Mixed Media

Great Composers & a World Premiere with the Binghamton Philharmonic tomorrow (4/5/08)

Binghamton Philharmonic Composer-in-Residence Carlos Sánchez-Gutiérrez (pictured, right) and Music Director José-Luis Novo stopped by for a live radio interview today. I hadn't had the opportunity to interview either gentleman before, so it was a treat for me. I could have kept them for an hour, especially on the subject of new music and its place in the concert hall and on our airwaves.

The new music in question today is ...Ex Machina for for Piano, Marimba and Orchestra by Carlos Sánchez-Gutiérrez , which was commissioned by the Binghamton Philharmonic. Guest performers for the work are marimbist Makoto Nakura and pianist Cristina Valdés.

Sánchez-Gutiérrez also appeared on WSKG TV's Expressions program last night, holding forth on the same subject. You can see that program online.

The concert tomorrow night in Binghamton University's Anderson Center also features Brahms Symphony No. 2 and Beethoven's Egmont Overture (which we inadvertently played twice on WSKG Radio today within the same hour--I played it with the interview then our network classical service coincidentally played it right after the 10am news. I hate it when that happens.)

Interestingly, Sánchez-Gutiérrez work is inspired by the kinetic sculptures of Arthur Ganson, who joins the composer for a pre-concert talk in the Anderson Center Chamber Hall an hour before the concert. The lecture is free for ticket holders.

--Gregory Keeler

www.binghamtonphilharmonic.org

composer Carlos Sánchez-Gutiérrez' website

sculptor Arthur Ganson's website

Listen Again: Pianist Kariné Poghosyan recital

Classical Pianists of the Future presents
Kariné Poghosyan in recital

Sunday, March 2, 3pm
Tri-Cities Opera Center
315 Clinton Street
Binghamton, NY  1390

Armenian born pianist Kariné Poghosyan will give a recital as part of the Classical Pianists of the Future series at the Tri-Cities Opera Center, 315 Clinton St., Binghamton.

Some of Ms. Poghosyan's performances include recitals at the Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Trinity's Concerts at One series at the St. Paul's Chapel, the Beverly Hills Sundays at Two series,  a recital for the Valley Committee for the LA Philharmonic, the Bach's Lunch Recital Series in Manhattan Beach in California, the Los Angeles Liszt Competition Winners' Concert at the Nixon Library, the Young Artists International Peninsula Festival in California, and the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York. She has appeared with numerous orchestras including the New West Symphony, Musica Bella Symphony Orchestra, CSUN Symphony Orchestra, and Armenian Youth Symphony.

'Classical Pianists of the Future' is a collaboration between Alvin H. Williams III and Lance G. Hill, both of Vestal. Williams has participated for several years as co-director of the Thousand Islands International Piano Competition for Young People; Hill is a well-known piano tuner-technician, musicologist and classical music radio program host. Their intent is to provide emerging top-flight young classical pianists ongoing performance opportunities in the Greater Binghamton area and beyond.

The Tri-Cities Opera Center is home to a magnificent, fully restored 1913 Bechstein concert grand piano, which will showcase the talents of pianists such as Kariné Poghosyan.

Tickets at the door: $10. Details: Call 748-2231.

Listen to Bill Snyder's interview with Lance Hill and Alvin Williams, curators of the series.

Underground Railroad Exhibit on display in Binghamton

The Underground Railroad Exhibit is now on display in the 2nd Floor Gallery at City Hall in Binghamton. The exhibit, which is organized by the Freedom Trail Project Foundation, features artifacts and other visual portrayals of enslavement, resistance to it, and the paths many took to freedom.

“This exhibit allows us to examine a difficult part of our country’s history,” said Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan. “In moving our community forward, it is important for us to reflect the experience of enslavement, the legacy of racism, and the continuing struggle to achieve equality and justice for all people.”

Using a variety of materials, the exhibit takes audiences through the history of enslavement in North America, emphasizing that it was both a personal experience and a government-sanctioned institution.

“Slavery was a system of oppression,” said George Sands, the exhibit’s curator.  “Our exhibit displays how that system dehumanized all those who were affected by it. It is a lesson that ideologies of hate and social supremacy can gain wide-spread acceptance, and result in violence. As the exhibit suggests, we must keep that lesson in mind, and learn from it.”

