Spivey Hall 2008-2009 Season Announcement

Spivey Hall Announces Eighteenth Season of Concerts

Acclaimed international artists include pianist Murray Perahia, violinist Hilary Hahn, guitarist John Williams, mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena, organist Dame Gillian Weir, and the Kenny Barron Trio; Spivey Hall favorite Chanticleer returns with two programs

Auspicious Spivey Hall debut artists include pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violinist Julia Fischer, the Belcea and Tetzlaff string quartets, and tenor Lawrence Brownlee

The Spivey Hall 2009 Spring Bach Festival opens in March with the complete Brandenburg Concertos performed by London’s renowned Academy of Ancient Music

Season opening celebration Saturday, September 20, 2008 showcases the Daedalus Quartet and friends in Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet

Morrow, Ga. (February 16, 2008): Clayton State University’s Spivey Hall made the first announcement of its 2008-2009 concert season this evening, prior to the annual Spivey Memorial Concert featuring distinguished brother-and-sister duo, violinist Gil Shaham and pianist Orli Shaham.

At the 7:15 PM pre-concert announcement event for donors and subscribers, Executive & Artistic Director Samuel C. Dixon revealed the line-up of international artists for Spivey Hall’s Eighteenth Season, which includes celebrated soloists as well as important emerging artists and ensembles in the genres of classical, jazz and world music. The February 16th event marked one of Spivey Hall’s earliest announcements of the new season, and the culmination of more than two years’ planning.

“Spivey Hall is an extraordinary place where excellent international artists connect with audiences through the shared experience of great music,” stated Dixon. “Great music thrives at Spivey Hall. The Hall’s superb acoustics inspire artists and audiences alike, and the deeply-appreciated support we receive from our subscribers and single-ticket buyers, The Walter & Emilie Spivey Foundation, and our individual donors, The Friends of Spivey Hall, makes it possible for us to present an abundant diversity of world-renowned musicians each season.”

With the announcement, the Spivey Hall Box Office begins taking subscription orders for the 2008-2009 season. Subscribers – patrons who buy four or more Spivey Series concerts at a single time – receive discounts of up to 20%. Subscribers who submit their orders before May 31, 2008 receive priority seating before single ticket sales begin. Tickets to Spivey Series guest artist performances are priced from $20 to $75; tickets to performances by regional ensembles range from $12 to $30. Clayton State University Opera tickets are $10, and all other CSU Department of Music concerts at Spivey Hall are free.

Details of the season are presented in the newly published 2008-2009 Season Book, made available at the announcement event. The Season Book will soon be arriving in the mailboxes of Spivey Hall patrons throughout Georgia and in six other states. Subscriptions may be ordered by mail by completing the order form in the 2008-2009 Season Book, by phoning the Box Office at (678) 466-4200 during regular weekday business hours, or by fax (credit card orders only) to (678) 466-4494. More information about the 2008-2009 season will available at http://www.spiveyhall.org/ beginning the week of February 18.

Single ticket sales (including online sales via Spivey Hall’s website) will start in mid-August. As programming details and other events are added to Spivey Hall’s 2008-2009 season, they will be published on Spivey Hall’s website, http://www.spiveyhall.org/, where patrons may elect to join Spivey Hall’s mailing list and receive monthly programming updates via email. Programming information will also be made available in subsequent fall, winter and spring brochures. To obtain these documents in an alternate format or to request accommodations for a disability other than wheelchair seating, patrons may call Clayton State University Disability Services at (678) 466-4554. Programs and artists are subject to change.

Spivey Hall gratefully acknowledges The Walter & Emilie Spivey Foundation for its generous ongoing support of Spivey Hall in each season since its inaugural concerts in 1991. Spivey Hall is proud to thank its 2008-2009 season sponsors: the Georgia Council for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, and Jazz 91.9 FM WCLK. Spivey Hall also deeply appreciates the loyalty and generosity of The Friends of Spivey Hall, whose annual donations sustain the artistic excellence of Spivey Hall’s renowned concert series and award-winning educational programs.

CHAMBER MUSIC ENSEMBLES

Spivey Hall’s 2008-2009 Season Opening Celebration on Saturday, September 20, 2008 showcases the Daedalus Quartet, winner of the 2001 Banff International String Quartet Competition, and former resident quartet of Columbia University and Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two. The Daedalus Quartet (Min-Young Kim and Kyu-Young Kim, violins; Jessica Thompson, viola; and Raman Ramakrishnan, cello) takes its name from the mythical Greek inventor, artist, and architect who created the art of sculpture, designed the Labyrinth, and (above all) regained his freedom by devising wings that enabled him to fly. A Washington Post concert review declared: “The Daedalus Quartet seemed it was flying...not on wings of waxy feathers, but rather on jet-propelled rockets of blistering virtuosity....The music rang gloriously, and the audience emerged wowed and grateful.” In their Spivey Hall debut, the musicians perform string quartets by Mozart and Janacek, and the program concludes with Schubert’s ebullient “Trout” Quintet featuring the outstanding young Jerusalem-born pianist Benjamin Hochman and Hawaii-native double-bassist Kurt Muroki. A post-concert reception for the entire audience, hosted by the Spivey Foundation, adds to the pleasure of the evening’s festivities.

The extraordinary Trio Jean Paul (Sunday, October 19, 2008) is named after the influential French writer who greatly inspired Robert Schumann as a young composer. Pianist Eckart Heiligers leads special classes in chamber music and piano at Zurich’s Musikhochschüle; violinist Ulf Schneider is professor at Hanover’s Hochschule für Musik und Theater; cellist Martin Löhr is both principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic and professor at the Universität für Kunste Berlin. All enjoy extensive performance careers in chamber music, and the Trio Jean Paul has won critical accolades for its recordings and performances, including at the Frick Collection in New York. “The Jean Paul players unashamedly held nothing back,” reported The New York Times. “These are acutely musical and sophisticated players, and they deserve an audience.” The Trio’s Spivey Hall debut program offers masterworks of the Germanic repertoire, with a Haydn piano trio as well as the C-minor Mendelssohn Trio and the B-minor Brahms Trio.

