CARMEN, Jonathan Biss, eighth blackbird, Deborah Voigt, Alan Gilbert and More Set for Music Academy of the West's 2014 Season

Santa Barbara, Calif. -- The Music Academy of the West will inaugurate an unprecedented partnership with the world-renowned New York Philharmonic and present a new production of Georges Bizet's popular opera Carmen in honor of Marilyn Horne's 80th birthday as part of the Academy's 67th annual Summer Festival. The Music Academy will present some 200 events over the course of its coming season, which begins June 16 and concludes August 9.

Additional highlights will include performances by pianists Jonathan Biss, Jeremy Denk, and Stephen Hough, contemporary chamber music ensemble eighth blackbird, violinist Daniel Hope, cellist Joshua Roman, soprano Deborah Voigt, and the Takács Quartet, as well as conducting turns by Thomas Adès, Jay Friedman, James Gaffigan, Edward Gardner, Alan Gilbert, Larry Rachleff, and Joshua Weilerstein. Featuring the Academy's exceptionally talented Fellows, together with illustrious guest performers and faculty, the events will be presented at the Academy's scenic Miraflores campus and in venues throughout Santa Barbara. Subscription sales have begun.

"We are tremendously proud of the program we have assembled for the 2014 Festival, which brims with marquee performers and outstanding training opportunities for our Fellows," said Music Academy President Scott Reed. "This season's dynamic roster of musical experiences will once again enable Festival attendees to engage, absorb, and celebrate classical music at its finest."

New York Philharmonic Partnership

The Music Academy has entered into an unprecedented four-year partnership with the world-renowned New York Philharmonic that will create unique educational opportunities for Academy Fellows during the summer months and beyond. The agreement calls for Philharmonic personnel to take part in the next four Music Academy Summer Festivals, culminating in a joint concert with the New York Philharmonic and Academy Festival Orchestra celebrating the Music Academy's 70th anniversary in 2017. Under terms of the partnership, Music Director Alan Gilbert will be on hand for part of the next four Festivals, and up to five New York Philharmonic musicians will serve as guest faculty for one week each summer to train Fellows in collaboration with Academy faculty, including masterclasses, chamber music coachings, private lessons, and lectures. Filling the inaugural residencies this summer will be cellist Eric Bartlett, Principal flutist Robert Langevin, and Principal Trombonist Joseph Alessi. Additionally, up to 10 Music Academy Fellows, selected by audition during the summer, will travel to New York City for 10-day apprenticeships and musical immersion with the Philharmonic each year through 2018. The New York Philharmonic, conducted by Mr. Gilbert, will perform as part of the Music Academy Summer Festival in Santa Barbara during the 2015 and 2017 seasons. The 2015 residency will include a community concert marking the Philharmonic's debut at the historic Santa Barbara County Bowl, as well as a side-by-side orchestra reading with the Academy Festival Orchestra (AFO) at the Granada Theatre. Mr. Gilbert also will conduct the AFO in 2014 and 2016, and Philharmonic Assistant Conductor Joshua Weilerstein, a Music Academy alumnus, will conduct the Academy's annual Concerto Night concert this July.

"This collaboration with the Music Academy of the West taps into multiple facets of the New York Philharmonic," said Mr. Gilbert. "Our musicians have an astounding amount to share, in terms of both performance and education. Their ability to give uplifting and excellent concerts is integrally linked with their potential to inspire and educate future orchestral musicians. This partnership with the Music Academy will give us the opportunity to showcase both of these sides through performances in beautiful Santa Barbara and ongoing work with their very promising Fellows."

Mosher Guest Artist Residency Program

Generous support from the Samuel B. and Margaret C. Mosher Foundation will once again enable the Music Academy to host four stellar guest artists over the course of this year's Summer Festival. Ranging in duration, their residencies will include public masterclasses, performances, and private interaction with Academy Fellows. The Academy's 2014 Mosher Guest Artists are the contemporary chamber music ensemble eighth blackbird (June 23-26), violinist Daniel Hope (July 2-5), soprano Deborah Voigt (July 17-19), and pianist Jonathan Biss (August 3-5).

