2007 CORTONA CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL Welcome to the 2007 Cortona Contemporary Music Festival! Now in its third year, this unique event seeks to cultivate appreciation and support of contemporary art music. In a world of increasing virtual reality, Cortona enables an emerging generation of musicians to gain invaluable first-hand experience in the creation and performance of new music. Participants attend a variety of workshops, lessons, and concerts under the Tuscan sun, a landscape that has inspired countless individuals in the pursuit of great art. This season will feature evening performances of 21st Century Premieres and 20th Century Classics. Open rehearsals throughout the week will educate participants in the furtive process of collaboration between composers and performers in the realization of a new piece. Workshops will address the breadth of contemporary performance techniques available to composers on specific instruments, as well as sessions devoted to formulating a strategic plan for networking and career advancement. Thanks to the generosity of individual donors, and the Conservatorio di Musica di Perugia (Italy), many participants have received financial assistance to attend the festival. I would also like to acknowledge the support of Toscana Americana Music and its producer, Patrick Mahoney, along with the Department of Music & Dance at the University of Kansas (USA). I invite you to share in our collective vision for the advancement of this worthy cause; please join us for ten celebratory days of contemporary music in Cortona! Nathanael May, Founder and Director Cortona Contemporary Music Festival 1 2007 CORTONA CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL Performance Studies at Cortona Cortona offers performers the opportunity to collaborate with living composers. Each participant is assigned a new work, of which they will give the world premiere performance at the festival. In addition to private lessons and masterclasses with instrumental faculty, performers will also receive coachings with faculty and guest composers. Participants will also study new chamber music for performance at the festival. Composition Studies at Cortona Cortona offers composers the opportunity to coach musicians in the performance of their music. Coachings are mentored by faculty performers and composers, with all sessions open to festival participants. In addition to private lessons with composition faculty, composers will also participate in the Colloquium, a daily forum featuring the music of festival colleagues. Benefits for the Modern Musician Daily workshops discuss performance techniques, idiomatic writing, various repertoires, career planning, and networking. Evening concerts feature faculty and distinguished guest artists, with final performances of the festival highlighting the music of participants. Cortona fosters life-long alliances with composers and performers from around the world. Cortona: The City of Art Located midway between the Adriatic and Ligurian Seas, Cortona is one of the most engaging of the Tuscan hill towns. Central to the town is the Piazza della Republica, the social and commercial hub of the city. In one direction from the piazza, the town's ancient brick and stone buildings climb steeply to a Medici fortress. In the other, they crowd down the hillside, forming a cascade of well- weathered tile roofs. In between lies a proliferation of late medieval and renaissance churches, monasteries, convents, and palatial houses. From vantage points overlooking these roofs can be seen broad stretches of the picturesque valley known as the Val di Chiana. The name of one of the main thoroughfares -Via Dardano- is a reminder of Virgil's claim that Cortona was founded by Dardanus, son of Zeus and Electra and the mythical founder of Troy. Modern historians believe that Cortona was originally a fortified Umbrian city that passed into the hands of the Etruscans between the eighth and seventh centuries, BC. It was later granted Roman citizenship, and having bounced back and forth between political masters, was eventually sold to the Florentines by the King of Naples in 1411. Thereafter, it followed the fortunes of the Grand-duchy of Tuscany. In more recent times, the environs of Cortona have been set as a backdrop in several famous movies, including Under the Tuscan Sun, and Life is Beautiful. 