Lecture: Engaging the Adult Learner in Studio Lessons

Teaching adults can not only be emotionally rewarding, it also presents a market for the enterprising studio teacher, if the teacher is aware of the unique aspects of teaching adult learners. We will discuss the physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges that adult students can present, as well as strategies for accommodating these challenges and a variety of learning styles. By incorporating these strategies, teachers will benefit from increased student motivation and retention.

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The Last American Hammer
A New American Chamber Opera

Music by Peter Hilliard
Libretto by Matt Boresi

Milcom Negley, a one-man militia, rages against the tyranny of federal overreach. He is hunkered down in a rural Toby jug museum in a rust belt Ohio town where Tink Enraught, a mannered curatrix, offers him tea and cookies. Milcom is a “Thirteenther” – a conspiracy theorist who believes an obscure, would-be Thirteenth amendment negates the authority of our government. He occupies the museum because it is the only place left in his failed town to receive federal funds – a grant for the upkeep of a rare 17th-century British pitcher known as “Sir Oswyn.” Although Milcom expects to be swarmed by military drones, attention is paid only by Agent Reyes, a young rookie FBI field specialist. Milcom explains that the town’s only major source of employment – a hammer manufacturer – has gone under, leaving the residents lost. He is armed with “the Last American Hammer” to roll off the plant’s line and intends to hold a proxy trial against the US government using Toby jugs as physical stand-ins for a court. With a bluegrass-infused score that brings American roots to the operatic stage, The Last American Hammer combines comedy with empathy in small-town USA.

Tickets

The Last American Hammer
A New American Chamber Opera

Music by Peter Hilliard
Libretto by Matt Boresi

Milcom Negley, a one-man militia, rages against the tyranny of federal overreach. He is hunkered down in a rural Toby jug museum in a rust belt Ohio town where Tink Enraught, a mannered curatrix, offers him tea and cookies. Milcom is a “Thirteenther” – a conspiracy theorist who believes an obscure, would-be Thirteenth amendment negates the authority of our government. He occupies the museum because it is the only place left in his failed town to receive federal funds – a grant for the upkeep of a rare 17th-century British pitcher known as “Sir Oswyn.” Although Milcom expects to be swarmed by military drones, attention is paid only by Agent Reyes, a young rookie FBI field specialist. Milcom explains that the town’s only major source of employment – a hammer manufacturer – has gone under, leaving the residents lost. He is armed with “the Last American Hammer” to roll off the plant’s line and intends to hold a proxy trial against the US government using Toby jugs as physical stand-ins for a court. With a bluegrass-infused score that brings American roots to the operatic stage, The Last American Hammer combines comedy with empathy in small-town USA.

Tickets

KalHaven Strings performs holiday favorites and more!

Visit CTL and enjoy an afternoon of holiday cheer! Children will be able to meet with Santa Claus, enjoy crafts and decorate sugar cookies. Refreshments will be served upstairs.

Free and open to the public. Information

Program featuring Handel, The Ways of Zion Do Mourn

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Program

Florence Price Ethiopia’s Shadow in America
Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, “Romantic”

Julian Kuerti, conductor

”We’ll be honest: there is no symphony like a Bruckner symphony. With a splash of fairytale intrigue, a bit of big brass, and an orchestra of epic proportions, Anton Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony takes us on a breathtaking and grandiose musical journey. Florence Price’s moving work Ethiopia’s Shadow in America sets the stage for this captivating performance.”

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Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Grand Rapids. Get your tickets now to discover Halloween inspired music at Fountain Street Church under the gentle glow of candlelight.

KalHaven Strings string quartet

Program:

• Thriller - Michael Jackson

• Funeral March of a Marionette - Charles Gounod

• String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor (Dresden Quartet), Op. 110: II. Allegro Molto - Dmitri Shostakovich

• Tubular Bells (Theme from The Exorcist) - Mike Oldfield

• Stranger Things (Theme) - S U R V I V E

• Beetlejuice (Theme) - Danny Elfman

• The Addams Family (Theme) - Vic Mizzy

• Halloween (Theme) - John Carpenter

• Psycho (Prelude) - Bernard Herrmann

• Ghostbusters (Theme) - Ray Parker Jr.

