The Crossover Media Podcast

As they begin their 30th Season, the GRAMMY® Award-winning choral ensemble from Austin, Texas, Conspirare, present an emotionally rich and wide-ranging program in their Delos recording: ‘House of Belonging.’ Known worldwide for expanding the boundaries of choral performance, Conspirare has teamed up with the superb Miró Quartet to present a tapestry of intriguing new works by dynamic American composers…. Kevin Puts, Derrick Skye, Alex Berko, Moira Smiley, Ross Lee Finney, Shara Nova, Michael Schachter and Margaret Bonds. The album’s thoughtful texts explore themes about spirituality, philosophy, the natural world, and the human need for deep connection with verses by Ewen Tait, John Muir, William Stafford, Wendell Berry, Rabindranath Tagore, David Whyte, Langston Hughes, Ludwig van Beethoven, Hildegard of Bingen, Kobayashi Issa, Rūta Kuzmickas, Andrew Marvell, and Kiara Skye. Conspirare founder and leader, Craig Hella Johnson who curated and conducted the music on House of Belonging, also commissioned many of the pieces, as well as composing the album’s opening track. We’re delighted to have Craig with us to discuss the project. Listen to the segment Conspirare - House of Belonging is a dynamic and timely collection of American music for voices and with instruments. Curated and conducted by Craig Hella Johnson, the album showcases the unique combination of choral virtuosity and extraordinarily beautiful human expression in works by composers and poets diverse in age, geography, and ethnicity who speak to our internal and external sense of home and belonging. Each composer, in their unique voice, offers a reflection point for listeners. Conspirare’s nationwide roster of vocal artists Simon Barrad, Meg Dudley, Haitham Haidar, Chelsea Helm, Michael Jones, Lauren McAllister, Savannah Porter, Kathlene Ritch, and David Kurtenbach Rivera are featured as soloists on the album. Produced by Max Horowitz - Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

As they begin their 30th Season, the GRAMMY® Award-winning choral ensemble from Austin, Texas, Conspirare, presents an emotionally rich and wide-ranging program in their new Delos recording: ‘House of Belonging.’ Known worldwide for expanding the boundaries of choral performance, Conspirare has teamed up with the superb Miró Quartet to present a tapestry of intriguing new works by dynamic American composers including: Kevin Puts, Derrick Skye, Alex Berko, Moira Smiley, Ross Lee Finney, Share-a Nova, Michael Schachter and Margaret Bonds. Conspirare founder and leader, Craig Hella Johnson, commissioned many of the pieces on House of Belonging and composed the opening track himself. The album’s thoughtful texts explore themes about spirituality, philosophy, the natural world, and the human need for deep connection with others with verses by Ewen Tait, John Muir, William Stafford, Wendell Berry, Rabindranath Tagore, David Whyte, Langston Hughes, Ludwig van Beethoven and Hildegard of Bingen. Shara Nova, aka ‘My Brightest Diamond,’ has brought her unique perspective to this project with contributions on a setting of David Whyte’s poem which shares the album’s title, as well as a new arrangement for choir…..her emotionally charged lullaby: “I Have Never Loved Someone.” Shara Nova is here with us to discuss the album as well as give us her unique musical perspective. Listen to the segment Conspirare - House of Belonging is a dynamic and timely collection of American music for voices and with instruments. Curated and conducted by Craig Hella Johnson, the album showcases the unique combination of choral virtuosity and extraordinarily beautiful human expression in works by composers and poets diverse in age, geography, and ethnicity who speak to our internal and external sense of home and belonging. Each composer, in their unique voice, offers a reflection point for listeners. Conspirare’s nationwide roster of vocal artists Simon Barrad, Meg Dudley, Haitham Haidar, Chelsea Helm, Michael Jones, Lauren McAllister, Savannah Porter, Kathlene Ritch, and David Kurtenbach Rivera are featured as soloists on the album. Produced by Max Horowitz - Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Whether it’s prison reform, the plight of refugees, music education for all, or the industry-defining ‘In War and Peace,’ opera superstar Joyce DiDonato transcends the physical confines of the concert hall. DiDonato has long been an artist who has dedicated herself to creating and initiating projects that challenge and galvanise the public. Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation. Her latest initiative; EDEN, is one that she will dedicate much of her time over the next four years to. Uniting music, drama, education and organizational partnerships to confront questions about our individual connection to Nature, the EDEN project includes an astonishing new recording released on Er-ato – Warner Classics, and a 2 year, 45 venue stage production tour across five continents. EDEN’s long-term impact and legacy will be far reaching to say the least and Joyce DiDonato is here with us to discuss all of it with us. Listen to this audio piece.

