March 17, 2014
MUSIC - POETRY - SUBCULTURE

In an evening devoted entirely to commissioned works, the Mirror Visions Ensemble presents Leaves of the Butterfly Tree:  The Poetry of Linda Pastan and Jeffrey Greene Sunday, April 6, 2014 at 7:30PM at SubCulture, New York’s underground performance space on 45 Bleecker Street in NoHo.  The vocal chamber music program will feature both concert and commentary in which Ms. Pastan and Mr. Greene will be on hand for a discussion with the composers on the intricacies of setting poetry to music.  What makes the concert especially noteworthy is the fact that all programmed works were commissioned by the ensemble.  Two American Premieres – Three Greene Songs by Russell Platt and The Butterfly Tree by Richard Pearson Thomas – are featured during the evening along with compositions also devoted to Pastan and Greene from Christopher Berg, Tom Cipullo, Richard Lalli and Francine Trester.

Since its inception in 1992, the Mirror Visions Ensemble’s work has figured prominently around performing and commissioning musical mirror visions – multiple settings of the same text by one or more composers.  What began as an idea built around programs of poets such as Dickinson, Heine, Shakespeare and Verlaine has since expanded to include the commissioning of over 80 works from 17 composers whose creative compositions are based on insightful texts.   Mirror Visions’ performances recreate the salon or soiree musical settings made popular during the 19th century.  Rooted in commissioned works for vocal chamber music ensemble, founder and artistic director Tobé Malawista and the group curate each concert to introduce the audience to composers, authors and historical figures not only through their published works, but also by including correspondence and other anecdotes woven throughout the theme of each performance.  The evening at SubCulture will be no different – the concert will be performed in an intimate space ideal for concert and conversation with the added appeal of two outstanding living American poets present to discuss their work and lives.  Prior to SubCulture, the program will be presented at The American University of Paris. 

Tickets are priced at $20, $15 for students, and may be purchased by visiting www.subculturenewyork.com


CONCERT PROGRAM

SECRETS, two excerpts
 “Weather Forecast” 
“The Dogwoods”
song cycle by Tom Cipullo
poetry by Linda Pastan

THE OCTOPUS
MOUSE SONG
by Francine Trester
poetry by Jeffrey Greene

THREE GREENE SONGS
by Richard Lalli
poetry by Jeffrey Greene

  1. Fearsome Wonder
  2. Recovering
  3. Presence

THE MONTHS, excerpts 
April, May, June, July, August, September
by Christopher Berg
poetry by Linda Pastan

THREE GREENE SONGS (North American Premiere)
by Russell Platt 
poetry by Jeffrey Greene

  1. Extended Night Song
  2. Quiet Storm
  3. Château de Chambord

THE BUTTERFLY TREE (North American Premiere) 
song cycle by Richard Pearson Thomas
poetry by Linda Pastan

  1. The Butterfly Tree
  2. In the Garden
  3. Why are your poems so dark?
  4. The Death of the Bee
  5. Threshold

Mirror Visions Ensemble
Vira Slywotzky, soprano
Scott Murphree, tenor 
Margaret Kampmeier, piano

With guest artists Mischa Bouvier, baritone and Jennifer Grim, flute

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Linda Pastan grew up in New York City, graduated from Radcliffe College in 1954 and received an MA from Brandeis University.  She has published 13 volumes of poetry, most recently Traveling Light. Two of these books have been finalists for the National Book Award; one for The Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Ms. Pastan was Poet Laureate of Maryland from 1991 to 1995. She taught for several years at American University and was on the staff of the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference for 20 years.  She has won numerous awards, including The Radcliffe Distinguished Alumni Award and The Maurice English Award.  In 2003 she won the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize for lifetime achievement. Ms. Pastan lives with her husband in Potomac, Maryland.  They have three children and seven grandchildren.

Jeffrey Greene is the author of four poetry collections, a memoir, and two personalized nature books.  A collection of poems, dialogues and prose pieces, Shades of the Other Shore, was published in 2013.  A third nature book on Wild Edibles is forthcoming in 2015. Mr. Greene's work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, and Humanities Texas. He has received the Samuel French Morse Prize, the Randall Jarrell Award, and the "Discovery"/ The Nation Award.  His writing has appeared in numerous publications including the New Yorker, Poetry, and Ploughshares. Mr. Greene directs creative writing at the American University of Paris and teaches in the Pan-European MFA program.

As The New York Times aptly states in their May 2011 review, the Mirror Visions Ensemble’s “programs are shaped with an ear to the poetry of song texts.” The initial interest of the ensemble – comprised of soprano Vira Slywotzky, tenor Scott Murphree and baritone Jesse Blumberg – was the back-to-back performance of multiple settings of a single text. The ensemble has commissioned more than 80 vocal chamber music works from 17 composers including Tom Cipullo, Russell Platt, Richard Pearson Thomas, Scott Wheeler and Yehudi Wyner. Past seasons include performances at New York City's Bargemusic, Le Poisson Rouge, Merkin Concert Hall and Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, as well as frequent appearances in Paris (Musée Carnavalet, Musée Nissim de Camondo, Musée Les Arts Décoratifs).

Pianist Margaret Kampmeier has performed in hundreds of concerts, premiered numerous works and recorded extensively. A founding member of the Naumburg award-winning New Millennium Ensemble, Ms. Kampmeier appears regularly with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and in special projects with the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Chamber Ensemble, Kronos Quartet, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Peter Schickele.  She has recorded for the Albany, Centaur, CRI, Koch, Nonesuch, Bridge and Deutsche Gramophon labels.  Margaret Kampmeier is on faculty at Princeton University and Manhattan School of Music.  She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and SUNY Stony Brook.

Hailed as "a deft, smooth flute soloist" by The New York TimesJennifer Grim's remarkable depth and breadth as a performer of solo and chamber repertoire is gaining broad national acclaim. First prize winner in several national chamber music competitions, Ms. Grim has performed with such renowned ensembles as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble. She is the flutist of the award-winning Zéphyros Winds and the New York Chamber Soloists. Other solo appearances include the Caramoor, Aspen, Norfolk, and Skaneateles Chamber Music Festivals. Highlights of recent seasons include an appearance as soloist with Maestro Philippe Entremont and the Boca Raton Symphonia, and guest artist performances with the Boston Chamber Music Society. Ms. Grim has given master classes across the country, specializing in both solo and chamber music.  A native of Berkeley, California, Ms. Grim holds degrees from Stanford University and Yale University. She is currently Associate Professor of Music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Praised by The New York Times for his “rich timbre” and “fine sense of line,” baritone Mischa Bouvier is a winner of the 2010 CAG Victor Elmaleh International Competition. Possessing a keen musicality and an entrancing stage presence, this dynamic singer’s wide-ranging recent engagements include: Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at Carnegie Hall with Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Musica Sacra; Moneybags Billy in Kurt Weill’s The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at Tanglewood with casting by James Levine; Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops; Mohammed Fairouz’ new work Furia with the Knights; concerts with American Bach Soloists, Anonymous Four and the Mark Morris Dance Group; and a collaboration with Sting on Songs from the Labyrinth in Los Angeles.  Mischa Bouvier received his undergraduate degree from Boston University and his M.M. from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He has participated in young artist programs of the Carmel Bach and Tanglewood Music Festivals, Lyric Opera Cleveland and the Internationale Meisterkurse für Musik. www.mischabouvier.com


Mirror Visions Ensemble website

See Related:
Back to List
Back to Top
E-NEWS SIGNUP