Upcoming Events

2009-10

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	19 November, 2009: Antoni Parera Fons: A Songwriter's Journey. Click here to listen to Andreu Riera perform the 2008 Composer's Commission "Mentum" (incomplete) The Foundation for Iberian Music presents a concert entirely dedicated to the music of Antoni Parera Fons. Presented by MUSIC IN MIDTOWN Thursday, November 19, 2009 – 1pm Elebash Recital Hall The Graduate Center 365 Fifth Ave & 34th St Free, No Reservation Required Introductory remarks by Candice Agree of WQXR, the classical music station of the New York Times PROGRAM: Lamento de Jueves Santo en Cuenca ( Holy Thursday Lament in Cuenca) for solo violin, work commissioned by the 2006 Sacred Music Festival of Cuenca (Spain) Ara Malikian, Violin Correnties (Currents) for narrator, soprano, violin and piano Guillem Frontera, narrator; Isabel Rey, soprano; Andreu Riera, piano; Ara Malikian, violin Songs for Loli for soprano and piano on lyrics by Isabel Rey Isabel Rey, soprano; Antoni Parera Fons, piano Mentum for solo piano Foundation for Iberian Music Composers’ Commission 2008 Andreu Riera, soprano Composer, pianist, arranger, and producer ANTONI PARERA FONS was born in Mallorca in 1943 and studied piano and composition in Barcelona. His songs have been performed by acclaimed singers including José Carreras, Montserrat Caballé, Alfredo Kraus, José Van Dam, Jaime Aragall, current Met’s baritone Juan Pons, and many others. In 1992 he wrote the music for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. More recently, the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra) premiered a large ambitious orchestral work, Nocturn per a un capvespre blau (Nocturne for a blue evening). As an arranger, he has participated in many notable events including the CD Christmas in Vienna with Diana Ross and The Three Tenors. As a producer, his recording of the opera El gato con botas (Puss in boots) by Xavier Montsalvatge was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004. He has won numerous awards, gold and platinum discs as well as various national and international recognitions. With support from: Consulate General of Spain in New York
	15 December 2009: Aviva & Dan and The Nadel/Thomas Duo A concert and panel discussion curated by Samuel R. Thomas as part of the annual Sephardic Music Festival - Sephardic Scholar Series Presented in collaboration with the American Sephardi Federation and Yeshiva University Museum. Co-sponsorsed by the Foundation for Iberian Music, the Institute for Sephardic Studies, AsefaMusic and Shemspeed. Center for Jewish History 15 West 16th Street, NYC Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 6:30pm General Admission: $15/ $12 for ASF & YUMuseum members and students Ticket includes both performances, panel discussion with the artists, entrance to Yeshiva University Museum and viewing the current ASF exhibit, The Jews of Spain. Tickets @ www.smarttix.com; or 212.868.4444. For more info: 212.294.8350 x2 or visit: www.americansephardifederation.org | www.sephardicmusicfestival.comwww.sephardicmusicfestival.com Aviva is a dynamic up-and-coming mezzo-soprano. Her debut album Songs For Carmen is sung in Ladino, a form of ancient Spanish spoken by the Jewish people of Spain. A fusion of Flamenco, Classical, Electronic, and Arabic music, Songs For Carmen, is inspired by the mythical Sephardic woman, made famous by George Bizet’s internationally acclaimed opera, Carmen. Dan Nadel is a guitarist and composer whose style combines jazz, flamenco, and other influences. He is in-demand in New York's music scene, both as a bandleader and as accompanist to some of its finest talent. Released in 2005, Dan Nadel’s debut album, Brooklyn Prayer, is a rich, introspective recording that explores the subtler cultures of New York’s most diverse borough. It received critical acclaim worldwide, and features some of the city’s brightest musical voices. His performance schedule includes concerts with his trio, AGADA, his collaborative duo project with opera singer Audrey (Aviva) Babcock, and shows with jazz vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli. Samuel R. Thomas is a woodwindist/composer and bandleader of Asefa. His academic work centers on Sephardic studies, diaspora studies, musical traditions of the Middle East and North Africa, Jewish music research, jazz and popular musics of the non-Western world. Thomas is executive director of AsefaMusic, a non-profit organization dedicated to applied ethnomusicology as a means for cultural awareness and exchange.
