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.
As the end of most performing arts seasons come to an end, the Grammy winning choir, Conspirare is going out with a blast of three programs featuring a 30th anniversary event and the post pandemic return of Conspirare’s Symphonic Choir. Founder and Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson is celebrating the end of their 30th season with a musical bash.
How many prestigious music awards can a person win? Composer Anthony Davis is on track to win most of them. This two-time Grammy nominee is a new member of the Opera Hall of Fame. He’s already won the Pulitzer Prize for Music with his opera The Central Park Five. His Met opera debut was with X The Life and Times of Malcolm X. He’s a busy man. He’s also a professor at UC San Diego. Give him his laurels and hear about all of his projects currently in the works in this edition of Staccato.
Althea Waites is a pianist extraordinaire. In her 85 years, she has performed all over the world and will occasionally accept invitations to teach master classes at music schools across the country. She has produced several albums, including her 2023 grammy nominated album, Reflections in Time. Her main goal is to perform new music and the music of composers of color. She has recorded the works of Margaret Bonds, Jeremy Siskind and Curt Cacioppo along with three of the “Three-Fours” of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Waites is scheduled to perform this month at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.
Events and Opportunities:
THE APOLLO – CELEBRATING 90 YEARS AS THE SOUL OF AMERICAN CULTURE
Clayton Stephenson @ New York Philharmonic
The California African American Museum in Los Angeles