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DAVID FROOM, COMPOSER: ECHOES, RESONANCE, AND REMEMBRANCE Concert to Be Held This Afternoon
Taking place at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, this concert is presented by his partner, pianist Eliza Garth.
By: Blair Ingenthron Sep. 10, 2023
On Sunday, September 10th at 4pm, notable musicians from New York's new music community will gather to honor the artistic legacy of late, beloved American composer David Froom. Taking place at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, this concert is presented by his partner, pianist Eliza Garth.
Titled David Froom, composer: Echoes, Resonance and Remembrance, the program will feature several of Froom's major works: the New York premiere of Froom's final work Lament for the City for mixed ensemble, conducted by James Baker and sung by baritone Thomas Meglioranza; the Sonata for Solo Violin, performed by Curtis Macomber; Lightscapes for flute and piano, with flutist Jessica Shand and pianist-composer Scott Wheeler; Turn of Events, with saxophonist Timothy Ruedeman and pianist Miles Walter; and Ribbons for solo flute, performed by Wendy Stern. Also featured are the New York premieres of two works composed in David Froom's honor: resonant echoes by Jeffrey Mumford, and Prayer by Robert Gibson, both performed by pianist Eliza Garth. In memory of the composer, this concert is open to the public free of charge. Co-sponsored by the American Composers Alliance.
Described in The Washington Post as “intellectually engaging, explosive with imagination and with a satisfying visceral power,” Mr. Froom (1951-2022) was a Guggenheim fellow, twice honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, having been awarded prizes and commissions by the Fromm, Koussevitzky and Barlow Foundations, and first prize of the Kennedy Center's Friedheim Awards. His music has been performed widely throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia by, among many others, the Louisville, Seattle, Utah, Chesapeake, League-ISCM, and Riverside Symphony Orchestras, The United States Marine Band, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Boston Musica Viva, the New York New Music Ensemble, and the Aurelia Quartet. Recordings on a dozen commercial CDs can be found on the standard streaming platforms.
David Froom, composer: Echoes, Resonance and Remembrance
Eliza Garth, piano & special guest artists
Sunday, September 10, 2023 at 4pm
Program
David Froom, Sonata for Solo Violin
David Froom, Lightscapes
Robert Gibson, Prayer, New York Premiere
Jeffrey Mumford, resonating echoes, New York Premiere
David Froom, Lament for the City, New York Premiere
David Froom, Turn of Events
David Froom, Ribbons
GUEST ARTISTS:
Curtis Macomber, violin
Jessica Shand, flute
Scott Wheeler, piano
Miles Walter, piano
James Baker, conductor
Thomas Meglioranza, baritone
Wendy Stern, flute
Timothy Ruedeman, saxophone
William Anderson, guitar
Lois Martin, viola
Chris Finckel, cello
Oliver Xu, percussion
David Froom, Composer
(1951-2022)
Today's program honors the life and artistic legacy of American composer DAVID FROOM. Described in the Washington Post as “intellectually engaging, explosive with imagination and with a satisfying visceral power,” his music has been performed extensively throughout the United States by major orchestras, ensembles, and soloists, including the Louisville, Seattle, Utah, Chesapeake, League-ISCM, and Riverside Symphony Orchestras, The United States Marine Band, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Boston Musica Viva, the New York New Music Ensemble, and the Aurelia Quartet. It also has been heard in performance in England, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Holland, Cyprus, China, and Australia, and is available on CD on the Bridge, Navona, New Dimensions, Delos, Arabesque, Capriccio, Centaur, Sonora, Crystal, Opus 3, and Altissimo labels; it is published by American Composers Edition. Among the many organizations that have bestowed honors on him are the American Academy of Arts and Letters; the Guggenheim, Fromm, Koussevitzky, and Barlow Foundations; the Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards; the National Endowment for the Arts; The Music Teachers National Association (MTNA-Shepherd Distinguished Composer for 2006, for his work Lightscapes); and the state of Maryland (five Indivdual Artist Awards). He was awarded a Fulbright grant for study at Cambridge University, and fellowships to the Tanglewood Music Festival, the Wellesley Composers Conference, and the MacDowell Colony. His biography appears in Groves.
