Meet The Artist: Trey Lee, Cellist
Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?
Without a doubt, Pau (Pablo) Casals has been a major inspiration for multiple reasons. His playing has always sounded like someone singing and speaking at the same time, which is what I am constantly trying to achieve in my own playing; I find that a musician who can do both has a much greater ability to keep a listener’s attention. Much is also said about his interpretations being irresistibly astute. Whether or not you agree with his ideas, much of this comes down to his courage to play everything with total commitment.
Meet The Artist
The Cross-Eyed Pianist
Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?
Without a doubt, Pau (Pablo) Casals has been a major inspiration for multiple reasons. His playing has always sounded like someone singing and speaking at the same time, which is what I am constantly trying to achieve in my own playing; I find that a musician who can do both has a much greater ability to keep a listener’s attention. Much is also said about his interpretations being irresistibly astute. Whether or not you agree with his ideas, much of this comes down to his courage to play everything with total commitment. Why courage? I think it’s because as artists, we are terrified that once we have made a musical decision that can reveal the essence of who we are, we will be judged by it forever (particularly so on a recording). However, Casals’s significance beyond his solo career is what has continued to inspire me over the years. While concertizing as the foremost cello soloist of his time, he also undertook a number of endeavours that have continued to influence the world of music.
Read more here.
Calgary Herald: Young global pianists to compete at Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary
In 1992, pianist Jon Kimura Parker sat on the first competition jury of the Honens International Piano Competition. He was 33 at the time. It was a relatively young age to sit on a jury, particularly given the fact that the oldest competitor that year was 30. “I remember feeling quite intimidated to be on that jury at such a young age,” says Parker, in an interview from his office at Rice University in Houston, where he has been a professor for 21 years. “So it was a big deal for me.”
Calgary Herald
By Eric Volmers
In 1992, pianist Jon Kimura Parker sat on the first competition jury of the Honens International Piano Competition. He was 33 at the time. It was a relatively young age to sit on a jury, particularly given the fact that the oldest competitor that year was 30. “I remember feeling quite intimidated to be on that jury at such a young age,” says Parker, in an interview from his office at Rice University in Houston, where he has been a professor for 21 years. “So it was a big deal for me.”
Among the many memorable moments for Parker was meeting Esther Honens, the philanthropist and amateur pianist who was determined to bring an international music festival to Calgary. She had made a gift of $5 million to endow The Esther Honens International Piano Competition Foundation and the inaugural Honens Competition took place the following year. She was 89.
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Tara McMullen
The Arts Desk: Dragonflies, harmoniums and folded paper
Two discs of music by American contemporary composer Andy Akiho have caught my ear in recent months. Born in 1979, his biography states that “he spent most of his 20s playing steel pan by ear in Trinidad and began composing at 28,” the physicality and theatricality involved in playing steel pans an essential element of Akiho’s music. Have a look at “Pillar IV” from the vast percussion piece Seven Pillars on YouTube; watching three members of Brooklyn’s Sandbox Percussion in action (look out for the wine bottles) is absorbing.
The Arts Desk
By Graham Rickson
Two discs of music by American contemporary composer Andy Akiho have caught my ear in recent months. Born in 1979, his biography states that “he spent most of his 20s playing steel pan by ear in Trinidad and began composing at 28,” the physicality and theatricality involved in playing steel pans an essential element of Akiho’s music. Have a look at “Pillar IV” from the vast percussion piece Seven Pillars on YouTube; watching three members of Brooklyn’s Sandbox Percussion in action (look out for the wine bottles) is absorbing. Seven Pillars is a huge, eleven-movement opus, written for Sandbox between 2018 and 2019, and described by one of the group as “the culminating project of our first decade as an ensemble.” “Pillar IV”, was conceived first as a standalone work, Akiho later adding six more quartet movements and interspersing them with solo sections, each one introducing a new instrument that becomes part of the ensemble.
Read more here.