As they begin their 30th Season, the GRAMMY® Award-winning choral ensemble from Austin, Texas, Conspirare, presents an emotionally rich and wide-ranging program in their new Delos recording: ‘House of Belonging.’ Known worldwide for expanding the boundaries of choral performance, Conspirare has teamed up with the superb Miró Quartet to present a tapestry of intriguing new works by dynamic American composers: Kevin Puts, Derrick Skye, Alex Berko, Moira Smiley, Ross Lee Finney, Share-a Nova, Michael Schachter and Margaret Bonds. Conspirare founder and leader, Craig Hella Johnson, commissioned many of the pieces on House of Belonging and composed the opening track himself. The album’s thoughtful texts explore themes about spirituality, philosophy, the natural world, and the human need for deep connection with verses by Ewen Tait, John Muir, William Stafford, Wendell Berry, Ru-bin-druh-nath Tu-gore, David Whyte, Langston Hughes, Ludwig van Beethoven and Hildegard of Bingen. The Miró Quartet is one of America’s most celebrated and dedicated string quartets. Described by ‘The New Yorker’ magazine as “furiously committed” and the ‘Cleveland Plain Dealer’ as having an “exceptional tonal focus and interpretive intensity,”, Miro is the Quartet-in-residence at the University of Texas’ Butler School of Music, and for over twenty-five years, has performed on the world’s most prestigious concert stages. Miró violist: John Largess is a Curtis Institute and Yale University graduate. In 1995 he toured the United States and Canada with the Colorado String Quartet. Appointed principal violist of the Charleston Symphony the following year, in 1997 Mr. Largess joined the Miró Quartet and has been a vital fixture ever since. An active speaker and writer about all things chamber‐music, the violist also holds a degree in Classical Archeology which has led to his participation in excavations in Greece, Israel, and Jordan. John Largess is here with us to discuss Conspirare, new Delos recording: ‘House of Belonging,’ as well as give us his unique musical perspective. Listen to the attached segment. Conspirare's new recording: ‘House of Belonging’ is a dynamic and timely collection of American music for voices and with instruments. Curated and conducted by Craig Hella Johnson, the album showcases the unique combination of choral virtuosity and extraordinarily beautiful human expression in works by composers and poets diverse in age, geography, and ethnicity who speak to our internal and external sense of home and belonging. Each composer, in their unique voice, offers a reflection point for listeners. Conspirare’s ongoing commitment to commissioning and performing music of today’s most vibrant living composers is reflected in these world premiere recordings. Conspirare’s nationwide roster of vocal artists Simon Barrad, Meg Dudley, Haitham Haidar, Chelsea Helm, Michael Jones, Lauren McAllister, Savannah Porter, Kathlene Ritch, and David Kurtenbach Rivera are featured as soloists on the album. Produced by Max Horowitz - Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Hailed as ‘the new Maurice André’ by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Paul Merkelo is a spectacular soloist who the Montreal Gazette calls ‘a most impressive master of his instrument.’ As principal trumpet of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Mr. Merkelo was the first member of the orchestra invited to record a solo album with the ensemble: ‘French Trumpet Concertos’ under the direction of maestro Kent Nagano. Making his Lincoln Center debut in 1999 with the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, Paul Merkelo has worked with the world’s greatest orchestras including: the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Sapporo Symphony, Venice Baroque Orchestra and the Eastman Wind Ensemble among others. He has performed with a veritable who’s who of legendary conductors. Leonard Bernstein, Charles Dutoit, Lorin Maazel, Sir Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta and Valery Gergiev among them Paul Merkelo has now released a new recording for the Naxos label showcasing the Trumpet Concertos of Alexander Arutiunian, Dmitry Shostakovich, and Mieczyslaw Weinberg. Featuring The Russian National Orchestra under the direction of maestro Hans Graf, along with the acclaimed pianist Jae-Hyuck Cho, the three works on this recording each have a connection to the legendary Ukrainian trumpeter: Timofei Dokshizer who not only served as principal trumpeter with Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre but who also enjoyed a spectacular live performance and recording career. Paul Merkelo is here with us to discuss these 3 great concertos. Listen to the podcast. Here's the track listing for the recording: Alexander Arutiunian (1920–2012) 1 Trumpet Concerto (1950, cadenza by Timofei Dokshizer, 1921–2005) xx:xx Andante maestoso – Allegro energico – Meno mosso – Tempo I – Meno mosso – Tempo I – Cadenza – Coda Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919–1996) Trumpet Concerto in B flat major, Op. 94 (1966–67) xx:xx 2 I. Etudes x:xx 3 II. Episodes – x:xx 4 III. Fanfares x:xx Dmitry Shostakovich (1906–1975) Concerto No. 1, Op. 35, for Piano, Trumpet and Strings (1933) (expanded trumpet part by Timofei Dokschizer* and Paul Merkelo**) xx:xx 5 I. Allegro moderato x:xx 6 II. Lento x:xx 7 III. Moderato – x:xx 8 IV. Allegro con brio x:xx *From the 2009 transcription for trumpet and piano (DSCH Publishers, 2009) **Assisted by Jae-Hyuck Cho and Hans Graf Album Produced by Michael Fine. Engineer Erdo Groot Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Houston Texas based ‘Apollo Chamber Players’ sixth studio recording; ‘Moonstrike’ on Azica Records includes Jennifer Higdon’s groundbreaking work for string quartet; ‘In the Shadow of the Mountain.’ The piece is the 20th and final work in Apollo’s 20 by 2020 multicultural commissioning initiative and multiple GRAMMY and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon joined us for this podcast along with Apollo Chamber Players violinist and founder Matthew Detrick to discuss the piece. Listen to the Segment ‘In the Shadow of the Mountain’ has great intensity and emotionalism, while at the same time is very technically challenging. Jennifer Higdon grew up in the shadow of the Smoky Mountains and the subject matter for this commission was heavily influenced by her childhood memories of sound, light, and music of the mountain and its people. Topics include: How this commission came about. The genesis for this piece and it’s relationship to Jennifer Higdon’s first opera which honors the resonance of the Great Smoky Mountains. Jennifer Higdon’s approach rethinking the structure converted an opera, a work that has words, to a string quartet arrangement, which is wordless. The Apollo Chamber Players return to Carnegie Hall for a program celebrating the ensemble's 15th season of multicultural programming and the conclusion of its Moonshot-inspired 20x2020 commissioning