December 22, 2011 - Comments Off

My 2011 “Best Of” List by Anne Zwick Turner

I wish I had the time, money, and energy to go to many more musical events offered in the Capital District over the course of a year. There is so much to hear, but, alas, I have to pick and choose. Luckily, I struck gold several times this year. Here are the events that stand out in my memory:

1. The HD broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of John Adams’ “Nixon in China,” at the Regal Cinemas at Crossgates on February 12. It was exciting to see this remarkable opera for the first time. I’m a big fan of Adams’ music.

2. Baritone Timothy Mix’s recital at Skidmore College on Friday, February 25. Mr. Mix is an immensely gifted young singer, and Verdi and Puccini are becoming his trademarks. As luck would have it, there was a major snowstorm the preceding night, and the college closed down midday on Friday (only the second time in the almost twenty-three years I’ve taught there)! But the Arthur Zankel Music Center remained open, and a decent number of brave souls came out to hear a riveting evening of Mr. Mix’s signature arias and songs, with the fabulous Christopher Cano at the piano.

3. The Art Song Festival of the Eastern New York State Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, held March 4-6 at SUNY Albany, culminating with an Honors Recital on April 17. It is very inspiring to hear the students of many local voice teachers, and to spotlight the most talented students in their own showcase recital

4. The April 16 matinee performance of Alban Berg’s opera “Wozzeck” at the Met. I had never seen this opera live before. It was incredibly powerful. James Levine conducted the thorny score with supreme mastery. It could very well be the last time I’ll ever see him conduct.

5. Oh my, the unbelievable powerhouse pianist named Wuja Wang, gave a recital at the College of St. Rose on October 15 that was simply out of this world. There are a lot of great pianists out there, and this tiny little twenty-something year-old has technique, artistry, and musicianship to burn. It was a phenomenal performance.

6. The young mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano gave a splendid recital in the Union College Series on November 9. I’ve followed her emerging career with interest, and think she’s headed for a major opera career. Her husband, who accompanied Tim Mix earlier in the year at Skidmore, was a powerful collaborator.

On a personal note, I had a great deal of musical satisfaction in 2011. These include:

~ The purchase of my second grand piano, an 81 year old Steinway Model A, scrupulously restored by piano technician Evan Tublitz, this past summer. I fulfilled a long-held ambition to have a second grand piano in my house. That’s a story for another time.

~Resuming piano lessons, in a serious attempt to regain some of the skills I had when I was a piano major in college. I practiced many hours on my new piano, and have made some good progress. It is immensely satisfying. And that’s a story for another time too. My piano teacher, Mary Moran, is terrific.

~ Giving a two-hour voice lesson to the 100+member Festival Celebration Choir, conducted by Maury Castro, at St. Pius Church on September. What a dedicated group of singers! It was exhausting but exhilarating to bring them to a better vocal place.

~ The preparation and execution of a talk I gave for the Siena Opera Club on November 6, which I entitled “Pity the Poor Soprano.” It is uplifting to talk to this crowd, who are perhaps even more devoted to opera than I am. We feed each other’s enthusiasm.

Here’s to a richly musical 2012, Everyone ~

Anne

March 25, 2011 - Comments Off

There are treasures in these here hills! – by Anne Zwick Turner

The general public sometimes tends to be dismissive of “local” talent, but the musically educated populace knows something very important: There is musical talent chock a-plenty in the Capital District! And a great deal of that talent will shine as nine singers and four pianists perform music written by nine composers, all of whom reside in the Capital District.
“An American Song Project: Local Treasures,” will be presented at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 3 in the Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall of the new Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Admission is free. Cross your fingers for no snow.The idea was mine, just about a year ago, when I was speaking with some of my voice teacher colleagues at a business meeting of our Eastern New York State Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. I suggested that we support music of the many fine composers who live between Schenectady and Great Barrington, and from Glens Falls down through Albany, by singing it. People liked the idea, and we went from there. One of my great passions as a performer, voice teacher, and a pretty decent music historian and theorist, is music of living composers. I devoted a good chunk of my performing energy, starting in the 70′s and through this current decade, to promoting and performing music of composers whom I know and admire: David Del Tredici, Joseph Schwantner, George Crumb, and Hilary Tann, among them. My colleagues got right on the band wagon, and in October 2010, we met and gathered a substantial pile of music that we had received from the composers whom Fran Wittmann (the president of our local chapter of NATS) and I had contacted in the summer of 2010. We plowed through the pile, and found one gem after another. Some singers instantly fell in love with certain pieces, and others had a bit of a dilemma deciding what treasure to choose – sort of like debating over what piece of chocolate to choose from a box of Godiva goodies. At any rate, a week from tomorrow, we will honor these wonderful composers: Al Fedak, Joe Fennimore, Adam Paul Fine, Jane Leslie (well, she’s from downstate), Tim Luby, Evan Mack, Steve Murray, Rand Reeves, and Hilary Tann. We’re singing their songs. Perhaps we will have “An American Song Project, Part II” next year. One composer from Buffalo, when she heard about this, asked me if she could be counted as “local” for next year, since she was born in Albany. Why not?

An American Song Project: Local Treasures

Sunday, April 3 at 3 p.m.

Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Zankel Music Center

Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY

Admission free; meet and greet with the composers after the concert

June 10, 2010 - Comments Off

High School Students can really sing!

These days, when the few high school students who sing think mostly about their school musical and rarely go farther than that, I must say that I feel incredibly lucky to teach fifteen students, ages fourteen through eighteen, who really care about creating beautiful sounds, honing their vocal technique, communicating from their heart, and being the best singers they can be. Every year, at about this time, I prepare my high school students for their end-of-year voice recital. In recent years, I’ve held this event at my home, which can seat about forty-five people. But this year, I decided to go “public,” and give the students the opportunity to sing not only for their families and friends, but for anyone who wishes to come. They will be quite amazed, I am sure, at the level of excellence these students are achieving. Of these students, nine are graduating seniors. Of those graduating, six of them are going on to college or conservatory in vocal performance, music education, or musicology. It is a joy for me to watch them grow. As they learn to express themselves more effectively through their voices, they grow, not only as singers, but as people.  Their program will be on Wednesday, June 16 at 6:30 at the Guilderland Public Library. I’ll be playing for them. It’s a lot of work to put this event together, but together, we all grow. Parents, siblings, friends, teachers — and I — are thrilled at what they accomplish.