Brightmusic eNewsletter - January 2010
A Brightmusic First – Two Performances of its January 2010 Concert
Brightmusic recently announced that it has added a second performance venue for its January 2010 and April 2010 concerts. In addition to the season’s four remaining performances at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Downtown Oklahoma City, Brightmusic will perform its third and sixth concerts of this season at the Fee Theatre on the campus of Casady School in Northwest Oklahoma City.
Brightmusic will perform its January 2010 concert – “Musical Legacies” – on Monday night, January 11, at Casady and on Tuesday night, January 12, at St. Paul’s. Brightmusic will also give two performances of its Finale Concert of this season on Monday night, April 19 at Casady and on Tuesday night, April 20 at St. Paul’s.
In announcing this exciting new expansion, Brightmusic President John Williams said, “Now the residents of NW OKC have an opportunity to discover how enjoyable it can be to spend an evening with Brightmusic. If these concerts are successful, we will perform all of our concerts next season at both locations.”
So take your pick – or come to both concerts! The Monday, January 11 performance of Concert 3 will take place at 7:30 pm at the Fee Theatre on the grounds of Casady School, 9500 N. Pennsylvania Avenue, in Northwest OKC. Please enter from Pennsylvania Avenue, turning east onto Casady’s campus. The Tuesday, January 12 performance will take place at 7:30 pm atSt. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, 127 NW 7th Street (at Robinson) in Downtown OKC. A reception with the musicians will follow each performance.
The musical selections for the January 11-12 concerts are: (1) Heinrich Joseph Baermann, Quintet No. 3 in E-flat Major for Clarinet and String Quartet, op. 23; (2) Quincy Porter, Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet; (3) Alan Shulman, Rendezvous for Clarinet and String Quartet (sometimes called “Rendezvous with Benny,” since Benny Goodman commissioned this work in 1946); and (4) Antonín Dvořák, Quintet for Strings in G Major, op. 77.
The Brightmusic musicians who will appear are Gregory Lee (violin), Katrin Stamatis (violin), Royce McLarry (viola), Jonathan Ruck (cello), George Speed (double bass) and Chad Burrow (clarinet).
Daniel Blumenthal and the Brightmusic Musicians Gave Outstanding Performances in the November 3 Concert, “Poetry and Passion”
The largest audience in Brightmusic’s history gave concert pianist Daniel Blumenthal a warm “Oklahoma welcome” on November 3, during his return engagement with five of the Brightmusic musicians for the second concert of its season, entitled “Poetry and Passion.” Daniel last appeared with Brightmusic in November 2007 in an all-Brahms program. Brightmusic’s audience was certainly glad to welcome him back all the way from Brussels, Belgium, to perform works of three giants of classical music.
The concert opened with the flashy Trio in B-flat Major for Clarinet, Cello and Piano by then-27-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven. Brightmusic clarinetist Chad Burrow and Brightmusic cellist Thomas Zieba joined Mr. Blumenthal to form the trio. The last work published by Frédéric Chopin in his lifetime followed – the beautiful Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, op. 65, performed by Mr. Blumenthal and Brightmusic cellist Jonathan Ruck. The second half of the concert featured Johannes Brahms’ four-movement Quartet for Piano and Strings in G minor, op. 25. Mr. Blumenthal was joined for that piece by three Brightmusic musicians: violinist Gregory Lee, violist Royce McLarry and cellist Jonathan Ruck.
Brightmusic dedicated this concert to the clergy, vestry and congregation of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral for their steadfast support since the foundation of Brightmusic in 2003. Attending the concert were The Right Reverend Dr. Edward J. Konieczny, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, and Mrs. Konieczny; The Very Reverend George H. Back, Dean of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, and Mrs. Back; and three other clergy of St. Paul’s: The Reverends Canon Carol M. Hampton, Canon N. Luke Back, and Canon Margôt L. Nesbitt (who is also a director of Brightmusic). Brightmusic President John Williams presented a framed certificate to Dean Back, expressing the gratitude of the board and musicians of Brightmusic to St. Paul’s for providing Brightmusic a wonderfully acoustic concert venue, and for countless other acts of support and kindness, for the last six seasons.