• Danse Macabre - Camille Saint-Saëns

• Night on Bald Mountain - Modest Mussorgsky

• Der Erlkönig - Franz Schubert

• This Is Halloween from The Nightmare Before Christmas - Danny Elfman

• Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Richard O’Brien and Richard Hartley

• In the Hall of the Mountain King - Edvard Grieg

Tickets starting from $30

Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Grand Rapids. Get your tickets now to discover Halloween inspired music at Fountain Street Church under the gentle glow of candlelight.

KalHaven Strings string quartet

Program:

• Thriller - Michael Jackson

• Funeral March of a Marionette - Charles Gounod

• String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor (Dresden Quartet), Op. 110: II. Allegro Molto - Dmitri Shostakovich

• Tubular Bells (Theme from The Exorcist) - Mike Oldfield

• Stranger Things (Theme) - S U R V I V E

• Beetlejuice (Theme) - Danny Elfman

• The Addams Family (Theme) - Vic Mizzy

• Halloween (Theme) - John Carpenter

• Psycho (Prelude) - Bernard Herrmann

• Ghostbusters (Theme) - Ray Parker Jr.

• Danse Macabre - Camille Saint-Saëns

• Night on Bald Mountain - Modest Mussorgsky

• Der Erlkönig - Franz Schubert

• This Is Halloween from The Nightmare Before Christmas - Danny Elfman

• Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Richard O’Brien and Richard Hartley

• In the Hall of the Mountain King - Edvard Grieg

Tickets starting from $30

James Lee III Emotive Transformations
Maurice Ravel Shéhérazade
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 in F major

Julian Kuerti, Conductor 

Rihab Chaieb, Mezzo-soprano

There is no better way to spend an evening than with Tchaikovsky’s dramatic Fourth Symphony. This musical roller coaster, complete with drops, tosses, and turns, will have you on your feet for a rousing conclusion of musical fireworks. The concert kicks off with a powerful piece by Michigan-born composer James Lee III and the entrancing sounds of Maurice Ravel’s Shéhérazade.

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Bon Appétit! was comprised of two icons of the television age: music draped over the words and gestures of Julia Child, the mother-of-all-foodies, in her black-and-white days; written for Jean Stapleton, famed original-cast, Broadway-musical comedienne, in her late career. The juxtaposition clicked for a few seasons, as a curtain-raiser for the more substantial Italian Lesson. The work lives on by virtue of flamboyant mezzos, piano-accompanied at gala occasions where great quantities of chocolate are consumed.

Two episodes of the second WGBH-TV season were conflated: the race between the whisk and the electric beater comes out of a different cake. Props have been used, or not. Hoiby’s music deftly veers around Broadway chansons, early television, and Ravelian apotheosis to underline Julia Child’s compelling domestic uplift.

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Megan Healy, violin

Daniel Mullins, piano

Program

Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24 “Spring”

Brahms, Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78 “Rain Sonata”

Still, Summerland

Live Stream Available

Megan Healy, violin
Daniel Mullins, Piano

Program

Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24 “Spring”

Brahms, Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78 “Rain Sonata”

Still, Summerland

Live Stream Available

Megan Healy, violin
Daniel Mullins, piano

Program

Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24 “Spring”

Brahms, Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78 “Rain Sonata”

Still, Summerland

Live Stream Available

Julian Kuerti, conductor
Wei Luo, piano
Misha Galant, piano
Maxim Lando, piano

Conductor Julian Kuerti and the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra are joined by 2018 Gilmore Young Artist Wei Luo and 2020 Gilmore Young Artists Misha Galant and Maxim Lando for a symphonic concert centered around the piano. Ms. Luo performs Tchaikovsky’s magnificent and virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23, Mr. Galant and Mr. Lando pair up for Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos, and all three pianists join the orchestra for Bach’s virtuosic Concerto for Three Pianos.

