Michelle Ferry Williams (BM ’09), with the Orchestra at Temple Square of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, will be collaborating with internationally acclaimed baritone Bryn Terfel recording an album in May for Deutsche Grammophon. This CD—to be released in September 2013—will have an Americana feel with a touch of the Welsh heritage shared by Terfel and the Choir. In addition to the landmark recording session, Terfel will join the Choir for the Mother’s Day broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word on May 12. The public is invited to attend the Sunday morning performance in the Salt Lake Tabernacle; no tickets are required.
Archives for category: News
Ariane Todes, Editor at The Strad, is in Fort Worth, TX covering the events at the three-day long TCU Cellofest 2013. She posted on The Strad Facebook page…
Advice from Bion Tsang in his Cellofest masterclass today: ‘Get into the habit of recording yourself. The most difficult thing for us is to have a direct connection between what the audience hears and what we hear in our ear.’
Yi Xin (DMA ’14) advanced to the final round of live auditions for the Principal Cello position in the Lyric Opera Orchestra in Chicago, IL. He was one of only four cellists remaining from 200 or so applicants worldwide. It was Yi’s first time competing for an opera orchestra position.
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the world’s great opera companies with Sir Andrew Davis as its Music Director since 2000. It is renowned internationally for its artistic excellence and financial strength. Lyric Opera has operated in the black for 24 of the past 25 years, a record among the country’s major not-for-profit music and performing-arts companies.
Bion Tsang Appointed as Fellow to Newly Created Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Chair in Cello
AUSTIN, Texas — The Butler School of Music in the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin has appointed Bion Tsang, an associate professor of cello, as the initial Fellow to the Long Chair in Cello.
Austin-based arts and culture philanthropists Joe and Terry Long created the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Chair in Cello in the Butler School of Music with a $1 million gift to support excellence in the cello faculty. Additionally, another Austin-based philanthropic couple, Andrew and Mary Ann Heller, led the campaign to create the Friends of Cello Scholarship that will be used in conjunction with the Long Chair for the enrichment of the school’s cello studio instruction.
“These endowments will serve to strengthen the Butler School of Music’s String program and Professor Tsang’s studio by supporting his teaching and the superb students he’s attracting from all over the world — which will in turn enrich the cultural life of Austin and Texas,” said Douglas Dempster, dean of the College of Fine Arts.
“The extraordinary gift of the Long Chair in Cello, as well as the Friends of Cello Scholarship, are a reflection on Bion Tsang’s popularity and enthusiastic support in Austin,” said Dempster. “Anyone who has heard his exquisite performances understands why he is a favorite of Austin audiences and audiences across the U.S.”
Watch and hear Michelle Ferry Williams (BM ’09) this and every Sunday as she plays in the Orchestra at Temple Square with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on the weekly television broadcast Music and the Spoken Word.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s first network radio program (with the organ, choir, and announcer sharing a single microphone) was transmitted on July 15, 1929. Today, after more than 80 years and over 4,100 broadcasts, Music and the Spoken Word is the oldest continuous nationwide network broadcast in America.
With the Orchestra of Temple Square, Michelle can also be heard on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s latest CD Teach Me to Walk in the Light released on December 26, 2012.
Tonight at 5:30 PM in the San Antonio Museum of Art, Benjamin Westney (BM ’03, MM ’05) performs his last of three concerts at the Brahms Festival in San Antonio, TX. The Brahms Festival is created and curated by Sebastian Lang-Lessing and the San Antonio Symphony. Ben performs the Brahms Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8, and the Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34. For tickets, visit www.samuseum.org.
…Francesco Mastromatteo (DMA ’12) profiled in La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno
…just a sneak preview of the zaniness that will take place next month when the Longhorn Cellos travel to Fort Worth, TX to participate in the 2013 TCU Cellofest.
Jonathan Dexter (MM ’05, DMA candidate ’07) and his wife, flutist Naomi Seidman (DMA ’07), Assistant Professor of Flute at Pennsylvania State University, will perform and present Dan Welcher’s “The Need to See” at the Texas Music Educators Association’s 2013 Clinic/Convention at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX on February 13-16. The work was initially commissioned with a NEA grant for performances in Kingsville, TX in November 2012. The performances reached 800 students in five schools. The work will be recorded immediately following the TMEA convention.
Nathan Harrenstein (MM ’12) has joined the Southbank Sinfonia 2013, Britain’s leading orchestral academy based in London that features partnerships with the Royal Opera, National Theatre, BBC Concert Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Meanwhile, Nathan continues his association with the Seattle based Parnassus Project, an organization dedicated to bringing classical music to non-traditional audiences in the community, such as Café’s, bars, libraries, bookstores, etc.
Longhorn Cellos 