	19 February 2010: Flamenco in classical music. A Panel discussion with distinguished composers Antón García Abril, Jose Luis Turina, Consuelo Diez, as well as singer Nan Maro Babakhanian. Moderated by Antoni Pizà. 7pm Skylight Room, The Graduate Center 365 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10016
	24 February 2010: Meet the Composer: Benet Casablancas With Catalan Center at NYU and Casa Italiana at NYU. Benet Casablancas discusses his music with musicologist Antoni Pizà and mebers of the Perspective Ensemble. Performance of Little night Music by Perspectives Ensemble. 7pm Casa Italiana, NYU 24 West 12th Street New York, NY 10011-8604 Telephone: (212) 998-8730
	25 February 2010: Benet Casablancas: A Composer's Portrait. The Foundation for Iberian Music presents a concert by Perspectives Ensemble. Presented by Miller Theatre Thursday, February 25th, 2010 8pm Miller Theatre Columbia University 2960 Broadway & 116th st. PROGRAM: PART I New Epigrams for Chamber Orchestra (1997) 1. Con moto 2. Adagio 3. Scherzando (Con moto) Little Night Music (1993) "Four Darks in Red" Miller Theater Commission Intermission PART II Seven Scenes from Hamlet for speaker and chamber orchestra (1988-98) 1. Prologue, Misterioso 2. The Court. Suspicions, Allegro moderato 3. To be or not to be, Moderato molto e pensieroso 4. Ophelia, Larguetto amoroso 5. Party of the players, "a jig", Moderato 6. Yorick, burial of Ophelia, Poco grave 7. The ending, Allegro furioso PERSPECTIVES ENSEMBLE Sato Moughalian, Musical Director Àngel Gil Ordóñez, Conductor Born in Sabadell (Barcelona), Benet Casablancas Domingo is one of the leading Spanish composers of his generation. His works, distinguished with numerous commissions and awards, have been performed around Europe, Canada, the USA and South America, by prestigious soloists, ensembles and conductors. His wide-ranging oeuvre, covering the most diverse genres and formats, is marked by a quest for radical personal and aesthetic independence. The critics have highlighted his concern for balancing constructional rigor and expressive strength, dramatic character and whimsical register, in the framework of a discourse in which coexist a progressively luminous harmonic language, rhythmic spirit, a growing timbre differentiation and instrumental virtuosity. In 2007 he received the National Prize of Music of the Catalonia Government, Generalitat of Catalunya, which is the highest honor that the government of his country awards in this cultural field. Founded in 1993, Perspectives Ensemble creates musical events that present the works of composers in cultural or historic context. Its programs offer interpretations informed by the influences prevailing upon composers at the time of composition, and often bridge and integrate the musical, visual, and literary arts. Àngel Gil Ordóñez has attained an outstanding reputation among Spain’s new generation of conductors. In 2006, the King of Spain awarded him the country’s highest civilian decoration, the Royal Order of Queen Isabella, which is equivalent to a knighthood, for his work in advancing Spanish culture in the world, in particular for performing and teaching Spanish music in its cultural context.
	17 April 2010: BAM presents Manuel de Falla's El Corregidor y la Molinera. The Foundation for Iberian Music and Brooklyn Academy of Music present a concert by Orchestra of St. Luke. http://www.oslmusic.org/home More information TBA
	10 April 2010: SEMINAR Literes as an Opera composer. The Foundation for Iberian Music presents a one-day seminar led by professor Juan José Carreras. The MOMPOU CHAIR at The Foundation for Iberian Music was established in 2003 by the CUNY Graduate Center and the Institut Ramon Llull of Barcelona to honor the musical legacy of Frederic Mompou (1893-1987). Its mission is the dissemination of the rich musical heritage of Catalonia.
	3 May 2010: Concerts & Conversations: Paquito D'Rivera Paquito D'Rivera discusses art, literature, politics and music with musical interludes. Elebash Recital Graduate Center, CUNY 365 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10016
	Spring 2010: The trios of Villa-Lobos A concert and panel discussion with Melcion Mateu, Antoni Pizà, Adam Kent. Presenting the recent release of TRIOS BRASILEIOS by Damocles Trio. More information TBA