This report from St. Olaf, where Anton Armstrong, a ‘78 alumni, is the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music and conductor of the St. Olaf Choir.
Also known as conductor of our Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy, Armstrong is working with singers from around the world this week at the 22nd Zimriya World Assembly of Choirs in Israel.
Armstrong is one of seven guest conductors — and the only one from the United States — at the assembly, which began August 16 at the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus overlooking Jerusalem. He is leading 100 singers from Israel, Germany, Greece, Argentina, and the United States in a workshop focused on African American spirituals and gospel music. Public gala concerts will be held in the final days of the gathering, which ends August 25.
The Zimriya has been held every third summer in Israel since 1952. Choirs from around the world were invited to participate this year, and more than 700 singers gathered at the festival. Workshop choirs, led by world-known conductors, rehearse daily for five to six hours during the mornings and afternoons. The evenings feature “open singing” of music from various countries and choir-to-choir sessions. The other guest conductors this year hail from Israel, Switzerland, Germany, Bulgaria, and the United Kingdom.
Our good friends over at Arts Umbrella (in Eugene) are hiring part-time teachers to teach in its String Academy program, a collaboration with local school districts to provide beginning instruction on violin, viola, cello, or bass to 4th and 5th grade students.
Candidates must have at least a bachelor’s degree in music and experience teaching elementary strings in a classroom setting with at least 15 students. And it pays! salary: $35/hour.
To find out more, write to Myra Tam or call 541-484-0473.
Begin with PAGLIACCI—one of Opera’s most powerful punches! Canio the clown always has townsfolk chuckling as the cuckold in the traveling play. But when his wife has eyes for another man—in real life—fantasy and reality collide in a fury of passion.
And end with CARMINA BURANA—the triumphant celebration of life, love and lust. With its famous pounding rhythms and lyric beauty, it drives to a full-throttle finale with BodyVox dancers, singers, and chorus coming straight at you!
(Sung in Italian and Latin with English translations projected above the stage.)
Please note; Offer good through Friday, September 3, 2010 on all price levels except lowest and highest. Not valid with any other offer or on previously purchased tickets. Discount valid on select performances only. Select seating areas. Quantities are limited. All sales final. Additional restrictions may apply.
The July 3, 2010 gala concert was the high point of the Oregon Bach Festival’s 40th anniversary celebrations. A series of videos bridged the thirteen musical numbers and served to cover set changes. Each of the eight videos focused on an aspect of the OBF’s history or mission.
In this video, Helmuth Rilling offers personal reflections on the Festival’s first 40 years of audiences, artists, and achievements, and acknowledges the leadership of Royce Saltzman and John Evans in reaching its stature.
The 40th anniversary videos were produced by Pushplay Productions, Eugene. Special thanks to Oregon Public Broadcasting and Alex Richanbach for his interview with Helmuth Rilling, filmed in Nashville in April 2010 and generously underwritten by Betsy and Mark Richanbach.
The July 3, 2010 gala concert was the high point of the Oregon Bach Festival’s 40th anniversary celebrations. A series of videos bridged the thirteen musical numbers and served to cover set changes. Each of the eight videos focused on an aspect of the OBF’s history or mission.
This segment profiles Thomas Quasthoff, a longtime friend and musical associate of OBF Artistic Director Helmuth Rilling, who made his American debut at the 1995 Oregon Bach Festival. The bass-baritone Quasthoff has since become one of the most heralded singers of his generation. Our thanks to Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Art Beat program and their 2000 program for providing source footage for this video.
The 40th anniversary videos were produced by Pushplay Productions, Eugene. Special thanks to Oregon Public Broadcasting and Alex Richanbach for his interview with Helmuth Rilling, filmed in Nashville in April 2010 and generously underwritten by Betsy and Mark Richanbach.
The July 3, 2010 gala concert was the high point of the Oregon Bach Festival’s 40th anniversary celebrations. A series of videos bridged the thirteen musical numbers and served to cover set changes. Each of the eight videos focused on an aspect of the OBF’s history or mission.
“Celebrate the Future” reviews the Festival’s two main educational components: the conducting master class and the Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy. Included are views of how Rilling imparts technical instruction in the class, and a 2005 interview with Lisa Forkish, the first alumni of the YCA high school choir who went on to perform with the OBF’s professional chorus.
The 40th anniversary videos were produced by Pushplay Productions, Eugene. Special thanks to Oregon Public Broadcasting and Alex Richanbach for his interview with Helmuth Rilling, filmed in Nashville in April 2010 and generously underwritten by Betsy and Mark Richanbach.
Here are five minutes of reflection for J.S. Bach, who died on this day in 1750. As OBF fan Tom Phinney says, if you’re 65 1/4, you’ve lived longer than JSB.
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(Helmuth Rilling conducts the OBF chamber orchestra)
The July 3, 2010 gala concert was the high point of the Oregon Bach Festival’s 40th anniversary celebrations. A series of videos bridged the thirteen musical numbers and served to cover set changes. Each of the eight videos focused on an aspect of the OBF’s history or mission.
“Back to Bach” looks at the music roots of the OBF and the importance of Bach as a composer, as an inspiration, and as “master teacher,” in the words of Helmuth Rilling. This video includes a 1988 interview with Rilling on the nature of Bach’s music, and brief scenes from the 2010 OBF Discovery Series performances of the B Minor Mass.
The 40th anniversary videos were produced by Pushplay Productions, Eugene. Special thanks to Oregon Public Broadcasting and Alex Richanbach for his interview with Helmuth Rilling, filmed in Nashville in April 2010 and generously underwritten by Betsy and Mark Richanbach.
The July 3, 2010 gala concert was the high point of the Oregon Bach Festival’s 40th anniversary celebrations. A series of videos bridged the thirteen musical numbers and served to cover set changes. Each of the eight videos focused on an aspect of the OBF’s history or mission.
“New Music” focuses on commissions, premieres, and projects that aimed to place Bach’s legacy of sacred music in the context of our time. It features an inside look at the 2009 premiere of Messiah by Sven-David Sandstrom, and the 2001 Grammy award presentation to Helmuth Rilling and Krzysztof Penderecki’s Credo.
The 40th anniversary videos were produced by Pushplay Productions, Eugene. Special thanks to Oregon Public Broadcasting and Alex Richanbach for his interview with Helmuth Rilling, filmed in Nashville in April 2010 and generously underwritten by Betsy and Mark Richanbach.
The July 3 gala concert was the high point of the Oregon Bach Festival’s 40th anniversary celebrations. A series of videos bridged the thirteen musical numbers and served to cover set changes. Each of the eight videos focused on an aspect of the OBF’s history or mission.
“A Broad Musical Perspective” considers the nature of the festival atmosphere, which allows for a wide range of musical styles to be incorporated. Included are guest artists such as conductor Maria Guinand.
The 40th anniversary videos were produced by Pushplay Productions, Eugene. Special thanks to Oregon Public Broadcasting and Alex Richanbach for his interview with Helmuth Rilling, filmed in Nashville in April 2010 and generously underwritten by Betsy and Mark Richanbach.
Armstrong is one of seven guest conductors — and the only one from the United States — at the assembly, which began August 16 at the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus overlooking Jerusalem. He is leading 100 singers from Israel, Germany, Greece, Argentina, and the United States in a workshop focused on African American spirituals and gospel music. Public gala concerts will be held in the final days of the gathering, which ends August 25.
Our good friends over at 
