re/sound in this issue: PMP grantees raise voices in Philadelphia pages 1-5
a publication of the
Philadelphia Music Project October 2003
pmp grantees raise voices in philadelphia
by David Shengold
Message from the Director pages 1-2 PMP announces 2003 grant awards pages 6-13 Calendar of PMP funded events pages 10-11 GPTMC introduces CultureFiles page 13 Making a connection: arts educator Eric Booth helps artists become “agents of artistic experience” pages 14-17 Eric Booth’s guidelines for creating engaging kids’ programs pages 15-16 Grantee spotlights: Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia Museum of Art pages 18-19 New faces: PMP says goodbye to Program Associate Megan Manchester and welcomes Heather Leigh Murray page 19 Coming up: panel discussion on music, technology, and kids page 20
Mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose as the Composer and soprano Jennifer Welch-Babidge as Zerbinetta in the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s April 2003 production of Ariadne auf Naxos. Photo by Vince Massa.
Voices are being raised in song throughout the city, and the Philadelphia Music Project’s 2002 and 2003 awards have been giving them strength and resonance. Local choral, theatrical, and operatic institutions have utilized funds to power a stirring multiplicity of vocal styles and worlds, from gospel and cabaret to medieval holiday carols, opera, and commissioned contemporary music. Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, an undoubted twentieth century masterwork but never a popular favorite, received its American premiere at the Academy of Music in 1928 under Leopold Stokowski. PMP’s 2002 (continued on next page)
message from the director Philadelphia lays claim to an array of music organizations whose creative work spans an immense artistic continuum. The breadth of local programming is well reflected in performances presented by the Philadelphia Music Project’s 2003 grantees. This is particularly evident in the area of vocal music, as David Shengold explores in re/sound’s feature article, “PMP Grantees Raise Voices in Philadelphia.” David gives a behind-the-scenes look at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Academy of Vocal Arts,
the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Annenberg Center, Piffaro, Mendelssohn Club, and the Prince Music Theater, PMP grantees that are embarking on an eclectic mix of vocal programs ranging from seldom heard opera and Renaissance carols to contemporary musical theater, gospel, and choral music. re/sound also spotlights two PMP grantees, both over 100 years old and at the very center of the city’s cultural identity: (continued on next page)
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raising voices in philadelphia grant to the Opera Company of Philadelphia allowed Ariadne to return to the Academy in March 2003 in a widely hailed new production and financed the “role debut” of Romanian mezzo Ruxandra Donose as the Composer. When a singer assumes a new role, coaching and rehearsal costs escalate; Donose, also a Met and Vienna star, enjoyed a huge success adding this key part to her repertoire for the benefit of Philadelphia audiences. The effort to present works outside the mainstream has long engaged OCP. Jack Mulroney, the company’s Executive Director, explains, “The Philadelphia Music Project’s support in recent years has been crucial in enabling us to present important works that are outside the standard repertoire. These operas, such as last season’s Ariadne, offer no guarantees at the box office. However, it is only through their introduction that we can expand the horizons of Philadelphia’s opera audience, some still relatively new to
the art form.” The venerable Mendelssohn Club, founded in 1874, is the city’s oldest continuously performing mixed community chorus, with accomplishments encompassing the U.S. premiere of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony and the Philadelphia premiere of Britten’s War Requiem. Today, its innovative programs serve both audiences and participants in exploring vocal music; new choral music is frequently commissioned. Mendelssohn Club has programmed two works by distinguished composer Charles Fussell at the Philadelphia Cathedral. Specimen Days, inspired by the writings of Camden’s Walt Whitman, was performed on May 3 rd . On October 25 th , the second grant-funded Mendelssohn Club concert presents the world premiere of Fussell’s Hart Crane–based work, High Bridge. Board member Lynn Faust notes, “The grant has given
Mendelssohn Club the opportunity to bring back to Philadelphia our 1992 commission, Specimen Days, with
Baritone Sanford Sylvan will sing a role composed for him in the world premiere of Charles Fussell’s new work, High Bridge, to be presented by Mendelssohn Club in October. Photo by Susan Wilson.
director’s message the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Orchestra, with its fabled sound and technical brilliance, has set the standard for interpreting the classics while demonstrating a substantive commitment to expanding the repertoire through an ongoing composer commissioning program. The Museum, internationally regarded for its extensive collection and wealth of exhibitions, has also established itself as a formidable jazz presenter, a hotspot to catch some of today’s most progressive local and touring jazz artists. In these pages, you will also read about PMP’s expanding professional development program. In the current season, PMP is sponsoring a range of consultancies for the benefit of the nonprofit music community. Marketing specialist Deborah Obalil,
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publicist Aleba Gartner, and the firm of Arts Action Research will work one-on-one with local presenting and performing organizations in the areas of audience development, public relations, and strategic planning. Also, read about PMP’s recent seminar and workshop with Juilliard faculty member Eric Booth, a passionate and inspiring advocate for music education. But most importantly, re/sound includes a complete list of current grantees, their projects, and a calendar of funded events. It is proof positive that Philadelphia is the place to be for people with a healthy appetite for musical adventure. Matthew Levy Director
Right: Curtis Institute alumnus and faculty member Ned Rorem will be the focus of a two-week festival at Curtis honoring the occasion of his 80th birthday in October 2003. Below: Dottie Peoples will be featured on the Annenberg Center’s gospel music series in a program with the David Winslow Singers and the Gospel Music Preservation Alliance.
baritone Sanford Sylvan in the role written for him. We were not able to engage Mr. Sylvan for our premiere of the work, so this opportunity has been especially important. Specimen Days has actually received many performances around the country since [then].” Fussell also penned High Bridge for Sylvan, recognized internationally for his services to new and baroque music: “I’ve written a number of works for Sandy... I have his voice in mind. If you keep him in mind, you know exactly what baritones do and what they don’t do in terms of range and color.” Philadelphia’s renowned Curtis Institute uses its grant towards its November two-week festival “Roremania,” celebrating the legacy and enduring contribution (and eightieth birthday) of alumnus and faculty member Ned Rorem (Composition ’44), known for his elegantly spare prosody.
