David LowDar Williams ’89 will release her ninth studio album In the Time of Gods (Razor and Tie) on April 17. She recently sat down with Glide Magazine to talk about the album, her time spent on tour with Joan Osborne, her dedication to environmental awareness, and the comeback of vinyl recordings. She has survived the music industry for more than 20 years, which has “allowed her the chance to work with some amazing artists, record songs that she wanted to hear (instead of what fit on radio), and most of all build a career in the grassroots aesthetic, all based…
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Some Day Catch Some Day Down and Sunset Park Polyphony, two CDs released recently and produced by Wesleyan alumni, showcase the cross-pollination of world music and jazz at Wesleyan across decades, and specific collaborations of Wesleyan graduates and faculty for more than 30 years. The albums also reflect Abraham Adzenyah’s long contribution to the Wesleyan community as a teacher of West African music, and his deep influence on generations of Wesleyan students who now make up a large number of alumni. Some Day Catch Some Day Down by Talking Drums (innova Recordings) was originally released in 1987 as an LP and was…
Su Zheng, associate professor of music, associate professor of East Asian studies, will speak on "150 Years of Chinese Music" during a Year of the Dragon Festival Feb. 26. From 1 to 2:30 p.m., she will address her audience in English and from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in Mandarin. Her lecture will take place at Flushing Town Hall in Flushing, N.Y. Each lecture will be followed by a signing of her book, Claiming Diaspora. The year 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, which comes once every 12 years; and is also a Year of the Water Dragon, which occurs…
Greg Goldberg joined the Sociology Department as an assistant professor. His research interests include political economy, social theory, media and popular culture, digital and network technologies and music and sound. This semester he is teaching Introductory Sociology and Media and Society. "Thus far, I've found the students at Wesleyan to be ambitious, open, creative and independent thinkers; they are truly a pleasure to teach," he says. "They have sharp critical thinking skills, and are game for anything I can think to throw at them. I've been continually impressed by their ability to engage complex social questions and issues, and I…
For 40 years, Alvin Lucier, the John Spencer Camp Professor of Music, has pioneered music composition and performance, including the notation of performers' physical gestures, the use of brain waves in live performance, the generation of visual imagery by sound in vibrating media, and the evocation of room acoustics for musical purposes. His recent works include a series of sound installations and works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and orchestra in which, by means of close tunings with pure tones, sound waves are caused to spin through space. On Nov. 4-6, the Music Department and Center for the Arts will…
Angel Gil-Ordóñez, director of private lessons, chamber music and ensembles received the 2010 Wammie Award for Classical Conductor / Director by the Washington Area Music Association for his efforts directing the Post-Classical Ensemble, a Washington, D.C.-based orchestra co-founded by Gil-Ordóñez. The Washington Area Music Awards recognize significant career achievements by area musicians. Nominations and balloting come from the WAMA membership. Past show participants include Emmylou Harris, Joan Jett, The Clovers, The Orioles, Bo Diddley, Jorma Kaukonen, Jimmy Dean, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker, Sweet Honey in the Rock.
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Jane Alden raises her hands and cues members of her Collegium Musicum performance ensemble to intone the music. The sopranos and basses situated in Memorial Chapel’s choir loft allow their voices to resonate throughout the space. Alden cuts them off at measure 17. "Measure 17 is the apex because the cantus firmus is in the top voice. You need to sound like angels floating on the top with the chant,” Alden says during a Nov. 23 rehersal . “Let’s try this once more." The MUSC438 course, which explores vocal and instrumental repertories of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods of European music history, is taught…
Angel Gil-Ordóñez, director of Private Lessons, Chamber Music and Ensembles, director of the Wesleyan Orchestra and Concert Choir, adjunct professor of music, was featured in the Sept. 27 Washington Post. Gil-Ordóñez also directs the Washington D.C.-based Post-Classical Ensemble. The orchestra performed a program titled "The Russian Gershwin" at the Clarice Smith Center. "Gershwin is overdue for a fresh look, and that's the ensemble's specialty: turning familiar music on its head, providing context and fresh perspectives and generally pulling the rug out from under listeners," the article states. "Pianist Genadi Zagor opened the evening with an introspective and elegant improvisation on…
Cem Duruöz, private lessons teacher on guitar, will perform at the Weill Recital Hall in New York at 8 p.m. Oct. 28 in a concert sponsored by D'Addario Foundation and Alhambra Guitars. The program will include Turkish music, Brazilian Bossa Nova and Tangos from Argentina. The program will include solos and duos with guitarist Philippe Bertaud. A frequent soloist, Duruöz has appeared with more than 10 orchestras regularly performing Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez among others, under the batons of such conductors as Wesleyan's Angel Gil-Ordóñez. In January 2008 he gave the world premiere performance of Concierto Anatolia, a guitar concerto featuring Turkish melodies…