Serafin Summer Music Brings World-Class Artists to Delaware

Content of this post originates from a press release from Serafin Summer Music...

Serafin Ensemble, University of Delaware Department of Music and The Music School of Delaware, present Serafin Summer Music. The 10-day festival runs from Thursday, June 20 through Sunday, June 30.

Festival artists hail from China, the Philippines, New Zealand and from around the U.S., including New York City, Oklahoma, Ohio, Kentucky, Atlanta, Florida, Pennsylvania and right here in Delaware. 

“Bringing superb artists together to prepare and share marvelous masterworks with a community of eager listeners is a thrilling creative enterprise in every respect,” comments Kate Ransom, Festival Artistic Director.

The festival’s exceptional lineup features a range of repertoire including works by great classical composers Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms, as well as works by lesser-known composers, such as Smetana, Khachaturian and Faure. Each concert has a unique theme and ensemble configuration of up to six string, wind, piano and vocal performers.

Festival sponsors are Dr. William Stegeman, Ph.D., Jacobs Music Company, Harry’s Savoy Grill, Tonic Bar and Grille, Montrachet Fine Foods, Delaware Today, WDEL and GateHouse Media Delaware.

All performances will be held at The Music School of Delaware's Wilmington Branch, 4101 N. Washington Street in Wilmington. Season subscriptions are $135 for all eight performances; a four-pack of tickets is $70 and single tickets are $20. Purchase by visiting www.brownpapertickets.com or calling 302.762.1132 (the Music School).

Serafin Summer Music Artist Roster

• Amos Fayette, violin
• Hal Grossman, violin
• Kate Ransom,violin
• Benjamin Shute, violin
• Lisa Vaupel, violin
• Amadi Azikiwe, viola
• Luke Fleming, viola
• Mary Harris, viola
• Charae Krueger, cello
• Lawrence Stomberg, cello
• Guang Wang, cello
• Miles Brown, bass
• Jennifer Nicole Campbell, piano
• Amy Dorfman, piano
• Read Gainsford, piano
• Augustine Mercante, countertenor 
• Eileen Grycky, flute
• Christopher Nichols, clarinet

Serafin Summer Music Schedule

Thursday, June 20, 7:00pm - BOHEMIAN GEMS

• Dvořák “Sonatina” in G Major, Op. 100 for violin and piano
• Smetana “Two Pieces From My Native Land” for violin and piano
• Dvořák “Terzetto” in C Major, Op. 74 for two violins and viola
• Smetana String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor “From MY Life”

Friday, June 21, 7:00pm - IT’S CLASSIC!

• Michael Haydn Duo No. 2 in D Major for violin and viola
• Beethoven Piano Trio Op. 1, No.1
• Schubert song set
• Schubert “Trout” Quintet for violin, viola, cello, bass, piano

Saturday, June 22, 5:00pm - FRIENDS and MENTORS

• Brahms Scherzo ("Sonatensatz") in C Minor for violin and piano WoO2
• Schumann “Fairy Tales” for clarinet, viola and piano
• Niels Gade Sonata in D Major for violin and piano
• Dohnanyi Piano Quintet No.1 in C Minor

Sunday, June 23, 4:00pm - OUT OF BAVARIA

• Mozart D Major Quartet for flute, violin, viola, cello
• Reger Sonata in G Minor for solo viola
• Schumann “Fantasy Pieces” Op. 73 for cello and piano
• Brahms Piano Quartet in G Minor, Op. 25

Thursday, June 27, 7:00pm - FRENCH FORAY

• Leclair Duo in E Minor for two violins
• French Song Set
• Faure Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15

Friday, June 28, 7:00pm - THE THREE B’s

• Bach G Minor Sonata for solo violin
• Beethoven String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 18, No.4
• Brahms Piano Trio in C Major, Op. 87

Saturday, June 29, 5:00pm - RUSSIAN ROMP

• Khachaturian Trio for clarinet, violin, piano
• Arensky Trio in D Minor, Op. 32 for violin, cello, piano
• Borodin Piano Quintet in C Minor

Sunday, June 30, 4:00pm - FINALE FIREWORKS

• Brahms Sextet in Bb Major, Op. 18 for two violins, two violas, two cellos
• Tchaikovsky “Souvenir de Florence” for two violins, two violas, two cellos

See www.serafinensemble.org/summer. 

