Contacts:
Gloria Gottschalk, New School University
212-229-5667, ext. 239
[email protected]
Lauren Erlichman, New School University
212-229-5667, ext. 206
[email protected]
Patricia A. Neely, Mannes College of Music
212/580-0210, ext. 228
[email protected]
"Viva Voce" – The Legacy of Robert Shaw
A conversation and master class on Tuesday, November 27, 2001 with
Martina Arroyo and Richard Westenburg in celebration of
the 60th Anniversary of The Collegiate Chorale
(New York, NY – September 10. 2001) On Tuesday, November
27, 2001, Mannes College of Music will present a special evening featuring
a conversation and master class with soprano Martina Arroyo and Richard
Westenburg (former Music Director of The Collegiate Chorale) in celebration
of the 60th Anniversary of The Collegiate Chorale. "Viva Voce"
will celebrate the legacy of Robert Shaw, the founder of the Chorale.
The conversation at 5 PM and master class from 8 PM – 10
PM are free and open to the public and will take place in Goldmark Hall and
the Concert Hall at Mannes College of Music, 150 West 85th Street between Columbus
and Amsterdam Avenues, NYC. (Take the #1/9 subway to 85th Street.) For further
information, call 212/496-8524.
Robert Bass, the current Music Director of The Collegiate Chorale,
has organized the celebration of Robert Shaw’s significant legacy to the
vocal arts. Beginning at 5 PM on Tuesday, November 27, a conversation with Robert
Shaw experts and family members will look back at the life of the famed music
director. Participants will include Virginia Shaw, Mr. Shaw’s daughter;
Norman McKenzie, a long-time assistant to Mr. Shaw; and soprano and master teacher
Martina Arroyo, who shared a long professional relationship with Mr. Shaw.
A master class led by Martina Arroyo and Richard Westernburg (former
Music Director of The Collegiate Chorale) will follow from 8 PM - 10 PM.
These events take place on the eve of The Collegiate Chorale’s
Carnegie Hall concert, where they will perform the Brahms "Requiem"
and the world premiere of Ned Rorem’s "Now Voyager," with text
by Walt Whitman.
For further information on The Collegiate Chorale’s 60th
Anniversary, call 212/664-1390 or visit the Web site at www.collegiatechorale.org
Robert Shaw (1916-1999) had a remarkable career. Founder
of The Collegiate Chorale, Robert Shaw was affiliated with the Atlanta Symphony
Orchestra for 21 years and had a long association with Carnegie Hall.
The 60th Anniversary tribute to Robert Shaw marks a historic moment
for The Collegiate Chorale and for Robert Bass, the current Music Director.
"Having established this chorus 60 years ago, Mr. Shaw was committed to
developing a great choral tradition featuring talented and dedicated singers
exploring the vocal arts of every genre," said Mr. Bass. "American
and European, traditional and classical works have been the core of our repertoire,
but rarely performed operas-in-concert have become the cornerstone of our programming
as well. As we enter this 60th benchmark year, we will continue to explore our
rarely heard operas-in-concert."
The Collegiate Chorale has been a prominent force in the musical life of New York City for nearly sixty years. Founded in 1941 by Robert Shaw, the Chorale has established a national reputation through its commitment not only to the traditional choral repertoire, but also to American music, rarely heard operas-in-concert, and to new works – many of them commissions or premieres – by such leading composers as Barber, Bolcom, Britten, Copland, Dvorak, and Sessions. Taking its name from its first rehearsal space at the Marble Collegiate Church, the Chorale first made an impression on the vocal arts stage when it sang Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of Arturo Toscanini and subsequently sang under such conductors as Beecham, Bernstein, Koussevitzky, Maazel, Mehta, and Mitropoulos. Past Music Directors for the Chorale have included Margaret Hillis, Abraham Kaplan, and Richard Westenburg. The Chorale embarked on its first European tour this past summer, performing in Prague and Vienna.
****
Mannes College of Music, a division of New School University,
was founded in 1916. It is one of the world’s major conservatories of music.
Mannes offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as a Professional
Studies Diploma program. Joel Lester is Dean of the College. For further information
on Mannes College of Music, call 212/ 580-0210 or go to the Web site at www.mannes.edu
New School University, with 7,000 matriculated students
and 25,000 continuing education students, is comprised of seven academic divisions:
The New School, the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, Parsons
School of Design, Eugene Lang College, Mannes College of Music, the Robert J.
Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, and the Actors Studio
Drama School, as well as the University's B.F.A. in Jazz and Contemporary Music.
New School Online University offers one of the largest selections of online
courses in the nation. For further information about admission to New School
University, call 877-528-3321 or go to the Web site at www.newschool.edu