Jesse Blumberg News

Opera Atelier has announced a thrilling 2021 Fall Season with the film premiere of Angel - fully-staged and filmed at St. Lawrence Hall, in strict compliance with provincial health and safety regulations - streaming Thursday, October 28, 2021 at 7pm ET (available until November 12, 2021).

In the sixth episode of their free, online series You Heard Them First, Conversation, Music-Making, and More, The Cecilia Chorus of New York presents their Music Director Mark Shapiro in a Zoom conversation on January 25 at 7:30 PM with composer Tom Cipullo.

Violin soloist and powerhouse client Kelly Hall-Tompkins, founder and director of Music Kitchen (a feel-good organization that brings the art of classical music to homeless shelters) announces 'Midsummer Night Stream,' the organization's first-ever virtual concert series with virtual meet-n-greets with artists and composers.

The Greenwich Village Orchestra (GVO) will present its season finale, Stealing Fire, led by Music Director Barbara Yahr and Associate Conductor Eric Mahl, on Sunday, May 3, 2020 at 4:00pm at Peter Norton Symphony Space. The program includes the NY premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff's Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon, co-commissioned by the GVO, and the US premiere of Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad's Saravá. Also on the program are Beethoven's Overture to 'Creatures of Prometheus,' and Respighi's Pines of Rome.

Opera Atelier announces its iconic 35th Anniversary Season with two groundbreaking works at the historic Elgin Theatre: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute, considered the company's most successful production in its history, on stage from October 22a?"November 1, 2020; and The Angel Speaks a?" a new Canadian commission a?" double-billed with Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas from February 20a?"27, 2021. Both productions will feature the full corps of Artists of Atelier Ballet with choreography by Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg C.M., stage direction by Marshall Pynkoski C.M., and the renowned Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra led by Music Director Elisa Citterio under the baton of Opera Atelier Music Director David Fallis.

The Greenwich Village Orchestra (GVO) presents its first concert of 2020, Classic Romantics, led by Music Director Barbara Yahr and Associate Conductor Eric Mahl, on Sunday, February 9, 2020 at 3:00pm at All Saints Church. The program explores portrayals of romanticism in music from the early classical period through the 20th century. Associate Conductor Eric Mahl leads the first half of the concert, opening with the overture to Mozart's last opera, The Magic Flute. Then, the orchestra shines in the suite from Igor Stravinsky's neoclassical ballet Pulcinella. Music Director Barbara Yahr takes the podium for Jean Sibelius' majestic Symphony No. 5 to round out the program.

Recording Academy® President/CEO Deborah Dugan alongside Academy Chair of the Board of Trustees and renowned record producer Harvey Mason Jr., as well as GRAMMY Awards® host Alicia Keys and past two-time GRAMMY® nominee Bebe Rexha, today revealed nominees for the 62nd GRAMMY Awards in select categories. This year's nominees reflect a melting pot of artistic innovation that defined the year in music, showcasing the unparalleled craftsmanship of established artists and the industry-shifting impact of rising music creators. Leading nominees Lizzo (8), Billie Eilish (6) and Lil Nas X (6) not only topped the charts but ignited a cultural conversation around their genre-bending hits. As the only peer-selected music award, the GRAMMY Awards are voted on by the Recoding Academy's membership body of music makers, who represent all genres and creative disciplines, including recording artists, songwriters, producers, mixers and engineers.

The Greenwich Village Orchestra (GVO) presents its annual holiday concert, led by Music Director Barbara Yahr and Associate Conductor Eric Mahl, on Sunday, December 8, 2019 at 3:00pm at All Saints Church. The concert's theme is Partnerships and Collaboration and features a side-by-side performance with student musicians from the 3rd Street Music School. The family-friendly program opens with Vivaldi's Flute Concerto in E-minor, with the GVO's own Simon Dratfield as soloist. The students from 3rd Street Music School join the GVO for Karl Jenkins' Palladio. Next, Eric Mahl leads the orchestra in the March from Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges. Young violinist Ben Lerman performs the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D-major. The concert concludes with the finale of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade, featuring the high school students from the 3rd Street Music School.

The Greenwich Village Orchestra (GVO) presents Defying Death, led by Music Director Barbara Yahr and Associate Conductor Eric Mahl, on Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 3:00pm at All Saints Church.

Music Kitchen, an organization founded and led by concert violinist and entrepreneur Kelly Hall-Tompkins, will make its debut at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.

Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF) announces the appointment of Michael Unterman as its new Artistic Director, effective September 1, 2019. An accomplished cellist and chamber musician, Unterman steps into the role following the tenure of 5BMF's Founding Artistic Director, Jesse Blumberg. He joins the 5BMF leadership team alongside Executive Director Donna Breitzer, Board President Emily Kennerley, and 5BMF's dedicated Board of Directors and staff.

Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Unterman as its new Artistic Director, effective September 1, 2019. An accomplished cellist and chamber musician, Unterman steps into the role following the tenure of 5BMF's Founding Artistic Director, Jesse Blumberg. He joins the 5BMF leadership team alongside Executive Director Donna Breitzer, Board President Emily Kennerley, and 5BMF's dedicated Board of Directors and staff.

Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF) announces programming for its 13th season in 2019-2020, continuing its mission of bringing affordable, world-class performances of traditional and contemporary chamber music to all five boroughs of New York City. The upcoming slate of concerts feature the Longleash Trio, Founders, Ars Longa de la Habana, Parthenia, LeStrange Viols, and Alkemie with Elliot Cole, as well as partnerships with Music on Madison, Gotham Early Music/Americas Society (GEMAS) and the Baryshnikov Arts Center.

Proving the enduring vibrancy and relevancy of the art form (while celebrating a milestone for its leader), Boston Lyric Opera's 2019/20 Season of new productions spans three centuries of composers -- focusing on works that reflect the highs and lows of power and politics, bringing passionate opera installations to new neighborhoods, and introducing audiences to rising stars from diverse backgrounds. Among the season highlights, Russian-born soprano Elena Stikhina returns to BLO, where she made her 2017 American debut, to sing the lead role in NORMA. Stanford Calderwood General & Artistic Director Esther Nelson marks her 10th programming season, which the company will commemorate throughout the year.

The Greenwich Village Orchestra (GVO) continues its 2018-2019 season with Orchestral Brilliance, led by Music Director Barbara Yahr, on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 3:00pm at All Saints Church. The program features New York Philharmonic bass trombonist George Curran as soloist in Chris Brubeck's Prague Concerto; Richard Strauss's lush, romantic Suite from Der Rosenkavalier; and Debussy's impressionistic Nocturnes led by Assistant Conductor Eric Mahl.

Opera Atelier is delighted to present The Angel Speaks, a groundbreaking one-hour concert that effortlessly blends masterpieces of the baroque repertoire with the Canadian premiere of Annunciation, a new commission by Toronto-based composer and violinist Edwin Huizinga for period instruments. This singular performance takes place in the Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery at the historic Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), February 21, 2019, at 8pm.  Soprano Mireille Asselin and Baritone Jesse Blumberg will be joined by members of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra under the direction of David Fallis, alongside Artists of Atelier Ballet.

The Greenwich Village Orchestra (GVO) continues its 2018-2019 season with Eastern Romance, led by Music Director Barbara Yahr, on Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 3:00pm at All Saints Church. The program features longtime Metropolitan Opera Orchestra violinist Ming-Feng Hsin leading the GVO in Dvo k's moving Romance and as soloist in Glazunov's elegant Violin Concerto. The concert concludes with Rachmaninoff's rhapsodic Third Symphony.

Conductor Jeannette Sorrell returns to The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO), December 20-23, to conduct four sold-out performances of Handel's Messiah. Sorrell will conduct the SPCO and The Singers -Minnesota Choral Artists along with an international quartet of singers in the orchestra's annual holiday presentation of Handel's beloved oratorio. The final performance of the series - Sunday, December 23 - will be livestreamed by the SPCO.

Canada's most active touring orchestra hits the road this month for two high-profile engagements in the United States and France. Tafelmusik has been invited by long-time collaborators Opera Atelier to join them in performances of Charpentier's Acteon and Rameau's Pygmalion on November 15, 16, and 17 at the Harris Theater in Chicago, and on November 30, December 1 and 2 at the Royal Palace of Versailles near Paris. The Charpentier/Rameau double bill also opened Opera Atelier's Toronto season and is currently running at the Elgin Theatre until November 3. Tour itineraries are available at tafelmusik.org.

The Greenwich Village Orchestra (GVO) presents Concerti Per Tutti, led by Music Director Barbara Yahr, on Sunday, December 2, 2018 at 3:00pm at All Saints Church. The ensemble-focused program features the award-winning Lysander Piano Trio (Itamar Zorman, Liza Stepanova, Michael Katz) in Beethoven's lyrical Triple Concerto. The orchestra itself becomes the soloist in Bartok's poignant Concerto for Orchestra.