Thomas Keesecker will be presenting his piano collection, The Quiet Center, as an Advent reflection of music, song, and poetry at several churches this Advent Season.
Sunday, November 26, 6 pm, Abiding Presence Lutheran, Ewing Township, NJ
Monday, November 27, 8 pm, St Paul’s Lutheran, Glenside, PA
Wednesday, November 29, 7:30 pm, Sacred Heart, Bloomfield, NJ
Sunday, December 3, 5 pm, Saint Mary Magdalen Mission, Bel Air, MD
Sunday, December 10, 6 pm, St Matthew’s Lutheran, Lake Ridge, VA
Wednesday, December 13, 6:30 pm, Grace Lutheran, Winchester, VA
Thursday, December 15, Noon Recital, Muhlenberg Lutheran, Harrisburg, VA
Thomas Keesecker is the Director of Music at St Margaret Catholic Church in Bel Air, Maryland. He has served as a parish musician in both Lutheran and Roman Catholic settings in Virginia, Montana, and Maryland. His choral music is published by several publishers. He grew up in Germany and Northern Virginia and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the Catholic University School of Music in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, Tricia, are parents of three sons.
From Gramophone:“[Juliana Hall’s] sensitivity to words is on impressive display on Love’s Signature… these songs show Hall to be a composer who savours lyrical lines and harmonies peppered with gentle spices…”
Juliana Hall’s latest recording hosts 24 songs in 3 parts, performed by countertenor Darryl Taylor, soprano Susan Narucki, pianist Donald Berman, with the composer at the piano for some tracks as well. LOVE’S SIGNATURE traverses time and space to celebrate various types of love: characters from the plays of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) reveal universal human experiences of love throughout different times in our lives; the letters of Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) exemplify the love we have for those specific people in our circles who touch us more personally; and the poems of Marianne Moore (1887-1972) speak of how one’s love for an art form like music can provide inspiration and beauty to enrich life.
“One comes away from this disk with a profound appreciation for the excellence and innovation of her music as well as the hope that many more people will come to explore and enjoy it … [the composer’s] considerable skills as a pianist are on grand display…” (NATS Journal).
“The songs’ novelty is wholly organic, never contrived, and the composer perpetuates the American Art Song tradition of Beach, Barber, and Bolcom…” (Deep Roots Magazine).
Robert A. Hobby, born 1962, currently serves as Director of Music for Trinity English Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his responsibilities include playing for many of the worship services, overseeing the graded choral program, and managing the concerts the church offers. Numerous activities during his tenure include Trinity Church establishing a choral series with seventeen composers commissioned thus far, hosting a regional convention of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, producing four recordings, and expanding the opportunities for music ministry.
Mr. Hobby received his Bachelor’s Degree in Church Music from Wittenberg University in 1985 and a Master’s Degree in Organ Performance from the University of Notre Dame in 1987. His organ teachers have included Darwin Leitz, Kirby and Kristi Koriath, Donald Busarow, and Craig Cramer. His private study in composition has been under Donald Busarow and Richard Hillert. He has had private coaching in improvisation with Paul Manz and compositional coaching from English composer, Andrew Carter.
To date, most of his composition time has been spent writing commissions for churches and organizations throughout the country. Over 150 of Mr. Hobby’s compositions are in print with Augsburg Fortress Publishing House, Choristers Guild, Concordia Publishing House, G.I.A. Publishers, MorningStar Music Publishers, Northwestern Publishers, Pavane Publishing Co., and Warner Brothers Publishers. His music has been heard on nationally syndicated radio programs such as “The Lutheran Hour”, “Pipe Dreams”, and “Sing for Joy”. A representation of his writing for organ, choral, and instrumental forces can be found on “Thine Is the Glory”, a recording produced by MorningStar Publishers. In 2006, Mr. Hobby premiered a major work of his entitled “The Good Shepherd” which is scored for tenor solo, adult and children’s choirs, and orchestra; it is published with MorningStar Music Publishers. His compositions are present in two hymnals: Evangelical Lutheran Worship and Lutheran Service Book.
As a performer and clinician, Mr. Hobby keeps an active schedule throughout the United States. He has played for the national conventions of the Hymn Society of the United States and Canada, Organ Historical Society, and National Pastoral Musicians, and he has played for both national and regional conventions of the Association of the Lutheran Church Musicians and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He has been a featured artist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, performing Poulenc’s Organ Concerto and Haydn’s Organ Concerto #2 in C. In 2005, he conducted the premiere performance of Andrew Carter’s Concerto in C for organ and orchestra with David Higgs at the organ. In addition, his workshops for both regional conventions and individual chapter meetings of the American Guild of Organists and other similar organizations have gathered wide acclaim.
Mr. Hobby is a member of a number of professional music organizations and has held a variety of leadership positions. For several years he chaired “Young Lutherans Sing”, a national summer choral program for children, sponsored by the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. In 1996, he designed and coordinated a hymn festival that was performed simultaneously at 100 sites around the United States and Canada to commemorate the 10th anniversary of ALCM. He has also served as Dean of the Fort Wayne American Guild of Organists and as a member of the Program Committee for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
Mr. Hobby and his wife, Jennifer, are the proud parents of three daughters: Hannah, Lydia, and Elizabeth.
