Heritage/Evolution 1: PRISM Quartet featuring Walden alumna Kaeli Mogg
Heritage/Evolution 1 features The PRISM Quartet with Steve Lehman and Rudresh Mahanthappa in world premiere performances of new works by The Walden School alumna, Kaeli Mogg, as well as music by Steve Lehman, Rudresh Mahanthappa and Fabien Lévy. For more information please click here.
The Walden School Receives 2014 ASCAP/Chamber Music America Adventurous Programming Award
Concert Series and Regional Composers Forums Cited for 2nd Award in 3 Years
SAN FRANCISCO – The Walden School (www.waldenschool.org) has been recognized with a 2014 CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. The award will be presented at the 36th Chamber Music America National Conference on Sunday, January 19th, 2014, in New York City. Cia Toscanini, ASCAP Vice President of Concert Music, will present the award. This is the second time that The Walden School has been honored with this award, having won for the first time in 2012.
Established jointly by Chamber Music America and ASCAP, the annual awards recognize U.S.- based professional ensembles and presenters for distinctive programming of music composed within the past 25 years. The recipients, chosen by an independent panel of classical and jazz chamber music professionals, were evaluated on the basis of their programming and innovations in attracting audiences to performances of new music.
“We are thrilled to receive this award, which honors Walden’s innovative concert presentations, both as part of our summer program’s annual Concert Series and as part of our expanding year-round programming,” says Seth Brenzel, Executive Director of The Walden School. Brenzel will be on hand in New York to accept the award on behalf of the School. “For more than 40 years, Walden has been a leader in the training, developing and supporting of creative musicians of all ages, and we are gratified by this important recognition.”
The Walden School was cited for an honor in the contemporary, small-presenter category. The organization’s 2013 annual summer festival was a five-week season across the Monadnock region of New Hampshire, featuring performances by Phyllis Chen, Peter Evans, Anne LaBerge, Sam Pluta, Alex Christie, Jim Altieri, Ensemble Dal Niente, The Walden School Players, and Aurora Nealand & the Royal Roses. Again this year, all concerts were free and open to the public. The summer’s line-up featured exciting contemporary music representing diverse genres and musical styles, all presenting ambitious programs including improvised and electronic music, the music of George Crumb, Henry Cowell, Samuel Barber, and John Cage, world premieres by Walden faculty members, and new works from George Lewis, David Ludwig, and Caroline Mallonée, among others.
In addition to its summer Concert Series, the School has expanded its year-round programming to include several Composers Forums, featuring performances of brand new works by Walden program alumni. In 2013, The Walden School presented two such events in New York City and San Francisco, featuring world premieres of more than a dozen works by exciting composers of all ages. On April 5, 2014, The Walden School will present a Composers Forum in New York City, featuring Eve Beglarian as composer/moderator, and performances by Face The Music, a leading contemporary music ensemble in New York City entirely composed of teen musicians.
Founded in 1972, The Walden School is an acclaimed summer music school, camp and festival offering immersive, residential programs that emphasize creative application, specifically through the study of musicianship, improvisation, and composition. Located on the beautiful campus of the Dublin School in Dublin, New Hampshire, the School provides an inspiring retreat-like environment ideal for creative music making. The School’s programs include the five-week Young Musicians Program for musicians ages 9 to 18, the one-week Creative Musicians Retreat for adult musicians, and the Teacher Training Institute for music educators. The School’s Concert Series showcases free public performances by renowned artists and ensembles that collaborate closely with program participants in creating exciting performances of contemporary music. To learn more about The Walden School, whose administrative office is located in San Francisco, please visit its website: www.waldenschool.org
Chamber Music America (CMA), the national service organization for the ensemble music profession, was founded in 1977 to develop and strengthen an evolving chamber music community. With a membership of more than 6000 – including musicians, ensembles, presenters, artists’ managers, educators, music businesses, and advocates of ensemble music – CMA welcomes members representing a wide range of musical styles and traditions. In addition to its funding programs, CMA provides its members with consulting services, access to health and instrument insurance, conferences, seminars, several publications, and a website, www.chamber-music.org.