Enjoying the 'Three Rs' of DSO Music

By Christine Facciolo

Forget the three Bs. The Delaware Symphony Orchestra (DSO) capped off its 2018-19 season with works by 'the three Rs': Respighi, Rachmaninoff and…Rozsa?

You may not know his name, but chances are you’ve heard his music, especially if you’re a film buff. Miklos Rozsa (1907-1995) was a Hungarian-American composer best known for his film scores. Rozsa’s Hollywood career earned him considerable success and recognition, including 17 Oscar nominations and three wins for “Spellbound” (1945), “A Double Life” (1947) and “Ben-Hur” (1959).

Rozsa also remained faithful to his classical music roots with his compositions earning the plaudits of the likes of Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky and Janos Starker, who commissioned the work played this night.

The orchestra eased into the evening with a performance of Respighi’s highly descriptive symphonic poem the “Fountains of Rome.” Composed in 1916, the work remains a fine example of the brilliance with which Respighi uses the resources of the orchestra. (That’s not surprising since he was a student of Rimsky-Korsakov, who wrote the book on orchestration, both literally and figuratively).

The DSO invested its performance which much skill and care. The first movement, The Valle Guilia Fountain at Dawn, conveyed a distinctly bucolic tone, while the buoyancy of The Triton Fountain in the Morning conjured up images of water spouts. The solemnity of The Trevi Fountain at Mid-Day soon gave way to euphoria reminiscent of a classic Hollywood film score. The Villa Medici Fountain at Sunset provided a pastoral conclusion with notable contributions from the woodwinds. The expressive playing led to a distant tolling of a bell — in this instance one of the Kerrigan Bells of Remembrance — heralding the ebb of the music.

Cellist Nicholas Canellakis. Photo courtesy of artist.

Rozsa’s Cello Concerto, Op. 32 offered another palette, not to mention tangy harmonies and the rhythmic flair of the composer’s native Hungarian language. The first movement full of strong ideas and a cadenza of riveting virtuosity. By contrast, the central movement is lyrical and tinged with anguish. The final movement bristles with energy and — once again — rhythmic élan.

This is a stout, boldly communicative work that deserves and demands to be heard much more often. Kudos to DSO Music Director David Amado for programming it and to virtuoso cellist Nicholas Canellakis for learning it for this concert. (The work is so well-hidden that not even the majority of cellists know it exists.)

Canellakis is a highly articulate soloist who not only performs the music; he inhabits it. His impeccable technique enables him to remain confident and in control while executing the fiendishly difficult passages Rozsa throws at him (and there are many). That composure allows him to convert pyrotechnics into phrases that are rich in beauty and meaning.

The audience responded by breaking decorum with applause between movements. After three curtain calls, Canellakis obliged with a performance of the Sarabande from J.S. Bach’s Cello Suite, No. 1 in G major.

Following intermission, DSO Board Chairman Charles Babcock honored philanthropists Gerret and Tatiana Copeland for their support of the orchestra. Mrs. Copeland told the audience that she and her husband had their first date at The Grand. She also told the heartfelt story of how Rachmaninoff — “Uncle Sergei” to her — supported her family during a financial crisis.

The DSO’s rendering of the composer’s final symphony was equally heartfelt. Amado caught all the passion of the first movement while simultaneously retaining its lyrical qualities, defined the poetic elements of the second movement and concluded the symphony with all the energy and enthusiasm a finale deserves.

See www.delawaresymphony.org. 

Museum Purchases Work by Hank Willis Thomas & Chakaia Booker

The content of this post comes from a previous press release from The Delaware Art Museum...