Following his memorable Spivey Hall debut performing solo sonatas and partitas in the Spivey Hall 2007 Spring Bach Festival, violinist Christian Tetzlaff returns with his sister, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, violinist Elisabeth Kufferath and violist Hanna Weinmeister for the Atlanta debut of the Tetzlaff Quartet (Sunday, November 9, 2008). Noted for its highly expressive, probing and passionate performances, the Tetzlaff Quartet’s program features a quartet by Mozart; the supremely eloquent Lyric Suite by Second Viennese School composer, Alban Berg; and the D-minor Quartet by Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius, subtitled “Voces intimae” (“Intimate Voices”).

Spivey Hall welcomes back the outstanding American violinist Hilary Hahn on Sunday, February 15, 2009, with pianist Valentina Lisitsa. Hahn’s remarkable international career continues to flourish, with the release of critically-acclaimed recordings, soloist engagements with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, and appearances at the most prestigious concert venues and festivals. In the words of the Los Angeles Times, “Hahn is one of those performers who can dazzle you with the warmth of her personality and knock you dead with the dexterity of technique and the emotional depth of her interpretations.” With impeccable technical execution, unwavering confidence and a powerful stage presence, she embraces a far-ranging repertoire revealed in consistently compelling performances. Lisitsa, well known to Spivey Hall audiences as a member of the Georgian Chamber Players, enjoys a multifaceted career as concerto soloist, duo pianist, chamber musician and recital partner, having performed with Hilary Hahn at London’s Wigmore Hall and other distinguished venues to great acclaim.

Resident quartet of London’s illustrious Wigmore Hall from 2001 to 2006, the Belcea Quartet (Saturday, March 7, 2009) wins fervent praise for its high-energy performances throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and the US, as well as for its acclaimed EMI recordings. Romanian native and violinist Corina Belcea-Fisher, English violinist Laura Samuel, Warsaw-born violist Krzysztof Chorzelski and French cellist Antoine Lederlin are the musicians of the Belcea Quartet, whose playing the Los Angeles Times described as “gutsy and mellifluous, delicate and bold, balancing deep concentration and easy intuition, ever bearing down while ever letting go. For their consistency, strength, virtuosity and single-mindedness, one cannot admire these young players overmuch.” Their Spivey Hall debut program features the First String Quartet by English composer, Benjamin Britten, as well as a Haydn quartet and Schubert’s emotionally-charged D-minor Quartet, “Death and the Maiden.”

Clayton State University faculty pianist Michiko Otaki combines forces with the Swiss Wind Quintet (Sunday, March 15, 2009) for Mozart’s popular Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat major, as well as the Sextet for Piano and Winds by German Romantic composer, Ludwig Thuille. The talents of the Swiss musicians (Stéphane Réty, flute; Urs Brügger, clarinet; Christian Schmitt, oboe; David Schneebeli, bassoon; and Henryk Kalinski, French horn – all current or former members of Switzerland’s largest orchestra, the Sinfonieorchester Basel) will be showcased in a 1967 wind quintet by their countryman, composer Jost Meier.

Saturday, May 9, 2009 brings the Atlanta recital debut of the phenomenal young German violinist, Julia Fischer. Atlanta Symphony audiences will recall the excitement of her February 2006 performances of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Since then, as the result of her worldwide concert tours and critically acclaimed recordings, 14 million music fans voted the 24-year-old Julia Fischer – in the company of such distinguished nominees as Bryn Terfel, Rolando Villazón and Claudio Abbado – the Classic FM Gramophone 2007 Artist of the Year. (Astonishingly, this remarkably gifted musician recently made her concerto debut – as a pianist! – performing the Grieg Concerto in Germany.) Her Spivey Hall recital program will feature sonatas by Mozart, Prokofiev, Beethoven and Martinu.

PIANISTS

The brilliant British pianist Stephen Hough, recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Award and a prolific recording artist with more than two dozen releases on the Hyperion label, gives the first solo piano recital of Spivey Hall’s 2008-2009 season on Saturday November 15, with a program of works by Bach/Cortot and Fauré, plus Franck’s Prélude, Choral et Fugue, Copland’s Piano Variations, and Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor. “Stephen Hough has the most remarkable range of color and sound at the piano,” writes the Sydney Morning Herald, “but the dominant impression from his playing is the simple clarity of the musical idea he is trying to present and the directness with which he communicates it.” Concurs ClassicalSource.com: “Hough's quiet playing is remarkable in its personal declaration – every note hangs in the air with meaning.”

Saturday, February 21, 2009 marks the first appearance at Spivey Hall by French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, a welcome guest artist of the world’s finest orchestras, festivals and recital halls, whose career embraces a wide range of collaborations with distinguished artists. In addition to his many critically-acclaimed recordings for the Decca label, he has a continuing interest in film music, and his playing is featured in the soundtrack to the Academy Award-nominated film, Atonement. “Even without his formidable technical flair and interpretative depth, Jean-Yves Thibaudet would still be an extraordinary pianist, if only for his touch. Cushiony but clear, expressive but understated, the sound of Thibaudet’s playing is like no one else’s” (San Francisco Chronicle).

