Firebird Ensemble

UPCOMING EVENTS

Welcome to our Tenth Anniversary! Since July, 2011 we've already completed five large multi-event concert projects and hope you will join us for our upcoming events this winter and spring. The grand finale of our concert season will be our most ambitious project ever - a fully staged chamber opera "The Face" by Donald Crockett which will receive its World Premiere in late August, 2012 (please see below for details).

WILD WEST ON TOUR - March, 2012
Between March 8-19, 2012 Firebird Ensemble will perform, record and tour a program of new works and Firebird commissions by Eric Moe and Lee Hyla in Boston, Pennsylvania and California. Other featured composers who will be performed on this tour include Thomas Ades, Donald Crockett and Curtis Hughes. In addition Firebird Ensemble will undertake educational residencies at University of Pittsburgh, PA and Chapman University, CA presenting master-classes and readings of student works. The project will culminate in a commercial recording of works by Eric Moe which will be released by New World Records. For more information on this project please visit our CONCERTS page.

MEAT THE COMPOSER
Yes, it's back again this year! The ribs, the beer and more great music.. Stay tuned for performance dates and details of this Spring project.

THE FACE - A MULTIDISCIPLINARY CHAMBER OPERA BY DONALD CROCKETT

Please visit the website for this project www.thefaceopera.com

Events for this project extend from July 2011 to August 2012

Firebird Ensemble will give the World Premiere of The Face, an 80 minute multi-disciplinary chamber opera composed by Donald Crockett and based on the novella in verse by David St. John. The Face will be featured in a special "Visions and Voices" event at USC in April, 2012 and then receives it’s fully staged World Premiere run in late August 2012. The Face includes an exceptional international cast and artistic team.

CAST:

Daniel Norman (United Kingdom) - Tenor as Raphael
Thomas Meglioranza (New York) - Baritone as Memphis
Janna Baty (New York) - Mezzo Soprano as Infanta
Jane Sheldon (Australia) - Soprano as Cybele and Marina

ARTISTIC TEAM:

Donald Crockett (Los Angeles) - Composer
David St. John (Los Angeles) - Poet/Libretto
Kate Vincent - Producer
Lester Grant - Associate Producer/Technical Director
Yano Iatrides (Heliotrope - Paris, France) - Stage Director and Choreographer
Paul Desveaux (Heliotrope - Paris, France) - Concept, Film and Set Design
Amaya Lainez (Heliotrope - Paris, France) - Assistant Stage Director
Laurent Schneegans - Lighting Designer
Gil Rose - (BMOP and Opera Boston) - Conductor

MUSICIANS:

Members of Firebird Ensemble and special guests:
Linda Osborn-Blashke (Boston) - Piano
Brian Head - (Los Angeles) - Guitars
Whitacre Hill - (Boston) - French Horn
Scot Fitzsimmons - (Boston) - Double Bass

EVENTS:

July 18-23, 2011: Vocal Workshop and recording, Boston, MA
February, 2012: "An evening about The Face", Pacific Palisades, CA
April 23-27, 2012: Residency at University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
April 25, 2012: "Visions and Voices" event, Bovard Auditorium, USC, Los Angeles, CA
July 23, 2012: Production period begins, Boston, MA
August 25, 2012: Opening night, Japan American Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Late August, 2012: Boston concert performance, MA

RECENT EVENTS

Please read about our most recent projects..

"A Christmas Carol" - by Jon Deak

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE GLOBE REVUE !

The free-spirited Firebird Ensemble recently celebrates the holidays with its dramatic presentation of an entertaining musical setting of Charles Dickens’ classic story A Christmas Carol (or The Passion of the Scrooge). This vibrant and amusing concert brings Dickens’ characters to life in a suspenseful and exciting journey from past to future. The Passion of the Scrooge captures the spirit of the season while introducing classical music and a classic novel to audiences of all ages.

Thanks to support from the Free For All Concert Fund, composer Jon Deak's imaginative musical depiction of A Christmas Carol (or The Passion of Scrooge) returned this December for 3 free performances at Faneuil Hall, Boston and The Strand Theatre, Dorchester.

7pm, Friday, December 2nd - FANUEIL HALL, Boston
10am, Monday December 5th - THE STRAND THEATRE, Dorchester
6pm, Monday December 5th - THE STRAND THEATRE, Dorchester

This project was made possible by a generous grant from the Free For All Concert Fund. For more information about this organization CLICK HERE

Tenth Anniversary Gala Concert (including the presentation of the CMAcclaim award)

THANKS FOR CELEBRATING WITH US!

On October 30th in Pickman Auditorium, Longy School of Music we celebrated our Tenth Anniversary with an evening of festivities, including fabulous music, entertainment, wine and delicious appetizers. Special guests included John Harbison - composer, Donald Crockett - composer, The MIT Jazz Chorus and Janna Baty - Mezzo Soprano. We were also delighted that State Senator - Sonya Chang-Diaz was able to join us for the event. Senator Chang-Diaz attended as a representative of the Free For All Concert Fund board on which she serves.

Firebird Ensemble was also recently announced as a recipient of the CMAcclaim award, a national award recognizing outstanding contribution to chamber music in the region. Included in the festivities on October 30th was the presentation of the CMAcclaim award to Firebird Ensemble by Margaret Loi- CEO of Chamber Music America.

Mythic Beasts - music of myth and imagination Saturday October 15th

TO READ A REVIEW OF THIS PERFORMANCE click here

Please join us for our opening concert on Saturday OCTOBER 15th at 8pm in Pickman Auditorium at the Longy School of Music, 1 Follen Street, Cambridge. The featured work is the World Premiere of AVALERION by Eric Guinivan, which was commissioned by Ruth Zachary in memory of her husband Norman Zachary - a special friend and supporter of Firebird Ensemble. AVALERION takes it's title from a mythological bird very much akin to the Firebird but originating between the Hydaspes and Indus rivers in modern-day India and Pakistan. Other composers featured on this program are Andrew Norman, John McDonald and John Orfe. Eric Guinivan's residency with Firebird Ensemble as composer and performer is supported by Meet The Composer's MetLife Creative Connections program.

For more information about the project please click here

Eric Guinivan - composer and percussionist

Night Scenes CD now on sale

In July Firebird Ensemble released a new recording on the New World Records label of music by Donald Crockett including the Firebird Ensemble/Harvard Musical Association commissioned work to airy thinness beat (2009) for solo viola and six instruments. Other works on the recording are Wet Ink (2008) for violin and piano, Night Scenes (2009) for piano trio and Scree (1997) for cello, piano and percussion. This recording was funded in part by a grant from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.

For more details or to purchase a copy of the CD click here

FIREBIRD ENSEMBLE SUMMER RESIDENCY COMPLETED

Between July 4^th and July 13^th, 2011 Firebird Ensemble conducted a joint residency at The Walden School for Young Composers (Dublin, NH) and The Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music (Sullivan, NH). In addition to six public performances, Firebird Ensemble also presented workshops, lectures, coachings, masterclasses and demonstrations for audiences throughout the Monadnock region including at the following venues: RiverMead Lifecare, Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center, Keene Public Library and the Hundred Nights Homeless Shelter.

This residency was funded by Chamber Music America's Residency Partnership program.

Firebird Ensemble is funded in part by support from

To learn more about the MCC please click here

Design Services Provided By John Brissette Jr.
Website development by Michael Hoy.
Photograph by Coelynn McIninch.