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.
Even the Artistic Director and Founder of Conspirare, Craig Hella Johnson, finds it hard to believe that the choral ensemble is 30 years old. He’s developed a fall season that’s kind of eclectic with a nod to the past and an eye on the future. One choral group is being invited back for the holiday program. It’s Isaac Cates & Ordained who will, says Johnson, bridge the past with the future.
It’s PanelPicker time for SXSW 2024. That’s when the festival calls for applications for those wanting to present a panel discussion. Last year in what’s believed to be the first time, there was a classical music panel. Artists & out of London is now looking for classical musicians to appear on the planned 2024 panel and the concert after.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be featuring my summer reading list on Staccato. The first one is about composer Tina Davidson, whose complicated life can be heard in her music. Her biological Mother adopted her in Sweden back in the 1950’s but never told her. There are other surprising revelations as well in Davidson’s book Let Your Heart Be Broken. You can listen to her playlist from the book here.
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.
There’s a new Draylen Mason Composer in Residence at KMFA. She is Clarice Assad, a Brazilian-American composer who, when not on the road, lives in Chicago. In addition to composing, Assad likes teaching children how to collaborate with music and performance art. She is also working on an orchestral piece for KMFA. Her new work will be performed sometime in September in Austin.
Amid the graduations, weddings, and other joyous events, celebrate with music of all genres this month. There’s the Big Sing from Conspirare, the ERA Project from LOLA, the Here Be Monsters one day new music festival and a free stream of the Dallas Opera’s 2022/23 season. Have fun and enjoy.
A Grammy nominated Harpists is releasing a new piece of music in celebration of Mother’s Day (May 14th) and Mother Earth. Yolanda Kondonassis has added Wildflower to her digital album Five Minutes For Earth. It was composed for her by Cuban virtuoso trumpeter and composer Arturo Sandoval. There’s also a music video of Wildflower. It’s part of Kondonassis’ dedication to the environment with her foundation, Earth At Heart.
If you’ve never seen a show called Now Hear This, now may be the time. It’s a program featuring a modern look at classical composers from many years ago and those making music today.
Host Scott Yoo says the show was born 5 years ago in Austin after a concert with UT Music Professor Bion Tsang. The 4th season is currently running on your local PBS TV station.
Who needs a conductor? Not Austin Unconducted. It’s a string ensemble that works with its members to choose the music they’ll play in any given concert. Co-founder Luis Bellorin and the rest of the group is preparing now for their season finale concert. It’ll be at the Draylen Mason at KMFA on April 6th.