Gramophone: Video of the Day: Sandbox Percussion & Matt McBane
Sandbox Percussion & Matt McBane perform 'Groundswell' from their latest album 'Bathymetry', released on November 4, which draws on various strains of classical minimalism and modern electronic music production
Grammy-nominated percussion quartet Sandbox Percussion’s latest collaboration with composer Matt McBane introduces the world of analog synthesizer through their album, Bathymetry, released on 4 November. It draws on various strains of classical minimalism and modern electronic music production, taking influence the world of YouTube ASMR(autonomous sensory meridian response) and ambient modular synth.
Gramophone
Sandbox Percussion & Matt McBane perform 'Groundswell' from their latest album 'Bathymetry', released on November 4, which draws on various strains of classical minimalism and modern electronic music production
Grammy-nominated percussion quartet Sandbox Percussion’s latest collaboration with composer Matt McBane introduces the world of analog synthesizer through their album, Bathymetry, released on 4 November. It draws on various strains of classical minimalism and modern electronic music production, taking influence the world of YouTube ASMR(autonomous sensory meridian response) and ambient modular synth.
An initial single ‘Groundswell’ is available to watch below, scored for two drum sets (panned left and right), Moog analog synthesizer, vibraphone, and tam-tam. Over the track’s 7 minutes, according to the artists ‘two big waves of sound are formed as layers of interlocking patterns of cycling polymeters build up and then recede in an ecstatic meditation’.
Read more here.
The Columbian: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra set for 44th season
Two American concertos featuring pianist Michelle Cann will kick off the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s 44th season this weekend at the Skyview Concert Hall.
The Columbian
By James Bash
Pianist Cann featured; conductor Brotons returns for 32nd year.
Two American concertos featuring pianist Michelle Cann will kick off the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s 44th season this weekend at the Skyview Concert Hall.
Read more here.
I Care If You Listen: 5 Questions to Viet Cuong
On September 22-24, the Pacific Symphony and the endlessly musical and adventurous Sandbox Percussion will perform Viet Cuong’s Re(new)al concerto. The three continuous movements of Re(new)al explore the power of hydro, wind, and solar energies through the brilliant use of found objects and orchestral instrumentation.
I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
By Anne Goldberg-Baldwin
On September 22-24, the Pacific Symphony and the endlessly musical and adventurous Sandbox Percussion will perform Viet Cuong’s Re(new)al concerto. The three continuous movements of Re(new)al explore the power of hydro, wind, and solar energies through the brilliant use of found objects and orchestral instrumentation. The hydro movement uses tuned crystal glasses to create an otherworldly sound environment, while the second movement is transformed into marching band-style drum line licks and bold brass bursts. The third movement reflects on the sun’s energy and power through metallic percussion instruments. Cuong also takes special care in choosing players’ orientations to one another, as well as specific choreographic instructions as the piece develops. Following the Pacific Symphony performance, Sandbox Percussion will bring Re(new)al to Carnegie Hall with American Composers Orchestra on October 20.
Read more here.
Blogcritics: Exclusive Interview: Kevin Kwan Loucks, CEO of Chamber Music America
As the acute phases of the COVID-19 pandemic recede into memory, musicians are eagerly resuming their concert careers. Chamber Music America (CMA) is a national service organization that provides ensemble music professionals with access to various resources and benefits, including professional development seminars, grants and awards, and, not least, opportunities to network with presenters, managers, and other musicians and ensemble professionals, especially with its annual National Conference. Kevin Kwan Loucks, a concert pianist, educator, and arts entrepreneur serves as the CEO of CMA.
Blogcritics
By Jon Sobel
As the acute phases of the COVID-19 pandemic recede into memory, musicians are eagerly resuming their concert careers. Chamber Music America (CMA) is a national service organization that provides ensemble music professionals with access to various resources and benefits, including professional development seminars, grants and awards, and, not least, opportunities to network with presenters, managers, and other musicians and ensemble professionals, especially with its annual National Conference. Kevin Kwan Loucks, a concert pianist, educator, and arts entrepreneur serves as the CEO of CMA.
Read more here.
Violin Channel: VC Artist Paul Huang Opens 2022/23 Season at the Taiwan Philharmonic
Huang will perform Bruch's Scottish Fantasy as part of a program of Scottish-themed music
As the featured soloist for the Taiwan Philharmonic, also known as National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) in Taiwan, VC Artist Paul Huang will perform alongside Music Director Jun Märkl. The season-opening programs will be presented in three venues: the National Concert Hall, the Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Concert Hall, and the Taitung Art and Culture Center.