The phenomenal young Russian pianist Yevgeny Sudbin makes his Atlanta debut at Spivey Hall on Sunday, March 8, 2009. His concerts and recordings reveal a formidable technique, fresh interpretations and remarkable virtuosity. Yevgeny Sudbin has been hailed by the UK’s Daily Telegraph as “potentially one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century.” His 2005 debut recording of Scarlatti sonatas for BIS Records met with overwhelming critical acclaim. Upon hearing his next BIS release, a Rachmaninov recital, the International Record Review stated that the recording “confirms him as one of the most important pianistic talents of our time.” The 2007 release of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 coupled with Medtner's First Piano Concerto received a similar reaction and was Gramophone’s “Disc of the Month.” His most recent recording, of works by Scriabin, has been chosen “CD of the Year” by The Daily Telegraph, “CD of the Month” by BBC Music Magazine, and was awarded the MIDEM Classical Award for best solo instrument CD at Cannes. Noted by The New York Times for his “volcanic pianism,” Sudbin will perform works by Scarlatti, Haydn, Medtner and Chopin.

Pianophiles will rejoice on Sunday, March 22, 2009, when pre-eminent American pianist Murray Perahia returns to Spivey Hall for the annual Spivey Memorial Concert, honoring Spivey Hall’s visionary philanthropists, Dr. Walter & Emilie Spivey. Patrons warmly recall his earlier visits to Spivey Hall – most recently in April 2003, when he gave sublime interpretations of works by Bach, Schubert and Beethoven. Indisputably one of the world’s greatest living pianists, Perahia was awarded an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his service to music, and unfailingly enthralls audiences with his inspiring and richly expressive performances. Glowed The Seattle Times, “The soul of a poet, the mind of a thinker, the hands of a virtuoso: No wonder audiences love this guy.” Perahia will also give a Spivey Hall piano master class on Saturday, March 21 at 11 AM.

VOCALISTS

German baritone Christian Gerhaher, whose performances and recordings of Lieder by Schubert have won critical acclaim, including Gramophone magazine’s 2006 “Best Solo Vocal Recording” award, makes his Spivey Hall debut on Sunday, November 16, 2008. “One of today’s most accomplished, inspiring and moving Lieder singers” (Gramophone), Gerhaher commands a voice that is “lustrous and deeply penetrating” (The Washington Post). His program of Lieder by a seminal figure of German Romanticism, Robert Schumann, includes the song cycle Liederkreis, Op. 39, a passionate outpouring of the composer’s love for his young wife, Clara.

American tenor, Atlanta resident and international star Lawrence Brownlee makes his Spivey Hall debut on Saturday, January 24, 2009. His triumphant 2007 Metropolitan Opera debut in Rossini’s Barber of Seville came as no surprise to those who heard his winning performances earning him the coveted Marian Anderson Award as well as the Richard Tucker Award. The Washington Post calls him a “dazzling young tenor,” adding, “If you haven’t heard Lawrence Brownlee yet, you have a delight in store.”

The third debut vocalist of Spivey Hall’s 2008-2009 season is the young Dutch mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn, an avid recitalist and protégée of the legendary mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker. Praised by the London Times for her “lyrical radiance,” this rising star commands a richly-colored voice and a lively intelligence, as vocal fans from throughout the Southeast will hear in her Saturday, February 7, 2009 program of songs by Brahms, Grieg (the wonderful Six Songs, Op. 48, set to texts by German poets Heine and Goethe, among others), and Sibelius.

Friday, May 8, 2009 marks the return of Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená to Spivey Hall, where in 2006 she sang arias by Gluck and Rameau with Les Violons du Roy in performances The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described as “ravishing.” A highly sought-after recitalist with many superb recordings to her credit, Kožená was named 2004 “Artist of the Year” by Gramophone, with two different CDs winning “Best Recital” and “Best Vocalist” awards. In addition to appearing regularly at distinguished opera houses such as Milan’s La Scala, London’s Covent Garden and Berlin’s Deutsche Staatsoper, she is a frequent guest artist of the world’s greatest orchestras, and this summer opens one of Europe’s most prestigious music festivals, in Lucerne, as featured soloist in Ravel’s Shéhérazade under the baton of Claudio Abbado.

VOCAL ENSEMBLES

Extending a time-honored choral tradition of more than 500 years, the Vienna Boys Choir performs music both serious and light-hearted to the delight of audiences everywhere. Highly popular at Spivey Hall, whose superb acoustics enhance the boys’ unique sound, the Choir’s performances regularly sell out. Special half-price children’s tickets for the Vienna Boys Choir’s Sunday, November 2, 2008 concert enable the entire family to enjoy a wonderful afternoon of musical entertainment.

On Saturday, February 14, 2009, the four outstanding male vocalists of The Hilliard Ensemble blend seamlessly as one to perform Arkhangelos, a fascinating and far-ranging program of early and modern Christian music from the Roman, English, Greek, Russian and Armenian traditions. Toronto’s Globe and Mail writes of their artistry: “The astounding melding of the voices of David James, Rogers Covey-Crump, Steven Harrold and Gordon Jones is simply that – astounding, other-worldly. The Hilliard Ensemble [is] without a doubt one of the finest vocal ensembles in the world.”

Chanticleer loves Spivey Hall, and Spivey Hall audiences adore Chanticleer. The superlative San Francisco-based, 12-member male vocal ensemble was honored as Musical America’s 2008 “Ensemble of the Year.” This incomparable “Orchestra of Voices” guided by artistic director Joseph Jennings performs a rich diversity of music in two different programs: on Friday, April 17, 2009, Wondrous Free, a celebration of 300 years of American song, from early hymns and shape-note singing to madrigals, part songs, folk songs, and a newly commissioned work by an American composer to be confirmed; and on Saturday, April 18, 2009, Divine Tapestry: A Mass For All Time – a kaleidoscopic Latin mass interweaving compositional voices old and new, from Tallis, Gabrieli, Dufay and Desprez to John Tavener, Augusta Read Thomas, William Albright and Olivier Messiaen.

