Tag Archive for: Austin

The Last Album Of The Emerson String Quartet & Tina Davidson’s Hymn

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There are two new very different albums that came out recently that could be on your holiday list.

Composer and author Tina Davidson has released her latest album Hymn of the Universe.  It’s a choral work performed by VocalEssence and based on the writings of Jesuit Priest and Scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. 

And The Emerson String Quartet has released its final album after 47 years of performing all over the world.  On Infinite Voyage, they perform the music of  Schoenberg, Chausson, Berg and Hindemith sung in part by Soprano Barbara Hannigan. 

The Emerson String Quartet (1976 to 2023) with Barbara Hannigan.

Inset: Paul Watkins and Tina Davidson

Is it Time to Start Your Chamber Music Career? 

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The Austin Chamber Music Center has opened its application season for the 2024 Coltman Chamber Music Competition. They’re inviting exceptional ensembles from across the country to compete for cash prizes and performance opportunities. Artistic Director Michelle Schumann says some past winners of this competition have gone on to solid careers in the chamber music space, like the 2023 Grand Prize Winner the Kodak  Quartet. 

Here’s a link to the performances of the 2023 winners of the Coltman Chamber Music Competition. 

Is It Time Already To Apply To Summer Music Schools? 

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We’re a little more than a month away from 2024 which means it’s time to make plans for the summer. Specifically summer music programs for young musicians.  Equity Arc has partnered with at least 17 summer music programs to provide applications fees and scholarships for BIPOC musicians via their Common Application for Summer Study. 

Magee Capsouto, the Associate Director at Equity Arc says they’re trying to provide more diversity in the nation’s orchestral summer programs.  

Cliburn Competition Applications for 2025 Are Open

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Cliburn Competition Applications Are Open.  Already you say?  Didn’t the Cliburns just crown a winner, Yunchan Lim of South Korea?  Well, yes but that was an entire year ago.  Now they’re looking for the next winner for the Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2025. 

Jacques Marquis President and CEO of the Cliburn Competition says it takes a long time to find the pianist ready to embark upon an international career. 

New Albums from Pratt, Dworkin and Malakai and a Latinx Opera Workshop

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In this month of September, your ears will be filled with the sound of STILLPOINT.  It’s Awadagin Pratt’s latest album.  He’s performing music he commissioned from several composers of color. 

You can hear the life and times of Aaron P. Dworkin’s in his debut spoken word album The Poetjournalist. 

Malakai Bayoh didn’t win Britian’s Got Talent 2023. The 14-year-old DID win a record deal and his debut album Golden is out and about.

Opportunities abound all over the BIPOC spectrum. 

Austin Opera has a program for Latinx creatives. 

There’s a leadership opportunity at the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. 

South Africa’s National Arts Festival is calling for creatives of all types for their 2024 event. 

Composers might want to write what could become the Best Symphonia of the Year. 

The First Ever Open House At The Long Center in Austin, Texas

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The Long Center is celebrating its 15th anniversary with something they’ve never done before.  They’re throwing open the doors of the performing arts facility for the First Annual Teresa Lozano Long Community Day. Dr. Long broke racial barriers at the University of Texas back in the 1950’s. She and her husband Joe have funded many scholarships, educational institutions and The Long Center.

Long Center CEO Cory Baker says the place will be rocking inside and out with performers from all over the Austin area.

Langston Lee.  Winner Of The Jimmys

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Remember the name Langston Lee.  You most likely will be hearing about this 18 year old from Rouse High School in Leander, Texas.  He is the first winner of “The Jimmys”, a national high school musical competition,  to represent the local version, the Heller Awards For Young Artists in their first year of eligibility. 

Langston Lee Photo: Jimmy Awards

Mozart In Motion

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This is another addition to your summer reading list. 

There are hundreds of books about Mozart but the author of Mozart In Motion has a different take.  Author Patrick Mackie takes us time traveling through the swirl that was Mozart’s short life.

Honoring Fathers With Music On Father’s Day

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Next week is Father’s Day. The Austin Symphonic Band is honoring Dads with a Father’s Day concert on June 18th at the Zilker Hillside Theater. 

Cellist Bion Tsang is honoring his late father with a new album he named Cantabile.  It’s dedicated to the music they enjoyed together.  Tsang says he’s hoping his father Paul Ja-Min Tsang, is looking upon him with pride.

The 96-Hour Opera Project

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If you’ve ever done a large creative project, you know it usually takes longer than 96 hours – four days – to create what one might call something good.   Composers and Librettist will be attempting this feat in the Atlanta Opera’s 96 Hour Opera Project. 

The Atlanta Opera’s New Works Administrator Cara Consilvio says it’s not as arduous as it seems.  Still, some of the 2 person teams won’t even meet each other in person until their arrival in Atlanta on June 9th.

Nathan Felix of Austin, is one of the finalists.