Philip Glass News

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced its annual Jazz, Cabaret and Chamber Music series for the 2018-2019 Season. It's another musically absorbing year of great and most gifted artists whose works and performances will canvas a vast range of styles and traditions.

On April 12, 1963, Bob Dylan played his first major concert. It was at The Town Hall in New York City. It wasn't sold out - but those who were there witnessed a truly historic event. 

Acclaimed American composer Debra Kaye's Howland Quartet (String Quartet No. 2), commissioned and presented by the Howland Chamber Music Circle, will celebrate its world premiere on Saturday, June 9, 2018 at 4:00 PM.  The concert will also include Beethoven's Cavatina  from String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130, Britten's Playful Pizzicato from Simple Symphony, Op. 4,  Mendelssohn's Adagio-Allegro vivace from String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Philip Glass' Quartet No. 2, and Pannonia Boundless by Aleksandra Vrebalov. The 25TH Anniversary Friends Concert program, featuring the Voxare String Quartet, will take place at the historic Howland Cultural Center, 477 Main Street, Beacon, NY at 4:00 PM.

After a national search, Florida Grand Opera (FGO) has chosen three new singers for the 2018-19 FGO Studio. One of the most respected and highly competitive studio programs in the nation, the FGO Studio, led by Artistic Directors Diana Soviero and Bernard Uzan, provides comprehensive career development to emerging artists who have demonstrated potential to make major contributions to the field of opera

Grand Band, a New York-based "supergroup" (New York Times) formed by pianists Erika Dohi, David Friend, Paul Kerekes, Blair McMillen, Lisa Moore and Isabelle O'Connell, makes its Midwest debut at the Ordway Concert Hall today, May 16. Their performance features the world premiere of Three Fragile Systems by Missy Mazzoli alongside music by Julius Eastman, Michael Gordon, Paul Kerekes and Kate Moore.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, in a co-presentation with Pomegranate Arts, is thrilled to announce the special guest artists who will perform in Taylor Mac's ambitious, internationally acclaimed work A 24-Decade History of Popular Music. Local Philadelphia performance artists and musicians will join Mac in these final U.S. performances of the full, 24-hour-long pop odyssey, June 2 & 9 at the Kimmel Center's Merriam Theater, as part of the 2018 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA). Mac will perform A 24-Decade History of Popular Music as two distinct 12-hour concerts, Saturday, June 2 (1776-1896) and Saturday, June 9 (1896-present day) - Mac's longest continuous performances since the work premiered at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn in 2016.

A pillar of the choral repertoire, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45, is paired with contemporary works by Pulitzer Prize-winning composers David Lang and Caroline Shaw in the Los Angeles Master Chorale's final concerts of its 2017/18 season on Saturday, June 9 at 2 PM and Sunday, June 10 at 7 PM at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The concerts will feature the West Coast premiere of Lang's where you go and open with Shaw's Fly Away I. The performances will be conducted by Grant Gershon, Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director, and feature the full 100-voice chorus and LA Master Chorale Orchestra.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association announced today the four musicians selected for the LA Phil Resident Fellows program. The program, announced in November 2017, launched this year as a centerpiece initiative of the LA Phil's Centennial with the purpose of creating a pathway towards a more diverse and inclusive orchestra of tomorrow.  

On April 12, 1963, Bob Dylan played his first major concert. It was at The Town Hall in New York City. It wasn't sold out - but those who were there witnessed a truly historic event.

Composer Gene Pritsker presents a concert of his vocal music. 'I have written many chamber operas, various chamber music with voice, jazz songs, r&b songs, choral music and songs inspired by various genres and cultures. I thought it would be great to have a concert that features my eclectic vocal compositions. I assembled a group of great singers and picked repertoire that will feature each of their voices as well as combine them to perform some of my choral music.'

Long Beach Opera celebrates two milestones in the 2018-2019 season - its fortieth anniversary and the 20th anniversary of Andreas Mitisek leading the company as artistic director. 

World premiere & UK tour, Autumn 2018. Presented by Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence with Improbable and Royal Court Theatre. Supported by Arts Council England.

Pacific Symphony today announced the details of its first-ever tour to China and first international tour since the Symphony toured European capitals in 2006. The five-city tour launches May 9, 2018 with a concert at the Shanghai Poly Grand Theatre, followed by performances in Hefei (capital of Anhui province), Wuxi (Jiangsu province), Chongqing (a major city in southwest China) and Beijing. The final concert takes place at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, colloquially known as The Giant Egg due to its distinctive dome-shaped, titanium and glass architecture. The Symphony's tour will include works by Leonard Bernstein in celebration of his centennial, as well as Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe, Suite No. 2; Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky (arranged by Ravel); and Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3, featuring soloist Pinchas Zukerman. The visit to China follows another important tour this season to New York City for the Orchestra's Carnegie Hall debut on April 21, 2018.

The Atlanta Opera closes its 2017-18 mainstage season with Stephen Sondheim's seminal musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. This production of Sweeney Todd remains faithful to the original Broadway show, and features an all-star cast, including Michael Mayes in his role debut as Sweeney Todd, and Maria Zifchak as Mrs. Lovett. Timothy Myers will conduct in a company debut, and Albert Sherman, who has directed Sweeney Todd under the mentorship of Harold Prince, will serve as production director.

Choreographer Lydia Johnson will present her LYDIA JOHNSON DANCE  in a program of new and repertory works to music that ranges from Philip Glass to the trio sonatas of Handel.  The season's premiere will be Undercurrent, a group work for the Company's eight resident dancers joined by four apprentices, and set to music by one of the choreographer's favorite composers, Henryk Gorecki.  Special guest for the season will be STEPHEN HANNA, former principal dancer with New York City Ballet.  DEBORAH WINGERT, former 15-year member of New York City Ballet, returns as company ballet mistress.

