Travel East with the CCO, and Meet some of our composers!

Posted: March 11, 2010

$5 tickets for students who attend! (with ID)

 

Concord Chamber Orchestra “East” Concert

Features Contemporary Composers from the Near and Middle East, and the Winner of the 2009 Dorothy J. Oestreich Concerto Competition

 

At 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 13, 2010 the Concord Chamber Orchestra (CCO) will present its third concert of the Music from All Directions season, entitled “East,” at the beautiful Humphrey Scottish Rite Center. In addition to the winner of the 2009 Dorothy J. Oestreich Concerto Competition, this concert will feature a fascinating collection of contemporary music from the Near and Middle East.

In a program originally intended to fulfill the requirements for funding from the Argosy Foundation’s Contemporary Music fund, Music Director Jamin Hoffman deliberately chose music with eastern connections composed within the last twenty years. The program will begin with the appropriately titled Opening Music, written by the established Iranian composer Reza Vali, who will be present in the audience. The first half will finish with the winner of the CCO’s annual concerto competition, Samuel Livingston, performing the effervescent Concerto for Marimba and Strings by the contemporary German composer Eckhard Kopetzki. The second half will open with is the Israeli Suite for Strings by composer and pianist Rami Bar-Niv, who will come from Israel to attend this premier performance. The centerpiece of the second half will be Khoj: the Search for Light, a piece for narrator and orchestra based on the writings of the Asian Indian author and multi-cultural activist Gita Kar, with music composed by Minnesota composer Jan Gilbert, who will also be attending the performance. The narrator will be Shanti Daya, piano instructor at Carroll University. The concert will close with the lively Dance, by Jordanian composer Agnes Bashir- Dzodtsoeva.

The concert will also feature a question-and-answer session during the intermission with the three composers present for the evening, Reza Vali, Rami Bar-Niv, and Jan Gilbert.

Concerto competition winner Sam Livingston is currently a junior at the University of Michigan School of Music where he studies with Michael Udow, Joseph Gramley, Cary Kocher, Ian Ding, and Brian Jones. He plays with the University Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Band. Sam’s passion for contemporary chamber music has led to regular collaborations with composition students at Michigan. As a member of the University of Michigan Percussion Ensemble, Sam performs eclectic music from around the world and can be heard on their upcoming CD featuring UM alumni composers. He has participated in the annual Zeltsman Marimba Festival in Appleton, WI and Los Angeles, CA. Sam grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, where he was a student of Cindy Terhune and Vicki Jenks, and was a member of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets for this concert can be purchased through the CCO’s web site—www.concordorchestra.org—or by phone at 414-628-6018.

Currently in its 34th year, the CCO is comprised of talented adult volunteer musicians from many professions who keep their skills and love of music alive by participating in the four-concert season. Now in his seventh season with the CCO, Hoffman also served as resident conductor of the Milwaukee Ballet for 13 years and is currently the orchestra director at Nicolet High School.

In past years, the CCO has received funding from CAMPAC, the Milwaukee Arts Board, the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Helen Bader Foundation, and the Bradley Foundation.

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