Betsy's View

Celebrating 2010 Holiday Pops with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops

Sitting in Symphony Hall once again, I was reminded of the magic of this institution and of this Hall. There with Keith Lockhart at the podium, the third Pops conductor in the past 80 years, I was surrounded by history and the love and beauty of music. The Pops will be performing 37 concerts in less than three weeks, and when the day is over, it’s only about one thing…the music!

One Flew South, Marcus Hummon and a Little Thing I Call Fate

The concert was far more than I could ever have hoped for. Marcus Hummon sang a dozen songs, and I couldn’t help but be captured by his stories and songs. One Flew South sang many songs from Last of the Good Guys, and they sang many more. They sang tunes from the Beatles, and they even sang Mellencamp’s Jack & Diane, which they dedicated to me since we never connected at FarmAid!

St. Paul’s Choir of Salt Lake City Performs Dvořák’s Requiem

St. Paul’s Choir of Salt Lake City’s St. Paul’s Episcopal Church performed Dvořák’s Requiem. Before the concert, Peter Christie had talked to me about how meaningful this event was to him, as it was not just a concert but a requiem incorporated into an actual Mass. I was at a church service where a requiem was intended to be heard.

American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic Honors Veterans with "The Price of Freedom"

Veterans Day is a time of remembrance and honor. We remember those who have served our country, and we honor those who today spend each breath they take protecting our nation. In remembrance of those who fought in World War II, Rob Gardner and McKane Davis composed The Price of Freedom. Combining orchestra, song and archival video footage, The Price of Freedom shares the stories of 4 soldiers and their loved ones back home. It is an amazing program.

Thierry Fischer and Utah Symphony’s ‘Fireworks’ Begin 2010-11 Season with a Bang

The Utah Symphony’s 2010-11 season officially began two weeks ago, but for most, the season truly begins with new Music Director Thierry Fischer taking the podium for the first time this weekend. In his first season as the new Music Director, Fischer has been heralded as the man who is going to bring the Utah Symphony to new heights.

Contemporary Artists Existential Pilot Charts New Territory in Boston

On May 12th I had a great opportunity to attend a “contemporary” concert in Boston. Existential Pilot was capping off its spring tour with a concert at First Church in Boston and I received an invitation to attend. Some people hear the word contemporary and they go running for Beethoven or Mozart. I’ve discovered that there are some types of sounds that are really in the ear of the composer, and then there are others that should be in the ears of the patrons. Existential Pilot belongs in the latter category.

Boston Pops 125 Salutes American Heroes Part 2: Armed Forces, Arthur Fiedler, Arlo Guthrie, Brian Stokes Mitchell

How does the Pops celebrate its 125th Season? Class, Tradition and Honor. I haven’t been to any better Pops performances. What a way to celebrate the Pops’ 125th Anniversary! The season isn’t finished yet, and the big finale of the summer is always the Pops on the Esplanade for the 4th of July. Fantastic performances!

Boston Pops 125 Salutes American Heroes and Honors Kennedy Brothers Part 1: De Niro, Freeman and Harris

If you didn’t get a chance to attend the Boston Pops this past week, you missed one heck of a concert! I seem to have a lot of musical firsts, and this Pops concert program was by far my favorite ever. Keith Lockhart and the Pops put together a program that included Hollywood’s and Boston’s elite, 9/11 Rescue workers and local artists, and the programs were so phenomenal that I had to attend twice!

Utah’s Ballet West Dares Us to Dream

Salt Lake City’s Ballet West opened its 2009-2010 season with The Dream. Artistic Director Adam Sklute chose three diverse works for the season’s first program; Songs of the Valley, Three Preludes and The Dream. It was a wonderful performance accompanied by the music of Copland, Rachmaninoff and Mendelssohn!

Fred Lerdahl Honored As Maurice Abravanel Distinguished Composer

On November 4th, 2009, the Canyonlands New Music Ensemble presents the Maurice Abravanel Visiting Distinguished Composer Series and honors Composer Fred Lerdahl. A highly-regarded composer, Lerdahl has been composing for more than 45 years, writing Piano Fantasy in 1964 while ‘under the spell’ of his first summer at Tanglewood. Among his many accolades, Lerdahl is a recipient of the Koussevitzky Composition Prize and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in music.

Oboist Geralyn Giovannetti Performs at BYU with Pianist Jed Moss and Bassoonist Christian Smith

BYU School of Music Professor and Associate Director Geralyn Giovannetti gave a faculty oboe recital at Madsen Recital Hall at Brigham Young University on September 29th. Accompanying Giovannetti on piano was Jed Moss, and bassoonist Christian Smith joined Moss and Giovannetti for Francis Poulenc’s Trio for Piano, Oboe and Bassoon.

Newton Symphony Orchestra Begins 09-10 Season with Brahms and Violin Soloist Markus Placci

This season, the NSO takes on Brahms, Debussy, Dvorak, Rachmaninoff, Smetana, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky and welcomes Violinist Markus Placci, Cellist Bobby Chen, Clarinetist Ian Greitzer, and Pianist Edit-Maria Fazakas to perform some of the composers’ great concertos.

Interview with Cellist Wendy Warner for NVPO 2009/10 Season Opener

Wendy Warner has performed in concert halls worldwide, having performed with the Chicago, Berlin, Boston, Dallas, London, and San Francisco symphonies and with orchestras from St. Petersburg to Hong Kong to Toulouse. This Sunday, as the NVPO begins its second season, the orchestra and its patrons throughout the valley are in for an afternoon of beautiful music!

The Sundance Trio Debut CD is Lively, Passionate and Inspired (Giovannetti, Moss, Smith)

In a celebration of musical sounds, The Sundance Trio invites us to listen to the innovative and striking sonorities of The Sundance Trio: “The Sundance Trio generally strives to perform and record new and unusual works by commissioning composers whose musical proclivities range from jazz to modern idioms. Oboist Geralyn Giovannetti, Bassoonist Christian Smith and Pianist Jed Moss combine forces to render dynamic performances…”

Paul McCartney’s Long and Winding Road Leads to Fenway Park in Boston – 8/6/09

Paul McCartney has never just “Let It Be”.

When I look at the big picture and consider that The Beatles broke up before I was born, I find it surreal that I’ve just attended a Paul McCartney concert, here in Boston at Fenway Park.

The Boston Pops, Neil Diamond and Craig Ferguson Celebrate July 4th ‘09 Boston Style!

If I’m passionate about anything, it’s about celebrating the Fourth of July in Boston!
Thanks to philanthropist David Mugar and Boston 4 Productions, there’s no place I’d rather be on the Fourth than on the Boston Esplanade watching The Boston Pops and Grammy Award-winning guest artists, and trying to find a 2 x 2 foot piece [...]

Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart Believes in Emotionally Compelling Music

Interview with Maestro Keith Lockhart

Keith Lockhart is one of the finest conductors of our generation.
Fifteen years ago, Keith Lockhart became the 20th conductor of the Boston Pops. Boston welcomed him with open arms and warm hearts and reveled in his celebrity status. It seemed that not a day went by without hearing about the [...]