BSM Celebrates Women Composers With THE MUSIC OF REBECCA CLARKE

Bloomingdale School of Music (BSM) is pleased to continue its mini-series celebrating the music of women composers with a concert entitled, The Music of Rebecca Clarke on Friday, March 9th at 7:00 pm. This free concert will be held at the David Greer Recital Hall at the school's home site at 323 West 108th Street in Manhattan. Seating is limited. Led by BSM piano faculty member Tim McCullough and joined by mezzo soprano Lara Nie and violist Ann Roggen, the program shines a spotlight on the music of the English/American composer Rebecca Clarke and features vocal settings of poems by William Shakespeare and William Blake as well as the epic Viola Sonata.

ABOUT COMPOSER REBECCA CLARKE - Rebecca Clarke (August 27, 1886 - October 13, 1979) was an English Classical composer and violist best known for her chamber music featuring the viola. She was born in Harrow and studied at the Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music in London, later becoming one of the first female professional orchestral players. Stranded in the United States at the outbreak of World War II, she settled permanently in New York City and married composer and pianist James Friskin in 1944. Clarke died at her home in New York at the age of 93. Although Clarke wrote little, due in part to her ideas about the role of a female composer, her work was recognized for its compositional skill. Most of her works have yet to be published (or have only recently been published), and were largely forgotten after she stopped composing. Scholarship and interest in her compositions revived in 1976. The Rebecca Clarke Society was established in 2000 to promote the study and performance of her music. For more information visit: Rebecca Clarke Society,

https://www.rebeccaclarke.org

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Tim McCullough, Piano - Bloomingdale School of Music faculty member pianist Tim McCullough was born in Cardiff, Wales into a musical family. He considers himself fortunate to have a father who is a very accomplished pianist. By the time he was about six weeks old he had already heard a whole host of beautiful piano literature. As a result he grew up swimming in the sound of piano music. At age eight his family relocated to Dallas, Texas and he later moved to New York to pursue graduate piano studies. He received his B.M from the University of Texas and his M.M from Manhattan School of Music. Although he can't choose one favorite composer, he particularly enjoys playing the music of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and Messiaen.

Lara Nie, Mezzo Soprano - Hailed as one of New York's most "prominent German lied specialist" by New York Magazine and as "an intensely expressive artist" by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, mezzo-soprano Lara Nie is one of the most versatile and accomplished singers performing today. As an active orchestral soloist, chamber musician and recitalist, her performances are recognized for their passionate interpretation and sophisticated musicality. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2006 at Weill Recital Hall and has appeared in national and international recital, chamber and orchestral venues including the Ravinia Festival, Chicago's Orchestra Hall, Munich's Gasteig Hall, the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, Merkin Concert Hall, the Washington Holocaust Museum Chamber Series, the Windermere Music Festival in Canada, the Edgar M. Bronfman Chamber Music Series, the Society for Ethical Culture, Ensemble du Monde, Sun Valley Summer Symphony and the Chicago Civic Orchestra among others. She has worked with conductors including Christopher Eschenbach, David Gilbert, Alasdair Neale, and Michael Morgan.

Ann Roggen, Viola - Violist Ann Roggen's talents stem from a wide range of solo and ensemble experience. She has been awarded grants from Chamber Music America and the National Endowment for the Arts, and as a member of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, has recorded extensively for the Telarc, Sony and Deutsche Gramaphone recording labels. She maintains an active and vital studio at William Paterson University where she is professor of viola, violin, and chamber music, as well as at Vassar College, where she teaches violin, viola and chamber music. As a member of the Bennington College faculty, she has had great success in developing interdisciplinary cultural events designed to combine music with literature, history, dance and language in performance. Ms. Roggen is a tireless advocate for unique and unusual repertoire for the viola in combination with other instruments and voice. In her role as President of the New York Viola Society, she has enjoyed great success in creating numerous performance opportunities in New York City for dedicated violists to explore this repertoire, both old and new. In the fall of 2008, she was elected to the national board of the American Viola Society. Highlights of recent seasons include concerto performances with the Zagreb Chamber Orchestra (Croatia), as well as recitals and master classes under the auspices of the American Cultural Centres in Zagreb and Vilnius, Lithuania.

ABOUT BLOOMINGDALE SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Now in its 53rd year, BSM has served more than 80,000 children and adults through group classes, private instruction, and performance opportunities in classical, jazz, and rock music. Each week, over 650 students of all ages participate in a wide range of music making including early childhood classes, a comprehensive pre-college program, free community concerts, and internet-based music programs. With accessibility central to its mission, more than 20% of Bloomingdale's student body receives financial aid and scholarship assistance annually. For more information on Bloomingdale School of Music's programs and concerts, visit www.bsmny.org, call the office at 212-663-6021, or email info@bsmny.org. BSM is located in a charming historic landmark brownstone at 323 West 108th Street.

Bloomingdale School of Music is grateful to the following donors: Foundations: Associated Chamber Music Players, Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Edwin Caplin Foundation, Columbia Community Service, D'Addario Foundation, Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation, The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, Exploring the Metropolis Con-Edison Composers' Residency Program, The Hearst Foundation, Libby Holman Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, The New York Community Trust, The Pinkerton Foundation, Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund, Corporations: Colgate-Palmolive Inner-City Education Fund, Con Edison, Public: New York State Council on the Arts with Support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, New York State Assembly Member Daniel J. O'Donnell, and New York City Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, and many other generous individuals.