Gospel, jazz, rhythm and blues, folk and popular music, as well as classical music and American musical theater offerings are on the schedule for this season's "Concerts from the Library of Congress" program. The series begins September 27 with a performance by Gospel Music Hall of Fame honoree and multiple Grammy Award-winner Shirley Caesar and her ensemble.
A celebration of the Juilliard String Quartet's 40th anniversary as the Library's quartet-in-residence is a major focus of the 2002-2003 season, with a world premiere of work commissioned by the Library, master classes and guest artists. Other highlights include centennial tributes to two icons of American entertainment, Bob Hope and Richard Rodgers.
A special feature of this year's series is three pre-season concerts, "Summon the Heroes," in commemoration of September 11, 2001. Folk singer and songwriter Tom Paxton, the Virginia Grand Military Band along with the Library of Congress Chorale, and New York songwriter Suzanne Vega and fellow members of the Greenwich Village Songwriter's Exchange will perform on Sept. 10, 12 and 13.
Gathering artists from the American heartland, the series also spotlights two past winners of the National Heritage Fellowship Award: blues pianist Pinetop Perkins and "conjunto" accordionist Santiago Jimenez Jr., a major figure in Tex-Mex border music. These two concerts are co-produced by the Library's American Folklife Center as part of its "Homegrown: The Music of America" concert series in cooperation with the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage and the Folklore Society of Greater Washington
"I Hear America Singing"
"I Hear America Singing" is the general rubric for the Library's musical offerings, reflecting the broad sweep of American musical experience—from colonial times to the 21st century. It is also the theme for a future Web site that will provide access to the Library's unsurpassed musical treasures through a database of recordings, reproductions of manuscripts and printed music, moving and still images, and educational programs. The site opens doors to the nation's musical legacy that embraces a vast range of American musical expression—from gospel, rhythm and blues and Celtic music to bluegrass, country, klezmer and rock and roll.
Season Highlights
In honor of the Juilliard Quartet's history as a formidable champion of new American music, a series of anniversary programs pairs works by American masters—Elliott Carter, Gunther Schuller, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Milton Babbitt, and others—with the complete cycle of 16 string quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven, scheduled to be performed over a two-year period. Four distinguished American scholars, Charles Rosen, Lewis Lockwood, Pozzi Escot and Robert Cogan, will offer lectures and pre-concert presentations in the coming season; also scheduled in conjunction with the celebration are master classes, open rehearsals, broadcasts and a commemorative recording.
To mark the milestone 40th anniversary of the Juilliard's tenure at the Library, the Irving Fine Fund in the Library of Congress has commissioned Richard Wernick to write a work for string quartet and horn, to be premiered by the Juilliard Quartet and William Purvis in May 2003. Clarinetist Charles Neidich, cellist Marcy Rosen and pianist Gil Kalish will also appear as guest artists with the Juilliard Quartet during the 2002-2003 season.
All Library of Congress concerts and other public programs are presented free of charge to the public, but they require tickets for admission. No tickets are required for noontime events in this series, which are offered on the Jefferson Building's Neptune Plaza or in the Coolidge Auditorium.
Tickets are distributed by TicketMaster, telephone (301) 808-6900, (410) 752-1200; for out-of-state residents, (800) 551-7328. Each ticket carries a nominal service charge of $2, with additional charges for phone orders and handling. Tickets are also available at TicketMaster outlets; for a complete list, visit the TicketMaster site, www.ticketmaster.com. Although the supply of tickets may be exhausted, there are often empty seats at concert time. Interested patrons are encouraged to come to the Library by 6:30 p.m. on concert nights for no-show tickets.
All concerts will be held in the Coolidge Auditorium, located on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., at 8 p.m., unless otherwise noted. For further information about "Concerts from the Library of Congress," call the Concert Information Line, at (202) 707-5502, or visit the Web site at www.loc.gov/rr/perform/concert/.
Concerts from the Library of Congress: 2002-2003 Season
Programs subject to change without notice; all concerts require tickets and take place in the Jefferson Building's Coolidge Auditorium, at 8 p.m., unless otherwise noted
Sept. 10, 2002
"Summon the Heroes"–Tom Paxton, folk singer/songwriter*
Sept. 12, 2002
"Summon the Heroes"–Virginia Grand Military Band
Sept. 13, 2002
"Summon the Heroes"–Suzanne Vega and Friends
Sept. 27, 2002 *
Shirley Caesar and ensemble
Sept. 28, 2002
Gospel Symposium and Dixie Hummingbirds*
Oct. 4, 2002 *
Santiago Jimenez Jr.
Oct. 18, 2002
Los Angeles Piano Quartet
Oct. 30, 2002
Founder's Day Concert–Kristjan Järvi's Absolute
Nov. 7, 2002 *
Pinetop Perkins with Bob Margolin Blues Band and Willie "Big Eyes"
Smith, at noon. No tickets required.
Nov. 15, 2002
Brentano String Quartet
Nov. 21, 2002
Rodgers Rarities, Aaron Gandy, Musical Director
Dec. 2, 2002
New York Festival Of Song, Michael Barrett and Steven Blier, Artistic
Directors
Dec. 18, 2002
Juilliard String Quartet with the Avalon String Quartet
Feb. 12, 2003
Juilliard String Quartet with Gilbert Kalish, Piano
Feb. 14, 2003
Juilliard String Quartet
Feb. 21, 2003
Mozartean Players with Judith Malafronte, Mezzo-Soprano
Feb. 26, 2003
Juilliard String Quartet withChristopher Oldfather, Piano
Feb. 28, 2003
Juilliard String Quartet
March 15, 2003
Phyllis Bryn-Julson and Southwest Chamber Music
March 21, 2003
Trio Fontenay
March 28, 2003 *
The Jewels and Orioles, at noon. No tickets required
April 3, 2003
Piffaro, The Renaissance Band
April 4, 2003
Kansas City Chorale, Charles Bruffy, Artistic Director and Conductor
April 10-11, 2003
Beaux Arts Trio
April 23, 2003
Davitt Moroney, Harpsichord
April 30, 2003
Juilliard String Quartet with William Purvis, French Horn
May 1, 2003
Lecture/demonstration with Beetho-ven scholar Lewis Lockwood and the
Juilliard String Quartet, 7p.m.; no tickets required
May 2, 2003
Juilliard String Quartet
May 3, 2003
Turtle Island String Quartet
May 9, 2003
James Carter's "Chasin' the Gypsy Band"
May 10, 2003
Ying String Quartet
May 29, 2003
Bob Hope Centennial Concert
May 30, 2003
Vaudeville 2003
* Concerts presented as part of "Homegrown: The Music of America," co-produced by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage and the Folklore Society of Greater Washington.
