"The Next Great Baritone": A Chat With Plácido Domingo

Now in his fifth decade at the Met, Plácido Domingo refuses to consider retirement.

His repertoire of 128 opera roles ( along with the fact that he once received 101 curtain-calls after an "Otello" performance in Vienna) has earned him a place in The Guinness Book of Records.

This month, the tenor adds two more firsts to his Met career, conducting Verdi’s Stiffelio and singing the (baritone) title role of Simon Boccanegra.

Read a recent interview here...

From PlaybillArts.com

The Met Opera will broadcast a performance of Simon Boccanegra in HDTV on Saturday morning, Feb 6, and a repeat broadcast on Wednesday evening Feb 24. This is a unique opportunity for music lovers in our region to hear this amazing singer as a baritone. For more information visit the ClassicalMusicMatters.com Online Calendar.

Brahms and Beethoven in Santa Cruz

BOLD & BEAUTIFUL

BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 4

BRAHMS
Piano Concerto
Jon Nakamatsu, Pianist (read his bio here)

Santa Cruz County Symphony
John Larry Granger, Conductor

No two composers reflect the heart and soul of symphonic music more than Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms. With his own stamp of dramatic human energy, Beethoven from the first movement moves us with carefree abandon from the restraints of the Classical era to the delights of newly found Romanticism. Brahms expands Beethoven’s harmonic and rhythmic language in his profound First Piano Concerto, performed for us by Van Cliburn winner, Jon Nakamatsu.

Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, January 30, 8pm
Mello Center, Watsonville, January 31, 2pm

Santa Cruz County Symphony Website: www.santacruzsymphony.com/

MORE CALENDAR DETAILS: www.classicalmusicmatters.com

A Grand Tour of Early Music Worlds

The 2010 Santa Cruz Baroque Festival begins on February 6!

The Santa Cruz Baroque Festival's 2010 season of "Musical Voyages" makes its first stop in 19th-century Wales, where Concert I, Holiday in Wales commemorates a fascinating event in English history.

In 1889, while a guest at the Palé Mansion in North Wales, Queen Victoria found herself transported by the music of famous Welsh gypsy and harpist John Roberts and his 9 sons, playing Welsh triple harps and English pedal harps.

Acclaimed harpist Cheryl Ann Fulton will recreate this magical atmosphere in an evening of Welsh airs and dances. In her own words: "Strike the Harp and Let's Be Merry!"

Fulton is recognized as an imaginative and engaging performer, and is a leading pioneer in the study and performance of historical harps.

This performance takes place at the UCSC Music Center Recital Hall on February 6, and begins at 7:30 pm. (Campus directions here)

Download a press release with more fascinating details of this concert, plus information and photos for each concert of the 2010 series.

For tickets visit the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival website or phone 831-457-9693.

Concert and venue details can also be found in our February Online Calendar

Some Enchanted Evening

An Elegant Evening
with Marcus Nance

Tuesday, January 26

Golden Bough Theater
Carmel-by-the-Sea

Marcus Nance is an extraordinary artist with a fabulous bass-baritone voice and amazing broadway credits.

Hear him Tuesday January 26, and enjoy a pre–concert wine reception at 7:00pm, the show at 7:30pm, and a dessert reception and a mini LIVE auction afterward.

This event benefits Pac Rep, Monterey Bay Symphony, and Monterey Bay Links, Inc.

For more information, click here

Our region is alive with singing

Music lovers in the Monterey Bay region are lucky to be able to hear so many wonderful singing ensembles.

To kick off the 2010 choral season Cantus Monterey, a 13 voice ensemble under the direction of Robert Ramon,

presents  

An Evening at Colton Hall

Thursday, January 28, 2010

7:30 pm

Cantus Monterey was founded in 2007 by Robert Ramon and Thomas Barber and is devoted to performing, promoting and advancing the art of choral singing in our Monterey/Salinas community.

More Info: www.cantusmonterey.org

Colton Hall, Monterey  (Mapquest)
570 Pacific Street
Monterey CA 93940 US

Argument to Beethoven's 5th - TV Classic

Happy Birthday Beethoven (baptised on this day, 1770)

Here is a wierd and unexpected tribute: No cue cards, no teleprompters, and no second takes — legendary funnyman Sid Caesar pioneered live television sketch comedy with his 1950s TV show "Your Show of Shows."  

In this classic sketch, "Argument to Beethoven's 5th," Sid Caesar and Nanette Fabray play a couple in an argument with pantomimed action and dialogue. Enjoy! 

Want to see more Sid Caesar? Visit YouTube.

Kickoff the Year with Classical Music!

This is the first weekend of the 2010 Classical music Season, and there is lots of great music to enjoy. For complete details and contact information, visit the CMM online Calendar.

Friday January 15

Night of the Emerging Composers
  Presented by New Music Works
  UC Santa Cruz Recital Hall, Santa Cruz, 7:30pm

Peter Toth, pianist
  All Saints Church, Carmel, 8:00pm

Saturday January 16

Carmel - Met Opera Live Broadcast
  Del Monte Center, Monterey, 10:ooam

Borromeo Quartet with Richard Stoltzman
  Sunset Center, Carmel, 8:00pm

Santa Cruz Chamber Players
  Christ Lutheran Church, Aptos, 8:00pm

Sunday January 17

Schubert’s “Die Winterreise”
  Jos Milton, Tenor; Melinda Coffey, piano
  Church in the Forest, Pebble Beach, 3:00pm

Santa Cruz Chamber Players
  Christ Lutheran Church, Aptos, 3:00pm

Why we all need to sing, no matter our age

The Songs We Don’t Sing

"Singing is one of the first things that parents do with babies when they are born, and parents are constantly singing to toddlers: wordless ditties, choruses and refrains, made-up rhyming songs, anything to comfort them or engage with them. Parents sing, sing, sing in the early years of children’s lives—and then it stops."

Read more in Utne Reader Online...

Arts Education Promotes Emotional Intelligence

As arts education is pushed further to the margins by the emphasis on standardized testing, a tool for nurturing children's social and emotional development is being lost.

From www.miller-mccune.com

Read More....