instrumental music is changing, and that engaging the audience is one of the most important things we do as chamber and jazz musicians,” Seymour said. “There’s a lot of cool new music going on in classical, jazz and instrumental music and we’re trying to add our voice to that.”

They put high priority in connecting with audiences. “We speak to the audience regularly,” Seymour said. “We smile. We have fun. We dance.”

That’s not an act though, “it’s who we are.”

“We love to perform, we love to share music with people,” he said.

As the band arranges and composes new material “we truly think about what the audience  might like.” That prompts adventures into new genres – Brazilian choro music or Indian ragas.

“We’re always trying to push forward.”

And there’s one way to test those experiments: “The only place you can find out if an audience will like stuff is to bring it to the stage and see what happens.”

Seymour said the Bowling Green audience can expect a mix of what the trio has to offer. That includes off-beat versions of classical masterpieces such as “Peter and the Wolf” and the finale to the opera “William Tell.”

The show will include original music, as well as the sound of jazz composer Charles Mingus, and some hip hop, Seymour said. “Truly something for everyone.”