NYC Premiere - Mackey's Kingfishers Catch Fire
April 22, 2009
Press contact:
Julie Kostrey 212.707.8566, ext 306 or
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Maestro James Melton, Director of Choral Activities at Vanguard University, will be guest conducting the Distinguished Concerts Singers International in a Friday, May 22, 2009 8:00 PM performance of one of Franz Schubert's best known mass compositions, his Mass in G, at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, featuring acclaimed soloists Joni Y. Fukuda-Prado (soprano), Tim Proctor (tenor), and James Martin Schaefer (baritone). Composer Dan Forrest will also attend the concert as the Distinguished Singers, comprised of select choirs from around the country, will perform two of his choral works.
The accompanying half of the program will showcase the International Honors Wind Symphony, gathering 60 auditioned instrumentalists from all over the globe, led by Guest Conductors Abel Ramirez, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and James Keene, Professor Emeritus at the University Of Illinois School Of Music, in varied repertoire highlighting the music of John Philip Sousa, Peter Tchaikovsky, among others.
The program will conclude on an exciting note with the New York premiere of Kingfishers Catch Fire, a metaphoric work themed on the colorful and shy kingfisher birds, which slowly emerge from their nests, and fly out into the radiant fire of sunlight, by contemporary composer John Mackey, who will likewise be in residence for the event.
Dr. James Melton is Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities at Vanguard University of Southern California. He directs the 80-voice University Concert Choir and the Vanguard Singers and Band, a select ensemble of 30 vocalists and instrumentalists.
Dr. Abel Ramirez is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Illinois and is a former music industry consultant. He serves on the board of advisors for the Institute for Latin American Music Study at Sam Houston State University.
Dr. James Keene was appointed University of Illinois School of Music Professor Emeritus in 1985. Dr. Keene has served as music ensemble clinician, conductor, and adjudicator throughout the United States and internationally.
Award-winning composer John Mackey has received numerous commissions from the Parsons Dance Company, New York City Ballet's Choreographic Institute, and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, among others. His works have been performed throughout the world.
To obtain tickets or further information regarding this event, please visit the Distinguished Concerts web site, www.DCINY.org. Tickets can also be purchased by calling the DCINY box office, 212.707.8566, x 307 or directly from the concert venue. In just two short years, DCINY has joined the ranks of major classical music production companies in America, nearly doubling its roster of participating ensembles and attracting talent from all over the globe. Among the events DCINY is honored to present this season are: one world and two US premiere performances of major new works by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, which took place on January 19, 2009, and the world premiere of two new choral pieces by American composer Eric Whitacre, one of which was on March 15, 2009 and one of which will be on June 28, 2009. Please visit www.DCINY.org for details regarding other highlights of DCINY's 2009 Season.
Interviews and press tickets can be arranged by contacting Julie Kostrey, at 212.707.8566, or
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