This summer, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, called 'the crown jewel of chamber music festivals on Long Island – arguably anywhere on the East Coast” by Newsday last year, celebrates its 35th anniversary. A pre-festival ramp-up of five free pop-up concerts around the Hamptons sets the stage, Alan Alda returns to launch the season, hosting a musical portrait of Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, and the festival features the world premieres of BCMF-commissioned works by Kenji Bunch and Paul Moravec.

Legendary Downtown New York artist Penny Arcade is now 50 years into a career in which she continues to turn a mirror back on society with highly original and entertaining investigations into the human condition that perhaps best described as cultural criticism you can dance to. She revives her international hit Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore!: The Penny Arcade Sex and Censorship Show, May 11-19 at Performance Space New York, as part of the institution's East Village Series.

LA Opera Off Grand presents the West Coast premiere of Matthew Aucoin's Crossing in two concert performances on May 25 and 26. Crossing will be presented at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis), located at 9390 North Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Mr. Aucoin, now in his second season as Artist in Residence with LA Opera, is both composer and librettist of the opera; he will also conduct the performances.

Goodspeed is assembling a stellar cast for Cyrano an inspired new take on the Edmond Rostand classic Cyrano de Bergerac. Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor Peter Dinklage will develop the title role and film actress Haley Bennett will play Roxanne in this bold new musical. Additional casting will be announced at a later date. This exciting musical is adapted by Erica Schmidt in collaboration with members of the Grammy Award-winning indie alternative band The National. Cyrano will run August 3 - September 2, 2018 at The Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

On Monday, May 14, 2018, Third Street Music School Settlement (Third Street), the nation's longest running community school, will honor Grammy Award-winning Singer and Songwriter Rosanne Cash, Tony and Oscar Award-winner Joel Grey, and long-time Board Member and Award-winning Architect Byron Bell at its Annual Spring Gala. Graham Parker, President of Universal Studios Classical Music Labels, will serve as master of ceremonies and Lydia Fenet, Senior Vice President of Christie's Auction House will host the live auction. Members of the cast of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical also will perform. Held at Capitale (130 Bowery) in New York City, the gala will bring together hundreds of luminaries from the arts, culture, education, media, business, finance and philanthropy worlds to pay tribute to the honorees for their contributions to and leadership in arts and music education. Funds raised through attendance, live and silent auction participation will help support Third Street scholarships and financial aid services. With its roots in the settlement movement, Third Street today serves more than 5,000 New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds by providing high quality, accessible music and dance instruction in more than 25 instruments and voice. More than 75% of Third Street students receive financial aid or scholarships through the school's Partners program, which sends teaching artists into community centers and public schools throughout New York City. Alumni include well-known artists Bobby Lopez, Jessie Montgomery, Irving Caesar, among others. This year's honorees join a roster of previous honorees that includes The Roots, Sting, Yoko Ono, Harold Prince, Philip Glass, and Audra McDonald. Rosanne Cash will be presented with Third Street's Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts and Joel Grey will receive Third Street's Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts. 'Third Street is founded on the principles of artistry, diversity, and community. We believe music connects us and that it is crucial to support programs that enable accessibility to the arts for people of all backgrounds,' said Third Street Music School's Anna-Maria Kellen Executive Director, Valerie G. Lewis. 'We are proud to celebrate our 123rd Anniversary with music visionaries, Joel Grey and Rosanne Cash, along with a long-time supporter of Third Street, Byron Bell. They have been incredible advocates for the arts, fostering artistic creativity in their communities and beyond,' she said. Gala Co-chairs are Jeannie Park and Larry Hackett, Kara Saxon and Amit Malhotra, and Kate and James Vanek. Anniversary Co-chairs include Beau Everett and Stephanie Goodman, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Tatiana Serafin and Mick Kalishman, Felipe Toews and Yuu Fujita. Honorary Co-chairs include Barbara E. Field, Philip Glass and Harold Prince. Event sponsors include Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Baldor Specialty Foods, Ernst & Young LLP, Putney, Twombly, Hall & Hirson LLP, Industry City, JD Carlisle Development Corporation, Steinway & Sons, and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP. For more information visit thirdstreetmusicschool.org/gala or contact Katharine Nemeth at 212-777-3240 ext. 26 or gala@thirdstreetmusicschool.org. Tickets start at $500 per person and $5,000 per table. About Third Street Founded in 1894, Third Street Music School Settlement is the nation's longest-running community music school. Celebrating 123 years of service, Third Street works to enrich lives and communities by providing access to high quality music and dance instruction to students of all ages and backgrounds, regardless of artistic ability or socio-economic circumstances. As a pioneer of community arts education in the United States, Third Street today serves more than 5,000 students in our primary location on East 11th Street, and through partnerships with nearly 25 public schools and community centers throughout New York City. Third Street alumni include violist Masumi Per Rostad of the acclaimed Pacifica String Quartet; Ray Chew, musician and music director of Dancing with the Stars and American Idol; Irving Caesar, composer of the 1920's hit 'Tea for Two'; Bobby Lopez, co-creator of the hit Broadway musical Avenue Q and Academy Award-winning writer of 'Let It Go' from Disney's Frozen and 'Remember Me' from Disney's Coco; Ingrid Michaelson, pop singer/songwriter with hits on the Top 40 charts; and Jessie Montgomery, recipient of the Sphinx Award. Visit http://www.thirdstreetmusicschool.org/ for more information, and follow Third Street on Instagram @3rdstreetnyc and twitter @Third_Street.