Seattle Symphony violinist Elisa Barston (l) and soprano Ellaina Lewis (r), featured soloists in Philharmonia Northwest’s inaugural concert of the season
Seattle-based Philharmonia Northwest opens its season — and introduces its new music director, Michael Wheatley — on Sunday 13 October with a program titled Origin Story. The concert takes place at 2pm at the Shorecrest Performing Arts Center.
Wheatley has chosen four works central to his musical identity, beginning with Wojciech Kilar’s celebration of the folk traditions of Poland’s Tatra Mountains in Orawa. Seattle Symphony violinist Elisa Barston will be the soloist in Dvořák’s Romance in F minor and Ravel’s dazzling Tzigane.
The second half of the program will present soprano Ellaina Lewis in her Philharmonia Northwest debut as the soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, the last of the so-called Wunderhorn symphonies. Lewis, who is known locally for her appearances in Seattle Opera’s Blue and Porgy and Bess.
Following the concert, Michael Wheatley will appear in a Q&A talk-back with the audience.
In the years since Garth Greenwell published his 2016 debut novel, What Belongs to You, the 46-year-old novelist, poet, critic, and teacher has established himself as one of the most distinguished American writers at work today.
Garthwell, who at one point studied voice at the Eastman School of Music, is deeply knowledgable about opera and also writes fascinating and highly worthwhile music criticism. His own work will now be the subject of literary and music criticism alike, thanks to composer David T. Little’s adaptation of What Belongs to You to the opera stage.
Little adapted his own libretto from Garthwell’s text and has collaborated with the legendary choreographer Mark Morris as stage director and conductor Alan Pierson to reframe the novel for the opera medium.
What Belongs to Me “tells the story of a man caught between longing and resentment, unable to separate desire from danger, and faced with the impossibility of understanding those he most longs to know,” says Garthwell. Adds Little: “The story is specific and personal, but the experience Greenwell describes is universal: the search for self and the desire to belong amidst loneliness and enduring heartbreak.”
In his New York Timespreview, Joshua Barone describes Little’s musical response to the material: “There are flashes of rock, but it is largely inspired by Monteverdi and Schubert, as well as John Dowland, Giovanni Valentini and Gérard Grisey, taking cues from the Renaissance through the 20th century. There is even some Britten. Little called it all ‘a constellation of influences’ shaped by the material.”
“At its most shocking, Little’s music calls on the instrumentalists of Alarm Will Sound to sing, acting as a chorus to embody the hustler Mitko and the protagonist’s father during two pivotal, terrifying moments.”
This weekend, Mary D. Watkins‘s new opera Is This America?receives its premiere at Dorchester’s The Strand Theatre in a production presented by the activist performing arts company White Snake Projects(WSP), which was founded by Cerise Lim Jacobs. The 85-year-old Watkins has blazed the trail for other Black women composers in the field of opera.
This new, 90-minute-long, fully-staged opera celebrates the life and legacy of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer and features performances by the Massachusetts-based Victory Players chamber orchestra alongside a small ensemble of singers; mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel (Met Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago) will create the lead role of Hamer. Haitian American queer woman Pascale Florestal stage directs. Tickets available here.
(Content Warning: Is This America? contains very strong, racially-loaded language, and references to violence.)
Is This America? brings to life one of the most turbulent periods in American history to tell the story of Hamer, the great Mississippi activist who galvanized the registration of Black voters in her home state despite overwhelming odds, including death threats, beatings, and rejections by her own constituency.
The title of the work is taken from the iconic speech that Hamer made 60 years ago before the 1964 Democratic National Convention, when she petitioned the Convention to give her newly formed political party, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), seats at the Convention and to recognize the MFDP as the legitimate representative of the people of Mississippi. A year later, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices.
Is This America? is 15 years in the making. A chamber orchestra version was workshopped by the Oakland Opera Company in 2009. The first concert version was performed by the Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts in 2014. This WSP production marks the second Watkins premiere with the company; it commissioned her virtual opera I Am A Lifer, which is part of Death by Life (2021), the Company’s musical response to the death of George Floyd.