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) is a membership association of more than 420,000 composers, songwriters, and publishers of every music genre. Founded in 1914, ASCAP is the only U.S.-performing rights organization created and governed by its members. ASCAP licenses non-dramatic public performances and distributed royalties to its members. ASCAP makes obtaining permission to perform music simple and economical for all who wish to perform copyrighted music publicly.
Contact: Seth Brenzel, Executive Director
The Walden School
sbrenzel@waldenschool.org
415-648-4710 (office)
Eve Beglarian to be Composer-in-Residence at the Creative Musicians Retreat
We are thrilled to announce that composer Eve Beglarian will serve as the Composer-in-Residence for Walden’s 2014 Creative Musicians Retreat! We cannot wait for our participants to benefit from her wonderful artistry and engaging teaching at the June 14-22 program in Dublin, New Hampshire. Click here for more information about her music, her career, news and events. Ms. Beglarian previously served as Composer-in-Residence at Walden’s Young Musicians Program in 2012.
Heritage/Evolution 1: PRISM Quartet featuring Walden alumna Kaeli Mogg
Heritage/Evolution 1 features The PRISM Quartet with Steve Lehman and Rudresh Mahanthappa in world premiere performances of new works by The Walden School alumna, Kaeli Mogg, as well as music by Steve Lehman, Rudresh Mahanthappa and Fabien Lévy. For more information please click here.
Faculty Commissioning Concert
Members of Ensemble Dal Niente, a Chicago-based contemporary music ensemble featuring Walden Teacher Training Institute alumnus Chris Wild, will perform eight world premiere works by Young Musicians Program faculty members Alex Christie, Rebekah Griffin Greene, Marguerite Ladd, Sky Macklay, Emil Margolis, Ian Munro, Osnat Netzer, and Sam Pluta. 2013 marks the 13th Faculty Commissioning Project that The Walden School has sponsored. Free and open to the public
Celebration of Improvisation and Electronic Music
An evening celebration of improvisation and electronic music, featuring Peter Evans, Anne LaBerge, Sam Pluta, Alex Christie, and Ian Munro. This concert celebrates 15 years of Walden’s innovative electronic music curriculum and program.
Open Rehearsals for Faculty Concert
Rehearsal times:
4:30-6:00 p.m.
7:15-8:45 p.m.
Listen and observe the performers of Dal Niente and composers preparing works for their world premieres later in the week. Free and open to the public
Open Rehearsals for Faculty Commissioning Concert
Rehearsal times:
4:30-6:00 p.m.
7:15-8:45 p.m.
Listen and observe the performers of Dal Niente and composers preparing works for their world premieres later in the week. Free and open to the public
Phyllis Chen, (Toy) Piano
Phyllis Chen, pianist and composer, performs a concert of works specializing in music written for and inspired by toy piano.
Program:
Mirabella for solo toy piano by Stephen Montague (b.1943)
Exposiciones for toy piano and tape by Andrian Pertout (b.1963)
Kalimba for toy piano and tape by Karlheinz Essl (b.1960)
Perilous Night for prepared piano by John Cage (1912-1992)
Suite for Toy Piano by John Cage
(Intermission)
Aeolian Harp by Henry Cowell (1897-1965)
Colura and Double Helix for toy piano and bowls by Phyllis Chen (b.1978)
Nothing Is Real for piano, miniature sound system and teapot by Alvin Lucier (b.1931)
Toy Toccata for solo toy piano by Fabian Svensson (b.1979)
Carousels for toy piano and hand-cranked music box by Phyllis Chen (b.1978)
The Walden School Players
Walden’s “house band” of exceptional performers present an electric concert of contemporary music to kick off Festival Week. This year’s Players are Jane Cords O’Hara, cello; Jane Chung, violin; Russell Greenberg, percussion; Tawnya Popoff, viola; Jessi Rosinski, flutes; Christa Van Alstine, clarinets; and Aaron Wunsch, piano. Concert to feature works by composers George Lewis and David Ludwig, among others. Free and open to the public