Ventana Ballet and The Cathedral present their 3rd Annual Night Birds, a celebration of dance, art and music. The company’s avian-themed program includes five dancers, three cellists from Austin Camerata (with artistic director Daniel Kopp, MM ’18), and art from the atxGALS collective inside the Cathedral. For two nights only, offering two shows per evening, tonight, Thursday, August 31st and tomorrow, Friday, September 1st.

The program includes an intimate 360 degree performance featuring local professional dancers, cellists, visual art from emerging women and nonbinary artists, and a curated, complimentary bar experience that offers bird-themed signature cocktails and other refreshments from local distilleries and breweries.

Of the 2021 performances of Night Birds, Robert Faires of the Austin Chronicle wrote: “Ventana Ballet is noted for the immersive nature of their shows, and bird-watchers won’t have to go scouting around the Cathedral to spy these creatures. Everyone will be seated around a central stage space, though the dancers are likely to take flight through and around the crowd as they channel our feathered friends.”

The program presents several dances, each named after a familiar (or unfamiliar) bird of the night, with the movement intended to represent “the essence and beauty of the animal – paying homage to its nature, without being too obvious,” according to AJ Garcia-Rameau, the director of Ventana Ballet.

Both Latinas, Monica Ceniceros (Founder of the Cathedral and atxGALS) and AJ Garcia-Rameau (Director of Ventana Ballet), wanted to “spice” up the birds program this year in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. To that end, this year’s program will include some musical selections by hispanic composers, including excerpts from Gaspar Cassadó’s “Suite for Cello Solo” and Pablo Ferrández’s “El Cant del Ocells (Song of the Birds)”. Guests will delight in experiencing some of last year’s birds as well. After a viral stint on Instagram with a recording from last year’s show, the Nightingales will soar again to Beethoven’s coveted “Moonlight Sonata,” played by three cellos to an original arrangement by Austin Camerata member Cory Blais (MM ’19).

Performance Schedule:
Thursday, August 31st
Show 1: 6:30PM (Doors open at 5:45p)
Show 2: 8:30PM (Doors open at 7:45p)

Friday, September 1st
Show 1: 6:30PM (Doors open at 5:45p)
Show 2: 8:30PM (Doors open at 7:45p)

Tickets:
On sale through Eventbrite: https://nightbirds2023.eventbrite.com

Tomorrow evening, Seulki Lee (DMA ’19) performs in the Gala Opening Night of the the Estonia National Opera, Rahvusooper, beginning her first season as Section Cellist with the opera company. This follows stints as Section Cellist in the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, a trial week as Cello 3 in the Welsh National Opera—a second trial week is scheduled for Spring 2024—and work as a substitute cellist with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

Dating back to 1865, the Estonia National Opera, Rahvusooper, currently led by its Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Arvo Volmer, produces a lively and varied season which includes operas, ballets and operettas/musicals with over 500 people currently employed there. For more information about the ENO, visit opera.ee.

Congratulations, Seulki, and Hook ’em Horns!

CANCELED… Due to a COVID-19 diagnosis, the Open Workshop has been canceled. Tickets for the Open Workshop will automatically be refunded.

In two weeks, on Thursday, August 10th, at 2:00pm ET, Tsz To Wong (DMA ’24) performs in an Open Cello Workshop with superstar Yo-Yo Ma at Tanglewood as part of their Fellowship Program.

Open Workshops pull back the curtain on the pedagogical process, inviting the audience to a behind-the-scenes look at how the exceptional Tanglewood Music Center Fellows develop their skills under the guidance of acknowledged experts.

More info…

Earlier today, Hyugrai “Ray” Kim (DMA ’19, AD ’24) was offered a Section Cello position with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The ASO, currently in its 77th season, is led by Music Director Nathalie Stutzmann and continues to affirm its position as one of America’s leading orchestras with excellent live performances, renowned guest artists and engaging education initiatives. The ASO performs more than 150 concerts each year from the Delta Classical Series, Movies in Concert, Family Concert Series, Atlanta Symphony Hall LIVE and the Coca-Cola Holiday Series, as well as community and education concerts.

Congratulations, Ray, and Hook ’em Horns!

More info….

The Tetractys New Music team is gathering the major players in Austin’s vibrant indie-classical scene for a new festival-like concert called Here Be Monsters on Saturday at the Butterfly Bar at the VORTEX.

Explore classical music that exists beyond the boundaries of Austin’s traditional concert halls with fifteen local ensembles in one big show resplendent with world premieres by eleven local composers. Scheduled to appear are Invoke, Montopolis, Kraken Quartet, Density512, Golden Hornet, LOLA, One Ounce Opera, Convergence, Goliath Was Bigfoot, Tom Echols, Less Than <10 Music, Nathan Felix, VAMP, Studio A, and Tetractys New Music.