“Roremania” encompasses the acclaimed 1998 cycle Evidence of Things Not Seen, a retrospective of his songs by vocal students, and a faculty concert of chamber music. It culminates on November 7th with two performances of Miss Julie, performed by the Institute’s Opera Theatre and Symphony Orchestra at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater. “I think that it is an honor for our students to be in the
presence of, and working with, such an eminent composer. The opportunity to help celebrate his 80th birthday is something they will never forget,” says Mikael Eliasen, head of the Curtis Vocal Studies department. With libretto by Kenward Elmslie based on Strindberg’s 1888 tragedy, Miss Julie, Rorem’s only full-length opera, premiered at New York City Opera in 1965 and was revised in 1979. The University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents a broadly multicultural array of music, dance, theatre, and children’s programming. The Annenberg’s wide-ranging “Beyond Belief: A Celebration of Gospel Music” centers on a yearlong series of three Saturday night gospel performances featuring both nationally known and local gospel groups, offering audiences faith-affirming music in a variety of styles. On October 11 th , the Grammy-winning Reverend Hezekiah Walker and his Love Fellowship Choir, widely noted for their hip-hop inflected urban gospel, join Philadelphia’s historic Brockington Ensemble (in its fortieth year) and the youthful Blair Brothers. February 14th showcases dynamic Dottie Peoples, known since her 1995 award-winning classic “On Time God” as a leader in the new gospel generation, plus the David Winslow Singers and the Gospel Music Preservation Alliance. On June 12 th , Zellerbach Auditorium will resonate with two well-established area
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choral groups, Carolyn Sims-Nesmith’s Freedom Choir of Philadelphia (celebrating its 35th anniversary) and the 25-year-old Wilmington Chester Mass Choir. Joining them will be Philadelphia native Tamika Patton, a recording artist whose musical ministry blends jazz and spoken word styles. Annenberg Director Michael Rose observes: “As a genre, gospel is a form of musical expression that both builds upon and undergirds the rich heritage of American music while connecting to multiple audiences and communities with an immediacy and currency unlike most other performing arts forms. While gospel has not traditionally been presented as a musical series, it should be—in particular for one of the nation’s major urban, university-based performing arts centers—in that it embraces such traditional artistic values as diversity, structure, depth, tradition, and expanding self-definition. “We fervently believe that this new series will bring us important new and crossover audiences, while strengthening Annenberg and Penn’s ties to music audiences and communities of faith in West Philadelphia and the broader region.” To that end, gospel artists will appear in residencies in nearby public schools, and the Artistic Director of the Wilmington Chester Mass Choir will conduct a workshop with local gospel and church choirs. Penn Ethnomusicologist Dr. Carol Muller has developed
Students at the Academy of Vocal Arts, shown here in a 2002 production of Lucrezia Borgia, will perform a concert version of Puccini’s Edgar—a premiere for Philadelphia audiences. Photo by Paul Sirochman.
public programs to further audience insight into the concerts; working with the festival’s participants, her students will create oral histories as an enduring testimony of “Beyond Belief.” The Academy of Vocal Arts, concentrating exclusively on training vocalists, unveils a concert version of Giacomo Puccini’s second opera Edgar (1889) at the Perelman Theatre on January 21st and 23rd, and January 24 th at Centennial Hall in Haverford. Music Director Christofer Macatsoris will conduct AVA resident artists and more than 70 members of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.
Sound interesting? Check our Calendar of Funded Events on pages 10-11 for concert dates, or visit our Web site, www.philadelphiamusicproject.org, for a complete list of funded events in 2003-04.
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“Our resident artists have the opportunity to learn and perform a work by Puccini that is highly appropriate for their vocal and artistic development, but rarely presented. In fact, our production will be the Philadelphia premiere of Edgar,” said AVA Executive Director K. James McDowell. “No reduction of the score exists for this opera, so without PMP funding, and a larger venue like the Perelman Theater, a production with full orchestra would be out of reach for AVA.” This double-cast production engages a musically substantial but seldom-performed work, resident artists well suited to the leading roles, and a venue that will allow AVA to transition into serving an expanded Center City audience. Since its 1980 founding, Piffaro, a vital, entertaining seven-person Philadelphia-based Renaissance ensemble, has toured
extensively on several continents. Many recordings document Piffaro’s aural world, encompassing shawms, sackbuts, dulcians, krumhorns, bagpipes, and lutes. PMP’s 2003 grant will allow Piffaro to mount three performances of “The Holly & The Ivy: A Midwinter Feast of Fools” at the Trinity Center for Urban Life (December 18-19) and Villanova’s St. Mary’s Chapel (December 20). A fully staged and costumed performance, this tale of the rivalry between Sir Holly and Lady Ivy for mastery of winter draws upon fifteenth century English carol texts and music from Henry VIII’s songbook. Soprano Laura Heimes, lutenist/singer Paul Shipper, and actor Mark Jaster are guest artists. Since 1999, the innovative, nationally influential Prince Music Theater, founded in 1984 as the American Music Theater Festival, has operated out of its own state-of-the-art Center City facility. Besides developing new work, part of its mission involves celebrating the legacy of the creative mavericks and pioneers who have forged the American musical theater. Aided by funds from PMP, the Prince mounts a retrospective tribute to composer William Bolcom and lyricist Arnold Weinstein in spring 2004. The
festival includes a revival of their Casino Paradise with Bolcom’s wife and frequent collaborator, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris; a concert of music from the operas McTeague and A View from the Bridge and previews from the forthcoming Idiot’s Delight; and a cabaret plus master classes. “After over 40 years of writing musical theater and opera with Arnold Weinstein, it is thrilling to find the Prince Theater thinks well enough of us to do an overview of our long career,” muses Bolcom. “I guess it proves the worth of sticking around long enough in life. We mounted Casino Paradise 13 years ago at the AMTF, and now patrons will have the chance to see and hear it after we’ve revised it to its great advantage; second chances are rare in this business.” The Philadelphia Music Project funds all manner of local musical groups in an impressive variety of endeavors. Voices lifted in song—for affirmation, in protest, as satire, or merely (!) in sorrow or joy—are the pulse of communities. Philadelphia, with a uniquely rich mix of talent, civic, religious, and ethnic traditions, and established yet
The extensive and diverse body of vocal music composed by William Bolcom with librettist Arnold Weinstein will be the focus of a major retrospective by the Prince Music Theater in 2004.
vital musical and theatrical institutions, constitutes one of the nation’s most lively and fertile sources of and proving grounds for vocal art and expression. PMP’s crucial assistance helps the city prepare its singers, fuel its songs, and gather its listeners. David Shengold, a Philadelphiabased journalist, writes regularly for City Paper, Opera News, Opera, Time Out New York, and ClassicsToday.com. He frequently contributes program essays to the Metropolitan Opera Playbill.
