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Percussionist Gene Koshinski Tours with his Musical Inspiration

2008-05-07T12:59:00.010-04:00

Gene Koshinski

Gene Koshinski, PAI percussion faculty member, is set to tour Slovenia and Germany with renowned percussionist/composer Nebjosa Jovan Zivkovic from May 17 to June 4, 2008.

Gene grew up with Zivkovic's music, one of the major inspirations that pushed him to pursue a solo/chamber music career. Gene says, "That's what makes this tour so special."

Gene first met Nebojsa Zivkovic at Rowan University when he played one of the composor's pieces for him in a masterclass. For a sophomore at West Chester University, it was a surreal experience. Gene went on to grad school at the Hartt School of Music where his percussion teacher often toured with Zivkovic.

Zivkovic refers to Gene as a "Strong musician, fast and accurate hands, it is always a pleasure to listen to his playing." Gene's role on tour will be as a member of Zivkovic's Jovan Percussion Group, a 3 member group designed to perform Zivkovic's's chamber music along with the conductor).

Nebjosa Jovan Zivkovic

The German-based percussionist and composer Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic has developed a searingly intense, forcefully masculine percussion world.... his grand gestures are characterised by an astonishing intensity and often fierceness..... the range and combinations of sounds he creates are startling, and all is delivered in hugely virtuosic performances which can't help but impress the listener. BBC-Music Magazine, Nov. 2000

For more information, including concert dates and audio samples, please visit the following Web sites:
http://www.genekoshinski.com/

http://www.zivkovic.de/

Zane Forshee to Tour Taiwan in June

2008-05-06T09:28:00.007-04:00

June 2008 will find Zane Forshee touring Taiwan for recording sessions, solo recitals and performances. Counter tenor, Peter Lee will join Zane for two concerts. On June 22 he will perform at the National Concert Hall.

If you attend one of his concerts in Taiwan, please be sure to say "Hello!"

For more information, please visit www.zaneforshee.com.

Joe Boga and Nate Larsen play for a Candidate

2008-04-21T19:01:00.007-04:00

The day before the Pennsylvania primary, PAI's Joseph Boga and Nate "Mookie" Larsen had an audience. A special audience.

View Photo

Second Sunday Classical Guitar Concert Series presents Zane Forshee

2008-04-08T20:43:00.004-04:00

Zane Forshee, PAI faculty member, is scheduled to perform in the elegant and intimate penthouse at the Roger Smith Hotel on Lexington Avenue at East 47th Street in New York City

The afternoon concert will feature works by Albeniz, Brouwer, Bach, Domeniconi, and Scarlatti

Co-sponsored by the New York City Classical Guitar Society

Frank Wallace and John Olson, co-curators

Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 4:00 pm

Tickets $15

For reservations, please e-mail rogersmitharts@rogersmith.com or call 212.755.1400.

Learn more about Zane

Sundays at Three Presents

2008-04-08T20:29:00.006-04:00

RELEASE

NEW WORKS BY ARTISTS FROM THE GRAHAM TRADITION

SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 3PM, $10

Erica Dankmeyer
Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch
Whitney V. Hunter
Virginie Mécène

Gathered together by Erica Dankmeyer, four former and present Graham Company dancers will present an exciting afternoon of new, individual choreography along with a special presentation of Graham’s Satyric Festival Song. The performance will be followed by a discussion of the Graham Legacy and philosophy with the contributing choreographers Erica Dankmeyer, Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch, Whitney V. Hunter and Virginie Mécène.

SUNDAYS AT THREE, established in 1988, features new and reconstructed works by emerging and established choreographers once a month.

This afternoon performance includes a post-performance discussion with the dance artists.

Call or logon for tickets.

92nd Street Y ♦ School of the Arts ♦ Harkness Dance Center

1395 Lexington Ave at 92nd Street ♦ NY, NY 10128

www.92Y.org/harkness ♦ (P) 212.415.5552 ♦ (F) 212.415.5549

An agency of UJA-Federation ♦ The 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center receives major support from the Harkness Foundation for Dance and The Arnhold Foundation

PAI alum Nellie McKay

2008-03-25T17:51:00.003-04:00

With the new album "Obligatory Villagers" and "P.S. I Love You" track on the 2007 movie soundtrack of the same name, Nellie McKay continues to make a name for herself.

She has a busy tour schedule, including appearances on the live broadcast of Prairie Home Companion this weekend (April 12, 2008).

For more information about her recordings and tour dates visit http://nelliemckay.com/

Read more about this PAI alum at http://www.welkmg.com/streetteam/artist/nelliemckay.asp

New Canaan High School Madrigals Tour South Africa

2008-02-19T11:06:00.013-05:00

The New Canaan High School Madrigal Ensemble, under the direction of PAI choral conductor Arthur Sjögren, is currently on tour in South Africa. No strangers to travel, this talented group has toured internationally 15 times in the past 26 years. Joining them on this tour is PAI voice faculty member Alyss Haecker.

