CLARE MALONEY and NICOLE ZURAITIS at LEHMAN COLLEGE

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Join us Thursday, November 7, 12:30pm at Lehman College when Charles R. Hale Productions in conjunction with Lehman College’s City and Humanities Program presents “From Opera to Jazz to Pop,” featuring two gifted singers, Clare Maloney and Grammy nominated, Nicole Zuraitis. Both Nicole and Clare began their musical pursuits as aspiring opera singers but segued from opera to jazz and pop. Their show, which they recently performed at the Cell in NYC, will highlight their many talents, including the performance of well-known arias and their jazz and pop tune adaptations.

A big thank you to Professor Joseph McElligott, head of the City and Humanities Department, for his continual support of local artists.

Clare Maloney’s photo by Vinnie Nauheimer. Nicole Zuraitis’ photo by Mel Taing Photography

 

 

‘CLASSICALLY EXPOSED” at THE CELL with RENATO DIZ and YURI JUAREZ, APRIL 26

Charles R. Hale Productions and Musical Solis present guitarist Yuri Juarez and pianist Renato Diz performing “From Classical to Jazz,” timeless works from the classical repertoire, rearranged for piano and guitar with improvisation sections (Jazz!), as was popular during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

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Nancy Manocherian’s the cell presents a Charles R. Hale Productions/Musical Solis Series”

“CLASSICALLY EXPOSED:  FROM CARNEGIE HALL TO THE CELL”

April 26:  Yuri Juarez and Renato Diz: “From Classical to Jazz”

 

“The cell” is located at 338 West 23rd St in the Chelsea section of Manhattan

“CLASSICALLY EXPOSED”: SEUNGHEE LEE, MANHATTAN CHAMBER PLAYERS with SPECIAL GUEST, JP JOFRE

On March 27, 7:30pm, at The Cell Theatre, The Manhattan Chamber Players and Seunghee Lee (Sunny) will be presenting a sampling of a number of the masterworks written for clarinet by Mozart, Brahms, and Weber. The first half of the program will feature the first movement of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet, a movement from Brahms Clarinet Quintet and the the last movement of the virtuosic Weber Clarinet Quintet.

The second half of the program will feature tango music, including the works of Piazzolla and JP Jofre. JP and Sunny will perform JP’s Double Concerto, a work that was  written for clarinet and bandoneon and demonstrates the evolution of clarinet music and the instrument’s versatility. The Double Concerto was premiered last  year by JP and Sunny during Sunny’s Carnegie Hall recital.  

For tickets, which are $20, and additional info click here

The cell is located at 338 West 23rd St in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. 

 

To PURCHASE TICKETS for: “CLASSICALLY EXPOSED: FROM CARNEGIE HALL to THE CELL”

“Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to The Cell,” beginning on March 27. Tickets for each of the series’ shows will be $20. You can click on the link of an individual event for tickets:  

March 27:  Season Opener…Seunghee Lee and the Manhattan Chamber Players with special guest, JP Jofre. Works by Mozart, Weber, Brahms and Jofre 

April 26:  Yuri Juarez and Renato Diz: “From Classical to Jazz”

May 10:  Verona Quartet “An Outstanding Ensemble…” New York Times

June 28:  Clare Maloney and Nicole Zuraitis: “From Opera to Pop”

September 27:  Ji in and Wayne Weng, “From Classical to Pop to Hip Hop.”

October 18:  Empire Wild “From Bows to Beats

December 6:  “From Carnegie to ‘the cell with narration by Charles R. Hale and live music, featuring historical Carnegie Hall performances 

SEUNGHEE LEE “SUNNY” at THE CELL, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22

Not only is Seunghee Lee and her production company Musica Solis co-producing the series “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to The Cell” with me, she is also performing on March 27 with the Manhattan Chamber Players and JP Jofre.  But you can hear and meet “Sunny” this Friday, February 22 at “The Cell” when she performs with Empire Wild, a brilliant young group of musicians. This is a free event but you must reserve a seat, which you can do by contacting me at charles@crhproductions.com

A little about Sunny: She was included in the “Top 30 Under 30” by KDFC San Francisco radio. Her albums were chosen as “CD of the Week” and her music is performed on classical musical stations around the world, including WQXR here in NYC. She has collaborated with Deepak Chopra and with renowned Italian film composer, Andrea Morricone, performing his world-premiere arrangement of “Love Theme” from Cinema Paradiso for clarinet and orchestra.

“Now here is a talent… who has a warm, silvery, and woody a tone as anyone could imagine with fast and keen finger work to match… amazing expressive capabilities… positively lovely” – Review by Allmusic.com 

RENATO DIZ and YURI JUAREZ at THE CELL, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd.

On April 28th Charles R. Hale Productions and Musical Solis will present guitarist Yuri Juárez and pianist Renato Diz performing timeless works from the classical repertoire and rearranging them for piano and guitar with improvisation sections (Jazz!), as was popular during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

Want to get a preview? Join us this Friday night, February 22nd, 7:30pm at The Cell when you’ll hear music from four of the seven events that will comprise “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to the Cell.”

This is a free event but you must reserve a seat by sending an email to charles@charlesrhaleproductions.com

Hope to see you Friday.