PROGRAM:
Johann Sebastian Bach, Concerto for Three Pianos, BWV 1063
Prancis Poulenc, Concerto for Two Pianos
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23

This concert delights audiences of all generations with your blockbuster favorites–Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, and more!

Timothy Verville, Music Director Finalist
Evgenia Pirshina, contralto

The SMSO presents an afternoon of stories brought to life by great music. Engelbert Humperdinck's Overture to "Hansel and Gretel" opens this symphonic storybook with a familiar fable. Russian - American contralto Evgenia Pirshina joins the SMSO performing a selection of songs by Gustav Mahler. Known for primarily creating massive orchestral works, Mahler asserts his compositional prowess by melding short stories with beautifully crafted music. The final chapter of this literary journey concludes with Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. Using several tales from the famous 1,001 Arabian Nights, and featuring  SMSO concertmaster Whun Kim, this dazzling display of orchestral fireworks is not to be missed.

PROGRAM
Engelbert Humperdinck, Overture to Hänsel und Gretel
Gustav Mahler, Five Selected Songs
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
Rheinlegendchen  
Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht? 
Wo die schonen Trompeten blasen
Urlicht, from Symphony No. 2 
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade Op.35

Avalon Cutts-Jones, soprano
Alexandra Galla, mezzo-soprano
Jon Lovegrove, tenor
Kohl Weisman, bass-baritone
Megan Healy, violin
Pablo Mahave-Veglia, cello
Tina Gorter, piano

Opera is Lit…literature, that is!

Musicologist Camellia Adams curates an event that aims to explore the connection between music and English-language text. From the early Baroque in England to contemporary African American poetry, Opera Grand Rapids artists will showcase pieces of literature superbly set to song.

PROGRAM:

John Dowland Come again!
Henry Purcell Musick for a while
Thomas Arne Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Ludwig van Beethoven, Auld lang syne
Phoebe Knapp, Blessed assurance
Ralph Vaughn Williams, Bright is the ring of words, from Songs of Travel
Roger Quilter, O mistress mine
William Grant Still, The Breath of a Rose
Aaron Copland, Nature, the Gentlest Mother
Andrew Lloyd Weber, Mr. Mistoffelees
Rosephanye Powell, Still I Rise

Grant Harville, Music Director Finalist
Kathryn Salo, Flute

The SMSO spreads its wings for this collection of orchestral showstoppers. All of Peter Tchaikovsky's characteristic brilliance is on display in Capriccio Italien, his tribute to his favorite travel destination; and the SMSO's own Kathryne Salo brings Jacques Ibert's effervescent Flute Concerto to life. The second half of the program has a decidedly avian bent: You'll meet the playful Blue and Wild Birds (Oiseaux bleus et sauvages) from Canadian Jocelyn Morlock, and you'll hear why the ballet The Firebird rocketed Igor Stravinsky to international fame.

PROGRAM
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Capriccio Italien
Jacques Ibert, Flute Concerto
Kathryne Salo, flute
Jocelyn Morlock, Oiseaux bleus et sauvages
Igor Stravinsky, Suite from The Firebird 

Music by Frances Pollock
Libretto by Tia Price

In 1944, George Stinney Jr. was executed at the age of 14. Wrongfully accused of the rape and murder of two white girls, George became the youngest person legally executed in America. Stinney: An American Execution spotlights the agony of this injustice as it reminds us of our aspirations for an enlightened society.

Music by Frances Pollock
Libretto by Tia Price

In 1944, George Stinney Jr. was executed at the age of 14. Wrongfully accused of the rape and murder of two white girls, George became the youngest person legally executed in America. Stinney: An American Execution spotlights the agony of this injustice as it reminds us of our aspirations for an enlightened society.

Music by Frances Pollock
Libretto by Tia Price

In 1944, George Stinney Jr. was executed at the age of 14. Wrongfully accused of the rape and murder of two white girls, George became the youngest person legally executed in America. Stinney: An American Execution spotlights the agony of this injustice as it reminds us of our aspirations for an enlightened society.

Daniel Brier, Conductor

Complete Film with Orchestra

Don’t miss Steven Spielberg’s cinematic masterpiece E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial with John Williams’ Academy Award®-winning score performed live to picture, and experience the magic once more! ©A.M.P.A.S.®.

