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November 19, 2009 |
concert to benefit the musicians of the honolulu symphony |
SYMPHONY MUSICIANS ANNOUNCE BENEFIT RECITAL WITH CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY;
Acclaimed Concert Pianist To Appear in UH/Manoa’s Orvis on Sunday, November 29th at 4:00 p.m.
Chamber Music Hawaii and the Musicians of the Honolulu Symphony are proud to present acclaimed concert
pianist Christopher O’Riley, who will perform a benefit recital on behalf of the Honolulu Symphony musicians at
4 p.m. on Sunday, November 29, 2009 in UH/Manoa’s Orvis Auditorium. O’Riley was originally scheduled to
perform as a soloist with the Honolulu Symphony in concerts at the end of this month, and the recital is actually
scheduled at one of the two times he originally was contracted to play with the full orchestra. O’Riley will be
performing solo works by Beethoven and Chopin, and will be joined by a string quartet of Symphony Musicians
for the Schumann Piano Quintet in E flat, Op. 44. Tickets for the November 29th concert are $50 general
admission, and may be purchased through the Chamber Music Hawaii web site at www.chambermusichawaii.org
or by calling Hawaii Public Radio at 955-8821 and reserving tickets by telephone.
The proceeds from the concert will go to the Musicians’ two support funds, one of which makes interest-free
loans available to musicians for emergencies, and the other of which makes funds available to support public
performances by Symphony musicians. The two funds are: Honolulu Symphony Musicians (not tax-deductible)
and Live Music Awareness - Honolulu Symphony Musicians Fund (tax-deductible). Contributions to either can be
sent to Honolulu Symphony Musicians, 949 Kapiolani Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96814.
O’Riley says, “We live in challenging times for orchestras across the country. As those challenges are
addressed, it is hoped that solutions will be found and adjustments made between the musicians and management
in a sense of good faith and honesty.” He continues, “I had been looking forward to performing with the Honolulu
Symphony at the end of November, but my concerts were among the several November events cancelled by the
Symphony management, and the Symphony musicians now have no work until at least the end of the calendar
year. It is my fervent hope that I will be only one among many in joining together in support of the dedicated
musicians of the Honolulu Symphony.”
Symphony Musicians’ representative Steve Dinion said, “The musicians are profoundly grateful to
Christopher O’Riley for this very generous expression of support, and we are touched by the outpouring of concern
from the community. We'd also like to thank the UH/Manoa Music Department for making Orvis Auditorium
available to us for this event.”
The Symphony musicians who will be performing the Schumann quintet with O’Riley include Concertmaster
Ignace Jang, violin, and the others will be announced shortly.
All of the Honolulu Symphony’s concerts originally scheduled for November have been cancelled, and there is
nothing scheduled for the musicians for the rest of the calendar year. Those musicians who had HMSA medical
plans lost their medical coverage at the beginning of November.
In addition to his prolific recital and recording careers, O’Riley is, of course, well known as the host of
National Public Radio’s award-winning program From the Top, and will in fact be returning to Hawaii in January
2010 for two performance tapings for national broadcast on Hawaii Island. The first is scheduled for Wednesday,
January 20th at the Kahilu Theatre in Kamuela; the second for Friday, January 22nd in the William Charles Lunalilo
Center of the Kamehameha Schools Hawaii in Kea‘au, just north of Hilo. Hawaii Public Radio is presenting both
events; this is the fourth time that HPR has brought From the Top to Hawaii, and the very first time for
performances on Hawaii Island.
From his groundbreaking transcriptions of Radiohead to his unforgettable interpretations of classic and new
repertoire, pianist Christopher O'Riley has redefined the possibilities of classical music. An interpreter and
arranger of some of the most important contemporary rock music of our time, O'Riley lives by the Duke Ellington
adage, “there are only two kinds of music, good music and bad.” His first recording of Radiohead transcriptions,
“True Love Waits” (Sony/Odyssey), was as critically acclaimed as it was commercially successful. His second set
entitled “Hold Me to This: Christopher O'Riley Plays Radiohead,” was released on World Village/Harmonia
Mundi in the Spring of 2005. In 2006, he released his third set of transcriptions, “Home to Oblivion; An Elliott
Smith Tribute.” His most recent CD, “Second Grace: Music of Nick Drake,” interprets the work of
singer/songwriter Nick Drake.
