Grammy Awards

Tag: Grammy Awards

“Consummate artist” Sasha Cooke performs in Lawrence Artist Series concert

Grammy Award-winning mezzo soprano Sasha Cooke brings her versatile repertoire and love of new music to the stage of the Lawrence Memorial Chapel Saturday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. in the second concert of Lawrence University’s 2017-18 Artist Series.

Tickets for the performance, at $25-30 for adults, $20-25 for seniors, $18-20 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.Sasha Cooke sitting in chair

Cooke, the 2010 winner of the prestigious Marian Anderson Vocal Award, has performed works of Gustav Mahler to great acclaim on four different continents. Hailed as “equal parts poise, radiance and elegant directness” by Opera News, Cooke has become a highly sought-after talent by many of the world’s leading orchestras, opera companies and chamber music ensembles.

Steven Spears, a voice professor in Lawrence’s conservatory of music, calls Cooke “one of a handful of current singers who defines the phrase ‘consummate artist.’”

“One only needs to scan her biography to have a snapshot of music history,” said Spears.  “At such a young age, Sasha has literally done it all – early music with Baroque expert Sir Harry Bicket to pieces where the ink isn’t even dried yet by innovative composers of contemporary vocal music such as John Adams and Nico Muhly. Her languages are excellent, technique top-notch, but those are nothing compared to the beauty and richness of her voice and her superior skills as an actor.”

Cooke earned a Grammy Award in 2012 for her work on the Metropolitan Opera recording of “Doctor Atomic,” an opera that examines the stress and anxiety experienced by the scientists involved with the development and initial test of the first atomic bomb. “Doctor Atomic” has been a work featured in Lawrence’s Freshman Studies program.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

 

 

Lawrence welcomes jazz legend Joe Lovano

Grammy Award-winning saxophonist/composer Joe Lovano showcases his conceptual and thematic ventures Friday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. in a Lawrence University 2017-18 Jazz Series Concert. J

Joining Lovano on stage will be his Classic Quartet bandmates: Lawrence Fields, piano, Peter Slavov, bass and Lamy Istrefi, drums.

Saxophonist Joe LovanoTickets for the performance in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, at $25-30 for adults, $20-25 for seniors, $18-20 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

Lovano’s career has been defined by his creative efforts to find new modes of artistic expression and new ways to define the jazz idiom. With his bandmates, Lovano explores the rich history of mainstream jazz through swing and bebop, driving the edges while honoring the structures of straight-ahead jazz.

José Encarnación, director of jazz studies at Lawrence and an accomplished saxophonist in his own right, calls Lovano “one of my favorites jazz artists of all time.”

“I love every single one of his recordings,” said Encarnacion, who had the pleasure of meeting Lovano in the 1990s while performing at a jazz festival in Puerto Rico with the Bob Mintzer Big Band. “Joe’s music is always fresh, rooted on the tradition but always moving forward with new sounds and adventurous musical stories.”

A 12-time Grammy Award nominee, Lovano won the trophy in 2000 in the best large jazz ensemble album category for his work on “52nd Street Themes.” That same year, he topped both the readers and critics polls in DownBeat magazine as tenor saxophonist of the year. DownBeat named Lovano its jazz artist of the year twice, including 2010 when he captured the magazine’s “triple crown”: tenor saxophonist, jazz artist and jazz group (Joe Lovano Us 5) of the year.

His discography includes 28 albums as leader and more than 50 others as either co-leader or sideman.

Lovano has taught as the Gary Burton Chair in Jazz Performance as an artist-in-residence at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in Boston.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

eighth blackbird opens Lawrence’s 2015-16 Artist Series

The Grammy Award-winning eighth blackbird unleashes its provocative and mind-changing style Friday, Oct. 2 in the opening concert of Lawrence University’s four-part 2015-16 Artist Series.

The performance begins at 8 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Tickets, at $25-30 for adults, $20-25 for seniors and $18-20 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.Eighth-Blackbird_newsblog

The Chicago-based sextet — Matthew Duvall, percussion; Nathalie Joachim, flutes; Lisa Kaplan, piano; Yvonne Lam, violin & viola; Michael Maccaferri, clarinets; and Nicholas Photinos, cello — has won over audiences with its kinetic style that combines rock band energy with string quartet finesse and storefront theater audacity.

