Seattle Times | MEMETERIA by Thomas May

December 6, 2023 • 9:33 am Comments Off on A Calendar of Light: The Esoterics at 30

A Calendar of Light: The Esoterics at 30

Eric Banks conducts The Esoterics during a rehearsal Nov. 19 at Queen Anne Christian Church in Seattle (Luke Johnson / The Seattle Times)

In advance of this weekend’s world premiere of A Calendar of Light by composer Dale Trumbore and poet Barbara Crooker (Sat in Seattle and Sun in Tacoma, both at 7.30pm), I wrote a profile of Eric Banks and The Esoterics, the ensemble he created as a grad student 30 years ago in Seattle:

Eric Banks: photo (c) Jorge Gustavo Elias

Having arrived early to a Queen Anne church to lead a rehearsal of a cappella choral group The Esoterics on a crisp November afternoon, founding director Eric Banks wraps up his latest text exchange with composer Dale Trumbore. They’ve been going over details of her new choral work, A Calendar of Light, which The Esoterics will premiere in just a little more than a month. Even though daylight saving time ended a couple days before — creating the brief illusion of an extra hour — he stays focused and has no temptation to slow down….

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Filed under: choral music, commissions, Seattle Times

September 10, 2023 • 2:58 pm Comments Off on Seattle Area Classical Music Picks

Seattle Area Classical Music Picks

Breana McCullough, violist and scholar of both 17th-century European and traditional Karuk performance practices, will be at Benaroya Hall for a Sound Salon performance Oct. 1. (John Williams)

Some recommendations for the fall season in Seattle region for the Seattle Times:

These are turbulent times for the performing arts. Even before the pandemic, there were challenges in attracting new audiences to the concert hall, and key local organizations are facing leadership changes. Yet the Puget Sound region remains home to some of the most imaginative and dedicated artists and presenters in the field. The offerings this fall are wonderfully varied: Here are six well worth your time:

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Filed under: music news, Seattle Times

May 16, 2023 • 7:45 am Comments Off on Music of Remembrance at 25

Music of Remembrance at 25

Mina Miller, Music of Remembrance founder and artistic director. (Ben VanHouten)

My story for the Seattle Times about Music of Remembrance at 25, which will present a double bill of one-act operas by Jake Heggie this weekend:

Mina Miller is convinced that music can make a difference in the world.

“I am the child of parents whose entire families were annihilated in the Holocaust, so I grew up with a visceral awareness of the power of memory — of the stories that need to be told…”

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Filed under: commissions, Jake Heggie, Music of Remembrance, new opera, Seattle Times

January 11, 2023 • 12:43 am Comments Off on A Homecoming for J’Nai Bridges

A Homecoming for J’Nai Bridges

J’Nai Bridges stars as Delilah in Seattle Opera’s “Samson and Delilah in Concert.” (Todd Rosenberg Photography)

I spoke with J’Nai Bridges for the Seattle Times about her upcoming, long-awaited Seattle Opera debut. She will sing Delilah in two concert performances of Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila.

This is where it all started.

J’Nai Bridges treasures the memories of her youth in Lakewood just outside Tacoma. Growing up in a close-knit, supportive family, she was encouraged to pursue her exceptional musical talents early on. Even today, she can count on her parents and siblings to travel far and wide to see her perform on the world’s leading opera stages — whether at the Metropolitan Opera in New York or in Munich, where she made her European debut in 2017.

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Filed under: Seattle Opera, Seattle Times

November 8, 2022 • 11:25 am Comments Off on Rediscovering Joseph Bologne

Rediscovering Joseph Bologne

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, posing with his fencing rapier, painted by Mather Brown, in 1787. (Public domain)

Here’s my Seattle Times story for Seattle Baroque Orchestra’s upcoming concert devoted entirely to music by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges:

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, defies easy categorization.

For Seattle-based violinist, professor and filmmaker Quinton Morris, Bologne (1745-1799) combined “the entertainment appeal of Michael Jackson and the athleticism of Michael Jordan.” Morris’ award-winning film and performance project “Breakthrough,” which he has taken on tour around the world, presents Bologne’s many-layered story through a contemporary lens.

