St Patrick's Day Gala -- March 12 at 8 PM in New York City!

March 6, 2011 - PRLog -- North/South Consonance, Inc. continues its 31st consecutive season of free-admission concerts on Monday evening March 14 when the acclaimed North/South Consonance Ensemble under the direction of its founder  Max Lifchitz presents premiere performances of recent works by  composers from Ireland and the US.  

   The composers represent three generations and are: Frank Corcoran,  Moon Young Ha,  Liviu Marinescu and Howard Quilling.

   Special guest for the occasion will be bass-baritone David Salsbery Fry.

   The concert will start at  8 PM and will take place at the auditorium of Christ & St. Stephen’s Church (120 West 69th St) in Manhattan.  Admission is free.

    The featured composers will be in attendance and will be happy to meet with the public during intermission and after the performance. The composers and the performers are available for interviews and may be contacted through the North/South office at  ns.concerts@att.net

   North/South Consonance’s 2010-11 season is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; grants from Columbia University’s Alice M. Ditson Fund as well as contributions by many generous individuals. This event is also funded in part by Culture Ireland.

   For further information about  North/South Consonance’s activities, including concerts and recordings, please visit http://www.northsouthmusic.org.

ABOUT THE COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC

  The program will feature the first performance of  the recently completed Songs of Terror and Love  for bass-baritone and ensemble by  the acclaimed Irish composer  Frank Corcoran (b. 1944). A cycle of four songs based on poetry by the 13th century Italian Franciscan friar and mystic Jacopone da Todi, Corcoran’s masterful vocal writing brings to life the complex and contradictory emotions implied by Todi’s texts.  In 1297 the poet was imprisoned for daring to expose and write about the corruption and vices of the court of Pope Bonifazio Ottavo. Corcoran’s setting combines the original Umbran dialect with his own English translation. The vocal soloist is accompanied by a Pierrot –like ensemble consisting of violin, cello, flute, clarinet and piano.  

   A native of Tipperary, Ireland, Frank Corcoran studied in Dublin, Rome and Berlin before joining the faculty of the Hamburg Conservatory in Germany in 1983. A Fulbright Fellow, Corcoran has taught and lectured at various universities in this country including Princeton, Harvard, Cal Arts and Indiana. His works have been performed and broadcast throughout Europe, Asia, Canada and the US. His participation in this program was made possible by a grant from Culture Ireland.

   Also on the program will be the first New York performance of Moto Perpetuo by  Liviu Marinescu  (b. 1970) -- the Romanian-born composer now residing in Los Angeles and teaching at the Northridge campus of  the California State University. Marinescu’s  dynamic style has been  described by the press as exhibiting “...real expressive power , startling moments and majestic assertiveness .” His works have been heard throughout Europe and the US. Employing an ensemble consisting of violin, flute, cello and piano, Marinescu’s work is based on a steady, almost obsessive repetition of a simple melodic idea introduced at the very opening of the piece.

   Moon Young Ha’s  Fairy Tale  will open the second half of the concert. Employing an ensemble consisting of flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, Fairy Tale was inspired by the bedtime stories the composer heard most every night from his  father. Some tales were happy while others sad; a few were scary and others mysterious.
The composer hopes that  “when listening to his work, members of the public will remember their own childhood stories and experiences allowing the fairy tales in the music to come to life.”  Born in 1980, Ha is currently a doctoral student in composition at New York University. His style combines western and non-western classics, jazz and pop. His concert works has been heard in France, Holland, Lithuania, Argentina, Canada as well as in several US cities.

   Howard Quilling (b. 1937; Oklahoma) grew up in California’s picturesque Napa Valley. He received his formal training at the University of Southern California and at the Santa Barbara campus of the University of California. Active as an organist, Quilling served as composer-in-residence at Bakersfield College for more than 25 years and now heads the New Directions Concert Series sponsored by the Bakersfield Symphony. Anticipation is a joyful  work in one movement for clarinet,  violin, cello and piano.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

   Bass-baritone David Salsbery Fry is receiving vast attention from opera companies throughout the US and abroad. He has appeared at the New York City Opera; the Santa Fe Opera;  Opera Cleveland; the Theatre Municipal de Castres in France; the  Metropolitan Opera Workshop; and Tanglewood.  Originally from Mount Joy, PA Fry is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and The Juilliard School.   The press commented on  “....his marvelous voice....allowing him to bring new life to the frightening passages as the Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.”  It also described how  as Polyphemus in Acis and  Galatea  “.....he threw marvelous wild tantrums, while plunging securely down in his range.”

  Active as composer and conductor, Max Lifchitz has appeared on concerts and recitals throughout Europe, the US and Latin America.  Payton MacDonald, writing for the American Record Guide, remarked that  “Mr. Lifchitz is as good on the podium as he is behind the piano.” And Jack Sullivan described him  as “a consummate musician .....one of America’s finest exponents of contemporary piano music,” As a pianist Mr. Lifchitz has released 9 highly praised compact disc albums  featuring piano music by composers from the Americas and appears as collaborative artist or conductor on many more.

   Since 1980, NORTH/SOUTH CONSONANCE has garnered widespread praise for its eloquent performances of music by composers of our time. This adventurous ensemble has brought to the attention of the New York public over 900 different works by emerging and established composers from every corner of the world.
   The press has favorably acknowledged the many attractive CD albums issued by NORTH/SOUTH RECORDINGS. "Enthusiastic performances...enough to express the boiling power of the music" is how The Philadelphia Inquirer greeted North/South Recordings No. 1003. The Washington Post declared that N/S R No. 1004 contains "intriguing instrumental works, works that span the emotions from pain to ecstasy.” Fanfare Magazine remarked as follows on the recently released Carnaval/Carnival (N/S R 1028): “Recorded within days of the September 11 attack, the performances all glow.”

# # #

A non-profit organization devoted to the promotion, performance and recording of music by living composers.