Richard D. Russell » Elisabeth Frost

“Time is Not an Option” premieres at Fordham University, April 24, 2010

Richard D. Russell — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:37:00 +0000

My new piece, “Time is Not an Option” premiered last Saturday, April 24, at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus. This piece was commissioned by the Poets Out Loud faculty of Fordham. Unfortunately, the Fordham poet I was paired with, Elisabeth Frost, was unable to attend as she is in Europe on a Fulbright scholarship. Fordham’s poet-in-residence, Janet E. Kaplan, deputized in the reading of Frost’s poems. The esteemed musicologist, Lawrence Kramer, refereed the awarding of commissions, and was the evening’s emcee. As well, he offered up some of his own music and poetry.

The musicians came by way of Bard College in upstate New York. Soprano Ilana Zarankin sang many of the other songs this evening, and soprano Clarissa Lyons performed my particular cycle. Shun-Yang Lee was the evening’s accompanist.

Other composers on the evening included Martin Hennesey, Mary Anne Joyce-Walter, and Alexander Nohai-Seaman. The poems set to music were written by Edward Hirsch, D. Nurske, Janet Kaplan, and Heather Dubrow.

It was a great concert, so I’m posting a lot of pics here, Click image for a larger size.

Clarissa Lyons

Shun Yang, piano; Clarissa Lyons

Lawrence Kramer

Clarissa Lyons, Shun Yang, Richard Russell

Ilana Zarankin, Clarissa Lyons, Richard Russell

Janet Kaplan, Lawrence Kramer, Richard Russell

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Great Rehearsal of “Time is Not an Option” at Bard College

Richard D. Russell — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:51:00 +0000

Ilana Zarankin

Clarissa Lyons

Yesterday I traveled to the beautiful Bard College campus in upstate New York to attend a rehearsal of “Time is Not an Option,” which premieres this Saturday. (…with texts by Elisabeth Frost.) I heard a few of the other composers works, too, and I can say this will be a great concert!

I was so impressed with Bard’s Olin Hall I took a few pix to share with my iPhone. The sopranos are Ilana Zarankin and Clarissa Lyons, the pianist is Shun-Yang Lee. Each of them are superb.

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Richard D. Russell Awarded a Commission by Fordham University’s “Poets Out Loud”

Richard D. Russell — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:53:00 +0000

Founded in 1992, Fordham University’s Poets Out Loud is charged with the mission “…to bring a public audience to Fordham‚Äôs Lincoln Center campus and to foster the appreciation, creation, and study of poetry both within the University and in the wider NYC community.”

In Fall 2009, Poets Out Loud put out a call for scores for composers interested in collaborating with the poets of their organization. I am delighted to announce that I was awarded a commission for this project, and I was paired with poet Elisabeth Frost. I selected three of her poems and composed a cycle called “Time is Not an Option.”

The premiere will be Saturday, April 24 at 7:30pm at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center Campus, Columbus Avenue at 60 Street, in the 12th Floor Lounge. The concert is free and open to the public.

The performers will be sopranos Clarissa Lyons and Ilana Zarankin, with Shun-Yang Lee on piano. Other composers on the bill include Martin Hennessy, Alexander Nohai-Seaman, Lawrence Kramer, and Mary Ann Joyce-Walter. In addition to my collaborator, Elisabeth Frost, other featured poets are Heather Dubrow, Edward Hirsch, Janet Kaplan, and D. Nurkse.

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