Message from the President |
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Dear Friends,
As the semester starts to wind down, there are a lot of music events taking place, with many student recitals and programs. We are also pleased to offer two more Music Salons for you this month; they are described in detail below. Be sure to register if you want to attend and you will be sent information on joining those salons, which are presented via Zoom. Links are provided to recordings of the previous salons if you missed them, or if you would like to see them again.
We are invited to another master class this semester. I have really enjoyed attending these classes. It is fascinating to see how students can be taught at great distances and also see the amazement on the teachers’ faces when they find that the student is a double major who might end up going to medical school!
The Friends of Music has helped support many of the students who will be performing this semester and I think you will be pleased to hear that the support has been well used.
There are also several ECMSA and ASO performances this month and be sure to link to the information about them given in the articles below. We are really fortunate to have these high-quality professional performances available to us in Atlanta!
With best wishes,
Gray
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Our Next Music Salons: Tuesday April 6 and April 20, 2021, 7:30pm |
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Schubert’s “Arpeggione” Sonata
Will and Yinzi Ransom
Will Ransom is Mary Emerson Professor of Piano
and Director of ECMSA
Yinzi Kong is Artist Affiliate: Viola Instructor and
Member of the Vega String Quartet
We will have the great pleasure and privilege of not only hearing Will and Yinzi Ransom play the Arpeggione sonata, but also have a conversation with them about this work. It is quite likely you have never heard this sonata performed or know what “Arpeggione” means. This piece is an 1824 composition for the arpeggione, a kind of bowed guitar invented in 1823 that is still in existence today but in very limited quantities. Today the piece is usually heard in transcription, either for cello and piano or viola and piano. Probably Schubert wrote this piece for Vincenz Schuster, a contemporary virtuoso of the arpeggione. As the composition was published posthumously in 1871 it enjoyed very few performances because enthusiasm for the arpeggione had waned by that time.
About Will and Yinzi Ransom
I am quite certain that for readers of this newsletter, Will Ransom needs no introduction. If you want to review his many contributions to the musical life of Emory and Atlanta, you can click here to read more. You may be less familiar with Yinzi Kong, but as a founding member of the Vega String Quartet you have likely heard her play many times. You may be less familiar with how well integrated the Vega String Quartet is into the entire university. The members provide instruction for Emory music students, but they also visit classes throughout the university and perform in many different spaces (at least pre-covid and hopefully again soon!). You may read more about Yinzi by clicking here.
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Tuesday, April 20, 7:30pm |
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Shaping Ideas, Values and Traditions:
Yeats, Community and the Role of the Arts at Emory
Jim Flannery
Winship Professor Emeritus of the Arts and Humanities
Director of the W.B. Yeats Foundation
This Music Salon will be a conversation with Jim Flannery about the formative influence of music in his life’s work, his Yeatsian interests, his experience in developing the theater program at Emory, and the potential role of the arts as he sees them unfolding in the future. As Jim came to Emory in 1982 and was instrumental in developing major programs at Emory, there is a lot to talk about and a wonderful opportunity for audience engagement!
About Jim Flannery
There is no short summary of Jim’s contribution to Emory. A brief synopsis would include founding the present Theater Emory in 1982 and helping integrate it with the Department of Theater Studies, founding the international W.B. Yeats Foundation at Emory in 1988, and helping to found the Irish Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences in 2004. Certainly, one could not omit his very successful local production of the Southern Celtic Christmas Concert that is now being distributed nationally by American Public Television to PBS stations across the country. You can read much more by clicking here and by clicking here.
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Previous Music Salons This Semester |
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Below is a list of previous Music Salons held this semester, with links to the recordings of those salons so you can view them if you were not able to attend when they were offered.
February 9, 2021
Dwight Andrews, Religion, Spirituality, and Jazz: (When the Spirit Moves...)