SPIVEY HALL 2009 SPRING BACH FESTIVAL

Following the popular and artistic success of its inaugural festival in 2007, Spivey Hall proudly presents the 2009 Spring Bach Festival. As an ideal venue for chamber music performances and organ recitals, Spivey Hall is a natural showcase for the works of the great German baroque master, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), whose magnificent body of works remains central to the Western art music tradition and continues to inspire musicians and audiences throughout the world. Bach Festival performances will again be enhanced by free pre-concert talks for all four performances, and a special program book with extensive program notes, artist biographies and essays.

The Spivey Hall 2009 Spring Bach Festival kicks off on Sunday, March 29, 2009 with the complete Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046 – 1051, performed by London’s top-notch 22-member period-instrument ensemble, the Academy of Ancient Music, under the direction of harpsichordist Richard Egarr. One of the world’s first early-music ensembles, the Academy of Ancient Music is now in its fourth decade as one of the world’s finest, and “with Richard Egarr’s brilliance as its music director,” reports The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “this orchestra is playing better than ever.” Complimentary intermission refreshments will complete the afternoon’s musical feast.

The Festival spirit continues with the arrival of the superb flutist Emmanuel Pahud, renowned harpsichordist Trevor Pinnock and eminent cellist Jonathan Manson on Sunday, April 26, 2009 to perform four of Bach’s Sonatas for Flute and Continuo. Rounding out the program, each musician will also perform a solo work: Telemann’s Fantaisie in D major for flute, Purcell’s Suite in A minor for harpsichord, and a cello suite by Bach.

No Spivey Hall Bach Festival could be complete without an organ recital. The three-manual, 77-rank, 4,413-pipe Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ built by Fratelli Ruffatti of Padua, Italy, will resound gloriously when French organist Vincent Dubois returns to Spivey Hall on Saturday, May 2, 2009 for a program of works by Bach and other composers. Winner of the Recital Gold Medal at the 2002 Calgary International Organ Competition, “Dubois set a new standard for Bach performance,” reported The Calgary Herald, “the freedom and accuracy of his playing captivating from start to finish.”

Later that day, celebrated Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt gives a public master class on interpreting Bach keyboard works on the piano. She is joined the following afternoon (Sunday, May 3, 2009) for the final performance of the 2009 Spring Bach Festival by the charismatic German cellist, Daniel Müller-Schott, featuring Bach’s three gamba suites. Their 2007 recording of these works on the Orfeo label has won considerable critical acclaim, including Gramophone’s “Editor’s Choice” award. The Guardian hails Hewitt (who will also perform a Bach solo partita) as “the pre-eminent Bach pianist of our time.” The New York Times calls Müller-Schott “magnetic...a fearless player,” praising his “meticulous attention to expression,” which will also be on display in his performance of a Bach suite for solo cello.


ORGANISTS

In addition to Vincent Dubois’ 2009 Spring Bach Festival recital (Saturday, May 2, 2009), the 2008-2009 organ series features Alan Morrison, head of organ studies at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, who joins forces with pianist and Clayton State University professor emerita of music, Jeannine Morrison, for a mother-and-son duo recital on Sunday, September 28, 2008. Both are Atlanta-area favorites, having frequently performed and recorded in Spivey Hall. Alan Morrison will shine both as organist and pianist.

Master organist Dame Gillian Weir, who dedicated Spivey Hall’s Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ with memorable flair and virtuosity in 1992, makes a welcome return for her Saturday, January 10, 2009 recital. Her extensive schedule of concerts is augmented by critically-acclaimed recordings and master classes at leading conservatories and schools of music. “There is only one Dame Gillian Weir,” admires The American Organist. “She is without peer in her ability to do everything right, and make it all sound so effortless, spontaneous, and joyful.”

Philadelphia native and London resident Ann Elise Smoot makes her Spivey Hall debut on Saturday, February 28, 2009. Smoot, who graduated with two honors degrees from Yale and is now one of Britain’s most sought-after teachers, won The American Guild of Organists’ 1998 National Young Artists Competition in Organ Playing, and has since released a JAV recording of French works – including her own arrangement of Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin – performed at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The American Organist commended her “deep musical maturity.... she communicated her musical intentions with a rare clarity. She led the listener to know in advance her every rhythmic nuance, each of which was supremely tasteful and satisfying.”

Spivey Hall organist-in-residence Richard Morris commands a vast knowledge of the organ repertoire as well as a quick wit; his commentary from the stage is both informative and entertaining. A brilliant performer, Morris gives his annual Spivey Hall recital on Saturday, April 4, 2009. He is a renowned concert organist who has performed extensively throughout the United States, and is one of the few organists ever to give a solo recital at Carnegie Hall. Morris presently serves as organist at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Mableton, Georgia. World Magazine described his recent MSR Classics CD, The Grand Tradition, featuring the A.E. Schlueter Pipe Organ at Savannah’s First Presbyterian Church, as “an awe-inspiring program resulting from a skillful blend of virtuosity and reverence.”


GUITARISTS

Sole winner of the 2001 Young Concert Artists European Auditions in Leipzig, and the first guitarist ever to win the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, Croatian guitarist Robert Belinic is “a genius, a poet, a super-sensitive musician” (SanDiego.com). Belinic has given recitals in New York at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Concert Hall and in Boston at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. As concerto soloist, he has appeared with the Phoenix Symphony, and makes his New York concerto debut with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in April 2008. He makes his Spivey Hall debut on Saturday, October 18, 2008.