Piffaro, Philadelphia’s Renaissance band, will present a staged production based on 15th and 16th century English carols. Photo by Joseph Chielli, Church Street Studios.
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pmp announces 2003 grant awards In March, the Philadelphia Music Project announced the recipients of its 2003 project grants, awarding a total of $780,000 in project support to 16 area music organizations. Grants range from $2,000 to $160,000 and were selected from among 32 applicants. They represent a substantive commitment to adventurous programming in a range of musical genres. Taken together, they illustrate the diversity of musical activities taking place in Greater Philadelphia, from the Avenue of the Arts to outlying neighborhoods of the city to the suburbs. “These awards demonstrate PMP’s commitment to a broad vision of artistic innovation,” said PMP Director Matthew Levy.
“Not only do they support the creation and presentation of new work, they also help to sustain important historical traditions, encourage interdisciplinary collaborations, and celebrate the
from premieres to preservation, revivals to retrospectives, awards reflect “broad vision of artistic innovation” contributions of a number of America’s most important living composers. By supporting local music organizations in the pursuit of new ideas, PMP hopes to continue to foster an artistically dynamic environment for music in the Philadelphia area.” This year’s funded projects
Students in the Curtis Institute of Music’s opera theatre program, shown here in a fall 2002 production of Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Consul, will perform Ned Rorem’s opera Miss Julie in November 2003. Photo by Laura C. Kelley, Curtis Institute of Music.
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are unique in the degree to which they represent a major investment in the work of some of America’s most renowned living composers. Three of PMP’s 2003 projects spotlight the work of a single
composer and are tied together by the involvement of the composers themselves in the development and implementation of the projects. Their artist-centered format fosters thoughtful portrayals of the composers and will illuminate the creative process for area audiences. The Curtis Institute of Music received $80,000 to present “Roremania,” a festival celebrating the 80 th birthday of renowned composer and Curtis alumnus and faculty member Ned Rorem. A twoweek series of events will begin on Mr. Rorem’s birthday (October 23, 2003) and conclude on November 7th. The festival includes a performance of his song cycle Evidence of Things Not Seen; a retrospective of his art songs by students in the Curtis Vocal Studies Department; an all-Rorem chamber music recital featuring performances by Curtis faculty members, including Jeffrey Khaner (flute), Richard Woodhams (oboe), Elizabeth Hainen (harp), and Hugh Sung (piano); and a performance of Mr. Rorem’s organ music and sacred works featuring Matthew Glandorf and Diane Meredith Belcher. The festival will culminate in two
performances of Mr. Rorem’s opera Miss Julie in the Perelman Theatre. The Mann Center for the Performing Arts was granted $50,000 for its June 2003 multi-media production of music by composer and jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard featured in the films of Spike Lee. Performers included Angelique Kidjo, Floetry, and Angie Stone with a jazz ensemble and chamber orchestra. The event, which was hosted by Mr. Lee, also featured a projection of images from his films. The Prince Music Theater (American Music Theater Festival) was awarded $80,000 to mount a retrospective of the opera and theater work of William Bolcom and Arnold Weinstein as part of the American Music Theater Festival’s 20 th anniversary celebration in spring 2004. The Bolcom/Weinstein celebration will feature a theatrical revival of Casino Paradise (American Music
Theater Festival world premiere, 1990), starring Joan Morris; a concert of their operatic work (McTeague and A View from the Bridge), which will include a sneak preview of Bolcom’s newest work, Idiot’s Delight (world premiere scheduled for 2005), featuring Joan Morris and Timothy Nolen with William Bolcom at the piano; and a cabaret of Bolcom and Weinstein songs. The retrospective will also include master classes on composition by Bolcom and Weinstein, and on cabaret and opera performance by Morris and Nolen. Since its inception in 1989, PMP has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to fostering the creation of new work. In keeping with this trend, a number of current grantees will use PMP support to commission and present new music
compositions. The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Harp Society, a first-time PMP grantee, received $2,000 to support a new work by Philadelphia composer James Primosch for the Jubal Trio (harp, flute, and voice). The commissioned work will be a set of arrangements of sacred tunes: “How Can I Keep From Singing,” “Be Thou My Vision,” and “What Wondrous Love Is This?” The world premiere will be presented at the national conference of the American Harp Society held in Philadelphia in June 2004. The Philadelphia Classical Symphony received $60,000 over two years to present “Composer Connections,” a program that brings together Philadelphia-based composers and performers as partners in the creation and performance of new concerti specifically written for underused solo instruments. Maurice Wright and Andrea Clearfield will compose works for Nitzan Haroz (trombone) and Angela Zator Nelson (percussion), respectively.
Above: International world music star Angelique Kidjo and soul artist Angie Stone were featured in the Mann Center’s “Movie Music of Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard” program. Left: The Jubal Trio will perform a new work by James Primosch, commissioned by the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Harp Society, at the Society’s 2004 annual conference in Philadelphia. Photo by Theodor Feibel.