“My goal is to show the dignity and strength with which Fannie Lou Hamer and her fellow civil rights workers carried themselves in spite of the terror and dehumanizing treatment they were subjected to and to convey the great spirit of love that bound them together,” says Watkins. “Their story deserves to be told in a grand way – a way befitting the souls of the people who marched in the streets in the hot sun with such determination, singing through their fears while their opponents spat upon them, beat them, kicked them, called them vile names, terrorized their families, and imprisoned them. Is This America? is my salute to these beautiful, courageous people. I chose to tell Fannie Lou Hamer’s story as an opera because I wanted to use an art form that would capture the power and sweep of her life. I wanted to give full voice to this amazing African-American female political leader.”
Tazewell Thompson’s “Jubilee,” about the Fisk Jubilee Singers, will have its world premiere at Seattle Opera Oct. 12-26. (Jeffrey Henson Scales)
My picks for classical events in Seattle in the fall:
No matter how many other leisure-time options compete for our attention, there really is nothing to replace the connection that happens at a live performance. Fortunately for classical music lovers, local organizations are busting out a new season of enticing variety, from early music innovators to contemporary composers inspired by the findings of science. continue
It’s been a long wait … But Seattle Symphony has finally secured its next music director. Xian Zhangwill begin her five-year tenure at the start of the 2025-26 season, it was announced today. A fantastic choice.
This season, Zhang can be heard in two programs with SSO: Holst’s The Planets (paired with Billy Childs’s saxophone concerto Diaspora, with soloist Steven Banks) on March 27-20, 2025; and a Beethoven-Prokofiev program June 12-15, 2025 (with Hilary Hahn as the soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto).
From the press release:
The Seattle Symphony is pleased to announce Xian Zhang as its next Music Director, beginning a 5-year contract in the 2025/2026 season. Zhang is a long-term collaborator with the Symphony, debuting at Benaroya Hall in 2008. Zhang has a special relationship with Seattle; she supported the Seattle Symphony throughout the height of the pandemic as one of the first conductors to return to the stage with our orchestra. Throughout her career, Zhang has gained international acclaim, most notably in her eight seasons as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony and in her recent appearances as guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra (with which she won a Grammy in 2023), Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra, among others. Zhang also holds the positions of Artistic Ambassador of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano.
Her commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the arts has been a hallmark of her career. She has made a point of raising the profile of music composed by women and people of color while being a trailblazer herself. Zhang is the New Jersey Symphony’s first woman Music Director and the first woman to serve as Music Director of any Italian symphony orchestra. She will now be the first to lead a major West Coast orchestra.
Zhang brings boundless energy to the stage, inspiring a powerful sound and a strong connection with both musicians and audience. Most recently, she conducted the Seattle Symphony in performances of Carl Orff’s Carmina burana and Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, filling the house and impressing audiences with inspired pairings of well-known works with cutting-edge contemporary pieces. Zhang performs at Benaroya Hall twice during the 2024/2025 season as Music Director Designate. First, on March 27, 29 and 30, to conduct Holst The Planets: An HD Odyssey, also featuring saxophonist Steven Banks in a new concerto by American composer Billy Childs. Next, she conducts Hilary Hahn Plays Beethoven, on June 12, 14 and 15, featuring Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Prokofiev’s triumphant Fifth Symphony.
“I am overjoyed to be the next Music Director of the Seattle Symphony and continue creating music with this exceptional orchestra,” said Xian Zhang, Seattle Symphony Music Director Designate. “For many years, I have been inspired by the Symphony’s incredible talent and keen desire to bring new music to the stage. Joining the Seattle Symphony now feels like coming home. From my 2008 Benaroya Hall debut to joining the orchestra in 2020 for its careful return to live performances, I have long felt a special bond with these incredible musicians. Visiting Seattle has always been a treat as well, for its beautiful landscapes, and of course, to see the clear devotion audiences have for the local arts community. As Music Director, I look forward to connecting with audiences on a deeper level, experiencing inspiring concerts together and discovering new music at Benaroya Hall, one of my all-time favorite performance halls to conduct in. Thank you to all of the wonderful people I have been able to work with at the Seattle Symphony so far — musicians, board members and administrative staff. I look forward to a wonderful future together.”
