Announcements

Composer Lee Hoiby's Setting of a last letter home on YouTube
Private First Class Jesse Givens, a setting for voice and piano of a last letter home from an American soldier who died in Iraq, performed by baritone Andrew Garland, is viewable on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wqnPjkqu20

US Army Pfc. Jesse Givens died in Iraq in the service of his country on the first of May, 2003, in his 34th year. He wrote this letter to his wife Melissa, his five year-old son Dakota (nicknamed 'Toad') and his unborn child Carson (nicknamed 'Bean'). He asked Melissa not to open the envelope unless he was killed. 'Please, only read it if I don't come home,' he wrote. 'Please put it away and hopefully you will never have to read it.'

The work was originally written for a consortium of male vocal ensembles led by Cantus of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Cantus first performed it in March 2006. An audio file of Cantus's performance can be downloaded at www.cantusonline.org.

Shortly thereafter Hoiby made a version for baritone and piano which had its first performance by Andrew Garland with Mr. Hoiby accompanying at a concert of Hoiby's music presented by the music department of the University of Wisconsin at Madison in honor of the centenary of the birth of Gunnar Johansen, the Danish piano virtuoso who was Hoiby's musical mentor. The entire concert, which took place on September 17, 2006, can be found at www.music.wisc.edu/events/eventcalendar.jsp on the September page. The Youtube video dramatization features Mr. Garland lipsynching the Madison audio.

Baritone Simon Chausse of Montreal performed the song in October in Montpelier, Vermont. The music critic of the Montpelier Argus, Jim Lowe, wrote: "A new American song-one that is likely destined for worldwide importance-was presented just months after it was written . . . and because of the song's timeliness and fine crafting, it proved emotionally devastating. . . . Hoiby's simple, never maudlin, melodic lines were never histrionic, only quietly dramatic. Still, there was an underlying cataclysmic feel that was subtly interwoven into the modest tonal accompaniment."

Further information about Andrew Garland can be found at www.andrewgarland.com Further information about Lee Hoiby can be found at www.schott-music.com/news/komponistennews/show,16353.html -- and - www.leehoiby.com

Organist Position
First Presbyterian Church of Gloucester, VA is seeking a part time organist to play our new Allen three-manual digital organ for two services on Sunday mornings. Duties may include Wednesday evening choir practice. Salary will be commensurate with experience, degree and responsibilities. Contact Godwin Jones, Personnel Committee, First Presbyterian Church, Gloucester, 804-776-8387, gsjones@cablefirst.net .

Virginia Beach Composer Featured on Award-Winning CD
Virginia Beach composer John Winsor's orchestral work, Three Essays, is featured on Volume Two of ERMMedia's Masterworks of the New Era CD series. On November 4th, the CD rerceived the 2006 JPF Best Classical Orchestral Album award.

The CD, which contains only works by living composers, competed against standard classical CDs. It features Robert Ian Winstin conducting the Philharmonia Bulgarica. Just Plain Folks, which presented the award, is an organization of over 40,000 music publishers, record labels, recording studios, producers, and other music professionals and organizations. Other composers represented on the CD are Thomas Read, Nancy Bloomer Deussen, Gustav Hoyer, Frederic Glesser, and John Ernst.

John Winsor has taught music theory and designed bandsman training materials at the Armed Forces School of Music. He has also taught clarinet, music theory, and composition at the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts. He is clarinetist and composer-in-residence of the Hardwick Chamber Ensemble and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Composers/USA (NACUSA).

John's composition prizes include 1992 and 1995 Delius Awards, the 1992, 1994, and 2004 VMTA Commissioned Composer awards, and the Modern Music Festival 2000 Film Scoring Competition prize. He has received grants from the American Music Center and Meet the Composer, Inc. as well as ASCAP standard awards. His works are performed throughout the United States and, occasionally, in Europe. He is the author of Breaking the Sound Barrier: An Argument for Mainstream Literary Music (iUniverse Writer's Showcase), which is listed as an iUniverse Editor's Choice and Reader's Choice book and won a Bronze Medal in ForeWord Magazine's 2003 Book of the Year Awards. His music is published by Conners Publications. His Caprice for clarinet solo (John WInsor, clarinet) was released on NACUSA's very first official CD - Greetings from NACUSA.

John received music degrees from Heidelberg College (B.Mus, 1974) and Kent State University (M.A., 1980). He studied clarinet with Robert Harrison, David Harris, and Robert Marcellus of the Cleveland Orchestra and composition with John Rinehart and James Waters. He serves as webmaster for NACUSA, the MusicLink Foundation, and the Virginia Music Teachers Association and works as a computer programmer for Unisys Corporation. He is currently sole proprietor of Benchmark Web Sites and an adjunct clarinet instructor at Tidewater Community College.

