There seems to be an endless supply of noteworthy accomplishments by Purchase College alums this year! We highlight a few of them in this month’s Culture Picks, alongside Purchase PAC event listings and recommendations for what to watch online during all those April showers. Enjoy!
Assistant Professor of Music (Studio Production) Silas Brown ’10 received two Grammy Awards:
Best Engineered Album, Classical: An Engineer’s Award.
Contemporary American Composers
David Frost & Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Listen to Jessie Montgomery “Hymn for Everyone” from Contemporary American Composers on YouTube
Best Classical Compendium
Passion For Bach and Coltrane
Alex Brown, Harlem Quartet, Imani Winds, Edward Perez, Neal Smith & A.B. Spellman; Silas Brown and Mark Dover, producers
Listen to Imani “For Your GRAMMY Consideration: Passion for Bach and Coltrane” on YouTube
Choreographer Kyle Abraham ’00 and his company A.I.M return to their roots at The Purchase PAC this month, with a program that includes two of Abraham’s own works, plus world premieres from two other Purchase alums – Rena Butler ’11 and Keerati Jinakunwiphat ’16.
A.I.M by Kyle Abraham at The Purchase PAC
Saturday, April 6, 8pm
Get tickets to see A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
Renowned ballet dancer Misty Copeland and choreographer Kyle Abraham share a deep connection that shines brightly through in their creative collaborations. In 2019, Abraham choreographed an innovative solo performance that challenged expectations set for both Copeland and black dancers generally. In 2021, they visited PBS NewsHour’s Brief But Spectacular to share their take on communicating through movement.
Watch Kyle Abraham and Misty Copeland on “Brief But Spectacular”
Coming to The Purchase PAC this month:
Westchester Philharmonic: Old School, Fresh Voice
Sunday, April 7, 3pm
Former principal conductor Jaime Laredo returns with violinist Isabelle Durrenberger, whose interpretive powers are fresh and provocative while true to the core intentions of these iconic, “old school” works. On the program: Bach, Beethoven, Mozart.
Hear the two soloists perform the Bach “Double” with different partners:
Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor, BWV 1043: Allegro. Isabelle Durrenberger and Kiarra Saito-Beckman, violins, and HyunSoo Kim, piano
Bach Double Violin Concerto with Jaime Laredo, Gabriel Bilbao, and Bolivia Clasica Youth Orchestra
Inside Chamber Music with Bruce Adolphe
Wednesday, April 17, 6:30pm
Hosted by composer and radio personality Bruce Adolphe, Inside Chamber Music lectures enhance the Chamber Music Society’s Lincoln Center season through investigations into chamber music masterworks. They are beloved by regulars and a revelation to first-timers for their depth, accessibility, and brilliance. This season, we bring Inside Chamber Music to The Purchase PAC; the lecture on April 17 will explore Beethoven’s String Trio in E-flat, Op. 3. But, since it’s April, here’s one with a more “foolish” subject that you can watch right now:
Watch Inside Chamber Music with Bruce Adolphe: Haydn’s The Joke Quartet
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: String Magic
Saturday, April 20, 5pm
Spanning from 1797 Vienna to 1933 Paris, this all-string program from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center invites audiences to take a journey through the astounding breadth of chamber music repertoire. On the program, the Beethoven String Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 3. Listen to the first movement (I. Allegro con brio) performed by two different trios of artists.
Violin: Itzhak Perlman · Viola: Pinchas Zukerman · Cello: Lynn Harrell
Violin: Anne-Sophie Mutter · Viola: Bruno Giuranna · Cello: Mstislav Rostropovich
Medici TV presents
88 Minutes of Piano Excellence for World Piano Day 2024
On demand
Since 2016, artists and music aficionados all over the world have celebrated World Piano Day on the 88th day of the year, an homage to the piano’s endlessly adaptable 88 keys. To mark the occasion in 2024, we’ve curated a special medici.tv video compilation for all you piano lovers out there: 88 incredible minutes in the company of history’s most celebrated pianists! Revisit timeless works by the likes of Chopin, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Liszt, Bach, Beethoven, performed by legendary names: Vladimir Horowitz, Martha Argerich, Glenn Gould, Yefim Bronfman, Yuja Wang, Igor Levit, Maria João Pires, Yunchan Lim, and dozens more…
Watch 88 Minutes of Piano Excellence
The Metropolitan Opera in association with PBS and The WNET Group presents
Great Performances at the Met: Florencia en el Amazonas
Premieres beginning Sunday, April 7, at 2pm on PBS (check local listings)
Inspired by the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez, Mexican composer Daniel Catán’s 1996 opera tells the story of an opera diva who returns to her native South America to perform at the legendary opera house of Manaus—and to search for her lost lover, who has vanished into the jungle. It’s the Met premiere of its first Spanish- language opera in 100 years, starring soprano Ailyn Pérez; Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Mary Zimmerman’s new production.
Learn more about Great Performances at the Met on PBS.org
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Culture Picks celebrates the performing arts. In each post, PAC staff member Coni Guhl shines the spotlight on work by artists that you know and love from their appearances at The Purchase PAC, and offers recommendations about other performing arts events that you really should not miss. Experience them all!
All times are EDT unless otherwise noted.
Pictured: A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, Keerati Jinakunwiphat’s Someday Soon (c) Alexander Diaz
