St. Louis classical calendar for the week of February 19, 2018

Robert Aiki Aubrey Loew

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New Music Circle presents Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe performing on modular synthesizer, electronics, voice, and video on Saturday, February 24, at 8 p.m. "Beginning with his solo electronic work in the late-nineties, Lowe's vernacular has continually evolved deeper into a world comprised of spontaneous electronic sound, droning modular synthesizer, and vocal improvisations. Lowe was a vital part of the thriving Chicago underground for some thirteen years before eventually moving to his current home in Brooklyn, where he entered a new chapter of musical creativity. Enamored with the possibilities of electronics, he began exploring the pliable workings of modular synthesizers: 'They're interchangeable, and have the potential to be ever-transforming,' he enthuses. Upon listening to his recorded works, one encounters Lowe's intuitive method of using analog modular systems to echo the organic nature of the human voice to produce subliminal, trance-like sounds." The performance takes place at Urb Arts, 2600 N. 14th Street in Old North St. Louis. For more information: newmusiccircle.org.

Kevin McBeth conducts the St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON Chorus and soloist Oleta Adams in Lift Every Voice, a concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The performance takes place on Friday, February 23, at 7:30 pm. "Join the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Grammy-nominated guest Oleta Adams and the IN UNISON Chorus for an evening of reflective and soulful music that has influenced not only St. Louis, but communities around the world." The concert takes place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents a showing of the Alfred Hitchcock classic North by Northwest Saturday at 7 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, February 17 and 18. The orchestra will play the score live to accompany the film. The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The University City Symphony Orchestra

The University City Symphony Orchestra presents Focus on St. Louis on Sunday, February 25, at 3 p.m. "Join us as we feature and celebrate local artists Bill Hopkins (guitar), Ryan Janus (saxophone), Timothy Jansen (piano) and Robert McNichols, Jr. (bass-baritone). At 2:15pm, the soloists will join Maestro Burke for the pre-concert talk. The concert is FREE and open to the public." The performance includes the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 alsong with music by Kenneth Fuchs, Nkeiru Okoye, and Francisco de Paula Magdaleno, and takes place at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information: ucso.org.

Washngton University's Danforth University Center Chamber Music Series presents a concert by violinist Wendy Toh and pianist Xi Chen on Wednesday, February 21, at 7:30 p.m. The concert includes music by Bartok, Janacek, Victoria Bond and Morton Gould, and takes place at the Goldberg Formal Lounge in the Danforth University Center on the Washington University Campus. For more information: music.wustl.edu

The Washington University Department of Music presents Revisiting the Origins of the Italian Madrigal, a lecture by Julie Cumming, Associate Professor of Music History in the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, on Friday, February 23 at 3 pm. "Julie Cumming is the author of The Motet in the Age of Du Fay (Cambridge University Press, 1999), in which she explores the transformation of the motet from 1400-1474. Cumming has published articles and reviews in Speculum (the journal of the Medieval Academy of America), the Journal of Musicology, New Grove Opera, and Early Music, as well as in numerous edited collections, including the Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music. Her current work looks at fifteenth- and sixteenth-century compositional process, with emphasis on the connections between historical improvisation and composition. " The concert, which includes music by Mozart, Saint-Saëns, and Astor Piazzola, takes place in the Lee Concert Hall at the 560 Music Center at 560 Trinity in University City. For more information, music.wustl.edu or call 314-935-5566.

The Washington University Department of Music presents a Senior Recital of musical theatre songs by singer Janie Herbener on Saturday, February 24, at 3 pm. "Janie Herbener is a senior, double majoring in Traditional Mathematics and Music. When she's not in class, she spends most of her time with her musicals, movies, and soundtracks a cappella group, The Ghost Lights, of which she is the Music Director."  The concert, which includes music from Gypsy, Wonderful Town, Fun Home, and My Fair Lady, takes place in the Recital Hall at the 560 Music Center at 560 Trinity in University City. For more information, music.wustl.edu or call 314-935-5566.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of October 2, 2017

The Pulitzer Arts Foundation presents members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday, October 4, at 7:30 p.m.  The performance takes place in the newly renovated space at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 3716 Washington.  For more information: pulitzerarts.org/program/st-louis-symphony-concert-series.

The St. Louis Classical Guitar Society presents a Great Artist Guitar Series concert with Xavier Jara on Saturday, October 7, at 8 p.m.  "Born in Arlington, Minnesota of an American mother and Chilean father, Xavier Jara studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in the class of Olivier Chassain. He is winner of four international competitions, most recently at the Guitar Foundation of America in 2016. Just 24 years old, Xavier is yet another stunning new talent in his St. Louis debut!" The performance takes at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Road.  For more information: guitarstlouis.net.