From his live performances and noteworthy recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Swedish guitarist Göran Söllscher has earned resounding praise for his exceptional musicality as well as his dedication to expanding the solo guitar repertoire. Since winning the 1978 Paris International Guitar Competition, he has performed worldwide in recital, and as soloist with such eminent conductors as Claudio Abbado and Esa-Pekka Salonen. London’s International Record Review wrote glowingly of his playing in February 2006: “A smooth, relaxed playing style, crisp articulation and a tone balancing sweet and dry (perfect for this repertoire) ensures a clarity of projection that allows the listener to grasp the essentials of each piece while ensuring ample space for fantasy to work its magic.” For his Spivey Hall debut on Saturday, November 22, 2008, Söllscher performs a fascinating mix of music, including his own arrangements of Suites Nos. 1 and 2 by J.S. Bach (originally for solo cello), which book-end early music by English composer John Dowland as well as three pieces by John Lennon and Paul McCartney: “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and “The Long and Winding Road.”

“After 30 years,” declares The Times of London, “John Williams is still the undisputed king of the classical guitar.” His millions of fans around the world agree. An inspiring interpreter, prolific recording artist, and celebrated master of his instrument, John Williams enthralls audiences with the uncommon beauty of his playing. Last heard at Spivey Hall in duo recital with John Etheridge in April 2006, Australian native John Williams returns for an eagerly anticipated solo recital on Saturday, March 21, 2009.

“An artist of formidable technical accomplishment and wonderfully sophisticated musicianship” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Englishman David Russell is a supremely accomplished guitarist who “possesses a talent of extraordinary dimension” (The New York Times). A Grammy Award winner, Russell has enjoyed a long and prolific relationship with the Telarc label; his latest CD, released in March 2007, is Art of the Guitar. “A phrase played by [David Russell] is a thing of such clarity and direction that it seems almost physically palpable,” observes the American Record Guide. “It is an object of such polish, perfect curvature, and ineluctable sweep that one feels as though one could pick it up and examine it as if it were a sculpture." Russell returns to Spivey Hall for a guitar master class on Friday, April 3, and his solo recital on Saturday, April 4, 2009.

JAZZ & SWING

Spivey Hall proudly opens its 2008-2009 Jazz Series on Friday, October 17, 2008 with the Kenny Barron Trio. Lauded as “one of the top jazz pianists in the world” (Los Angeles Times) and “the most lyrical pianist of our time” (Jazz Weekly), Kenny Barron is a master poet of jazz piano with an unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences. A major headliner appearing at leading jazz venues and festivals internationally, he has been named “Best Jazz Pianist” by the Jazz Journalists Association four years in a row. His outstanding recordings have been showered with honors, including eight Grammy nominations for his featured recordings on the Verve label.

The Brad Mehldau Trio makes its long-awaited return to Spivey Hall on Friday, November 14, 2008. “Universally admired as one of the most adventurous pianists to arrive on the jazz scene in years” (Los Angeles Times), American jazz pianist Brad Mehldau has performed and recorded extensively since the early 1990s. In addition to his trio and solo projects, Mehldau has collaborated with numerous great jazz musicians: playing with saxophonist Joshua Redman’s band for two years, making recordings and performing with Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden and Lee Konitz, and recording as a sideman with the likes of Michael Brecker, Wayne Shorter, John Scofield, and Charles Lloyd. In 2005, soprano superstar Renée Fleming performed and recorded two works by Mehldau commissioned by Carnegie Hall, and in 2006, Nonesuch released his jazz trio CD, House on the Hill, to critical acclaim. “The elliptical lines, volatile rhythmic figures and unexpected bursts of color and dissonance... prove that Mehldau writes as cleverly as he plays” (Chicago Tribune).

Jazziz magazine proclaims Paula West to be “the model of a modern jazz vocalist.... She’s class.” “Some voices are astringent like gin, some sweet like sherry,” muses the San Francisco Chronicle. “West has a red wine voice – a deep, mellow, Cabernet voice.” The New York Times praises her “mischievous sexiness” and “acute musical intelligence,” and assessing her most recent annual engagement at the Algonquin Hotel’s famous Oak Room in October 2007, the Times concluded, “For all her stylistic wanderings, Ms. West always returns to home base, a place where blues and jazz songs are inflected with a sly, humorous appreciation of the absurd and the naughty.” San Francisco-based Paula West and her Quartet make their Spivey Hall debut on Saturday, December 6, 2008.

A perennial favorite of Spivey Hall audiences, the world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra returns for its third consecutive season with two performances (3 PM and 7 PM) on Sunday, January 11, 2009. With such timeless tunes as “In the Mood,” “Tuxedo Junction,” “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” and “Moonlight Serenade,” the Glenn Miller Orchestra recalls the glories of one of America’s most popular swing bands. Under the direction of Larry O’Brien, the Orchestra plays hits from the original Glenn Miller charts, reveling in the classic arrangements popularized by Miller while also exploring new works in the style of the great American swing band tradition. The Miller sound lives forever!

At the pinnacle of his career, English bassist Dave Holland has settled into the unassuming role of jazz master. “The commander-in-chief of a first-rate, cutting-edge group has to be everything: creative genius and effective entrepreneur, power player and diplomat, steeped in experience but fresh and unjaded. Few leaders exemplify the role as well as bassist Dave Holland” (Downbeat). A onetime sideman with two titans of jazz (Thelonius Monk and Miles Davis), Holland made his debut as a leader in the early 1970s. With outstanding recordings to its credit, including the 2006 release Critical Mass, the Dave Holland Quintet continues to tour the world, enjoying a fervent following, for “When the Dave Holland Quintet puts it all together, there isn’t a band alive that can touch them” (Downbeat). Spivey Hall welcomes the Dave Holland Quintet back for a one-night-only appearance on Friday, January 23, 2009.

