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News
Conference Appoints Marilyn Bell as Executive Director
[5 March 2010]
The Chamber Music Conference is pleased to announce the conclusion of its
Executive Director search with the appointment of Marilyn Bell to this position,
effective March 1, 2010.
Marilyn, a pianist, has been deeply involved in the Conference for many
years. She previously held the positions of both Administrative Director and
Executive Director, during the 1980's and the early 1990's. She then stepped
aside in pursuit of other career interests, which included several years as
principal in a New York City school. Having retired from that position, she is
now available to provide us with the time and leadership that the CMC post
demands. We look forward to Marilyn's guiding the administrative apparatus of
the Conference during the coming summer and succeeding years.
Glick Fund Commissions Wind Quintet by Paul Moravec
[5 March 2010]
The Jacob Glick Memorial Endowment Fund of the Chamber Music Conference has
commissioned a new work for wind quintet by
Paul Moravec. The
quintet will receive its first performances at the 2010
Conference, on the July 24 and August 7 concerts
presented by the Conference faculty.
Paul Moravec, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Music, has
composed over one hundred orchestral, chamber, choral, lyric, film, and
electro-acoustic compositions. His music has been described as "tuneful,
ebullient and wonderfully energetic" (San Francisco Chronicle),
"riveting and fascinating" (NPR), and "assured, virtuosic" (Wall
Street Journal). The New York Times recently praised his
quartet, Vince & Jan: 1945, with, "This masterly miniature
conveyed warm nostalgia, buoyant swing and wartime unease."
The Jacob Glick Memorial Endowment Fund was established by the Conference to
perpetuate the memory of Jack Glick (1926-1999), former music director and
long-time faculty violist at the Conference. A primary purpose of the fund is
the commissioning of original chamber works for performance at the Conference. The
Paul Moravec quintet is the third work to be commissioned by the Glick Fund.
The 2009 Mallory Commission: Daniel Strong Godfrey, “Dances in Checkered Shade”
[12 June 2009]
This summer, in Week 0 and Week 2, our distinguished faculty will perform the premiere of Daniel Strong Godfrey’s “Dances in Checkered Shade” for clarinet, string trio, and piano. The work, commissioned by the Conference, is dedicated to Frank Mallory, a very fine clarinet player and a Conference participant since 1986. Frank is a past member of the Conference Board of Directors (1992-2006) and Executive Committee (1993-2006). He has always been a strong advocate of the Composers’ Forum and contemporary music in general. Frank’s passion for the Conference and his wisdom, intelligence, and gentle, reflective style made him an especially beloved and valued member of the Board and the Executive Committee, and when he stepped down, the Board decided to raise funds for the “Mallory Commission” as a gift to him. We are delighted to present Dan Godfrey’s piece, “Dances in Checkered Shade,” with gratitude for Frank’s contributions and loyalty to the Conference.
Glick Fund Commissions Piano Quintet by Gabriela Lena Frank
[22 July 2007]
The Jacob Glick Memorial Endowment Fund of the Chamber Music Conference has
commissioned a new work for piano quintet by Gabriela Lena Frank. Tres Homenajes:
Compadrazgo will receive its first performances at the 2007
Conference, on the July 28 and August 11 concerts,
with the composer performing as pianist.
Praised by the Washington Post as a composer of "unself-conscious mastery,"
Gabriela Lena Frank represents the next generation of American composers. Her
compositions incorporating South American mythology, art, poetry, and folk music
into western classical forms reflect her Peruvian-Jewish heritage and have been
heard across North and South America. As a concert pianist, Frank recently recorded a CD of music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Leslie
Bassett and is featured on a forthcoming CD of her chamber music. Her catalogue contains works for solo
piano, voice, string quartet, ensemble, and orchestra and is published
exclusively by G. Schirmer.
The Jacob Glick Memorial Endowment Fund was established by the Conference to
perpetuate the memory of Jack Glick (1926-1999), former music director and
long-time faculty violist at the Conference. A primary purpose of the fund is
the commissioning of original chamber works for performance at the Conference. Tres Homenajes:
Compadrazgo is the second work to be commissioned by the Glick Fund.
Conference Appoints Phillip Bush as Music Director
[27 January 2007]
The Chamber Music Conference has appointed Phillip Bush as its Music
Director, starting with the Summer 2007 Conference. Mr. Bush is a pianist with
distinguished experience as a solo and chamber music performer, as a teacher and
chamber music coach, and as founder and administrator of a chamber music
festival. He is the recipient of numerous awards, has collaborated with an
extensive array of prominent artists and composers, is an advocate for
contemporary music, and has a superb reputation in the professional music world.
To read more about Mr. Bush, see his web site: www.phillipbush.com.
Conference Featured in Chamber Music Magazine
[22 July 2005]
The April 2005 edition of Chamber Music, the magazine published by
Chamber Music America, featured an article by Laura Schiller entitled
"Professionals on the Amateur Scene." The piece contains interviews with several
Conference coaches and participants and is a wonderful portrait of the chamber music
life that members of the Conference community enjoy.
Click here to download
the article in PDF format. (The PDF file is about 2 MB.) This format requires Adobe Acrobat
Reader. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can get a free copy here.
The article is reprinted and posted on this web site with permission from the
author, the magazine, and the photographers whose works are featured (Claire
Stefani's photo of Eriko Sato; Robert Sargent Fay's "Bare Feet at Apple Hill";
and Ted Rust's "Raphael Trio amateur cellist").
Conference Faculty Record 60th Anniversary CD
[16 January 2005; updated 9 December 2005]
To mark the 60th anniversary of the Chamber Music
Conference in 2005, members of the Conference faculty recorded a CD
featuring works by Senior Composer-in-Residence Donald Crockett and past
Composer-in-Residence Allen Shawn.
The works by Crockett include the quintet La Barca (1999)
for horn, strings, and piano and the quartet The Ceiling of Heaven (2003)
for piano and strings. The Ceiling of Heaven is the first Jacob Glick
Memorial Commission and received its world premiere performances during the 2004
Conference.
The works by Shawn, a Bennington-based composer,
include Sleepless Night (1996) for string quartet and Wind Quintet No.
2 (2001), which was commissioned by an ensemble of Chamber Music Conference
participants.
Performers include Conference faculty members Joseph Anderer,
Edward Arron, Nicholas Cords, Joseph Gottesman, Shem Guibbory, Marianne Gythfeldt,
Sue Ann Kahn, Jacqueline Leclair, David Oei, Michael Finckel, Renee Jolles,
Maxine Neuman, Sheila Reinhold, Eriko Sato, Lauren G. Stubbs, Elizabeth Wright,
and Masako Yanagita.
The CD was released by Albany Records.
Recording engineer for the CD was Da-Hong Seetoo.
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