November 13, 2009
Tekeeyah Concerto for Shofar/Trombone and Orchestra World Premiere
World Premiere Performances of Meira Warshauer’s Concerto for
Shofar/Trombone and Orchestra on November 15 in Brevard, NC and November
17 in Columbia, SC
Composer Meira Warshauer’s Tekeeyah (a call) - Concerto for Shofar/Trombone and Orchestra, will be given Premiere performances with the Brevard Philharmonic on November 15 –
3 PM at
Porter Center for the Performing Arts of Brevard College,
1 Brevard College Dr. in Brevard, North Carolina
and
with the University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra
on November 17 –
7:30 PM at
the Koger Center for the Arts
1051 Greene St. in
Columbia, South Carolina.
Shofar/trombone virtuoso Haim Avitsur will be soloist at both performances. The November 15 Brevard Philharmonic will be led by their Conductor and Artistic Director Donald Portnoy in a program that also includes works by Brahms and Borodin. More about the concert and the Philharmonic at http://www.boamusic.org/bp.htm.
The November 17 University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra will again be led by their Conductor and Artistic Director Donald Portnoy in a program that also includes works by Berlioz, Schubert and Tchaikovsky. More about this concert and the USC Symphony at http://www.music.sc.edu/ea/orchestra/index.html.
Tekeeyah (a call) is the first concerto written for shofar/trombone soloist and orchestra and was commissioned by a consortium of orchestras that includes the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Steven Errante, Conductor, Brevard Philharmonic, University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra, Donald Portnoy, Conductor and Artistic Director, Western Piedmont Symphony (Hickory, NC), John Gordon Ross, Music Director and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Neal Gittleman, Music Director along with Lilly Stern and Bruce Filler, and Linda and Bill Stern in loving memory of their parents, Jadzia and Ben Stern.
The composer, who began work on Tekeeyah (a call) during a residency at the MacDowell Colony in spring of 2008, has written this about the piece, “I believe this is a time which calls for awakening to our true essence as human beings. Our planet needs us, and we need each other, to care for and heal our suffering world. The shofar (ram’s horn), with its natural power and centuries of service in calling Jews to awaken, can be an important instrument in this collective renewal of purpose.” Read her complete program notes at http://www.meirawarshauer.com/NEW/pages/Program_notes/tekeeyah_notes.html. Read an online article about the new work at http://www.readthebeatmagazine.com/Oct09-Warshauer-Classical.htm.
Israeli trombonist Haim Avitsur has premiered over 60 new pieces encompassing a broad range of styles from solo trombone to chamber music and orchestra. Mr. Avitsur is Trombone Professor at West Chester University School of Music (PA) and at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, NY. From 2004-2007 Haim Avitsur was on the faculty of the University of Virginia as well as the Principal Trombonist of the Charlottesville Symphony Orchestra. In 2005 he founded the Summer Trombone Workshop, which has a U.S. residency at Temple University. Much more about him at http://www.haimavitsur.com/.
Meira Warshauer’s music, performed internationally to critical acclaim, reflects her personal spiritual journey and communicates directly to the heart and soul of the listener. She has received many important awards and is the Nancy A. Smith Distinguished Visitor in Residence at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC.
Ms. Warshauer has devoted much of her creative output to Jewish themes and their universal message. Bracha for violin and piano was recorded for the Feminissimo CD on Albany Records, which has also released her acclaimed Streams in the Desert disk of Torah-based choral/orchestral works. Her work also reflects a love and concern for the earth. A profile of her Symphony No.1: Living, Breathing Earth was featured on the nationally broadcast PRI radio show Living on Earth in Spring, 2007, during the symphony’s premiere season with commissioning orchestras Dayton Philharmonic, South Carolina Philharmonic, and Western Piedmont Symphony.
Warshauer's music is published by Oxford University Press, Hildegard, Lauren Keiser Music, World Music Press and Kol Meira Publications. Her website is at http://www.meirawarshauer.com and press photos are available at http://www.meirawarshauer.com/NEW/pages/presskit.html. Her Like Streams in the Desert video is on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18OqrQV8z1U&feature=related.
Posted by jmwc at November 13, 2009 03:31 PM