Jazz legend McCoy Tyner calls him “one of the great players of our time – a fabulous trumpet player.” A gifted and versatile player with a voice all his own, jazz trumpeter Terell Stafford combines lyricism and a deep love of melody with a spirited, adventurous edge. This uniquely expressive, well-defined musical talent allows Stafford to dance in and around the rich trumpet tradition of his predecessors while making his own inroads. Since the mid-1990s, Stafford has performed with such groups as Benny Golson’s Sextet, McCoy Tyner’s Sextet, the Kenny Barron Sextet, and the Jon Faddis Orchestra; currently he is a member of the Grammy-nominated Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. An educator as well as a performer, Stafford is professor of music and director of jazz studies at Temple University in Philadelphia and highly in demand as a clinician. He is heard on more than 40 albums as a sideman, and has recorded five albums as a leader, including his superb 2007 MaxJazz release, Taking Chances: Live from the Dakota, featuring the Terell Stafford Quintet, which makes its Spivey Hall debut on Friday, March 6, 2009.


HOLIDAY CONCERTS

One of America’s leading brass quintets, the Empire Brass enjoys an international reputation for its stylistic excellence and the unparalleled diversity of its repertoire. Giving more than 100 concerts each year and adding to their discography on the Telarc label, the five musicians of the Empire Brass – Rolf Smedvig (trumpet), Marc Reese (trumpet), Michelle Perry (French horn), Mark Hetzler (trombone) and Kenneth Amis (tuba) – “simply have no competition when it comes to the beauty and clarity and accuracy and balance and interaction of their playing – the first phrase of any Empire Brass performance live or on recording sends a thrill of pleasure through your nervous system” (The Boston Globe). In its Spivey Hall debut on Sunday, December 7, 2008, the Empire Brass celebrates Christmas through the ages with glorious music from the Renaissance to the present day.

Spivey Hall’s most cherished holiday tradition is the beautiful sound of superb young singers joyously evoking the spirit of Christmas. The three choirs of the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir Program welcome Christmas with concerts on Friday, December 12, 2008 featuring the Spivey Hall Young Artists and the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir, and on Sunday and Sunday, December 13 and 14, 2008, showcasing the Children’s Choir and its most advanced singers, the Spivey Hall Tour Choir (see “Spivey Hall Educational Programs” below for more details).

“The first real Celtic folk group,” boasts The Irish Times. “One of the finest bands in Celtic traditional music,” proclaims The New York Times. When The Boys of the Lough return to Spivey Hall on Saturday, March 14, 2009, leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, they bring their unique warmth and wit, expert musicianship, technical brilliance, lively tunes and clever yarns. The Boys have earned a loyal following through their spirited performances, acclaimed recordings and regular public radio appearances on A Prairie Home Companion. With their roots planted firmly in the heritage of the British Isles’ Celtic regions, the Boys have remained true to their musical vision of traditional instrumentals complimented by occasional songs, winning them friends from the village halls of Scotland and Ireland to international concert and festival stages.


REGIONAL ENSEMBLES AT SPIVEY HALL

Since opening its doors in 1991, Spivey Hall has served as an important concert venue to support and showcase the musical achievements of the best regional ensembles throughout metro Atlanta and the Southeast. The 2008-2009 season features the Spivey Hall debut of the Piedmont College Chamber Singers with conductor C. Wallace Hinson (Friday, November 7, 2008) as well as return engagements for other popular ensembles and events: the Georgia State University Singers with conductor Randall Hooper (Sunday, October 26, 2008); The Atlanta Singers with conductor David Morrow, performing their annual Christmas program (Sunday, December 14, 2008); the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Southeast Regional Finals (Sunday, January 25, 2009); the Southern Crescent Chorale with conductor Janice Folsom (Saturday, February 28, 2009); the Atlanta Chamber Players with their pianist and artistic director, Paula Peace (Sunday, March 1, 2009); and the Southern Crescent Symphony with conductor Richard Bell (Friday, March 13, 2009). Program details, as well as information on other regional ensemble performances still to be confirmed, will be posted on Spivey Hall’s website, http://www.spiveyhall.org/, and in Spivey Hall’s fall, winter and spring brochures.


CSU DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC CONCERTS

Spivey Hall serves as the primary performance venue for Clayton State University’s Department of Music, which presents faculty, students, ensembles and guest artists in concert throughout the academic year. Except for the Clayton State Opera, these performances are free, and tickets are not required.

Faculty recitals in the 2008-2009 season will include organist Daniel Pyle on Saturday, September 13, 2008, plus tenor Kurt-Alexander Zeller and pianist Michiko Otaki on Sunday, February 22, 2009. The Maharlika Trio (trombonist David Springfield, pianist Maila Gutierrez Springfield and saxophonist Joren Cain) make their Spivey Hall debut on Tuesday, September 16, 2008. Clayton State Opera performances, under the direction of Kurt-Alexander Zeller, will be given on Friday and Saturday, March 27 and 28, 2009. Major ensembles will also give fall and spring performances: the CSU Wind Ensemble conducted by Patrick Carney (Wednesday, November 5, 2008 and Wednesday, April 15, 2009), the CSU Jazz Combo under the direction of Stacey Houghton (Wednesday, November 19, 2008 and Wednesday, April 22, 2009), the CSU Chorale conducted by Shaun Amos (Sunday, November 23, 2008 and Sunday, April 19, 2009), and the Clayton Community Big Band under the direction of Stacey Houghton (Monday, December 1, 2008 and Monday, April 27, 2009).

During the year, additional CSU Department of Music concerts are given and some may occasionally change. For the most up-to-date listing of CSU Department of Music concerts, visit www.a-s.clayton.edu/music.


SPIVEY HALL EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Each year, Spivey Hall welcomes approximately 15,000 K-12 students and adults from 18 counties to participate in educational activities.

