On May 29, 2009, in the city of Wavre just outside of Brussels, Belgium, Kevork Andonian’s piece for flute and marimba entitled ‘A Longing For Joy’ was recorded by flutist Marc Grauwels and marimbist Sarah Mouradoglou for the Naxos record label. This Naxos CD project will be completed by July of 2009 and the album will be distributed and available worldwide in stores as well as on the Internet.

Mrs. Carol Block, music-loving wife of our Chancellor Gene Block, has been hosting a series of recitals for the last two years at the Chancellor’s residence featuring artists from different departments. Another such recital took place May 27th, and featured Music Department DMA violin student Ji Young An and DMA piano student Young Ah Ha. Ji Young played the Department’s Stradivarius violin, the Duke of Alcantara, to the great pleasure of invited guests. Ji Young comes to UCLA from Paris Conservatory where she won First Prize with great distinction. Young Ah Ha is a first year DMA student, studying piano with Professor Walter Ponce. This concert was attended by staff members of the Anderson school.

The program presented was:

Adagio and Fuga of Sonata in G minor for violin solo–J.S. Bach
Sonata for violin and piano in G minor–Claude Debussy
La Valse–Maurice Ravel
Scherzo-Taranteel op. 16–Henryk Wieniawski

Photo, left to right: Professor of Violin Guillaume Sutre, Ji Young An, Young Ah Ha, Mrs. Carol Block

On June 3rd the art song class of Judith Hansen presented an outstanding and extraordinary concert of all-Russian art songs, by such great Russian composers as Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Glinka, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Voloshin. Most of these songs are seldom performed in this country, but with the able coaching of Professor Vladimir Chernov, who assisted with the class this quarter, fourteen students each sang two songs in Russian. All were well prepared and sang beautifully, with great passion and expressiveness. The vocal quality of these students was extraordinary, filling the room with sound. We hope everyone will make a point of attending next year’s concerts, which will cover songs from English and French repertoire plus one as yet undecided language.

The art song class, with Judy Hansen and Vladimir Chernov, center

Daniel Suk, tenor, singing “Don Juan’s Serenade” by Tchaikovsky.

Christina, who graduated from UCLA with an MM in Voice, has won a prestigious award–she is the first participant in the Deborah Voigt/Vero Beach Opera Foundation’s Protegee Mentoring program. Please read the artcle by Peter Pringle in its entirety in the TC Palm news at: http://tcpalm.com/news/2009/may/28/voigt-selects-protegee-to-mentor-for-program/.

Congratulations, Christina!

As many of you know, Professor Guillaume Sutre of the UCLA Department of Music is also the first violin of the renowned Ysaye Quartet.

He writes:

“A few weeks ago, the Guarneri quartet was canceling its farewell tour in Europe because of health issues of one of the members. Their manager asked us to take over the tour with the same programs and dates, with my colleagues of the Ysaye Quartet.”

Venues were:

Venezia (IT) – Teatro La Fenice
Hannover (Ger) – Hannover Congress Centrum , Beethovensaal
Kopenhagen (DK) –
Helsinki (FI) – House of Nobility
Milano (IT) – Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, Sala Grande
Wien (Aust) – Musikverein, Brahmssaal
Baden-Baden (Germ) – Festspielhaus Baden-Baden
Basel (Swi) – Stadtcasino-Musiksaal
München (DE) – Herkulessaal

The works performed were:

Cesar Franck: Streichquartett (ca. 56 min)
Cesar Franck: Piano Quintet with Pascal Rogé (ca. 40 min)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Streichquartett Es-Dur op. 127 (ca. 36 min)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Streichquartett Nr. 15 a-moll op. 132 (ca. 40 min)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Streichquartett c-moll op. 18 Nr. 4 (ca. 22 min)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Streichquartett Nr.10 “Harfenquartett” Es-Dur op. 74 (ca. 30 min)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Streichquartett Es-Dur op. 127 (ca. 36 min)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Streichquartett Nr. 15 d-moll KV 421 (417b)
Bartok String quartet No. 6
Anton Dvorák: Streichquartett Nr. 12 F-Dur op. 96 ”American”

The Ysaye quartet, with Prof. Sutre at far left.

