Pierpaolo Polzonetti, the Jan and
Beta Popper Professor of Music at UC Davis, has published a new
book, Feasting
and Fasting in Opera: From Renaissance Banquets to the Callas
Diet, with the University of Chicago
Press. Feasting and Fasting in Opera moves
chronologically from around 1480 to the middle of the nineteenth
century, when [Richard] Wagner’s operatic reforms banished
refreshments during the performance and mandated a darkened
auditorium
Juan Diego Díaz, assistant professor of music, will discuss his
book Africanness in Action: Essentialism and Musical
Imaginations of Africa in Brazil as part of the series
Conversations
with Latin American Authors. The event will be livestreamed
on Nov. 11 at 3:30 p.m.
Professor Laurie San Martin’s Zepplin will
have its New York premiere on October 27 at the National Opera
Center in Manhattan. The performance will be performed live as
well as livestreamed beginning at 7:30 p.m. (EST)/4:30 p.m (PST).
For live stream access, visit the National Opera
Center YouTube Channel.
Professor Christian Baldini, music director and conductor of the
UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, conducts the Camellia Symphony
Orchestra on Sept. 25. The program is titled “Endless Melodies”
and features Se fue Mendoza, a new work by Juan
Diego Díaz, assistant professor of music.
The editors of Solar Journal recently interviewed
Professor Kurt Rohde who discussed his collaborative project with
artist Marie Lorenz and writer Dana Spiotta. Their new
piece, Newtown Odyssey, a floating opera on the
Newtown Creek, addresses environmental catastrophe and justice.
“Songs of Dionysus, for Two Horns and Electronics,” a world
premiere by graduate student in composition Aida Shirazi, will be performed by
InterMusic SF grant recipient, Medius Terra Horn Duo on
Sept. 19 at Central Stage in Richmond. The performance
begins at 4 p.m.
UC Davis alumna Jessica
Bejarano (M.A., music, ‘08) recently was elected as a
board member of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras
(ACSO) for a three-year term.
Commissioned works for string quartets by Professor Kurt
Rohde and lecturer and alum Christopher Castro (PhD, composition,
‘18) have been awarded grants by the Chamber
Music America (CMA) Classical
Commissioning program. The grants
support professional U.S.-based ensembles and presenters for
the creation and performance of classical contemporary chamber
works by American composers.
The renowned conductor Michael Morgan has died
at the age of 63 from complications arising from a kidney
transplant a few short months ago. Maestro Morgan guest conducted
the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra several times, the most recent of
which was a concert featuring Saint-Saëns’s “Organ” Symphony in
2018.
UC Davis graduate student in music Josiah
Tayag Catalan, and Chris Castro (Ph.D.,
music, ‘18), now a UC Davis lecturer in music, are among the
composers given premieres at this year’s Composers
Conference.
In its first professional album released by Centaur Records,
and distributed internationally by Naxos, several of the UC Davis
Symphony Orchestra’s live-concert recordings now appear alongside
the Munich Radio Orchestra. The performances were
conducted by Professor Christian Baldini, music director
and conductor of the UC Davis Symphony
Orchestra and the Barbara K. Jackson Chair in
Orchestral Conducting.
At 7 years old, Tiara Abraham took her first college class at
American River College.
Her mother Dr. Taji Abraham accompanied her to the Spanish
class where they sat together in the front row.
While at ARC, it was not unusual for Tiara’s classmates to be
three or four times her age. However, the other students were
always welcoming once they saw her in action.
“I was very focused on what the professor was saying, so I
think that it was easy for the professors and classmates to
understand that I was serious about learning,” Tiara said.
Daniel Godsil (PhD, composition, ‘21) has joined
the full-time faculty at Columbia College, which is located in
California’s Sierra Mountains. He will be both developing
and teaching music theory and musicianship, along with teaching
piano, guitar, chorus, orchestra, and other ensembles.
Alum Alex Van Gils (PhD, composition ‘17)
has joined the staff of Cycling ‘74, which produces the
industry’s leading electronic music software—including Max/MSP.
In his new role he will be a part of the materials team, teaching
users—particularly at universities and other similar
organizations.
Alumna Angelica
Cortez (B.A., music, ‘12) has been named Interim
President and CEO of El
Sistema USA. El Sistema started in Venezuela as a hope
for all young people to have access to music education. Its
leader and the community El Sistema created was so bold and
captivating it inspired musicians, artists, and activists around
the world to create programs committed to exploring the
intersection of music and justice.
“I’m so thankful to the board of directors, who have trusted me
to support the organization through this transition,” said
Cortez.
On Wednesday, June 23, 2021, at 6:00 pm (Pacific Time) the
ensemble Earplay will give its virtual summer
gala, Gratitude, Gathering, and Music. They
will present new compositions by UC Davis graduate student
Josiah Tayag
Catalan, Andrew Conklin, Richard Festinger,
and Hyo-Shin Na. This program will be hosted by Andrew
Conklin with introductions by the composers and commentary
from fans and colleagues of Earplay.
UC Davis Professor of Music Kurt Rohde will
have his It Wasn’t a Dream performed by the
Brooklyn Art Song Society as part of their final concert series,
“New Voices,” on June 12, 2021, at 7:30 pm. It Wasn’t a
Dream was recorded by the Brooklyn Art Song Society and
released by Albany Records in 2020.
When Tiara Abraham was 4 years old, her parents noticed she had
a knack for singing with vibrato, a style more often found in
accomplished opera singers than preschoolers. “They noticed I
really enjoyed singing,” she said. Soon after, they signed her
up for private singing lessons. Still just 15 years old, the
Sacramento native has performed with as a soloist at Carnegie
Hall, the Vatican and in Vienna.