project. New works by Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, Emmy-winning Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, and Rome Prize-winning composer Pierre Jalbert are showcased, along with a homage to Turkish-born composer Erek Eryilmaz's heritage and a peace-infused work by Prairie View A&M composer John Cornelius. Special guests include Houston Poet Laureate Outspoken Bean, vocalist Kenneth Gayle , and astronaut narrator John Herrington, the first Native American to fly in space. The Program Is As Follows: JENNIFER HIGDON In the Shadow of the Mountain (NY Premiere) JEROD IMPICHCHAACHAAHA' TATE MoonStrike (NY Premiere) PIERRE JALBERT L'esprit du Nord (NY Premiere) JOHN CORNELIUS PAX (NY Premiere) ERBERK ERYILMAZ Thracian Airs of Besime Sultan (NY Premiere) Apollo Chamber Players Performers are: ··Matthew J. Detrick, Violin ··Anabel Ramirez Detrick, Violin ··Matthew Dudzik, Cello Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Mark Abel’s music writing is beholden to no school or discernible influence. Even if his music sits comfortably within an ongoing continuum in the classical tradition, Abel is his own man, a composer who brings his sensibility and highly developed command of craft to a particular idea and then illuminates it in a strikingly imaginative way. Abel’s versatility of works is fully apparent on his sixth recording for Delos Music. ‘Spectrum,’ a generous two-disc set of song-cycles, chamber pieces, and excerpts from an opera still roaming around his brain and features: 2 time GRAMMY® Award winning soprano: Hila Plitmann, 4 time Juno Award winner: Isabel Bayrakdarian, celebrated mezzo-soprano: Kindra Scharich, pianists Carol Rosenberger, Dominic Cheli, Sean Kennard and Jeffrey LaDeur; as well as Alexander String Quartet violist David Samuel; Pacific Symphony concertmaster Dennis Kim; and the superb cellist: Jonah Kim. Mark Abel is here with us along with Hila Plitmann to discuss ‘Spectrum.’ Listen to the podcast The recording features 3 instrumental gems: ‘Reconciliation Day,’ ‘Out the Other Side’ and ‘The Long March’ along with 3 captivating song cycles: ‘Trois Femmes du Cinema,’ ‘1966’ and ‘Two Scenes from The Book of Esther.’ Trois Femmes du Cinema’ features the powerful vocal artistry of soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian who is joined by the superb pianist: Carol Rosenberger. The piece is rooted in Abel’s love for art films, particularly from the ‘1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, and the texts that he’s written are centered around 3 important women: French actress; Anne Wiazemsky, Mexican actress: Pina Pellicer, and the Ukrainian Soviet film director: Larisa Shepitko. These songs replicate their emotional trajectory, as well as their courage in standing up against the power of patriarchal misogyny in the film industry. These heroines are still largely unknown to the general public and each song in the cycle has a unique compositional approach. ‘Reconciliation Day’ is the first chamber piece on ‘Spectrum’ and is a moody, enigmatic duet beautifully played by violist: David Samuel and pianist Dominic Cheli. The rhythmic feel on this piece has a dance-like quality with bursts of sound and forward motion interspersed with calmer sections almost evoking an impressionistic quality. ‘Out the Other Side’ is played with immense integrity and authority by Trio Barclay, the ensemble-in-residence at the University of California, Irvine. This trio consisting of Pacific Symphony violinist and concertmaster: Dennis Kim along with one of today’s most highly regarded young cellists: Jonah Kim, and the superb pianist: Sean Kennard play together with a unique and rare chemistry. Abel’s thirteen-minute trio excursion titled: The Long March’ which features pianist: Dominic Cheli, hornist: Jeff Garza and flutist: Christy Kim is an unusual piece and somewhat of a rarity in chamber music. As the title suggests, this musical journey explores the unique timbres of the horn and flute against an exhilarating piano and includes stops to regroup, reflect, celebrate, and endure. Two Scenes from “The Book of Esther," features: soprano Hila Plitmann as ‘Esther,’ and Mezzo-Soprano: Kindra Scharich as ‘Vashti.' They are joined by Violinist: Adam Millstein, clarinetist Max Opferkuch, and pianist: Dominic Cheli. 1966 is the final piece and the 3rd song cycle on the album. Mark Abel wrote the text which features Mezzo-Soprano: Kindra Scharich and her close colleague: pianist Jeffrey LaDeur. This wistful, nostalgic, lyrical piece reflects on the time when Abel turned eighteen years of age and was affected by 3 life-changing events, a romance, a hike, and San Francisco visit. Produced by Max Horowitz - Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Composer Eric Schorr is a musical chameleon who has written music for a variety of genres and venues. With a body of work that includes the musical: “Tokio Confidential,” vocal arrangements for “Uncommon Women and Others” and processional music for the opening ceremony of the ‘Gay Games’ at Yankee Stadium, most recently Eric Schorr has created a captivating new album that transforms contemporary poetry into a series of unique art songs. Released by Albany Records, “New York Pretending to be Paris,” features Metropolitan Opera Mezzo-Soprano: Eve Gigliotti, Boston Lyric Opera tenor: Jesse Darden, and Théâtre du Châtelet baritone: Michael Kelly who give voice to Schorr’s thirteen musical settings of poems by Morri Creech, Richie Hofmann, Susan Kinsolving, Thomas March, Aaron Smith & Cynthia Zarin. Produced by Paul McKibbins, orchestrated by Nik Rodewald, the album features the 19 Mercer Ensemble who are joined by pianists Cris Frisco, Erika Switzer and Schorr himself. The result is a poignant recording, full of longing and desire, and joining us for this podcast are composer Eric Schorr, baritone Michael Kelly, and poets: Susan Kinsolving and Aaron Smith. LISTEN Filled with beautiful and humorous images, the 13 songs on “New York Pretending to be Paris” flow from one to another like a set of short stories that portray deeply moving characters in situations pertaining to the subject of love. Love in many forms. The settings are happy, angry, melancholy and vengeful among other emotions, each acknowledging the power of memory and desire. . The diverse subject matter of these poems is reflected in Eric Schorr’s varied musical vocabulary and tone painting and his musical choices reinforce the poems. Schorr also has a keen awareness of the organic rhythm in the words and every syllable seems to be given its proper weight. The pieces on this album are like dramatic stories or mini-musicals. Stylistically, the music encompasses several genres. Neo-Romantic, jazz, chanson and bossa nova among other styles. Eric Schorr originally scored these pieces for voice and piano but then decided to expand the texture and utilized Nik Rodewald to compose chamber arrangements for the album, exquisitely played by members of the 19 Mercer Ensemble.

