Music Academy of the West
Announces Its 2008 Season
June 23 – August 16
Season Highlights Include:
- The dynamic Peter Oundjian conducting the Academy Festival Orchestra in a performance of Mahler's epic Symphony No. 3 in D Minor
- The West Coast premiere of William Bolcom's comic opera A Wedding, conducted by George Manahan, directed by Chas Rader-Shieber, and presented by the Academy Voice Program
- Renowned pianist Christopher Taylor performing Messiaen's ineffable and transfixing Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus
- The incomparable Marilyn Horne and Warren Jones leading vocal masterclasses as only they can
- Other Guest Conductors:
- Larry Rachleff–Music Director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra
- Daniel Hege–Music Director of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra
- Nicholas McGegan–Music Director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
- Anne Manson–Former Music Director of the Kansas City Symphony
- George Manahan–Music Director of the New York City Opera
- Other Guest Artists & Visiting Faculty
- William Bolcom
- The Takács Quartet
- Mezzo-soprano Joan Morris
- Canadian Brass
- Donald & Vivian Weilerstein
- Gilbert Kalish
- Joseph Kalichstein
- William Preucil
For Immediate Release May 15, 2008
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA – The Music Academy of the West will present the West Coast premiere of William Bolcom's opera A Wedding, as well as performances by conductor Peter Oundjian and pianist Christopher Taylor as part of the Academy's 61st Summer Festival. The Academy will present 188 events over the course of this year's Summer School and Festival, which begins June 23 and concludes on August 16. Additional highlights will include performances by the Canadian Brass and the Takács Quartet, and conducting turns by George Manahan, Anne Manson, Nicholas McGegan, Daniel Hege, and Larry Rachleff. Featuring the Academy's exceptionally talented Fellows, together with illustrious guest performers and faculty, the events will be presented at the Academy's scenic Miraflores campus and in venues throughout Santa Barbara.
With the start of the 2008 season the Academy will inaugurate its newly refurbished on-campus recital facility. Hahn Hall, named in honor of Music Academy benefactors Stephen and Carla Hahn, will include seating for 350 and feature enhanced acoustics, a raked floor for improved sightlines, a remodeled lobby, a ticket office, easy handicap access, and larger restroom facilities. Related site improvements will include a widened main driveway for improved vehicular circulation, elegant landscaping, and improved pedestrian access to campus facilities from lower parking lots, which also have been enlarged and redesigned.
"We are so pleased and excited at the prospect of welcoming the public to enjoy performances in this exceptional facility," said Academy President NancyBell Coe. "The opening of Hahn Hall marks the start of an exhilarating new era at the Music Academy, one that promises ever-greater musical heights. I'm convinced this season's program strikes the perfect note of boldness to herald our new beginning."
"This year's program features an especially rich variety of compositional styles, reflecting our determination to explore and present the fuller range of classical music. We're not abandoning the traditional repertoire by any means, but we are pleased to be offering a more expansive account of 20th century composers, in particular the French master Olivier Messiaen, whose work will be the subject of a performance series at the Academy this summer. I think the cumulative effect of this broader focus will be a decidedly richer and more rewarding experience for audiences," said Richard Feit, vice president for artistic programs and operations at the Music Academy of the West.
Music Academy of the West 2008 Season Highlights
FESTIVAL
Messiaen Centenary Celebration
The Music Academy of the West will honor the 100th anniversary of the birth of Olivier Messiaen with a series of performances in July. Drawing on his profound Catholic faith and his intense affinity for the natural world - birdsongs, in particular - Messiaen created a unique, idiosyncratic, and intriguing body of work. The Academy will present four compositions that reveal this extraordinary composer's exceptional range of sound, color, and musical imagery: Le Loriot" from Book II, Catalogue d'oiseaux, featuring pianist and Academy faculty member Jerome Lowenthal (8 pm Tuesday, July 1, at The Lobero); Quartet for the End of Time (8 pm Tuesday, July 8, at The Lobero); Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus, featuring pianist Christopher Taylor (7:30 pm Wednesday, July 9, at Hahn Hall); and Un Sourire (8 pm Saturday, July 19, at The Lobero). The series also will include a public conversation about Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus between Mr. Taylor and KUSC announcer and Colburn Conservatory faculty member Alan Chapman at 7:30 pm Monday, July 7, in Hahn Hall. The latter event is free and open to the public.
