The Bach’s Lunch Series 2009/2010
First Fridays of the month, 12:15-1:00 p.m.
October through April
FREE ADMISSION
The Bach’s Lunch Series presents monthly, informal lunch hour performances that feature MacPhail teaching artists. The programs occur from 12:15-1:00 p.m. on the first Friday of every month from October 2009 to April 2010, except for the month of January. The series offers eclectic music performances that are entertaining, informative, and as diverse as MacPhail’s teaching faculty. Along with the performances, the faculty performers discuss the historical background and defining characteristics of the music being played. Free coffee and treats are provided. Arrive early to get a good seat, and feel free to bring your lunch!
Past artist performances include Orange Mighty Trio, Bryan Nichols Quartet, flutist Paula Gudmundson & pianist Sue Ruby, soprano Momoko Tanno & pianist Rebecca Daws, The Second Winds woodwind quartet, flutist Julie Johnson & accordionist Mark Stillman.
Eisner’s Klezmorim
featuring Judith Eisner, violin; Rebecca Erickson, clarinet; Mark Stillman, accordion; Stu Janis, tsimbl;
Leo Bjorlie, bass
Friday, April 2, 2010
12:15–1 p.m.
Gary Sipes Performance Stage
Free Admission
The music stems from the Ashkenazic Jewish culture of pre-world war II Eastern Europe. The music is a mixture of many ethnic influences -- including Bessarabian, Galician, Moldavian, Polish, Russian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Hungarian, and Turkish. The pieces we will play represent the gamut of klezmer repertoire from Southern Rumania, Poland, Moldavia, Bukavina, and the Ukraine. Klezmorim were professional Jewish musicians who traveled from town to town to play weddings and celebrations.
They played a mixture of whatever instruments happened to be available -- violins playing different parts, bass, tsimbl, clarinet, trumpet, flute, accordion, and drums. Tunes were hardly ever written down, which lent the players freedom to create their own harmonies, interpretations, and instrumental arrangements.
And so we say: “Shpilt klezmorim” -- Play musicians!
Willow Brae
Featuring Marc Anderson (drums), Andrea Stern (harp), and Laura MacKenzie (wooden flutes, whistles, concertina, Scottish smallpipes, border pipes and voice)
Friday, March 5, 2010, 12:15–1 p.m.
MacPhail Center for Music
Gary Sipes Performance Stage
Free Admission
The performance will feature a variety of Traditional Irish and Scottish Music including jigs, reels and airs. Audience members will also learn about the traditional instruments that are being played, as well as some Irish history and stories.
Marc Anderson is an internationally recognized percussionist, composer, record producer and music educator.
Perhaps best known for his collaborative work with ECM guitarist and music innovator Steve Tibbetts, Marc’s
versatility and depth of experience has given him the opportunity to work in a wide variety of musical genres and
with many great artists including; Max Roach, Robert Fripp, Peter Ostroushko, Altan, Greg Brown, Marty Haugen,
Garrison Keillor and Taj Mahal. As a student of many drum traditions Marc has studied in Ghana, Brazil and China.
Laura MacKenzie has learned Scottish and Irish music from many noted tradition bearers on both sides of the
Atlantic, and has herself been recognized as a master folk artist. She has received numerous honors and performing
arts awards for her participation and dedication in this realm of music. Laura performs and teaches on an array of
wind-powered instruments, including wooden flutes, whistles, concertina, Scottish smallpipes, border pipes and
voice, and enjoys a richly varied career in traditional music.
MacPhail faculty member Andrea Stern has performed as a soloist and with chamber ensembles and orchestras
from Minnesota to Maracaibo, Venezuela. She played for three years with the Maracaibo Symphony Orchestra, and
has performed with the Phoenix, Hong Kong, Hartford, Duluth, and Fargo Symphonies. Most recently, she was the
principal harpist for the Minnesota Opera. She continues to tour throughout the region, performing concerts, and
doing educational programs that orient students to the wonders of the harp. She has produced three recordings
featuring many of her own arrangements and compositions.
“Ella, Sarah, and Carmen - Sisters in Song”
Featuring Vicky Mountain, Dorothy Doring, Lila Ammons & pianist Greg Theisen
Friday, February 5, 2010, 12:15–1 p.m.
Gary Sipes Performance Stage
Free Admission
Jazz and blues chanteuses Vicky Mountain, Dorothy Doring, Lila Ammons are sure to delight with standards such as “How High the Moon”, “Lullaby of Birdland”, and “It Don’t Mean a Thing…” among others.
All three of these talented jazz singers come from diverse and unique backgrounds that have led to great recognition and praise from audiences and critics alike. Dorothy Doring’s background in rock, country, Latin, R&B and jazz lead to her now Grammy nominated CD Southern Exposure, featuring a New Orleans arranger and band. Dorothy returns frequently to New Orleans’ French Quarter to perform in local clubs. After 12 years singing classical music, Lila Ammons relocated to the Twin Cities and moved back toward her jazz roots as granddaughter of boogie woogie pianist Albert Ammons and niece of tenor sax titan Gene (Jug) Ammons. With a background co-writing and performing a wide variety of styles with many musicians, Vicky Mountain now performs with her own group, does numerous freelance performances, and chairs the voice department at MacPhail Center for Music. Each woman will channel a different legendary performer: Dorothy as Carmen McRae, Lila as Sarah Vaughan, and Vicky as Ella Fitzgerald.
These talented ladies will be accompanied by pianist, composer, arranger and member of the piano faculty at MacPhail Center for Music, Gregory Theisen. Gregory has toured the US and Europe, performed in numerous Broadway productions, and most recently worked as assistant music director for Into The Woods, produced at the Ordway.
Sadko & the Ocean King:
A Medieval Russian Tale for Guitar
Featuring Jeff Lambert, guitar
Friday, January 8, 2010, 12:15–1 p.m.
Gary Sipes Performance Stage
Free Admission
MacPhail faculty member Jeff Lambert will perform a recently commissioned piece by local composer David Crittenden based on the folk tale “Sadko and the Ocean King”. The piece tells the tale of a sailor who must surrender to the Ocean King, becoming his prisoner. Guitarist and composer Jeff Lambert, performs extensively as a soloist and ensemble musician. He has shared the stage with a variety of world-class artists including the Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble and members of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has also been a member of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet since 2001. As a soloist, Lambert has captured top prizes in guitar competitions in Minneapolis and Chicago, and he has released two solo CDs. One of his primary interests is working with composers to present new works. In 2006 he was awarded an Artist Initiative grant by the Minnesota State Arts Board which funded his collaboration with composer, David Crittenden.
Fairy Tales in Music for Two Pianos
Elkina Piano Duo: Irina & Julia Elkina
Friday, November 6, 2009
12:15–1 p.m.
Antonello Hall
MacPhail Center for Music
501 South 2nd St., Minneapolis
Free Admission
Join us for an afternoon of magic, mystery, and beauty as the Elkina sisters, Irina and Julia, perform “Fairy Tales in Music for Two Pianos,” featuring music from Cinderella, Swan Lake and Petrushka.