For more information, visit the Madrigal Ensemble Web site at http://nchsmadrigals.org/index.html.

An Old Friend from South Africa

2008-02-19T10:39:00.005-05:00

PAI choral conductor, Dr. Johann van der Standt, was on campus earlier this month for a week-long residency. While here, Johann worked with both the Wyoming Seminary Chorale and Madrigal Singers, focusing on the traditions of South African choral singing.

Johann is currently a professor in Choral Conducting at the University of Pretoria, and the official choral conductor of the University where he implemented a unique model for choral singing on South African University campuses.

(click for rehearsal video)

Buen Viaje a Cornell Winds!

2008-01-09T15:01:00.000-05:00

1 Cornell Wind Ensemble
+ 70 Refurbished Instruments to donate
+ 3 Costa Rican schools
+ 1 Santa Cruz Cultural Festival
= A trip worth taking twice!

Dr. Cynthia Johnston Turner, PAI Wind Ensemble conductor, and Matthew Marsit, PAI staff conductor, are off to Costa Rica January 9, 2008 with the Cornell University Wind Ensemble.

While there, the ensemble will deliver donated refurbished instruments to two schools and catch up with a third they visited in 2006.

"The 2006 tour was transformative for all parties involved. One of the things that we learned is that we got just as much, if not more, out of the giving than the students and communities to whom we gave," said Cynthia Johnston Turner, director of wind ensembles in the Department of Music. "CU Winds believes in service and trying to make the world a bit better. We also believe that giving the opportunity to make music to a young person can change their life for the better. This year, we've doubled our efforts."

Read the entire article at the Cornell University Chronicle Online site: http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Dec07/CostaRica.return.da.html

More about Cornell University Wind Ensemble http://www.cuwinds.com/

Cornell University Music http://www.arts.cornell.edu/music/index.html

In Memoriam

2008-01-08T12:06:00.001-05:00

Over the past eighteen months, PAI’s dear friend, Denise Taylor, courageously fought a battle with lymphoma. Last summer, her devoted husband (PAI’s musical theater director) tirelessly provided her with love and support at the same time he directed Oliver.

We are deeply sorry to announce that Denise passed away on December 29th.

For several years, Denise came to PAI with her husband, Bill Roudebush. While she was here, she generously shared her vast knowledge of the acting profession with PAI students, who quickly developed strong bonds of friendship with her. At PAI, Denise will always be remembered for the way her smile could light up a room and for her sincerity in every interaction.

Your thoughts, prayers and expressions of concern will be of great comfort to Bill. If you would like to send him a note, please contact the PAI office for his mailing address.

Details about Denise’s memorial service are as follows.

Wednesday, January 16th, 11:00 AM
Saint Denis Cathedral
2401 Saint Denis Lane
Havertown, PA 19083

Zane Forshee and Sara Casey will participate in the service.

We plan to take two vans to Philadelphia, leaving the upper school campus promptly at 8:00 AM. If you would like to have a seat reserved, please contact us by Friday, January 11th at onstage@wyomingseminary.org or 570-270-2177.

Because Denise loved animals so much, memorial donations can be made in her honor to the humane society’s Kindred Spirits Memorial Fund. For your convenience, here is a link to their website: https://secure.hsus.org/01/kindredspirits?qp_source=gabahw.

Bakehouse, Glorious Bakehouse!

2008-01-08T11:00:00.000-05:00

Oliver cast members catch up with Mark Kratz at the Bakehouse in Kingston.

New Maya Release Available Now!

2007-12-17T13:54:00.000-05:00

Perspectives Recordings proudly presents the debut CD of MAYA, In The Spirit, in its deluxe first edition.

Uniquely compelling and rhythmically driven, MAYA, a trio of harp (PAI's Jacqueline Kerrod), flute (Sato Moughalian) and percussion (John Hadfield) was founded in 2005. The group draws on a spectacular collection of percussion instruments from around the world.

Central to MAYA’s vision is the nurturance of relationships with the next generation’s most gifted composers. In The Spirit features classic Christmas favorites in an earthy new style as well as original CD commissions by Ricardo Romaneiro, a 28 year old Brazilian composer who has created a new work inspired by the chants of the Krenak, a tribe from the Northeast of Brazil. The stellar young composer Alexandra du Bois has breathed new life into the plaintive Appalachian classic song, I Wonder as I Wander. Trendsetting New York cellist-composer Erik Friedlander has crafted an improvisatory and virtuosic dance based on a 15th century Sephardic song. Hear Tchaikovsky’s Arabian Dance from his beloved Nutcracker played on the Turkish darbuka. Composer and bassist-leader Gregg August adds a cool note of jazz to Greensleeves. MAYA’s own percussionist John Hadfield offers an homage to the sights and sounds of Istanbul in American Dervish.