Houston Texas based ‘Apollo Chamber Players’ sixth studio recording; ‘Moonstrike’ on Azica Records includes Jennifer Higdon’s groundbreaking work for string quartet; ‘In the Shadow of the Mountain.’ The piece is the 20th and final work in Apollo’s 20 by 2020 multicultural commissioning initiative and multiple GRAMMY and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon joined us for this podcast along with Apollo Chamber Players violinist and founder Matthew Detrick to discuss the piece. Listen to the Segment ‘In the Shadow of the Mountain’ has great intensity and emotionalism, while at the same time is very technically challenging. Jennifer Higdon grew up in the shadow of the Smoky Mountains and the subject matter for this commission was heavily influenced by her childhood memories of sound, light, and music of the mountain and its people. Topics include: How this commission came about. The genesis for this piece and it’s relationship to Jennifer Higdon’s first opera which honors the resonance of the Great Smoky Mountains. Jennifer Higdon’s approach rethinking the structure converted an opera, a work that has words, to a string quartet arrangement, which is wordless. The Apollo Chamber Players return to Carnegie Hall for a program celebrating the ensemble's 15th season of multicultural programming and the conclusion of its Moonshot-inspired 20x2020 commissioning project. New works by Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, Emmy-winning Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, and Rome Prize-winning composer Pierre Jalbert are showcased, along with a homage to Turkish-born composer Erek Eryilmaz's heritage and a peace-infused work by Prairie View A&M composer John Cornelius. Special guests include Houston Poet Laureate Outspoken Bean, vocalist Kenneth Gayle , and astronaut narrator John Herrington, the first Native American to fly in space. The Program Is As Follows: JENNIFER HIGDON In the Shadow of the Mountain (NY Premiere) JEROD IMPICHCHAACHAAHA' TATE MoonStrike (NY Premiere) PIERRE JALBERT L'esprit du Nord (NY Premiere) JOHN CORNELIUS PAX (NY Premiere) ERBERK ERYILMAZ Thracian Airs of Besime Sultan (NY Premiere) Apollo Chamber Players Performers are: ··Matthew J. Detrick, Violin ··Anabel Ramirez Detrick, Violin ··Matthew Dudzik, Cello Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

A pulsation marks time. Listen to the 'Pulsations' podcast with Angele Dubeau. Hosted and Produced by Crossover Media's Max Horowitz With a career spanning over four decades and an impressive discography of more than forty albums, Angèle Dubeau continues to leave her mark in today's music world. Her virtuosity brings her on the most prestigious stages and she continues to be awarded international prizes for her recordings and to receive honors for her career. Pulsations, the violinist's new album, brings together works that evoke strong images and possess a profound emotional intensity. In addition to the excellence of her playing, she has a flair for finding and recording the works of remarkable composers, thus placing her at the center of the post-minimalist movement, one of the most relevant musical genres of our time. The public's increasing interest for some of these composers whose works are featured on Pulsations tells us that we are witnessing the emergence of a golden age for this contemporary music. "A pulsation marks time, it infuses its rhythm in it and also evokes the heart. Just like those composers whose music calls out to me and who, with their unique signatures, mark time, our time; Olafur Arnalds, Jean-Michel Blais, Ludovico Einaudi, Alex Baranowski, Craig Armstrong, Peter Gregson, Yann Tiersen, Abel Korzeniowski, Johan Johannsson, Max Richter and Dalal." - Angèle Dubeau, O.C., C.Q., O.M. Once again, Angèle Dubeau is accompanied by the excellent musicians of her all-female string ensemble La Pietà, with whom she has been playing for over 20 years. Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Houston Texas based ‘Apollo Chamber Players’ sixth studio recording; ‘Moonstrike.’ is the 19th commission of Apollo’s 20 by 2020 multicultural initiative. The Azica Records album title track was written by Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Joining us for this podcast is Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and Apollo Chamber Players founder and violinist Matthew Detrick. We will discuss Part 4 III. Raven Steals the Moon (Haida) which features the Haida Play Song and War Song. MoonStrike, is narrated by Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington, the first American Indian citizen to fly in space. Tate explains, “American Indian legends are very colorful and have a tendency to take twists and turns within the narrative. Regarding the Moon, it is very consistent that the traditional tales involve trickster characters and competitions for ownership of this precious object.” MoonStrike also draws inspiration from Apollo Founder Matthew J. Detrick’s love of space and childhood dream to become the first person to play the violin in space.