February 23, 2021
Kristin Wendland, The Power of Practice: How Music and Yoga Transformed the Life and Work of Yehudi Menuhin
March 22, 2021 7:30pm
Paul Bhasin, Fundamentals of Conducting: Technique, Philosophy, Preparation
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Watching students who can already play pieces that are "performance ready" being coached by world-class performers is a very special opportunity. These lessons are not about playing the notes but rather playing the music and give insight about what makes an outstanding musician.
Tuesday, April 20 6pm - 7:15pm Cello Master Class with Zuill Bailey
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The Friends of Music are invited by ECMSA to attend a virtual Master Class presented by the Grammy Award-winning American cellist, chamber musician, and artistic director, Zuill Bailey for Emory cello students.
Zuill Bailey Cello Master Class Tuesday, April 20, 2021 6pm
Meeting ID: 935 986 04633
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Anjali Shah, soprano, is a senior at Emory University from Tampa, Florida. She is double majoring in neuroscience and behavioral biology and music (vocal performance) while on the pre-medical track. |
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Andrew Johnson, tenor, is a junior from Memphis, Tennessee, studying strategy and management consulting, marketing, and vocal performance. |
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This recital also features pianist Hanna Song and flautist Claudio Wahoski who will be providing accompaniment. The recital was prerecorded and will be streamed starting at the above time and date. The program may be seen by clicking here. |
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Saturday, April 3, 2021, 3:30pm
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Nathan Trinkl is a junior at Emory aspiring to earn a BS in neuroscience and behavioral biology and a BA in music performance. |
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Jennifer Zheng is a junior at Emory University studying applied mathematics and statistics and double majoring in music with a piano performance track. |
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Saturday, April 10, 2021, 3:30pm
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Colin Song provides this information about his livestreamed program and also what it has been like to be a freshman at Emory this year:
Franz Liszt was inspired by Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. This poem describes a journey through Inferno, Purgatorio, and Pardiso (Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise). Liszt was drawn to the opportunity to depict the contrast between the torments of hell and the joys of Paradise. Thus, the Dante Sonata was composed.
The sonata is based on two themes. The first theme depicts the tortured souls that Dante encountered when in Hell. This theme in D minor remains dark and uses chromaticism. This theme continues to develop until the arrival of a second theme, which shifts to F-sharp major. This theme depicts the joy of those found in Heaven and leads into the arrival of D major and grandiloquent chords, marking the arrival to Paradise.
Franz Schubert’s Little A Major Sonata is the shortest among Schubert’s sonatas. The second movement is profoundly beautiful and romantic. The third movement greatly contrasts the second; it is joyful and playful and is full of energy. The sonata, as a whole, has an effortless demeanor and perfectly represents the sonata form.
When COVID first hit during the second semester of my senior year of high school, my musical life drastically and suddenly changed. In-person lessons were cancelled, and all chamber music programs were also halted. One of my favorite parts of being a musician is collaboration and playing with others, so COVID made music seem a lot more isolating.
The transition into a “Zoom world” was especially tough, as sound quality through an online platform like Zoom is always an issue. It was a huge adjustment to take piano lessons online and have chamber rehearsals online. I had to rely a lot more on my own ears and had to learn how to become more independent with my musical studies.
Now, at Emory, things seem to be slowly going back to normal. I have had in-person lessons and have been involved with in-person chamber music. It is definitely encouraging to see things moving in this direction, as I finally can make music with others once again.
