Meira Warshauer’s Concerto for
Shofar/Trombone and Orchestra Premiered in North and South Carolina
Meira Warshauer’s Tekeeyah
(a call) - Concerto for Shofar/Trombone
and Orchestra, was given its Premiere performances with the Wilmington Symphony
Orchestra on October 24 at Kenan Auditorium of University of North Carolina in
Wilmington, NC, with the Brevard Philharmonic on November 15 at Porter Center for
the Performing Arts of Brevard College in Brevard,
NC and with the University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra on November 17
at the Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia, SC. Shofar/trombone virtuoso Haim
Avitsur (above, with the composer) was soloist at all three performances.
The October 24 Wilmington
Symphony performance was led by conductor Dr. Steven Errante.
The November 15 Brevard
Philharmonic was led by their Conductor and Artistic Director Donald Portnoy.
Classical Voice of North Carolina reviewer Laura McDowell wrote of the new
work, “Seldom have I been so moved on the first hearing of a new work.” Read
the complete review here.
The November 17 University of
SC Symphony Orchestra performance was again led by their Conductor and Artistic
Director Donald Portnoy.
One reviewer wrote of this performance, “Some people
hear music in colors. Some in images. Some in harmonic analysis. Some as
passive entertainment. But somehow, Tekeeyah seemed to make us hear a search
for meaning...”
An article about the USC
Premiere can be found in The State (SC) published here and a review from Columbia, SC’s
Free Times, published here.
A segment of the piece can be
heard (and seen) on YouTube.
Tekeeyah (a call) is the first concerto ever written for shofar/trombone soloist and
orchestra and was commissioned by a consortium of orchestras that includes the
Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, Brevard Philharmonic, University of South
Carolina Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Western Piedmont Symphony (Hickory,
NC), John Gordon Ross, Music Director and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Neal
Gittleman, Music Director. The commission was also supported by Lilly Stern and
Bruce Filler, and Linda and Bill Stern in loving memory of their parents,
Jadzia and Ben Stern.
The composer, who began work on Tekeeyah (a call) during a residency at the MacDowell Colony in spring of
2008, has written this about the piece, “I believe this is a time which calls
for awakening to our true essence as human beings. Our planet needs us, and we
need each other, to care for and heal our suffering world. The shofar (ram’s
horn), with its natural power and centuries of service in calling Jews to
awaken, can be an important instrument in this collective renewal of purpose.”
Read her complete program notes here.
The Jewish
Daily Forward wrote an article about the project, which
also featured an audio excerpt of the piece as well as an excerpt from her Symphony No. 1, “Living, Breathing Earth.” The
Wilmington (NC) Star News also published a nice article about the composer and
the music here, as did The Beat, also based in Wilmington.
Israeli trombonist Haim
Avitsur (pictured here in the Wilmington performance), has premiered over 60
new pieces encompassing a broad range of styles from solo trombone to chamber
music and orchestra. Mr. Avitsur is Trombone Professor at West Chester
University School of Music (PA) and at the Aaron Copland School of Music,
Queens College, NY. From 2004-2007 Haim Avitsur was on the faculty of the University
of Virginia as well as the Principal Trombonist of the Charlottesville Symphony
Orchestra. In 2005 he founded the Summer Trombone Workshop, which has a U.S.
residency at Temple University. More about him at www.haimavitsur.com/.
Finally, we thought you’d
like to see some lovely words from USC Professor Daniela Friedman, an audience
member:
"...your concerto was
absolutely inspiring! I was so taken by the music and the story it told. We all
listen to music but on this night I really *heard *the music and the lessons it
revealed about the mind-body connection, finding purpose and inner strength,
awakening our souls, and overcoming challenges. The final shofar calls in the
piece, familiar to me from Rosh Hashana, were chilling, awakening us to be true
to ourselves and others. I was inspired."
Meira on Spanish Radio
Meira’s Ahavah (Love) and Like Streams in the
Desert were broadcast on Spain’s Radio Sefarad (www.radiosefarad.com).
The links are still available through the Musica/Musica clasica section at the
left side column of the homepage. The page also has a Podcast button to
download these and other programs.
Meira Online
For more about Meira
Warshauer, visit her at www.meirawarshauer.com/ or contact Jeffrey James Arts Consulting at
516-586-3433 or jamesarts@worldnet.att.net.