Richard D. Russell » Park Avenue http://rdrussell.com Mon, 05 Dec 2016 01:42:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.38 “Time is Not an Option” featured in NYCC Outreach http://rdrussell.com/time-is-not-an-option-featured-in-nycc-outreach http://rdrussell.com/time-is-not-an-option-featured-in-nycc-outreach#comments Wed, 18 May 2011 01:14:50 +0000 http://rdrussell.com/?p=2521 Richard D. Russell introduces his piece.

The post “Time is Not an Option” featured in NYCC Outreach appeared first on Richard D. Russell.

]]> On May 16, 2011, soprano Sofia Dimitrova performed “Time is Not An Option” accompanied by Tamara Cashour–in an outreach program presented by the New York Composers Circle. The venue was Hunter College High School on Park Avenue on the Upper East Side. The hour-long recital was emceed by the Executive Emeritus of the NYCC, John de Clef Pi√±eiro. Ms. Dimitrova performed many 20th (and 21st) Century works, including pieces by Menotti, Paul Moravec, and Aaron Copland.

The concert was attended by about 100 ninth and tenth graders. A question-and-answer session yielded some interesting thoughts: does a singer prepare differently for modern music than for music by (say) Mozart? What is the process of composing all about? How does one go about starting a new composition?

Here are several pictures from the afternoon–click image for a larger view.

Richard D. Russell introduces his piece

 

Tamara Cashour, Sofia Dimitrova, John de Clef Piñeiro

Tamara Cashour, Sofia Dimitrova

Tamara Cashour and Sofia Dimitrova

Sofia Dimitrova

The post “Time is Not an Option” featured in NYCC Outreach appeared first on Richard D. Russell.

]]> http://rdrussell.com/time-is-not-an-option-featured-in-nycc-outreach/feed 0 Who said it‚ and when? http://rdrussell.com/who-said-it-and-when http://rdrussell.com/who-said-it-and-when#comments Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:28:26 +0000 http://rdrussell.wordpress.com/?p=245 Here’s an interesting quote from a leader of music conservatories about the state of higher music education: ‚ÄúRight now, when we need musical leaders in every community, we are concerned […]

The post Who said it‚ and when? appeared first on Richard D. Russell.

]]> Here’s an interesting quote from a leader of music conservatories about the state of higher music education:

‚ÄúRight now, when we need musical leaders in every community, we are concerned only with training virtuosi for a nonexistent market… We must develop educated people who are musicians in order to develop music.‚Äù

Was this said last year? Surprisingly, no. It was said in a 1945 essay by William Schuman, then just beginning his 16 year leadership as president of Juilliard; and yet it sounds just as trenchant today.

For more information about William Schuman, who was also a prominent composer in his day, read Anthony Tommasini’s commentary about the lasting influence of Schuman in the 01 April 2010 New York Times.

William Schuman in his Park Avenue apartment, 1991

The post Who said it‚ and when? appeared first on Richard D. Russell.

]]> http://rdrussell.com/who-said-it-and-when/feed 0