“Today we are witnessing history being made with the appointment of Xian Zhang as the Music Director of the Seattle Symphony,” said Seattle Symphony President & CEO Krishna Thiagarajan. “Her passionate musicianship is inspiring, her technique is clear and precise and the resulting performances captivate our audiences in heart and soul. Xian was among the first conductors to return to the stage with our orchestra during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, she has forged strong bonds here in Seattle. In fact, her concerts rank among the highest-attended performances since audiences have returned to Benaroya Hall. As Seattle has grown into an important world city and gateway to the Pacific, Xian’s diverse expertise across Asian, Oceanian, European and American orchestras and music schools — from Beijing to New York, Melbourne to Milan — makes her the perfect choice to lead the orchestra in this new era. I am excited by the possibilities and personally could not be happier to gain such a wonderful colleague for our organization. I want to thank the Seattle Symphony search committee, musicians, staff and audiences, who all played a crucial role in this process, as we welcome Xian and her family to the Pacific Northwest. What seemed like a dream a few months ago has now become a reality. Welcome, Xian Zhang!”
“Xian Zhang’s outstanding performances with the orchestra during this search process easily made her a leading choice for Music Director of our Seattle Symphony,” said Susan Detweiler, MD, Seattle Symphony Music Director Search Committee Chair and Board Member. “Our musicians immediately responded to the depth of Xian’s artistry, producing performances that thrilled both us and the audience, making the Board confident that her extensive experience and deep understanding of classical repertoire will further enhance the Symphony’s artistic development. We eagerly await her return to the Seattle Symphony’s podium in March.”
Tippet Rise Art Center launches its ninth concert season on Friday, August 16. Running through September 15, it offers more than 25 indoor and outdoor performances over five weekends, including free pop-up concerts and family concerts and repertoire.
The season features four world premieres and the opening of a new outdoor performance venue, the Geode, designed by Arup. To mark this occasion, two special concerts are planned, including the world premiere of Àkweks Katyes (The Eagle Flies) (2024), a Tippet Rise commission by Grammy-nominated world music composer Dawn Avery, which the cellist Arlen Hlusko will perform, and flutist Claire Chase performing alongside shamisen player Hidejiro Honjoh in the world premiere of Dai Fujikura’s Reizei for flute and shamisen (2021).
The audience at the Geode will have a unique sonic and visual experience, experiencing music as if set indoors while amidst a breathtaking backdrop of seven surrounding mountain ranges.
The August 17 concert also presents the world premiere of Paul V. Cortez’s Hyacinth Garnishes from Bouquet Suite (2024), a work written as part of his participation in a Weill Music Institute program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. On August 18, mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska and pianist Kunal Lahiry make their Tippet Rise debuts with the North American premiere of composer and pianist Nahre Sol’s Apperceptive Algorithms(2022).
In addition to the world premiere of Dai Fujikura’s Reizei on August 24, Valentyn Silvestrov’s Twelve Waltzes of the Moment and One Serenade for violin and piano will be unveiled by Jennifer Frautschi and Evren Ozel on August 30 and 31. This is the eighth of ten works commissioned by Tippet Rise in 2022 from Silvestrov, Ukraine’s leading living composer.
The Wander series returns, which moves musicians and audience members among sculptures, returns on September 14. This year, the concert visits Ai Wei Wei’s Iron Treeand Patrick Dougherty’s DaydreamsandCursive Takes a Holiday. A group of wind players perform music by György Ligeti, Endre Szervánszky, Astor Piazzolla, and Samuel Barber.
