From The Threshing Floor

Another Sinatra Love Song

2012-01-28T08:10:00.003-05:00

Ah, the classic carpe diem theme, with a Quincy Jones arrangement!

Today's Sinatra Love Song

2012-01-27T15:41:00.002-05:00

I've always loved songs in which the band gets to sing too!

Today's Sinatra Love Song

2012-01-26T16:21:00.000-05:00

Today's Sinatra Love Song

2012-01-24T19:41:00.002-05:00

Frank and the SWELL Harry James!

A Monday Sinatra Love Song

2012-01-23T07:41:00.002-05:00

NFL Championship Sunday's Sinatra Love Song

2012-01-22T12:02:00.000-05:00

Sinatra Love Song of the Day

2012-01-21T10:00:00.001-05:00

Sunday, February 5, 2012 • 3:00 p.m.
Mooreland Hill School, Kensington
166 Lincoln Street, Kensington, CT 06037

Pre-Valentine’s Day #2—Bring your sweetheart!

“The Many LoveS(ongs) of Frank Sinatra” – Gilbert Gigliotti

For the second year the New Britain Symphony offers a special program to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Gilbert Gigliotti, New Britain Symphony Board member, CCSU professor of English and Latin, and noted Sinatra expert, author and lecturer, will examine the music of the man who is considered the greatest interpreter of popular song ever. The presentation of “ol’ blue eyes” will be through the lens of his most significant and popular recordings about romance and heartbreak. From “All or Nothing At All” to “(Love is) The Tender Trap,” you will get a kick out of learning how Frank’s songs became the soundtrack of 20th century romance. Valentine’s Day reception to follow. Free will offering for the benefit of the Symphony and the Mooreland Hill School program.

Sinatra Love Song for 1/20

2012-01-20T14:35:00.000-05:00

A Sinatra Love Song (1/19/12)

2012-01-19T07:36:00.000-05:00

Countdown to 5 February: Another Sinatra Love Song

2012-01-18T18:49:00.000-05:00

Another day, another Sinatra LOVE SONG!

2012-01-17T13:15:00.001-05:00

Today's Sinatra Love Song

2012-01-16T08:32:00.001-05:00

The Many LoveS(ongs) of Frank Sinatra

Sunday, 5 February, 3:00 PM

Mooreland Hill School, Kensington, CT

Free admission.

Today's Sinatra Love Song

2012-01-15T10:54:00.002-05:00

"Love Me Tender," from 1979's Trilogy.

Few have ever been cooler...

2012-01-14T13:50:00.004-05:00

...than Sinatra at the beginning of The Tender Trap!

Remember:

The Many LoveS(ongs) of Frank Sinatra
Mooreland Hill School
3:00 PM
5 February

Brought to you by The New Britain Symphony!

The New Britain Symphony presents "The Many LoveS(ongs) of Frank Sinatra"

2012-01-13T08:24:00.003-05:00

...a talk at Mooreland Hill School in Kensington, CT, on Sunday, 5 February, at 3:00 PM.

Admission is free, although free will offerings will be accepted;

proceeds to benefit the New Britain Symphony and the Mooreland Hill Scholarship Fund.

For more info, call or contact the New Britain Symphony,

P.O. Box 1253, New Britain, CT 06050, (860) 826-6344

Let's start getting ready for the 5 February talk (with music)...

2012-01-12T09:30:00.001-05:00

..."The Many LoveS(ongs) of Frank Sinatra"!

3:00 PM
Mooreland Hill School
Kensington, CT

Free admission...

No matter who's playing in the Super Bowl...

2012-01-11T13:24:00.000-05:00

...you can't spend the WHOLE day thinking football! So why not join the New Britain Symphony Society on 5 February at 3:00 PM at the Mooreland Hill School in Kensington, CT, for a talk with music:

“The Many LoveS(ongs) of Frank Sinatra”

For the second year the New Britain Symphony offers a special program to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Gilbert Gigliotti, New Britain Symphony Board member, CCSU professor of English and Latin, and noted Sinatra expert, author and lecturer, will examine the music of the man who is considered the greatest interpreter of popular song ever. The presentation of “ol’ blue eyes” will be through the lens of his most significant and popular recordings about romance and heartbreak. From “All or Nothing At All” to “(Love is) The Tender Trap,” you will get a kick out of learning how Frank’s songs became the soundtrack of 20th century romance.