In The Spirit is luxuriously presented in a six-panel digipak and slipcase covered with luminous images of timeless ceramic art in an ancient tradition. The music is an evocation, a personal voyage in sound to far-flung times and places. Brilliantly produced and engineered by Grammy Award winning Steven Epstein, In The Sprit is both traditional and innovative, a lush and inviting cultural journey. Experience it for yourself!

Please visit Maya's Web site for more information and to purchase a copy of the CD: http://www.mayatrio.com/.

Prepare Ye the Way to Ephrata!

2007-11-14T09:20:00.000-05:00

Chris Cannon would like to share some great news with his friends from PAI! Chris is currently appearing as John the Baptist/Judas in "Godspell" at the Ephrata Performing Arts Center (EPAC), one of the community theaters in the Lancaster, PA area. The show opened on November 8th and closes on November 25th, with a total of 15 performances. Chris is excited to be part of this amazing show which has received wonderful reviews in our local newspapers.

Read the review: http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/212211

You still have time to catch this show! More information, including directions and ticket sales at http://www.ephrataplayhouseinthepark.org/.

Martha Graham Dance Company in Selinsgrove, PA

2007-10-29T14:07:00.000-04:00

On October 30, 2007 the Martha Graham Dance Company, which includes PAI dance faculty member Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch, will appear at the Degenstein Center Theater in Selinsgrove, PA.

For more information, please visit the following Web sites.

Degenstein Center Theater

Martha Graham Dance Company

Kudos to Sophie Till!

2007-09-27T13:51:00.000-04:00

We are proud to announce that Sophie Till has been awarded a grant through the Pennsylvania Council on the Art’s unique program, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts. The grant will fund a televised recital of Sophie performing violin show pieces. Accompanying her will be pianist, Ronald Stabinsky. The recital will be filmed on January 20th, 2008 at WVIA's state-of-the-art high-definition television studio. Anyone wishing to attend the recital should contact WVIA at 1-800-326-9842. Admission is free of charge.

Sophie holds an advanced music degree from the Royal College of Music in London and a master of music degree from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) where she studied under Charles Treger. She is persuing a PhD on the Beethoven Violin Sonatas at The University of Leeds (UK).

An active free-lance violinist throughout Europe and Eastern United States, she formerly taught at both Eton College and the Royal College of Music, Junior Department. She was recently named the recipient of the F. Lammot Belin Arts Award and is currently recording the complete Beethoven violin and piano sonatas. She serves on the music faculty of Marywood University, where she is the director of the string division, and is an Artist in Residence at Wyoming Seminary.

At PAI, Sophie taught violin lessons, coached chamber music, presented masterclasses and performed with the resident string quartet.

Rock Doves

2007-09-19T16:10:00.000-04:00

Jamie Kurtz, PAI set and lighting director, says it took Renaissance Entertainment Technologies just four days to build their first set headed to New York City. Like the set for PAI's production of Oliver, it was built and painted in their studio then loaded into the theater, which in this case was the Irish Arts Center in New York City.

Charlie Corcoran, set designer for "The Molly Maguires" at the F.M. Kirby Center in April, designed this set for the play “Rock Doves,” by the Northern Irish playwright Marie Jones.

A photo can be seen in the New York Times review of the play.

Opera Hause

2007-09-19T15:27:00.000-04:00

Mind control, torture, biological weapons, LSD, and defenestration are ingredients for a new opera that could only be about "Man." Evan Hause's final Defenestration opera, "Man: Biology of a Fall," about the infamous 1953 CIA cold-cocking of army bio-weapons researcher Frank Olson, runs for four nights only: October 4, 5, 6, and 7 (matinee). Libretto is by Gary Heidt.

San-ky Kim, PAI voice faculty, sings the part of Gottlieb.

Tickets ($15-35) and Directions available from the Kumble Theater box office: http://www.kumbletheater.org/; (718) 488-1624. Showtimes: October 4, 5, 6 (Th-Sat) at 7:30 PM; October 7 (Sun) at 3:00 PM.

More information: http://www.manbiologyofafall.com/

Don't Miss Carrie and Martha!

2007-09-19T15:07:00.000-04:00

Make sure you don't miss Carrie Ellmore Tallitsch with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Carrie is on the dance faculty at PAI, and is a full time member of the Martha Graham Dance Company.

