Learning and fun for kids with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra

 

According to a release from the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, there will be a chance to "put on your PJs, grab your favorite stuffed animal," and join the NHSO for this year’s Family Concert Series: “Once Upon A Time...”

 

"This concert series celebrates the magic of fairy tales and each concert concludes with a beautiful lullaby that families share at home," the release said.

 

The free series will continue with Ferdinand The Bull at 2 p.m. Feb. 6 at Davis Street School in New Haven and 2 p.m. Feb. 7 at Shelton Intermediate School, the release said.

"Strings are the focus of this concert, which will begin with a short medley taken from Robert Schumann’s Album for the Young. Connecticut soprano Anne Rhodes will narrate the beloved childhood tale Ferdinand the Bull, the story of a bull named Ferdinand who doesn’t like to fight, before singing Aaron Copland’s “Simple Gifts,” “The Little Horses,” and “I Bought Me A Cat.” The concert will end with the familiar, lilting waltz melody from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty."

 

Starting at 1:30 p.m. before the concert, the NHSO will offer an Instrument Discovery Zone where children can tap, tickle, and toot real orchestral instruments  the release said. Following the concert, families are invited to stay for a healthful snack. New Haven Reads will partner with the NHSO once again to provide free children’s books for everyone who attends the concert, the release said.

 

In the photo: a child participating in the Instrument Discovery Zone (credit: Joe Crawford).

Editor's note: All information and the photo in this post were contributed. Click one of the buttons below to share it.

New Haven Symphony Orchestra to present 4 performances of Handel’s 'Messiah'

NEW HAVEN - The New Haven Symphony Orchestra will present four performances of Handel’s "Messiah" in a statewide tour Dec. 18-21, according to a release.

 

Starting in Woolsey Hall in New Haven on Dec.18, the tour will continue Dec. 19 at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Dec. 20 at First Congregational Church of Madison, and Dec. 21 at the Performing Arts Center at Middletown High School, the release said..

 

"One of the best known choral works of all time, 'Messiah' is a collection of biblical texts compiled into the story of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection; it is traditionally performed for both Christmas and Easter celebrations," the release said.
"'Messiah' features such well known songs for solo vocalists with the orchestra as 'Every Valley Shall Be Exalted' and 'He Shall Feed His Flock,'' as well as monumental choruses like 'For Unto Us a Child is Born' and, of course, the 'Hallelujah Chorus,'" the release said.

The NHSO will donate proceeds from the Dec. 18 performance at Woolsey Hall to the Community Soup Kitchen. "The NHSO has supported the Community Soup Kitchen for several seasons and was the recipient of the soup kitchen’s “Silver Ladel” award in 2013. For more information about the Community Soup Kitchen, visit www.csknewhaven.org."

 

For these performances, the NHSO will be joined by four solo vocalists: soprano Nicole Percifield, countertenor Daniel Moody, tenor Jorge Prego and baritone Brian Vu. The first three performances will feature the Christ Church Oratorio Society of New Haven and the final performance will feature the Greater Middletown Chorale, the release said..

 

 

New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the #B5Challenge

NEW HAVEN - The New Haven Symphony Orchestra will open its 2014-15 Season with Beethoven & The Don on Oct. 2 at Woolsey Hall, according to a release.

 

"Led by Music Director William Boughton, the program will include Beethoven’s 'Symphony No. 5,' as well as Strauss’ 'Don Juan' and Prokofiev’s" Violin Concerto No. 1" featuring guest Russian-American violinist Yevgeny Kutik. "

"Inspired by this opening night program, music director William Boughton has issued the “Beethoven Five Challenge” on Facebook to raise awareness for music education in this community," the release said. "After singing the opening notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Boughton challenged prominent community members to record their own performance and challenge their friends to do so as well. Participation is growing and has included video posts by the new NSHO principal pops conductor, board members, and members of the media. Visit www.facebook.com/newhavensymphony to view the videos and to learn more about issuing a #B5Challenge."

 Also in the release:

"The Russian-American artist Yevgeny Kutik is hailed for his dazzling command of the violin and its repertoire, as well as a communicative immediacy that harkens back to the legendary Romantic masters. Yevgeny Kutik’s current season is highlighted by engagements as guest soloist with New York City’s Park Avenue Chamber Symphony and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston. Kutik made his debut with Keith Lockhart and The Boston Pops in 2003 as the 1st Prize recipient of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition and was awarded a 2006 Salon de Virtuosi Grant as well as the 2006 Tanglewood Music Center Jules Reiner Violin Prize. Of special note, Yevgeny Kutik continues his close association with the United Jewish Federations of North America Speakers Bureau, annually performing throughout the United States to raise awareness and promote the assistance of refugees from around the world."

Tickets:  Single Tickets are $15- 74. Student tickets are $10 and KidTix (children ages 7-17) are free with the purchase of an adult ticket. Blue Star tickets for active military personnel and their immediate families are free. To purchase tickets or for more information, contact the NHSO Box Office at 203.865.0831 x10 or visit www.NewHavenSymphony.org.

To purchase tickets or for more information, call the NHSO Box Office at 203.865.0831 x10 . For single tickets to NHSO performances at the Shubert Theater, call 203.562.5666

 

In photo  Yevgeny Kutik, guest violinist. Photo credit: Kevin Sprague.

.

New Haven Symphony Orchestra to hold free concert with Dianne Reeves

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra will join the International Festival of Arts & Ideas lineup this summer for a free concert with jazz empress Dianne Reeves at 7 p.m. June 21 on the New Haven Green, according to a release. 