Opera

The Music Academy Voice Program will present a fully staged production of Carmen at the Granada Theatre on August 1 and 3. James Gaffigan, who led the Academy Festival Orchestra in memorable performances the last two seasons, will conduct the Academy Opera Orchestra. David Paul, a faculty member at Juilliard and the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program who oversaw the Academy's well-received productions of The Rake's Progress and The Magic Flute in 2012 and 2013, respectively, will return to direct. Mr. Paul's extensive credits also include a critically lauded production of Le nozze di Figaro for Washington National Opera. "Many regard Carmen as the perfect opera, and it has maintained a constant place in the repertoire since its premiere in 1875," said Ms. Horne, long recognized as one of the most famous Carmens of all time. Her celebrated history with Bizet's masterpiece includes singing the title role to open the Met's 1972-73 season. That production, which also featured Leonard Bernstein as conductor, went on to garner a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in 1974. "Whoever sings Carmen has to bring a lot of herself to the character. That's one of the reasons she's so interesting." Ms. Horne, attended the Music Academy in 1953 and has directed the Academy's renowned Voice Program since 1997. The 23 Academy Fellows who will perform in the production - chosen from among more than 600 applicants as part of the Academy's Voice Program audition process - represent some of today's finest young singing talent. The 45-member opera orchestra will consist of Music Academy instrumental Fellows.

Orchestra Concerts

The Academy Festival Orchestra will present eight concerts this season, including four at the historic Granada Theatre. Larry Rachleff, who serves as music director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Rice University's Shepherd School orchestras, will join Chicago Symphony Principal Trombonist Jay Friedman for the season's opening orchestra concert at Santa Barbara's newly renovated Lobero Theatre on June 21. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of Strauss' birth, Mr. Friedman will conduct his arrangement for brass of An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64; Mr. Rachleff will conduct Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 in D Major, "Classical," Op. 25, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36. The following week, Mr. Rachleff will conduct Strauss' Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare, Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67, and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100, on June 28. Edward Gardner, who serves as music director of the English National Opera and principal guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, will conduct Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 3, featuring 2014 Avery Fisher Prize recipient Jeremy Denk, as well as Ravel's Daphnis & Chloe on July 12. New York Philharmonic Assistant Conductor and Music Academy alumnus Joshua Weilerstein ('07 and '08) will take up the baton for Concerto Night, featuring winners of the Academy's 2014 Concerto Competition, on July 19. A former Concerto Night soloist himself, Mr. Weilerstein will conduct Tchaikovsky's intense Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64, to conclude the evening's concert. And composer Thomas Adès will conduct his work Polaris, in addition to Ives' Variations on "America," Britten's "Four Sea Interludes" from Peter Grimes, and Stravinsky's Petrushka to close out the 2014 Summer Festival on August 9.

Mosher Guest Artist and violinist extraordinaire Daniel Hope will lead a chamber orchestra consisting of Academy faculty and Fellows in a performance of Max Richter's enthralling Recomposed: Vivaldi's Four Seasons on July 5 in Hahn Hall. New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct members of the Academy Festival Orchestra in a performance of Thomas Ades' Chamber Symphony, Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony No. 1, and Schubert's Symphony No. 2 in B-flat Major, D. 125, at the Lobero Theatre on July 26. And cellist Joshua Roman, returning for a second season as Alumnus in Residence, will perform with Music Academy Fellows in Hahn Hall on August 2.