Dr. Froom served on the boards of directors for the American Composers Alliance, the 21st Century Consort, and the New York New Music Ensemble, and on the faculties of the University of Utah, the Peabody Conservatory, the University of Maryland College Park, and, from 1989-2022, St. Mary's College of Maryland.
He was educated at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Southern California, and Columbia University; his main composition teachers were Chou Wen-chung, Mario Davidovsky, Alexander Goehr, and William Kraft.
Dr. Froom was widely admired and loved as a warm and generous artist, educator, mentor, colleague and friend. His legacy includes the countless students whose lives were impacted by him. He was fiercely devoted to his family and deeply loved by them: his wife of 35 years, the pianist Eliza Garth, and their two grown children, Rosalie and Ana. In Ana's own words, “He was a dedicated, loving, and hilarious father. I miss watching movies with him, sharing my music with him in the car, eating yummy food he cooked, and asking repeatedly if he thought the dog loves me back. I am so grateful we could share our lives together. I really miss him and I love him.”
Eliza Garth, Pianist
Through her recordings and her appearances in major cities in the U.S., Europe and Asia, pianist ELIZA GARTH is well known as an artist with an adventurous spirit, championing some of the most demanding works in the repertoire of our time. As described in The New York Times, “Ms. Garth … has an exquisite ear for piano sound. One can think of no one better qualified to play this intricate, shining music.”
Her recordings of the complete solo piano works of Donald Martino (Centaur Records) were released to national critical acclaim. The first of these, her debut solo CD, was the first-ever recording devoted entirely to Martino's solo piano music and was included in a New York Times survey of its own music critics' favorite recordings of music written since 1945.
Her latest recording, of works by American composers Sheree Clement and Perry Goldstein, is available on the Albany label.
Since graduating from The Juilliard School, Ms. Garth has performed hundreds of new works; many were written for her, including Gradualia, a piano concerto by the American composer Scott Wheeler. Ms. Garth performed the world premiere of Gradualia at the Alba Music Festival and the American premiere at the River Concert Series in Maryland.
A creative recitalist, Ms. Garth and choreographer James Martin partnered to develop The Enchanted Piano: Dances for Piano with Electronics, Piano Strings, and Amplified Piano for five dancers and live piano. Featuring music by American composers Mario Davidovsky, Henry Cowell, George Crumb, and Maurice Wright, The Enchanted Piano received its world premiere performances at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center in New York City.
Ms. Garth's versatility and range of musical interests is evident in her programming. In 2012-13 she celebrated the centennial of John Cage with numerous performances of his masterpiece for prepared piano, Sonatas and Interludes. These included appearances in New York City under the auspices of the League of Composers/ISCM, and in Chicago as part of “a.pe.ri.od.ic presents A John Cage Festival” in collaboration with the Floating World Gallery, alongside an exhibition of works by Japanese Buddhist artists Toko Shinoda and Yozo Hamaguchi.
Ms. Garth was a founding member of the Chamber Players of the League - I.S.C.M. in New York City, and has made guest appearances for the Chamber Music Society of Baltimore, Collage at Symphony Hall in Boston, the Twenty-first Century Consort at the Smithsonian Institution, Parnassus, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Washington Square Contemporary Music Society, the New Music Consort, the Fromm Foundation concert series (Boston), and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, among many others.
Her recordings are available on the Centaur, Albany, CRI, Arabesque, and Opus One labels. Her broadcast performances have been heard on the BBC Radio 3, WQXR and WNYC in New York, WBUR and WHRV in Boston, Radio de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, and WGUC in Cincinnati.
Eliza Garth has been recognized by the Maryland State Arts Council with two Individual Artist Awards, most recently for her performance of John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes.
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