“Eighth blackbird brings a level of engagement to their performances that is singular and remarkable,” said David Bell, associate professor of music at Lawrence who teaches clarinet. “I can’t think of another ensemble that brings more to the stage, or offers more to their audience. Regardless of the kind of music you gravitate toward, hearing eighth blackbird will make you want more of whatever they might be doing that night, which is probably going to be completely different the next time you hear them.”

The ensemble’s discography includes 13 recordings, including three that have been recognized with Grammy Awards: “strange imaginary animals,” 2008, Best Chamber Music Performance and Classical Producer of the Year (Judith Sherman); “Lonely Motel: Music from Slide,” 2011, Best Small Ensemble Performance; “Meanwhile,” 2012, Best Small Ensemble Performance and Contemporary Classical Composition (Stephen Hartke).

“Eighth blackbird brings a level of engagement to their performances that is singular and remarkable. I can’t think of another ensemble that brings more to the stage, or offers more to their audience.”
– David Bell

In his review for New York City’s WQXR of the ensemble’s latest project, “Filament,” released this September, Daniel Stephen Johnson said “As meticulous as their programming may be, on concert or on recordings, it is seldom as intensely focused as it is on their latest album.”

Founded in 1996 at, the group derived its name from the eighth stanza of Wallace Stevens’ 1917 poem, “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” All former students at the Oberlin Conservatory, they hold Ensemble-in-Residence positions at the University of Chicago and the University of Richmond.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

 

Pianist Robert Glasper brings his brand of acoustic jazz roots to Lawrence Memorial Chapel

Versatile pianist and composer Robert Glasper and his band, the Robert Glasper Trio, showcases his forthcoming album “Covered” Friday, May 1 at 8 p.m. in the final concert of the 2014-15 Lawrence University Jazz Series.

Robert-Glasper_newsblog
Robert Glasper previews his forthcoming album “Covered” May 1 in the final 2014-15 Jazz Series concert.

Tickets for the Lawrence Memorial Chapel concert, at $25-30 for adults, $20-25 for seniors and $18-20 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

In “Covered,” Glasper returns to his acoustic jazz roots while continuing to explore the hip-hop and R&B sound that earned him two Grammy Awards for his albums “Black Radio” and “Black Radio 2.”

The album, which is scheduled for official release June 16, was recorded live in front of an intimate gathering of invited guests in Capitol Records’ historic Studio A. The first single from the album, “Reckoner,” a cover of the Radiohead song, was made available to all streaming services and digital retailers on April 22.

“Robert Glasper is unmistakable for his gospel-infused sound,” said Lawrence associate professor of music Mark Urness, bassist with the Lawrence Faculty Jazz Quartet. “He has amazingly collaborated with the top artists in jazz and R&B and is one of the busiest pianists and composers today.

“His two Grammy Awards are testament to the universal appeal of his lyrical, soulful style,” Urness added. “Whether it is complex original jazz compositions, or covers of Radiohead, the Glasper Trio always delivers lyrical melodies, compelling harmonies and a joyous groove.”

The New York Times locates Glasper’s signature eclectic, referential style at the “junction of coolheaded logic and digressive caprice.” The new album features songs by hip-hop and R&B stars like Kendrick Lamar, Musiq Soulchild, John Legend and Bilal alongside jazz standards like “Stella by Starlight” and works by Radiohead and Joni Mitchell.

Joining Glasper onstage will be bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Damion Reid, with whom Glasper recorded his first two Blue Notes releases, “Canvas” (2005) and “In My Element” (2007). He cites Archer and Reid as two of his favorite musicians and the perfect collaborators for an album blending old and new sounds. NPR lauded the trio as “a shape-shifting, communicative unit” able to showcase Glasper’s “supple, flowing lines…sostenuto melodies…moody harmonies.”

In addition to working on “Covered,” Glasper composed and recorded the score for “Miles Ahead,” Don Cheadle’s upcoming film about Miles Davis. He also has been combing through Davis’ Columbia Records vaults and will create a remix album based on the legendary trumpeter’s recordings, rehearsals and outtakes.

He was recently named a Steinway Artist, joining the roster of world-class musicians who perform exclusively on Steinway pianos.

Glasper’s concert is a rescheduled appearance from an originally schedule performance for January 30 that had to be cancelled due to a film project conflict.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.