News Archive: November 2008
Goodman House Renovation Continues with Second Floor Tune-Up
Kaufman Center’s recent Goodman House renovation—featuring upgrades to Merkin Concert Hall and the Lucy Moses School and Special Music School lobby as well as a brand new facade—has been a great success so far. The Center has never been better equipped to serve the community with arts education and performance programs.
New Gift Funds Pianos
Thanks to a generous $1 million gift from William and Karen Ackman and the Pershing Square Foundation, Kaufman Center has been able to purchase 19 new Steinway and Boston pianos for its studios and classrooms.
Omer Avital’s Middle Eastern Afro-Jewish Blend of Chamber Jazz
To say that the music of Israeli composer, arranger and bassist Omer Avital is Middle Eastern is limiting. Although he grew up in Israel, both his ethnic background (Yemeni and Moroccan) and his current home (New York) factor prominently in the curious diversity of his sound. Avital’s compositions for his new ensemble, the Omer Avital Ensemble, draw on elements as diverse as the Judeo-Arabic music of Spain, tribal music of North Africa and the European classical tradition.
Avital came to music as a child while studying classical guitar at a conservatory in Israel. In high school he fell in love with jazz––with both its free spirit and improvisational challenge. He began experimenting with other instruments, eventually settling on the upright bass as his primary outlet. He continued to study classical composition and spent most of his time inventing jazz pieces.
Tomorrow’s Stars Today: What Does it Mean to be an “Emerging Artist”?
For seven Tuesday afternoons during the 2008-09 season, Kaufman Center presents rising classical music stars at Merkin Concert Hall. Tuesday Matinees—Kaufman Center’s longest-running series— demonstrates Kaufman Center’s dual commitment to arts education and performance. Through this series, it helps to foster the careers of these “emerging artists” and bridge the gap between their formal education and their lives in performance.
Winter 2008-09 Newslwetter Download
Click on the link to print or save a copy of the printed version of the Winter 2008-09 issue of In Harmony.
Musically Speaking Blog: Carter’s First Hundred Years
I particularly like the title above because at 99 Elliott Carter doesn’t seem to be slowing down. In fact, he has written more and varied works (an opera, more symphonic works, etc.). There is an embarrassment of riches in his output for winds. His chamber music has been where most of his watershed works have come from, and the opportunity for Elliott’s orchestration to really shine comes from the unusual combinations of wind music that can be heard throughout his career. In the charming and slightly challenging Quintet for Winds (1948) we hear a young voice aligning himself with what’s come before by marrying elements of both American and European sensibilities. This was de rigueur for much of the new American composers, especially those who studied abroad in Nadia Boulanger’s Paris studio (Carter, Copland, Thomson and many others). The forms are classical for the most part with a nod to American popular dance music in the rondo that is the last movement.
Kaufman Center Students perform at Winter’s Eve, Dec. 1
On Monday, December 1 beginning at 5:30 pm, The Lincoln Square Business Improvement District will again sponsor the Winter’s Eve neighborhood holiday festival featuring live performances, tastings at local restaurants and family activities. Kaufman Center will showcase student chamber ensembles, which will perform at TD Bank (formerly Commerce Bank) on Broadway at 68th Street from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