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Saturday, April 17, 2021, 8pm EUSO, Schwartz Virtual Stage |
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For this livestream performance from Emerson Concert Hall, the Emory University Symphony Orchestra divides into two string chamber orchestras. Featured repertoire includes works by Bryce Dessner (guitarist of 'The National'), Florence Price, Mozart, and others. |
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Sunday, April 18, 2021, 7pm, Emory Chamber Ensembles
Schwartz Virtual Stage
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Coached by Emory’s artist faculty, student musicians perform chamber repertoire for strings, brass, winds, percussion, and piano. Works by Zoltan Kodaly, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Johannes Brahms, among others, are programmed. |
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Thursday, April 22, 2021, 7:30pm
EWE—Chamber Winds and Brass Choir, Schwartz Virtual Stage
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The Emory Chamber Winds and Brass Choir (formed from the Emory Wind Ensemble musicians) take the stage for their final concert of the semester. Repertoire featured includes works by Stephen Gryc, Kevin Puts, student composer Joshua MacLean, and a few surprises as well. Tyler Ehrlich conducts. In this livestream performance from Emerson Concert Hall, Emory Chamber Winds perform at 7:30pm and Emory Brass Choir takes the stage at 9pm. |
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Saturday, April 24, 2021, 2pm, Sydney Chung, piano
Schwartz Virtual Stage
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Sydney will be performing her senior piano recital live from the Schwartz Center Virtual Stage on April 24 at 2:00 pm EDT. Her recital will feature works by Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff. During the past year as a music performance student in a pandemic, Sydney is forever grateful for the beautiful ability that music has to unify us all, even when physically apart. |
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Saturday, April 24, 2021, 5pm, Rachel Jennings, oboe
Schwartz Virtual Stage
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In this livestream performance from Emerson Concert Hall, Rachel Jennings performs works by Marcello, Poulenc, Morris, and Hindemith on oboe and English horn. Jennings is a senior majoring in Oboe Performance and Biology on the pre-med track. |
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Saturday, April 24, 2021, 8pm, StageWorks 2021
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Bradley Howard writes: “I hope you can join us for StageWorks '21 on the virtual stage of the Performing Arts Studio on April 24, 8pm. In this year's shorter show, we present scenes from Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas: HMS Pinafore, Yeomen of the Guard, and The Mikado. In addition, we feature an original composition, Two Sisters, by Emory junior, Brian Le and workshopped in our StageWorks ensemble.”
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Thank You to our Members! |
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A big Thank You to those who have already renewed your membership for the 2020-2021 year, and especially to those of you who have even increased your level of support or are new supporters! There is no way to thank you enough. It is absolutely true that your contributions are needed more than ever. The needs of students have greatly increased and for the first time in my memory, we have not yet been able to award grants and scholarships for the spring semester due to lack of funds.
Please Note: It is surprisingly difficult to generate a list of members who are current in their giving. We measure our giving year from the start of our annual campaign, which is usually in July of each year. Some members give through payroll deduction or give more than one gift per year (thank you to both!) and we want to make sure we correctly acknowledge the level of giving. We don't have a set format for how names are listed and depend on member's preference. Sometimes we make mistakes. Please let us know if you find any errors in the list of members above. You can just reply to this newsletter and we will be glad to correct any mistakes. The date that the list was updated is given at the bottom. Among other problems, we are finding that it can take several weeks for us to get news of gifts.
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No matter whether one uses the term "virtual music" or something else, because of the pandemic there are essentially no music performances in which musicians play in front of a live audience in the same performing space. Moreover, we are unlikely to see "normal" concerts before this fall, if then.
There are many videos online of performances made well before COVID-19 restrictions, but in my view, there is something special about music that is being performed during these times, even under unusual circumstances. If we want to continue to have live music, we need to support those musicians that are producing music now, so that they can remain active.
Below I list sources of virtual music from Emory-associated sources. I include the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra because it is the source of many of the artist affiliates in the Emory Music Department.
We can of course mourn the loss of attending live performances, but that does no good. My view is that we should celebrate the possibilities of hearing and seeing music that is being made in the midst of a world-wide pandemic and appreciate new ways of experiencing that music. I am so impressed with the creativity we see. Who would have thought that students in many different time zones could play music in their homes that could be combined to create a unified performance? If you look at the Fall Composition Showcase, you will see that most composers have videos as part of their compositions. The ASO is being very creative in the way they present their programs and allowing viewers the chance to see performers close up.