2015 Interview with Today’s Catholic on composing for the papal visit.
Julian Wachner conducted the first four concerts in the 12-concert series titled “The Psalms Experience,” part of the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center this November. From the festival: “‘Out of the depths I cry to you!’ For nearly 3,000 years, humans have reached out to the divine through the Psalms, the Hebrew Bible’s book of hymns revealing the gratitude, fear, and longing of the human heart. In this unprecedented choral project, four world-renowned choirs traverse 1,000 years of music over the course of 12 thematic concerts featuring all 150 psalms by 150 different composers from Bach and Handel to today’s leading artists, including new commissions by Nico Muhly and David Lang, among others.” Read more.
Also in November, the Trinity Youth Chorus, joining the Canterbury Choral Society and Monmouth Civic Chorus, made their way to Carnegie Hall for a performance of Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand.
Starbird, featuring libretto by Kate Pogue, premiered in 1981 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Set in New York City, Starbird follows a dog, a cat and a donkey as they meet by chance one summer evening in Central Park. After falling asleep, they are awakened by the sound of a landing space ship and greeted by the Starbird, whose warnings they ignore. The animals board the ship, hoping it will take them to their new lives. Soon, the animals realize they are in danger and require saving. They call upon the Starbird for help, and in rescuing the group, the Starbird teaches them a valuable lesson about working with each other’s differences.
Robert Glaubitz, director of opera at Central, notes, “We chose ‘Starbird’ as our fall opera because the storyline and characters are so unique and the music is so beautiful. It’s a great show for kids or adults. My favorite part of working on the opera is watching each singer find their robot or animal character over the rehearsal process.”
Starbird has been called a “fetching space-age children’s fable” by Newsweek and “funny for both children and adults” by The Guardian.
October 13-15: Members of Northwest Art Song (soprano Arwen Myers, mezzo Laura Beckel Thoreson, and pianist Susan McDaniel) partnered with The Ensemble of Oregon to share a concert series titled “Nevertheless, She Persisted: Voices of Women in Music & Verse.” The concert featured Music Like a Curve of Gold. Click here to learn more.
October 22: Piper Pack-Smith, mezzo-soprano, and Kyung Sun Choi, piano, performed four songs from Letters from Ednain a DMA recital at the University of Arizona.
October 29 & 30: “Theme in Yellow” from Theme in Yellow was performed by Thea Lobo, mezzo-soprano, and Eunmi Ko, piano in Jamaica Plain, MA. The performance took place as part of a GroupMuse event. The performance was repeating the Sound of Music Performance Series at Temple Shalom in West Newton, MA.
November 3: Music Like a Curve of Gold was performed Rebekah Smeltzer Staley, soprano, and Julie Silva, mezzo-soprano, as part of One Ounce Opera’s 2nd Annual Fresh Squeezed Ounce of Art Song competition, of which Hall was named a winning composer. Click here to learn more.
November 18 (Cambridge, MA), 22 (London), & 23 (Oxford): Christopher Eaglin, tenor, and Nicole Panizza, piano, present two concerts featuring The Holy Sonnets of John Donne at Harvard Memorial Church (MA), Coventry University (UK), and the University of Oxford (UK).
Kareem Roustom’sDabke for string orchestra will receive three performances this month, including the Chicago premiere.
Dabke is the string orchestra setting of the third movement of composer Kareem Roustom’s A Voice Exclaiming, originally scored for triple string quartet in a 2013 commission for the Kronos Quartet and Community MusicWorks players. Dabke is an Arab communal folkloric line dance typically performed at joyous occasions. Highly rhythmic and coloristic, the movement is based on a six beat dabke rhythm called “sudaasi.” Also transcribed by the composer for wind ensemble, the score is dedicated to the memory of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.
November 5, 2017 : The Rowan University String Ensemble (New Jersey) directed by Timothy Schwartz will present a concert titled “Remembering the Past – Anticipating the Future.” This concert features music inspired by Social Justice: Dabke by Kareem Roustom as well as music by Arturo Rodriguez and Jessie Montgomery. The String Ensemble will also perform Dmitri Shostakovich’s powerful Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a (from String Quartet No. 8), which was written in 1960 and dedicated to “the victims of fascism and the war.” Details here.
November 8: Pianist Tanya Bannister gave the New York premiere of Aleppo Songsat the Roadmaps Festival.The festival is an annual event bringing people together to examine a current crisis through art. According to the festival, its goal is to “premiere new works that stir collective consciousness and inspire meaningful action.”
November 5 & 19, 2017: The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra gives the Chicago premiere of Dabke for string orchestra on a program with works by Joan Tower, Dimitri Shostakovich, Lili Boulanger, and Benjamin Britten. Details of each concert are available below.
November 16: The LUCA School of Arts Symfonieorkest in Leuven gave the Belgian premier of Ramal under maestro Ivan Meylemans. The program featured music by Arthur Meulemans, Thomas Adès, Frans Schreker, and Paul Hindemith.