O'Riley has been honored with many awards at the Leeds, Van Cliburn, Busoni and Montreal competitions, as
well as an Avery Fisher Career Grant. He toured the U.S. with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber
Orchestra playing Bach, Mozart and Lizst concerti, and has recently appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic,
the Minnesota Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony.
Listing Information
Chamber Music Hawaii and the Honolulu Symphony Musicians present
Christopher O’Riley in Recital
Sunday, November 29, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.
Orvis Auditorium, UH/Manoa
Tickets: $50
Reservations: call 955-8821 or for on-line orders,
go to www.chambermusichawaii.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2009
Contact: Judy Neale, 955-8821
 
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Posted in
News + Thoughts
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November 15, 2009 |
falling canons #2 & 3 2009.11.11 & 13 |
two more world premiere performances from Kenneth Fuchs' set of Falling Canons. both performances were part of From The Top live tapings, #2 @ Jones Concert Hall (a phenomenally beautiful and warm acoustic, and even the rehearsal Steinway Concert Grand was spectacular (we did an interview/performance for the local station, and i enjoyed playing Ondine on that second piano immensely), the Jones Concert Steinway was spectacular; great pianos in Waco, TX!) on the Baylor University campus, #3 @ the brand-new Winspear Opera House in Dallas, TX.
mp3 downloads available here:
falling canon #2
falling canon #3
© Kenneth Fuchs. Used by permission.
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Posted in
Audio Clips
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November 08, 2009 |
R.E.M.'s WORLD LEADER PRETEND & Raymond Scott's POWERHOUSE |
November's a busy month for From The Top: live tapings at Emory University's gorgeous Schwartz Center on 2009.11.04 and an official 10th Anniversary all-Alumni show at Denison University's Swasey Chapel on 2009.11.07.
In honor of the Peachtree State presence (most of the kids on the show were Atlanta denizens), I reprised my arrnagement of REM's World Leader Pretend. I dedicated the performance to my dear Athens friends, Bertis, Katherine, Addie and Eliza Downs. Had a great Chronictown time next day, too. Download the live performance track here.
Uncle Dave Lewis, encyclopaedic advocate of all great music, turned me on to Raymond Scott, a particular passion of his. Scott was a bandleader in the 30's, an innovative composer of boundless joy and energy who went on to lead the band on Your Hit Parade and built and designed the first instrument able to generate/compose music electronically. Perhaps most notable, he sold his song catalog in 1941 to Warner Bros. who subsequently mined it for innumerable cues in the Bugs Bunny cartoons. Powerhouse is his best-known tune, but there's a lot of Raymond Scott's music that I'll likely be playing in time to come.
Especial thanks to Uncle Dave for introducing me to the wide wonderful world of Raymond Scott's incredible music (and so much else, perpetually), to Irwin Chusid, who heads the Raymond Scott Estate and was kind enough to make scores/charts available to me; Wayne Barker is also to be thanked for providing his own takes on Scott's work which shaped and helped me navigate through to my own explorations/reimaginings.
This one's dedicated to Bugs Bunny fanatics, Michelle and Bridget. Download the live performance track here.
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Posted in
Audio Clips
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October 17, 2009 |
jian ghomeshi interviewing me last march on QTV |
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October 12, 2009 |
HOGDOGGIN - anthony neil smith |
Just finished the latest and greatest by noir writer, Anthony Neil Smith; his second sojourn with scoundrel ex-cop, Billy Lafitte. This time, Billy, still pursued by the rogue FBI man, Franklin Rome, has joined a biker gang. By the end of the first 20 pages, Billy's got half a dozen screaming for his blood, preferably extracted through slow and excruciating means. Hogdoggin refers to the setting of dogs on a wild pig, a particularly cruel and inhumane (cue Michael Vick) bloodsport/entertainment. Billy's certainly the pig in this one, but you can't help rooting for him, a masterful evocation of character and empathy that only Anthony could muster on his behalf. Highest recommendation, though not for the weak-hearted.
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Posted in
News + Thoughts
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