Conductors
Submitted by eads on Mon, 10/08/2007 - 11:33pm.
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Yesterday I guest-conducted the Jewish Community Singers of Metro Chicago, a terrific volunteer civic group of about 70 singers called (in Hebrew) Kol Zimrah. I was brought in to lead KZ for a half-dozen weekly rehearsals and then the final concert, performed at the lovely Weinberg center at the corner of Lake Cook Road and I-294. The house was packed, with people overflowing to the patio outside, which fortunately had been supplied with speakers from the audio system that was carrying us on microphones.
The program lasted about an hour. Would you believe that there was a connection between one of the songs and my own grandmother? Oy! As it turned out, the program contained a "niggun" in Yiddish. A "niggun" [plural "niggunim"] is a wordless tune, which in this case sounded like "tschiribim-bam-bam," and so on. This particular niggun was arranged by Alice Parker, who was Robert Shaw's longtime collaborator, and a brilliant arranger in her own right.
However, more interesting to me was the composer of the original tune, Lazar Weiner. I learned from a friend that Lazar Weiner, who wore many hats in the NYC Jewish-music scene a hundred or so years ago, was the music director of the Freyheyt Gezang Vereyn (Freedom-Song Union), basically the choral-music arm of the Communist Party in New York City in the 1920s. Here is a picture of Weiner conducting.
And who sang with Lazar Weiner in the Freyheyt Gezang Vereyn? None other than my father's mother, Lillian Cohen, born Leah Krikun in Minsk, what is now Belarus. Now THAT is a small world!
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I thought you might like to know that I have recently had two choral compositions published by Hinshaw Music, our longtime partner in the sheet-music publishing world. Being the director of Chicago a cappella has inspired me to compose and/or arrange tunes for the ensemble. I've probably written or arranged about 50 pieces in all. A few more are on the drawing board.
Both pieces are labeled for "medium-to-advance adult choir." The first is called "The Fall," which I wrote on a poem by Russell Edson when commissioned by longtime fan Carolyn Sacksteder for Chicago a cappella's 10th anniversary. The second piece is called "A Tickle," which I wrote for the church choir at Unity Temple in Oak Park and then had CAC perform with the Madrigal ensemble from the Chicago Children's Choir.
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The envelope, please...
I am happy to announce that we finished our recent round of callback auditions, and I have offered a spot on the Chicago a cappella roster to both of the talented baritones who made it to the final round.
Brian Streem will sing the first and fourth programs in our 07-08 season, and Michael Boschert will sing the middle two.
For more on the upcoming season, take a look at:
http://www.chicagoacappella.org/concerts/Brochure_200708.pdf
I hope that each of you will have a chance to hear the ensemble as constituted with these terrific baritones.
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Submitted by Jim Hirsch on Thu, 05/31/2007 - 11:17am.
I was getting ready to play golf last Friday when I received a call from the Chicago Sinfonietta's Founder and Music Director, Paul Freeman. Paul had just returned from an arduous 14-city tour with his Prague orchestra and was getting ready for our June 4 and 10 performances with Poi Dog Pondering. Everything seemed normal.
Paul called early 
on Friday to inform me that some urgent personal business required his attention in Victoria and that he would miss his first concert in 20+ years. What to do? After a series of discussions, we reached out to André Raphel Smith, a young, dynamic conductor who currently leads the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. Thanks to Paul Freeman, our production manager, Christina Harris, and André's Manager, Tom Parker, we were able to secure Maestro Smith's services by 2 p.m. that afternoon - just as I was teeing off on the 4th hole at Lake Shore Country Club. He had the music in his hands by the next day and I ended up shooting a pretty horrible round - though I did win $8!
We are looking forward to working with this talented conductor and to Maestro Freeman's return.
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Callbacks are second-round auditions. At Chicago a cappella, they have one primary aim: to make sure that a singer will blend well with the other people in his/her section.
This is harder than it may seem at first glance. True, our first round weeds out most people. However, even a singer with the right "chops" for the ensemble may not have a voice that blends particularly well with the other person in the section.
One cannot predict with much accuracy (at least I cannot) how well a given pair of voices will blend. I realize--well, I really should say, I have learned primarily by hard knocks--that two-to-a-part is the very hardest sort of blend in the world. Wishing has nothing to do it; the ears don't lie!
So last Wednesday we had auditions for the two finalists who emerged from first-round auditions.
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I am eagerly anticipating the
Chicago Opera Theater’s opening night performance (tonight) of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Schönberg’s Erwartung. Wearing my Chicago and COT cheerleader outfit today, here are my top eight reasons you should see these operas:
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Auditioning is a strange and wonderful thing. We decided to hold open auditions this spring for the first time. This "y'all come" audition allowed anyone to send in materials for review. We have to do this to fill the baritone vacancy created by Aaron Johnson's departure after 9 years, and we decided to broaden the audition opportunity to all voice parts.
Last week we heard the first group of 6 singers -- lots of basses and a soprano. I found myself in the usual position I have been in since starting Chicago a cappella.
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Listener Memories, Recordings and Rare Interviews Pre-empt Regular Music Schedule
98.7WFMT, Chicago's Classical Experience, is paying tribute to Russian musician and human rights activist
Mstislav Rostropovich who died this morning in Moscow. Today, Friday April 27, and tomorrow morning, Saturday April 28, the station is airing recordings from its archives of Rostropovich cello performances and conducting various orchestras around the world. In addition, the station is airing voicemails and reading emails from listeners recounting memories of the world-renowned musician, who visited Chicago many times during his lifetime. Rare interviews have also been posted on wfmt.com.
The special tribute pre-empts previously scheduled musical programming. "Today represents a major loss for the classical music world" said WFMT Program Director
Peter Whorf, "and it's only appropriate that we use our archives to pay tribute." On his blog, Whorf posted a rare audio clip of composer
Dmitri Shostakovich speaking of his friend Rostropovich as well as a recent interview producer
Jon Tolansky conducted with him in 2002. One Internet listener remarked via email that "the great significance of Mstislav Rostropovich to the music world and the world in general is tremendous. As you played his recording of what he played at the [collapse of the] Berlin Wall, I was deeply touched. Your efforts all morning to honor this great person is just one more reason what we love your station. "Thanks so much for all you do daily to enrich our lives." More information about 98.7WFMT and 98.7WFMT Streaming is available at www.wfmt.com .
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I am elated. "The Wanderer" by Ezequiel Viñao went very well. The second performance in particular, in Oak Park, was astounding. We seem to have really made an impact on our audiences. I am so proud of the Chicago a cappella singers who worked so very hard to master the most difficult piece I have ever programmed.
We had programmed very difficult music before, but never a piece (1) this monumental or (2) one of such difficulty to which I was so fiercely committed that we would do it complete justice. I guess there is a form of tenacity that comes out in a situation like this.
I told the singers afterward, "I feel a great sense of confidence. After learning this piece, there is nothing we can't do -- bring it on, world!"
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