Houston Texas based ‘Apollo Chamber Players’ sixth studio recording; ‘Moonstrike.’ The Azica Records album is the 19th commission of Apollo’s 20 by 2020 multicultural initiative. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate has created music and narration depicting the very colorful American Indian legends around the subject of the moon. Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate is here with us to discuss Moonstrike, and is joined by Apollo Chamber Players founder and violinist Matthew Detrick. The inspiration behind the Apollo players came from the work NASA has been doing over the decades. Apollo founder Matthew Detrick had worked for a long time on curating a space-themed program to honor the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Scored for string quartet and narrator MoonStrike involves three diverse American Indian legends and includes traditional songs. Section II. The Man Who Married the Moon (Isleta Pueblo) includes a Pueblo Lullaby, and the Choctaw Hymn 139. Our narrator for the ‘Moonstrike’ piece is astronaut and member of the Chickasaw tribe: John Herrington. Mr. Herrington was selected as a Mission Specialist for NASA’s sixteenth Shuttle mission to the International Space Station. Known as STS-113, the shuttle Endeavour was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in 2002, with a mission to deliver structural support for the Space Station’s radiators. During this mission John Herrington performed three spacewalks which are commemorated on the reverse of the 2019 Saca-gawea dollar coin. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Houston Texas based ‘Apollo Chamber Players’ have released their sixth studio recording; ‘Moonstrike.’ The title track for this Azica Records album is the 19th commission of Apollo’s 20 by 2020 multicultural initiative. A new work by Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, the pice commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Mr. Tate has created music and narration depicting the very colorful American Indian legends around the subject of the moon. Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate is here to discuss Moonstrike and in particular, the section ‘Origin Of the Moon.’ Mr. Tate is joined by Apollo Chamber Players founder and violinist Matthew Detrick. Listen to the segment American Indian legends have a tendency to take twists and turns within the narrative. Traditional tales about the Moon often involve trickster characters and competitions for ownership of this precious object. Scored for string quartet and narrator MoonStrike involves three diverse American Indian legends and includes traditional songs. Right after the Calusa Corn Dance the piece transitions to the first movement: Origin of the Moon (Kalispel), which includes the Rockies Powwow Song, and the Apache Bird Song. The section can be characterized in this way. The inspiration behind the Apollo players came from the work NASA has been doing over the decades. Matthew Detrick has always been fascinated with space exploration and as a kid dreamed of being an astronaut, and his primary goal as a kid was to be the first person to play the violin in space. Matthew has been working on curating a space-themed program to honor the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Matthew Detrick read all of the space and NASA books in the Loganville Elementary school library, and in 5th grade even wrote a detailed report on the solar system. A regular atendee at space camp, his primary goal as a kid was to be the first person to play the violin in space, and now as an adult have made Houston your home. So this Apollo Chamber Players ‘Moonstrike’ commission is really an homage to Matthew's lifelong dedication to space. Moonstrike narrator is astronaut John Herrington, a good friend of JIT and also a member of the Chickasaw tribe. Mr. Herrington was selected as a Mission Specialist NASA’s sixteenth Shuttle mission to the International Space Station. Also known as STS-113, the shuttle Endeavour was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in 2002, with a mission to deliver structural support for the Space Station’s radiators. During this mission John Herrington performed three spacewalks which are commemorated on the reverse of the 2019 Saca-gawea dollar coin. John’s late-wife, Margo Aragon-Herrington, had always wished for Jerod and John to collaborate on a project such as this, one which would bring these American Indian astrological stories to life. It was no doubt serendipitous that Matthew reached out to Jerod for this project. MoonStrike is aptly dedicated to the memory of Margo Herrington. The album artwork for MoonStrike was created by award- winning Chickasaw multimedia artist and designer Dustin Illete-wahke Mater, whose works are featured in the permanent collect of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). He commented “As a visual artist, one of the tools I use for inspiration and my storytelling ideas is music. The performances and compositions on this album filled my imagination with wide vistas, plateaus & the shell carvings of my Muskogean ancestors. The Ledger Art portraits celebrate this uniquely American Indian art form and honor the wonderful artists of MoonStrike.” Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Houston Texas based ‘Apollo Chamber Players’ have released their sixth studio recording; ‘Moonstrike.’ The Azica Records album title track is the 19th commission of Apollo’s 20 by 2020 multicultural initiative, a new work by Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Mr. Tate has created music and narration depicting the very colorful American Indian legends around the subject of the moon. Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate is here with us to discuss Moonstrike, and is joined by Apollo Chamber Players founder and violinist Matthew Detrick. American Indian legends have a tendency to take twists and turns within the narrative. Traditional tales about the Moon often involve trickster characters and competitions for ownership of this precious object. Scored for string quartet and narrator MoonStrike involves three diverse American Indian legends and includes traditional songs. Jerod, The piece is bookended with an arrangement of a Calusa Corn Dance. For Southeast Indians, the Green Corn Dance took place during the annual, fall Harvest Moon. The inspiration behind the Apollo players came from the work NASA has been doing over the decades. Matthew Detrick has always been fascinated with space exploration and as a kid dreamed of being an astronaut, and his primary goal as a kid was to be the first person to play the violin in space. Matthew has been working on curating a space-themed program to honor the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. We start with the Calusa Corn Dance as the Prologue We conclude the piece with an Epilogue returning to the arrangement of the Calusa Corn Dance Moonstrike narrator is astronaut John Herrington, a good friend of JIT and also a member of the Chickasaw tribe. Mr. Herrington was selected as a Mission Specialist NASA’s sixteenth Shuttle mission to the International Space Station. Also known as STS-113, the shuttle Endeavour was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in 2002, with a mission to deliver structural support for the Space Station’s radiators. During