Sage City Symphony Explained

Sage City Symphony is a community orchestra based in Bennington, Vermont, United States, that tackles ambitious works from the traditional repertoire as well as commissioning new works.[1] It was formed in 1972 by its first musical director, noted composer Louis Calabro, who was on the faculty of Bennington College. Sage City Symphony maintains its relationship with the college, relying on the campus for rehearsal and performance space.

The Symphony attracts amateur as well as professional musicians without the requirement of auditions, drawn from Vermont, Massachusetts and New York states. It presents four concerts a year, starting rehearsals in September for a performance featuring a major orchestral work in November. The Symphony restarts rehearsals after the New Year for three concerts presented February through May: a Chamber Concert, Youth Concert and a final Spring concert featuring a significant orchestral work.

The Symphony is led by music director and conductor Michael Finckel. It is governed/supported by a working volunteer Board [2] which appoints a Manager and a Librarian. Like the players, board members come from surrounding areas of Vermont, Massachusetts and New York states. The Board contains a mix of orchestral players and longtime supporters from the business and academic community.

Performance information

Performance dates and programs are announced on Sage City Symphony's web site.[3] In addition they are reported in area media outlets.

These media outlets have included: Bennington Banner in Bennington, Vermont, North Adams Transcript[4] in North Adams, Massachusetts, the Tri-State Pennysaver News[5] in Bennington, Vermont, Eastwick Press[6] in eastern Rensselaer County of New York, the Vermont News Guide,[7] [8] Vermont Public Radio (VPR), WAMC in Albany, New York, WMHT-FM in Schenectady, New York, and Catamount Access TV in Bennington, Vermont.

Performances are recorded by Catamount Access TV (CAT-TV) and aired subsequently.[9] Most performances for the last several years have been recorded by Joel Patterson [10] of Mountaintop Studios and rendered onto CD or made available for file sharing.[11]

Funding

The Symphony is a not for profit 501(c)(3), registered in the State of Vermont, and relies entirely on donations and grants. Grant sources have included the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Fund for North Bennington, the Vermont Arts Council and the Vermont Community Foundation. The Symphony enjoys steady support from individuals, local Foundations and business donors.[12] The Symphony also solicits sponsors for concerts, which have included a range of enterprises such as the Bank of Bennington, the Vermont Country Store, Stewart's Shops and more.

Conductor

The Symphony is currently directed by Michael Finckel. Michael Finckel started his studies with his parents, cellist George Finckel and pianist Marianne ("Willie") Finckel. George Finckel [13] [14] and Willie Finckel [15] were on faculty at Bennington College. Michael Finckel attended Oberlin College Conservatory and Bennington College where he studied composition, conducting and orchestration with Louis Calabro and Henry Brant.

He has taught cello and composition at Bennington and Marymount Colleges and at Princeton and Cornell Universities. As a member of the faculty of the Vermont Governor's Institute on the Arts [16] in the 1990s he taught composition to gifted junior and high school students throughout Vermont. Michael Finckel has an active career as a soloist and chamber musician, composer, teacher and conductor based in New York City, performing with orchestral and chamber ensembles [17] across the country and in Europe. He has a strong background in contemporary music,[18] as well as the traditional repertoire.[19] He has regularly collaborated with New York's leading new music ensembles and performed [20] under the direction of Leonard Bernstein and Pierre Boulez.

Michael Finckel performs and coaches each year at the Composer's Conference sponsored by the Chamber Music Center [21] of Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and at the Chamber Music Conference and Composer's Forum of the East [22] at Bennington College.

Community connections

Sage City Symphony has long had an annual Youth Concert featuring young soloists[23] or performances with local youth groups. Past performances have included works with the Symphony and the Bennington Children's Chorus and the Green Mountain Youth Orchestra.[24] This tradition goes back to the Symphony's founder, Louis Calabro, with works such as Child's Play for children's chorus and piano composed in 1990 and performed by the Symphony again in 2009.

