Rave Reviews of Oh Freedom!

Don't miss the last public opportunity to see the OH FREEDOM concert live,  tonight (Thursday 2/11/10) the Frazier History Museum (9th & Main).  Come at 5pm and share a refreshment and experience a concert that has been met with outstanding success at 5:30pm.  The event is free and open to the public thanks to the generosity of The Fund for the Arts. 

Metro TV (insight channel 25) will air the concert in its entirety on Sunday March 7 at 9pm.  Classical 90.5 FM WUOL has the 2/10/10 concert from their performance studio available online now.  

The Studio Artists Program is sponsored by GE Appliances. 

School performances sponsored by Yum Brands and PNC Bank.

Phillip Morgan and Erica Cochran Zimmer perform "A Chorus of Hope" at the Celebrate Your Dream Concert 1/17/10.  Photo by Frankie Steele.

What the schools are saying: 

From Kristine Larson at Whitney Young Elementary:

I (and the kids) were enthralled! It was so wonderfully written, and an amazing retrospective of our American history all inside 45 minutes!
I didn't know how the Gullah culture had influenced Porgy and Bess- I knew about the fabulous talent of Paul Robeson so was intrigued to hear him mentioned;  all the details in the performance were so relevant to fifth grade topics, as well as what any informed American should know.
The performers were so talented and engaging, I loved how they answered the kids' questions so deftly and were able to do what we call "code switching" to meet the kids at their level of cognition (a talent not every adult has).  I have had lots of feedback from the kids, they loved the instruments that were featured and one child told me he loved the "call and response" (from Swing Low,,,,,)  Hats off to Kentucky Opera and its energetic and talented performers!  Fabulous! We are in your debt at Whitney Young.  Thanks for fitting us into your schedule!  As a long time season ticket holder to KY OPERA, I say "BRAVO!"

From Tammi Metcalf at Fort Knox military base:

I want you to know they were wonderful! I enjoyed it and so did the soldiers!

From Susan Johnston at Holy Spirit School:

Just to touch base and let you know how much I enjoyed the O Freedom performance. It went right along with what I am teaching and the performers were excellent. Thank you so much for this opportunity!!

From Julie Stith at Layne Elementary:

The performance was wonderful! I have heard many positive things from teachers and students about Oh Freedom!

From Gaylinn Mix-Foley at Ten Broeck Dupont:

40 students attended our performance here at The Brook Dupont.  The performance was incredible!  Definitely the best program we have seen this year by far!  The students were mesmerized, which, for the kids here at the hospital, is a small miracle!  Thank you so very much! 

From Tim King, Director of Performing Arts at JCPS commenting on Lincoln Elementary performance:

Your artists this morning did a fine job of presenting “Oh, Freedom!”  The artists were collegial and engaged our students from the outset.  The material was relevant and timely with Black History Month upon us.   The principal and teachers all commented on what a wonderful program it was.  Well, congratulations!  You have a winner on your hands.

From Mary Lasley at Hancock County Schools (middle and high school performances):

“Oh Freedom” performed here this morning and I have heard nothing but good things.  Please let the performers know that they did a beautiful job and we really appreciate all that you did in bringing this performance to our school.

From Eleanor Hawkins at Engelhard Elementary:

Students had a marvelous time today with the KY Opera Program!   They were making LOTS of connections to music, culture, social studies and reading.  Thank you!

From Paula Little, Supervisor of Instruction for the Clinton County School District:

I heard the performance went very well.  The G/T teacher said that many of the students were amazed.  Thanks again for working with us to set up this performance and the dress rehearsal this year.  They were both outstanding!

Post your own review by leaving a comment here.  

A call to action!

   This is an opportunity to hear what the candidates say about the future of arts funding.  Let them know our community demands stability for the arts!! 

The Kentucky School of Art Presents......

A Conversation with the 2010 Louisville Mayoral Candidates

               about the Future of the Arts in Louisville

Hosted by The Kentucky Center for Performing Arts

 moderated by David Cupps, Executive Director, Arts Kentucky

 Monday, February 8, 2010 Time: 6-8 p.m.

ALL 13 CANDIDATES ARE COMMITTED TO ATTENDING THE FORUM!!

