Symphony Space News

Composer Steven Stucky - winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 and nominated for a Grammy Award last season - has been called 'a master of orchestral writing' (Dallas Morning News) and 'a fascinating voice in American composition' (Pittsburg Post-Gazette). His 2013-14 season kicks off today with the premiere of The Stars and the Roses in its chamber version at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia; the San Jose Mercury Newshas said that the 'song cycle - based on the lyric and touchingly optimistic wartime poems of Czeslaw Milosz - seems to paint with light.' From October 25-27 the Kansas City Symphony under Michael Stern performs the piece that earned Stucky his Pulitzer: the Second Concerto for Orchestra, which the Los Angeles Times called 'a colorful, delight-bringing score.' On November 10, the Washington Choral Society opens its season with the East Coast premiere of Stucky's Take Him, Earth, the first of several performances this year of a work composed to mark the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. The New Year brings performances of Stucky's take on Purcell's Funeral Music for Queen Mary by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Bernard Haitink in Boston (Feb 6-8) and at Carnegie Hall (Feb 11); the re-orchestration by Stucky makes Purcell's 17th century masterpiece seem 'as if viewed through rippled glass,' according to the New York Times. Stucky will cap his season with the world premiere of his opera The Classical Style - written to a libretto by Jeremy Denk - at the Ojai Music Festival in California (June 14).

Kimilee, Jarlath, and Emilio have been working on this piece for over two years and Jarlath and Emilio for even longer. It takes an awful lot to get a show produced, especially in NYC! Previously known as Salute a Tutti which means 'Health to all' certainly does represent the story, however, in working on the piece, we decided on Miracolo . The story takes place on an island called 'Miracolo' where, at a beautiful spa many miracles take place (including true love) and also in Roma in a hospital and surrounding piazzas where miracles can also happen.

Dog on Fleas, one of the most musically adventurous bands coming out of the Hudson River Valley's energetic family music scene, performs a rare NYC concert at Symphony Space on Saturday, November 2 at 11 am.

Symphony Space's In the Salon series gets underway tonight, October 18 (7:30 pm) in the Leonard Nimoy Thalia with a program devoted to Benjamin Britten's music, in celebration of the composer's centenary year.

Celebrating the release of her seventh album, entitled Traces of You, sitarist and composer ANOUSHKA SHANKAR opens the World Music Institute's Masters of Indian Music series with a performance on Saturday, November 16 at 8:00pm at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

'An American Family Takes a Lover' by Amina Henry is a dark, dark comedy that peeks into the household comprised of an upscale American couple, Richard David and Lady Anne, and their 'other person,' a young Black woman named Justine who is their slave. The arrival of a handyman to fix a hole in the wall sets off a series of developments that tear this cockeyed family apart in an absurd parable that explores The Stockholm Syndrome through a sexual and racial lens. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., will present The Cell Theatre Company's production of the play November 7 to 17. It's a premiere run, directed by Kira Simring, Artistic Director of The Cell Theatre Company (founding Artistic Director Nancy Manocherian), where the piece was originally incubated.

Come and be dazzled (and 'bedazzled') by Jamie Salzano's sparkling musical journey of a girl on the rocks reaching for the stars. The New York City-based cabaret singer will present 'Stardust and other sparkly things...' on Saturday, November 9 (4 p.m.);Tuesday, November 26 (7 p.m.); and Saturday, December 7 (4 p.m.) at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues), New York City.

Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater, in conjunction with Darren K. Woods, General Director of Fort Worth Opera, announced today a collaboration between the two companies on JFK (working title), a new opera by the acclaimed team of composer David T. Littleand librettist Royce Vavrek.

The actor and director Avi Hoffman is organizing a special presentation of 'The Rise of David Levinsky,' a musical by Isaiah Sheffer and Bobby Paul, which will honor Sheffer, the late founding artistic director of Symphony Space. The open-to-the-public reading on Monday October 21 at 7pm, takes place at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (at 95th Street). The free event marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Sheffer, who died in November of last year.

Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater, in conjunction with Darren K. Woods, General Director of Fort Worth Opera, announced today a collaboration between the two companies on JFK (working title), a new opera by the acclaimed team of composer David T. Little and librettist Royce Vavrek.

The American Symphony Orchestra begins its Classics Declassified Series with Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5, “Reformation”, at Symphony Space on Sunday, October 27, 2013. Discover how symphonic form and the romantic expression of religious feeling are reconciled in Mendelssohn's popular Reformation Symphony as Leon Botstein and the orchestra shed new light on this masterpiece during a lively talk, a performance of the work in full, and a Q&A with the audience.

It is rumored that family music icon Recess Monkey recorded its tenth studio CD, Desert Island Disc, while shipwrecked on the beach of a distant island. The band's spokesmonkey has refused to either confirm or deny these tales but has indicated that legions of fans will soon be able to judge for themselves.

Charlie Hope, an internationally touring, Juno Award-winner and one of the freshest voices in today's burgeoning family music scene, will celebrate the release of a new album, Sing As We Go!!!, at Symphony Space as part of the 2013-14 Just Kidding series.

Tonight, OCTOBER 14, 2013 at 7:15 P.M., The Sidney Bechet Society presents Evan Christopher's Clarinet Road.

Gingold Theatrical Group's SHAW NEW YORK 2013 festival concludes on Sunday October 13th. It has been highlighted by GTG's co-production of Shaw's You Never Can Tell with and at The Pearl Theatre Company. This production, which was filmed for the New York Library for the Performing Arts and Lincoln Center archives, is ending its limited run on Sunday October 13th.

Charlie Hope, an internationally touring, Juno Award-winner and one of the freshest voices in today's burgeoning family music scene, will celebrate the release of a new album, Sing As We Go!!!, at Symphony Space as part of the 2013-14 Just Kidding series.

Evan Christopher, New Orleans-based ambassador of the Creole clarinet style, returns to Peter Norton Symphony Space (2537 Broadway @ 95th St., New York, NY 10025) for what has become an annual event to honor reed-master, Sidney Bechet.

AOP (American Opera Projects) and The Phoenix Concerts will co-produce 'AOP25: Celebrating Composers & the Voice,' a concert featuring the work of composers and librettists from AOP's C&V (Composers & the Voice) program, an annual fellowship that trains composers to write for the operatic voice. The concert will take place tonight, October 11 at 8PM at the Church of Saint Matthew and Saint Timothy: 26 West 84th Street, New York City.

The New Victory Theater, New York City's premier theater for kids and families, announces the 2013-14 artists-in-residence for New Victory LabWorks, a groundbreaking initiative designed to spur the development of original high-quality productions for young audiences.

It would be impossible to pick a favorite performance from this memorable evening, so BroadwayWorld.com brings you highlights from the concert below! But, evenings such as this one are ALWAYS welcome.