I loved our CD tour, starting here in Columbia May 17 at the JCC, presented by their Jewish Cultural Arts Committee. A highlight was a special art exhibit created by Richland Northeast High School students in response to the music on the CD. Jonathan Leader, ba’al tekiah for Tree of Life Congregation, who assisted me in the formative stages of the concerto, demonstrated the shofar at the JCC.
The tour continued May 23 in my hometown of Wilmington (NC) in the Gallery at WHQR Radio. In keeping with the CD’s theme of healing the earth, the Wilmington event was a collaboration with Stop Titan Action Network (STAN), a coalition of organizations and citizens working to protect the Cape Fear region from hazardous pollution which Titan Cement would bring if it is allowed to build there. Shofar demonstrations by my father, Dr. Sam Warshauer, and by Ron Cohen, were especially meaningful.
On June 20, shofar and trombone soloist Haim Avitsur joined me as we took our show to the big city–Manhattan’s Ann Goodman Recital Hall! We presented excerpts from the concerto and discussed our collaborative process. And special surprise guest, violinist Greg Harrington, helped illustrate portions of the Symphony.
I was honored that The Forward, a nationally distributed Jewish weekly newspaper, sent Eileen Reynolds to cover the Manhattan event for their Arty Semite blog. Here’s her description/review, including sound and video clips of the music:
http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/139125/
Finally, the tour wrapped up in my educational home of Boston on June 23 at the Pucker Gallery. The intimate gallery setting was a perfect venue for sharing my inspiration and creative process with old friends from Harvard and Radcliffe, the New England Conservatory, more recent connections, and family. Dean Bandes joined me in Boston with a shofar demonstration and discussion of its history.
A screening of Aileen LeBlanc’s new slideshow with paintings by Charlotte Riley-Webb illlustrated her profile of the symphony, produced for PRI’s Living on Earth. The slideshow was a highlight at the Pucker Gallery, as well as in the shows in Wilmington and Columbia. It’s also posted on my web page about the CD.
Each venue had its own special charms and delights. I loved re-connecting with friends and family, and also meeting new people. I’m finding it very moving to tell the story of how this music evolved, and its inspiration, and seeing people connect so deeply with both the music and its message. I find great strength in receiving such encouragement for this endeavor.
Speaking of old friends, Jim Fogle, whom I knew from my residency at Meredith College, came to the NYC show and described it here.
Also, SCETV Radio’s “Your Day,” produced by Clemson University, aired an interview with me about the new CD on July 11. It was broadcast statewide in SC and is still available for streaming at their website July archive.
The Western Piedmont Symphony, which performed Tekeeyah last February, has posted a video of the entire performance on their youtube site. Here’s the link.
And for the Italian speakers among you, a recent review of the CD from Kathodik.
We try to keep the webpage about the CD relatively current.
Thanks for being part of this!