Music Academy Offers Masterclass Sampler
The perfect introduction to a cherished Festival tradition
For Immediate Release June 24, 2009
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA – Pioneered by legendary soprano Lotte Lehmann in the early years of the Music Academy of the West, the masterclass is widely considered the quintessential Academy experience. Music lovers not yet familiar with this cherished Summer Festival tradition are encouraged to attend a masterclass sampler at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, July 1. Featuring violinist Kathleen Winkler, flutist Timothy Day, and pianist Jerome Lowenthal, each an Academy faculty member, the event will take place in Hahn Hall on the Music Academy campus. Tickets cost $20.
The masterclass concept is beguilingly simple: An Academy Fellow performs before an audience, a teacher critiques the performance, and the Fellow refines his or her performance accordingly. For Fellows, the masterclass combines the rigors of learning with the intensity of public performance. For audience members, the masterclass provides intimate insight into the subtleties of great music-making. The Music Academy offers more than 100 public masterclasses each summer – many of them free. Vocal and solo piano classes are offered as discounted series with reserved seating.
Kathleen Winkler made her solo debut at age 17 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and has since been heard with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh and Phoenix symphonies, the Danish Radio Orchestra, and the Odense Byorkester, among others. Her concert tours have taken her throughout North America and Europe. Formerly a faculty member at Oberlin Conservatory, Ms. Winkler is currently a professor of violin at Rice University Shepherd School of Music, where she received the university's prestigious Julia Mile Chance Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Ms. Winkler served as a visiting professor at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music for two years, and was recently named a visiting professor at the middle school attached to the Central Conservatory in Beijing. She has been a member of the Music Academy faculty since 1993.
Jerome Lowenthal has been a prominent presence in the international piano world for more than a half-century. A student of three legendary musicians – William Kapell, Eduard Steuermann, and Alfred Cortot – he has performed a voluminous repertoire that includes 63 different concerti. Mr. Lowenthal has recorded for numerous record labels, including RCA, Columbia, and Arabesque, and has collaborated in concert with violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Nathaniel Rosen, and pianists Ronit Amir and Ursula Oppens. In addition to giving masterclasses in North America, Europe, and Asia, he has served as a faculty member at Juilliard since 1991. The recent recipient an honorary doctorate from Cleveland Institute of Music, Mr. Lowenthal has been a member of the Music Academy faculty since 1970.
Timothy Day was appointed principal flute of the San Francisco Symphony in 2007 and occupies the symphony's Caroline H. Hume Chair. Previously, he served as principal flute with the Baltimore Symphony for 12 seasons. Mr. Day has served as acting principal flute for the Minnesota Orchestra and the Boston Symphony. In addition to participating in festivals in Moab, Mohonk, and Montreal, he has been a featured soloist during San Diego's Mainly Mozart Festival and has appeared many times as part of the San Francisco Symphony Chamber Music Series. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied with Robert Willoughby, Mr. Day joined the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1987. He also has served as a wind coach with the New World Symphony. Mr. Day has been a member of the Music Academy faculty since 1992.
As part of its 62nd Summer Festival, the Music Academy also will present an ambitious production of Ambroise Thomas' charming French Romantic opera Mignon, as well as performances by conductor Leonard Slatkin and pianist Christopher Taylor. The Academy will present 197 events over the course of this year's Summer School and Festival, which began June 22 and concludes on August 15. Additional highlights will include performances by the Canadian Brass and the Takács Quartet, and conducting turns by Larry Rachleff, Peter Oundjian, George Manahan, Nicholas McGegan, and Alexander Mickelthwate. 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.
For tickets and information, call 969-8787. Information is also available online at www.musicacademy.org.
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, 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. The Music Academy began broadcasting live performances by the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera at Hahn Hall in October 2008. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