Frank and Ava Gardner!

Valentine’s Day reception to follow.

Free will offering for the benefit of the Symphony and the Mooreland Hill School program.

The NBSO in the NYTimes

2012-01-09T08:23:00.001-05:00

New York Times Arts | Connecticut

Up-to-DatePartners for the Orchestral

By PHILLIP LUTZ (Published: December 30, 2011)

CAUGHT up in rehearsals, recordings and performances, thehip-hop artist Dominic Shodekeh Talifero — known professionally by his middlename — has little time these days to reflect on his improbable rise from thestreet to the orchestral stage.

But the reality of his ascension struck him one dayrecently as he was en route to the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts inHartford for a workshop connected to the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, withwhich he will appear in four shows on four days starting Jan. 5.

“I suddenly thought, ‘What am I doing here? I’m just abeatboxer,’ ” he said, recalling the moment it dawned on him that what once hadseemed a modest gift for vocal mimicry — beatboxers use their voices to evokepercussion instruments and other sounds — was now affording him entree to theworld of symphony orchestras.

Beatboxing, which bears relationships to African clicklanguage and American scat singing, emerged about 30 years ago, the province ofbuskers. It spread to clubs, records and movies, where it spawned stars whoinspired aspiring beatboxers like the young Shodekeh. He began impressingfriends with his vocal skill when he was 8.

Now 34, Shodekeh accompanies all manner of dancers,records with the likes of the composer Meredith Monk and, with the HartfordSymphony, will reprise “Fujiko’s Fairy Tale,” a concerto by the Finnishcomposer Jan Mikael Vainio. Shodekeh first performed the piece in July 2010with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

In incorporating beatboxing into the orchestral form, Mr.Vainio’s concerto, which had its premiere in February 2010 with the St. MichelStrings, a Finnish ensemble, follows a long tradition of symphonic compositionsthat draw on popular idioms. In the past, those idioms typically included folkand jazz.

“What’s new is what else is around,” said Carolyn Kuan,the Hartford Symphony’s new music director and conductor. “There are a lot morepossibilities.”

Ms. Kuan considered at least one other composition thatincorporated rap before settling on Mr. Vainio’s concerto, a four-movementwork, inspired by Japanese animation, that makes use of pentatonic harmonies,minimalist repetition and what Mr. Vainio likened in an e-mail to “soundscapesof the video games of the ’80s and ’90s.”

Mr. Vainio, a fan of rap and rock, is attuned to themusical vernacular. Still, when Shodekeh was preparing for the Baltimoreconcert, he sought changes in the score that fit his freewheeling, street-smartstyle. Mr. Vainio agreed, and Shodekeh added a funk-infused cadenza after thefirst movement — a change that may surface in the Hartford performances.

Those performances, which promise some of the moreunusual cross-cultural encounters on a concert stage this season, should helpMs. Kuan satisfy what she said was “a growing interest in a convergence ofstyles.” The concerto might bring in new fans, she said, though it has alreadyraised doubts among some old fans seeking the familiar. For them, Brahms’sSymphony No. 1 will close the show.

Given thedifficulties in balancing musical constituencies, most of the region’sorchestras are, for now, avoiding extended works for beatboxers or electricguitarists. Instead, they are addressing stylistic convergence in other ways —notably, by organizing string quartets that play arrangements of tunes from therock ’n’ roll repertory.

“There’s a bigboom in the popularity of this,” said the violinist Stephan Tieszen, whobelongs to separate string quartets culled from the New Haven and New BritainSymphony Orchestras.

Mr. Tieszen ispart of a pool of seven players the New Haven orchestra has recruited for itsquartet concerts, which are intended to build an understanding of — andaudience for — classical music by drawing parallels between Mozart andclassically arranged rock. The next two concerts, Jan. 21 at the Omni New HavenHotel and Jan. 22 at the Shelton Intermediate School, target families andschoolchildren.

