Photo Credit: Torello Productions By Baker Purdon “Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” When famous painter Pablo Picasso said this, he critiqued the progressive stripping of creativity and freedom from a person’s life as they grow up. In an effort to solve this problem, a multi-year…
By Baker Purdon It feels appropriate to disclose my bias and profound love for Margaret Bonds’ Credo early in this review. It has become one of my most loved pieces of music from the 20th Century, partly because of its powerful sentiment and the sheer beauty and partly because of my personal connections to it.…
By Baker Purdon The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia recently presented Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons paired with Max Richter’s revisionist imagining of the same work, The Four Seasons, Recomposed. I’d like to tell you a little bit about each work, the performance, and share my thoughts about how recomposing, as Richter has done with this piece,…
By Baker Purdon, Music Fellow History Since the inception of the United States, the American orchestra has been predominantly local in scope. Before the Civil War, most American orchestras operated within the boundaries of a single city and its immediate vicinity. They were generally either standing orchestras in local theaters, ad hoc orchestras for special…
Photo Description: Singers Jarrod Lee, Toni Marie Palmertree, Andrew Bidlack and Hannah Ludwig performing at an open-air Pop-Up Opera event. As part of The Presser Foundation’s drive to be more transparent and to amplify the work of its partners, it has begun to use information from grant reports to highlight its grantees. Each post will…
Pianist Laura Ward, soprano Magdalena Kuzma (center) and mezzo Sun-Ly Pierce at the Academy of Vocal Arts. Photo courtesy of The Chestnut Hill Local. By Baker Purdon, Music Fellow When I accepted The Presser Foundation’s Graduate Music Fellowship, I knew I would have the opportunity to see some of the best performances Philadelphia has at…
Kelsey Lee received the 2021-22 Undergraduate Scholar Award from the University of Rochester. This article was originally posted on the University’s website. By the University of Rochester Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences On any given day, Kelsey Lee ’23 may begin her morning at the keyboard of a Steinway grand piano at the Eastman…
By Dr. Kirsten Kunkle, Wilmington Concert Opera Artistic Director As a guest blogger, I would like to delve into the story behind one of the most exciting new works coming to Wilmington this year – the world premiere of the opera “Girondines” from the exclusively women and BIPOC-founded company Wilmington Concert Opera (WCO). If you…