The Gift of the Magi‘s libretto, written by Nicholas Giardini, captures the essence of the operatic drama contained in the classic O. Henry short story. Della (Soprano) and Jim (Baritone) are a young, poor couple in love, entirely devoted to each other. The action takes place late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. After having pledged not to exchange Christmas gifts, both decide to sell their own most precious possession in order to buy what each thinks will make the other most happy. Even though Jim adores her long, flowing tresses, Della sells her hair to wig makers so she can buy Jim a chain for his pocket watch. When Jim buys Della an exquisitely elaborate comb for her hair, the only way he can raise the money is to sell his heirloom watch. In separate scenes, both lovers have confidants who try to dissuade them of their plans, each without success. In the final scene, after the couple has exchanged their gifts, Jim and Della reaffirm their love for one another, which they now realize is the greatest gift of all.
Speed Dating Tonight! is considered one of the most popular operas in the 21st-century. It is an one act American opera that tells the story of a single hour in the lives of a group of people experiencing speed dating for the first time. It takes place in a local restaurant and includes colorful characters like a car salesman, origami designer, realtor, Tech addicts (OSD), and an over-the-top cat lover. Love at first sight, as well as two exes running into each other, are just two of the comical and romantic moments. This performance will feature two new “Delaware Dates” written especially for UD Opera Theatre.
The award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble and Orchestra is set to present an uproarious double-bill, bringing together Giacomo Puccini’s comic opera in one act, Gianni Schicchi, combined with the modern sequel, Buoso’s Ghost, by contemporary composer Michael Ching, from November 16 – 18, 2017.
Based on part of Dante’s Divine Comedy, Gianni Schicchi(the final installment of Puccini’s Il Trittico) is the beloved comic opera about the conniving Donati family’s attempts to change their deceased uncle’s will for their own gain. Stage Director David Ward notes, “Gianni Schicchi is Puccini’s only comedy – which is tragic because he writes such funny things in this opera.”
Buoso’s Ghostwas first staged with the Pittsburgh Opera in 1996, and received the official premiere at Opera Memphis in 1997. The opera begins where Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi ends, and traces the sinister dealings of Buoso Donati’s family, who have allegedly poisoned Buoso. Throughout the opera, Schicchi exploits the family’s plot to outwit them time and time again. The Chicago Tribune remarked that “Composer and librettist Ching … borrows snatches of Puccini tunes and weaves them into his own conservative-eclectic idiom, tossing in bits of American pop … for merry measure. The vocal writing is expert, the orchestration light enough to allow the singers to project the text clearly. Buoso is charming and unpretentious ….”
Led by Musical Director Kirk Severtson, the production of “Gianni Schicchi” and “Buoso’s Ghost” features students and faculty from The Crane School of Music in the cast and orchestra, as well as students from Crane and the SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance behind the scenes. Faculty member Dr. Jonathan Stinson, baritone, will sing the title role alongside the students in the cast.
About the Crane Opera Ensemble:
The award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble is a significant source for opera and music theatre in the North Country region of New York State. The ensemble provides exciting opportunities for students to experience all facets of opera performance and production, through rehearsals, coaching and classes related to performance practices and production techniques. The ensemble’s productions have garnered awards from the National Opera Association (2015, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2003), The American Prize (2011), and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (2010).
As part of OperaDelaware’s 2018 Festival, the company will pair the comic opera Gianni Schicchi by Puccini with Michael Ching’s “sequel” Buoso’s Ghost. The performances take place April 29 and May 5, 2018 at The Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE.
Based on part of Dante’s Divine Comedy, Gianni Schicchi(the final installment of Puccini’s Il Trittico) is the beloved comic opera about the conniving Donati family’s attempts to change their deceased uncle’s will for their own gain.
Buoso’s Ghostwas first staged with the Pittsburgh Opera in 1996, and received the official premiere at Opera Memphis in 1997. The opera begins where Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi ends, and traces the sinister dealings of Buoso Donati’s family, who have allegedly poisoned Buoso. Throughout the opera, Schicchi exploits the family’s plot to outwit them time and time again. The Chicago Tribune remarked that “Composer and librettist Ching … borrows snatches of Puccini tunes and weaves them into his own conservative-eclectic idiom, tossing in bits of American pop … for merry measure. The vocal writing is expert, the orchestration light enough to allow the singers to project the text clearly. Buoso is charming and unpretentious ….”
music is published by several publishers. He grew up in Germany and Northern Virginia and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the Catholic University School of Music in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, Tricia, are parents of three sons.
Dabke is the string orchestra setting of the third movement of composer Kareem Roustom’s A Voice Exclaiming, originally scored for triple string quartet in a 2013 commission for the Kronos Quartet and Community MusicWorks players. Dabke is an Arab communal folkloric line dance typically performed at joyous occasions. Highly rhythmic and coloristic, the movement is based on a six beat dabke rhythm called “sudaasi.” Also transcribed by the composer for wind ensemble, the score is dedicated to the memory of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.
In Tune blog 