But theexpectation is that the music can stand alone, without an educationalcomponent. Performing similar arrangements, the New Britain Symphony’s quartetwill present a concert of Beatles music aimed at the general public. It will beheld on March 11 at the New Britain Museum of American Art.

Some criticsquestion the heft of some arrangements available on the open market, sayingthat while they may be useful educationally — illustrating how the first andsecond violins function as lead and rhythm guitars or voices, the viola andcello as bass and drums — their algorithmic predictability can yield a samenessin the end product. But the arrangements that move beyond formulas have madebelievers of skeptics.

“I was a littledubious when we started doing this,” Mr. Tieszen said. “But I have to tell you,it works great.”

One arrangementthat stands out, he said, is the cellist Richard Henrickson’s version of JimiHendrix’s “Purple Haze,” a textural romp in which unison glissandi, col legno —striking the string with the bow’s wood — and other techniques become vividacoustic analogs for Hendrix’s electric explorations.

Another standout, said Judith McDermott-Eggert, who playsviolin with the New Haven quartet, is the violinist John Reed’s take on theBeatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.” Rather than simply transcribing the original recording,a double string quartet, Mr. Reed employs metric shifts that give new accent tothe piece’s propulsive quality.

Gordon M. Ambach, a member of the New Haven orchestra’sboard of directors and a former New York State education commissioner, suggestedthat the quartet’s efforts were not the end of the orchestra’s investigation ofpopular idioms. This month’s concerts will be followed on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12with shows that use small ensembles to compare Haydn with hip-hop.

Meanwhile, the small-group efforts might lead to programsof greater scale and, arguably, artistic ambition. While Mr. Ambach was makingno announcements, he said a work like Mr. Vainio’s concerto might hold enoughaesthetic, educational and entertainment value to warrant a spot on theorchestra’s schedule.

“It clearly does link with the objectives I’ve beentalking about,” he said.

“Fujiko’s Fairy Tale” by Jan Mikael Vainio, and works byBrahms and others, with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Jan. 5 through 8 atthe Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford. Fortickets and further information: hartfordsymphony.org; (860) 244-2999.

Classical arrangements of rock tunes and works by Mozart,with the New Haven Symphony String Quartet, Jan. 21 at Omni New Haven Hotel andJan. 22 at the Shelton Intermediate School. Both at 2 p.m. Information: (203)865-0831 or newhavensymphonyorg.

Classicalarrangements of Beatles tunes, with the New Britain Symphony String Quartet at3 p.m. on March 11 at the New Britain Museum of American Art. Information:newbritainsymphony.org or (860) 826-6344.

A version of this article appeared in print on January 1,2012, on page CT8 of the New York edition with the headline: Up-to-Date PartnersFor the Orchestral.

From New York Magazine: What Does a Conductor Do?

2012-01-09T08:12:00.001-05:00

Here's an interesting article about the "maestro paradox," the person responsible for the totality of sound produces none!

Against which legion of minions would you prefer to do battle?

2011-12-18T08:26:00.003-05:00

The brooms from The Sorcerer's Apprentice

or the Queen of Heart's Cards from Alice in Wonderland?

REMEMBER, today at 4:00 PM in Welte Hall at CCSU:

the New Britain Symphony and the Connecticut Virtuosi join forces on

Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice (and other selections)

as part of the second concert in their Magnum Opus Series!

Did someone say PAGANINI?

2011-12-17T08:29:00.001-05:00

Here's Lady Ella with the musical exhortation, "Swing it, Mr. Paganini"!

You can hear the Rachmaninoff "Paganini Rhapsody" as part of the

free Magnum Opus series concert TOMORROW at CCSU's Welte Hall at 4 PM.

The Magnum Opus Series is a collaboration between the New Britain Symphony and the Connecticut Virtuosi.

on the Homepage of the New Britain Herald...