Tyler Allen, Nimbus Couzin, Burrel Charles Farnsley, Greg Fischer, Jackie Green, Hal Heiner, Jim King, Connie Marshall, Lisa Moxley, Jonathan Robertson, David Tandy, Chris Thieneman, and Shannon White

Followed by a Meet and Greet in the East Room, Cash Bar  8-9:00 p.m.

 Location: The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, Bomhard Theatre 502 W. Main St., Louisville

 Free and open to the public  Open seating, tickets are not available

 for more information call (502) 618-4600

E

Oh Freedom! from Deanna Hoying

Naoko Suga, Erica Cochran and Phillip Morgan perform Oh Freedom! for Foster Elementary.

Halfway through the tour!

We’re halfway through the OH FREEDOM! tour! Our intrepid performers Erica Cochran, Phillip Morgan and Naoko Suga have traveled more than 600 miles and have performed for more than 3,500 kids! They started the tour in Clinton County, Kentucky (near the border of Tennessee), traveled to Hancock County near Owensboro, KY and throughout greater Louisville. They also performed at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebrate Your Dream Concert at St. Stephen for more than 1,000 people.

And every Thursday evening at 5:30, they are performing at the Frazier International Museum as a partnership with the museum, the Fund for the Arts and Kentucky Opera. So far, they’ve performed for more than 200 at these events with the final two on February 4^th and 11^th.

It’s been a whirlwind with two more weeks to go!

Some comments from the teachers:

Hey Ms. Deanna! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The performance & performers were fantastic!!!! If our kids are bored or not interested in something, you can tell very quickly, because they move around, won’t sit still and talk. Well, they were as quiet as could be, no moving and thoroughly into the program and participated whenever possible. Several of the kids have made thank you cards and it is very apparent that they listened. I will be sending them to Mary Dossett & Laura Barnum at Yum since they sponsored the show, but I am going to ask them to forward them to you. I think you will truly enjoy them. Have a wonderful weekend and thanks, again

40 students attended our performance here at The Brook Dupont. The performance was incredible! Definitely the best program we have seen this year by far! The students were mesmerized, which , for the kids here at the hospital, is a small miracle! Thank you so very much!

There were 75 students, plus or minus a few, plus 5 teachers.
I(and the kids) were enthralled!
It was so wonderfully written, and an amazing retrospective of our American history all inside 45 minutes!
I didn't know how the Gullah culture had influenced Porgy and Bess-
I knew about the fabulous talent of Paul Robeson so was intrigued to hear him mentioned; all the details in the
performance were so relevant to fifth grade topics, as well as what any
informed American should know.
The performers were so talented and engaging, I loved how they answered the kids'
questions so deftly and were able to do what we call"code switching" to meet
the kids at their level of cognition. (A talent not every adult has, heh heh.)
I have had lots of feedback from the kids, they loved the instruments that were featured
and one child told me he loved the "call and response"
(from Swing Low,,,,,)
Hats off to Kentucky Opera and its energetic and talented performers!
Fabulous! we are in your debt at Whitney Young.
Thanks for fitting us into your schedule!
As a long time season ticket holder to KY OPERA, I say "BRAVE!"

Posted for Deanna Hoying, Director of Education

A CHORUS OF HOPE

Jazz Musician and composer Harry Pickens works with Kentucky Opera
Winter Studio Artists Phillip Morgan and Erica Cochran on his piece for the Oh
Freedom tour, "A Chorus Of Hope" which will premiere at the Celebrate your Dream
concert on Sunday.

Sometimes my job allows me to witness wonderful events - moments that deserve to be shared with the world as they are poignenet and important. Monday was one such moment.

The first rehearsal of the final work in the Oh Freedom tour was Monday morning. Local jazz hero and composer Harry Pickens worked with Kentucky Opera Winter Studio Artists, Erica Cochran and Phillip Morgan on the piece he created. "A Chorus of Hope" is inspired by the speaches of Barak Obama.


To watch Pickens infuse his passion for this work and the history that made this moment possible was inspiring.