How best to view Virtual Concerts
One note about these performances: One generally accesses the programs via a computer. It is likely that many of us have been watching more movies at home during the pandemic, and it is generally preferable to watch those movies on our TVs rather than on some type of mobile device. Similarly, it is much preferable to watch virtual music programs on a large screen with good sound. The most reliable way to connect your device to a TV is via an HDMI cable (perhaps with an adapter) if both your device and the TV supports such a connection. Another method is to mirror your device screen onto your TV. There are many ways to do that. Clicking on this link will take you to an article that describes various ways to do that screen mirroring.
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The Schwartz Center Virtual Stage |
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Most music performances at Emory are taking place on the virtual stage of the Schwartz Center. You can access the Virtual Stage by clicking on this link:
There are several groups of performances on the Schwartz state: Performances that are part of the Candler Concert Series, ECMSA (Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta) performances, and performances by student groups. Candler Concerts are free, but require registration, and usually remain for a limited time on the stage after the initial performance. They are definitely worth viewing, but you need to pay attention to the performance date and make sure you register in advance. They are all listed in the Music at Emory Calendar, for which a link is available at the top of this newsletter. ECMSA performances will be described in a separate section below. Student performances are available on the Schwartz Virtual Stage or on the PAS Virtual Stage and many are available for extended periods of time after the initial release.
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The PAS Virtual Stage is a place where many student recitals and other performances can be viewed. Some are prerecorded and some will be livestreamed.
The plan is that performances will be available initially on the virtual stage:
A few days after the recital day, performance recordings will be moved to a "playlist" site:
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I assume that all of our readers are familiar with ECMSA, whose artistic Director is Professor William Ransom. I am listing them separately because their concerts appear in two different locations and because their concerts have a distinct feature quite separate from all of the other performances listed here.
Most of their concerts take place on the Schwartz Virtual Stage, but some of them are on the website of the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, as part of their Concerts@First. If you click on Concerts@First you will be taken to their "Stage" where you can watch a live concert or view previous programs.
The distinct feature of the ECMSA performances is that most are recorded live, so if you watch at their initial program time, you will be seeing a live performance. (The January 23 concert was an exception, having been recorded last September in Texas.) I really enjoy watching recordings of music, but there is something special about watching music as it is actually being performed.
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Atlanta Symphony Orchestra |
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Many, or perhaps most, US orchestras have had no performances since last March. However, beginning in the fall, the ASO started performing in a manner that met all COVID-19 safety precautions (with, I suspect, help and guidance from Emory experts). They have done what I consider to be an amazing and creative job. All of us should be really proud of having such a fine organization in Atlanta. Most of you are probably aware that the Executive Director, Jennifer Barlament, is an Emory graduate and that many of the Artists Affiliates in the Music Department are members of the orchestra.
All of the performances are on the ASO stage in an otherwise empty Symphony Hall. Even so, there is a limit on the number of musicians allowed on the stage at any time due to safety precautions. In addition, all musicians who do not play wind instruments are masked, and wind players are separated from everyone else and from each other by plastic shields. Because of the limits on number of performers, the orchestra is not playing works requiring large ensembles. The performances are rehearsed and recorded in two 90-minute sessions and then premiered at a given time, with viewing of a given concert permitted for a period of several days or weeks afterwards. (For the spring, donors and subscribers can watch up to a month after the initial release.) A given performance will likely have different players for some of the pieces performed, spreading out the available playing opportunities to more members of the orchestra. Part of the creativity of these performances is the video. When I attend ASO performances, I usually sit in the Loge and can barely see the instruments from there. The videos of these performances give many closeups, allowing one to even see the vibrations of the double bass strings! There are also overhead views allowing you to see how the players are spaced out across the stage.
The schedule for the Spring "Behind the Curtain" series can be seen by clicking here. There is a charge for these performances, ranging from $20 for one concert to $130 for the entire spring series. It is well worth it, and a very small price to pay for supporting one of the really important Atlanta cultural organizations!
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Emory Friends of Music
Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
1700 N. Decatur Rd, Suite 206
Atlanta, GA 30322
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