2011-12-16T08:27:00.000-05:00

...among the videos available in the middle column toward the bottom of the page is one of Raphael Lewandowski, the soloist who will be performing the "Paganini Rhapsody" as part of the Magnum Opus concert this Sunday at 4 PM in Welte Hall at CCSU.

It's not long, but think of it a just a taste of the full banquet available free on Sunday!

Hear "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" LIVE this Sunday, December 18th, at 4:00 PM...

2011-12-14T15:15:00.004-05:00

in Welte Hall on the campus of CCSU.

The MAGNUM OPUS Series:

a collaboration between the New Britain Symphony Society and the Connecticut Virtuosi

No tickets are needed

though donations by mail will be gladly accepted.

For more information, contact

the New Britain Symphony

P.O. Box 1253,

New Britain, CT 06050.

860-826-6344.

Two family-friendly concerts this holiday season:

2011-11-20T21:24:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, Dec. 4 at 3 p.m., Joyful Sounds of Christmas with Brass Quintet and Organ is presented at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 147 Main St. The program combines the brilliance of brass with the celestial sounds of the pipe organ. After the concert, guests can explore the beautiful historic structure while enjoying a cup of hot mulled cider and cookies. No tickets are needed, but free will offerings will be accepted. Proceeds will benefit the NBSO and the St. Mark’s outreach food pantry.

On Sunday, Dec. 18 at 4:00 p.m., A Christmas Concert (part of the Magnum Opus Series, a collaboration of the New Britain Symphony and the Connecticut Virtuosi), is presented in Welte Hall at CCSU, 1615 Stanley St. in New Britain. Audiences will hum along with Dukas’ ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ (made popular by Disney’s Fantasia); be awed by Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Rhapsody, featuring soloist Rafael Lewandowski on piano; and enjoy Christmas carols from Poland and other places around the world, featuring the voices of the Paderewski Choir, New Britain Chorale, and Young Hearts Choir from Holy Spirit Church. Adrian Sylveen, artistic director of the Magnum Opus Series, conducts the concert. No tickets are needed, though donations by mail will be gladly accepted.

For more information, call or contact the New Britain Symphony, P.O. Box 1253, New Britain, CT 06050. Call 860-826-6344. To be added to the Symphony’s email list, call the office or visit their website at www.newbritainsymphony.org and click on the link to the left.

All programs of the NBSO are made possible through the generous support of American Savings Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater New Britain: Weld Fund and New Britain Day Nursery Fund, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Greater New Britain Arts Alliance, Marjorie Moore Charitable Foundation, New Britain Lions Club, Elizabeth Norton Trust, Robert C. Vance Charitable Foundation, and many individual donors.

Since the NBSO Steel Drum Ensemble concert...

2011-10-09T12:02:00.001-04:00

...yesterday at the New Britain Library (even with a program that included Bob Marley, Joni Mitchell, and Harry Belafonte songs), I haven't been able to get that sing-a-long out of my head:

Everybody loves a Saturday night
Everybody loves a Saturday night
Everybody, Everybody, everybody, everybody
Everybody loves a Saturday night!

MORE steel drums...

2011-10-06T13:13:00.002-04:00

A little taste of steel drums...

2011-10-05T19:31:00.003-04:00

...to get ready for Saturday at 1:00 PM at the New Britain Library!

Steel Drums...THIS SATURDAY, 1:00 PM!

2011-10-04T11:04:00.000-04:00

Saturday, October 8, 2011 • 1:00 p.m.
New Britain Public Library, 20 High St. New Britain CT

Music of the Caribbean - Steel Drums

Returning to the area after rave review performances at the Berlin Peck Library and the New Britain Museum of American Art last season, this New Britain Symphony Steel Drum ensemble will bring their special Caribbean sound to the New Britain Public Library outdoor (weather permitting) performance.

Murray Mast, Pans
Ertan Semer, Pans
Christopher Swist, Bass
James Walker, Drums

Coverage of yesterday's concert from today's "New Britain Herald"

2011-10-03T08:04:00.000-04:00

Symphony, Virtuosi make beautiful music together

Monday,October 3, 2011 4:43 AM EDT

By Liz Newberg
Staff Writer

With shouts of “bravo” and astanding ovation, the New Britain Symphony made quite a comeback after nearlyhaving to close its doors for good last year.

