All first prize winners of the 25th Annual Music Festival in Honor of Confucius Competition are invited to perform at the Winners Concert, held on Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 3:00 pm at the historic Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, Chicago. As always, this concert, presented by the Chinese Fine Arts Society is free and open to the public. Parents and family, as well as the public, get the chance to hear and enjoy various musical pieces, originating from both the East and West.

This year’s winners are: Garrett Chou, cello; Jonathan Cruz, piano; Amanda Fan, piano; Yoan Ganev, piano; Kevin Hu, violin; Thomas Huang, piano; Ryan Jannak-Huang, piano; Adele Lee, violin; Chloe Lee, violin; Claire Lee, cello; Tabitha Oh, violin; Frank Wu, piano; Josiah Yoo, cello: Joshua Zhu, piano

The Virginia G. Behrendt Scholarship this year goes to the “Eastern Sea Quartet” - Ari Barack Fisher, violin, James Gan Stinehart, cello, Mengsha Gong, viola, Mimi Liu, piano.

The concert also features a guest performance from the Chinese Instrument Category: Angelina Cheng, guzheng.

» More: 25th Annual Chinese Fine Arts Society Winners Concert on Nov. 22

Rob Mosher’s band Storytime – whose new album, The Tortoise, is a lushly scored musical odyssey that contains echoes of Wayne Shorter, Gil Evans, Kurt Weill, Darius Milhaud, Debussy and Bach – reflects Mosher’s embrace of a wide range of influences which have coalesced to create his singularly independent compositional voice. Storytime traverses many musical landscapes — all held together by Mosher’s multi-faceted orchestration and ingenious use of instrumentation (saxophones, oboe, English horn, clarinets, flute, trumpet, French horn, trombone, electric and acoustic guitar, plus bass and drums).

A Canadian currently residing in New York City, award winning composer and performer Rob Mosher plays oboe, English horn and soprano sax.

On October 4, from 5-7pm, Storytime will be the featured band at St. Peter’s Church Jazz Vespers. Read more about this unique church and their jazz ministry here.

St. Peter’s Church is at 619 Lexington Ave at 54th street in New York City. Admission is free.

Songstresses from the Edge are singers, composers, & instrumentalists who are performing original art songs by themselves as well as premieres by leading New York composers. Spearheaded by cellist, composer and vocalist Jody Redhage, their next venture is this coming Saturday, Aug. 29 at 8:00 at the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn.

Jody will be playing a solo set of new compositions she’s commissioned for voice, cello & electronics, including:

• Christian Carey- “Song” and “Otherwise” (words Jane Kenyon)
• Lainie Fefferman- “Slash Plus” for voice, cello, & clarinet
• Daniel Felsenfeld- “From Sleepless Nights” (words Elizabeth Hardwick)
• Missy Mazzoli- “A Thousand Tongues” (words Stephen Crane)
• Molly Thompson- “Rhapsody’ (words Cynthia Huntington)

Also on the program is a set of original duo compositions by Daisy Press & Jody (duos for voices, cello & electronics), sets by Molly Thompson and Kamala Sankaram, and a guest appearance by clarinetist Eileen Mack.

Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009
8:00 pm
First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn
124 Henry Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
www.fpcbrooklyn.org
2/3 to Clark St. is the closest train

$10

With performers Jody Redhage, Daisy Press, Molly Thompson, Kamala Sankaram & Eileen Mack

Music by Redhage, Press, Thompson, Sankaram, Christian Carey, Lainie Fefferman, Daniel Felsenfeld, & Missy Mazzoli.

Frank Carlberg and Christine Correa

From the first moment of the arresting vocals by Christine Correa on pianist/composer Frank Carlberg’s opening track “We get crazy” from The American Dream, his newest CD release, you know you’re in for something unusual, energetic, quirky yet… deep.

One of Carlberg’s signature talents is masterfully setting poetry to music. Richard Kamins of the Hartford Courant found that Carlberg did “…a masterful job blending the music and words, the results sounding so organic. The melodies wrap around the words with ease and the solos never seem obligatory. His music is melodic, challenging, intelligent, and fiercely original. Many projects that attempt to blend poetry with creative music sound stilted but, over his career, Carlberg has proven that one can take these two art forms and make something quite special.”

Frank’s just been touring in Europe and Maine and is back in Brooklyn for an appearance of The Frank Carlberg Quintet (Frank Carlberg, Mike Formanek, Devin Grey Trio) on August 1st at 8:00 PM at the Douglass Street Music Collective, 295 Douglass St., in Brooklyn.

Read more about Frank here – bio PDF and check out some of his great press here – press PDF.

Chicago-based soprano Michelle Areyzaga is a revelation – pure beautiful tone, lovely stage presence, wonderful acting and just a pleasure to behold and to be around. She was my “muse” when I was in Chicago and she starred in three summer operas that I produced in 2002, 2003, and 2006.

Two performances remain of Donizetti’s Elixir of Love at DuPage opera on July 24 and 26. Michelle recently wrote: “I’m currently in rehearsals for a really great production of Elixir of Love at DuPage Opera Theatre. This is romantic comedy paired with glorious music. My leading man is John Sumners whom you may remember as my Rodolfo in La Boheme a couple of summers ago. And Michael La Tour (my favorite!) is directing. we are really enjoying our work and I think you will love the finished product! I hope you will join me if you can.”

I first met Colleen McHugh in Chicago when she was just beginning to publicly attract attention for her extraordinary singing. An accomplished comedienne and improv performer, Colleen is also blessed with a lovely, powerful voice and excels in heartbreaking and hilarious interpretations of songbook standards. In November of 2008 she started a monthly residency – “Calendar Girl” – at the Duplex in New York. Now in its ninth month, on Monday July 13th, the series will feature  Colleen’s Bastille Day French-themed show. McHugh promises”beautiful music, improvisation, sparkling cocktails, witty banter – a true celebration of all the things you love (and love to hate) about the French.” Featuring songs by Piaf, Bricusse, Porter, Legrand, Gershwin, and more! Special Chicago guests Miriam Plotkin and Chuck Larkin appear in this hilarious, always-sold-out, soignee soiree!

$25 Cover & a 2 Drink Minimum
Time: 9:30pm-10:30pm
Online reservations