James Lee III is an American composer, pianist and educator. Dr. Lee is a Michigan native who earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 2005. In 2020, he composed a 4-part series called PRINCIPAL BROTHERS, with each section dedicated to and inspired by a personal friend holding a principal […]
Beautiful Music NOW – February 3, 2023 Read More »
Today’s Beautiful Music features the first place winner of the 2023 Sphinx Competition Junior Finals, cellist Brandon Leonard. The 17-year-old Atlanta resident’s awards include $10,000 and solo appearances with major orchestras. You can read watch the Sphinx Finals Concert Competition using the link below. And today’s Beautiful Music features performances by Brandon Leonard that show
Beautiful Music NOW – February 2, 2023 Read More »
CONGRATULATIONS to violinist Njioma Chinyere Grevious for winning First Prize in the prestigious Sphinx Competition 2023! The talented Juilliard grad will receive the $50,000 USD Robert Frederick Smith Prize and a number of solo appearances with major orchestras. You can read more about this rising star using the link below to her biography. And today’s
Beautiful Music NOW – February 1, 2023 Read More »
A few days ago I had the pleasure to hear conductor Fernanda Lastra speaking on a panel at the SphinxConnect 2023 Impact conference. I was impressed and wanted to learn more about her artistry. Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, her repertory spans symphonic, contemporary, and operatic works. She currently holds a position with the
Beautiful Music NOW – January 31, 2023 Read More »
Dame Evelyn Glennie was recently awarded Denmark’s biggest music prize: The Léonie Sonning Music Prize. The trailblazing British percussionist will become the first percussionist to receive the prize in its six decade history. There is a link to the prize announcement below. And today’s Beautiful Music is Evelyn Glennie’s performance of an encore with Orquesta
Beautiful Music NOW – January 30, 2023 Read More »
Quinteto Latino provides today’s Beautiful Music. Their MUSIC OF THE AMERICAS performance is from June 2021 and features Puzzle-Tocas by Gabriela Ortiz, C U Z A – four nocturnes for wind quintet by Felipe Nieto-Sachica, and Mitos: Suite Dramatica para Quinteto de Vientos (y actores) by Gabriela Lena Frank.
Beautiful Music NOW – January 29, 2023 Read More »
Today’s Beautiful Music features gamelan — a traditional Indonesian musical ensemble that combines various gongs and other percussion instruments, augmented by winds and string instruments and more. Gamelan Semara Ratih of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia are the performers in this 2017 performance. You can also use the link below to learn more about gamelan. https://www.britannica.com/art/gamelan
Beautiful Music NOW – January 28, 2023 Read More »
Did you learn to play an instrument as a child? Maybe you even played in a youth orchestra! Today’s Beautiful Music features the talented young musicians in the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra, conducted by Oriol Sans, playing one of the great orchestral pieces: THE PLANETS by Gustav Holst.
Beautiful Music NOW – January 27, 2023 Read More »
For today’s Beautiful Music, a little bit of Mozart. It’s the aria Madamina il catalogo è questo from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera DON GIOVANNI. The aria is sung by the character Leporello, who is Don Giovanni’s servant, beautiful sung (and acted) by bass Nahuel Di Pierro with Cercle de l’harmonie, conducted by Jérémie Rhorer, at
Beautiful Music NOW – January 26, 2023 Read More »
Rihab Chaieb is a Tunisian-Canadian mezzo-soprano. The up-and-coming young singer has a broad repertory that includes classic and contemporary opera, baroque oratorios, and lieder. Today’s Beautiful Music features Rihab Chaieb singing VERZAGEN by Johann Brahms, with pianist Zalman Kelber. The 2017 performance in NYC was from her Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program Recital.
Beautiful Music NOW – January 25, 2023 Read More »
