July Highlights at Music Academy of the West Include New Bartered Bride, Plus Alan Gilbert, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Takács Quartet, and More

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July Highlights at Music Academy of the West Include New Bartered Bride, Plus Alan Gilbert, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Takács Quartet, and More

This July, the Music Academy of the West’s 69th annual Summer School and Festival presents a rich array of concerts, recitals, and masterclasses – many of them free to the public – on its picturesque Miraflores campus and throughout California’s scenic Santa Barbara. Highlights include Matthew Aucoin “opera’s 25-year old hope” (New York Times) – conducting a new production of The Bartered Bride; New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert leading Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony; the world premiere of a new chamber work by Paul Chihara; two community concerts headlined by Jean-Yves Thibaudet; recitals by Lynn Harrell and Emmanuel Pahud; and the launch of a new ChamberFest series. As the Santa Barbara Independent observed after last year’s festival: The era in which classical music is stereotyped as either irrevocably highbrow or irreversibly in decline has finally ended.” To view the season brochure, visit musicacademy.org/festival.

On Independence Day weekend, Mosher Guest Artist Jean-Yves Thibaudet – one of only two classical pianists to be inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame – headlines two special Academy Festival Orchestra Community Concerts at the historic Granada Theatre. Under the baton of Larry Rachleff, “a take-charge maestro who invests everything he conducts with deep musical understanding” (Chicago Tribune), the French pianist’s “hard to beat” (BBC Music) account of Gershwin’s jazzy Rhapsody in Blue forms the centerpiece of a patriotic program that also includes John Adams’s high-octane Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Dvořák’s stirring “New World” Symphony. As part of the Music Academy’s ongoing Community Access initiative, more than 2,000 tickets were made available at just $10, and young people aged 7–17 will be admitted free of charge.

On July 29 and 31, the Academy’s 2016 Elaine F. Stepanek Foundation Opera Conductor Matthew Aucoin leads fellows from the Voice Program and the Academy Festival Orchestra in a fully staged new production of Smetana’s masterwork, The Bartered Bride, at the Granada Theatre. This features dancing by the State Street Ballet, and costume and set design by Hewes Design Award nominee Charlie Corcoran, whose work previously graced the Academy’s staging of The Magic Flute. Returning to direct the production – his fifth at the Summer Festival – is David Paul, a faculty member of the Juilliard School and the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. At last year’s festival, as Opera News reported, it was Paul’s treatment of Rossini’s Cenerentola that “achieved a new level of polish and sophistication.” Aucoin also gives a vocal masterclass on July 15.

Music Academy of the West is the first American partner in the New York Philharmonic’s Global Academy, and 2016 marks the third summer of their innovative four-year partnership. Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert – one of the Academy’s two 2016 Luria Foundation artists in residence – leads the Academy Festival Orchestra in Berg’s Three Pieces for Orchestra, an excerpt from Haydn’s oratorio The Creation, and Beethoven’s monumental “Eroica” Symphony (July 16). Gilbert also teaches, coaches, and gives a chamber music masterclass (July 12), while the Philharmonic’s former associate conductor, Solti Conducting Award-winner Case Scaglione, leads the Music Academy of the West Concerto Competition winners in strings, brass, winds, and percussion in a program of orchestral fireworks (July 9).

 

2016 marks the inaugural ChamberFest, a new addition to the Summer Festival. This sees fellows practicing chamber music with selected faculty over an intensive ten-day rehearsal period, culminating with a pair of chamber recitals in Hahn Hall. Faculty members violist Richard O’Neill (’98, ’99), cellist David Geber and violinist Kathleen Winkler perform with the fellows on July 27, and violist Karen Dreyfus, cellist Robert deMaine (’90) and violinist Jorja Fleezanis on July 28.

Besides overseeing the ChamberFest rehearsal period, the resident Takács Quartet – the first string quartet to be inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame – joins pianist Margaret McDonald (’00,’01,’02) to perform Elgar’s Piano Quintet in the Festival Artists Series (July 19). In the same series, on July 5 faculty artists Glenn Dicterow and Karen Dreyfus give the world premiere of Paul Chihara’s Duo Lyrico. The new work was written for them as a gift, to commemorate Dicterow’s retirement from the New York Philharmonic after 34 years there as concertmaster.