Huang will perform Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, as part of a Scottish-themed program that also includes Debussy's Marche écossaise sur un thème populaire and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 "Scottish."
Violin Channel
Huang will perform Bruch's Scottish Fantasy as part of a program of Scottish-themed music
As the featured soloist for the Taiwan Philharmonic, also known as National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) in Taiwan, VC Artist Paul Huang will perform alongside Music Director Jun Märkl. The season-opening programs will be presented in three venues: the National Concert Hall, the Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Concert Hall, and the Taitung Art and Culture Center.
Huang will perform Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, as part of a Scottish-themed program that also includes Debussy's Marche écossaise sur un thème populaire and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 "Scottish."
"I'm particularly excited about returning to my homeland, Taiwan, to share the stage with the Taiwan Philharmonic and Maestro Jun Markl again, because this will be the opening night of its first post-pandemic season," Paul told The Violin Channel.
Read more here.
OperaWire: Grand Teton Music Festival to Livestream ‘La bohème’ with Jose Simerilla Romero & Nicole Cabell
The Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming is set to livestream its semi-staged production of “La bohème.”
The production will be streamed on August 27 and features an all-star cast led by Nicole Cabell as Mimì, Jose Simerilla Romero as Rodolfo, Meechot Marrero as Musetta, Ryan Speedo Green as Colline, Thomas Lehman as Marcello, and Carlton Ford as Schaunard.
Sir Donald Runnicles conducts the Festival Orchestra in the concert version directed by David Lefkowich.
OperaWire
By Francisco Salazar
The Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming is set to livestream its semi-staged production of “La bohème.”
The production will be streamed on August 27 and features an all-star cast led by Nicole Cabell as Mimì, Jose Simerilla Romero as Rodolfo, Meechot Marrero as Musetta, Ryan Speedo Green as Colline, Thomas Lehman as Marcello, and Carlton Ford as Schaunard.
Sir Donald Runnicles conducts the Festival Orchestra in the concert version directed by David Lefkowich.
Read more here.
The Strad: ‘Art has the ability to make one look at the world from a different perspective’ - cellist Trey Lee
The cellist and artistic director of Musicus, a Hong-Kong based organisation which promotes cross-cultural collaboration through performances, speaks about musical outreach, exploring new repertoire, and overcoming the challenges of travelling with a cello.
Musicus Society was founded to connect musicians from around the world with young talents from Hong Kong. The city has always had a huge proportion of young people who played a musical instrument (easily more than 50%), but not many had the chance to perform or interact with the visiting artists whom they saw performing on stage; rather, many just practised to pass an exam - a process that anyone would find musically uninspiring. Therefore, Musicus Society created three main programmes to address this situation: Musicus Fest, an annual festival; Musicus Inspires, an educational programme; and Musicus Heritage, a concert series in historic sites.
The Strad
The cellist and artistic director of Musicus, a Hong-Kong based organisation which promotes cross-cultural collaboration through performances, speaks about musical outreach, exploring new repertoire, and overcoming the challenges of travelling with a cello
Musicus Society was founded to connect musicians from around the world with young talents from Hong Kong. The city has always had a huge proportion of young people who played a musical instrument (easily more than 50%), but not many had the chance to perform or interact with the visiting artists whom they saw performing on stage; rather, many just practised to pass an exam - a process that anyone would find musically uninspiring. Therefore, Musicus Society created three main programmes to address this situation: Musicus Fest, an annual festival; Musicus Inspires, an educational programme; and Musicus Heritage, a concert series in historic sites.
Being artistic director sometimes feels like being a CEO. We have a great team at Musicus, but alas, the buck still stops with me. For example, when I suggested holding concerts in historic sites in Hong Kong, it was just wishful thinking because performance spaces in the city are so scarce. When it actually happened, many things needed to be done, including programming, research into historic sites, artist selection, etc. But I must admit that it has been truly gratifying whenever a young Hong Kong musician tells me that their first ’professional’ experience was with Musicus Society.
Read more here.