The Delaware Art Museum is delighted to announce recent purchases of art by women artists and artists of color. This spring, the Museum purchased a series of prints by Hank Willis Thomas, an 1871 oil painting by Robert Duncanson, and a 1940 poster by Robert Pious.

These three recent purchases reflect the Museum's continued effort to collect more art by women artists and artists of color. In 2018, the Museum purchased 24 works of art, of which one-third were created by women and one-third were created by African American artists. In total, 74 percent of acquisition funds spent in 2018 went toward acquiring works by women artists and artists of color. 

Hank Willis Thomas' Black Survival Guide,
or How to Live Through a Police Riot (2018)

"It is particularly exciting to acquire as we plan for the reinstallation of several permanent collection galleries in 2020," explains Heather Campbell Coyle, Chief Curator and Curator of American Art. "These works will allow us to share a more inclusive and exciting story of art and artists with our community."

Hank Willis Thomas' Black Survival Guide, or How to Live Through a Police Riot (2018) is the Museum's first major purchase of 2019. Commissioned by the Museum and on view during the summer of 2018, the work is a series of 13 retroreflective screen prints based on photographs from The News Journal and a booklet in the collection of the Delaware Historical Society. Black Survival Guide, or How to Live Through a Police Riot became a catalyst for dialogue during the city-wide reflection on the 1968 occupation of Wilmington by the National Guard.

"Museum visitors overwhelmingly shared their enthusiasm for the project and love of the screen prints," shares Margaret Winslow, Curator of Contemporary Art. "We are thrilled that this series will remain in the city." Once installed, these prints will be added to the Museum's new Social Justice in Art Tour for local students.

In October, 2018, the Delaware Art Museum acquired Chakaia Booker's One Way (2008) for its contemporary collection. The large-scale sculpture was installed in the Museum's Copeland Sculpture Garden to align with the mid-October opening of the Juried Craft Exhibition. Made of recycled tires and stainless steel, One Way is the first artwork by an African American artist added to the Museum's sculpture garden. Chakaia Booker is best known for sculptures made of discarded materials — most often recycled tires. Her art explores race, globalization, feminism, and ecology. The interconnecting circles in One Way depict movement and perpetual cycles, and the sculpture conveys her concerns about diversity, mobility, and hope. This significant addition also supports the Museum's ability to showcase the diversity in process, materials, and interests occupying contemporary art today. The contemporary collection also welcomed gifts of work by Charles Burwell and Curlee Raven Holton.

As well as adding to the contemporary collections, the Delaware Art Museum continued the strategic expansion of its collection of modern art by African American artists with purchases of work by Loïs Mailou Jones, Hughie Lee-Smith, William Majors, and James A. Porter. These works add strength to a collection that already features paintings and prints by Beauford Delaney, Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, and Norman Lewis. Produced between the 1940s and the 1960s, these works provide context for the early career of beloved local painter Edward Loper, Sr., which is well represented in the Wilmington region. Paintings by Loper, Sr., and his son Edward Loper, Jr., launched the Museum's Distinguished Artists Series this spring.

In addition to these works by artists of color, the Museum has focused on acquiring more art by women. Recent exhibitions on British Pre-Raphaelite artists Marie Spartali Stillman and Barbara Bodichon have benefitted from key purchases in years past.

In 2018, the Museum added collections of work by American illustrators Laura Coombs Hills and Rose O'Neill via purchase and gift. O'Neill, who previously had just one work of art in the Museum's collection, was a successful book and magazine illustrator, best known as the inventor of the Kewpies, cupid-like characters who started life in a 1909 cartoon in the Ladies' Home Journal and soon launched into popular culture as dolls, books, and other licensed merchandise. The Kewpie enterprise, which only began to wane toward the end of the 1930s, made O'Neill an independently wealthy woman. Illustration was an important career path for women and this is central to the story of the Delaware Art Museum.

See www.delart.org.