Music Academy of the West Sets July Offerings

The Music Academy of the West - which recently announced its $17.5 million Finalecapital campaign to support the final phase of a long-term campus renovation andrenamed its Main House on the Miraflores campus for legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne with a $6 million gift - continues in fine style this July with a typically wide range of performances and masterclasses from some of the finest musicians in the world. Several renowned performers take up their residencies as Mosher Guest Artists this month: Alban Gerhardt (July 6-10), Leon Fleisher (July 13-19), and the JACK Quartet (July 19-22). Celebrated Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä comes to Santa Barbara to lead the Academy Festival Orchestra (July 11), which also performs underCourtney Lewis (July 18) and Nicholas McGegan (July 25). The Music Academy Voice Program presents a fully staged production of Rossini's Cinderella (July 30 and August 1) and fellows perform in OperaFest (July 6 and 8). There are inspiring masterclasses withThomas Adès (July 20), Marilyn Horne, Director of the Voice Program, (July 11), andJeremy Denk (July 1), who also performs an all-Mozart program with the orchestra and members of the Vocal Program (July 3). There is also some friendly rivalry during the month, with the Marilyn Horne Song Competition (July 18) and the Concerto Competition Finals (July 1 and 2).

In July, multiple events will be streamed live online with select videos subsequently available to watch on demand. All livestreamed events, which include the Academy Festival Orchestra and vocal fellows under Nicholas McGegan (July 25, 8pm PDT),Marilyn Horne Song Competition (July 18, 10am and 1pm PDT), and masterclasses withJeremy Denk (July 1, 3:15pm PDT), Leon Fleisher (July 13, 1pm PDT), Julie Landsman (July 17, 3:15pm PDT), and Thomas Adès (July 20; 1pm PDT) are listed below. Livestreamed events can all be accessed at http://www.musicacademy.org/Live_Stream.

Mosher Guest Artists-in-Residence: Alban Gerhardt, Leon Fleisher, JACK Quartet

The Music Academy has once again been able to host guest artists throughout the summer thanks to generous support from the Samuel B. and Margaret C. Mosher Foundation. July's Mosher Guest Artists are cellist Alban Gerhardt (July 6-10), pianistLeon Fleisher (July 13-19), and the JACK Quartet (July 19-22). Gerhardt, praised by The Guardian as "one of finest cellists around - expressive, unshowy, and infinitely classy," perform with pianist and Music Academy faculty member Natasha Kislenko in Hahn Hall on July 9. Fleisher appears with piano duo partner Katherine Jacobson Fleisher in Hahn Hall on July 15. The award-winning JACK Quartet, whose members include Music Academy alumnus Ari Streisfeld (violin, '01-'03), performs in Hahn Hall on July 20.

Opera: Rossini's Cinderella

The Music Academy Voice Program presents a fully staged production of Rossini'sCinderella at the Granada Theatre on July 30 and August 1. Jayce Ogren, former music director of the New York City Opera, conducts the Academy Festival Opera Orchestra; David Paul, a faculty member at Juilliard and the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, returns to direct. "Rossini's bel canto style of opera is difficult to perform, but beautiful to hear," said Marilyn Horne, who has directed the Music Academy's renowned Voice Program since 1997. "Everyone will enjoy the vocal fireworks and the charming libretto."

Academy Festival Orchestra

Fellows gain insight into the professional music career through their work in the Academy Festival Orchestra, playing under some of the world's leading conductors. On July 11 they appear with Minnesota Orchestra Music Director Osmo Vänskä, who leads Kalevi Aho's Gejia and Mahler's Symphony No. 5. New York Philharmonic Assistant Conductor Courtney Lewis, who was also recently appointed Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, takes up the baton on July 18 for this year's Concerto Celebration, featuring winners of the Music Academy's 2015 Concerto Competition.Jeremy Denk appears as pianist and leader in an all-Mozart program alongside members of the Academy Festival Orchestra and Voice Program fellows on July 3. And Nicholas McGegan, the effervescent music director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco, conducts fellows in selections from Handel's Italian opera Orlando and Mendelssohn's "Scottish" Symphony on July 25.

Masterclasses

All fellows participate in the Music Academy's extensive schedule of masterclasses, one of the hallmarks of the curriculum and designed to complement individual private instruction. Among the highlights of July's masterclasses will be Marilyn Horne (July 11),Jeremy Denk (July 1), Leon Fleisher (July 13), and Thomas Adès (July 20).

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 as part of the annual Concerto Celebration (July 18), take place over consecutive evenings in Hahn Hall on July 1 and 2. The Marilyn Horne Song Competition, one of the most popular events of the summer season at the Music Academy, 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, $2,500 Regina Roney Prizes, and individual consultations with New York-based communications firm 21C Media Group.

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