Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Princeton University

  • Tim Keyes World Premiere Princeton

    Tim Keyes World Premiere Princeton

    When most congregants attend Sunday services, they’re probably not expending a lot of thought on all the work that goes into the preparation of the music, or the broader creative lives of those who compose and arrange it.

    Tim Keyes has been the pastoral assistant of music and liturgy at The Catholic Community of St. Charles Borromeo Service and Justice in Skillman, NJ, for 23 years. His latest symphony is in rehearsals – with his own ensemble, the Tim Keyes Consort – in preparation for the work’s world premiere at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium, on Saturday at 8 p.m.

    The “Symphony in Bb: Elegy” is Keyes’ 4th symphony and the first to be scored exclusively for orchestra. The 30-minute, three-movement work is dedicated to the memory of his father and, according to the composer, “explores the grief associated with the loss of a loved one and an enduring belief in eternal life.” The timing couldn’t be better, as Sunday is Father’s Day.

    The second half of the program will be devoted to the world premiere of an hour-long, 12-movement oratorio, “The Stone.” Keyes says the work is the second of a triptych, which began with his oratorio “The Well,” given its debut at Richardson in 2016. The trilogy explores scriptural stories in John’s gospel.

    According to Keyes, “‘The Stone’ examines the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and embraces the emotional drama between Martha, Mary and Jesus.”

    The oratorio is scored for orchestra, choir and three soloists. On Saturday, it will be sung by tenor Justin Connors (Jesus), mezzo-soprano Victoria Lotkowictz (Mary), and soprano Danyelle Dellolio (Martha).

    For tickets, call 609-258-5000, or visit princeton.edu/utickets.

    For more information about the Tim Keyes Consort, now celebrating its 29th year, visit timkeyesconsort.org.

    News about the event came in while I was down with COVID, so I couldn’t write it up for the paper, but here’s a link to an article I wrote about Keyes and the consort in 2019.

    https://www.communitynews.org/princetoninfo/artsandentertainment/keyes-symphony-a-transformation-of-light-in-sound/article_7ba300c1-cd1b-5250-9c8c-aee773786f15.html

    And one I wrote about “The Well” in 2016, for The Times of Trenton.

    https://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/2016/06/classical_music_tim_keyes_cons.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0hfJgg4IIjadPllt2s7z3sa_TD5ypshkzPdDtZDwy266R0BCXUL-fiSmw_aem_AQxIhpMzslBqEwGfv-NPkS15Wu41dJWB-JLHwiB0OazGjpgmxeQ5ZPfUJGCfdhDl1STMgrQvL_01C8iRxVlhIiC2

  • GPYO Concert Princeton Music Scene

    GPYO Concert Princeton Music Scene

    There was an awful lot to absorb and distill about Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra, which moved into its new digs on Westminster Choir College campus this past summer. Witness my struggle with information overload and learn more about the orchestra’s founder Matteo Giammario, Princeton’s protean Portia Sonnenfeld, and the history of Westminster Choir, among other things, in my whirlwind cover story in this week’s U.S. 1, out today.

    https://www.communitynews.org/princetoninfo/eeditions/page-page-12/page_bf0f7eab-87ed-5a3c-aca2-e131ea201331.html

    GPYO musicians will perform music by Rossini, Fauré, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, and Andrew Lloyd Webber on a concert to be held at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium on Saturday, February 3, at 7 p.m.

  • Gardiner’s Troubles Impact Princeton Performance

    Gardiner’s Troubles Impact Princeton Performance

    Unfortunately, Sir John Eliot Gardiner clocked somebody again, so he’s taking off the rest of 2023 to seek professional help and reflect. When he backed out of a touring production of Berlioz’s “The Trojans” last week, I was afraid it would come to this. Gardiner was scheduled to appear in Princeton this October to conduct Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists. If the show goes on as scheduled, I’m guessing it will be taken over by his assistant conductor, Dinis Sousa. With all respect to Maestro Sousa, who may well do a fantastic job, this is a great disappointment.

    I had the privilege to see Gardiner live in Princeton twice, in 2014 and 2015, thanks to the munificence of late philanthropist and humanitarian William H. Scheide, who kindly picked up the tab. I was hoping to have a chance to see him again, as both those concerts were stunners.

    I also interviewed Gardiner in connection with his book, “Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven.” I confess I was a little nervous, as he is a large man, and already there had been stories spread through social media about his temper. At the time, he had recently been alleged to have punched out a trumpet player in the London Symphony Orchestra! But I must say, I saw no evidence of any such prickliness. On the contrary, I found him to be quite the gentleman.

    Gardiner established the Monteverdi Choir in 1964. He is especially renowned for his interpretations of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. In 2000, he undertook a Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, performing and recording all the sacred cantatas in liturgical order, in churches in Europe and New York City.

    More recently, he conducted at the coronation of King Charles III in May.

    I hope he gets the help he needs and that he is able to return to Princeton soon. Gardiner is 80 years-old.

    PHOTO: Note the ponytail. If I were Gardiner, I would definitely have punched me!

  • Old Nassau The Story of Princeton’s Song

    Old Nassau The Story of Princeton’s Song

    I posted yesterday about my article on Princeton musician (born in Germany) Carl Langlotz. Langlotz, a student of Franz Liszt who played in the premiere of Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” must be one of the most overqualified composers of a university song ever. With Reunions upon us, “Old Nassau” will reverberate across town and gown all weekend, 164 years after Langlotz dashed it off while enjoying a smoke on his front porch on Mercer Street. Since the image wasn’t available yet at the time I posted, here’s a detail of the cover design. Enjoy the article in this week’s edition of the Princeton weekly U.S. 1 Newspaper – PrincetonInfo.

    https://www.communitynews.org/princetoninfo/coverstories/in-praise-of-old-nassau-meet-its-composer/article_3729e04e-f982-11ed-acc8-53b68127b320.html?utm_campaign=blox&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR2e15QKRr6Sn5es3iRMBjXn1YSP4hx2rhSp-G8wjmcua46a2b4PkfkjiQM

  • Old Nassau The Story of Its Composer

    Old Nassau The Story of Its Composer

    Carl Langlotz studied with Franz Liszt and played in the orchestra at the premiere of Wagner’s “Lohengrin.” At 19, he emigrated to the United States and lived much of his life in Philadelphia, Trenton, and Princeton – in the case of the latter for some 25 years. But he would be long forgotten now – a footnote of a footnote in the most arcane of music histories – if not for “Old Nassau,” which he essentially dashed off while enjoying a smoke one afternoon on Mercer Street. His spirit endures in Princeton University’s alma mater, which will be sung incessantly at Reunions, poised to engulf the town this weekend. Learn more about Langlotz in my article in – also the cover story of – this week’s U.S. 1 Newspaper – PrincetonInfo, out today.

    https://www.communitynews.org/princetoninfo/coverstories/in-praise-of-old-nassau-meet-its-composer/article_3729e04e-f982-11ed-acc8-53b68127b320.html

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