Message from the President |
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Dear Friends,
Even though the semester is ending soon, there are still opportunities for experiencing live music at Emory. Below, I list those upcoming events, most of which have livestreaming availability. Having lost the opportunity to hear live music for so long, most of us treasure the possibility of once again experiencing the concert hall, but for a variety of reasons when it is not possible to attend live, it is great to have a virtual option!
As we approach the end of the year, I want to thank all of you who have made a donation this year. Your support of our faculty and students is very much appreciated. This year we were able to fund only 48% of the requests for funding and we hope to do significantly better next year. Whether we are able to do better is up to you. If you have not yet made a donation, or are looking for additional giving opportunities, we would be most grateful if you would consider the Friends of Music. If you have friends or colleagues who would like to support music at Emory, please let them know about us!
Thank you again, and many wishes for a wonderful holiday season,
Gray
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Wednesday, December 1, 2021, 8:00 pm
Fall Composition Showcase, PAS
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The Music Department has amazing Composition faculty and students and every semester there is an opportunity to hear new student compositions performed by Emory students. Attendance at this fall's showcase is free, but registration is required. You can register to attend by clicking this link. Note that the listing for this showcase has a link for the showcase program. However at this writing, the program has no specific information about what is to be performed. If you would like an idea of what you might expect, you can view last spring's Composition Showcase by clicking on this link. The program for last spring's showcase can be viewed by clicking here and gives a lot of information about the composers and their pieces.
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Thursday, December 2, 2021, 8:00 pm
Emory Tango Ensemble, PAS
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Many of us are so grateful that we are once again able to attend concerts in person. The pandemic greatly altered how we can experience music, and of course is by no means over, as is evident by all of the precautions being taken to make it possible to have live music. It is likely that some changes will be permanent. The enhanced video and audio capabilities of our performing spaces make it much easier to livestream and record concerts, thus allowing those who cannot attend in person to experience the great music being made at Emory. Another change, perhaps less obvious, is observed in the acknowledgements for the program:
Special thanks to the guest coaches who came to impart their tango performance-practice knowledge and skills to the students, both in person and from remote locations: Damián Bolotin (Buenos Aires), Julián Graciano (Buenos Aires), Kacey Link (Santa Barbara), Pablo Palomino (Atlanta), Sonia Possetti (Buenos Aires), Will Scruggs (Atlanta), and Tom Zhang (Atlanta). We could not have mastered the repertory on this program without you!
Note that three of the coaches were in Buenos Aires and one in Santa Barbara! Because so many people have had to use Zoom to function during the pandemic, the possibility of remote coaching is clear and has so many benefits that we are likely to see continued use of video conferencing that allows a level of collaboration not practical in any other way.
Also note that this concert was made possible by a grant from the Friends of Music (i.e. us)!
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Friday, December 3, 2021, 8:00 pm
Saturday, December 4, 2021 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church
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After a year's absence, the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols returns to Glenn Memorial Church. Those of you who heard the Fall Choral Concert on October 29 know that the Concert Choir and University Chorus are sounding wonderful, even singing through masks. The same masking and vaccination policies will be in place in Glenn Memorial as in the Schwartz Center and in addition, audience capacity is being limited for additional safety. Tickets are required and may be purchased by clicking here. You can view the program by clicking here.
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ECMSA Masterclass, with Rachelle McCabe
Saturday, December 4, 2021, 10:00 am
Tharp Rehearsal Hall, Schwartz Center
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Observe a master pianist, Rachelle McCabe, in residence at Oregon State University, working with some of Emory's best undergraduate talents. Additional information about this event can be seen by clicking here. Attendance is free, with no tickets required. The masterclass will also be livestreamed, but the link for the masterclass is usually sent only a few days before the event. If you are interested in viewing the livestream, let us know and we will send you information when we get it.
It may be because of my background as an educator, but I have greatly enjoyed being able to attend masterclasses virtually. I am continually impressed by our outstanding students, and learn subtleties of music performance that help make me a better listener. I also appreciate even more the great education our students at Emory receive.
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Sunday, December 5, 2021, 7:00 pm
Emory Gamelan Concert, PAS
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If you don't know what Gamelan is, Wikipedia will let you find out that "Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang, which register the beat." The Gamelan Ensemble has existed at Emory since first formed by Steven Everett in 1997 and provides the only opportunity in Atlanta to hear a Gamelan ensemble.
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Saturday, November 20, 2021
EUSO and EWE
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This program was livestreamed, and can still be viewed on either of the livestream links below (the recordings are the same on both sites). Hint: If you want to view the recorded livestream, you should forward the YouTube video to about minute 26:30 which is the point at which the first ensemble completes its tuning before their performance.
This program will be livestreamed and can be viewed on either of two sites:
or
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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 2021-2022 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.
Much of our support for students and faculty is through grants to provide scholarships for students to help pay for required music fees, to help fund undergraduate research projects, and to provide enhancements for classes. You can see the grants we have awarded for this year by clicking here.
A special thanks to those of you who are sustaining members, either through payroll deduction, or a continuing contribution on your credit card. It is possible to make sustaining contributions on our giving page, but it is not straightforward. (See instructions below.)
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.
