American Chamber Ensemble: “passionate performance” engages entire audience (Written for the Hofstra Chronicle)

On a Sunday afternoon, one wouldn’t expect to see a Hofstra University lecture hall completely filled. However, when the American Chamber Ensemble plays, it is always expected. The American Chamber Ensemble (ACE) performed their fall concert on Sunday, Oct. 26, drawing a typically large crowd to the Helene Fortunoff Theater in Monroe Lecture Center.

ACE is composed of talented Hofstra Music Department faculty Professor Blanche Abram, piano; Naomi Drucker, clarinet; Marilyn Lehman, piano; as well as Eriko Sato, violin and Chris Finckel, cello. This weekend’s performance also featured Stanley Drucker, a distinguished clarinetist, as their guest artist. ACE performed works by composers Frédéric Chopin, Bedrich Smetana, Igor Stravinsky, Francis Poulenc and Ludwig van Beethoven.

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Rock Electric Violinist: Mark Wood (Written for the Hofstra Chronicle)

String instruments are most often associated with Classical or Baroque music; elegant, sophisticated melodies played by clean cut musicians, in prestigious orchestras. However, the experience of listening to Mark Wood perform redefines the strings as pure rock instruments.

On Friday, March 28, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at The Helene Fortunoff Theater in Monroe Hall, the musician performed alongside Hofstra music students, as well as students from high schools in the surrounding communities.

Wood is an international recording artist, Emmy-winning composer, inventor, producer and original founding member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He attended Juilliard School of Music, studied with Leonard Bernstein at the Tanglewood Music Program and spent 13 years with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He created the first body electric violin in the early 1970s. Wood has worked alongside musicians like Billy Joel and Lenny Kravitz. And now he has performed beside our very own aspiring musicians on campus.

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Recital Review: Christine Flannery and Joe Brigandi– Accomplished flautist and shining singer senior recitals (written for the Hofstra Chronicle)

Christine Flannery

Music education major, senior Christine Flannery, performed in her senior recital for flute on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 8 p.m. at The Helen Fortunoff Theater in Monroe Lecture Hall. Dressed in a beautiful black and deep green pleated gown, Flannery performed a variety of flute-featured music, including works by composers such as Bach and Haydn. The most interesting piece performed was Density 21.5, a 20^th Century work, by Edgard Varèse. The solo piece uses the two contrasting elements of modal and atonal melodic ideas. Flannery sounded beautiful as she flowed between the pretty sounding modal sections and the harsh sounding atonal sections. Accompanied by pianist Elizabeth Rodgers, and Daniel Rivera on violin, Theresa Ruggles on viola, and Kailyn Tropeano on the cello, Christine showcased her talent and obvious knowledge of flute repertoire.

 

Joe Brigandi

 On Friday, Feb. 28, 2014 at 8pm at the Helen Fortunoff Theater in Monroe Lecture Hall, music merchandising major, Joe Brigandi, tenor, performed a senior recital to a nearly packed theater. Brigandi looked calm and collected throughout the entire performance, and presented himself as a professional in a sleek black suit with an elegant lavender tie. Pieces were performed in English, German, Italian, and French, and spanned a variety of genres from opera to a duet from The Secret Garden, with baritone and fellow senior, Alan Stentiford. One of the more memorable pieces performed was the love song, Pararme d’amore mariu, by Cesare Andrea Bixio. While the entire recital was wonderful, this piece in particular drew attention due to its softer sound, and beautiful lyrics. At the end of the recital, Brigandi received a well-deserved standing ovation with the entire audience on their feet, whistling and cheering in delight.

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Hofstra Opera Theater Presents: “Dido and Aeneas” and “L’Ivrogne Corrigé (The Reformed Drunk)” brilliantly entertaining (Written for the Hofstra Chronicle)

Every spring, the first week of the semester, the Playhouse is bustling with musicians, frantically running around. Tech week, as it’s referred to, is the final week of preparation before a show, usually filled with last minute changes and multiple run-throughs. And last week was no exception.

Every year the Music Department sponsors one of its biggest events of the year — the Opera.

Hofstra Opera Theater performed “Dido and Aeneas” and “L’Ivrogne Corrigé” on Friday, Jan. 31-Sunday, Feb. 3 in the John Cranford Adams Playhouse.

Under the direction of Isabel Milenski and Conductor Adam Glaser, Hofstra Opera Theater put on a wonderful performance.

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Hofstra Chorale and Chamber Choir: Angelic Cathedral Performance (Written for The Hofstra Chronicle)

Often, when one thinks of a cathedral they think of old, glorious European structures filled with heavenly voices singing the holy masses and hymns. This same beautiful sound was created throughout the Hofstra Chorale and Chamber Choir concert during their Nov. 15 annual fall concert at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City.

Conducted by Dr. David Fryling and accompanied by professor Matthew Koraus on the organ. The expansive space was filled with guests, not a pew was left empty – a testament to the talent of the groups.

The Hofstra Chamber Choir performed first, its members swiftly walking from the back of the cathedral and taking their places in front of the pews on the marble steps. The Chamber Choir’s set was a tribute to composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976). Music included “Te Deum in C,” “Choral Dances” from “Gloriana” and “Rejoice in the Lamb.”

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Musical: Gypsy, All Around Impressive Performance (written for The Hofstra Chronicle)

“Gypsy,” originally a Broadway show, tells the story of a mother who, in an attempt to make up for her failed showbiz career, pushes her daughters into performing.

The show is set in the 1920s. After uprooting her daughters from their Seattle home, the mother, Rose (Rita McCann), drags them around the country with her corny vaudeville acts in an attempt to make her children stars. The show follows Rose’s determined struggles and her stubbornness to never give up on her far-fetched dream.

The musical was the Hofstra Department of Drama and Dance’s fall musical, debuting at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse last Friday, Oct. 18.

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Alumni Recital – Professor Deutsch Steals the Show with His Synthesizer (written for The Hofstra Chronicle)

If you had been taking a stroll through South Campus on Friday night, your ears would have directed you straight to Monroe Hall where concert was being held. You would have heard the soft, light sound of early music, the emotional arias from Italian operas and even the fast, rhythmic beats of modern electronic dance music.

Graduates of the music department performed at the Alumni Recital and Scholarship Benefit Concert on Friday, Sept. 20, at the Helene Fortunoff Theater in Monroe Hall. Musicians showcased their mastery of music since taking lessons at the University.

The most exciting part of the recital was a performance by Herbert Deutsch on the Moog Voyager, a type of synthesizer. Deutsch is both a professor emeritus and an alumnus from Hofstra’s class of 1956. Along with being a co-developer of the Moog Synthesizer, he also created degree programs for jazz, composition/theory, and music merchandising at the University. The performance by Deutsch was mesmerizing, a piece titled “Baklava.” Overall, Deutsch and his performance seemed to be an audience favorite………

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