Congratulations to the quartet for filling in at the last minute with this challenging repertoire!

Just another reminder–Woodwind World is almost upon us. Prof. Gary Gray has provided the attached photo of participants:

Back row, left to right: Professors Jonathan Davis, Gary Gray, John Steinmetz, and Brian O’Connor
Front row, left to right: Justin Takamine, bassoon, Theodosia Roussos, oboe, Jackie Hancock, horn, and Virginia Figuereido, clarinet

“It’s a Woodwind World III”
Wednesday March 4, 2009
8:00 PM Schoenberg Hall

The Program will be:

Bernhard Heiden…………..”Intrada” for flute/oboe/clarinet/bassoon/horn/saxophone (1970)

David Gillingham…………..”American Counterpoint” for flute/clarinet/saxophone

Camille Saint-Saens………”Caprice on Danish and Russian Airs” for flute/oboe/clarinet/piano Op. 79

INTERMISSION

Bill Dobbins “Meet Me at Dreamland” for saxophone trio
Dr. Douglas Masek plus Music Department alumnus David Brennan
and MM saxophonist Ryan Weston

Bruce Broughton “Hudson River Valley” Octet for 2 oboes/2 clarinets/2 bassoons/2 horns
(Los Angeles Premiere)

SHERIDON STOKES….our flute instructor for many years who is an icon of the studio recording world and recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Flute Society.

JONATHAN DAVIS…..Dr. Davis is our oboe instructor and he graduated from Juilliard and the Yale School of Music and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Pacific Symphony and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

GARY GRAY……… our full time Professor of Clarinet and Chair of Woodwind Studies @ UCLA was a Grammy Nominee for his solo concerti CD with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a founding member of the Pacific Serenades chamber ensemble here in Los Angeles.

JOHN STEINMETZ…our bassoon instructor is also an accomplished composer and is Principal Bassoonist of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and winner of Chamber Music America Awards.

BRIAN O’CONNOR….our horn teacher for the past 10 years, has done the studio recording for over 2,000 Hollywood Films and was featured at the International Horn Symposium in 2008.

DOUGLAS MASEK…. Dr. Masek is our saxophone instructor and is a well recognized virtuoso who performs regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra as well as traveling internationally as a soloist.

NEAL STULBERG…..Head of Orchestral Studies @ UCLA and Conductor of the UCLA Philharmonia…who also has an internationally acclaimed conducting career.

UCLA Music Students included in this performance will be:
Theodosia Roussos….oboe
Virginia Figueiredo…..clarinet
Justin Takamine……..bassoon
Jacqueline Hancock..french horn
Ryan Weston………..saxophone

UCLA ALUMNUS
David Brennan……….saxophone

The variety of styles goes from a French romantic masterwork by Saint-Saens to a brand new work by American film composer, Bruce Broughton. The connecting thread through the whole concert is that each work has it’s own unique “story” attached to it…also with the addition of saxophone(s) the repertoire can naturally tend toward jazz-influenced works..i.e. “American Counterpoint” and “Meet me at Birdland”.

However, the opening piece by Bernhard Heiden, adds saxophone to the WW5 but is in a contrmporary style more akin to Hindemith.
So DO come and be surprised by this year’s special issue of “It’s a Woodwind World”!

Ticket Information $15 General Admission
Seniors and Students $7
UCLA Central Ticket Office (310) 825-2101

www.cto.ucla

Wind faculty left to right: Douglas Masek, Gary Gray, Sheridon Stokes

We thought you might be interested in reading a couple of the recent reviews of Opera UCLA’s production of Le Nozze de Figaro. Photos are courtesy of Mona Lands.