Become a Sustaining Member
Sustaining Members, those who make a continuing monthly donation, are very valuable for organizations, and convenient for donors. There are two ways in which one can become a Sustaining Member: through payroll deduction for Emory employees, or via credit card donations for others. If you would like to become a Sustaining Member via our online donation page, you can click here for instructions.
Thanks you for considering this option!
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Thanks to the COVID-19 vaccines, we are now able to attend many musical performances in person. However, some people are still hesitant to attend live events, even when COVID-19 safety protocols are in place. Given the virulence of some of the COVID-19 variants, such reluctance is understandable. In addition, the pandemic has demonstrated that with modern technology, it is possible to enjoy music virtually, either as it is performed live, or in video recordings. That makes it possible to "attend" performances that we could not otherwise hear.
During the pandemic, various venues invested heavily in equipment to do high quality recordings, and they are continuing to provide at least some livestream and recorded content. When it was not possible to have live audiences, the only way that musicians could connect with audiences was virtually. Now that music can be presented for live audiences, producing livestream and/or recorded content represents additional costs and so we will be able to virtually attend only some of the musical performances in Atlanta.
In the next articles I list what is currently known about music performances 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.
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 is the hub of most musical performances at Emory. Emerson Hall in particular has greatly enhanced capabilities for livestreaming and recording. However, the decision on what performances will be livestreamed or recorded appears at this point to be made individually for each performance. Here is what I have been able to find out about some of the concert series in the Schwartz Center:
Candler Concert Series
The first two performances in the Candler Concert Series were livestreamed, and an email sent to subscribers stated: "Ticket holders who prefer not to attend this concert in person may watch the livestream by logging in to their box office account on the evening of the performance." That wording suggests that it will not be able to watch a recording of the concert at a later time. It is also not clear if that will be a possibility for later concerts in this series; it is possible that such a decision might be up to the particular artist.
Atlanta Master Chorale
It is great to contemplate the possibility of once again hearing choral music. Singing has been such a dangerous activity that there has been very little live choral music performed in the last 18 months, even in the absence of audiences. In addition to their in-person concerts at the Schwartz Center this year, the AMC has just announced that all ticket holders will have access to a livestream recording of the concert for seven days after the concert, and that it will also be possible to purchase livestream-only access to the concerts. Full details may be seen by clicking here. This represents a great way to view their performances if you are not able to attend in person, as well as supporting AMC.
Student Performances
It is not yet clear how many student performances will be livestreamed. Many of the student performances in the Schwartz Center and in the Performing Arts Studio will be livestreamed. (See below for information about the PAS Virtual Stage). Note that all indoor performances by students will require registration or tickets in order to attend. Registration and tickets are free, but it is preferable to sign up or get tickets in advance rather than wait until the performance. You can register or get tickets on the Music at Emory Calendar.
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The PAS Virtual Stage is once again being used for at least some performances that are taking place in the Performing Arts Studio:
Livestreaming might not be available on that site, but recorded performances will be moved to the PAS Virtual Stage within a few days of a performance.
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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 ECMSA has a variety of music series, only some of which are at the Schwartz Center. The full array of their concerts can be seen on the ECMSA website.
The Emerson Series is at the Schwartz Center. Free tickets are required. At this time, there are no plans for livestreaming of these performances.
The Cooke Noontime Series is at the Carlos Museum and free registration in advance is required to attend. There is no livestreaming of this series.
Most of the Family Series concerts are at the Carlos Museum. There is no livestreaming of these concerts.
The Bach's Lunch Series is part of the Concerts@First series held in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. There is no charge for the Bach's Lunch Series, although there are charges for some of the other concerts. Most of the concerts are also livestreamed for no charge. Tickets are purchased through the Concerts@First website and livestreaming is available at that site as well.
A new series for this year is the Masterclass Series, which is an incredible gift for our students. These masterclasses feature outstanding musicians who will teach Emory students in these classes. Moreover, our members are invited to attend these masterclasses. The plan is also for these masterclasses to be livestreamed. The information needed to attend these masterclasses on Zoom is not available on the Music Calendar. Zoom information about the first of these masterclasses is given in this newsletter. Those who are on the ECMSA email list will receive the necessary information before each of the masterclasses.
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Atlanta Symphony Orchestra |
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For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, the ASO is performing for live audiences this fall. In addition to other safety precautions, they are requiring that all audience members be masked the entire time and fully vaccinated. These policies represent great leadership of the ASO organization.
The entire concert series is detailed on the ASO website. For last year, the ASO began a virtual "Behind the Curtain" series. That series was a stunning reimagining of what a virtual concert could be, with great sound and varied and close up camera work. Given that there could only be limited practice and performance time due to COVID protocols, the results were a great showcase of how fortunate we are to have the ASO musicians and leadership. Our Emory music students are also extremely fortunate, as many of our artist affiliates are members of the ASO.
Although the ASO is performing before audiences this year, they are fortunately continuing the "Behind the Curtain" series. The performances are not being livestreamed. Rather, the concerts will be released in monthly intervals and will "feature selections from the previous month's Delta Classical concerts." This process will give time for increased production values. Also, members and subscribers will be able to access the concerts throughout the ASO season. Those who are subscribers to an ASO concert series will have access to these virtual concerts. In addition, it is possible to purchase virtual memberships that will allow access to these concerts for just $99 for the year or $10/month.
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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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