By Daniel Jackson, Graduate Music Fellow On Sunday, October 27th, the Greater South Jersey Chorus and Chamber Singers, under the baton of Artistic Director Dr. Christopher Thomas and conductor Art McKenzie, captivated their audience with a beautifully curated program titled Untraveled Worlds: Landscapes From Within. Set against the evocative backdrop of the historic Scottish Rite…
By Daniel Jackson, Graduate Music Fellow Karim Sulayman, tenor; Sean Shibe, guitar On this clear and comfortable Sunday afternoon, I enjoyed the serenity of my back porch while watching tenor Karim Sulayman and guitarist Sean Shibe perform at the historic Benjamin Franklin Hall, hosted by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. This concert series showcases high-quality…
By Daniel Jackson, Graduate Music Fellow An unseasonably warm and humid evening air permeated through the windows and doors of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia on this Friday evening. Condensation from the rain glistened from the open windows. But no one seemed to mind the warmth or inclement weather, for in this sanctuary the…
Wilmington Children’s Chorus Ariel Alvarado during her Fellowship year. By Ariel Alvarado One would imagine a children’s chorus would solely serve children, but this year the Wilmington Children’s Chorus (WCC) expanded its services to include a twenty-four-year-old. Some background: WCC is an organization dedicated to empowering young people to change their world through music. This…
Image: A GEGISOM student playing piano. Pulled from reports written by Dr. Joyce Drayton, organized by Abby Rolland* As part of The Presser Foundation’s drive to be more transparent and to amplify the work of its partners, it uses information from grant reports to highlight its grantees. Each post will spotlight one partner, who has…
Image: The Montgomery County Chorale & Orchestra on stage at their Spring 2023 performance. Pulled from reports written by Diane Duda, organized by Abby Rolland* As part of The Presser Foundation’s drive to be more transparent and to amplify the work of its partners, it uses information from grant reports to highlight its grantees. Each…
Guest Blog Post: The Susquehanna Chorale—Its Legacy and Its FutureGuest Blog Post by Anne Moul Anne Moul is a singer for the Susquehanna Chorale, a Presser Foundation grantee. On a September evening in 1981, inside historic St. Peter’s Kierch in Middletown, Pennsylvania, a small group of singers called the Susquehanna Chorale performed for the…
An image from Race Against Racism, a collaboration of Lancaster YMCA and Music For Everyone By Dr. John R. Gerdy, Founder and Executive Director, Music For Everyone As the founder and executive director of a music related Community Benefit Organization (CBO), I constantly think of how to more effectively leverage the power and potential of…
By Sepehr Pirasteh As The Presser Foundation’s Graduate Music Fellow, I have the opportunity to experience various performances hosted by many different music organizations. This month, I chose one of the newest grantee partners of The Presser Foundation, Fire Museum Presents, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting creative music in Philadelphia. After attending two of…
Sepehr Pirasteh is The Presser Foundation’s 2023-24 Graduate Music Fellow. In this post, he shares his experience attending PRISM Quartet Inc.’s most recent concert and collaboration with composer Susie Ibarra and discusses why commissioning new music is so important. By Sepehr Pirasteh Background: About PRISM Quartet PRISM Quartet is a renowned chamber ensemble in…