From reviewer Carrie Delmar for Opera Online:

Opera UCLA scores big with Mozart’s
‘Le Nozze di Figaro.’ WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO
OPERA UCLA
FEBRUARY 6, 2009 By: Carie J. Delmar
OperaOnline.us

It was raining outside, I was late, I had no plans of writing a review. I do not think that writing reviews of university productions is even appropriate. I just planned to sit with my friends obscurely in the last row of UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall and watch the opening night performance of the music department’s “Le Nozze di Figaro.” I didn’t take notes, I didn’t catch all the visuals, but I did hear every note.

Yes, there were things that could be criticized. After all, this wasn’t the Met, Los Angeles Opera, San Diego Opera, or even a smaller professional company like Long Beach Opera. This was a student production comprised of students and graduates — among them, a few who have worked as pros. And the effect was bewitching, so why be critical?

The opera revolves around the issue of “le droit du seigneur” – the right of a nobleman to sleep with his servant’s bride on the eve of her wedding. Although Count Almaviva has ended this practice, he still has his eye on Susanna, which leads Susanna, the Countess and Figaro — Susanna’s fiancé — into a scheming frenzie to deter the Count’s success. Add to this a young testosterone-driven page and a postmenopausal housekeeper who is after Figaro, and you have all the makings of a Beaumarchais comedy, or in this case, an opera buffa. Mozart’s music is so glorious, so perfect, so melodious that a student production with mediocre voices could make a mockery of it. Instead, I witnessed a production where every voice had a place in the ensemble. The baritone sounds of In Joon Jang (Figaro) and Hongsuk “Mario” Chae (the Count) were richly mellow; the soprano notes of Lauren Michelle (Susanna) and Andrea Fuentes (the Countess) were warmly focused. Tracy Cox brought her well-projected mezzo to a delightfully robust Marcellina. Leslie Cook was an engaging Cherubino; Dory Schultz (Don Basilio and Don Curzio) seemed to have a hilarious action for every occasion; and Christopher Remmel and Micaela Tobin added ample support.

These young artists are constantly learning, and their presentations of Mozart’s timeless arias will no doubt become more secure with enhanced experience and under the tutelage of their fine directors, coaches and teachers. The overall feel to this “Marriage of Figaro” was really quite wonderful due to the energy and freshness that only a young cast can bring.

Neal Stulberg conducted the UCLA Philharmonia with strong conviction, thus enabling a clean clarity of sound and rhythmically well-paced orchestration that was stylistically bona fide Mozart. His firm hand gave the young artists structure and guidance.
The sets and costumes were simple, traditional and in good taste. Most opera companies believe that they have to create extravagant thrills in order to draw in new audiences. Mozart’s brilliant score doesn’t require such distractions. So bravo to UCLA!

And bravissimo to director Peter Kazaras who is a genius at drawing out the best qualities from his young cast members. His singers were relaxed – not self-conscious or stiff — and he enabled them to develop their characterizations by giving them creative blocking and actions that they could rehearse and then make their own. I do have one question for Mr. Kazaras, though: Why? When Figaro was singing “Non più andrai” at the end of Act 1, describing the rigors of military life to Cherubino, Cherubino was busily facilitating a set change with the other cast members. Although the overall visual effect was creative and resourceful, it detracted from Figaro’s aria and the reason Figaro was singing it. There was a great opportunity here for interaction between the two characters and for humor, yet Cherubino wasn’t even paying attention.

Hard Times:
In the current economic environment, opera companies are cutting their budgets and producing fewer productions each season. Administrators think that young audiences aren’t attracted to opera and that the only way to entice them is with costly, lavish productions that in turn necessitate inflated ticket prices.

Well, I don’t agree. When I observed how the UCLA audience laughed when Figaro measured Susanna’s skirt instead of the room in Act 1; how everyone chuckled when Figaro discovered that Marcellina and Dr. Bartolo were his parents; how amused they all were when Figaro hid behind a tree in the last act and moved it across the stage to maintain his cover – then I knew that opera certainly doesn’t have to be costly for people to appreciate it. I am beginning to think that it is the people behind opera that make it so ultra-sophisticated and expensive that the average person cannot partake. I have discovered that many people don’t even know what opera is. At $20 a ticket and less for students and seniors, each one of us has the opportunity to attend a university production and discover opera. Opera is for everyone, and there is no reason that it should become a dying art.

