FOCUS 2006: William Bolcom
November 2 – 5
Gamble Auditorium, Kulas Musical Arts Building
96 Front Street, Berea, Ohio
That William Bolcom's compositions are frequently recorded and performed by the world's leading musical institutions is testimony to his stature as a living "national treasure." His work with American vernacular styles and in theatrical modes has been a strong impulse in his music making, both as a composer and a performer. As he explains, “My explorations in all sorts of music from America’s past have been to learn the roots of our musical language, so that I can build from them.” A student of Darius Milhaud and Oliver Messiaen, Mr. Bolcom has had a number of honors bestowed upon him, including the Pulitzer Prize for Music, two Koussevitzky Foundation Awards, two Guggenheim Fellowships, several Rockefeller Foundation Awards and NEA Grants, the Marc Blitzstein Award from the Academy of Arts and Letters, the Michigan Council for the Arts Award, and the Governor's Arts Award from the State of Michigan.
In recent years, Bolcom has been commissioned by many prestigious performing organizations, including the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony, the Boston Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Orpheus Ensemble, among others. Resulting works have included Lyric Concerto for James Galway and the St. Louis Symphony, A View from the Bridge and McTeague for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Fifth Symphony for the Philadelphia Orchestra, Sonata for Cello and Piano for Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax, GAEA, a double piano concerto for Leon Fleisher, Gary Graffman, the Baltimore, St. Louis, and Pacific Symphonies, Piano Quartet No. 2 for the Beaux Arts Trio with clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, and Sixth Symphony for the National Symphony Orchestra. For their 100th anniversary, the University of Michigan Band commissioned the Concert Suite for Saxophone and Band. Other commissions have included the Carnegie Hall Centennial, for which he wrote a song cycle with texts by American women poets, ballet scores for the Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Murray Louis Troupe, and the commissioned work for the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1997. His extended three-hour work, Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience has been performed in many music centers in Europe and the United States. Mr. Bolcom is well represented on recordings as pianist, composer, and with his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris. The Seattle native is the Ross Lee Finney Distinguished Professor of Composition at the University of Michigan.
Schedule of Events
Featured composer for the 2006 FOCUS Festival William Bolcom will be on campus October 30 to November 5, 2006 meeting with students and coaching ensembles, students and faculty in preparation for the following events which are open to the public.
Thursday, November 2 at 2:50 pm
Bolcom’s Caberet Songs
Featuring B-W Conservatory student performances as coached by William Bolcom
Free and open to the public
Friday, November 3 at 2:50 pm
Conversation with the Composer
Bolcom participates in an open question and answer session
Free and open to the public
Friday, November 3 at 8:00 pm
American Popular Song Recital
Joan Morris, mezzo-soprano; William Bolcom, piano
A recital presented in association with the Art Song Festival at Baldwin-Wallace College will include songs from the late 19th-century through the 1920s and ‘30s, the latest songs by Leiber and Stoller, and cabaret songs by Bolcom and poet-lyricist Arnold Weinstein.
Saturday, November 4 at 8:00 pm
Honorary Degree Convocation and Large Ensemble Concert
Virtuosity Rag
Brass Quintet
Song for Band
A Ceremonial for Winds
Baldwin-Wallace Wind Ensemble; Dwight Oltman conducting
Selections from Songs of Innocence and Experience
Winner of 4 Grammy Awards in 2006 – Ohio Premiere
Nanette Canfield, soprano; Joanne Uniatowski, mezzo soprano;
JR Fralick, tenor; Timothy Mussard, tenor; Steel Burkhardt, tenor
Baldwin-Wallace Symphony Orchestra, College Choir and B-W Singers; Dwight Oltman conducting
Sunday, November 5 at 2:00 pm (note earlier time)
Chamber Music Recital
Aubade for oboe and piano
Jeffrey Rathbun, oboe; Eriko Izumida, piano
Capriccio for violoncello and piano
Regina Mushabac, cello; Mitsuko Morikawa, piano
Let Evening Come for soprano, viola and piano
Nanette Canfield, soprano; Louise Zeitlin, viola; Stuart Raleigh, piano
Graceful Ghost Rag for violin and piano
Wei Shu Co, violin; Robert Mayerovitch, piano
Suite for violin and violoncello
Julian Ross, violin; Regina Mushabac, cello
Featuring B-W Conservatory faculty performances as coached by William Bolcom
Subscriptions and single tickets available NOW!
All concerts are held in Gamble Auditorium of the Kulas Musical Arts Building, 96 Front Street, Berea, Ohio. Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s concerts have reserved tickets. Subscriptions for all three concerts are $30.00; single tickets are available, $15.00 for adults, $5.00 for students or free with a B-W ID. Please call (440)826-2207 for tickets.
The Baldwin-Wallace College FOCUS Contemporary Music Festival was established in 1984 as a complement to the annual Bach Festival. Its purpose is to promote art music of our time. During the past fifteen years FOCUS festivals have presented such celebrated composers as Loris Chobanian, John Corigliano, Lukas Foss, Karel Husa, Witold Lutoslawski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Gunther Schuller and Joseph Schwantner to the music community of Northeast Ohio. Join us this year for the exciting works and performance of William Bolcom.
275 Eastland Rd.