this mission John Herrington performed three spacewalks which are commemorated on the reverse of the 2019 Saca-gawea dollar coin. John’s late-wife, Margo Aragon-Herrington, had always wished for Jerod and John to collaborate on a project such as this, one which would bring these American Indian astrological stories to life. It was no doubt serendipitous that Matthew reached out to Jerod for this project. MoonStrike is aptly dedicated to the memory of Margo Herrington. The album artwork for MoonStrike was created by award- winning Chickasaw multimedia artist and designer Dustin Illete-wahke Mater, whose works are featured in the permanent collect of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). He commented “As a visual artist, one of the tools I use for inspiration and my storytelling ideas is music. The performances and compositions on this album filled my imagination with wide vistas, plateaus & the shell carvings of my Muskogean ancestors. The Ledger Art portraits celebrate this uniquely American Indian art form and honor the wonderful artists of MoonStrike.” The MoonStrike commission is very unique. There is nothing else out there like it, especially for chamber ensemble instrumentation. The closest comparison I can think of is Prokovief’s peter and the wolf.) Jerod, tell us about your process in taking texts such as these and creating music for them? Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Listen to the attached Podcast: Jeff Beal - The Paper Lined Shack. Highlighting the recording of the same name on on Supertrain Records, the album features Grammy Award-winning soprano Hilá Plitmann, the New Hollywood String Quartet, and Leonard Slatkin conducting the Eastman Philharmonia. Comprising two works - The Paper Lined Shack” for soprano and orchestra, and “Things Unseen” for string quartet - this album is a deeply personal one for Beal in many respects, representing Beal’s lineage, past and present. The libretto to “The Paper Lined Shack” was compiled by Joan Beal, utilizing texts and images sourced from his great-grandmother’s memoir, composed in her late years. the world premiere of “The Paper Lined Shack'' took place in 2019 with Plitmann, Slatkin, and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. “Things Unseen,” the second complete work of the album, was originally commissioned by Eastman School of Music’s quartet-in-residence, the Ying Quartet which, at the time of its world premiere, consisted of four siblings. According to Beal, “Each of the four movements unfold as balancing acts of controlled dialog and chaos. Ideas are introduced by one player, developed, morphed, and passed around the room, as in the best of dinner party conversations - perhaps a group of siblings,” The recorded version is performed by the New Hollywood String Quartet (Tereza Stanislav & Rafael Rishik, violins; Robert Brophy, viola; Andrew Shulman, cello). The album is also indicative of Beal’s many ties to Eastman School of Music, where he is an alumni and the founder of The Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media. Track list: The Paper Lined Shack for soprano and orchestra 1. Carefree Girl 2. The Red Chair 3. The Paper Lined Shack - May 13 single release 4. Our Garden 5. My Heart Track list: Things Unseen for string quartet 6. Ghosts 7. Spirits 8. Angels 9. Gnomes - June 3 single release Jeff Beal is an American composer with a genre-defying musical uidity. His work has been nominated for nineteen, and won five Primetime Emmy awards for scores for House of Cards (Netflix), Rome (HBO), Carnivale (HBO) Nightmares and Dreamscapes (TNT), Monk (USA) and Oliver Stone’s The Putin Interviews (Showtime). Film scores include the documentaries The Biggest Little Farm and Black?sh, and dramas Pollock (dir. Ed Harris) and Shock and Awe (dir. Rob Reiner). Beal composes, orchestrates, conducts, mixes and often performs on his own scores – no other artist’s brush strokes touch his canvas. An accomplished and recorded jazz musician, Beal uses his improvisational skills to read the emotional tone of a scene. Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

In 2021, through Azica Records, the innovative Houston Texas based, Apollo Chamber Players released 'With Malice Toward None.' Taking its title from Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, the recording deals with politics, identity, and what it means to be a citizen of a nation balanced between an idealized past and a just future. Featured on this recording is a unique work by composer/performer Pamela Z titled: ‘The Unraveling.’ Pamela Z composes for voice, electronic processing, samples, gesture activated MIDI controllers, and video. She’s toured throughout the US, Europe, and Japan, presenting her work at New York’s ‘Bang on a Can,’ Festival ‘The Japan Interlink Festival,’ San Francisco’s ‘Other Minds,’ the Venice and Dakar Biennales, among other venues and exhibitions. With a body of scores written for dance, film, and chamber ensembles, Pamela Z has collaborated with the Kronos Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s among others, and she’s received awards from the Guggenheim and Robert Rauschenberg Foundations, United States Artists, and is a recipient of the Rome Prize, Doris Duke Artist Impact Award, and the Herb Alpert Award. Pamela Z is here with us along with Apollo Chamber Players violinist and founder Matthew Detrick to discuss her piece ‘The Unravelling’ and the intersection of classical and folk music. LISTEN With all the mixing and blurring of genre boundaries, we start our conversation discussing the question… What is classical music in the 21st century. Is there a 'right' and authentic way to combine genres, and will the cultural moment that we're currently living in be long-lasting or ephemeral? Many classically trained musicians and composers want to be involved in music outside of notated concert music because these musicians love different kinds of music. In creating ‘The Unraveling,’ Pamela Z drew from American folk and rock music from the 1960s and 70s. This is a sound that has resonated with her since childhood. From a young age the first songs she learned were by Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and Malvina Reynolds, and her first compositions were in that singer/songwriter style. She was particularly drawn to protest songs. The Apollo Chamber Players did an entire season centered around the question, ‘what folk music means’ and how different composers and people generally define folk music, and 'With Malice Toward None' is at its core focused on folk music. In this particular commission Apollo is asking this question of Pamela. Of course, folk music is a key the basis for popular music and folk music lends itself very well to a string quartet configuration. The podcast goes over each of the four movements In the first section ‘Joni’ Pamela Z uses the string quartet as a human sampling and playback device creating their phrases and motifs from cut up, layered, and looped fragments taken from the dulcimer part in Joni Mitchell's ‘All I Want’ from her Blue album. The second section, ‘Lord I’m One’ is a kind of ‘broken record' riff on the old folk standard made popular by Peter, Paul, and Mary “500 Miles,” The third section, ‘Travis’ is a lesson in a common finger-picking style. The final section, ‘Microbus’ is a wistful reminiscence of Pamela Z's busking days in San Francisco, where she eventually relocated. We also ask Apollo Chamber Players violinist and founder Matthew Detrick to discuss from the performer's perspective, what its like to be immersed in the 'sound world' that Pamela Z creates. Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