The Masterworks of the New Era recording series is available through fine retailers and at almost all on-line retailers, including Amazon.com and CD Baby.

The African American Art Song Alliance Announces Conference
In honor of the decade of service performed by the Alliance, we will convene a conference inviting performers, teachers, scholars, and music lovers to the University of California, Irvine. Featured events include a master class by tenor George Shirley, keynote speech by Willis Patterson, and performances by internationally renowned singers and instrumentalists, in addition to scholarly panel discussions and paper presentations.

The conference will take place February 9-12, 2007. Mark your calendars. Attendees are encouraged to register their intent, though no registration fee is required and all events will be free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Shirley Field at (949) 824-6615.

Visit the African American Art Song Alliance website at www.darryltaylor.com/alliance.html

Update, November 27, 2006:
From Darryl Taylor:
It's about that time to start making your hotel and travel reservations for the African American Art Song Alliance Conference: A Time for Reflection. This event will be held at the University of California, Irvine, February 9 - 12, 2007. There will be paper presentations, lectures, performances, panel discussions, and a master class. Many of the most exciting performers and scholars in the country will be attending and it's an event you won't want to miss. Host Hotel: Crowne Plaza, Irvine, 17941 VON KARMAN , IRVINE, CA 92614 UNITED STATES Hotel Front Desk: 949-863-1999 Be sure to book your flight into the John Wayne International Airport (SNA), which is five minutes from the host hotel. There is a free shuttle to and from the airport provided by the Crowne Plaza. Shuttle service will also take attendees to and from the conference site.
See you in February!
Darryl Taylor
Founder, The African American Art Song Alliance
www.darryltaylor.com/alliance.html

Eastern Virginia Brass Commissions New Work
The Eastern Virginia Brass is pleased to announce the commissioning of Leigh Baxter, composer, and Robert Arthur, poet, for an exciting and timely new work titled Threshold to America. The work for brass quintet and narrator commemorates Jamestown 2007 and will be performed throughout Virginia in the coming season.
Raised in Norfolk and now living and working in Richmond, Baxter is most recently known for his work for orchestra and narrator, Lewis and Clark: A Symphonic Poem. The work was premiered by the Richmond Symphony and recorded by the Kiev Philharmonic on the CD, Masterworks of the New Era, Vol. 6. Baxter, an administrator and teacher at John Tyler Community College, is President of the Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Composers.
Arthur, a Norfolk native with long ancestry on the Eastern Shore, is a poet, novelist, short story writer, playwright and critic. Hymn to the Chesapeake, a best-selling book of poetry has been made into a musical play of the same name and performed in St. Petersburg, Russia as well as in Washington, New York, Maryland and Virginia. He is professor of English and creative writing at Tidewater Community College and Playwright in Residence, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
The project was initiated by the Eastern Virginia Brass with the intent of creating a new and permanent work in the brass repertoire. A collaborative work between Virginia composer, poet, narrator and musicians, Threshold to America tells the story of the founding of Jamestown with the combined passion of music and words.
The Eastern Virginia Brass, a professional chamber music ensemble, has performed recitals, community concert, educational programs and ceremonial performances for 25 years. The ensemble includes Lawrence Clemens and Robert Spaeth, trumpets; Marlene Ford, horn; Robert Ford, trombone and James Cipriano, tuba. Over that time the group has been known for its lively performances and easy rapport with audiences performing the most serious works of the literature to the kind of toe-tapping music anyone and everyone can enjoy.
The premiere performance of Threshold to America is Monday, November 6, 7:30 pm at Hofheimer Theatre, Virginia Wesleyan College, Norfolk. Works by other American composers from the American Revolution, the Civil War and the 20th Century will also be on the program. Other concerts featuring this new work include performances at Trinity Episcopal Church on Saturday, December 9, 6 pm, Portsmouth Virginia (also including holiday music); Candlelight Concert Series, Great Bridge Presbyterian Church, March 25, 2007, 4 pm. The DeWitt Wallace Museum, Williamsburg, April 13, 2007, 7:30 pm; Chesapeake Central Library, May 17, 2007, 7 pm; Tabb Library, Yorktown, May 12, 2007, 7 pm. Tidewater Community College and the Francis Land House in the spring of 2007. Other dates and locations will be announced as they are confirmed.

Grateful acknowledgment for funding this special project is made to: Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Diehn Fund of the Norfolk Foundation; the Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission, Williamsburg Community Trust, Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission, The Irene Leache Memorial Foundation for the commissioning of the narration, the Portsmouth Fine Arts Commission, York County Arts Commission, Williamsburg Area Arts Commission and private contributors.

Click Here to visit the Eastern Virginia Brass website.