Chamber Music & Solo Recitals

Tuesdays @ 8 concerts feature Academy faculty artists performing beloved favorites and undiscovered treasures of the chamber music repertoire. Guest artists this season will include violinists Elmar Oliveira and Sylvia Rosenberg, New York Philharmonic Principal Violist Cynthia Phelps, violist Karen Dreyfus, cellist Joshua Roman, oboist Eugene Izotov, pianist Jeremy Denk, and conductors James Gaffigan and Larry Rachleff. In a special Tuesdays @ 8 concert at the Lobero Theatre on July 22, Mr. Gaffigan will conduct orchestral reductions of Debussy's Prelude a l'apres midi d'un faun and Mahler's Symphony No. 4, the latter featuring newly appointed faculty artist Glenn Dicterow as solo violinist. In between, the brilliant pianist and composer Stephen Hough will present his own Piano Sonata No. 2.

The acclaimed Takács Quartet and the new music sextet eighth blackbird will appear as featured recitalists (June 18 and 26, respectively), as will soprano Deborah Voigt (July 17) and pianist Jonathan Biss (August 4).

Competitions

This year's Concerto Competition Finals, in which Academy solo pianists and other instrumentalists vie for the honor of performing with the Academy Festival Orchestra on Concerto Night (July 19), will take place over consecutive evenings in Hahn Hall. String Fellows will compete on July 2; winds, brass, percussion, and solo piano Fellows will compete on July 3. Performances will begin at 7 pm both days. This year's eminent jury will be announced soon.

One of the most popular events of the summer season at the Music Academy, the Marilyn Horne Song Competition is a showcase for Academy singers and vocal pianists. Top awards, presented in memory of longtime Music Academy vocal accompaniment faculty member Gwendolyn Koldofsky, are given to the Academy singer and vocal pianist who demonstrate both excellence in the performance of song repertoire and an exceptional gift for audience communication. Winners receive full underwriting from the Music Academy for recital appearances, cash awards of $2,500, and individual consultations with New York-based communications firm 21C Media Group. This year's competition will take place from 10 am to 5 pm on July 19 in Hahn Hall.

String Quartet Seminar

Recently inducted into Gramophone's Hall of Fame - the only string quartet to be so honored to date - the Takács also will once again oversee the Academy's innovative new String Quartet Seminar, which provides 16 string Fellows with intensive ensemble coaching over the course of seven days. The seminar will culminate in a public recital by participating Fellows (forming four quartets) at Hahn Hall on June 20.

New Programs

This summer the Music Academy will debut a String Leadership Program for violin Fellows under the direction of new faculty artist Glenn Dicterow. Offering specialized training for concertmaster and principal second positions in orchestras, the program will include intensive study through masterclasses, private lessons, and coachings led by Mr. Dicterow and visiting artists Jorja Fleezanis, Alexander Treger, and Martin Chalifour. All violin Fellows are invited to audition for and participate in the classes, through which select Fellows will be offered leadership positions for Academy Festival Orchestra concerts and other performances.

This summer the Music Academy also will launch "The Path to Optimal Performance," series of workshops, lectures, and interactive coaching sessions designed to provide Academy Fellows with the opportunity to develop their performance skills in an experiential environment. Series leader Bill Williams is recognized internationally for his work as a musician, performance coach, and educator, having served as principal trumpet for the San Francisco Symphony the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, among others, and having taught performance techniques at the New World Symphony, Juilliard, the Curtis Institute of Music, and DePaul University.

Academy Alumnus in Residence

Having inaugurated the program last summer, celebrated cellist Joshua Roman will again serve as Alumnus in Residence at the Music Academy in 2014. During weeks six and seven, he will curate his own curriculum to inspire Fellows, teach a masterclass, perform, and participate in special projects. Since attending the Music Academy in 2002, Mr. Roman has enjoyed remarkable success as a performing artist, curator, and programmer committed to engaging and expanding the classical music audience. The San Francisco Chronicle has described him as "a cellist of extraordinary technical and musical gifts." Mr. Roman's performance with Academy Fellows on August 2 will include the world premiere of his setting of poems by Tracy K. Smith for Pierrot ensemble (violin, cello, flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, and singer).