I am sold on Opera UCLA, and I’m sure that there are other such ensembles in conservatories and universities throughout the country. Opera is alive and well! So get the word out!

Libretto: Lorenzo da Ponte
Conductor: Neal Stulberg
Stage Director: Peter Kazaras
Scenic Design: Curtis Wallin
Lighting Design: Dayna Morgan
Costume Design: Anna Björnsdotter
Assistant Conductor: Stephen Karr
Music Director, UCLA Opera Studio: Rakefet Hak

This production was double cast.

Joanna Foote (Susanna, seated), and l to r: Emily Lezin (Marcellina), Julian Arsenault (Figaro), and Christopher Remmel (Dr. Bartolo).

Joanna Foote (Susanna), Dory Schultz (Don Basilio), Douglas Carpenter (Count Almaviva) and Judy Tran (Cherubino, seated).

In addition, former LA Weekly critic Alan Rich blogs about Figaro:

2/10/2009

THE SPICE OF LIFE:
Eye surgery in the morning, Figaro after dinner: there’s nothing like a little variety, so they say, to add spice to ones life. The surgery went well; bye-bye cataracts. All else pales before The Marriage of Figaro. Those kids at UCLA really got it right.

Peter Kazaras brought the school’s opera program into its own with an astonishing Falstaff a couple of years ago; Figaro was even better. The musical ensemble was a joy to watch (Kazaras’ doing) and to hear (Neal Stulberg’s razor-sharp baton). The look of the stage was mostly make-do, but good of its kind; the most dangerous moments in the action – the deployment of the characters in the final scene, so that the right person gets slapped at the right moment – came off capitally. The two arias usually omitted, for Marcellina and Basilio in the last act, were allotted their proper place this time. It may be out of place for an elderly critic to go gaga over student singers a fourth his age, but there was so much delight in the work of Lauren Michelle, the wonderfully wise and composed Susanna, and Leslie Cook, the airborne Cherubino, that I would risk betraying Dr. Yuri’s eyeball surgery if I let them pass unnoticed. Two performances remain, this Friday and Sunday, crammed into UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall. There are two casts, and Neal Stulberg assures me that the second ensemble is every bit as fine as the group I saw. Since he is, himself, responsible for the magic of this truly splendid event, I tend to believe him. Halos are in order, all around.

We received this news from Ethnomusicology student Nolan Warden about an exciting performance in which he participated this month in the Canary Islands. He has also shared some photos of the experience.

Nolan says:

“In the first week of February, I traveled to the Canary Islands to perform in “La Pasion Segun San Marcos” by Osvaldo Golijov. I was one of four percussionists that performed in the piece, along with a string section (the “Knights”) from NYC, a massive rhythm section from various locales, a 50+ choir from Venezuela (Schola Cantorum de Caracas), and a number of soloists including Los Angeles-based soprano Jessica Rivera.

For anyone in HASOM who is not yet familiar with Golijov’s “La Pasion,” I highly recommend it. The LA Phil has announced that it will be bringing the piece to LA next year, so there will likely be a chance to see it soon enough. Seeing it live is essential to get the real significance of the piece. Like many Golijov works, it is semi-staged and dance is an essential part of the experience. I’ve included some photos of the incredibly impressive halls where we performed. The first, Auditorio Alfredo Kraus on the island of Gran Canaria, is located right on the shore. The large window behind the stage looks out over the Atlantic, providing a breathtaking backdrop for performances. The second performance was in the Auditorio de Tenerife (named after the island). In addition to its commanding architecture, the inside of the auditorium had some of the most well-integrated organ pipes I’ve ever seen.”.

Auditorio Alfredo Kraus (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria)

Inside the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus

Inside the Auditorio de Tenerife [notice pipes on left]

Auditorio de Tenerife (Santa Cruz de Tenerife)

We have just received the following review, written by Richard Scheinin of the Mercury News,mentioning UCLA voice major Khori Dhastoor with much enthusiasm.

