Richard D. Russell » Mannes College

Two Song Cycles featured in Mannes College of Music Concert

Richard D. Russell — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:30:00 +0000

On June 30, 2010, the Mannes College of Music was treated to some really great performances of two song cycles of mine. Soprano Sofia Dimitrova, accompanied by Sophia Munoz, performed Time is Not an Option. After the intermission, Sofia Dimitrova was joined by mezzo Christina Goyne in premiering Four Shakespeare Songs in Madrigal Style. These scores, by the way, are available at RDRussell.com — just click on “compositions.”

Here’s several pics from the evening (click to enlarge).

Sofia Dimitrova, with Sophia Munoz on piano

Sophia Munoz and Richard Russell compare notes

Sofia Dimitrova

Sofia Dimitrova and Christina Goyne

Christina Goyne

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Two Russell pieces at Mannes College on June 30

Richard D. Russell — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:58:00 +0000

Sofia Dimitrova

Christina Goyne

Two pieces by Richard Russell will be featured in a concert at Mannes College of Music on June 30, 8pm. Mannes is at 150 West 85th Street in New York, and the concert is free and open to the public.

The first piece is a world premiere of Four Shakespeare Songs in Madrigal Style, featuring soprano Sofia Dimitrova and mezzo Christina Goyne. The second piece is Time is Not an Option, the awarded commission from Voices Up! recently premiered at Fordham University. Hope to see you there!

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Marjorie Berg to Premiere New Song Cycle

Richard D. Russell — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:11:00 +0000

This past summer, soprano Marjorie Berg asked me to write a new song cycle for her on poems by Emily Dickinson. She had collected a number of poems about nature, and the result is my five-song cycle, “The Tune is in the Tree.” Marjorie will premiere this piece in a recital to be presented Sunday, November 8 at 4:30pm. Also on the program are pieces by Hildegard of Bingen, Barber’s “Hermit Songs”, and a new cycle by my colleague Raphael Fusco. (Mr. Fusco is the day’s accompanist.) The concert is free and takes place at Mannes College of Music, 150 West 85th Street, in Goldmark Hall on the third floor.

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February 15, 2009 Concert at Mannes

Richard D. Russell — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:41:00 +0000

I was fortunate to have two wonderful performances of world premieres this past Sunday afternoon at Mannes College of Music. First, soprano Sofia Dimitrova, accompanied by Tamara Cashour, performed “When Time is Over” a collection of four songs with texts by Emily Dickinson. Second, an Adagio movement from a forthcoming string quartet. The ¬†quartet is pictured here: Stani Dimitrova and Lisa Romain, violins, Rose Hashimoto, viola, Desiree Abbey, cello. (Click pics for larger view.)

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Poster for February 15 concert at Mannes

Richard D. Russell — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:32:00 +0000

Here’s a snazzy poster advertising Sunday’s concert at Mannes College of Music, 150 West 85th Street. The concert starts at 1:30 and admission is free. (Thanks Sofia for the poster design!)

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Two Pieces to Premiere Feb 15

Richard D. Russell — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:55:00 +0000

In an afternoon concert at Mannes College of Music, two new pieces will be premiered. First is an “Adagio” from a forthcoming string quartet, featuring Stanichka Dimitrova, violin (pictured), Lisa Romain, violin, Rose Hashimoto, viola, and Desiree Abbey, cello. The second premiere is “When Time is Over” a song cycle of four Emily Dickinson poems. The soprano will be Sofia Dimitrova (pictured), with Tamara Cashour on piano. The rest of the concert will be comprised of pieces by Mannes faculty and alumni. Mannes College is located at 150 West 85th Street, and the concert begins at 1pm. Admission is free.

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How to Become a Better Composer (in Just Two Hours!)

Richard D. Russell — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:20:00 +0000

On Wednesday, October 22 from 5-7pm I will present a lecture/demonstration at Mannes College of Music, presented by the Mannes College Composition Department. I will pose provocative questions guaranteed to challenge assumptions about music and composition. Emphasis will be placed on finding one’s unique voice or musical thumbprint.

This is free and open to all, but seating is very limited. If you would like to attend, please let me know via email at Richard.Russell@mac.com. Hope to see you there!

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Rilke Songs at Mannes

Richard D. Russell — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:14:00 +0000

A great concert yesterday at Mannes College of Music, with compositions by Wayne Alpern, Chris Park, David Ames, Wendy Griffiths, Faye Ellen Silverman, and Ryan Tracy. The highlight for me was (of course!) my Two Rilke Songs, performed by Sofia Dimitrova, Stani Dimitrova, and Tomoko Nakayama. Here’s a pic, click for larger size.

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Two Rilke Songs at Mannes College on Feb 17

Richard D. Russell — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:46:00 +0000

Sofia Dimitrova and Stani Dimitrova will be performing my Two Songs of Rilke on Sunday, February 17 at 1:30 pm. They will be joined by pianist Tomoko Nakayama, who premiered the piece with these two last summer. Also on the program are pieces by other Mannes College faculty and alumni. Every year this is a varied and interesting concert, so there’s something for everyone! I hope to see you there. This is a free concert with no tickets or reservations necessary. Mannes is at 150 West 85th Street, between Columbus and Amsterdam, and the Concert Hall is on the second floor.

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3SCS at Mannes College, Oct 22

Richard D. Russell — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:33:00 +0000

Here are a few pics from the concert at Mannes College of Music last Monday, October 22. Aurora Borealis, with Tiffany DuMouchelle, soprano, and Stephen Solook, percussion, performed my Three Songs of Carl Sandburg.

A little bit of trivia: Tiffany performed the premiere of this piece way back in 2002 when it was written with piano accompaniment! Many thanks for keeping this piece going all these years.

The concert was an impressive mix of older and newer material, including a few songs by Chopin! I had always heard he wrote a few songs, but had never heard them before.

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