James Robinson: Seattle Opera’s new General and Artistic Director
Seattle Opera has announced that James Robinson will be its next General and Artistic Director — the fifth person to lead the company in its 61-year history. Robinson begins his tenure in a little less than a month, on 4 September 2024. He replaces Christina Scheppelmann, who is taking on the reins as General and Artistic Director of La Monnaie/De Munt in Brussels starting in January 2025; she just completed her contract with Seattle Opera at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
From Seattle Opera’s press release:
Robinson comes to Seattle from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), where he has served as Artistic Director since 2008. During his tenure, Robinson transformed OTSL into one of the country’s most forward-looking opera festivals, commissioning 11 world premieres and presenting imaginative new productions of core repertoire. Many of these commissions have been recognized for their impact on the industry and produced by houses around the world. These include Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier, which was hailed in The New York Times’ “The Best of Classical Music 2018,” and Terence Blanchard’sChampion and Fire Shut Up in My Bones, the latter of which opened the 2021/22 season at the Metropolitan Opera, becoming the first work by a Black composer to appear on that stage.
As a stage director, Robinson has developed a rich portfolio, having directed at least 75 new productions at the world’s top theaters and over 30 world premieres. He has also seen success with productions of standard repertoire. Robinson’s production of the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess opened the 2019/20 season at the Metropolitan Opera, and later won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. And in January 2004, Robinson directed a blockbuster production of Georges Bizet’s Carmen at Seattle Opera that sold more tickets than any opera in company history.
“We are thrilled to have a leader of James’s caliber join us as General and Artistic Director of Seattle Opera,” said Jonathan Rosoff, chair of the search committee. “An accomplished stage director and administrator, James is widely recognized as a leading creative force in this industry, and his productions have appeared at many of the world’s most respected opera houses. Between his steadfast leadership, his impressive record of innovation, and his deep knowledge of opera, we are confident that James will make an immediate impact at Seattle Opera and lead the company into an exciting and inventive new era.”
“I couldn’t be more excited to be joining the tremendous staff and board at Seattle Opera,” said Robinson. “Seattle is an opera town. It has opera in its DNA, and I am honored to be able to build on that rich tradition. I can’t wait to get to work creating art with and for the passionate audiences that have made Seattle Opera into the company it is today.”
One secret to Robinson’s success has been his community-based approach to programming, which begins at the grass-roots level long before artistic decisions are finalized. Along with former OTSL General Director Timothy O’Leary, Robinson spearheaded OTSL’s New Works, Bold Voicescommissioning program, which aimed to tell diverse, modern-day stories in partnership with the local St. Louis community.
“Like politics, all arts are local,” said Robinson. “It’s vital to include the community in decision-making processes, working with them to identify stories they want to see on stage. This is an area where Seattle Opera has established itself as a leader, and I look forward to continuing this work with communities across the Pacific Northwest.”
“Jim Robinson is one of our greatest visionaries—as a director, a commissioner of new work, and a producer,” said O’Leary, who now serves as General Director of the Washington National Opera. “He cares deeply that work is not just great artistically, but also resonates with the audience, and many of his commissions have been box office hits, attracting new and diverse audiences.”
Robinson’s work with companies of all sizes and with a wide range of resources has given him a keen insight into how opera companies can create art in a sustainable manner. During his time at OTSL, Robinson mounted productions of the highest quality while maintaining fiscal responsibility, streamlining the company’s workflow to allow for a more efficient allocation of resources. He also helped foster strong donor relationships that resulted in a $45-million legacy gift in early 2020, then the largest in the company’s history.
That ability to forge relationships has enabled some of Robinson’s most prominent artistic collaborations. “I have my opera career due to James Robinson,” said Terence Blanchard, whom Robinson first approached about commissioning an opera more than twelve years ago. “Jim saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. His capacity to make connections that others can’t see has allowed him to create new and exciting work. Having him as the new General and Artistic Director at the Seattle Opera is nothing short of a coup.”