In collaboration with The Connecticut Virtuosi Orchestra, their inauguralconcert Sunday brought Welte Hall to life with sounds from Shore to Sibelius.

Special guest violin soloist Brunilda Myftaraj entranced the audience as sheplayed Alexander Glazunov’s violin concerto and Witold Lutoslawski’s “LittleSuite.” The Albanian violin prodigy came back on stage for an encore, with aplayful rendition “Happy Birthday” in a salute to the newly establishedpartnership and their first concert together.

The concert attracted patrons notjust from New Britain and Bristol but from as far afield as Orange and Chester.Newington resident Marjorie Johnson said she was thrilled that the symphony wasstill operating and the convenience of not having to drive into Hartford madeit even better.

As the sounds of Howard Shore’s “Lord of the Rings” rose in a magnificentcrescendo, Nicole Granados and her children Salem and Crichton of Bristollistened in amazement.

“This is their first symphony and to have it right here and kids are free makesit an easy thing to do as a family,” Granados said. “They really are quitegood. It’s the best kept secret in New Britain.”

New Britain mayoral candidate Lucian Pawlak couldn’t have agreed more. In theaudience to lend his support, he said the symphony is a testament to the city’sdiversity.

“This is one of the foundations that underpin how New Britain stands out,”Pawlak said. “We can go from baseball to the symphony to a world-class artmuseum. To have all this in a small city like New Britain is something to beproud of.”

Magnum Opus Series Conductor Adrian Sylveen will be appearing...

2011-09-26T13:08:00.000-04:00

...on "Frank, Gil, and Friends," a radio program on the CCSU campus station WFCS, on Tuesday, 27 September, at 8:30 am.

The program airs 8-10 AM on WFCS 107.7 FM New Britain/Hartford and on-line at www.live365.com/stations/wfcs

TUNE IN!

The Magnum Opus Series begins in one week!

2011-09-25T14:15:00.000-04:00

A little taste of the program:

Did someone say Sibelius' Symphony #2?

2011-09-24T13:26:00.000-04:00

Well, enjoy this!!

"Lord of the Rings" theme is on the program of the Magnum Opus Series...

2011-09-23T12:03:00.000-04:00

...which begins on Sunday, 2 October, at 4 PM, at Welte Hall on the campus of Central Connecticut State University.

Here's a taste of the Howard Shore score.

Armor and swords not included, but the New Britain Symphony and Connecticut Virtuosi will supply the magic!

THE SEASON BEGINS on 2 OCTOBER!

2011-09-22T19:04:00.019-04:00

"The New Beginning"
2011-2012 season - inaugural concert

The New Britain Symphony – The Connecticut Virtuosi will present the inaugural concert of the New Britain Magnum Opus Series on Sunday, October 2, 2011, at 4 p.m. in Welte Hall on the campus of Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.

The eclectic musical selections on the concert program include Howard Shore's Music from “The Lord of the Rings,” Alexander Glazunov's Violin Concerto, and Witold Lutoslawski's “Little Suite for Symphony Orchestra.” The program concludes with Jean Sibelius' famous Symphony No. 2. Program will be conducted by maestro Adrian Sylveen, the artistic director for the series.

The concert – the first in a three-event series – is the result of a new collaborative effort between the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra and the New Britain Symphony during the 2011-2012 concert season. The program is supported by several major foundations, Polish Studies Program at CCSU, local corporations, and many individuals.

"The first program in our Magnum Opus Series features a cross-cultural selection of music that will appeal to a wide spectrum of concert goers,” explains Sylveen. “The program reflects the interests of many generations and ethnic groups, from relatively young people who enjoy the "Lord of the Rings" movie, to the Polish and Russian traditions, to Sibelius' great 2nd symphony, one of the universal standards of the symphonic repertoire. Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 is not only one of the greatest works by the most prominent Finnish composer, but it continues to be among the most popular works within the contemporary symphonic repertoire.”