The July lineup also features two Mosher guest artist recitals. Cello legend Lynn Harrell, whose extensive discography has been recognized with two Grammy Awards, appears with pianist Victor Asuncion on July 7; and Emmanuel Pahud, principal flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic and an eminent soloist, chamber musician, teacher, and new-music commissioner, with faculty artist pianist Jonathan Feldman on July 20. Among other recital highlights, faculty artists Jerome Lowenthal, a Grammy nominee, and Conor Hanick – a “true champion of contemporary music” (NPR) whose “technical refinement, color, crispness and wondrous variety of articulation … benefit works by any master” (New York Times) – join forces for a program of solo piano repertoire on July 11. Harrell, Pahud, and Feldman are also among the many world-class artists who – like pianist Leon Fleisher and legendary mezzo Marilyn Horne, now in her 21st year at the helm of the Academy’s Voice Program – give July masterclasses, which are one of the hallmarks of the Music Academy experience.

For tickets and further information for all Music Academy of the West events: call the Ticket Office at 805-969-8787, email [email protected], or visit online at www.musicacademy.org. To request a brochure, email [email protected] or write to the Music Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108.

About the Music Academy of the West

The Music Academy of the West is among the nation’s preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classically-trained musicians. At its ocean-side campus in Santa Barbara, the Academy provides these musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, guest conductors, and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). The Academy’s distinguished teaching roster has included famed soprano Lotte Lehmann, composers Darius Milhaud and Arnold Schoenberg, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, pianist Jeremy Denk, and current Voice Program Director Marilyn Horne. Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. In 2014 the Music Academy entered into a four-year partnership with the New York Philharmonic, resulting in unprecedented training and performance opportunities for Academy fellows, and Summer Festival residencies for Philharmonic musicians. The Music Academy of the West cultivates discerning, appreciative, and adventurous audiences, presenting more than 200 public events annually, nearly half of them free of charge. These include performances by faculty, visiting artists, and fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and a fully-staged opera. For more information, visit musicacademy.org.

High-resolution photos may be downloaded here, and a PDF of the Music Academy’s 2016 season brochure may be downloaded here.

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Music Academy of the West

2016 Summer Festival: June 13–August 6

Santa Barbara, CA

July festival highlights “at a glance”

July 2 & 3 Jean-Yves Thibaudet performs Rhapsody in Blue

July 5 Festival Artists Series: Schubert piano trio and World Premiere

July 7 Lynn Harrell and Victor Asuncion in Recital

July 9 Academy Festival Orchestra performs Firebird

July 11 Jerome Lowenthal and Conor Hanick in Recital

July 12 Festival Artists Series: Bach and Handel

July 13 BrassFest

July 14 Concerto Competition Finals (piano)

July 16 Academy Festival Orchestra with Alan Gilbert

July 19 Festival Artists Series: Takács Quartet

July 20 Emmanuel Pahud and Jonathan Feldman in Recital

July 26 Festival Artists Series: Shostakovich Piano Quintet

July 27 & 28 ChamberFest

July 30 PercussionFest

July 29 & 31 The Bartered Bride

Chronological listing of July events

July 1

Clarinet masterclass: Richie Hawley

Trumpet masterclass: Barbara Butler

Horn masterclass: Julie Landsman

Vocal masterclass: Warren Jones

Picnic Concert: Academy fellows

July 2 & 3

Special community concert: Rhapsody in Blue; Larry Rachleff, Jean-Yves Thibaudet

July 4

Solo piano masterclass: Jerome Lowenthal

July 5

Chamber music masterclass: Karen Dreyfus

Trombone/tuba masterclass: Mark H. Lawrence

Percussion masterclass: Michael Werner

Violin masterclass: Jorja Fleezanis

Festival Artists Series: Schubert piano trio and World Premiere

July 6

Oboe masterclass: Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida

Cello masterclass: Lynn Harrell

Double bass masterclass: Nico Abondolo

Bassoon masterclass: Dennis Michel

Vocal masterclass: John Churchwell

 

July 7

Chamber music masterclass: Jerome Lowenthal

Collaborative piano masterclass: Jonathan Feldman

Viola masterclass: Richard O’Neill

Flute masterclass: Timothy Day

Mosher guest artist recital: Lynn Harrell, Victor Asuncion

 

