Richard Russell to present lecture at NYCC

I have been invited to present my lecture/demonstration, "Questions my Composition Teacher Never Asked Me," to the New York Composers Circle at their monthly salon. This is the same presentation I offered at Mannes College of Music's Composer's Forum last October. The date is almost here: this Sunday, March 15, at 2pm. There is no charge and all are invited. The NYCC meets at the Ellington Room in Manhattan Plaza, 400 West 43rd Street. (Ask the doorman to point you toward the Ellington Room; it is on the second floor.) There will be the usual monthly reception after the lecture. Hope to see you there!

Violin Sonata at Stony Brook

Stani Dimitrova and Bethany Porter offered an outstanding performance of my Violin Sonata in the Staller Recital Hall at SUNY Stony Brook. Stani is working toward her Doctorate in violin performance at the school, and she also performed superlative work by Bach, Beethoven, and Glazunov. Here are a few pics of Stani and Bethany performing my piece in concert yesterday. (Click image for larger view.)

UPDATE: Here's a pic of me long before the concert started, with the beautiful Staller Recital Hall at SUNY Stony Brook in the background. What's up with the pattern on that tie?!

Stani Dimitrova to perform Sonata for Violin March 5

On March 5, Stani Dimitrova will perform my Sonata for Violin and Piano at the SUNY Stony Brook Staller Center Recital Hall. This is an afternoon concert, starting at 3pm; admission is free.

Getting to Stony Brook
By Car
From New York City, take the Long Island Expressway (LIE, I-495) eastbound from the Queens Midtown Tunnel in Manhattan or the Throgs Neck Bridge or Whitestone Bridge in Queens to exit 62, and follow Nicolls Road (Route 97) north for 9 miles.

By Train
Take the Long Island Railroad's Port Jefferson line from Penn Station in Manhattan to Stony Brook. The LIRR station is at the north end of the campus; bus service to the central campus is provided. Trains to and from Penn generally require transfers at Jamaica or Huntington. Hicksville is also a transfer point on some lines.

Take Nicolls Road north to the second entrance on your left, the Main Entrance. Go straight through the light and hook a quick left into the parking garage - the closest parking to the Staller Center. Coming out of the garage, you will pass the administration building on your left, and the next building ahead of you is the Music Building. Pass under the breezeway and ahead you will see the entrance to the Staller Center lobby.

February 15, 2009 Concert at Mannes

I was fortunate to have two wonderful performances of world premieres this past Sunday afternoon at Mannes College of Music. First, soprano Sofia Dimitrova, accompanied by Tamara Cashour, performed "When Time is Over" a collection of four songs with texts by Emily Dickinson. Second, an Adagio movement from a forthcoming string quartet. The  quartet is pictured here: Stani Dimitrova and Lisa Romain, violins, Rose Hashimoto, viola, Desiree Abbey, cello. (Click pics for larger view.)

Violin Sonata at Symphony Space

Here are several pics from the  Saturday, February 14 performance of my Violin Sonata at Symphony Space. The concert was presented by the New York Composers Circle, and is their custom, I was asked to say a few words before my piece started.

Superlatives are not strong enough to represent the outstanding effort these musicians put into this virtuoso tour de force. The piece was selected to close the evening, and Stanichka Dimitrova and Bethany Porter delivered the goods. Here are several pics (click image for larger view).

Symphony Space Poster | NYCC

The concert presented by the New York Composers Circle this coming Saturday has a huge poster in the Symphony Space theater. You can't really make out my name, but it is in the lower left.  (Update: oops, correction, lower right!) The pics on the poster are Tania Leon, Elliott Carter, and Dinu Ghezzo, each of whom will be featured on the concert. Click images for larger size.

Poster for February 15 concert at Mannes

Here's a snazzy poster advertising Sunday's concert at Mannes College of Music, 150 West 85th Street. The concert starts at 1:30 and admission is free. (Thanks Sofia for the poster design!)