On Sunday, January 17 at 4:30pm, "A Chorus of Hope" will make it's world premiere at St. Stephen Church (1006 South 15th Street) in the collaborative concert, Celebrate your Dream. The free performance will include performances by River City Drum Corps, Arts Reach musicians and dancers, the Louisville Central Community Center choir, Voices of Kentuckiana, members of the Louisville Youth Orchestra and Walden Theatre and Mayor Jerry Abramson will presnent the Freedom Award to retired Courier-Journal editor, Marvin Aubespin.

Oh Freedom! is an exploration of the African American experience through song starting with African folk songs, and ending with "A Chorus of Hope". Studio Artists will tour schools througout the Commonwealth in January and February.

The public is welcome to come to the Frazier International History Museum for the Fund For the Arts' happy hour on Thursday January 21 at 5pm where the full one-hour Oh Freedom! concert will be performed. (RSVP here).

A note on Owensboro

Lisa Hasson, Thomson Smillie and Clark Sturdevant rehearse for Madama Butterfly at Artspace in Louisville.

Many may or may not know that Kentucky Opera went to Owensboro recently to perform a semi staged version of Madama Butterfly with the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. It seems as though other Orchestras are coordinating with opera companies to produce smaller less expensive semi staged concerts like this. Check out Nicks Notes here.

Audition Advice

David Roth just got back from the BIG Apple where he was holding auditions for mainstage artists.

Last week Deanna Hoying listened to over 80 singers vie for the four postions in Kentucky Opera's Studio Artists Program.

I sat down with her to talk about how it was going...

Me: So, how are the auditions going?

Deanna Hoying: "I've been really happy about this year's auditions. We have more artists audtioning and from all over the country even the west coast. I think the program has been gaining attention within the young artist circles. Our program offers great opportunity for a young singer to directly work with mainstage artists and conductors while performing compromario roles as well as attending master classes. More than that, I think the Composer Workshop gives Kentucky Opera more crediblity with young singers because it offers a valuable and unique opportunity for these students to work directly with living composers, which isn't available anywhere else.

Me: What advice would you give someone who is about to sing for you?

DH: Your audition starts before you arrive. Your headshot should actually look like you. If you change your hair dramatically, get a new head shot. If you headshot is 10 years old, get a new headshot. We need to know what you look like because we are actually casting for real roles on stage.

ME Interjecting: (This is advice not just for those new to auditioning. I can't tell you how often we get a black and white headshot thats 25 years old from mainstage artists. It's pretty rediculous and we often joke about it. Who looks least like their headshots. And one more thing. You can always take the color out but you can't add it in. Don't do black and white!)

DH: If you are on time, you are late. If you are 30 minues early, you are on time. If we finish someone 4 minutes early and you are not there, it does count against you and you will have to work harder when you get in the room. Allow for traffic, parking and accidents. No one will fault you for being early, but you will always be at fault for being late.

Don't make excuses when you walk in the door. If you have a cold, we will be able to hear it. It's a part of the deal, people get sick and still have to sing.

Moc auditions are a great idea. Get your friends together and sing for eachother, sing for your family, strangers, who ever you can get to listen to you and take the criticism. Have them tell you how you look, how you're standing, if you are too stiff. The entire presentation is the package, and the more feedback you get, the more confident you will feel when you get in the room.

Sing something that you do well. That is the most important thing. You only have 10 minutes. You have to wow us in that 10 minutes and if you don't get it in the first three, it's not going to happen. I can tell in the first breath or the first two notes if this is going to be sublime or a bomb, so I would rather hear a brilliant Sempre Libre than an awful attempt at Sarah's Aria from Jake Heggie's The End of the Affair. Don't bring in something you're working on, bring in something you have.

Don't be afraid to get into character. When someone stands static and stiff it makes them look nervous (whether they are or not)and it doesn't tell us anything about them. If you can get into character a bit but not over do it, it will tell us that you know the plot, who you are supposed to be, how you are feeling and that you can ACT. Opera is a lot about the voice but it's also acting. Those who are animated always get noticed.

Have a couple of unique pieces on your rep list. Somthing that's not done all the time but something you do well. We don't want an entire day of Carmen, Figaro or Flute. If it's unusual we will probably ask you to do it, so don't put it on the list unless you can actually sing it well. We also will look for modern pieces by American composers. So many singers can't sing in english, and with the Composers Workshop, it will be a part of the program regardless of what the Kentucky Opera puts on the mainstage. We will also look for works by our friends, Carslile Floyd, Jake Heggie or Ben Moore. These gentlemen have been to our house and have worked with our kids and we love them and love to hear them. Again, only if you can actually sing it and sing it well. You've got to know it like you know your name.