Opera
The Music Academy Voice Program will present a fully staged production of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom's comic opera A Wedding at the Lobero Theatre on Friday, August 8, at 7:30 pm, and on Sunday, August 10, at 2:30 pm (an open dress rehearsal will take place at 7:30 pm Wednesday, August 6). Conductor George Manahan, making his first Academy appearance, will be joined by stage director Chas Rader-Shieber, who directed previous Academy productions of Ariadne auf Naxos (2000), Don Pasquale (2001), and Così fan tutte (2005). Lenore Doxsee, a faculty member at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, will design the lighting, and David Zinn, whose work has garnered praise from the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times, among other publications, will serve as scenic designer and costume coordinator. "I'm thrilled that we are presenting the West Coast premiere of one of the most important and enjoyable American operas of the last decade," said celebrated mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, who has directed the Academy Voice Program since 1997.
Based on the 1978 Robert Altman film of the same title, A Wedding involves audiences in a madcap comedy of manners and a "glistening web of sound" (The New Yorker). According to Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times, "the score is filled with snappy songs and dance numbers, extractable arias, clever ensembles, and pleasing bits." This summer's production will feature a revised score commissioned by the Music Academy for a smaller orchestra. Mr. Bolcom, who will be in residence at the Music Academy from July 28 through August 10, will discuss the opera and other works with popular KUSC announcer Jim Svejda in a public forum at 7:30 pm Monday, July 28, in Hahn Hall. The latter event is free and open to the public.
Mr. Manahan, who serves as music director of the New York City Opera, is well known for his leadership of productions such as La fanciulla del West, Daphne, Ermione, Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Die tote Stadt, and for three "Live from Lincoln Center" telecasts, La Bohème, Lizzie Borden, and Tosca. New York City Opera also toured Little Women in Japan under his direction. Mr. Manahan has been a frequent guest conductor with Seattle Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and the Santa Fe Opera, and was principal conductor with the Minnesota Opera from 1988 to 1996. His has also appeared with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Opéra National de Paris, Opera Australia, Teatro de Comunale de Bologna, Verona Filarmonico, the Bergen Festival (Norway), and the Casals Festival (Puerto Rico).
Mr. Rader-Shieber has established himself among the most innovative opera directors of his generation. He recently brought his Don Giovanni to Opera Pacific and made his return to New York City Opera, directing Rossini's La Donna del Lago, which he also directed at Minnesota Opera. Other recent directing engagements have included L'Ormindo at Pittsburgh Opera, The Cunning Little Vixen at Houston Grand Opera, and Bellini's I Puritani at Opera Theater of St. Louis.
The 25 Academy Fellows who will perform in the production - chosen from among more than 420 applicants as part of the Academy's Voice Program audition process - represent some of today's finest singing talent. The 31-member opera orchestra will consist of Music Academy instrumentalists.
Orchestra Concerts by the Academy Festival Orchestra
Led by four guest conductors, the 86-member Academy Festival Orchestra will present three concerts at the Lobero Theatre in addition to a season-ending performance at The Granada. Larry Rachleff, who serves as music director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and the San Antonio Symphony, and is director of orchestras and holder of the Walter Kris Hubert Chair at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music in Houston, will conduct Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber and Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 73, on Saturday, June 28, at The Lobero. Nicholas McGegan, who serves as music director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco, will conduct Messiaen's Un Sourire, Mozart's Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425 ("Linz"), Ibert's Hommage à Mozart, and Schumann's Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major ("Spring") on Saturday, July 19, at The Lobero. Daniel Hege, currently in his ninth season as music director of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, will take up the baton for Concerto Night, featuring winners of the Academy's 2008 Concerto Competition, on Saturday, July 26, at The Lobero. And Peter Oundjian, who serves as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, will close out the Summer Festival in grand fashion by conducting Mahler's sweeping Symphony No. 3 in D Minor at The Granada on Saturday, August 16. The latter performance also will feature mezzo-soprano Jennifer Feinstein, the Women of the Santa Barbara Choral Society, and the Santa Barbara Children's Chorus. All four concerts will begin at 8 pm.
Academy Chamber Orchestra Concert
Anne Manson, the first woman to conduct at the Salzburg Festival, where she led the Vienna Philharmonic, will lead the 46-member Academy Chamber Orchestra in a performance Ives' The Unanswered Question, Peteris Vasks' Cantabile, Stravinsky's Concerto in D ("Basel Concerto"), and Haydn's Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp Minor ("Farewell") at 8 pm Saturday, August 9, at Santa Barbara's First Presbyterian Church.
Chamber Music
Chamber music is a vital component of the Academy's instructional program. In addition to being coached on standard chamber music repertoire, Academy Fellows are encouraged to explore new works by living composers.
