with Paul Whiteman's Orchestra when she was eleven and toured 38 states with his orchestra. Playing the role of Jeannette MacDonald as a child in the MGM movie, "Girl of the Golden West" and singing with Grace Moore on the Lux Radio Theater were some 30's highlights. Shaffer has won the Birmingham Festival of Arts Composition Award three times, and has received grants from NDEA, The National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, Aspen Music Festival and Alabama State Council on the Arts. Johannes Somary, composer and conductor, is now in his 35th season as Music Director and Founder of Amor Artis. He has achieved a prominent international career, having conducted such ensembles as the ...  (less)

with a real bright tenorial `ping' to his high notes ... Nicolai Ghiaurov offers a dignified, dark-hued Silva, and unknown baritone Carlo Meliciani handles Carlo's high-lying music well." --CLASSICS TODAY Ernani had its premiere in 1844 and went on swiftly to conquer the world's theaters, remaining one of Verdi's most popular operas for many decades. This performance was taped on opening night at La Scala in 1969, a historic treasure withi Domingo at the beginning of his international career. Raina Kabaivanska was born in Bulgaria in 1934 but moved to Italy to pursue her vocal career. Renowned for her interpretations of the roles of Tosca, Manon, Francesca da Rimini, and Madame Butterfly, the fiery soprano earned the nickname "...  (less)

making a name for themselves on an international level, enjoy almost cult status in France, have been touring all over Europe with established acts like Dream Theater, Savatage and Angra and can point to a number of impressive releases, among them four studio albums, a live cut, an unplugged recording, and several EPs. With their latest offering, Vanden Plas once again emphasise their leading position on the international prog scene, opening an exciting new chapter in their band history. Christ.0 contains nine brand-new prog metal tracks which stand out with their brilliant melodies, exquisite instrumental passages and intelligent arrangements. Their fifth studio work is a concept piece witch is inspired by Alexandre Dumas novel The ...  (less)

American Ballet Theatre Workshop with choreography by Agnes de Mille and further in 1963 when the work was mounted by the Nederlands Dans Theater with choreography by John Butler who futher refined his efforts and presented it with the Harkness Ballet in 1966. When the work was first heard in New York, critic, Mark Schubart, reporting for The New York Times stated that the music "is prettily orchestrated, and the more violent portions are filled with elaborate percussion effects, flutter-tonguing on the brasses and carefully balanced, effective sonorities." He noted also the "attractive melodies, simple in intent and immediate in appeal."  (less)

Arbor, he earned his DMA from University of Texas at Austin. He studied privately with John Corigliano and was the first American to win the Sir Arthur Bliss Memorial award, for outstanding postgraduate composer at London’s Royal College of Music. Knight is a “fresh, original voice” with “an inventive sense of humor” (Bernard Holland, The New York Times) who creates music that is “visceral in its excitement” (John von Rheim, Chicago Tribune). Wayne Lee Gay of Knight-Ridder News Service calls Knight’s music “inventive and melodic.” Timothy Mangan of the Los Angeles Times cites “the composer’s canny combination of steady meter with atonal lyricism, a waltz-like lilt with expressionist angst.” Mangan notes that Knight’s...  (less)

the best and most interesting aspects of American and German musical cultures coalesce into a distinctive and tantalizing experience. Every selection is played with precision yet has a freedom encouraging you to float away into a star- filled night or special cherished memory. Join Kate and the Red Thread as they celebrate some of the most beloved music in American songwriting history; a classy and elegant rat pack style of performing selections from the Great American Songbook. These timeless and unbeatable songs sparkle with a satisfying and distinctive thrill particular to this genre of music. They feature stong melodies, thoughtful lyrics and sophisticated rhymes skillfully connectioning words and music. Kate and the Thread br...  (less)

a new international industry at the dawn of the twentieth century, live performances alone forged the connection between music and listeners. The principal public settings were churches, concert halls, and opera theaters, as well as ramshackle opry houses that welcomed touring artists to boomtowns of the American westward expansion. Chief among audience-building venues, however, was the family gathering place in days when a household s most elegant room typically was furnished with a chord-playing instrument. Pianoforte, pump organ, guitar, banjo, and also the elegant harp, were among the crown jewels of parlors from Boston and New York to New Orleans, San Francisco and places in between. Often a harpist s pa...  (less)