On the Radio/Interwebs
Doug Cuomo, the composer of Arjuna’s Dilemma, was interviewed on the David Garland’s radio program Sacred Sundays on WNYC Radio yesterday evening. If you weren’t listening live, it will be available online next week on the WNYC website.
Cuomo and Garland talk about the idea of the sacred in Doug’s music, and they’ll be playing parts of Arjuna’s Dilemma, as well as several clips from some of his other works. If you get a chance, I highly recommend listening. I’m a big fan of Doug’s, and I hope you will be, too. Oh, yeah, and if you haven’t bought the CD yet, please do.
Filed under Blogging, Singing | Comment (0)And Another Recording
Coincidentally, the recording of Arjuna’s Dilemma by Doug Cuomo that I did back in 2005 has finally been released by Innova onto CD (and available through iTunes and eMusic). It REALLY turned out well. I urge you all to buy a copy, not because I’m on it (okay, well, partially because I’m on it), but because it’s fracking good. I’m so honored that I’ve been able to be a part of such artistry.
Nothing Witty…Sorry…
It occurred to me while I was singing in a concert last night that I’m being somewhat unfair with my “self-promotion” posts. The Crossing is not the only group I sing with, nor are they the only group around that does new music.
I’m currently performing with The Philadelphia Singers in a premiere of The Singing Rooms, a violin concerto with chorus written by Jennifer Higdon. I’m on a CD that’s soon to be released called Arjuna’s Dilemma by Doug Cuomo. Of course, all of this information can be found on my website, and certainly you can subscribe to those events through Google (it’s not as cool as The Crossing’s subscription list, but hey, it’s free).
Okay, the next thing I post won’t be nearly this serious. Really.
Filed under Singing | Comment (0)It’s That Time Again
If you’re in the NYC area this week, I’m encouraging you to check out two concerts in which I’m singing. The first one is today, so I’m not giving you much notice, I know, but them’s the breaks.
Beethoven, Missa solemnis, op. 123
Philadelphia Singers with the Mannes Orchestra
David Hayes, Conductor
Monday, May 1 at 8:00 p.m.
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center (65th Street and Broadway)
For anyone who has heard Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, you know this piece is a huge sing. But it’s also really gorgeous. So come and listen to us singers huff and puff and blow the house away.
The second concert is this coming Saturday, and should be really enjoyable. I’m teaming up once again with a couple members of Anonymous 4 to perform Arjuna’s Dilemma by Doug Cuomo. Here’s the info:
Arjuna’s Dilemma
performed as a part of VOX Showcase
hosted by John Schaefer of WNYC
Saturday, May 6 at 8:00 p.m.
Skirball Center, NYU (566 LaGuardia Place & Washington Square Park South)
Arjuna’s Dilemma, a staged oratorio, includes both North Indian and Western music, and is based on a story from the Bhagavad Gita, generally considered the most important scripture for all Hindus.
Anyway, both these events are free, and free is good. I’ll be singing in the chorus for the first gig, but in the second gig I am a part of a quartet, so I’m a little more exposed, and that’s always nice. If you have nothing to do tonight or Saturday night, come on by!
Filed under Singing | Comment (0)Hobnobbery
I’m pleased to report that your erstwhile heroine has spent in the last two evenings in the presence of the rich and appreciative. On Sunday, I sang at a fundraiser for the Philadelphia Singers, which, as I’m sure most of you know, cancelled half their season abruptly a month or so ago. One of the board members offered up her house (dare I say mansion?) for the event, and it was quite a swanky affair with some of the best food I have ever tasted in my life. I never thought I could have a mouthgasm from a grape stuffed with toasted coriander seeds. I’m going into fits of rapture just thinking about it.
Last night I sang at another fundraiser, this time for Music Theater Group, a wonderful little off-off-Broadway theater company in New York. I had performed in a workshop of a chamber opera called Arjuna’s Dilemma there several years ago, and have been involved in that show ever since; this summer, Doug Cuomo (the composer) asked me to sing in a recording of the piece, which was a huge honor, since I got to sing with two of the members of Anonymous 4. So when I got the last-minute call to sing a snippet of the piece at this fundraiser, I jumped at the chance. This fundraiser was in a penthouse in Manhattan with a gorgeous 360-degree view of the city by moonlight. The food was not quite as good as Chef Fritz’s creations, but I certainly wasn’t put off, by any means.
One thing that struck me about both events, though, was how incredibly appreciative all these people were of the arts. At the Philly Singers fundraiser, it was great to be able to see everyone’s faces during the performance and watch them get caught up in the music. And for the Music Theater Group fundraiser, although I couldn’t really see the audience because of all the lights, I was stopped after the performance by many people who exclaimed how haunting the music was, and how much they would love to hear more about the piece.
It just proves to me that there are still people in this world who love watching the kind of stuff I love to do. There are still those who understand how rich and meaningful music and theater can be to people’s lives, and who are willing to support it. Granted, that bunch of people may be dwindling these days, but there’s still hope. I still believe art has a place, a very important place, in society, and I am not the only one who thinks so.
I just hope more people with deep pocketbooks can continue to help us starving artists out so we can continue our craft.
Filed under Food, Party, Singing | Comment (0)Baby Fix
I went to visit my cousin David in Connecticut on Saturday and helped him out in the garden. His daughter, Samantha, turned one last month and she’s so cute! She liked me immediately, which apparently doesn’t happen too often with strangers, so I felt very honored. This was good, because I had to watch her for the afternoon while David and my aunt made dinner in the kitchen (her mom was working). We had a good time, but she had a cold, and she was drooling and snotting all over me, so I was so paranoid about catching something that I washed my hands about 15 times while I was there. Luckily, I didn’t catch anything.
I think I might be starting to hear that biological clock. The nice thing is that if it ticks too loud, all I have to do is take a trip up to visit the Connecticut cousins, and I can play with Sam all I want and get it out of my system. Then I can go back to my life, you know, the one where I don’t have nearly enough money to be able to afford kids.
Now I’m getting ready to do a recording of that Arjuna’s Dilemma with the guy who wrote the music for Sex and the City, Doug Cuomo. It’s such a really cool experience.
Filed under Family, Singing | Comment (0)