The soloist for Glazunov’s Violin Concerto is world-renowned violinist Brunilda Myftaraj. An Albanian-American prodigy, Myftaraj has drawn enthusiastic accolades from audiences as well as critical acclaim for her masterful musicianship in the U.S. and abroad. Praised recently by the New London Day as an “especially fine and beautiful player,” Myftaraj has performed as soloist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, of which she is now a concertmaster.

Admission to the concert is by suggested donation of $15, with admission for students at $5 and children free. These are suggested donations only; no patron will be turned away. Admission also entitles concert goers to discounts at selected New Britain restaurants. Concert reservations are greatly appreciated.

For more information, please call the Virtuosi office at (860) 325-CVCO (2826), or the NBSO office at (860) 826-6344.

Welcome -- and what's with the blog's name?

2009-01-07T20:29:00.029-05:00

Welcome to "From the Threshing Floor," the unofficial blog of the New Britain Symphony Orchestra!

For more information, go to http://www.newbritainsymphony.org

We'll bring you more about the programs and the performers in the coming days and weeks.

Visit regularly -- or "follow" the blog, and it'll come to you!

A quick explanation of the title of this blog, for the record:

The word "orchestra" dates back to ancient Greek and originally denoted a "threshing floor." As drama developed in Greece out of the annual harvest festivals, the word came to mean the area used by the chorus for its singing and dancing in front of the actors. It then referred to the area in a theatre where musicians played, and only finally was it associated with the musicians themselves.

Millennia of history, perhaps, but, at its roots, an orchestra is a celebration of life and the creative impulse!

From The Threshing Floor

Another Sinatra Love Song

Today's Sinatra Love Song

Today's Sinatra Love Song

Today's Sinatra Love Song

A Monday Sinatra Love Song

NFL Championship Sunday's Sinatra Love Song

Sinatra Love Song of the Day

Sunday, February 5, 2012 • 3:00 p.m. Mooreland Hill School, Kensington 166 Lincoln Street, Kensington, CT 06037

Pre-Valentine’s Day #2—Bring your sweetheart!

Sinatra Love Song for 1/20

A Sinatra Love Song (1/19/12)

Countdown to 5 February: Another Sinatra Love Song

Another day, another Sinatra LOVE SONG!

Today's Sinatra Love Song

Today's Sinatra Love Song

Few have ever been cooler...

The New Britain Symphony presents "The Many LoveS(ongs) of Frank Sinatra"

Let's start getting ready for the 5 February talk (with music)...

No matter who's playing in the Super Bowl...

“The Many LoveS(ongs) of Frank Sinatra”

Valentine’s Day reception to follow.

Free will offering for the benefit of the Symphony and the Mooreland Hill School program.

The NBSO in the NYTimes

From New York Magazine: What Does a Conductor Do?

Against which legion of minions would you prefer to do battle?

Did someone say PAGANINI?

on the Homepage of the New Britain Herald...

Hear "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" LIVE this Sunday, December 18th, at 4:00 PM...

Two family-friendly concerts this holiday season:

Since the NBSO Steel Drum Ensemble concert...

MORE steel drums...

A little taste of steel drums...

Steel Drums...THIS SATURDAY, 1:00 PM!

Saturday, October 8, 2011 • 1:00 p.m. New Britain Public Library, 20 High St. New Britain CT

Music of the Caribbean - Steel Drums

Coverage of yesterday's concert from today's "New Britain Herald"

Magnum Opus Series Conductor Adrian Sylveen will be appearing...

The Magnum Opus Series begins in one week!

Did someone say Sibelius' Symphony #2?

"Lord of the Rings" theme is on the program of the Magnum Opus Series...

THE SEASON BEGINS on 2 OCTOBER!

Welcome -- and what's with the blog's name?

Sunday, February 5, 2012 • 3:00 p.m.
Mooreland Hill School, Kensington
166 Lincoln Street, Kensington, CT 06037

Saturday, October 8, 2011 • 1:00 p.m.
New Britain Public Library, 20 High St. New Britain CT