The New York Season at the Joyce Theater will end on September 23, but the company travels extensively throughout the United States and abroad.

Please follow the links for performance information:

http://www.carrieellmore.com/

http://www.marthagrahamdance.org/

http://www.joyce.org/

Victor Liva to Conduct the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra

2007-08-20T15:42:00.000-04:00

Victor Liva, PAI orchestra conductor, was recently named music director and conductor of the Cleveland Philharmonic starting with the 2007-2008 season. The first concert of the season is scheduled on October 14, 2007 and includes Rossini's Overture to "The Barber of Seville”, Saint-Saens' Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, and Sibelius' Symphony No. 2. For more information about the Cleveland Philharmonic, please visit their website : http://www.clevephil.org/.

Victor also serves as Orchestra Conductor and Director of String Studies at Cleveland State University.

Wishing You PAI Blessings!

2007-08-05T16:03:00.000-04:00

Many of you have requested a copy of the blessing from the Grand Finale banquet. Here it is!

In this final gathering, we give thanks
for time spent together;
for friendships new, and old ones strengthened;
for the food that nourishes our bodies, allowing us to work;
for the music we've created,
lessons we've learned,
and the isnpiration that continues to fuel our creative spirits.

Bless us tonight in our final performances, and give us strength, compassion and love to accompany us into our future journeys.

BethDuhr

Barbara Weisberger Visits the PAI Dance Company

2007-07-17T13:30:00.000-04:00

Barbara Weisberger, founder of the Pennsylvania Ballet,

and student of George Balanchine,

shared her experience and expertise with the PAI Dance Company

and raised the bar.

Thank you!

Shanghai Quartet Masterclass and Concert

2007-07-03T17:06:00.000-04:00

Masterclass

in the afternoon

for PAI participants

was followed by a concert of Mozart, Long and Schubert

for a full house of appreciative concert goers.

BRAVO!

Warm greetings to family and friends of the PAI community!

2007-06-28T09:58:00.000-04:00

At Day 3, it is safe to say that the PAI 2007 Season is off to a great start! Large and small ensembles sound excellent---we are all pleased with the high level of music so early in the season. Reports from the dance studio are also very positive, as are the reports from our musical theater director, Bill Roudebush. The counselor recital on Monday night was tremendous and we are eagerly anticipating the student recital tomorrow evening.

On behalf of all of the students, I invite you to join us for a weekend of great music! Please click on this link to our performance schedule for detailed information about the weekend. http://www.wyomingseminary.org/pai/perform.htm.

For those of you who can not attend the concerts, I hope that you enjoy these photos of PAI in action!

Best regards,

Nancy Sanderson, Director

PAI Counselors

Walk this way! PAI students on game night.

Just Chillin'!

Musical Theater students reach for the stars with the help of dialect coach, David Howie.

Music Makers making music

PAI Alums Attend Gala Benefit

2007-06-04T12:59:00.001-04:00

A chance to reconnect with PAI friends, a chance to witness great PAI performances from past, present and future PAI students, and most importantly, a chance to support the PAI Musical Theater program. Thanks for being there!

Did you attend PAI? Do we know where you are and what you are doing? Click here and turn yourself in!

MAYA: Uniquely Compelling

2007-05-29T12:45:00.000-04:00

In the summer of 2005 Jacqueline Kerrod, PAI harp faculty member along with Sato Moughalian, flute and John Hadfield, percussion, formed the trio MAYA. MAYA offers the uniquely compelling and rhythmically driven combination of flute, harp and percussion, performing classical music, ethnic music, and incorporating improvisations into its performances.

The ensemble has embarked on a major commissioning program, with a number of new pieces currently in progress and recently completed, from established and emerging young composers and well-known artists in the field of world music. MAYA is also creating multi-media works, reflecting the artistic visions of its members who seek to create a repertoire which mirrors their expanding ideals of beauty in an increasingly connected world.

The term maya has deep roots and diverse meanings around the world. In Hindu philosophy maya is the divine power which has created the cosmos. In Buddhism, maya is the veil of illusion, the transitory appearance of the physical world, and a metaphoric challenge for spiritual aspirants. In the Americas, the Mayan people formed a highly developed culture whose singular achievements included monumental architecture, agriculture, astronomy, mathematics and a distinct calendrical system. Maya is a term found in the Upanishads, in Vedic and Sanskrit writings--a richly evocative image in cultures and literatures throughout the East.

The members of MAYA hail from South Africa, Asia Minor, and North America.

PAI loaned the use of a harp to assist in the rehearsing and recording process of MAYA’s debut CD entitled "In the Spirit", a collection of pieces that have been transcribed by and composed for MAYA. "In the Spirit" will be released in July 2007.

For more information about MAYA, visit www.mayatrio.com.