In 2021, the innovative, Houston Texas based Apollo Chamber Players released their fifth studio album - With Malice Toward None, through Azica Records. Taking its title from Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, the recording tackles politics, identity, and what it means to be a citizen of a nation balanced between an idealized past and a just and multicultural future. Prominently featured on the recording is a remarkable work by composer/performer Eve Beglarian titled ‘We Will Sing One Song.’ Characterized by the Los Angeles Times as a “humane, idealistic rebel and a musical sensualist,” Eve Beglarian’s chamber, choral, and orchestral music has been commissioned and performed by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the American Composers Orchestra, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Apollo Chamber Players, and countless other notable groups and individual performers. Eve Beglarian is here with us along with Apollo Chamber Players violinist and founder Matthew Detrick. Listen to the attached podcast Eve Beglarian began writing ‘We Will Sing One Song’ while reading ‘The Human Comedy’ by the Armenian-American writer William Saroyan. On this podcast we start back in 2009 or even before to discuss Eve Beglarian's obsession with the Mississippi River and its impact on the development of American culture. Known as ‘The River Project,’ the Mississippi is one of the defining natural features of the North American continent and you became interested in how our relationship to the nature, geography, and ecology of the river is manifested in music, literature, and all the arts. Although the journey down the Mississippi has been made and written about by many compelling travelers, perhaps the most famous of which is Mark Twain more than 120 years ago, Eve Beglarian spent a year traveling the whole length of the Mississippi starting from its source in Minnesota, meeting people along the way, recording the sounds of the river, writing music as she traveled and performed in the local communities that she found. Beglarian draws geographical parallels between the River project which chronicles the Mississippi and ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ which serves as the basis for your piece; ‘We Will Sing One Song.’ The inspiration for the piece, is William Saroyan’s novel, ‘The Human Comedy’ and the moment when a young boy waves at a man on a passing train, who is singing Stephen Foster’s "My Old Kentucky Home.” The first 5 words of the song is the title of Beglarian's piece. The first line reading; We will sing one song of the meek and humble slave. The approximately 18 minute piece features the Apollo Chamber Players along with the Armenian du-duk prodigy; Arsen Petrosyan, Iranian born percussion master; Pejman Hadadi on an array of instruments (tombak, kuzeh, dayereh, bam-dayereh, senj, kanjira), Joan Der-Hov-sepian on viola, and Beglarian's digital track which serves as the musical bed for the piece. Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

With songs written in his mother tongue – Tomson Highway’s latest recording is a country music milestone with songs that swing, joke, drawl, and wail – all in Cree. This is what makes Cree Country unique. Sung by the incomparable Patricia Cano, this stylish collection of 12 new country songs from one of Canada’s most prolific artistic innovators - Tomson Highway features a spectacular band of Canada’s best country musicians. Cree Country is nothing short of compelling and joining us for the conversation is album composer Tomson Highway, vocalist Patricia Cano, producer John Alcorn and engineer Jeff Wolpert. Cree is an Indigenous language spoken by 100,000 North Americans. Many of Canada’s most well-known place names are of Cree origin, including Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Chicoutimi, Québec, and Ottawa. It’s a very rhythmic language that lends itself naturally to music-making – and particularly country! Tomson recalls living in the Manitoba bush in the 1950’s and hanging a transistor radio high in the trees at night to hear country music waft north all the way from Nashville, Tennessee. The joy of hearing that music is the inspiration behind these tunes. “English is so hierarchical. In Cree, we don't have animate-inanimate comparisons between things. Animals have souls that are equal to ours. Rocks have souls, trees have souls. Trees are 'who,' not 'what.” – Tomson Highway. Writer, composer and musician Tomson Highway was born in a snowbank on the Manitoba/Nunavut border to a family of nomadic caribou hunters. He had the great privilege of growing up in two languages: Cree, his mother tongue, and Dene, the language of the neighbouring nation, a people with whom his family travelled and hunted. He is the proud son of legendary caribou hunter and world championship dogsled racer, Joe Highway, and artist-in-her-own-right (as bead-worker and quilt-maker extraordinaire), Pelagie Highway. That’s them on the cover! Tomson left home at the age of six, and travelled south 500 miles to attend school, learn English and to play the piano. His desire was to become a concert pianist. Now, the multi-talented Mr. Highway enjoys an international career as playwright, novelist, pianist, and songwriter. His critically acclaimed plays include The Rez Sisters, Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, Rose, Ernestine Shuswap Gets her Trout and the best-selling novel Kiss of the Fur Queen. For many years, Tomson ran Canada’s premiere Native theatre company Native Earth Performing Arts (based in Toronto), out of which emerged an entire generation of professional Indigenous playwrights, actors and many Native theatre companies in Canada. Tomson Highway’s many awards include the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best New Play and Best Production (three wins, five nominations), the Governor General's Literary Award for Drama (two nominations), the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award (two wins), the Toronto Arts Award (for outstanding contributions made over the years to the City of Toronto cultural industries), the Wang Harbourfront International Festival of Authors Award, the Silver Ticket Award (from the Dora Mavor Moore Awards, for outstanding contributions made over the years to the Toronto theatre industry), the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (2001), and the Order of Canada (1994). Patricia Cano is an award-winning Peruvian-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor. In 2001, Tomson Highway invited Patricia to perform alongside him in a cabaret of his songs. This marked the beginning of an artistic collaboration that continues to this day. In 2014, Tomson Highway released his first studio recording, Patricia Cano Sings Songs from The (Post) Mistress, and in 2015, the album was nominated for a JUNO in the Indigenous Album of the Year category. In 2017, Patricia won the Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Cree, English and French in Highway's one-woman musical, The (Post) Mistress.