Treble and High School Choral Workshops are intensive programs for advanced middle and high school singers. Founded at Spivey Hall by the legendary choral conductor Robert Shaw, the workshops enable participants to work with a nationally-respected clinician and to give a culminating public performance that showcases the students’ musical growth. The Spivey Hall Treble Honor Choir concert will be given on Saturday, October 4, 2008, and the Spivey Hall High School Honor Choir concert will take place on Saturday, October 25, 2008. Spivey Hall’s annual Chamber Orchestra Workshop, featuring high school string players from various school systems under the direction of a an expert conductor in orchestral music, will conclude with the Spivey Hall Honor Chamber Orchestra concert on Friday, November 21, 2008. Spivey Jam is a celebration of middle and high school jazz programs. Clinicians visit schools to work with metro-Atlanta ensembles, and in the spring (2009 date to be announced), all participants unite to perform in Spivey Hall.

The award-winning Spivey Hall Children’s Choir Program, under the direction of Dr. Martha Shaw, consists of 170 students in three treble choirs: the Spivey Hall Young Artists led by conductor Craig Hurley and accompanist Steven Wooddell; and the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir, which includes the most advanced of the three choirs, the Spivey Hall Tour Choir, both led by Dr. Shaw and accompanist/assistant director Judy Mason. Students are chosen by audition and rehearse each Monday during the academic year. As the musical ambassadors of Clayton State University’s Spivey Hall, the Spivey Hall Tour Choir performs regionally, nationally and internationally, undertaking a major tour each summer. The Tour Choir has recently released its third commercial recording on the ACA Digital label, I’ll Be Seeing You, a CD of sacred music, traditional tunes, popular songs, and works by outstanding choral composers including Morten Lauridsen (“Dirait-on” from Les Chansons des Roses) and David L. Brunner (“A Song for Every Child,” commissioned by the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir).

All three choirs perform fall and spring concerts at Spivey Hall. Their annual December concerts are among Spivey Hall’s most joyous performances of the year, featuring a wonderful variety of music for the holidays that is immensely popular with audiences. The Friday, December 12, 2008 concert features the Young Artists and the Children’s Choir, performing separately and together, with Craig Hurley and Martha Shaw conducting; the Saturday/Sunday performances, December 13/14, 2008, showcase the Children’s Choir and the Tour Choir under the baton of Martha Shaw. The spring concerts, given in two programs (Friday, May 15, and Saturday/Sunday May 16/17, 2009), celebrate the high point of the choirs’ work at the end of the academic year.

Auditions for the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir Program are held each spring, with need-based scholarship assistance available. Audition, rehearsal and concert information may be obtained by calling (770) 946-9072 or by emailing info@shcc-tc.com.

Each season, several of Spivey Hall’s visiting guest artists also give Master Classes, open to music lovers of all abilities who wish to learn more about technique and interpretation. Auditors may attend for a fee of $10; students who perform in master classes are chosen by application. Master classes in the 2008-2009 season will be given by three distinguished artists and teachers: guitarist David Russell (Friday, April 3, 2009), pianist Murray Perahia (Saturday, March 21, 2009) and pianist Angela Hewitt (Saturday, May 2, 2009). Master classes are sponsored by Spivey Hall’s generous donors, The Friends of Spivey Hall.

Other Spivey Hall Education Programs in 2008-2009 include Professional Development for Teachers and Spivey Hall’s major series of weekday educational Young People’s Concerts. Details will be announced with the publication of the Education Program brochure in mid-summer 2008. For more information about Spivey Hall’s education programs or to request a brochure, call (678) 466-4481, visit www.spiveyhall.org/education, or email educationmanager@spiveyhall.org.


PRE-CONCERT TALKS

To enhance patrons’ listening experiences, Spivey Hall offers free pre-concert talks before vocal recitals, organ recitals, most performances by chamber music ensembles, and all four of the Spivey Hall 2009 Spring Bach Festival concerts. These popular pre-concert talks are given principally by Dr. Kurt-Alexander Zeller, Clayton State University’s Director of Vocal Activities and Opera, with pre-concert talks for organ recitals given by Richard Morris, Spivey Hall’s organist-in-residence. All pre-concert talks begin one hour prior to the scheduled concert time. Pre-concert talks are scheduled for the following 2008-2009 season performances:

Daedalus Quartet (Saturday, September 20, 2008)
Alan Morrison, organ & piano; Jeannine Morrison, piano (Sunday, September 28, 2008)
Trio Jean Paul (Sunday, October 19, 2008)
Tetzlaff Quartet (Sunday, November 9, 2008)
Christian Gerhaher, baritone (Sunday, November 16, 2008)
Dame Gillian Weir, organ (Saturday, January 10, 2009)
Lawrence Brownlee, tenor (Saturday, January 24, 2009)
Christianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano (Saturday, February 7, 2009)
Ann Elise Smoot, organ (Saturday, February 28, 2009)
Belcea Quartet (Saturday, March 7, 2009)
Swiss Wind Quintet and Michiko Otaki, piano (Sunday, March 15, 2009)
Academy of Ancient Music (Sunday, March 29, 2009)
Emmanuel Pahud, flute; Trevor Pinnock, harpsichord; Jonathan Manson, cello (Sunday, April 26, 2009)
Vincent Dubois, organ (Saturday, May 2, 2009)
Daniel Müller-Schott, cello and Angela Hewitt, piano (Sunday, May 3, 2009)
Magdalena Kožená, mezzo-soprano (Friday, May 8, 2009)


PUBLIC RADIO BROADCASTS

Many Spivey Hall performances are recorded for tape-delayed radio broadcast. Each fall, WABE 90.1 FM airs complete concerts from recent Spivey Hall seasons in its multi-week Spivey Soirée series. Spivey Hall concerts are also heard in WABE’s Atlanta Music Scene broadcasts. Selections from performances by most of the distinguished international recitalists and chamber music ensembles appearing in the Spivey Series are also heard by about 1.4 million people each week on 250 public radio stations carrying American Public Media’s Performance Today, a program accessible to music-lovers worldwide via the Internet at http://www.performancetoday.publicradio.org/. The recording of Spivey Hall concerts is generously funded by The Walter & Emilie Spivey Foundation.