Brightmusic Musicians’ Recent Performances
Brightmusic violinist Gregory Lee and cellist Jonathan Ruckperformed at the second concert of the season by the Oklahoma Chamber Players, an OU music faculty ensemble. At this October 20 concert in Norman, Gregory and Jon played Beethoven’s “Archduke” Trio in B-flat Major, op. 97, along with pianist Thomas Bandy. The program also included works by Debussy, Schubert and Rota. The Oklahoma Chamber Players will give their next concert on Saturday night, February 20 in the Sharp Concert Hall on the campus of the University of Oklahoma.
The evening of October 20 also featured the premiere concert by The Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra, a 17-member ensemble that includes Brightmusic trumpeter Michael Anderson. A 200-person audience enthusiastically welcomed the group at the Petroleum Club of OKC atop the Chase Tower downtown. Michael Anderson also serves as a member of the management committee of the new organization. Brightmusic joins OKC jazz fans in welcoming the Jazz Orchestra to the artistic community of OKC. The orchestra’s next concert will be at 7 pm on January 18, 2010 at the Petroleum Club. Call (405) 232-1184 for reservations.
Brightmusic violinist Gregory Lee performed Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante at a Sutton Concert on October 25 in the Sharp Concert Hall at OU. In this performance by OU’s Accademia Filarmonica, OU faculty member Mark Neumann joined Gregory on solo viola. This concert also featured the Accademia Filarmonica and the OU Combined Choirs in a performance of Mozart’s “Requiem Mass.”
Brightmusic cellist Jonathan Ruck performed the Brahms B Major Trio, Op. 8 twice in the New York City area, along with Brightmusic alumnus violinist Gary Kosloski and with David Oei, a prominent NYC pianist, who has recorded with David Shifrin and Elmar Oliveira, among others. Both Gary and David are faculty members at the Hoff-Barthelson School of Music, one of the most prominent pre-college programs in the NYC area. The first concert, on November 25, was part of its faculty performance series. That concert was given at the School. The second concert, on November 27, was a benefit recital for the Golden Key Music Institute, founded by pianist Madeline Bruser and author of The Art of Practicing. It was held at the Bechstein Piano Gallery on West 58th Street in Manhattan. It is rumored that Jon celebrated his 30th birthday as part of his visit to New York City.
Brightmusic violist Royce McLarry and his string trio performed on December 3 in the Atrium of the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library of Oklahoma City, as part of the Noon Tunes series of concerts sponsored by the Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County and the Metropolitan Library System Endowment Trust.
Brightmusic bassist George Speed performed eight concerts with the Boston Pops Orchestra in Boston’s Symphony Hall during December 2009. In recent years, George has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, the Boston Classical Orchestra, the New England String Ensemble, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the Handel and Haydn Society, the Fort Worth Symphony and the Tulsa Symphony – in addition to his position as principal bass of the OKC Philharmonic and his teaching responsibilities at Oklahoma State University.
Brightmusic Musicians’ Upcoming Performances
Brightmusic Co-Artistic Directors Chad Burrow (clarinet) andAmy I-Lin Cheng (piano) will be the featured artists in the fourth concert of the Virginia Campbell Concert Series on Sunday afternoon, January 17. Duo Clarion – the name of Chad and Amy’s duo – will perform at 2:30 pm at the Catholic Church of St. Eugene, 2400 West Hefner Road. For more information about that concert, call (405) 843-5895. Duo Clarion will also perform at 8:00 pm on January 19 in the Kinzer Performing Arts Center at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa. For more information about that concert, visit http://northok.publishpath.com/events. For more information about Duo Clarion, Amy and Chad, visithttp://www.pmiarts.com/index_files/DuoClarion.htm andhttp://www.music.umich.edu/faculty_staff/bio.php?u=burrowc.
At 7:00 pm on Monday, January 18, Brightmusic trumpeterMichael Anderson and the other 16 members of the Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra will give their second concert. The Orchestra performs at the Petroleum Club atop the Chase Bank Building at 100 N. Broadway (at West Main Street) in downtown Oklahoma City. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students. For more information, call the Petroleum Club at (405) 232-1184.
