Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Princeton

Princeton’s Mega Music Events and Gemma New’s Triumph

Apologies if any of you were stuck sitting in a cubicle somewhere hoping for a few seconds of escapism courtesy of Classic Ross Amico. Unfortunately, I was up to my eyeballs trying to figure out how to synthesize all the abundant material for a newspaper article about two mega-events coming up in Princeton, beginning this weekend: the Golandsky Institute International Piano Festival, and the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute, a workshop for young composers, with JoAnn Falletta and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

The reminders from my editors that they were expecting an article from me began to arrive around 4:00, four hours past deadline. I uploaded the last of the photos around 6. All in a day’s work.

Speaking of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, belated congratulations to Gemma New, associate conductor of the NJSO, who has been named music director of Ontario’s Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. New, 28, is also founder/director of the Baltimore-based new music collective, the LUNAR ensemble.

Apparently, the announcement was made back in May, but you know how it is when you’re working. You’ll find the press release here:

http://hpo.org/gemma-new-music-director/

At least this article was published by the CBC only three days ago:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/gemma-new-of-hamilton-philharmonic-is-1-of-continent-s-few-female-conductors-1.3137925

July 6, 2015
Unusual Composers on WPRB This Week

If you wake up this morning with an appetite for unusual and neglected repertoire, here are some of the composers whose music you can expect to hear between 6 and 11 a.m. ET, when you set your dial to WPRB 103.3 FM, or listen online at wprb.com: Walter Leigh, Lalo Schifrin, George Walker, Henry Holden Huss, Pavel Haas, Kurt Schwertsik, Harry Partch and Terry Riley, all of whom had or have birthday anniversaries this week. We’ll also do a make-good on retired Princeton professor Paul Lansky, whom I am ashamed to say I missed last week. The late Gunther Schuller and James Horner will also be remembered.

Daniel Spalding, music director of the New Jersey Capital Philharmonic Orchestra, will drop by around 10:00 to talk a bit about his orchestra and its appearance in a free concert at Mercer County Park Pavilion, Sunday at 7:30 p.m., as part of this year’s Freedom Fest. I’ll also be bringing some of Dan’s recordings of American music with the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra.

Be there, or be… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

PHOTO: Slappin’ the roosters awake with Classic Ross Amico

June 25, 2015
Chamber Music Blooms in Princeton & Beyond

Chamber music concerts are springing up like daffodils this weekend.

Concordia Chamber Players will present its final subscription concert of the season – with music by Frank Bridge, Dmitri Shostakovich and Gabriel Fauré – Sunday at 3 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church in Solebury, Pa.

Soprello – consisting of soprano Allison Pohl and Princeton Symphony Orchestra cellist Alistair MacRae – will perform music by Henry Purcell, Rick Sowash, Steven Gerber, David Dzubay, Gilbert & Sullivan, John Tavener and Robert Schumann, Sunday at 4:30 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. (The program will be repeated at Monroe Township Public Library, Monday at 1 p.m.)

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center – in its current incarnation of Daniel Hope, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; David Finckel, cello; and Wu Han piano – will appear Monday at 7:30 p.m. at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton. The concert will include piano quartets by Mahler, Schumann and Brahms.

You can read more about it in my article in today’s Trenton Times.

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2015/04/classical_music_concordia_cham.html#incart_related_stories

Also, don’t forget: Lenape Chamber Ensemble will perform music by Mozart, George Rochberg and Max Bruch, tonight at 8:15 p.m. at Upper Tinicum Lutheran Church in Upper Black Eddy, Pa., and Sunday at 3 p.m. at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown.

This was covered in last week’s article:

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2015/03/classical_music_concerts_in_pr.html

PHOTO: Pickles the Fox likes daffodils. More wildlife photos by Matt Binstead of the British Wildlife Centre here: http://mattbinstead.blogspot.com/.

April 10, 2015
Pi Day 2015 Einstein Spock Princeton Celebrates

Today is International Pi Day (3.14, get it?). In fact, it is the only Pi Day this century to be 3-14-15, the first five digits of Pi, often represented by the Greek letter “p” (“π”), the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, commonly approximated as 3.14159 – though you could take it a good deal further, since the number is wholly irrational and refuses to fall into a repeating pattern.

Naturally, Princeton eats this stuff up. (It is Pi, afer all.) The borough is celebrating with a full day of events.

http://www.pidayprinceton.com/

Albert Einstein, longtime Princeton resident, was born on this date in 1879. “The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits,” he said. Is he saying, then, that Pi is stupid?

Not so Mr. Spock, who in this episode of “Star Trek,” defeats an evil computer by asking it to calculate to the end of Pi. That Spock is such a trickster. (R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy.)

All together now, as we sing the Albert Einstein Pi Day song!

The tyranny of Pi:

Face it, YouTube is crazy for Pi:

Scariest Pi song?

What does Pi actually sound like?

This way madness lies. Clearly, the possibilities are endless.

March 14, 2015
Trenton Princeton Classical Music Holiday Concerts

ADVENT CALENDAR – DAY 20

The concert calendar is nearly as frenzied as the last-minute holiday shoppers.

Here are but four programs of interest, scheduled to take place in the Trenton-Princeton area over the course of this last weekend before Christmas. Hopefully you can find a few hours to enjoy.

My article in today’s Trenton Times:

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2014/12/classical_music_its_not_christ.html

PHOTOS: Bach or Handel for the holidays? Decisions, decisions…

December 19, 2014

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