Masterclasses

The masterclass is one of the hallmarks of the Music Academy experience. All Fellows participate in the Music Academy's extensive masterclass program, which is designed to complement individual private instruction. Throughout the eight weeks, more than 100 public masterclasses will be presented by faculty and guest artists, including Jonathan Biss, members of eighth blackbird, Alan Gilbert, Daniel Hope, Stephen Hough, and Deborah Voigt. Among those leading vocal masterclasses will be Marilyn Horne and vocal piano and interpretation faculty member Warren Jones. In addition, weekly masterclasses will be presented by members of the string, woodwind, brass, percussion, voice, and piano faculty, including flutist Timothy Day, horn player Julie Landsman, pianists Jonathan Feldman and Jerome Lowenthal, violinists Kathleen Winkler, Peter Salaff, and Glenn Dicterow, violists Donald McInnes and Richard O'Neill, and cellists David Geber and Alan Stepansky. The public is invited to attend these classes, which provide unique insight into the music teaching process at its most dynamic and intimate.

Cabaret

CABARET, the Music Academy's signature gala benefit, will take place this year at 6 pm August 7 at Fess Parker's DoubleTree Resort. One of the most anticipated benefits of the year, the event will feature cocktails, a gourmet dinner, a live auction, and an unforgettable performance by Academy Voice Fellows. Famed comedienne and singer Carol Burnett will again join the Academy's own Marilyn Horne for individual instruction and masterclass work with Voice Fellows on the art of musical comedy in preparation for this year's CABARET presentation. Award-winning director Gerald Sternbach will again oversee the event's musical-revue-style production.

Festival Dedication

This year's Festival is dedicated to former Music Academy board chairman John Burgee. A highly regarded architect whose distinctive designs for the IDS Center in Minneapolis, the Pennzoil Place in Houston, and the AT&T World Headquarters in New York are considered landmarks of contemporary architecture, Mr. Burgee was Academy board chairman in 2005 and 2006 after serving two years as first vice chair. As chairman of the Board's Renaissance Plan Architecture Committee from 2003 to 2005, he played an integral role in the development of the Music Academy's renovation plan and the refurbishment of the Wood II building, since renamed Lehrer Studio Building. He was later instrumental in the design of both Hahn Hall and the Luria Education Center. In 2012 he was named Emeritus Director, the highest honor bestowed upon former Music Academy directors.

"John's leadership on a succession of high-profile campus renovation projects has been absolutely invaluable. We've come to appreciate his steadiness, focus, and common sense in tackling complex challenges. We are very pleased to recognize his many extraordinary efforts on behalf of the Music Academy by dedicating the 2014 Summer Festival in his honor," said Mr. Reed.

Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and frequent performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, guest conductors, and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and Fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 200 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and Fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. The Music Academy began broadcasting live, high-definition simulcasts by the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera at Hahn Hall in October 2008. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.

For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org, or follow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MusicAcademyW and Facebook: www.facebook.com/MusicAcademyoftheWest.

Music Academy of the West 2014 Festival Highlights

June 18: Takács Quartet

June 21: Larry Rachleff and Jay Friedman w/members of the Academy Festival Orchestra

June 26: eighth blackbird in recital

June 27: PianoFest

June 28: Marilyn Horne Masterclass

June 28: Larry Rachleff w/Academy Festival Orchestra

July 5: Daniel Hope in concert

July 5, 7: Opera Scenes

July 9: Warren Jones Masterclass

July 12: Edward Gardner and Jeremy Denk w/Academy Festival Orchestra

July 17: Deborah Voigt in recital

July 19: Joshua Weilerstein w/ Academy Festival Orchestra - "Concerto Night"

July 19: Marilyn Horne Song Competition

July 21: Academy Percussion Ensemble

July 26: Alan Gilbert w/ members of the Academy Festival Orchestra

August 1, 3: Carmen (David Paul, stage director; James Gaffigan, conductor)

August 2: Joshua Roman w/Academy Fellows

August 4: Jonathan Biss in recital

August 9: Thomas Adès w/Academy Festival Orchestra

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