The Fall Season Ahead:

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ATX Chamber Music and Jazz

After the rush of Labor Day and the hectic days of a new school year, it might be time to socialize with some chamber music or perhaps some jazz.  In our annual series of seasons ahead, ATX Chamber Music and Jazz is offering a social experience.

Co-founders and Artistic Directors Geoffrey Herd and Anna Petrova say they give patrons the time to socialize with drinks and hors d’oeuvres before listening to a selective program of chamber music or jazz.  

The Season Ahead:  The Central Texas Philharmonic

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In just a few weeks performing arts groups will unveil the first shows of the 2024 Fall season.  There are many more in Central Texas than there used to be, so you have more than a few choices.

We’re starting with the Fall 2024 season for The Central Texas Philharmonic led by Music Director Stefan Sanders.  

Gustav Mahler Need Not Apply: The Symphonina

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It was the age of the audience at a classical music concert that lit a fire under David Fogel. 

He seems to have invented another genre of classical and orchestral music.  The Symphonina.  A short symphony just right for the younger set and older ears too. 

Sophie Mathieu – The Draylen Mason Composer in Residence

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Imagine what it’s like to actually be doing the job you love so much. 

It’s a feeling that Sophie Mathieu knows well.  She’s KMFA’s Draylen Mason Composer In Residence for 2024. 

Mathieu, a cellist, with a Masters from the Butler School of Music, is also the first local composer who’s been chosen for the program. Since the announcement in January, she’s been taking part in educational events, public and private workshops of her work with Austin Unconducted and various other activities.  This is in addition to working on her new piece.  Sophie is pretty sure she’’ll call it “Night Poem” when it premieres on September 22nd. 

Another Texan Wins The Jimmys

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It was a back to back win for Texans at this year’s Jimmy Awards.  These are the National High School Musical Theatre Awards that recognize the best high school-age musical theater talents in America.  It was held in June on Broadway in New York.

This year, it was Damson Chola Jr. from Cleburne, Texas, matching his win with last year’s winner Langston Lee from Leander, Texas.

Mount Rainier’s Composer in Residence   

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Stephen Lias always has music on his mind. He’s the Dean’s Circle Endowed Professor Of Composition at Stephen F Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.  Lias is also an outdoor kind of guy.  Over the years, he’s composed music for a variety of national parks either on commission or just because.  Now he’s been named Washington State’s Mount Rainier National Park’s first-ever composer in residence. His composition will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the park but won’t premiere until 2026.

Preludes, Fugues and Friends

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What a sad and joyful time it is for the friends of the late composer Matt Dibble.  This English lad was only 40 when he died in 2021 from complications from a covid vaccine.  He left behind 48 tracks of Preludes and Fugues that he kept secret until hours before his death. 

His good friend Jon Hargreaves helped crowdfund the necessary funds to record the album with the pianist Matt Dibble loved the most.  Freddie Kempf.  There’s also a documentary about Matt Dibble. 

The Organic Result – The New York Études  

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New York City can have quite an effect on you and so can Multiple Sclerosis.  Grammy winning composer Jeff Beal (House of Cards) deals with both in his new album:  The New York Etudes.  These solo piano works are somewhat of a departure from his compositions for TV and Film and that’s the way he wanted it. Beal says The New York Etudes is like a quiet place to land and recharge after a long day or the last few years.

Are You On The List?

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Imagine that you are a non-profit organization in need of an infusion of music or a performance of a different type in your program.  The Texas Commission on the Arts has come to the rescue.  They’ve released their Texas Touring Roster for the next two years.  It means if you hire the performers on the list to perform, in Texas, the TCA will help you pay for it.

The Artistic Director of Montopolis, Justin Sherburn, here with his wife Sara, a cellist, says they have benefitted from this program for several years.

Twelve from Texas.  One From Austin. 

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So, your child is leaving home for a summer of music, travel, learning and fun?

In the case of Noah Semsar, it’s to play with Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America.

Semsar, who plays the trumpet, is a graduate of Atkins High School, and is the only Austin resident among 12 Texans chosen to be in the orchestra. He’ll join about 100 others from all over the country. He says this has cemented his choice, for now, to be a professional musician especially since he’s headed to music school in the fall.