Julian Kuerti, Conductor

PROGRAM:

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (b. 1875) Christmas Overture

Arcangelo Corelli (b. 1653) Concerto grosso No. 8 in G minor, Op. 6 "Fatto per la Notte di Natale"

Ralph Vaughan Williams (b. 1872) Fantasia on Greensleeves

James Pierpont (b. 1822) Jingle Bells

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (b. 1756) Die Schlittenfahrt (Sleigh Ride) from Three German Dances, K. 605

Julian Kuerti (b. 1976) A Hannukah Blessing

Howard Blake (b. 1938) The Snowman, Op. 323

Hugh Martin (b. 1914) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Ralph Blane (b. 1914)
arr. John Whitney

Traditional (arr. Arthur Luck) Deck the Halls

Traditional (arr. Arthur Luck) We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Traditional (arr. Bruce Chase) Christmas Favorites

Julian Kuerti, Conductor

PROGRAM:

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (b. 1875) Christmas Overture

Arcangelo Corelli (b. 1653) Concerto grosso No. 8 in G minor, Op. 6 "Fatto per la Notte di Natale"

Ralph Vaughan Williams (b. 1872) Fantasia on Greensleeves

James Pierpont (b. 1822) Jingle Bells

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (b. 1756) Die Schlittenfahrt (Sleigh Ride) from Three German Dances, K. 605

Julian Kuerti (b. 1976) A Hannukah Blessing

Howard Blake (b. 1938) The Snowman, Op. 323

Hugh Martin (b. 1914) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Ralph Blane (b. 1914)
arr. John Whitney

Traditional (arr. Arthur Luck) Deck the Halls

Traditional (arr. Arthur Luck) We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Traditional (arr. Bruce Chase) Christmas Favorites

Matthew Aubin, Music Director Finalist
Mitsuru Kobo, Viola

Join us for an evening of music exploring and celebrating the strength and resilience of women. Tchaikovsky dedicated his heroic Fourth Symphony to his long-time patron Nadezhda von Meck - a savvy businesswoman who supported many artists of the time. Violist Mitsuru Kubo performs Jeremy Crosmer's viola concerto Masks: A Heroine's Tale. Crosmer wrote the five movement concerto to "draw attention to the different ways women shine in society." The program begins with a suite of excerpts from Bizet's Carmen, one of the most long standing and notable masterpieces portraying fearless courage and rebelliousness from one of music's boldest heroines.

PROGRAM
Georges Bizet, Suite from Carmen
Jeremy Crosmer, Masks: A Heroine’s Tale for solo viola and orchestra
Mitsuru Kubo, viola
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Symphony No.4, op.36 TH 27, F minor

MPSQ alum Megan Healy joins the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Maud Powell String Quartet for a dual recital, featuring a live performance of The Maud Powell Project. This performance will be streamed from the Sears Gallery at Elgin Academy.

The Maud Powell String Quartet is the premier honors quartet of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Music Institute. CMI’s Honors Ensembles offer an unparalleled opportunity for advanced musicians (high school and college age) to play chamber music at the highest level and work with some of the finest artist-educators and chamber music coaches in the nation. As ambassadors of the EYSO, the Maud Powell String Quartet maintain active and high-profile performing schedules. The MPSQ is coached by Gina DiBello, violinist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The MPSQ has been offered tuition free since it was founded in 2007 through the generosity of EYSO patrons Ed and Joyce McFarland Dlugopolski. Over the years, the MPSQ has worked with a star-studded list of guest artists and coaches, including Midori, Rachel Barton Pine, Jaime Laredo, Isabella Lippi, Roland Vamos, Brant Taylor and members of the Pacifica Quartet. The quartet has in recent years explored the quartets of Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Dvořák, Ravel, and Shostakovich, and newer works, as well as String Quartet No. 3 by renowned composer Daniel Brewbaker, written for and premiered by the MPSQ. 

Stream the free concert here. The stream is optimized for Google Chrome.