The Symphony started a Young Composers Project in 2009.[25] The Symphony pays a stipend to a mentor to help young people prepare works for orchestral performance, alternating each year between reaching out to area high school or college age students. The high schools from which students have been drawn for this project include the Hoosac School in Hoosick Falls, New York, the Mount Anthony Union High School (Miles Yucht, Alive)[26] in Bennington, the Long Trail School in Dorset, Vermont, Pittsfield High School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and the Mount Greylock Regional High School in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The college students have been primarily drawn from Bennington College.

One of the compositions by a high school student, Wind Blows,[27] was placed on YouTube by its composer. One of the high school composers from the 2009 project, Patrick Madden, received the Daniel Pearl Berkshire Scholarship.

A recording of The Tinkerer,[28] a piece from Sage City Symphony's March 2014 Youth Concert, has been made available on musescore.com by its composer, Zack Weishaus, along with an animated score.

Major works performed

Sage City Symphony has performed major works from the traditional repertoire including the following.

Commissioned works

Sage City Symphony commissions a new work each year. These have included the following. Some of these composers including Zeke Hecker. Bruce Hobson, and Dennis Báthory-Kitsz have been founders and members of the Consortium of Vermont Composers, founded in 1988 [29] [30] and recognized in a Proclamation by Governor Shumlin making 2011 the Year of the Composer.[31]