When he arrives in September, Robinson will take over Seattle Opera’s $25-million budget, overseeing an annual season that features five mainstage productions and a slate of community programs, classes, and public events. Since its founding in 1963, Seattle Opera has become a cornerstone of the arts economy in the Pacific Northwest, employing more than 800 people in 2023. Recognized as an industry leader in efforts to diversify opera, Seattle Opera developed its Racial Equity and Social Impact plan in 2019 to guide decision-making at all levels of the organization. Seattle Opera is also a dedicated proponent of new American opera, mounting the world premieres of A Thousand Splendid Suns (’23) and the upcoming Jubilee (’24), as well as co-productions like X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (’24), which set a company record for the most single tickets sold to any contemporary opera.
“I am very happy that James will be taking the reins of this wonderful company,” said Christina Scheppelmann. “James has an impressive track record as a stage director and his extensive network will present tremendous opportunities for collaboration. I am sure he will accomplish great things at Seattle Opera, together with this amazing staff and supportive board. Seattle Opera is in good hands.”
Afghan Youth Orchestra at Victoria Hall; photo (c) Carole Parodi
From press release: “Afghan Youth Orchestra (AYO) has returned to the USA for the first time since its U.S. debut in 2013. The premier ensemble of the displaced Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), the orchestra comprises 46 male and female musicians aged between 14 and 22, whose diverse backgrounds testify to the strength and resilience of the Afghan people. Together with ANIM’s celebrated all-female ZohraOrchestra and conductor Tiago Moreira da Silva, AYO will perform traditional Afghan and Western classical music, on both Afghan and Western instruments, in a pair of concerts at Carnegie Hall (the final concert of the inaugural World Orchestra Week on Aug 7) and the Kennedy Center (Aug 8).
Marking the ensembles’ first U.S. appearances since the Taliban’s return to power and ANIM’s subsequent flight to safety, these performances represent potent acts of defiance against the regime that has not only outlawed music but also imposed gender apartheid in Afghanistan.
AYO returns to New York and D.C. under the baton of young Portuguese conductor Tiago Moriera da Silva. Performed on a combination of Western orchestral instruments and traditional Afghan instruments, including the rubab, sitar, tambur, and tabla, their program juxtaposes ancient ragas and folksongs with the conductor’s original arrangements of music by Brahms, Kodály, and Afghan composers Amir Jan Saboori, Ustad Din Mohammad Zakhail, and Ustad Nainawaz, the father of Afghan pop.
AYO will give the U.S. premiere of Saudade do Afeganistão, a multi-movement work by composer and former faculty member William Harvey that traces ANIM’s turbulent recent history, and ANIM’s mould-breaking Zohra Orchestra will interpret songs celebrating freedom and women’s rights. At a time when women in Afghanistan are prohibited from working, attending school, or leaving their homes unaccompanied, Zohra’s performance sends a powerful message of resistance, embodying the unwavering spirit of Afghan women.
At Carnegie Hall, where da Silva makes his house debut, AYO’s performance represents the final concert of World Orchestra Week (WOW!), a new festival that brings together seven youth orchestras from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States for a week of cultural exchange and music-making with internationally renowned artists in New York. AYO will be joined on Carnegie Hall’s main stage by members of the European Union Youth Orchestra, and the program will be expanded to include accounts of traditional Sufi songs by ANIM’s Qawwali vocal ensemble.”