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These works will be integrated into thematically unified programs designed to educate listeners about the solo instrument and the ways composers have historically addressed their idiomatic qualities. The project will include two residency programs at the Shawmont School (a magnet school for music) and the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in downtown Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Orchestra received $160,000 over two years in support of four commissions by Gerald Levinson, Ned Rorem, Richard Danielpour, and Nicholas Maw. The resulting premieres are part of a broader “Philadelphia Orchestra First Performances” project, which also features U.S. premieres of works by Oliver Knussen, Hans Werner Henze, and James MacMillan and the orchestra’s first performances of contemporary works by John Corigliano, Jennifer Higdon, Roberto Sierra, and John Adams. Performances will feature renowned guest artists Thomas Hampson (baritone), Joshua Bell (violin), Andrés Cárdenes (violin),
The Relâche Ensemble’s four PMP funded commissions in the 2003-04 season embrace interdisciplinary collaboration. Photo by Peter Gallo.
and Vadim Repin (violin) and guest conductors Roberto Abbado, David Robertson, Oliver Knussen, Marin Alsop, Simon Rattle, and Charles Dutoit. Relâche will commission new works by Tiyé Giraud, Ikue Mori, Kamran Ince, and Uri Caine to be performed on the ensemble’s 2003-04 concert series, Future Sounds. The series follows an
The Philadelphia Orchestra applauds composer Jennifer Higdon after premiering her Concerto for Orchestra in June 2002. The orchestra will give its first performance of another work by Ms. Higdon, blue cathedral, in November 2003. Photo by Jean Brubaker.
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intercultural exchange thematic framework, with elements of interdisciplinary collaboration that include improvisatory dance by Phrenic New Ballet in Uri Caine’s work. Each program will be co-curated by the commissioned composer, and Tiyé Giraud, Ikue Mori and Uri Caine will appear as guest artists with the ensemble. A number of PMP grants in 2003 enable area music organizations to break new artistic ground by mounting programs that explore new formats and collaborations in the areas of jazz, early music, and world music. Piffaro received $30,000 to present “The Holly and the Ivy,” a fully staged and costumed production based on texts and music of 15 th and early 16 th century English carols modeled after early Tudor “entertainments” of the 16 th century. Guest artists will include Laura Heimes (soprano), Paul Shipper (voice and lute), Christa Patton (harp and winds),
and Mark Jaster (actor). Mount Airy’s Sedgwick Cultural Center was awarded a first-time PMP grant of $20,655 to present “Unexpected Light,” an interdisciplinary program that brings together the jazz quartet of Jane Ira Bloom and lighting designer James F. Ingalls for two concerts in which the interactions of music and light create a new improvised work. Ms. Bloom will conduct a residency session on improvisation with the Sedgwick Cultural Center’s Teen Jazz Workshop, and Ms. Bloom and Mr. Ingalls will hold a panel discussion on interdisciplinary art practice with members of the community and theatre and music professionals. The Philadelphia Museum of Art, a first-time PMP grantee, was awarded $30,000 to expand its Friday Jazz Series to feature four performances by jazz artists whose work integrates various musical and cultural influences: Omar Sosa (Cuba), Richard Bona (Cameroon), Brave Old World (Eastern European klezmer), and Luciana Souza (Brazil). A first-time PMP grant of $23,500 to Montgomery County Community College will enable MCCC to present performances by the Ron Carter Ensemble and the String Trio of New York that will explore the commonalities between jazz and classical music and
Left: Soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom will team with James F. Ingalls at the Sedgwick Cultural Center to produce an improvised work based on the interaction of light and sound. Photo by Kristine Larsen. Below: Cuban jazz artist Omar Sosa will perform on the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Friday evening jazz series. Photo by Youri Lenquette.
bring together these musical idioms and their historically divergent audiences. The String Trio of New York will present a program of both contemporary and classic jazz compositions. The Ron Carter Ensemble’s program will focus on repertoire by Bach. The project also includes lecture/ demonstrations on improvisation and the history of jazz and a panel discussion with the hosts of WRTI’s “Crossover,” Jill Pasternak and Jack Buerkle, with a subsequent broadcast.
Strings for Schools received $30,000 for a performance that represents their first collaboration with two of the nation’s most highly regarded Latin jazz artists, Paquito D’Rivera and Giovanni Hidalgo. Mr. D’Rivera and Mr. Hidalgo will perform alongside Strings for Schools roster artists John Blake Jr. and Marlon Simon with Mr. Simon’s band, the Nagual Spirits. The main concert will be presented at a downtown venue, with an additional performance held at a high school located in the Hispanic community and a student workshop at the Asociación de Músicos Latino Americanos (AMLA). The remaining four PMP grants bring seldomperformed works and underrepresented genres to Philadelphia stages. The Academy of Vocal Arts received $51,345 to offer a concert presentation of Puccini’s rarely performed (continued on page 12)
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upcoming pmp funded events september 2003 9/18-23/03
Philadelphia Orchestra First Performances New work by Gerald Levinson (world premiere)
Philadelphia Orchestra (www.philorch.org)
9/20-21/03
Orchestra 2001 with the Silk Road Players, conducted by Bright Sheng
Orchestra 2001 (www.orchestra2001.org)
9/20-21/03
New work by TiyĂŠ Giraud (world premiere)
Relâche (www.relache.org)
9/26/03
Omar Sosa Septet, jazz with Cuban and other world music influences
Philadelphia Museum of Art (www.philamuseum.org)
9/27/03
Kadri Gopalnath, Carnatic saxophone
Sruti, the India Music and Dance Society (www.sruti.org)
october 2003 10/3/03
Richard Bona, jazz inspired by Cameroon Douala vocals
Philadelphia Museum of Art (www.philamuseum.org)
10/11/03
Beyond Belief series: Pastor Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Choir with the Brockington Ensemble
Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (www.annenbergcenter.org)
10/17/03
New work by Thomas Whitman (world premiere)
Network for New Music (www.networkfornewmusic.org)
10/23/03
Roremania: Evidence of Things Not Seen by Ned Rorem
Curtis Institute of Music (www.curtis.edu)
10/25/03
New work by Charles Fussell (world premiere)
Mendelssohn Club (www.mcchorus.org)
10/26/03
Roremania: Sacred works by Ned Rorem performed by Matthew Glandorf and Diane Meredith Belcher (organ)
Curtis Institute of Music (www.curtis.edu)
november 2003 11/1/03
Ali Akbar Khan (sarode), Pandit Swapan Chauduri, Alam Khan, Manik Khan
Sruti, the India Music and Dance Society (www.sruti.org)
11/2/03
Roremania: Curtis faculty and alumni perform chamber works by Ned Rorem
Curtis Institute of Music (www.curtis.edu)
11/2/03
Roremania: Curtis vocal students perform a retrospective of songs by Ned Rorem