Chamber works performed in 2009-2010

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bouchard. Linda. Cite of commission by L Doberman for Sage City Symphony. Sheet music order, orchestra, code DO 128. Doberman Editions. 4 October 2011.
  2. Web site: Sage City Symphony Board members and governance . Sagecitysymphony.org . 2011-10-03.
  3. Web site: Performances, Sage City Symphony. sagecitysymphony.org. 7 October 2011.
  4. News: Foley. Meghan. Madden Awarded Pearl Scholarship. 4 October 2011. North Adams Transcript. June 12, 2010.
  5. News: Sage City Presents a Spring Voyage. 4 October 2011. Tri-State Pennysaver News. May 15, 2010.
  6. News: Local Student Composer In Sage City Symphony's Annual Youth Concert. 4 October 2011. Eastwick Press . March 20, 2011.
  7. News: Sage City Symphony Presents a Birthday Celebration Concert. 4 October 2011. Vermont News Guide. November 14, 2010.
  8. News: Winter Chamber Concert Presented by Sage City Symphony Orchestra. 4 October 2011. Vermont News Guide . February 13, 2011.
  9. Web site: Sage City Symphony 5/2011. On May 27, 2011 at 12:30pm, air time of May 15 performance. Catamount Access TV. 4 October 2011.
  10. Web site: Patterson. Joel. Sonatina Faculty Bio's. sonatina.com. 4 October 2011.
  11. Web site: Patterson. Joel. MP3 Clip of La Mer. Tindeck. 4 October 2011.
  12. Web site: Sage City Symphony funding . Sagecitysymphony.org . 2011-10-03.
  13. http://www.vivianfine.org/main/compositions/in-memoriam-george-finckel.htm "Work dedicated to George Finckel, Program notes"
  14. Web site: Vercoe. Elizabeth. Two interviews with Vivian Fine, mention of George Finckel. From the International League of Women Composers Journal, June, 1992, pp. 18-23, used with permission. otherminds.org. 4 October 2011.
  15. Web site: Tony Gualtieri . Listing of Marianne Finckel player . Classical-music-review.org . 2011-10-03.
  16. Web site: Vermont Governor's Institute on the Arts . Giv.org . 2011-10-03.
  17. Web site: Michael Finckel Bio. Bio M Finckel re listing on CD The Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine and Other Chamber Works by A. J. Kernis. Phoenix.com. 4 October 2011.
  18. Web site: Finckel. Michael. Wintergreen Performing Arts, Faculty Bio Mike Finckel. wintergreenperformingarts.org. 4 October 2011.
  19. Web site: Trio of the Americas performance announcement . Saugertiespromusica.org . 2011-10-03.
  20. Web site: Finckel. Michael. Mannes College, The New School for Music, Faculty Bio M Finckel. newschool.edu. 4 October 2011.
  21. Web site: Finckel. Michael. Composers Conference at Wellesley College, Faculty, ViolincelloFaculty. composerconference.org. 4 October 2011.
  22. Web site: Finckel. Michael. Chamber Music Conference of the East, Faculty, Michael Finckel . cmceast.org. 4 October 2011.
  23. Miles Yucht's performance was rescheduled from the Youth Concert
  24. Web site: Sager Bio, concertmistress of Sage City Symphony . Gmyo.org . 2011-10-03.
  25. Web site: Sage City Symphony presents youth concert this Sunday. www.benningtonbanner.com/. 2014-05-26.
  26. Web site: Mount Anthony Union High School, About . Svsu.net . 2011-10-03.
  27. Web site: Wind Blows . Youtube.com . 2009-08-30 . 2011-10-03.
  28. Web site: The Tinkerer . musescore.com . 2014-02-26 . 2014-05-06.
  29. Web site: Bathory-Kitsz. Dennis. Article on Composers Consortium, mention Hecker and Sage City Symphony. 2 March 2011 . NewMusicBox.org. 4 October 2011.
  30. Web site: Consortium. Vermont Composers. Vermont Composers Consortium, List of members updated July 1997. vermontcomposers.com. 4 October 2011.
  31. Web site: Shumlin. Gov Peter. Year of the Composer. Governor's Proclamation. vermont.gov. 4 October 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120223040331/http://governor.vermont.gov/proclamations-year-of-the-composer. 23 February 2012.
  32. Web site: Gori. Rolando. Gori Web Site.
  33. Web site: Wimberly. Michael. Wimberly info on faculty site.
  34. Web site: Brooke. Nick. Table of Toys and Numbers, bio and works. 4 February 2014.
  35. Web site: Eagle. John. Spoken Word, bio and works. Spoken Word. 4 March 2012.
  36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5_uzf9ngeQ "YouTube performance of Three for Orchestra and Hyperpiano"
  37. Web site: Jordan. Derrik. Cite of commission for Sage City Symphony in Bio. Composition for orchestra and percussion. zabapmusic.com. 4 October 2011.
  38. Web site: Hobson. Bruce. Cite of Sage City Symphony in Bio. Liner Notes for Piano Trios and Other Works. equinoxmusic.com. 4 October 2011.
  39. Web site: Hurley. Susan. Cite of work for Sage City Symphony in bio. omstream.com. 4 October 2011.
  40. Web site: Davidson. Tina. Cite of commission by Sage City Symphony. tinadavidson.com. 4 October 2011.
  41. Web site: Review of Blood Memory by Welcomat. tinadavidson.com. 4 October 2011.
  42. Web site: Read. Thomas L.. Symphony for Orchestra with Piano Obbligato. American Composers Edition. 4 October 2011.
  43. Book: Cody, Judith. Vivian Fine: A Bio-Bibliography. 2002. Greenwood Press, Westport CT. Amazon. 0-313-25474-5. 229.
  44. Web site: Eagle. John. Cite of commission for Sage City Symphony. spokenwordinc.com. 4 October 2011.
  45. Web site: Eagle. John. Cite of commission for Sage City Symphony, entry on Jan 23 2011 upcoming perforamcn. johneaglemusic.com. 4 October 2011.
  46. Web site: Faculty listing, Kaori Washiyama. bennington.edu. 4 October 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120207051506/http://www.bennington.edu/Academics/Faculty.aspx. 7 February 2012.
  47. Web site: Cite in Kerry Ryer-Parke bio as performing with Sage City Symphony. williams.edu. 4 October 2011.

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