The Picnic Concert Series, named for the tradition of pre-concert picnicking on the Academy's Miraflores grounds, features Academy Fellows in seven eclectic chamber music concerts, programmed by the musicians themselves. Individual programs can range from early baroque to a classical quartet to a new work for three marimbas. Performances take place at 7:30 pm in Hahn Hall. Seating for these popular events is very limited.
Chamberfest concerts feature Academy faculty artists performing beloved favorites and undiscovered treasures of the chamber music repertoire. Guest artists this season will include the peerless Takács Quartet (Tuesday, July 15), and William Bolcom with acclaimed mezzo-soprano Joan Morris (Tuesday, July 29). The six Chamberfest performances will take place Tuesdays at 8 pm at the Lobero Theatre. The series was formerly known as Tuesdays @ 8.
The Visiting Artist Series showcases the Academy's Artists-in-Residence, who also occasionally lead masterclasses and participate in informal chamber music coaching. This season the series will feature the brilliant pianist Christopher Taylor performing Messiaen's two-hour masterwork Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus from memory (Wednesday, July 9, at Hahn Hall), the Takács Quartet (8 pm Thursday, July 17, at The Lobero), and the famed Canadian Brass (7:30 pm Monday, August 11, at The Lobero). An associate professor of piano at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, Mr. Taylor has been praised by audiences and critics alike for bringing an astonishing intensity and artistry to the works of masters ranging from Bach and Beethoven to Boulez and Bolcom. The Washington Post has declared him "one of the most impressive young pianists on the horizon today." The Takács Quartet is widely regarded as one of the world's premier string ensembles. And the Canadian Brass has been turning in effortlessly virtuosic Festival performances since 2000.
Chamber Music Marathon: This all-day chamber music event on August 2 will feature a varied repertoire performed by ensembles of all sizes and configurations (10 am to approximately 4 pm at Hahn Hall). Ticket holders may come and go throughout the day.
Competitions
This year's Concerto Competition Finals, in which Academy solo pianists and other instrumentalists vie for the honor of performing with the Academy Festival Orchestra on Concerto Night (July 26), will take place Saturday, July 12, at Hahn Hall. An all-day event, the competition will begin at 10 am. This year's eminent jury includes violinist Margaret Batjer, concertmaster of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; conductor Daniel Hege; and pianist Christopher Taylor.
Marilyn Horne Foundation Vocal Competition: Academy vocalists and vocal pianists vie for prestigious Marilyn Horne Foundation Awards, presented to those who excel in performance of song repertoire and display a unique gift for communicating with the audience (10 am to 5 pm Saturday, July 26, at Hahn Hall).
Masterclasses
The masterclass is one of the hallmarks of the Music Academy experience for Fellows and audience members alike. All Fellows participate in the Music Academy's extensive masterclass program, which is designed to complement individual private instruction. Throughout the eight weeks, more than 100 public masterclasses are presented by faculty and guest artists, including vocal masterclasses with mezzo-soprano and Voice Program Director Marilyn Horne (3:15 pm Tuesday, July 15 and August 12, at Hahn Hall, and 3 pm Saturday, August 2, at the Lobero Theatre) and vocal piano and interpretation faculty member Warren Jones (3:15 pm Friday, June 27, at Hahn Hall; 3 pm Saturday, July 5, at the Lobero Theatre; and 3:15 pm Friday, July 11, at Hahn Hall). In addition, weekly Masterclass series are presented by members of the string, woodwind, brass, percussion, voice, and piano faculty, including pianists Jonathan Feldman and Jerome Lowenthal, violinists Kathleen Winkler, Peter Salaff, and Zvi Zeitlin, and violist Donald McInnes. The public is invited to attend these classes, which provide unique insight into the music teaching process at its most dynamic and intimate.
Free Concerts
More than 90 performances and masterclasses are presented free of charge during the Music Academy of the West Summer School and Festival. These concerts provide Academy Fellows with performance opportunities and serve to enrich the surrounding community. Highlights include:
- Community Concerts feature Academy Fellows performing a variety of solo and chamber works (2 pm Thursdays at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art's Craig Auditorium).
- Academy Open House Day enables the public to sample a few of the many offerings at the Music Academy's Miraflores Campus free of charge (Thursday, July 16).
- Woodwind, Brass, Percussion, and Double Bass Masterclasses take place at the Miraflores Campus throughout the summer season and are always free.
- The Academy Brass Ensemble, featuring Academy brass Fellows, presents its annual community concert, under the direction of brass faculty member Mark Lawrence (7:30 pm Wednesday, July 23, at Hahn Hall).
