Back to School with Maestro Mark Gibson

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

COMING UPLive musical performances are starting up again. Some, like those presented by small groups fall under the radar and go by unnoticed. Others are announced on websites that often are overlooked. Here is a list of several concerts I am looking forward to reviewing on my ALL ABOUT THE ARTS blog.

When we get closer to the time, I will be sharing previews of the concerts with details. Here is the first!

Maestro Mark Gibson shared some thoughts on the program: “The Mahler 1 starts what I anticipate will be a Mahler cycle over the next decade. It is my first Mahler 1 at CCM; we have programmed it twice, but always for Concert Orchestra. Like the Brahms, it is celebratory and represents a fresh start for us at the CCM Philharmonia. It also shows our outstanding orchestra to best advantage.”

“For the double bonus, we will repeat the entire program on Monday afternoon, Sept. 20th, in Corbett Auditorium, led by members of my fabulous conducting class. Why go through all the effort to prepare a program like this only to play it once in concert? It also gives me the chance to sit in the house and “qvell,” as we say in Yiddish, over my students, both on the podium and in the orchestra.”

“The programming has changed a little for the first concert. We will open with Starburst, as we did last year during the Great Pandemic, but we will follow up with Academic Festival Overture, which seems only appropriate. It is a joyous celebration of going BACK TO SCHOOL!! YAY!!!!”

 The Philharmonia concert takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 17 in Corbett Auditorium at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Tickets are available online here: https://ccmonstage.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=2065.

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”