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Filed under: music news, Seattle Times

November 3, 2022 • 12:37 pm Comments Off on Tan Dun Comes to Seattle

Tan Dun Comes to Seattle

My Seattle Times story on Tan Dun and his upcoming appearances next week with Seattle Symphony:

A transformative encounter in cave temples inspired Tan Dun, who will conduct his epic Buddha Passion as part of a Seattle Symphony mini-festival of his works Nov. 3-13.

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Filed under: Seattle Symphony, Seattle Times, Tan Dun

October 11, 2022 • 7:54 am 2

An International Collaboration Brings Wagner back to Seattle Opera with Tristan and Isolde

Teatro Argentino de la Plata’s production of *Tristan and Isolde*. (Courtesy of Guillermo Genitti / Teatro Argentino de la Plata)

My Seattle Times story on the Tristan und Isolde production by Argentine director Marcelo Lombardero and colleagues, which opens Saturday at Seattle Opera:

Christina Scheppelmann, Seattle Opera’s general director, fervently believes that cross-cultural exchange is vital for the health of the art form. So she invited the prominent Argentinian stage director Marcelo Lombardero and his creative team to bring their vision to Seattle in a production of Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde” opening Oct. 15.

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Filed under: directors, Seattle Opera, Seattle Times, Wagner

June 2, 2022 • 10:52 am Comments Off on Morlot and SSO Together Again for Epic Messiaen

Morlot and SSO Together Again for Epic Messiaen

Ludovic Morlot conducts the Seattle Symphony in The Mayors’ Concert for Ukraine and Refugees Worldwide earlier this year. (James Holt / Seattle Symphony)

Tonight Ludovic Morlot rejoins the Seattle Symphony for the first of two performances of one of Messiaen’s Des canyons aux étoiles… I spoke to the conductor about the program for The Seattle Times:

A new chapter in Ludovic Morlot’s relationship with the Seattle Symphony is underway.

Now holding the title of conductor emeritus, Morlot has chosen some unusual fare for his concerts on June 2 and 4: the orchestral epic “Des canyons aux étoiles …” (“From the Canyons to the Stars …”) by Olivier Messiaen, which will be presented in a multimedia presentation accompanied by video projections by Deborah O’Grady.

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Filed under: Ludovic Morlot, Olivier Messiaen, Seattle Symphony, Seattle Times

March 18, 2022 • 7:49 am Comments Off on Reena Esmail’s Violin Concerto for Indian Violinist Kala Ramnath

Reena Esmail’s Violin Concerto for Indian Violinist Kala Ramnath

Reena Esmail, Seattle Symphony’s composer in residence (Rachel Garcia)

ALSO NOTE: Tonight Friday night at 8pm, Reena Esmail curates a program at Seattle Symphony”s Octave 9 space with Kala Ramnath and SSO musicians, titled “Ragamala: A Journey into Hindustani Music.”

I had the pleasure of writing about the marvelous Reena Esmail and her new violin concerto for Hindustani violinist Kala Ramnath, which Seattle Symphony will premiere at the Celebrate Asia concert on Sunday, 20 March.

For its opening night concert last September, when the Seattle Symphony returned for its first full season since the pandemic struck, it was music by Reena Esmail that launched the program. She continues in her role as composer-in-residence with the world premiere of a newly commissioned violin concerto …

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Filed under: Reena Esmail, Seattle Symphony, Seattle Times, violinists

January 25, 2022 • 2:03 pm Comments Off on SOUNDbox, the New Series at Nonsequitur

SOUNDbox, the New Series at Nonsequitur

The SOUNDbox team includes, from left, Marina Albero (curator), Steve Peters (Nonsequitur director), Heather Bentley (board member), Carlos Snaider (curator) and Leanna Keith (curator). (Daniel Husser) — The SOUNDbox team includes, from left, Marina Albero (curator), Steve Peters (Nonsequitur director), Heather Bentley (board member), Carlos Snaider (curator) and Leanna Keith (curator) (credit: Daniel Husser)

Here’s my Seattle Times story on a new Nonsequitur series that’s about to launch at the Chapel Performance Space:

Experimental music. Contemporary classical and post-classical. Free improvisation. Electroacoustic. Sound installation. Avant-garde … There’s a bewildering babel of labels used to try to classify artists who are defiantly unclassifiable….

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