Curtis Institute of Music (www.curtis.edu)
11/6-8/03
Philadelphia Orchestra First Performances Oliver Knussen, Symphony in One Movement
Philadelphia Orchestra (www.philorch.org)
11/7/03
Roremania: Miss Julie by Ned Rorem
Curtis Institute of Music (www.curtis.edu)
11/15/03
Beat This! Obini Ashe (Afro-Cuban drumming)
Painted Bride Art Center (www.paintedbride.org)
11/15-16/03
New work by George Crumb, featuring the Duke Ellington Choir (world premiere)
Orchestra 2001 (www.orchestra2001.org)
11/20-25/03
Philadelphia Orchestra First Performances John Corigliano, The Red Violin
Philadelphia Orchestra (www.philorch.org)
11/28/0312/2/03
Philadelphia Orchestra First Performances Jennifer Higdon, blue cathedral
Philadelphia Orchestra (www.philorch.org)
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Philadelphia Music Project december 2003 12/4-6/03
Philadelphia Orchestra First Performances New flute concerto by Ned Rorem (world premiere)
Philadelphia Orchestra (www.philorch.org)
12/5/03
Beat This! La Troupe Makandal (Afro-Haitian drumming)
Painted Bride Art Center (www.paintedbride.org)
12/6-7/03
New work by Ikue Mori (world premiere)
Relâche (www.relache.org)
12/18-20/03
The Holly and the Ivy: A Midwinter Feast of Fools
Piffaro (www.piffaro.com)
january 2004
1/9/04
Brave Old World (klezmer)
Philadelphia Museum of Art (www.philamuseum.org)
1/21, 23-24/04
Edgar by Giacomo Puccini
Academy of Vocal Arts (www.avaopera.org)
1/22-24/04
Philadelphia Orchestra First Performances Hans Werner Henze, Symphony No. 10
Philadelphia Orchestra (www.philorch.org)
february 2004 2/7/04
String Trio of New York
Montgomery County Community College (www.mc3.edu)
2/14/04
Beyond Belief series: Dottie Peoples, the Gospel Music Preservation Alliance, and the David Winslow Singers
2/21-22/04
New work by Kamran Ince (world premiere)
Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (www.annenbergcenter.org) Relâche (www.relache.org)
march 2004 3/6/04
Ron Carter Ensemble
Montgomery County Community College (www.mc3.edu)
3/21/04
New work by George Walker (world premiere)
Network for New Music (www.networkfornewmusic.org)
april 2004 4/2/04
Luciana Souza, Brazilian jazz
Philadelphia Museum of Art (www.philamuseum.org)
4/4/04
Composer Connections: Nitzan Haroz (trombone) performs new work by Maurice Wright (world premiere)
Philadelphia Classical Symphony (www.classicalsymphony.org)
PMP recommends that you visit grantees’ Web sites for the most complete, up-to-date information about each event. For a full list of PMP funded events in the current season, check out our online calendar of funded events at www.philadelphiamusicproject.org. A more complete calendar of arts and cultural events in Philadelphia can be found at PhillyFunGuide.com, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s online events calendar.
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South African musician Mogauwane Mahloele (shown here playing the birimbau) will conduct an 18-week residency at the Philadelphia Folklore Project, culminating in a performance with flamenco guitarist Tito Rubio and West African/Afro-Cuban drummer John Wilkie. Photo by Mike Spetler.
2003 funded projects (continued from page 9)
opera Edgar. With this performance—a regional premiere for Philadelphia audiences—AVA, joined by the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, will make its debut in the Perelman Theatre at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, with an additional performance in Centennial Hall at the Haverford School. The project also includes a radio broadcast over WRTI-FM and outreach performances for local middle and high school students. The Annenberg Center’s $80,000 grant is in support of “Beyond Belief: A Celebration of Gospel Music,” featuring a threeconcert series with Pastor Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Choir, Dottie Peoples, Wilmington Chester Mass Choir, the Brockington Ensemble, Freedom Choir of Philadelphia, Tamika Patton, and the David Winslow Singers. Artists will participate alongside a local gospel teacher in two ongoing eight-week residencies at West Philadelphia’s Drew Elementary School and University City High School, offered by Penn’s Graduate School of Education. The Artistic Director of the Wilmington Chester Mass Choir will lead a two-day gospel choir college for 20 local church choirs. Dr. Carol
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Muller, ethnomusicologist and Program Director for Penn’s 2003-04 Humanities Forum “Belief,” will develop public academic programs to coincide with the gospel music series, and her students will solicit oral histories from participating artists and choirs as part of their coursework. The Philadelphia Folklore Project will sponsor residencies and performances by local traditional artists Mogauwane Mahloele (South African BaPedi songwriter and performer), Tito Rubio (flamenco guitarist), and John Wilkie (West African and
Afro-Cuban drummer). Artists will conduct 18-week residencies at PFP’s new venue, develop new repertoire in their respective traditions, and offer public performances. Finally, SRUTI received $22,500 to present performances by Kadri Gopalnath, the only saxophone player in Indian classical music, accompanied by Kanyakumari (violin) and Thenkanikottai Mani (thavil); and Ali Akbar Khan, one of the pioneering figures in introducing Indian music to the West, on the sarode, accompanied by Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla), Alam Khan
(sarode), and Manik Khan (tanpura). SRUTI will also present lecture/demonstrations by Geetha Ramanathan Bennett (vina) and Trichy Sankaran (mridangam) on melody and rhythm, respectively, in Indian classical music. Taken in total, funded projects will yield 125 events, including the commission and performance of 15 new works, the world premiere of one new work, the US premieres of three new works, and the regional premiere of one additional work; 15 radio broadcasts; 27 residency and educational activities; and over 100 public performances including 78 new music, 13 chamber music, 40 orchestral music, three choral
music, eight world/folk music, 10 jazz, three early music, and 23 musical theatre, as well as five opera performances. Funded activities are expected to benefit 240 local artists and 350 guest artists and reach over 108,000 audience members in the five-county region. PMP grants are awarded on a competitive basis and are selected by a panel of artists, scholars, and administrators from around the country with expertise in various aspects of music as well as a broad knowledge of the field. The distinguished eight-member panel that reviewed this year’s applications was comprised of Emil Kang, Executive Director of
the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (panel chair); Carmen Balthrop, soprano, Associate Professor of Voice and Opera at the University of Maryland; Michael Cain, jazz pianist and Professor of Piano and Improvisation at New England Conservatory; Karen Chester, Director of Merkin Concert Hall; Robert Garfias, ethnomusicologist and Professor of Anthropology at the University of California at Irvine; Mark Kausch, Manager of Classical and Cultural Programming for Public Radio International; Robert Porco, Director of Choruses for the Cleveland Orchestra and Joan Tower, composer and Professor of Music at Bard College.