July 8

Clarinet masterclass: Richie Hawley

Trumpet masterclass: Paul Merkelo

Horn masterclass: Julie Landsman

Picnic concert: Academy fellows

 

July 9

Vocal masterclass: Marilyn Horne

Community Chamber Concert

Academy Festival Orchestra/Case Scaglione: Concerto Celebration; Stravinsky’s Firebird

 

July 11

Solo piano masterclass: Jerome Lowenthal

The Path to Optimal Performance: Bill Williams

Faculty Artist Piano Recital: Jerome Lowenthal/Conor Hanick

 

July 12

Chamber music masterclass: Alan Gilbert

Trombone/tuba masterclass: Mark H. Lawrence

Percussion masterclass: Michael Werner

Violin masterclass: Kathleen Winkler

Festival Artists Series: Bach & Handel

 

July 13

Oboe masterclass: Eugene Izotov

Cello masterclass: David Geber

Double bass masterclass: Nico Abondolo

Bassoon masterclass: Benjamin Kamins

Vocal masterclass: Martin Katz

BrassFest: Mark H. Lawrence, Academy fellows

 

July 14

Chamber music masterclass: David Geber

Collaborative piano masterclass: Jonathan Feldman

Viola masterclass: Richard O’Neill

Flute masterclass: Timothy Day

Concerto Competition finals: Piano fellows

July 15

Clarinet masterclass: Richie Hawley

Trumpet masterclass: Paul Merkelo

Horn masterclass: Julie Landsman

Vocal masterclass: Matthew Aucoin

Picnic Concert: Academy fellows

July 16

Community Chamber Concert

Academy Festival Orchestra/Alan Gilbert: Gilbert conducts Beethoven

July 18

Vocal masterclass: Fred Carama

Solo piano masterclass: Leon Fleisher

Vocal masterclass: The Bartered Bride “Covers in Concert,” Matthew Aucoin

 

July 19

Chamber music masterclass: Leon Fleisher

Trombone/tuba masterclass: Ralph Sauer

Percussion masterclass: Michael Werner

Violin masterclass: Glenn Dicterow

Festival Artists Series: Takács Quartet, Margaret McDonald

July 20

Oboe masterclass: Eugene Izotov

Cello masterclass: David Geber

Double bass masterclass: Nico Abondolo

Bassoon masterclass: Benjamin Kamins

Vocal masterclass: Warren Jones

Mosher guest artist recital: Emmanuel Pahud, Jonathan Feldman

July 21

Chamber music masterclass: Takács Quartet

Collaborative piano masterclass: Jonathan Feldman

Viola masterclass: Richard O’Neill

Flute masterclass: Emmanuel Pahud

July 22

Clarinet masterclass: Richie Hawley

Trumpet masterclass: Paul Merkelo

Horn masterclass: Julie Landsman

Picnic concert: Academy fellows/String Quartets

July 23

Community Chamber Concert

July 25

Solo piano masterclass: Conor Hanick

July 26

Harp masterclass: JoAnn Turovsky

Trombone/tuba masterclass: Ralph Sauer

Percussion masterclass: Michael Werner

Violin masterclass: Kathleen Winkler

Festival Artists Series: Shostakovich piano quintet

July 27

Oboe masterclass: Eugene Izotov

Cello masterclass: Robert deMaine

Double bass masterclass: Nico Abondolo

Bassoon masterclass: Benjamin Kamins

ChamberFest: Richard O’Neill, David Geber, Kathleen Winkler, Academy fellows

July 28

Collaborative piano masterclass: Jonathan Feldman

Viola masterclass: Richard O’Neill

Flute masterclass: Timothy Day

ChamberFest: Karen Dreyfus, Robert deMaine, Jorja Fleezanis, Academy fellows

July 29

MERIT Recital: MERIT fellows

Clarinet masterclass: Richie Hawley

Trumpet masterclass: Paul Merkelo

Horn masterclass: Julie Landsman

 

July 29 & 31

Smetana’s The Bartered Bride/Matthew Aucoin

 

July 30

Community Chamber Concert

PercussionFest: Ted Atkatz, Michael Werner, Percussion fellows

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