Two Chicks and A ‘Cellist at The Hudson School

Posted on March 26, 2010 by itees

On Sunday, March 21 I attended a fabulous concert of Beethoven at The Hudson School in Hoboken, NJ. Two Chicks and A ‘Cellist, an ensemble in residence at The Hudson School delighted us with the soft and abrupt sounds by way of a piano, violin and cello. Playing the violin was Una Tone, at the piano was Pamela Ross, and charming us with the cello was Adrian Daurov.

The audience was a mix of young children, teenagers who most likely attend the school and adults, and we were all mesmerized with the sounds and proficiency of the artists.

The pieces performed were, Sonata for Violin and Piano, op.30, No. 3, Sonata for Violoncello and Piano, op. 5, no. 1, and Trio for violin, ‘cello, and piano, op.70, no.1 “The Ghost.”

Pamela Ross, an award winning pianist, actress, writer, and recording artist, has performed one woman shows off broadway, has performed as a soloist with major orchestras, and has various CDs and DVDs available. Many of her programs can be seen on public television and heard on classical radio stations. Her website is: www.pamelaross.com

Una Tone, born in Riga, Latvia, lives in NYC and has international experience as a chamber musician. Una has been on various TV shows such as David Letterman and performed with many distinguished artists such as Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Andrea Bocceli and in the classical arena, Itzak Perlman, and James Levine. In addition she plays with ensembles as diverse as The NY Pops and American Ballet Theater Orchestra.

Adrian Daurov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and after studying at the St. Petersburg conservatory, he made his debut in 1997 with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra. He was awarded 1st prize at the international music competitions in Dobrich, Bulgaria in 1996. Adrian has degrees from the Juilliard School of Music and performs chamber music regularly in the New York area. His string quartet, Voxare, is the quartet-in-residence at Bargemusic. He is currently principal ‘cellist with the Chamber Orchestra of New York.

To read more and see a concert schedule visit their website at:
Two Chicks and A ‘Cellist

In addition Woody Proctor, actor and student at the school read “Heiligenstadt Testament” which was written by Beethoven and gave us a window into what he was thinking, his despair while composing.

woody-proctor-beethoven

Starting With Con Vivo and Ending With Cantigas Women’s Choir

Posted on February 21, 2010 by itees

Last night I attended one of the best concerts I’ve been to lately, “Celebrations Through The Centuries.” Down in Hoboken, at Park Avenue between 1st and 2nd Street, is the United Synagogue of Hoboken. As we arrived we looked for some open seats, because the Synagogue was filling up! To a packed house everyone was ready to be swept away.

First up was Con Vivo Chamber Music. I’ve been hearing about this emsemble and have been wanting to see them. They play free concerts around Jersey City, and last night was their Hoboken debut. I absolutely love Bach and was thrilled to hear them play, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major. The musicians playing were, Jan-Piet Knijff, harpsicord; Kelli Kathman, flute; Salley Koo, violin; Rachel Golub, violin; Ralph Allen, violin; Amelia Hollander Ames, viola; and Carolyn Jeselsohn, cello. Each of these musicians is incredibly gifted and the concerto has wonderful solos for flute, violin, and harpsicord with volin, viola, cello and basso continuo support.

They were so marvelous, they played an encore!

From the program it says about ConVivo: “Con Vivo brings the communal spirit of chamber music to the vibrant and unique setting of Jersey City…” If you want to see them, their next concert is Saturday, February 27, at 8PM, Grace Church Van Vorst, 39 Erie Street in Jersey City.

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Next the United Synagogue of Hoboken Choir walked to the platform. Directed by Rabbi Robert Scheinberg, with 15 members they sang most of their pieces, A cappella. A very nice mix of sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. They sang, Hall’luhu (Psalm 150), Al Kol Elech, Haleli Nafshi et Adonai (Psalm 146), Liqrat Aviv/Qumi Lakh (Song of Songs), and Havah Nagilah (Let us rejoice). In the past I can remember this choir singing with the accompaniment of a guitar and other instruments but found it quite interesting to hear their voices fill the room and the audience responded with clapping and occasionally singing along.

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The final ensemble was Cantigas Women’s Choir, directed by Joan Isaacs Litman. I have followed Cantigas around for many years. Two of my friends are in the choir, Florence Pape and Mary Jo Rhodes. There were 57 women on the platform and when they sang, the harmony was a joyous celebration indeed. Last night they sang some pieces with the accompaniment of a fidula, played by Patricio Diaz, and percussion, played by Mathias Kunzli, and some of the pieces with Erasmia Voukelatos at the piano. They played some really interesting music from different regions of the world, always impressing us and challenging the members of the choir with new languages to learn. Their program was as follows: Durme, Durme, Los Kaminoz de Sirkeci, Komplas de Purim, Nigra Sum, Eliyahu HaNavi, and Psalm Trilogy. Just amazing, if you haven’t yet seen them, you must.

The evening ended with the United Synagogue of Hoboken Choir joining Cantigas and together they sang, Salaam (Od Yavo Shalom).

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Afterward, my friends and I walked up to Washington Street to eat, drink, and talk about the glorious evening out.

Cantigas Women's Choir at United Synagogue of Hoboken. Photograph by John Crittenden.

Crying For Haiti – With A Bit of Hope

Posted on January 24, 2010 by itees

It’s been almost two weeks since the catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti. I watch the news, mostly CNN, everyday and it’s hard to have hope, when I see the destruction, damage and the Haitian people on the edge. For them to still be finding people is utterly amazing. I cannot imagine anything worse than being buried alive, and someone was pulled out yesterday after 11 days.

I am doing what I can as a citizen of the world, which is to donate money. I donated right after it happened, to Doctors Without Borders, then to the “Hope For Haiti Now” fund. This morning, I downloaded the album “Hope For Haiti Now” from itunes, which gives 100% of the proceeds to the fund. Listening to the album today, twice so far, these artists take my breath away. You can really hear the anguish and sadness from these musicians and you know they care. Thanks to George Clooney and all the celebrities for doing their part. Hopefully the telethon will replay soon, however tonight at 8PM, on CNN, if you didn’t see it, watch Larry King Live “How You Can Help Haiti”, and donate whatever you can, every little bit adds up.

I’ve learned so much these past 2 weeks about the Haitian people and as I see each reporter’s story unfold, I cannot thank Anderson Cooper 360, Dr. Sanjay Gupta (my new HERO) and the rest of the CNN staff for bringing it to us. The Haitian people have strong faith and an unbelievable will. To see them singing in spite of their situation and yelling their love for family members, children or spouses, while still pinned under rubble, just made me cry, sometimes with hope and sometimes with sadness. Let’s hope CNN will continue to report from Haiti for a long time to come, so the people of the world don’t forget. CNN can keep us informed and we can continue to help these people.

What will become of the tens of thousands of orphaned children, and the homeless? Haiti has a long road of rebuilding ahead. Hopefully we can help them rebuild stronger, perhaps greener and let’s get it under way very, very soon. Once the rain comes, it will make a dire situation, so much worse.