Music Meets Drama

 When my phone rang this morning with the caller being a friend from Bar Harbor, Maine, where I had performed countless times with conductor Shirley Smith, I knew what news might be coming.  Shirley had died yesterday.  A large Maine coast ocean wave of sadness washed over me.  Shirley…..how does one describe Shirley Smith?   Down home, no nonsense, wore jeans, t shirts and sneakers to rehearsal, rugged enough to survive numerous brutal Maine winters and damaging ice storms, honest, sentimental, lover of dogs, a good musician and organist, a good conductor, crazy sense of humor whose contagious laughter sent sparks of delight through a room.   For 23 years she led the Acadia Choral Society in programs from the Mozart “Requiem,”   Verdi’s “Requiem,” opera choruses, Purcell’s “Ode on St. Cecilia,” a staged version of “Dido and Aeneas,” Brahms’ “Requiem,” creative Holiday programs and much more.   Her chorus was always well prepared and her orchest...

  The Vienna Philharmonic was founded in 1844.   For the first time in their 180 years of male exclusivity, the Vienna Philharmonic has invited a woman to conduct a subscription concert.   180 years of misogyny!   Breaking that 180 year record, Lithuanian born Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla will make her debut with the orchestra on May 3, 2025.     She is the former music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony, has conducted at the Bavarian State Opera and the Proms.   She is the first female conductor to sign an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon.     Another hurdle for women conductors was made at the Metropolitan Opera.   Since the 1880s the Metropolitan Opera has had only four women conductors grace their podium including Sarah Caldwell, Simone Young, Jane Glover and Susanna Mälkki. On April 19 th Oksana Lyniv conducted Puccini’s “Turandot,” April 20 th Speranza Scappucci conducted Puccini’s “La Rodine,” April 23 rd saw Ma...

  Over the years that I have written my blog, Arthur P. Schmidt publisher, has been the topic of three of my postings.   His company, The Arthur P. Schmidt Co. of Boston, Leipzig and New York, was a premiere music publishing company of the era.   As I have said in my previous posts, Mr. Schmidt promoted American composers and in particular American women composers.   He was a person of vision, of musical integrity with his belief in our nation’s composers.   BRAVO, Mr. Schmidt. Recently an October 2017 blog posting titled, “Why don’t we talk about Arthur P. Schmidt”? came to my attention.   The blog was written by a student at St. Olaf  College in Minnesota who was taking the course: Music 345: Race, Identity, and Representation in American Music .    What struck me about this posting was the sense of discovery, observation, understanding of the music world in the world of business, conclusions made and a new awareness of the important ...

  It is an honor to have been chosen to be one of four presenters at the first "CCM Speaks."  The College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati has invited alumni to give presentations about a  “ pivotal project or moment in your career that challenged you to think outside the box, take action, and do something new.”   On Friday, April   19 th  at 7 PM in the Cohen Family Studio Theater at the Conservatory, I will present “Gena Branscombe:   A   Woman Composer Lost – Now Found.”   Below is the hyperlink to the event. https://www.alumni.uc.edu/get-involved/college-networks/ccm/ccm-speaks.html?fbclid=IwAR1vljDG_j5qz7-652dGQH67xZee52aC4lmUaQ2XdlHIdhsr_ak6NjiY6LA #BringingBackBranscombe

The Gena Branscombe Project is proud to announce that  applications for its 2024 scholarships  are now open! Go to our website: www.thegenabranscombeproject.com   #BringingBackBranscombe

  T hank you to the Boston Landmarks Orchestra for creating and making available this video about Gena Branscombe!  Click on the hyperlink below.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59uVv5awSQA With Miss Branscombe's close ties to Boston, I hope that some day the orchestra will program her "Pilgrims of Destiny."   #BringingBackBranscombe

  On Monday, February 12 th , the Colleges of the Fenway Orchestra rehearsed Gena Branscombe’s 1914 piece, “Festival Prelude/Festival March.”     What made this rehearsal special?   It is the first rehearsal and soon to be first performance of the original orchestration of this piece in over 100 years.   And, to add more to this explanation, the original orchestral work is in Miss Branscombe’s manuscript at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.   From scanned photos of the manuscript, the piece was transcribed into Finale, note by note by note, for the rehearsal to happen!     Damali Willingham, The Gena Branscombe Project’s 2020 Composer scholarship winner, took on the task of re-creating the score from its original instrumentation.  When a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Damali arranged this same piece for wind ensemble and conducted the performance in Spring 2022.  Damali is one talented musician and ...