Unique performances
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Lafon Arts Performing Center. Tatiana Berman, violin, Elena Kholodova, piano
Violinist Tatiana Berman, accompanied by pianist Elena Kholodova performed Not So Classical: Inspire, opening the inaugural season of the new Lafon Performing Arts Center. It was an exceptional evening of music and film.
The evening began with a 58min documentary screening of Forte, featuring Tatiana Berman, Lucia Caruso, and Eldbjorg Hemsing. Directed by David Donnelly, (Maestro and Nordic Pulse), Forte is a documentary that explores the meaning of success and excellence from the female perspective. From the film’s website: “It challenges the popular and perhaps somewhat outdated notions of success in classical music through a fast-paced narrative of three female artists.” The female artist stories were engaging and emotionally affecting, connected via several similar yet different threads of discipline, dreams, loss, and strength. We get to witness Lucia Caruso writing the score for the film while the film is being made, and learn about Ms. Berman’s unconventional career path. This is a beautiful, fast-paced, and highly enjoyable documentary.
Lafon Arts Performing Center. Tatiana Berman, violin, Elena Kholodova, piano
The second part of the opening program included audience favorites by Bach, Piazzolla, Tchaikovsky, and Debussy, as well as two new works - Vitali Variations by Tatiana Berman and Forte Rhapsody by Lucía Caruso. From the very first note, it was evident that Ms. Berman is an outstanding musician of the highest caliber. Ms. Berman’s sound is absolutely exquisite, and her interpretations were exciting and engaging, with subtle phrasing throughout the performance. Together with pianist Ms. Kholodova, they created contrasting emotional musical experiences for the audience, and their exceptional ability to bring out the individual character of each piece was complimented by the stories told in the short films between each piece. Afterward, the audience enjoyed a Q & A with the soloist on stage. The program was extremely very well received, with several audience members moved to tears, and a standing ovation at the end.
Tatiana Berman spent a day at Glenelg Country Schools performing and working with hundreds of kids in different age groups ranging from pre-schoolers to high schoolers. In the evening, together with the wonderful pianist Elena Kholodova, Tatiana gave a breathtaking performance of the Not So Classical: Inspire program at the Mulitz Theater.
Great news! Amy Dickson will premiere Take a Breath at the UKARIA Cultural Centre in Australia.
This event is already sold out! More information here
It's official! Tatiana Berman will be performing the Inspire program at the new 35 million-dollar Dr. Rodney R. Lafon Performing Arts Center in New Orleans. Tour locations include New York, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Tucson, Atlanta and Palm Beach with venues such as Le Poisson Rouge. Most of the presentations on tour include interactive and educational opportunities - Q & A and workshops.
Stay tuned for ticket details and concert dates for this tour!
Hot off the press! NOT SO CLASSICAL is featured in FORBES!
GREENSBORO — Actor Ken Jeong and his hometown are showing each other a lot of love these days. Comic Ken Jeong — famous for his comedic roles in “The Hangover” film trilogy and as television’s “Dr. Ken” — welcomes visitors via video to the Greensboro History Museum’s exhibition, “Second Generation: Asian American.”
Told from the viewpoint of city residents of Asian heritage, the exhibition displays a clip, a script, photos and costumes from ABC’s “Dr. Ken” sitcom.Comic Ken Jeong, who is a physician, played one on television in ABC’s sitcom, “Dr. Ken.” Jeong was raised in Greensboro and attended Page High School.
Jeong actually is a physician by training. Born in Detroit 48 years ago to Korean immigrants D.K. and Young Jeong, he grew up in Greensboro and attended Page High School, where he played violin in the orchestra. He graduated from Duke University and then from medical school at UNC-Chapel Hill.
But fame came with his appearances on the big and small screen. Now he will lend those talents to the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. Come September, Jeong will appear via film in a groundbreaking concert by the orchestra.
To open its 2017-18 season, the symphony will bring a revolutionary hybrid film/concert experience to the Carolina Theatre.
The performances on Sept. 28 and 30 will mark the world orchestral premiere of “Not So Classical,” an approach created by a Cincinnati-based filmmaker to attract broader and younger audiences. “It will put Greensboro on the map for the orchestra community in a huge way,” said Daniel Crupi, the orchestra’s chief operating officer.
“It’s a unique concert format, an opportunity to work with a renowned producer and a big celebrity,” Crupi added. “But it’s also an investment in our future, to position us well to succeed in the digital market.” The concerts will intersperse live classical music with filmed interviews that talk about the city and its orchestra, and how music impacts different stages of life.