General admission tickets are $20.00 in advance and can be purchased via eventbrite. The concert will take over the entire Butterfly Bar space—inside and outside—with rotating performances on several stages. Guests can purchase cocktails, mocktails, beer and wine from the bar and Patrizi’s will be serving up its fine Italian cuisine too.

Tetractys was founded in 2014 by James Burch (DMA ’16) and Matthew Armbruster (MM ’16) with composer Christopher Prosser and has been an integral part of the contemporary music community in Austin, TX, by commissioning, curating, and producing new works by living composers.

For more information, visit www.tetractysnewmusic.com.

This summer, Sunkyung Hwang (DMA ’09) presents Suzuki training sessions in Bali, Indonesia (June 24-29) and Manila, Philippines (July 2-8). Formerly a tenured professor of Yewon Arts University, Sunkyung has refocused her attention to the Suzuki Method and teaching a variety of students ranging from age 3 to trainees.

Acclaimed as “brilliant, elegant in style and totally dependable cellist” after her solo debut at Seoul Art Center with the Seoul Orchestra, Sunkyung Hwang has performed as soloist with the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra (Korea) and Melbourne Festival Orchestra (Australia), amongst numerous others. She has also been featured in the Gumho Young Artist Concert Series and the 21st Century Soloist Chamber Series by the Korea Broadcasting System.

Sunkyung’s real pursuit for cello started at the preparatory school of the Korea National University of Arts, under Professors Minja Hyun and Sookjung Lee. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree from Yonsei University, her interest in teaching brought her to study with Mineo Hayashi at the International Suzuki School in Matsumoto, Japan. She then entered Yale University on a full scholarship, studying under Professor Aldo Parisot and the Tokyo String Quartet. Upon completing her Master’s degree from Yale, she continued pursued a Doctoral degree at The University of Texas at Austin under Professor Bion Tsang.

Born in Korea, Sunkyung grew up in a Suzuki environment. Her father, a Suzuki violin teacher, trained under Dr. Suzuki, himself, and Sunkyung experienced the Suzuki method for 6 years as a violinist before studying the Suzuki method as a cellist. While a student, she attended the Suzuki Conference several times in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. She took Suzuki Teacher Training courses in Korea, Japan and the United States with Professors Kyungik Hwang, Minja Hyun, Mineo Hayashi, Gilda Barston, Pam Davenport, Takao Mizushima, and Melissa Kraut.

Now a Suzuki cello teacher trainer in the Korea Suzuki Association, Sunkyung is also a Professor in charge of Suzuki majors at the Kookmin University Graduate School and a cello instructor at Sunhwa Arts Middle School.

Sunkyung enjoys balancing life as a teacher and a performer. Besides being a soloist in concerto concerts, she also has held solo recitals in the USA and Korea. As a chamber musician, she was a member of Prism String Quartet, Yale Cellos, Trio Ui and Principal Cellist of the W Philharmonic Orchestra and Korea Suzuki String Orchestra.

suzukimusicindonesia.org
www.suzukimusic.ph

More info…

This weekend, Tsz To Wong (DMA ’24) performs as substitute cellist with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Established in 1912 and currently led by Music Director Robert Spano, the FWSO is deeply committed to uniting its community through performance, education, and outreach, reaching an audience of more than 200,000 annually. As the principal resident company of the acoustically superb Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall, the Orchestra performs a full season of concerts featuring internationally acclaimed guest artists and works by living composers. The Orchestra performs and partners with the Texas Ballet Theater, Fort Worth Opera, The Cliburn, and Performing Arts Fort Worth. Each summer at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, the FWSO presents Concerts In The Garden, a series of family-friendly concerts that have become a city-wide tradition. The FWSO keeps exceptional musical experiences at the heart of its community.

Congratulations, Tsz To!

More info…

The US premiere performance of Fazil Say’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra “Never Give Up” by Jonathan Dexter (MM ’05) with conductor Yanniv Attar and the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra is now on YouTube…

Next Wednesday, March 15, the SXSW Official ATX Composers Showcase returns! Brought to you by Golden Hornet and KMFA Classical 89.5, the official SXSW event presents an array of local new music artists and contemporary classical talent during the height of the city-wide festival.

The showcase features five ensembles throughout the night, fostering exposure to local groups leading the charge on revitalizing classical music for the modern age. The lineup this year includes Density512, Austin Unconcducted, Graham Reynolds, Invoke and Mother Falcon (with Diana Burgess, BM ’15).

Offered to SXSW badge holders and non-holders alike, the intimate concert is at Parker Jazz Club, where audiences enjoy cocktail seating and a full bar as they listen to the ensembles throughout the night.

7:30pm – Density512
8:45pm – Austin Unconcducted
10:00pm – Graham Reynolds
11:15pm – Invoke
12:30am – Mother Falcon

For more information, visit www.goldenhornet.org.