At the exhibit’s beginning, diagrams illustrate the methods with which slave-traders packed ships past capacity with captives, which resulted in many deaths. Reprints of 19th-century newspaper articles on “runaway slaves,” and the rewards for their re-capture, demonstrate how people of African heritage were classified as property. Near the exhibit’s conclusion are short biographies of prominent abolitionists. And along the way are examples of the quilts whose designs served as a code for the Underground Railroad, the network of clandestine routes and safe houses used by the enslaved to escape to free states, or as far north as Canada, with the aid of abolitionists.

The exhibit also highlights the Southern Tier’s role in the anti-slavery movement. Binghamton and nearby cities were home to “stations” for the Underground Railroad. One of these places was a house located where City Hall now stands. The house’s owner, Dr. Steven Hand, had an instrumental role in the organization and operation of the Underground Railroad throughout the Southern Tier.  A plaque commemorating such local efforts to abolish slavery was installed at City Hall’s Hawley St. entrance in 2005.

With its grand opening on February 1st, the exhibition will kick off Black History Month, and then stay on display through March 28th. For more information on the Underground Railroad Exhibition visit the Freedom Trail Project Foundation or call 607-265-3441.

Concert Spotlight: John Hammond in Binghamton

From coffeehouses to concert halls, festivals and beyond, John Hammond has spent forty years entertaining blues, folk and rock audiences around the world, performing intense solo-acoustic blues. A Grammy Award winner and four time nominee, Hammond is also a multiple W.C. Handy award winner who has shared the stage and/or recorded with many of the masters, including Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf.

John Hammond will perform on Friday, January 11th at the Night Eagle Cafe, 200 State Street, Binghamton.

Concert Spotlight: Slambovia Returns to Binghamton

One of my all-time favorite groups returns to Binghamton Saturday night. Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams has been described as 'hillbilly Pink Floyd folk' and 'bohemian americana' - all I know is that they offer a potent brew of genre-smashing music and songwriting that ranges from the inspirational ("Talking to the Buddha") to plain ol' foot-stompin' fun ("Alice in Space").

While the Circus' CD releases are fine to get you through the dark times when they're not touring in your area (my particular favorite is the 2005 release, Flapjacks in the Sky,) the real magic lies in their live concerts. Walk into one of their shows and you'll come out not simply a new fan, but quite possibly a convert into this strange new religion that fans call "Slambovia."

In 1998, The Circus emerged from the misty hills of Sleepy Hollow, New York and exploded upon the Hudson Valley music scene with their stunning self-produced debut release, "A Good Thief Tips His Hat". The quirky quartet then began touring throughout the northeast and rapidly developed a fiercely loyal, all-ages following. Featured in Relix Magazine, the New York Times and on the CBS hit show, Joan of Arcadia, the band's charismatic live performances and blend of folk, rock, hillbilly and pop have made them friends all over the world.

Here's a tasty sampling of what you can expect at a show:

 

Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams is playing on Saturday, November 24th at 8 p.m. at the Night Eagle Cafe, 200 State Street, Binghamton. Visit the Night Eagle Cafe's website for more information and to order tickets for the show.

- by Crystal Sarakas

Concert Spotlight: A Musical Feast at the Forum

Songs of the Spirit will be presented in Binghamton, New York by Southern Tier Celebrates on Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 at 7:30pm at the Broome County Forum Theatre.

Songs of the Spirit is a multicultural musical feast. From rock to gospel, jazz to sacred chant, audiences will experience a unique fusion of eastern and western styles by some of the most inspired and inspiring performers on the planet. This year’s program features performances from a remarkable ensemble of artists including: Hugh Masekela, Odetta, Craig Harris, Frank London and Lorin Sklamberg of the The Klezmatics, Haale, Tracy Grammer, The Shangilia Children’s Choir from Nairobi, Kenya and The Tibetan Monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery.   

The collaboration among this diverse group of artists is part of the excitement of the concert. Craig Harris’s new, original work with the Tibetan monks fuses contemporary jazz with sacred multiphonic chant. Klezmer and world beat virtuosos Frank London and Lorin Sklamberg, will perform with Iranian/American vocalist Haale, and the Shangilia Children’s Choir will join Odetta and Tracy Grammer, among a range of other musical intersections. In addition to the wide variety of music—folk, jazz, rock, klezmer, gospel, multiphonic chant and more—readings from both sacred and secular texts will weave a thematic thread throughout the program, focusing on the shared spiritual ideals of an interconnected, interdependent world.

Tickets can be purchased by phone: 607.722.7272, or online at ticketmaster.com.