Dmitry Sitkovetsky is a violinist and the conductor of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. Interviews feature Symphony Music Director Dmitry Sitkovetsky, community leaders, board members, musicians and members of its young professionals’ group, Vivace. And of course, Jeong and his father. D.K. Jeong retired N.C. A&T economics professor is a symphony board member.
Crupi said he hopes that Jeong will attend the premiere, although it’s too early to tell. Although “Dr. Ken” ended in the spring, Jeong has been filming other movies.
In a soon-to-be-released trailer promoting “Not So Classical,” Jeong talks about the influence of music in his life and career. He started piano lessons at age 6. “I think the musical gene came from my mom, and my dad has a deep appreciation for classical music,” he says.
“When I think of my own acting, and when I think of being on a movie set or being on a TV set, I think in terms of music, I think in terms of flow,” Jeong adds. “There’s a rhythm, there’s a music, there’s a cadence to it, and whether I know it or not, you are always looking for that flow artistically. I think that comes back from my music background.”
To create the program, the symphony has worked with filmmaker David Donnelly. Donnelly is best known for his 2015 documentary film, “Maestro.” It follows conductor Paavo Järvi with other music superstars around the globe, chronicling the ups and downs of the life of a classical musician. Donnelly and his production company, Culture Monster, focus on helping classical music re-brand itself. “There is a missing opportunity to connect with a broader audience, with a younger audience,” Donnelly said from Cincinnati. “There are still plenty of people of all ages that, if properly introduced, would really fall in love with it.”
With his “Not So Classical” approach of interspersing classical music with film, Donnelly so far has featured two soloists, saxophonist Amy Dickson and violinist Tatiana Berman.
Greensboro marks the first time that he has taken it to an orchestra. He came to know the city through the manager of Sitkovetsky, a renowned London-based violinist and conductor who performs and conducts around the globe.
“He understands that there have to be risks taken by orchestras if they want to be competitive,” Donnelly said. The program opens with a short film. “It puts you in a certain mood and primes you for a piece of music that you are about to hear,” Donnelly said. The symphony then will perform a classical work, followed by a short film, a classical piece and so forth. The program will feature Haydn’s Overture to the opera “Lo Speziale,” Chopin’s Prelude No. 15 for string orchestra, Borodin’s Symphony No. 2 and Mozart’s Violin Concerto, on which Sitkovetsky will solo with the orchestra.
“The music is still classical, but we present it in a way that’s different,” said Donnelly, who will return in early September to finish filming. “Everything from the lighting to the entire experience is somewhat designed.”
Donnelly said he discovered while filming “Maestro” that orchestras struggle for attendance in part because concerts are too long. The entire “Not So Classical” program will run about 90 minutes with no intermission. “Ideally people will be left wanting more,” Donnelly said.
The symphony opted to move the concerts downtown to the Carolina Theatre from its regular venue of Dana Auditorium at Guilford College. The Carolina has a rich history as a grand old movie house, as well as more advanced film technology. And the symphony wanted to appeal to Millennials.
“We are treating like red carpet premiere and wanted that kind of vibe for this event,” Crupi said.
The concerts will cost about $138,000, which includes an extra $40,000 to cover film production. The Cemala Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, Joseph M. Bryan Jr. Foundation through ArtsGreensboro, Greensboro Are Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Downtown Greensboro Inc. have helped cover the extra costs. The CVB grant will hire a New York public relations firm to bring the project national attention.
“When the orchestra takes chances like this, they really need the support of the community,” Donnelly said. “We want to get people coming to this who have never been to a concert before... Maybe they’ll come back for other concerts if they hear a composer that they like.”
Jeong adds his comic touch to the trailer’s pitch. “Bring some more friends,” he says. “It’s not a pyramid scheme. You’re just appreciating music.”
Filmmaker David Donnelly is on a mission to keep classical music relevant. For him it’s all about the genre’s ability to bring together history and personal experience.
“Something may have been composed centuries ago, but then you hear it and it feels like it was written for you, and that’s this continuum of human civilization,” Donnelly said.
To highlight this continuum Donnelly is launching his project Not So Classical here in St. Louis. The multimedia performance will include roughly five minute performances by violinist and Constella founder Tatiana Berman and Grammy-nominated Saxophonist Amy Dickson, intercut with documentary-style video. The live 75 minute performance will split time between live classical standards, lesser known works and film clips examining Berman’s personal life as a mother and classical music festival organizer. The presentation is intended to highlight how classical music can be a driving force in a contemporary private and professional life...
Read the rest of the story here.
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/new-classical-music-performance-and-film-duo-makes-st-louis-debut#stream/0