Brightmusic violinist Gregory Lee will give a Sutton Artists Series recital on Saturday, January 23 at 8:00 pm in the Sharp Concert Hall at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Gregory will perform Bach’s Sonata for Solo Violin, S. 1003; Beethoven’s Sonata No. 6, op. 30, no. 1; Vaughn Williams’ “The Lark Ascending;” and Paganini’s “I Palpiti.” Performing with Gregory will be pianist Stephanie Leon Shames. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students, seniors and OU faculty/staff. For more information, visit www.gregorylee.org.
At 8:00 pm on Saturday, February 20, the Oklahoma Chamber Players will give a Sutton Concert Series performance in the Sharp Concert Hall at the University of Oklahoma School of Music. Brightmusic cellist Jonathan Ruck serves as the director of The Oklahoma Chamber Players. Also performing at that concert will be Brightmusic violinist Gregory Lee, Brightmusic oboist Lisa Harvey-Reed and Brightmusic bassoonist Carl Rath. All four of those musicians are principals in their respective sections of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students, seniors and OU faculty/staff. For more information, visithttp://www.ou.edu/finearts/events.html.
Brightmusic Elects Three New Members to its Board of Directors
The Brightmusic Society of Oklahoma is proud to announce the election of three new directors: Andrew B. Peterson, Deborah Senner and Kip Welch. Andy is an intellectual property attorney in the law firm of McAfee & Taft, Oklahoma City’s largest law firm. Deborah is the President of Allied Arts, one of the leading nonprofit cultural organizations in Central Oklahoma. Kip is the Director of Recruitment at Chesapeake Energy Corporation and a member of the board of directors of the OKC Philharmonic.
Click here to see our other board members.
Continuing Updates to Brightmusic’s New Website
In our last newsletter, we announced that Brightmusic had launched a new website – www.brightmusic.org. The website is continuously updated to reflect new concert information, new contributors to Brightmusic, new photographs of our musicians in rehearsal and performance, and other news about Brightmusic of interest to our fans. One of the most helpful features of the new website is an Oklahoma City Arts Calendar. The ArtsCal contains a wealth of information about upcoming performing arts events in OKC, whether music, theatre, dance or the visual arts. Now you don’t have to monitor dozens of local websites: You can plan your cultural activities by consulting one website. When you visitwww.brightmusic.org, click on “ArtsCal” and keep your personal calendar handy as you do!
Ways to Help Brightmusic with this Season’s Financial Challenges
Money, you knew we’d get around to that. Yes we did, and yes we must. Brightmusic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We do not charge admission to our concerts. One hundred percent of our “income” must come from donations of the people who enjoy classical chamber music and who care about the quality of cultural life in Central Oklahoma. Every dollar counts, because about 97% of your contributions to Brightmusic “go to the music.” Brightmusic has no paid employees … no office space … not even a budget for postage stamps.
In this economically challenging time, Brightmusic is expanding. We are featuring more musicians and more complex ensembles. We are continuing to commission new chamber music works, mostly from composers who live in Oklahoma or have strong ties to our state. We are continuing to offer brand-name guest artists from around the country and the world, to enhance the cultural renaissance of Oklahoma City. And recently we expanded the number of our concert performances and venues. Other arts groups have had to reduce the number of their concerts or trim their sails in other ways. Brightmusic’s expansion, in the face of a recession, will ultimately prove to be very wise or very unwise. That depends on you – our fans, patrons and sole means of support.
Please do what you can to support Brightmusic. Our musicians are capable of so much. These musicians – the best teachers and performers of classical music in Oklahoma – have added to the culture of Central Oklahoma for seven seasons. But their musicianship exceeds what they have done so far. Please support them for your own musical enjoyment, and for the diversity and quality of cultural life in the Sooner State!
You can contribute to Brightmusic by mail: Brightmusic Society of Oklahoma, P.O. Box 404, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73101-0404; by leaving either a cash contribution or a Visa/MasterCharge charge slip in the basket at the entrance Brightmusic’s concerts; or through our new website and PayPal. Click on the website,www.brightmusic.org, then click on “Support” and you’ll see the red buttons that will guide you through. If you would like to discuss a contribution that would fund a particular Brightmusic concert or some facet of Brightmusic’s operations, please contact John Williams, President, 621-0300; David Johnson, Vice President, 216-5595; or Grant DeFehr, Secretary and Chair of Fund Raising, 204-7366.