2 2007 CORTONA CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL Highlights of the 2006 Festival True to its roots, the 2006 festival encouraged the participation of musicians from around the world, including Brazil, Greece, Ireland, Argentina, Taiwan, Australia, Italy, and the United States. Over 30 works for piano, violin, flute, and guitar received their first performance. For detailed information, please visit: http://www.cortonafestival.com/2006.html COMPOSITION COLLOQUIUM 11:00. SALA NEUMANN. Hotel Oasi.. Performers encouraged to attend. The Composition Colloquium at the Cortona Contemporary Music Festival is a daily forum where festival composers meet together to discuss common issues and exchange ideas. Though the craft of composition is something composers practice largely in isolation, there are many aspects of this process that every composer, in one way or another, must face. The colloquium is based on the principle that composers benefit greatly from one another when they share their own experiences and learn from the experiences of others. Over the course of the festival, each composer will have the opportunity to present their work at the colloquium. S/he will be encouraged to discuss working methods, aesthetic philosophy, and other issues. Other festival participants will offer reactions and suggestions. Through these discussions, more general problems and questions will be identified. These develop into working 'themes' for the colloquium. In addition to presentations by participant composers, issues that arise in the course of private lessons at the festival (with Brian Hulse) may become points of discussion at the colloquium. Depending upon the nature and progress of individual work, the colloquium may culminate with a reading session by faculty and participant musicians. There will also be time to discuss professional planning and career development. Finally, festival composers will benefit from frequent presentations by faculty artists on topics such as composing for particular instruments, networking, and developing relationships with performers. 3 2007 CORTONA CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL 2007 CORTONA CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL INSTRUMENTAL WORKSHOPS 14:30. SALA NEUMANNN. Hotel Oasi. IN APPRECIATION SUNDAY, 15 Composing for the Flute The Cortona Contemporary Music Festival wishes to thank the following with Lisa Cella. individuals and organizations, whose contributions and support have helped make this festival possible. TUESDAY, 17 Composing for the Piano with Nathanael May and Thomas Rosenkranz. Produced by: Toscana Americana Music WEDNESDAY, 18 Composing for the Guitar Patrick Mahoney, Executive Director with Matt Gould. In association with: THURSDAY, 19 Composing for the Violin The University of Kansas with Beth Ilana Schnedier. School of Fine Arts Department of Music & Dance Dr. Lawrence Mallett, chair PECIAL RESENTATIONS S P Conservatorio di Musica di Perugia 14:30. Note different venues. Hotel Oasi Individual donors: Robin Green SATURDAY, 14 Music of Frederic Rzewski Ronald and Susan Green The People United will Never be Defeated! Jordan and Samantha Davidson Green with Thomas Rosenkranz. Carolyn Green SALA NEUMANN David and Rene Bowditch FRIDAY, 20 Music of Man-Ching Yu* performed by the composer. ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FROM Sonata No. 4 "Chaos" Uncertainty Everest Administrators Fantasy on the Lady of Shallot Hell and Heave Arizona State University School of Music Etude "Birds" performed by CCMF Faculty Univeristy of Akron Knight Student Travel Award Autumm Elegy II SALA BEATO ANGELICO University of Nevada Las Vegas College of Fine Arts, Department of Music SATURDAY, 21 Music of Brian Hulse SPECIAL THANKS TO SALA NEUMANN Bob Schnedier, Guitar Plus International * Program Notes on page 34. 4 49 2007 CORTONA CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL 2007 CORTONA CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS doctoral thesis on flexibility and uncertainty led her to pursue a diversified 10:00. SALA NEUMANN. Anne Ku will present her lectures on the days listed portfolio career as a freelance writer/editor, university lecturer, pianist, and below in. Private consultations available upon request. concert organizer (founder of Monument House Concert Series in the Netherlands). Dr Ku’s practical career workshops for musicians at the Cortona SATURDAY Crafting Your CV And Biography Contemporary Music Festival since 2006 are built on her training from London A CV is more than a chronological listing of your education and work history. Business School. Currently she is finishing her composition studies at Utrecht Similarly, your biographical blurb in the program notes conveys far more than a Conservatory. Visit her at http://www.anneku.com short paragraph about yourself. In both cases, they give the reader a first impression about you in which critical decisions to engage you are quickly ROBERT BEKKERS (Netherlands) obtained his teaching and performance made. This workshop helps you inventory your strengths, weaknesses, degrees from the Conservatory of Maastricht, during which he also studied opportunities, and threats, thereby translating your past accomplishments into contemporary music with Angelo Gilardino in Italy. After starting his musical