Leonard Slatkin conducts The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, with pianist Garrick Ohlsson, in muisic by Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Christopher Rouse on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., October 6 and 7. The performances takes place at Powell Hall in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Washington University Department of Music presents a Department of Music Lecture by trombonist, composer, and improviser Steve Swell on Thursday, October 6th, at 4 p.m.  "Steve Swell, born in Newark, New Jersey, has been living, working and performing in New York City his entire adult life. In the mid-seventies he studied with Roswell Rudd, Grachan Moncur III and Jimmy Knepper after attending Jersey City State Teacher’s College. He's toured and recorded with such diverse jazz personalities as mainstreamers Lionel Hampton and Buddy Rich, to so-called outsiders like Anthony Braxton and Jemeel Moondoc. Swell has 40 recordings as a leader or co-leader and is a featured artist on more than 100 other releases. His CD, "Suite For Players, Listeners and Other Dreamers", recorded on the CIMP label, was ranked number 2 in the 2004 Cadence Readers Poll." The ecent takes place in room 102 of the Music Classroom Building on the Washington University campus.  For more information, music.wustl.edu or call 314-935-5566.

The Washington University Department of Music presents Songs and Rhythms of Spain, featuring Nerea Berraondo, mezzo-soprano and the Kingsbury Ensemble on Sunday, October 8, at 7 p.m.  "Since the Baroque era, Spanish music has exhibited a well-defined national style, due to its popular dance rhythms, and its melodies full of emotion and spontaneity. This program will highlight hidden treasures of the Spanish Baroque, including works by Jose de Torres, Sebastian Duron, Santiago de Murcia, and Diego Ortiz. Through their music, Nerea Berraondo and the Kingsbury Ensemble musicians will bring to life this repertoire sparkling with the warmth and colors of Spain." The program takes place at the 560 Music Center at 560 Trinity in University City.  For more information, music.wustl.edu or call 314-935-5566.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of October 17, 2016

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The Collegium Vocale of St. Louis presents The Splendors of Rome: Music of the early 18th Century on Sunday, October 23, at 2 p.m. " The Collegium Vocale of St. Louis will present a concert of music heard in Rome in the early 18th century, featuring a performance of Francesco Durante's celebrated “Magnificat”, Other composers including Palestrina, Pitoni, Severi, and Stradella, The singers of Collegium Vocale of St. Louis will be supported by period instruments." The concert takes place at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (Old Cathedral), 209 Walnut Street on the riverfront. For more information: CollegiumVocaleofSaintLouis.org.

The St. Louis Brass Band

The St. Louis Brass Band presents Bright, Bountiful, Brass on Sunday, October 23, at 2:30 p.m. " The first formal concert of the Saint Louis Brass Band will be presented at Lindbergh High School and will include a guest appearance by the Avon Indiana High School Brass Choir. The Brass Band will feature their English-style Brass Band mix of traditional and contemporary repertoire ranging from classical to marches to pop and jazz. Avon HS is one of the premiere high school music programs in the State of Indiana. The Brass Choir will perform several selections of their own and then the two groups will combine forces for a brass and percussion extravaganza." The concert takes place at Lindberg High School, 5000 S. Lindbergh Road in South County. For more information: stlbb.org.

Cristian Macelaru conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, with piano soloist Orli Shaham, on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. October 21 - 23. "Stormy, serene, romantic and tranquil, Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances is a stunning virtuoso showpiece for orchestra. Acclaimed by the New York Times as a “brilliant pianist,” Orli Shaham and rising conductor Cristian M_celaru present Beethoven's dramatic Piano Concerto No. 4." The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Town and Country Symphony Orchestra performs Space, the Final Frontier on Sunday, October 23, at 2:30 PM. "Our annual Halloween Concert will literally transport you to the magical world of outer space. Calling all Trekkies, Jedis, Astronauts, and other space junkies. Come in costume to enjoy some of the best movie music ever written and some classical tributes to space as well. Dr. Chiann-Yi Yawitz will be the soloist for Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1" The performance takes place in Ridgway Auditorium at The Principia, 13201 Clayton Road. For more information: tcsomo.org.

The Perseid String Quartet

The Washington University Department of Music presents the Perseid String Quartet in Leipzig 1843: An Evening with the Schumanns on Thursday, October 20, at 7:30 p.m. " The Perseid String Quartet recreates a joint concert that Robert and Clara Schumann gave in Leipzig on January 8, 1843. Alexander Stefaniak, Assistant Professor of Musicology, will speak about the Schumann partnership, an intricate collaboration between a prominent composer-critic and one of the most significant virtuoso pianists of the nineteenth-century. His talk will draw upon his recent book,Schumann's Virtuosity: Criticism, Composition, and Performance in Nineteenth-Century Germany." The performance takes place in the Goldberg Formal Lounge at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information: music.wustl.edu.

The Washington University Department of Music presents a bassoon recital and masterclas with Keith Sweger on Saturday, October 22, at 3 p.m. The performance takes place in the Goldberg Formal Lounge at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information: music.wustl.edu.