Philadelphia Music Roundup - January 2021

PHL round up banner.png

Happy New Year Everyone! Lots going on this month - including a couple of programs from us here at ACF Philadelphia - (January 14 - Mary Halvorson and Nick Millevoi; January 27 - Jennifer Higdon and Andrea Clearfield). There are also great streaming programs from Network for New Music, Lyric Fest, and Opera Philadelphia, and don’t miss the last month of the ICA’s Milford Graves exhibition.

Did we miss something? Events coming up in February? Let us know at calendar@acfphiladelphia.org.

January 2021 events

NETWORK FOR NEW MUSIC

Network for New Music continues its series Extraordinary Measures with a tribute to award-winning composer Richard Wernick. The program includes his Piano Sonata No. 3, Suite No. 1 for Solo Cello, and his Duo for Cello and Piano performed by Thomas Kraines & Charles Abramovic. The performance will be presented online Saturday January 9.


wernick3.jpg

OPERA PHILADELPHIA

Cycles of My Being, composed by Tyshawn Sorey, is a song cycle that centers on what it means to be a Black man living in America today. The San Francisco Chronicle called it “a work of both anguish and optimism, at once accusatory and stirring...whose traversal feels like a descent into a maelstrom followed by the emergence out the other side.”

Theater, opera, and rock collide in David T. Little's Soldier Song, an exploration of the life of the Soldier. Based on interviews with veterans of five wars, the piece boldly examines the impact of trauma, the exploitation of innocence, and the difficulty of expressing war's painful truths.

2U1A4419-1.jpg

LYRIC FEST

Lyric Fest adapts to music-making during a time of pandemic with a new format: a powerful virtual song-movie entitled #SayTheirNames. Renowned soprano Karen Slack has developed a program to present songs and readings that hold up the women who have, wittingly or unwittingly, been a catalyst for social change. The concert will be streamed on demand on the homepage of the Lyric Fest website starting Saturday, January 9, 2021 followed by a talk back on January 17, 2021.

KarenSlack.png

MORE STREAMING CONCERTS

  • On January 7th, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents violists Hsin-Yun Huang and Misha Amory with pianist Thomas Sauer performing contemporary works by George Walker, Luciano Berio, and others.

  • Bowerbird presents the first two programs of a new series, Liminal States, a new series of late night, live streamed concerts intended to be listened to as you fall asleep. The first concert is January 20th featuring Marilyn Nonken performing Morton Feldman’s Triadic Memories and on January 31, synth-musician Jeff Zeigler will perform a set from his home.

  • On January 30th Astral presents violinist Timothy Chinooi who will perform three selections: music from Vivaldi's timeless The Four Seasons, new arrangements of Uyghur folk music, and a sneak-preview of composer Carle Wirshba's Astral Micro Commission.

  • Relâche presents Improvisations by Ron Stabinksy on Sunday, January 31st. Join Ron in an intimate solo performance as he explores the possibilities of piano improvisation as only he can do.

ACF PHILADELPHIA

The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Composers Forum continues its Artist to Artist talks with two events in January.

On January 14, Mary Halvorson and Nick Millevoi, two preeminent composers and guitarists, will discuss their creative process, reflect on their artistic influences, and share recent work.

Then on January 27, two leading composers from Philadelphia will be featured: Jennifer Higdon and Andrea Clearfield.

MaryNickACF_Lg.png

ONLINE TALKS AND WORKSHOPS

  • The American Composers Forum (National) will present three workshops in January. On January 13, Gabriela Lena Frank talks with William Bolcom about his Symphony No. 9, from 2012. On January 20, ACF presents a Professional Development Panel on Entrepreneurship & Ensembles for Composers. Finally, on January 27, Mason Bates talks with John Corigliano about Corigliano’s work Circus Maximus (Symphony No. 3 for Large Wind Ensemble) from 2004. and

  • The Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia continues its series Dialogues with Dominick with MCP singer Rachele Armstrong. They will discuss a new work he will write specifically for the Mendelssohn Chorus during this moment in history for an upcoming virtual chorus project.

OTHER PROGRAMS

  • The Sound Museum Collective recently produced a new series designed as an introduction to synthesizers called “Patches n’ Pathways with Florence & Chris.”

  • Ars Nova Workshop’s exhibition Milford Graves A Mind-Body Deal at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia is coming to a close this month on January 24th.

JANUARY 2021 at a glance

CHRONOLOGICAL LISTING

ACF Philadelphia