Samuel Barber News

What happens when a composer goes to an art show and takes home a souvenir not in the form of a photo or postcard ... but as music? Before the days of audio tours and museum gift shops, there was Modest Musorgsky, strolling through a friend's exhibit in St. Petersburg, taking musical snapshots, and immortalizing one art form with another with his Pictures from an Exhibition.

The Summer Festival of Sacred Music at St. Bartholomew's will launch its 16th season on Sunday, June 27 at 11 am. In recognition of New York City's observance of Gay Pride Sunday, this service of sacred music will feature works written by gay composers.

Steven Blier, Artistic Director of New York Festival Of Song (NYFOS, www.nyfos.org), and called by the New York Times 'A national treasure when it comes to the art of song,' will give concerts and master classes through the summer. During the same period, Associate Artistic Director Michael Barrett, General Director of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts will present many important events in vocal music at the Caramoor International Festival.

Nashville Opera and Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory present an evening of operatic music and star-gazing on May 15. Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic basket filled with their favorite foods and beverages which can be enjoyed during a special outdoor concert on the grounds of the observatory. At the conclusion of the opera program guests will have an opportunity to view stars in the evening sky through the Seyfert Telescope (weather permitting). The event offers three different price levels: $20 for a reserved seat, $25 for a table seat (perfect for picnic dinners), and $100 for the Patron Level which also includes additional vocal offerings and star-gazing from the roof of the observatory after the concert. Tickets must be purchased prior to the event from Nashville Opera at (615) 832-5242 or online at www.nashvilleopera.org. The price of admission also includes parking in the adjacent area next to the observatory. Doors open at 6pm and the concert will be performed from 7pm to 8pm in the Dyer Observatory's patio tent.

After wowing international audiences as part of its recent Tour of Asia, The Philadelphia Orchestra returned home to reaffirm its commitment to Philadelphia with the announcement of the 2010 Free Neighborhood Concert Series. Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter joined the Orchestra at a special press conference today to unveil the locations of this summer's three free community performances-Upper Darby Performing Arts Center (Friday, June 18, 7:30 PM), the RiverStage at Penn's Landing (Saturday, July 3, 8:00 PM), and Philadelphia's City Hall (Tuesday, September 21, 7:00 PM).

Nashville Opera and Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory present an evening of operatic music and star-gazing on May 15. Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic basket filled with their favorite foods and beverages which can be enjoyed during a special outdoor concert on the grounds of the observatory. At the conclusion of the opera program guests will have an opportunity to view stars in the evening sky through the Seyfert Telescope (weather permitting). The event offers three different price levels: $20 for a reserved seat, $25 for a table seat (perfect for picnic dinners), and $100 for the Patron Level which also includes additional vocal offerings and star-gazing from the roof of the observatory after the concert. Tickets must be purchased prior to the event from Nashville Opera at (615) 832-5242 or online at www.nashvilleopera.org. The price of admission also includes parking in the adjacent area next to the observatory. Doors open at 6pm and the concert will be performed from 7pm to 8pm in the Dyer Observatory's patio tent.

The Sheldon presents Sheldon Classics: Samuel Barber, featuring cellist Bjorn Ranheim, baritone James Ivey, and pianist Peter Henderson, Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 8 p.m. in the perfect acoustics of the Sheldon Concert Hall. The American composer Samuel Barber was born 100 years ago and is probably best known for his Adagio for Strings. A quartet of symphony musicians will perform the String Quartet, Op. 11 that contains the famous Adagio, and cellist Bjorn Ranheim will perform Barber's Cello Sonata. Baritone James Ivey will sing his Dover Beach for voice and string quartet, and Peter Henderson will play Barber's Excursions for piano.

The Little Orchestra Society, with Dino Anagnost as Conductor, plays April 26, 2010 at 7:30pm at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center.

Join The Little Orchestra Society April 26 as we explore the majesty of flight from the early Greeks, the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart through NASA's missions to the moon, our solar system, and beyond. American composers have long been fascinated with humanity's dream of flight, and it has inspired such musical giants as Marc Blitzstein (The Airborne Symphony), Samuel Barber (Symphony No.2), Aaron Jay Kernis (Musica Celestis), Gardner Read (Night Flight) and Kurt Weill (The Lindbergh Flight).

On Wednesday, April 21 at 8:00pm conductor Anne Manson will lead the Juilliard Orchestra and Vocal Artists in Francis Poulenc's highly emotive Dialogues of the Carmelites, the final production of The Juilliard Opera Center season, directed by Fabrizio Melano.

The Little Orchestra Society, with Dino Anagnost as Conductor, plays April 26, 2010 at 7:30pm at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center.

Join The Little Orchestra Society April 26 as we explore the majesty of flight from the early Greeks, the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart through NASA's missions to the moon, our solar system, and beyond. American composers have long been fascinated with humanity's dream of flight, and it has inspired such musical giants as Marc Blitzstein (The Airborne Symphony), Samuel Barber (Symphony No.2), Aaron Jay Kernis (Musica Celestis), Gardner Read (Night Flight) and Kurt Weill (The Lindbergh Flight).

The Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) has appointed Ari Solotoff to the newly-created position of chief of staff and director of planning, it was announced today by Association President and CEO Allison Vulgamore.

Two New York premieres will be featured in a concert by the Temple University Symphony Orchestra on Friday, April 9, 2010, at 8 p.m. in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall (Broadway at 65th St., Manhattan). One of the works, Ansel Adams: America (in its New York premiere) by jazz great Dave Brubeck and his son, Chris, will feature 100 projected images by the eminent American photographer. The all-American program also includes works by Bill Cunliffe (also a New York premiere), Samuel Barber, and Leonard Bernstein.

Dave and Chris Brubeck's Ansel Adams: America, featuring 100 projected photographs (New York premiere). All-American program includes works by recent Grammy®-Award-winner Bill Cunliffe (also a New York premiere), Samuel Barber, and Leonard Bernstein.

Two New York premieres will be featured in a concert by the Temple University Symphony Orchestra on Friday, April 9, 2010, at 8 p.m. in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall (Broadway at 65th St., Manhattan).

The year was 1913 and headlines like the ones above may well have been splashed across Parisian newspapers covering the premiere of Igor Stravinsky's controversial new ballet, The Rite of Spring. The piece-with its dissonant sounds and shocking themes of human sacrifice-stunned audiences, sending them into frenzied riots. Within a decade this groundbreaking work would be heard in America in its U.S. premiere by The Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski.

The Sheldon presents Sheldon Classics: Samuel Barber, featuring cellist Bjorn Ranheim, baritone James Ivey, and pianist Peter Henderson, Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 8 p.m. in the perfect acoustics of the Sheldon Concert Hall. The American composer Samuel Barber was born 100 years ago and is probably best known for his Adagio for Strings. A quartet of symphony musicians will perform the String Quartet, Op. 11 that contains the famous Adagio, and cellist Bjorn Ranheim will perform Barber's Cello Sonata. Baritone James Ivey will sing his Dover Beach for voice and string quartet, and Peter Henderson will play Barber's Excursions for piano.

The year was 1913 and headlines like the ones above may well have been splashed across Parisian newspapers covering the premiere of Igor Stravinsky's controversial new ballet, The Rite of Spring. The piece-with its dissonant sounds and shocking themes of human sacrifice-stunned audiences, sending them into frenzied riots. Within a decade this groundbreaking work would be heard in America in its U.S. premiere by The Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski.

Eminent American baritone Thomas Hampson, a Manhattan School of Music Distinguished Visiting Artist, will coach select small ensembles in a master class at the school tomorrow, Tuesday, March 30 at 2 PM.