- The MERIT Community Concert is the culmination of the Academy's two-week mentoring program, which pairs local young musicians with Academy Fellows for coaching, private instruction, and masterclasses (2 pm Friday, July 18, at Hahn Hall).
ACADEMICS
Dramatic Workshop for Singers
Former San Francisco Opera general director Lotfi Mansouri will once again lead a three-week acting and movement workshop for Academy Voice Program Fellows. The workshop will culminate with a pair of public Opera Showcase performances (2 pm Saturday, July 19, and 7:30 pm Monday, July 21, both in Hahn Hall). These are among the most popular events of the Festival season! This year best-loved scenes from Le Nozze di Figaro, Lucia Di Lammermoor, Don Giovanni, Der Rosenkavalier, and three other operas will be brought to life in a staged operatic potpourri directed by Mr. Mansouri and the Academy's own Warren Jones.
New!
Wellness Program
Beginning this summer, Academy Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in a unique wellness and injury-prevention program designed to raise awareness of the mental and physical rigors demanded of today's practicing classical musician. Through weekly hour-long group classes and periodic breakout sessions for different instrument types, Fellows will learn specific fitness and life-support practices that contribute to wellness, professional longevity, and maximum expression of their art. Sitting skills, balance, standing, compensation issues, repetitive stress injuries, and cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary conditioning will be among the subjects covered in detail. Michael Luan, a local chiropractor and alternative medicine practitioner, will lead the eight-week program, whose sessions will combine specialized physical exercise with periods for discussion. Geared especially to the Academy's pre-professional musicians, the program is designed to be both comprehensive and fun.
Also New!
Orchestra Leadership Program
The Music Academy is launching an innovative program for string Fellows interested in deepening their understanding and experience of the role of the section leader in the modern symphony orchestra. Academy concertmaster Jeff Thayer will direct the initiative, known as the Orchestra Leadership Program. Participants will work weekly with Mr. Thayer, and periodically with visiting concertmasters and conductors, and will have the opportunity to sit as section leaders in the Academy Festival Orchestra during the summer. Designated as the principal and co-principal players of the Academy Festival Orchestra, Orchestra Leadership Fellows will work to refine and broaden their section leadership skills through a combination of practical experience and professional guidance and support. Helping to inaugurate the program will be William Preucil, concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra and a faculty member at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he pioneered the nation's first concertmaster training program. Mr. Preucil will be a visiting lecturer at the Academy this summer.
Visiting Faculty
Joining Mr. Preucil as visiting faculty members this summer will be violinist Donald Weilerstein and pianists Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, Joseph Kalichstein, and Gilbert Kalish. A founding member and first violinist of the Cleveland Quartet, which he performed with from 1969 to 1989, and currently a faculty member at the New England Conservatory of Music, Mr. Weilerstein will lead public masterclasses in Lehmann Hall at 3:15 pm July 21 and at 1 pm July 25 (with Academy faculty member Peter Salaff). Mr. Weilerstein, who attended the Music Academy in 1955, was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2006. Ms. Hornik Weilerstein, a faculty member at both Juilliard and the New England Conservatory of Music, will lead a piano chamber masterclass at 1 pm July 24 in Lehmann Hall. Mr. Kalish, a professor and director of performance activities at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, will lead a solo piano masterclass at 1 pm July 28 in Hahn Hall, and a piano chamber masterclass at 1 pm July 31 in Lehmann Hall. And Mr. Kalichstein, artistic advisor for chamber music to the Kennedy Center, will lead a solo piano masterclass at 1 pm August 4 in Hahn Hall, and a piano chamber masterclass at 1 pm August 7 in Lehmann Hall.
Festival Tickets
Subscription packages start at $80 and offer savings of up to 25 percent on single tickets. Single tickets, which range in price from $10 to $68, are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 805.969.8787, or by fax at 805.969.4037.
Festival Sponsors
The following organizations and individuals have provided invaluable support for the 2008 Summer Festival at the Music Academy of the West: the Michael J. Connell Foundation, Northern Trust, Wells Fargo, Robert W. Weinman, Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, Shirley and Seymour Lehrer, Bank of America, the Mary Bremer Foundation, Phillips Metsch Sweeney Moore Architects, the Henry E. and Lola Monroe Foundation, United Way of Santa Barbara County, Mission Wealth Management, and Bartlett, Pringle & Wolf. Media partners for this year's Festival include KEYT-TV, KUSC Classical/FM 88.7, KDB 93.7 FM, KCBX FM90, Santa Barbara Seasons, the Santa Barbara Independent, and CASA Magazine Santa Barbara.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and frequent performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, as well as guest conductors and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and Fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 200 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and Fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