Renato Diz and Yuri Juarez

I enjoy promoting the works of artists and friends.  A Facebook “LIKE” would help me in this endeavor https://www.facebook.com/charlesrhaleproductions/
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In addition to supporting artists, as my friend and author Peter Quinn said, “Charles chronicles New York’s culture, blends the city’s rich history with music, imagery and performance art and captures the vibrant and unique experience that is New York City in his work.”
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MEMORIES AND HOPE THROUGH A DIGITAL LENS at LEHMAN COLLEGE

I love this poster created by Professor Joseph McElligott. It’s being used to promote my short films, discussion of family and ancestral history, and the impact that New York City had on my family and me. The event is at Lehman College this Thursday, Feb 14, 12:30pm. 

The afternoon is sponsored by the City and Humanities Program, which is chaired by Professor McElligott. It will take place in the Studio Theatre, which is located in the Speech and Hearing building.

This is a free event. For directions to Lehman click here

CHARLES R. HALE PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS: IMPRESSION at THE CELL

Charles R. Hale Productions Presents: Impression…Ravel and Debussy.
In celebration of the centennial of Debussy’s death, IMPRESSION will explore the erotic languor of French Impressionism by weaving the chamber music of Debussy and Ravel with the poetry of Stéphane Mallarmé. Debussy’s seminal Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, for Boulez the beginning of modern music, will serve as the focal point of the performance, presented here in a new octet arrangement for the first time in New York.
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Mallarmé: The Afternoon of a Faun
Ravel: Introduction and Allegro
Debussy: Première Rhapsodie [octet arrangement by Todd Palmer]
Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun [octet arrangement by Graeme Steele Johnson] — New York Premiere
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Graeme Steele Johnson, Artistic Director and clarinet
Matty Oaks, reader
Ji Weon Ryu, flute
Hannah Lash, harp
Adelya Nartadjieva and Rachel Loseke, violins
Matthew Cohen, viola
Ari Evan, cello
Jordan Calixto, double bass
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Wednesday, December 12, 8pm at The Cell Theatre, 338 West 23rd St, New York, New York.  Doors open at 8:15
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ARTISTRY & THE ARTIST:SEUNGHEE LEE. REVIEW by VINCENT NAUHEIMER

Artistry and the Artist by V. Nauheimer

Last night, Seunghee Lee opened Charles R. Hale’s 2018 series “Thoroughly New York.” She was an unequivocal success.  

Ms. Lee, a brilliant clarinetist, is a storyteller like Charles, who enhances story through musical performance.  Effectively handled, there is a synergy in which the narrative and the music become greater than the sum of their parts. What made this show different is that Ms. Lee was both the musician and the storyteller, engaging the audience with her humor, life experiences and carefully selected musical scores to punctuate each story. It made for a richly rewarding experience. 

Ms. Lee played her clarinet with ease and grace, but her performance went far beyond her immense musical skills. She shared an inspirational story of how she’d arrived at this time and place in her life and how she’d wrestled with her love for music and roles as a clarinetist, a mother and wife. At one point she described a moment in her life when in despair, she gave up her music, but turned it into a humorous moment by flashing a photo onto the screen of her clarinet, in her home, with a lampshade over it. Ms. Lee explained that even though she wasn’t actively using it at that point in her life she did not want to let it go. Clearly, the world is richer because Ms. Lee came back to her clarinet.

Ms. Lee opened her show with an Elgar piece that is very dear to her, Salut d’Amour Bravo, (Salute to Love) She explained how the piece was written for violin, but because of her love for the work, she became the first clarinetist to record it. It was a pattern that she would repeat often, which included producing a book containing sheet music for the clarinet called “Hidden Treasures.”

Ms. Lee also regaled us with tales of her love of golf even comparing it to music, noting that each discipline required,  “practice, practice, practice…” as well as finding a good teacher, having fun and developing a good rhythm and tempo. To punctuate the story, she played Gabriel Faure’s 1893 piece, Sicilienne, which she stated gave her a sense of freedom and wonder while she played golf.

As the evening progressed, it was clear that little held back Ms. Lee. When it came to performing and her love of her instrument…anything was possible. Nothing underscored that more than her two Puccini arias “O Mio Bambino Cara” from Gianna Schicchi and “Nessun Dorma” from Turandot. I’m an opera fan, but hearing these well known arias performed as clarinet solos was a richly rewarding experience. While Sunny performed, accompanied by pianist Evan Solomon, it would have been impossible not to hear Kathleen Battle or the great Pavarotti, whose signature song was Nessun Dorma, singing these arias.  Quite riveting. 

The most moving moment of the evening was Ms Lee’s tribute to her father, who was taken from her in a most unfortunate and untimely manner. To honor his life, which included introducing her to the clarinet, as well as instructing her, Ms. Lee performed her father’s favorite song, “Danny Boy.” The soul and emotion she put into the song was a magnificent tribute. The audience was on the edge of their seats, the emotion palpable.  

I’d never experienced a classically trained musician of Seunghee Lee’s talent, combine superior musicality and riveting storytelling. A novel concept, superbly crafted.  It was an exceptional evening and if this is a portent of things to come, I await the next performance in this series, “Thoroughly New York,” with great anticipation

Photos by Mitch Traphagen