In any way you can make yourself stand out in the best way possible, do so.

We will be announcing the new Studio Artists in January. Check back to see who wins!

The Wagnerian on Of Mice and Men

Dear Opera Lovers,
When I was young my maternal grandmother used to take me grocery shopping with her. I soon came to realize that my grandmother was extremely rigid with her grocery buying list. The two of us used to pass aisle after aisle of products just to find the one that my grandmother had bought for the past 50 or so years in a row. I am now grateful for the extra exercise my grandmother subjected me to (good physique, tight buns…you get the idea) but I remember I could not understand why she did not want to try something new. “Grandmother”, I used to ask, “Why don’t you try this new brand of brown mustard?” hoping I would score a new treat waiting patiently to be discovered. “Oh no” she would reply with a horrified expression on her face, “you know as well as I do (insert brand name here) is the one I have been buying for years and the one I trust.” So we continued our shopping trips month after month, always going through this strange routine as if we were a broken record.

Yes, my dear friends, this is Christos “The Wagnerian” Dimitriadis and I am not writing about my childhood traumas. This is my usual opera review column and you are on the right page. I just wanted to start my article this way, in order to make a comparison between my childhood experience and the similarities I find with many of my fellow opera lovers. Of Mice and Men was indeed something new for our Louisville palate; it was indeed an opera that most of us might not even have heard of before. It was, however, a great American opera, a great American story of our roots, of pain, turmoil, dreams and yearning. We, however, did exactly what my grandmother used to do when I was a little kid, stick with the usual same brand of mustard!! I have nothing against the standard repertory; in fact, I wept uncontrollably at the Kentucky Opera performance of La Traviata with Mrs. Futral in the lead role, and I’m sure I will have a similar response to Madame Butterfly next season. Nevertheless, why do we, as the operatic audience, continue to be so limited in our selection of opera performances? Why do we want to listen to the same thing twenty times a year but never venture towards something new? Some of you may argue it is because you believe these are the best selections, the best operas and that is why we always love them. I would disagree 100% with this notion because even with famous composers we have not even scratched the surface of their operatic genius. For example, Donizetti composed a total of 70 operas but unfortunately most of us have only heard of 3 or 4 of his works. Few know other Donizetti masterpieces such as Poliuto, Fausta or La Favorita. I do not mean to be abrasive but I did feel great disappointment inside my heart when I realized that Louisvillians did not fully support Of Mice and Men (especially with Mr. Floyd being present and visiting our town) the way it should have been supported; and without wanting to be harsh with my fellow sports fans, if the Cardinals were facing a 3rd grade team in basketball or football tickets would be selling faster than one can say “sesame.” It is a true shame indeed for a town that boasts on its plethora of artistic offerings.

In my usual articles, I would continue by analyzing how I felt about the performance, not so much as a critic because I am not (we have critics in our community, please see Mr. Adler, who are great at what they do) but more as an opera lover and a regular human being. And I can tell you, I was moved, I was thrilled, and I was elated to be in the Brown Theatre for Of Mice and Men. I was glad to experience an opera company who is a leader, who is not afraid to take risks and showcase operas that will expand its operatic audience to a new breed, a new appreciation status, a Kentucky Opera Company that chooses to try another brand of brown mustard!! Thus, I rest my case and I implore you to read the critique that Mr. Adler, our respected critic, printed for the Courier Journal; it says it all and I have to say it is the first time that Mr. Adler and I fully agree and see eye to eye. So, as you read it just think that I would have written the exact same thing. I applaud Kentucky Opera for having a vision outside of the ordinary and for bringing to the forefront a boldness which will become a trademark and guiding light for the future. So, please join me for the opera next season and also in my quest for other, bolder, spicier and more flavorful brands of brown mustard!! VIVA VOCE!!

Christos “The Wagnerian” Dimitriadis

Other Reviews:

Andrew Adler for the Courier Journal

Marian Allen's WEBLAHG

Sherry Deatrick for Theatre Louisville