 "Under the baton of Maestro William Boughton, the NHSO, which was recently cited by The New York Times as 'sophisticated and versatile,' will back Dianne Reeves in a program featuring jazzy renditions of American songbook standards," the release said.

"From George Gershwin’s “Embraceable You” and “Fascinating Rhythm,” to selections from Duke Ellington’s The River Suite, Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” and the George Shearing’s “Lullaby of Birdland,” this relaxed summer evening concert will be packed with crowd favorites! "

 

Reeves "will wow audiences with her breathtaking virtuosity, improvisational prowess, and unique jazz and R&B style," the release said.. "A multiple Grammy-winner, Reeves has recorded and performed extensively with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis, who said of Reeves, “She has one of the most powerful, purposeful and accurate voices of this or any time.” 

 

Also, the NHSO will hold an Instrument Discovery Zone for kids of all ages to try playing instruments of the orchestra at 5 p.m., the release said..  Music Haven and the NHSO hold a city-wide play-in on the Green at 6 p.m., the release said.

Visit the International Festival of Arts & Ideas website, www.artidea.org for more details. "Grab the family and a picnic basket and join us downtown for an unforgettable summer evening."

For updates and more information visit www.NewHavenSymphony.org. 

Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed. Click one of the buttons below to share it.

New Haven Symphony Orchestra will have 'blockbuster' finale

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra will present "two colossal works in one blockbuster season finale," according to a release.

 

Music Director William Boughton conduct Rachmaninov Fantastique at 7:30 p.m. May 15 at Woolsey Hall  and 8 p.m.  May 17 at Mechanics Hall, in Worcester, Massachusetts, the release said.

 

"Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev, who will tackle Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the New Haven Symphony, continues to astound and mesmerize audiences at major venues around the world," the release said.

   

 

"Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is a dynamic piece that marries musical subtlety and piano pyrotechnics.  Rachmaninov struggled with depression for many years, and recovered after undergoing psychotherapy with Dr. Nikolay Dahl, in whose honor he composed the concerto.  The piece was an instant success and remains his most frequently performed work due to its virtuosity.  Its passionate strains can be heard in several popular films such as Brief Encounter, The Seven year Itch (with Marilyn Monroe) and Rhapsody (with Elizabeth Taylor).  More recently, it was featured prominently in Clint Eastwood’s 2010 film Hereafter."

 

 

Tickets for the performance at Woolsey Hall are $15-$69, student tickets are $10, KidTix are free for kids ages 6-17 (with paying adult), and Blue Star tickets are free for military families.  For tickets or more information, call 203.865.0831 x10

 

Tickets to the performance at Mechanics Hall are $49 for adults, $15 for students, and $5 for kids under age 18.  To purchase tickets visit www.MechanicsHall.org.

 

Note: New Haven Season Media Sponsor: New Haven Register. Show in photo: Ilya Yakushev

 

Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed. Click one of the buttons below to share it.

New Haven Symphony Orchestra "Offers the Peace and Solace of the Brahms Requiem"

 

 

NEW HAVEN - The New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the New England Conservatory Concert Choir want to "lift your spirits."

The NHSO plans to do this with "Brahms’s emotional "Requiem" for the living, according to a release.

 

Music Director William Boughton conducts "Brahms Requiem" at 7:30 p.m.  April 24 at Woolsey Hall and the same time April 25 at at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford. The exclusive sponsor of both concerts is the Knights of Columbus, the release said.

 

Also in the release:
Johannes Brahms was devastated by the loss of his mother in 1865.  In the dark days following her death, he completed a Requiem that was both profound and revolutionary. Because the work was composed, in Brahms’s own words, for the sake of all those whose hearts suffer loss, it is often performed as an act of healing after tragedy.  In the wake of the Boston Marathon attack, Boston area singers gathered at MIT to perform the work. “It begins with blessing those who carry the tremendous grief, and it ends with blessing the dead,” explained participant Danica Buckley. “And throughout it’s all about journey and peace and comfort and solace.”  Take a journey through grief and into peace and solace with the Symphony; by the work’s climax you will be lifted up as the soprano soloist spirals heavenward, interweaving blissful melodies with the harp.

 

The New England Conservatory Concert Choir, under the direction of Erica Washburn, is one of the nation’s premiere training grounds for professional singers.  Ms. Washburn approached the New Haven Symphony about performing together through two personal connections: NHSO Music Director William Boughton, a New England Conservatory alumnus, and NHSO Education Director Laura Adam, who attended the Eastman Conservatory with Washburn. Soloists for the Brahms Requiem are Danielle Barger, soprano, and Joshua Quinn, baritone, both NEC graduates and emerging performers of opera and song throughout the country.  

 

Tickets for the performance at Woolsey Hall are $15-69, student tickets are $10, KidTix are free for kids ages 6-17 (with paying adult), and Blue Star tickets are free for military families.  Hartford Cathedral admission is by goodwill offering. For tickets or more information, call 203.865.0831 x10 or email  www.NewHavenSymphony.org.

Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed. Click one of the buttons below to share it.

Free Classical Music

NEW HAVEN — Enjoy a night of free classical music with guests of the Yale Concert Band beginning at 7:30 p.m. April 9 at Woolsey Hall.
The James Hillhouse High School Band, New Haven Symphony Orchestra maestro William Boughton, and Yale Institute of Sacred Music student Dashon Burton, baritone, will perform, playing Holst, Grainger, and Wagner among others.
Hillhouse Music Director Melinda Hartfiel will join the Yale Concert Band for Billy Madison’s Chasing the Storm and Percy Aldridge Grainger’s classic Irish Tune from County Derry.
For more information call 203-432-4113 or visit www.yale.edu/yaleband