In 2021, the innovative, Houston Texas based Apollo Chamber Players released their fifth studio album - With Malice Toward None, through Azica Records. Taking its title from Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, the recording tackles politics, identity, and what it means to be a citizen of a nation balanced between an idealized past and a just and multicultural future. Prominently featured on the recording is the 7 part piece written by Christopher Theofanidis and Mark Wingate titled What is the Word? Christopher Theofanidis is here with us for this Episode 2 podcast along with Apollo Chamber Players violinist and founder Matthew Detrick. Written in 2017, ‘What is the Word?’ is based on Samuel Beckett's poem of the same name, which was written in response to his own late encounter with a-phasia, which is caused by a degree of brain damage that brings on the loss of one’s ability to understand or express speech. The piece attempts to document Beckett’s struggle with a-phasia and a resulting fear of vanishing identity. The actress Billie Whitelaw once said of Beckett's work, "I looked at his work like music, and to me it was rhythm and pauses, and lack of pauses." This idea guided your approach and musical response with co-writer - electronic music composer Mark Wingate. With respect to the string quartet, this seems to be evident in the restless, start-stop patterns and fast spirals of tremolo. The piece begins with the reading of the original poem, read by actress Maura Hooper. It then unfolds over six additional sections that combine the abstracted voice with the string quartet in a very interactive and surreal way. In the section called ‘Extroverted.’ We continue to hear the poem’s verse in a somewhat normal form, now joined by the string quartet in a fast paced, jagged movement. The music seems to really emphasize the agony of Beckett struggling to the find the word. Then we move to a short section, only :44 seconds ‘Edgy’ also very jagged, but with a defined pulse, and now with electronics clearly present in the texture. This leads to ‘Mercurial, and more electronics, now manipulated more than before mixing with the quartet. Then ‘Noble’ which has a sound of nobility in the strings, a defined melody and more evolving electronic elements that keep the texture pretty sideways. Then ‘Very Fast’ a string rich section which brings the voice back in tiny vocal snips with some scant electronics. It has some stability compared with the previous 2 sections. And the piece finishes with ‘Euphoric’ which musically brands itself through the heavy use of electronics. It glistens Christopher Theofanidis and Mark Wingate were quoted as saying of Beckett's poem, "the a-phasic search for ‘the word' becomes something which itself spins off rhythm and phrase in a kind of virtuosic dance, the text moving along a spectrum between meaning and pure musical sound. Music, then, seemed to us the natural way to amplify this search for this intersection of sound and meaning."

On Friday, August 20, 2021, Apollo Chamber Players released their fifth studio album, With Malice Toward None, on Azica Records. The album is a breathtaking collection of globally-inspired compositions and collaborations, with each composer sharing their own personal interpretations of folk music. Works include a title track by Vietnam War-veteran J. Kimo Williams with a performance by electric violinist Tracy Silverman, Pamela Z's The Unraveling, What is the Word? by Christopher Theofanidis and Mark Wingate, new arrangements of a trio of Armenian folk songs by pioneering Armenian composer Komitas, and Eve Beglarian's We Will Sing One Song for duduk, string quartet, percussion, and track. The Pamela Z, Theofanidis and Wingate, and Beglarian pieces are part of Apollo's 20x2020 project, launched in 2014 with a mission to commission 20 new multicultural works before the end of the decade. Listen to this podcast featuring electric violin master - Tracy Silverman and Apollo Chamber Players Violinist and co-founder Matthew Detrick. The duo will discuss the title track on the album; J. Kimo Williams' With Malice Toward None along with the Allegretto Groovando based on the Fantasy from Beethoven's Symphony No. 7. LISTEN In J. Kimo Williams' With Malice Toward None (2020), the composer speaks to the current social and cultural climate we face, taking inspiration from Beethoven, who wished that musical expression could affect change. Carol Williams, the composer's wife and a social activist and artist, says, "A speech by a politician is not expected to be the equivalent of poetry, or to cast a lasting memory in popular culture; especially not one given 155 years ago. But that is precisely what [Abraham Lincoln's] phrase, ‘with malice toward none, and charity for all,' has become. It is the definition of politics seamlessly intersecting with art. So should it be any different from having music intersect with politics? Not for Beethoven, as most students of his music are already aware. Today, there is still a critical need for ‘socially responsible pieces of music' that can address our human failures with as much hope as it does despair. We are together here in 2020, facing challenges old and new, internal and external. And we have reached a new low point when a People, born more American than African, have to again demand that the value of their lives be recognized." The piece is dedicated to the late Civil Rights leader John Lewis and was composed for Apollo Chamber Players and electric violinist Tracy Silverman, who performs on this recording. Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.