greater philadelphia tourism marketing corporation introduces CultureFiles CultureFiles, the area’s newest resource for cultural marketing in Philadelphia, offers “an insider’s online guide to the region’s arts and culture” and provides a new platform for marketing cultural organizations and arts events on the Web. Launched in March 2003 by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, CultureFiles is an online cultural directory that provides in-depth profiles of a vast array of arts and culture organizations, from music organizations, theaters, and popular venues to museums, parks, and churches. CultureFiles acts as a companion to the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance’s online events calendar, Philly Fun Guide, enabling arts consumers to easily see both “what’s what” and “what’s on.” “Developed for the first-time visitor who wants a whirlwind tour of must-see historic sites or the lifelong resident eager to delve
deeper into the region’s contemporary arts scene, the CultureFiles are useful trip planning tools for anyone interested in exploring Philadelphia’s vast cultural landscape,” says Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of GPTMC. “In addition, the Files also give cultural organizations more exposure and help them market themselves more effectively.” The CultureFiles are located at www.gophila.com and encompass 300 Web pages, each featuring concise key information on attractions across the cultural spectrum. Included are prominent attractions such as the Kimmel Center; hidden gems such as the home of famed contralto Marian Anderson; and lesser-known
experiences like the number of chamber ensembles performing in Philadelphia. Each file includes a description of the experience, a bit of its history, and an “insider tip,” as well as directions and nearby restaurants and accommodations. Organizations are listed in CultureFiles by category in order to target inclined audiences, while search features for location and special interest help the user find activities that fit his or her schedule and preferences. The CultureFiles project is administered by the GPTMC’s Sarah Monk and funded by the William Penn Foundation. For more information, visit www.gophila.com/culturefiles.
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making a
connection
Eric Booth helps music educators become “agents of artistic experience.”
A
by Megan Manchester
rts in education expert Eric Booth believes that words hold the key to lifelong engagement in music and the arts. “Sure, it’s all about the music,” Mr. Booth says. “But we use words before, after, and in between the pieces we play; and the words make a crucial difference in how audiences receive our music, how they prepare for and remember the
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musical experiences we spend a lifetime preparing. Yet we rarely explore the way we can use those words most effectively, to enhance the quality of the musical impact.” PMP recently invited Mr. Booth to conduct a seminar and workshop on how to create more engaging musical experiences and build audiences for music through education. The presentation, hosted by the Curtis Institute of Music on April 24th, focused on strategic use of language to connect to and engage audience members in both public and outreach programs. Nearly 70 Greater Philadelphia artists and arts educators attended. The morning-long event began with a seminar called “Words and Music: Connecting With Audiences,” in which Mr. Booth explored how artists can use language to frame their performances in ways that help audiences find personal relevance in the work presented on stage. He emphasized the importance of not only offering substantive, meaningful musical work on stage, but also facilitating the audience’s capacity to connect to art. Fostering this ability to connect to and grow from artistic experiences, Mr. Booth says, makes audiences feel that the arts have something to offer to them personally and makes them want to return, making this strategy an effective cornerstone on which to build long-term audiences for the arts. To demonstrate the potential impact of a few carefully
chosen words to enhance an artistic experience, Mr. Guidelines for Creating Engaging Children’s Booth, a former actor, performed a sonnet with no Programs,” below.) introduction, then asked the audience for suggestions After a short break, Mr. Booth conducted a on what kind of preparation might have improved workshop called “Engaging Young Audiences in the performance for them. Then he performed the Outreach Programs.” Five local musicians and sonnet again, this time introducing it by posing a set ensembles performed excerpts of their educational of questions meant to evoke the programs and received suggestions “Words make a crucial on how to use language more emotions the sonnet described. This exercise showed audience effectively to enhance their difference in how members how even a brief presentations. audiences receive our introduction can provide a “way in” Curtis students Melissa White to a piece, which facilitates a personal and Bert Witzel presented a lesson music, how they connection and makes the in which they used the violin and prepare for and experience more rewarding. the bass to demonstrate the The sonnet exercise was then used remember the musical relationship between instrument to elicit a set of guidelines for size and pitch. Doc Gibbs experiences we spend a enabling audiences to relate to a introduced the audience to an work of art. (See “Eric Booth’s lifetime preparing.” eclectic variety of percussion
eric booth’s guidelines for creating engaging children’s programs: Personal relevance. Finding a hook that will draw the audience into a work is the highest priority in presenting good programs for concert and outreach audiences alike. The best connection is work-of-art specific and is not always an emotional hook. In fact, the best method is for the artist to draw on what he or she thinks is the most compelling or interesting dimension in order to introduce a work to an audience. Engagement before information. The typical arts education model offers the audience as much information as possible about form and context, but this approach can alienate the listener from the content of the work of art and doesn’t provide a meaningful hook to draw them in. Rather than providing information as an introduction, give information after a relationship had already been developed by way of a good introduction— studies have shown that audiences
actually retain more information this way. Use information as a springboard for engagement. Information can be a useful “way in” if you choose information that engages the audience member rather than pushing him or her away. Tap artistic competence. Asking the audience to do real artistic work, such as composing, performing, dancing or, in the case of the sonnet exercise described, doing what an actor does to prepare a monologue, positions the performer and the artist as equals and gives audience members confidence that there is something for them in the arts. Ask good questions. Avoid questions with right or wrong answers, as these questions affirm audience members’ sense of artistic incompetence. Instead, ask questions that provoke engaged answers. In doing so, however,
don’t neglect quality by simply praising every response. Instead, take all responses seriously—even the ones that seem silly—and ask more questions to elicit more thoughtful responses. This will reaffirm audience members’ sense of their ability to have authentic artistic responses. Explore alternative avenues of making connections. Most of education is invested in getting students to make logical connections, but humans are also capable of making emotional, intuitive, kinesthetic, and other kinds of connections, which the arts can tap into. In a similar vein… Don’t underestimate the importance of fun. Musical fun, such as sound, dance or improvisation, can provide an engaging physical connection to a work of art.