THE FRIENDS OF SPIVEY HALL

With their annual donations, The Friends of Spivey Hall play a critical role in achieving the artistic mission of Spivey Hall. Friends receive priority seating when purchasing a Spivey Hall subscription of four or more concerts before single tickets go on sale to the public. Friends also receive invitations to special events, including receptions hosted by international consulates; recognition in all Spivey Hall program books for a period of 12 months from receipt of donation; and complimentary companion tickets through the Ambassadors Program, which enables donors of $250 and above to introduce first-time patrons to the joys of hearing fine music at Spivey Hall.

New for the 2008-2009 season are opportunities to sponsor individual Spivey Hall concerts, starting with donations of $2500. Concert sponsorship benefits include complimentary tickets, greeting the artists backstage, plus special recognition in Spivey Hall program books and publications, in the lobby, and on Spivey Hall’s website.

Donations to The Friends of Spivey Hall are managed by the Clayton State University Foundation on behalf of Spivey Hall and are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. To join The Friends of Spivey Hall or to inquire about a concert sponsorship, call the Spivey Hall Box Office at (678) 466-4200.


SPIVEY HALL

Clayton State University
2000 Clayton State Boulevard
Morrow, GA 30260
http://www.spiveyhall.org/
Tel (678) 466-4200
Fax (678) 466-4494


Spivey Hall is located on the campus of CLAYTON STATE UNIVERSITY, a unit of the University System of Georgia and an outstanding metropolitan university located 15 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta. Clayton State provides an intellectually challenging, culturally rich learning environment, encouraging residential and commuter students from a diverse range of ethnic, socioeconomic, experiential and geographical backgrounds to achieve their educational and career goals. The university offers undergraduate and graduate programs of superior quality taught by a professionally active teaching faculty committed to promoting academic excellence. http://www.clayton.edu/

Mega-Friday...three sold out houses in a single day

Not everyone knows that Spivey Hall draws as many people (sometimes more!) to Young People's Concerts for children in grades K through 12 from public, private and homeschools in more than 12 counties as it does to its Spivey Series concert presentations. Today the Jose White String Quartet (hailing from Mexico) plays to two entirely sold-out houses (ca. 800 listeners) between the hours of 9:45 AM and 12:00 PM.

I was grateful to the sea of kids waiting in the lobby before the second concert who kindly let me through to get into my office...! We've just had the "changing of the guard" -- with dozens of school busses dropping off the 11:15 AM audience and picking up the 9:45 AM audience -- which can be quite a commotion!

But a truly happy one, since the students (which today are from grades 6 through 12) seem really excited to be here. For many of them, hearing a Spivey Hall Young People's Concert is their first introduction to fine music in a concert-hall setting. Because of Spivey Hall's renowned acoustics and intimate size, it's a fantastic place for such an introduction, because the students (like the adults) can feel truly connected to what's happening on stage. What better way to discover chamber music? Tickets for these concerts are only $1 each; we also have senior citizens who like to attend, and admission is free to Clayton State University students.

Working in close consultation with the Spivey Hall Education Committee chaired by Jay Wucher, Spivey Hall Education Manager Amber Dimkoff leads the booking, promotion, ticketing and front-of-house operations for Young People's Concerts, with the help of Education Assistant Bonita Clark, our wonderful volunteer ushers, and our backstage crew headed by Production Manager Lorenzo Callahan. Hats off and our sincere thanks to them all; with the YPC artists, they make great music happen -- music that enhances the learning and lives of young people from throughout metro Atlanta.

Tomorrow night (Saturday, February 2nd), the Jose White String Quartet teams up with CSU faculty pianist Michiko Otaki for the Brahms F-minor Piano Quintet, plus two great works for string quartet by Mozart and Schulhoff. We're grateful to the Jose White Quartet for their commitment to music education and for collaborating with us in this way. The Quartet has won numerous international awards and garnered warm praise from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. For more information and online tickets, visit http://www.spiveyhall.org/ or call the box office, (678) 466-4200.

Spivey Hall's partners in welcoming the Quartet to Atlanta are the Mexican Consulate General and the Instituto de Mexico, and they join The Friends of Spivey Hall in hosting a post-concert reception in honor of the artists, with the entire audience cordially invited to attend. Dr. Otaki joins her CSU Dept. of Music colleague Dr. Kurt-Alexander Zeller for a pre-concert talk at 7:15 PM, in which Dr. Otaki will give musical illustrations into the glories of the Brahms Quintet from the pianist's point of view.

This evening, Ladysmith Black Mambazo makes its Spivey Hall debut. These phenomenal cultural emissaries from South Africa have a strong following in Atlanta, and have also sold out Spivey Hall (even after adding pit seats, we have a wait list of more than 30 names). CNN is scheduled to do a feature on them today at Spivey Hall. We're delighted to welcome them for one the most highly-anticipated world-music events ever here. Their bus has already pulled up to the loading dock...and we look forward to a tremendously high-energy communion of artists and audience tonight.

And Sunday afternoon (February 3 at 3 PM) brings the Atlanta debut of the superb German soprano, Christine Schaefer, lately of the Metropolitan Opera and the Lincoln Center's Rose Theatre, who's singing a beautiful program of songs by Henry Purcell, Charles Ives, and a second half of Lieder by Richard Strauss. Her pianist is the renowned Martin Katz, no stranger to Spivey Hall, who played exquisitely in recital with David Daniels last weekend. We may expect our ears to be be amply rewarded! Good seats are still available for this performance, which includes an informative pre-concert talk by Dr. Zeller at 2 PM.

Okay...I'm going to go catch the end of the Jose White String Quartet's second YPC. No matter how many concerts I attend, it always inspires me see how great music continues to speak to people of all ages. In addition to the exuberant applause, you can see it on the kids' faces. It's amazing.