Sharon Fendrich's debut new age/neo-classical album Red Sky Prairie has been submitted by a member of the Recording Academy for consideration for the New Age Grammy 2020. With deep roots in Portland's Jewish community, Sharon was profiled in Oregon Jewish Life's January 2016 issue 2016. Her children Talia and Max attend religious school at Neveh Shalom, where the family are members. Sharon serves on the steering committee of Chevra Kavod haMet. Her in-laws, Mimi and Bob Epstein, are long time members of Havurah Shalom. "Since I was a child it has been the music and song in a Jewish service that has given me the strongest sense of connection with my community," says Sharon. "I can always feel the strength, hope and healing that chanting together brings to the sacred space. This power of music is what inspires me to compose and share my music." Sharon released her self-produced debut album, Red Sky Prairie, on Aug. 1, 2019. Grounded in classical and inspired by new age, the 11 tracks are full of lush, passionate melodies. The album features Sharon on piano, along with four Dutch soloists: violinist Wilfred Sassen, cellist Joep Willems, flautists Helen Hendriks and Ies Muller, and Russian vocalist Anna Emelyanova. Within the five tracks containing lyrics, Sharon uses five languages including Esperanto. READ THE FULL OREGON JEWISH LIFE 

In this Classiclectic Connection, we crack open an educational recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, brilliantly performed by seventeen year old violinist Amelia Piscitelli and Camerata Chicago conducted by Drostan Hall. This Double CD set is replete with poetry written by Vivaldi himself and incorporates more than twenty musical examples of seasonal elements and characters cleverly depicted in the music - all beautifully narrated by Steve Robinson of WFMT radio station fame. PublicRadio90: Michigan's Kurt Hauswirth had an opportunity to speak with Drostan about the experience of putting together this first-ever education recording of The Four Seasons. LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

American composer Anita Owen wrote her biggest hit song, "Sweet Bunch of Daisies," in 1894. She was 20 at the time, a student at a convent outside Terre Haute, Ind. According to a 1910 article on female composers in the San Francisco Call, Owen self-published the song for less than $50. That investment paid off when the song became a hit, selling more than a million copies. According to the San Francisco Call, a "practically penniless convent girl" was transformed into a woman with "fame and fortune" whose bank account "fell only a little short of the hundred-thousand-dollar mark." If you've never heard of Owen or any of the 200-plus songs she composed during her successful career, you're not alone. "I don't want to call it a conspiracy, because I don't think it's done on purpose, but there is this falling away of women artists and artists of color that needs to stop and be corrected," says composer Laura Karpman. History may have forgotten many of them, she says, but women and people of color have always composed music. In what she calls a "small little act of course correction," Karpman is premiering an overture Thursday night at the Hollywood Bowl that incorporates melodic snippets from patriotic songs by Owen and two other early 20th century American female composers, Mildred Hill and Emily Wood Bower. The new orchestral piece, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and titled "All American," features percussion instruments crafted out of kitchen tools like baking sheets and meat tenderizers, a nod to the domestic work that historically defined so many women's lives. "It's about amplifying women," composer Laura Karpman says of her new piece "All American," a Los Angeles Philharmonic commission to be performed Thursday at the Hollywood Bowl.   PHOTO: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times READ THE FULL Los Angeles Times ARTICLE

Nicola Benedetti's new album on Decca Classics features premiere recordings of two works written especially for her by jazz musician Wynton Marsalis: Violin Concerto in D and Fiddle Dance Suite for Solo Violin. Benedetti performs Violin Concerto in D with The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru who has collaborated with the violinist to perform the work six times. The concerto was co-commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), Ravinia, LA Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic. Benedetti performed the world premiere with the LSO under conductor James Gaffigan in London in November 2015.  In conjunction with this release NB has agreed to a series of radio interviews today!! Wednesday August 21 with classical networks and stations across the US. Watch for our tweets throughout the day.

The Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project, created and directed by the Carr-Petrova Duo, is a project designed to give voice and visibility, through music and film, to the lives and struggles of both local and international refugee communities, and to encourage audiences and artists alike to become connected and involved. Since August 2018, it has brought free, interactive classical music concerts and workshops to displaced populations while increasing awareness of and raising support for both U.S.-based and international refugee-aid programs.  From August 12th to October 1st, 2019, The Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project, and the Carr-Petrova Duo are launching #50Days4Refugees - a social media campaign which walks through our past year of travels with the Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project from start to finish. We are releasing a single story/image/clip a day in order to give our followers the chance to virtually travel with us, meeting and engaging with the people, places, life-stories, cultures, music, and organizations we encountered along the way. Follow us daily as we share our journey and highlight the activities, strengths, and specific needs of the organizations we partnered with - along with what we learned about ways anyone anywhere can get involved.  Day 10: "Where will they go?" In each country we visited this year, we had the opportunity to learn about their particular refugee policies - and how each country differed from the other. The more we learned, the more urgency we felt to follow through and bring to life this project which hopes to raise awareness for the plight of those forced to become refugees, but also raise support for those organizations who are doing such incredible work in each of the places we visited. Without a doubt, the most important contributing factor when a refugee is starting his/her new life in a new and foreign country, is the amount of personal aid and care they receive from those involved through the non-profit organizations coming alongside to take them under their wing.  The Danish Red Cross was one of these organizations - and the work they do, which we had the opportunity to witness first-hand, is INCREDIBLE. With our whole hearts, we urge everyone reading this to check out your local Red Cross organization - and find ways to get involved in what they do. They are so much worthy of all of our time, volunteering, and financial support. They are making the world a better place every day.  

The Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project, created and directed by the Carr-Petrova Duo, is a project designed to give voice and visibility, through music and film, to the lives and struggles of both local and international refugee communities, and to encourage audiences and artists alike to become connected and involved. Since August 2018, it has brought free, interactive classical music concerts and workshops to displaced populations while increasing awareness of and raising support for both U.S.-based and international refugee-aid programs.  From August 12th to October 1st, 2019, The Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project, and the Carr-Petrova Duo are launching #50Days4Refugees - a social media campaign which walks through our past year of travels with the Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project from start to finish. We are releasing a single story/image/clip a day in order to give our followers the chance to virtually travel with us, meeting and engaging with the people, places, life-stories, cultures, music, and organizations we encountered along the way. Follow us daily as we share our journey and highlight the activities, strengths, and specific needs of the organizations we partnered with - along with what we learned about ways anyone anywhere can get involved.  Day 9 - "Quick Facts: Mortiza "Danger" from Afghanistan"  Mortiza arrived to Denmark 2 years ago and is awaiting refugee asylum.  

Mortiza dreams of becoming an internationally-renowned rapper known as "Danger." Mortiza's inspiration is Eminem. Mortiza started writing his own music when he arrived to Denmark.  Mortiza is one super cool dude.

Women Warriors: The Voices of Change multimedia concert performed by Orchestra Moderne NYC, under the direction of Amy Andersson, features the music of eight renowned female film composers and presents 800 years of women fighting for human rights and equality. This 80-minute interactive experience is a socially and culturally relevant world premiere concert which includes historical visuals from the past to present day. Women Warriors: The Voices of Change celebrates the strength and heroism of female global activists fighting for human, civil, and minority rights, environmental causes, and gender equality. Orchestra Moderne NYC and Conductor/Producer Amy Andersson team with composers Nathalie Bonin, Miriam Cutler, Anne-Kathrin Dern, Sharon Farber, Mandy Hoffman, Penka Kouneva, Starr Parodi, and Lolita Ritmanis, who together have created a rich and cinematic orchestral experience in seventeen world premiere pieces that inspire hope and courage for women and girls around the world. Special guest artists include; Afghan rapper/songwriter Sonita Alizadeh, fifteen year old singer/songwriter Isolde Fair, and violinist Nathalie Bonin. Iranian human rights activist and author Masih Alinejad is the honored guest speaker. Featured Podcast for Week 8.19.2019 is 'Chapter 5: 'Women Build Peace' with music by Penka Kouneva & violin solo by Nathalie Bonin Penka Kouneva says that the Women Warriors: The Voices of Change multimedia concert is the most important and relevant event that she has ever been a part of as it gives orchestral music an urgent social and cultural resonance by tackling humanistic issues that are not usually addressed on a classical concert stage. Kouneva's music will accompany six segments in the program. For the Women Build Peace segment which shows Israeli and Palestinian women peacefully coming together and searching for common language amidst the most violent, continuous and divisive war of our modern times, Kouneva's soaring piece 'Earth' expresses love, care and humility honoring the power of the human spirit to rise above conflict, hatred and profound differences. In this piece she strived for the music to have a timeless and universal sound. Violinist and composer Nathalie Bonin has always loved to spark emotion through music and art. Bonin is honored to be part of the Women Warriors event both as composer and soloist. In Chapter Five, Bonin's soulful violin solo for Penka Kouneva's 'Earth' transcends nations, religions, and ideologies, speaking the language of brotherhood, peace and reconciliation. Join us at New York's Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center - September 20 2019 at 8:00pm for this historical and stunning concert experience which celebrates the strength and heroism of female global activists fighting for human and civil rights, environmental causes, and gender equality. The opening theme music for this podcast was provided by Penka Kouneva This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.