Opera San Jose’s new production of “Cosi fan tutte” is a winner. It’s about love, lust and sexual manipulation: Mozart’s opera is a modern opera, and the new production gets that. It’s classy and outrageous, more than a little bit randy, while making the most of Mozart’s perfect, celestial music.

The pace never let up at Saturday’s opening at the California Theatre. The cast was enjoying itself; rarely has an OSJ production featured such breezily assured acting. Tenor Michael Dailey’s look of pure mirth as the despicably flip, dallying soldier Ferrando; mezzo-soprano Betany Coffland’s hormonal tantrums as Dorabella, a dumb blond who just wants to have fun — these bits were priceless.

Not to mention the form-shifting performance by soprano Khori Dastoor as the sex-obsessed chambermaid Despina and (in full-out Marx Brothers disguise) as a pandemonium-sewing doctor and justice of the peace: Who knew that Dastoor is a comedian at heart?

Often, it’s forgotten that opera is a form of theater; this was theater. Director Brad Dalton must be the wizard behind the curtain of this savvy production.

And what about the singing?

You go to “Cosi” for the ensembles, because they are so heavenly that they practically lift you out of your seat. The “Farewell” quintet, the trio known as “A Calm Sea and a Prosperous Voyage,” the “Toast” quartet and others, mixing buffa comedy and otherworldly beauty — it’s this audacious mix that makes “Cosi” special.

Saturday, the potions were mixed just right; the ensembles were as exquisite as the plot is raucous.

Here’s the story: Guglielmo and Ferrando, dashing soldiers, never doubt the fidelity of their fiancés until a creep named Don Alfonso draws them into a scheme to test the sisters Fiordiligi (engaged to Guglielmo) and Dorabella (to Ferrando).

It’s announced that the men are shipping off to war. But minutes later, they return — disguised as “Albanian” soldiers, hipsters from the East. Naturally, the sisters are swept off their feet by the imposters. (”Cosi fan tutte,” loosely translated, means “They’re all like that,” referring to women.)

This sexist romp was ennobled by fine performances. (I’ve seen only the first of two rotating casts). Special kudos go to soprano Rebecca Davis and mezzo-soprano Coffland as Fiordiligi and Dorabella. Their singing in close harmony was streaming, gleaming and lace-like.

Handed one of the most challenging arias for a dramatic soprano in pre-Wagnerian opera — “Come scoglio (Like a rock)” — Davis faltered a bit; her low chest notes weren’t squarely sung. For the rest of the night she was arresting: with clear, somersaulting lines, ringing high notes. And she is a strong dramatic actress: Watching ironclad Fiordiligi melt away was a blast.

As Guglielmo and Ferrando, baritone Daniel Cilli and tenor Dailey were swashbuckling enough. Cilli sang with suave gravity; Dailey was sweet-toned, but needed pop. As Don Alfonso, bass-baritone Joseph Rawley was terrific, resounding and funny, too — a neat foil to Dastoor, a versatile, vaulting singer.

The chorus was first-rate, while conductor David Rohrbaugh led the orchestra in a fine-spun, spirited performance, topping off this most successful night at the opera.

Khori Dastoor as Despina in the Opera San Jose production of Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” at the California Theatre. (Pat Kirk)

Graduate composition student Kevork Andonian shared this news with us when we sent out a request for blogging materials–it may be a little bit late, but is still great news!

On May 30th, 2008, Kevork Andonian’s piece entitled A Longing For Joy was premiered by world-renowned flutist Marc Grauwels and virtuosic marimbist Sarah Mouradoglou at a private concert in Waterloo, Belgium. This is the first piece Kevork wrote while a UCLA Ph.D. student in music composition. Kevork received a scholarship from the Herb Alpert School of Music Student Opportunity Fund to attend the premiere performance in Belgium. The concert was a great success.

A Longing For Joy will be recorded on the Naxos record label by the same performers later in 2009.

photo from Belgium premiere of Andonian’s piece.