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seminar, workshop help artists and audiences connect instruments from around the world. The Latin Fiesta ensemble performed “The ABCs of Latin Music,” highlighting the different musical idioms found throughout the Hispanic world. Reverend Carolyn Bryant followed with a performance of several traditional gospel hymns. The workshop ended with clarinetist Igor Begelman and bassoonist Larisa Gelman presenting a demonstration of the woodwind family. Mr. Booth offered personalized feedback for each group, asking for audience observations,
Eric Booth answers questions from seminar attendees Mary Kinder Loiselle, Outreach Coordinator at the Curtis Institute of Music, and philantropist Carole Haas Gravagno at the conclusion of the workshop. Photo by Laura C. Kelley, Curtis Institute of Music.
Balance process and product. Instead of overemphasizing the product of music—what is already up on stage—engage people in the process of how music is made. Asking the audience to compose works on a small scale and taking seriously the works they create enables them to understand what’s important in the composition process on a large scale. Target audience members’ intrinsic motivation. The arts offer a rare opportunity for people to invest intrinsically—that is, to do something because they personally believe it’s worth doing, rather than because someone has told them to do it. Research has shown that self-esteem goes up when you invest intrinsically, succeed, and are recognized for it, but goes down when you invest extrinsically and succeed. With so much of education focused on extrinsic
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motivation such as grades, arts educators need to focus on enabling students to explore and succeed at what they think is worthwhile. Attend to the verbs of art. As Mr. Booth put it: “Inherent in the artistic experience is the amazing human capacity to expand one’s sense of what is or might be. The art isn’t in the thing you’re looking at. … The art is in the capacity to expand your sense of the way the world is or might be. It’s the verb that transforms a noun into an art experience. We don’t focus enough on that amazing human capacity—in ourselves or in our audiences— that is the crucial element. Whenpeople experience that, they get what the arts are about.” Engage yearning. Have faith that if your audience invests in your well-structured artistic experience, they will be rewarded for their courage.
“In this role as an agent of artistic experience,” says Mr. Booth, “we’re in the yearning business. Our job is to awaken yearning and guide that energy to rewarding experiences that will provide personally relevant connections that will make them try again.” Remember the law of 80%. Eighty percent of what you teach, Mr. Booth explains, is about the quality of the teacher. In learning about the arts, students pay attention to how a teacher acts and interacts with the curriculum they are teaching, the teacher’s level of enthusiasm, and the degree to which he or she appears eager and involved in what’s going on. In a good education program, artists should make it obvious that they love music and that they are richer for having experienced music in their lives.
commenting on the performers’ choices, and posing challenges that would improve their ability to engage audiences in the music itself. Eric Booth is an award-winning actor, artist, and teacher who has worked with the American Symphony Orchestra League, Chamber Music America, and professional ensembles across the country to help them transform their interactions with audiences. As the founding director of the Teacher Center, he designed and led the training for a network of teaching artists from around the nation and launched 47 research projects with them, helped design a new assessment system for learning in the arts, and was hired by Lincoln Center to train teams from 18 aesthetic education institutes around the U.S. Mr. Booth founded and led the Arts-in-Education Program at Juilliard, which became a national model for training teaching artists and placing them in yearlong
Eric Booth gives feedback on a sample educational program presented by Curtis students Melissa White and Bert Witzel. Photo by Laura C. Kelley, Curtis Institute of Music.
classroom partnerships in New York City public school classrooms. As a faculty member of Juilliard, Tanglewood, the Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center Institute, he has helped hundreds of young musicians more fully realize their potential as live presenters and as advocates for concert music.
Eric Booth’s 20-year career in the theater included Broadway plays such as Whose Life Is It Anyway? with Mary Tyler Moore. He has also written books and appeared in major media as a leading analyst of trends among Americans.
planning and development program expands for upcoming year PMP’s ongoing Planning and Development Program with consultants Nello McDaniel, George Thorn, and Lynn Moffat of Arts Action Research will expand in 2003-04 to help more arts organizations address critical issues. Due to its success and positive feedback in previous years, the program is expanding to include a number of new participants. They include the Music Group of Philadelphia, the Choral Arts Society, the Philadelphia Classical Symphony, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the cultural affairs department of Montgomery County Community College, and the
Philadelphia chapter of the American Composers Forum. A total of 16 music organizations now participate in the program, receiving one-on-one guidance on strategic planning and organizational development in a total of six meetings per year. AAR consultants take an innovative, holistic approach to the process of organizational planning and development. AAR co-founder Nello McDaniel explains, “The future demands that our organizational responses to evolving world conditions be as bold, clear, creative, and courageous as our art.” AAR takes the creative process as the foundation for developing the
organization’s administrative capacity, helping each participant structure its organization around a thoroughly articulated core artistic vision and emphasizing the importance of carrying out artistic work at a balanced and appropriate level. The Planning and Development Program, conducted in collaboration with fellow Pew Charitable Trusts artistic initiatives Dance Advance and the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative, was initiated in 2001 with six participants: Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Network for New Music, the Painted Bride Art Center, Piffaro, the Prince Music
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grantee spotlights Founded in 1900, the Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading orchestras in the world through a century of acclaimed performances, historic international tours, and best-selling recordings. The Orchestra’s public pro-
the most widely recorded and traveled orchestra in the nation. The Philadelphia Orchestra under Ricardo Muti expanded its commitment to commissioning new works. Most recently, Wolfgang Sawallisch, who retired as music director last year,
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orchestra file, which includes weekly radio broadcasts on WHYY and an innovative Internet presence on andante.com, annually touches the lives of millions of music lovers worldwide. As such, the Orchestra is at the center of the local arts community while serving as one of Philadelphia’s most prominent musical ambassadors. A number of influential music directors have helped bring the Philadelphia Orchestra to its current stature. Leopold Stokowski, who became music director in 1912, introduced the Orchestra to a wider audience through recordings, radio, television, and film, including the soundtrack to Disney’s Fantasia. His successor, Eugene Ormandy, is credited with solidifying the Orchestra’s prominence nationwide and with making them
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s seventh Music Director, Christoph Eschenbach, rehearsing the Orchestra in Verizon Hall. Photo by Chris Lee.