Afghan Youth Orchestra & Zohra Orchestra: U.S. tour
Aug 7 New York, NY Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage) World Orchestra Week (WOW!) With Qawwali ensemble and members of the European Union Youth Orchestra Conductor: Tiago Moreira da Silva TRAD: Raga Pilo TRAD: Raga Bhihag Ustad SARAHANG: Tark-e Arezo Kardam (Qawwali) TRAD: Peer Man o Murad Man (Qawwali) TRAD, arr. Ahmad Zahir: Zendagi Akher Sarayad (Zohra Orchestra) Ustad KHYAL: An Selsela Mo (Zohra Orchestra) Amir JAN SABOORI, arr. Tiago Moreira da Silva: Sar-zamen-e-man Sediq SHABAB: Pa Bismillah SHANKAR-JAIKISHAN: Mera Joota Hai Japani Johannes BRAHMS, arr. Tiago Moreira da Silva: 21 Hungarian Dances, No. 5 William HARVEY: Saudade do Afeganistão (U.S. premiere) Zoltán KODÁLY, arr. Tiago Moreira da Silva: Intermezzo from Háry János Nay NAWAZ, arr. Khaled Arman: Ay Nay Naway-e Jawedan Ustad Din MOHAMMAD ZAKHAIL, arr. Tiago Moreira da Silva: An Afghan in New York Michail THEODORAKIS, arr. Abdul Wahab Madadi: Watan Ishq-e-tu Tickets and further information are available here. Aug 8 Washington, D.C. Kennedy Center Conductor: Tiago Moreira da Silva TRAD, arr. Ahmad Zahir: Zendagi Akher Sarayad (Zohra Orchestra) Ustad KHYAL: An Selsela Mo (Zohra Orchestra) Amir JAN SABOORI, arr. Tiago Moreira da Silva: Sar-zamen-e-man Sediq SHABAB: Pa Bismillah SHANKAR-JAIKISHAN: Mera Joota Hai Japani Johannes BRAHMS, arr. Tiago Moreira da Silva: 21 Hungarian Dances, No. 5 William HARVEY: Saudade do Afeganistão Zoltán KODÁLY, arr. Tiago Moreira da Silva: Intermezzo from Háry János Nay NAWAZ, arr. Khaled Arman: Ay Nay Naway-e Jawedan Ustad Din MOHAMMAD ZAKHAIL, arr. Tiago Moreira da Silva: An Afghan in New York Michail THEODORAKIS, arr. Abdul Wahab Madadi: Watan Ishq-e-tu Tickets and further information are available here.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) has just released two additions to its Next Stage Digital Concert Series, now available on the DSO’s YouTube channel: Franz Schmidt’s Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln (The Book with Seven Seals)(above) and the DSO’s new Symphony Stream.
Notes the DSO: “Schmidt – whose 150th birthday arrives this December – was a late-Romantic composer who also wrote four symphonies, two operas, and works for piano and organ, but his monumental achievement was Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln, based on the prophetic vision of the final violent destruction of the world in the Book of Revelation. Grammy-winning Louise W. & Edmund J. Kahn Music DirectorFabio Luisi led the performances of the work at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, March 1–3, 2024.
Born in 1874 in what is today Bratislava, Slovakia, but at the time was in the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary, Franz Schmidt studied composition and cello at the Vienna Conservatory, eventually obtaining a post as a cellist with the Vienna Court Opera Orchestra, where he frequently played under the direction of Gustav Mahler. He was also a brilliant pianist, and much of his career was dedicated to teaching cello, piano, counterpoint, and composition at the Conservatory. Luisi has long been a champion of Schmidt’s music in general and Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln in particular, conducting performances of the latter around the world, but the video release is especially appropriate this fall, as December marks the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Luisi explains:
“I believe that this work, together with Britten’s War Requiem and Frank Martin’s Golgotha, is one of the most important oratorios written in the 20th century. The visionary energy of St. John’s Revelation is put in music with both grace and power, actually, and quite surprisingly without bombast. It trusts old forms such as the fugue, developed in a very virtuosic manner, and therefore creates a connection with the older style of this genre, especially with Mendelssohn and, of course, Bach and Handel. I hope listeners are seduced by the energy, the gravitas and the important meaning of this work, which also features great vocal parts and fantastic choral moments.”
James Garlick and Richard O’Neill, co-founders of Music on the Strait. (Nora Pitaro)
The 2024 edition of Music on the Strait opens tonight with a concert at the new Field Arts & Events Hall in Port Angeles, WA. You can also livestream the concert, which starts at 7pm PT, on this YouTube page as well as on the Music on the Strait Facebook page here. The livestreams will also allow you to access the 6.15 pre-concert presentation with Lisa Bergman.
Music on the Strait has entered a new phase. Among the Puget Sound region’s youngest festivals devoted to chamber music, MOTS kicks off this year on Aug. 1…
MEMETERIA by Thomas May 