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brought the Orchestra’s performance to a level that many believe parallels the height of the Ormandy era. The past three years have been marked by a number of historic events for the Orchestra, including its 100th Anniversary, celebrated in an internationally televised gala birthday concert on November 16, 2000; a move to its
new home in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts during the 2001-02 season; and the inaugural season of its seventh music director, Christoph Eschenbach, who assumed leadership of the Orchestra in September 2003. Over the next season, local audiences will benefit from the Orchestra’s and Mr. Eschenbach’s commitment to new music. The orchestra’s 2003-04 programs feature a number of world and U.S. premieres and first performances of works by living composers. Season highlights also include a four-week Mahler festival, a yearlong exploration of the work of Olivier Messiaen, guest appearances by several internationally acclaimed soloists and conductors, a number of chamber concerts with Mr. Eschenbach himself at the piano, and appearances by the Orchestra’s conductor laureate, Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Brazilian jazz singer Luciana Souza is one of many eclectic jazz and world music artists to be presented on the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Friday evening jazz series. Photo by David Korchin.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has a longstanding and welldeserved reputation as one of the region’s most celebrated cultural treasures. The museum houses over 300,000 works of art and is counted among the largest and most important art museums in the nation.
art-all-around architectural spaces such as a French medieval cloister, a Japanese teahouse, and a Chinese palace hall. But in recent years, the museum has also become a center for musical performance,
Highlights of its diverse collection include its extensive Asian art section, celebrated European masterpieces such as Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Marcel Duchamp’s The Bell and the Glass, the definitive collection of works by Thomas Eakins, and its large,
presenting some of today’s most widely respected jazz and world music artists on two performing arts series. A Wednesday evening series integrates an eclectic mix of musical performances into themed evenings that also include film, dance, gallery talks, and food.
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In just the past year, acts presented on the series zigzag across genres, from world music to folk to gospel to a cappella comic relief. Friday nights at the Art Museum feature jazz performances that encompass the genre’s many historical influences and then some. Styles represented on the Friday evening series have ranged f r o m straightahead jazz to Latin, Afro-Caribbean, avantgarde, soul, blues, jazz/country fusion, and even jazz-inspired Ukrainian folk music, featuring both local and touring artists of the highest caliber, such as Dave Liebman, Orrin Evans, Rick Margitza, and the Bootsie Barnes Quartet. The Art Museum also partners with other area music and arts organizations to present “The Philadelphia Orchestra Connection;” “Music in the Galleries,” featuring students from the Curtis Institute of Music; “Concerts on Fairmount,” which complement the museum’s special exhibitions; and chamber music programs presented by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. This diverse range of programs makes the Philadelphia Museum of Art one of the most eclectic music venues in the region, with programs that demonstrate the intrinsic link between music and the visual arts.
museum of art new faces: pmp says goodbye to program associate megan manchester, welcomes heather leigh murray For more than two years, PMP Program Associate Megan Manchester has made tremendous contributions to the operation and development of the Philadelphia Music Project. We wish her great success as she moves forward in her career and assumes a new position with the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations Communications.
PMP welcomes Heather Leigh Murray as its new Program Associate. Heather holds a B.A. in Anthropology, with a focus on ethnomusicology, from the University of Texas, Austin. She has worked for the Pauline Oliveros Foundation Houston, Coronado Studio, and The Bridgepoint Group and has extensive experience in web and graphic design.
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Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Philadelphia, PA Permit No. 2710
Settlement Music School Philadelphia Music Project P.O. Box 63966 Philadelphia, PA 19147-3966
coming up: panel on music, technology, and kids * How are advances in music technology contributing toward the cultural enrichment of children? * Can music organizations find practical applications of new technology to share the joy of music with kids? Music, T echnology PMP’s upcoming panel discussion, “Music, Technology echnology,, and Kids Kids,” will focus on the intersection of music education and technology. Audiences will hear from panelists who are implementing new pedagogical techniques involving digital media, new musical instruments, recording technology, and interactive Web design, aimed to get kids engaged in music learning.
Panelists: Tod Machover Machover, composer; Director, Toy Symphony Project Eric Singer Singer, musician/engineer, LEMUR Robotic Instrument Project Michael Cain Cain, composer/pianist; founder, Digital Playground LeAnn Binford Binford, Director of Education, Dallas Symphony Thursday, October 9th 9:45 a.m. at the Curtis Institute of Music To RSVP, call 215-893-0140 or e-mail assistant@philadelphiamusicproject.org
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re/sound is published biannually by the Philadelphia Music Project. PMP fosters artistic excellence and innovation in the region’s nonprofit music community by supporting adventurous programming that contributes to the advancement of participating organizations. PMP maintains a comprehensive professional development program, producing seminars, conferences, and field trips; providing consulting services in strategic planning, public relations, and audience development; and offering modest grants for professional development to the leadership of local music organizations. PMP is an Artistic Initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, administered by Settlement Music School. For more information about PMP, visit www.philadelphiamusicproject.org. Matthew Levy Director Heather Leigh Murray Program Associate