ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS’ SHOWCASE at THE CELL, TUES FEB 26, 7:30pm

Join Artists Without Walls for its February Showcase, February 26th at The Cell Theatre, 338 West 23rd St.  The evening’s presentations will feature Jamie Lee Kearns, Eliana Gonzalez, Mike DeLucia, Erin Magurie, Dan Brown and Shihori. Niamh Hyland and Charles R. Hale hosts and emcees.

The Cell is located at 338 West 23rd Street in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. The doors and bar open at 6:45 and the presentations begin at 7:30. Hope to see you there. 

 

“CLASSICALLY EXPOSED” PREVIEW at THE CELL, FRIDAY, FEB 22nd

Seunghee Lee, Clarinet “Sunny”and I have assembled an outstanding group of musicians for our 2019 series “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to The Cell.”

This Friday night, Feb 22nd, 7:30pm, you can get a sampling of four of the shows when Sunny, Empire Wild, Renato Diz, Yuri Juárez, Nicole Zuraitis and Clare Maloney will be performing at The Cell, located at 338 West 23rd St in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.

This is a free event but you must reserve a seat by emailing me at charles@crhproductions.com

emailing me at charles@crhproductions.com

Hope to see you there.

EMPIRE WILD — “CLASSICALLY EXPOSED: FROM CARNEGIE HALL to THE CELL”

Join Seunghee Lee and me this Friday night, February 22nd, 7:30pm at The Cell when you’ll hear music from four of the seven events, including Empire Wild, which will comprise “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to the Cell.”

Later in the year, October 18th, Charles R. Hale Productions and Musica Solis will present Empire Wild, which features multi-instrumentalist Brandon Ilaw and cellists Mitch Lyon and Ken Kubota. The three Juilliard graduates teamed up in 2018 up after discovering a shared interest in musical styles far afield from their classical training. Through original songwriting and imaginative covers they bring virtuosic technique to far reaching genres as well as a passion for musical exploration. Empire Wild are classical trained musicians who are changing the way we experience music in the modern digital age.

This is a free event but you must reserve a seat by contacting me at chashale1@yahoo.com

Empire Wild: Brandon Ilaw, Mitch Lyon and Ken Kubota

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

“CLASSICALLY EXPOSED: FROM CARNEGIE HALL TO THE CELL” FRIDAY, FEB 22

Please join us at the cell theatre on Friday, February 22nd, 7:30pm when clarinetist and international recording artist Seunghee Lee (Sunny) and I will be showcasing a number of fabulous artists in a preview of our upcoming 2019 concert series “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to The Cell.”( The doors and bar open at 6:45.)  

During the evening you will be able to sample the music of four of the upcoming shows and mingle with the performers after the event. This is a free event but you must reserve seats by contacting me at info@charlesrhaleproductions.com 

Tickets for each 2019 show are $20. A subscription for all seven shows is $100, which, I’m sure you’ll agree, considering the talent we’ve assembled, is a great bargain. (Ticket and subscription sales will begin shortly.) We will also be looking for people who would like to become executive producers or co-producers of the series or perhaps produce one of the shows. Our goal is simple: To present outstanding music at a great value and pay the artists commensurate with their talents. 

Program for February 22nd:

  • Grammy nominated Nicole Zuraitis and Clare Maloney will perform works from their show, “From Opera to Pop” 
  • Yuri Juarez and Renato Diz will perform works from their show, “From Classical to Jazz”
  • Empire Wild (2 cellos & percussion) will perform a sampling of cover songs, which they will be featuring in their show. (All of these artists mentioned in this post have appeared in my shows before except Empire Wild.  This phenomenal trio of Juilliard graduates teamed up in 2018 after discovering a shared interest in musical styles.  They bring their virtuosic technique to far reaching genres.)
  • Seunghee (Sunny) will perform a few works with Empire Wild, as well as music she will be playing with the Manhattan Chamber Players during her show. 

 

Reserve your seats now. I hope to see you there.

Charles R. Hale

 

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 7:15
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December 12, 2018

A GREAT FIRST YEAR: THANK YOU TO ALL THE PERFORMERS, PRODUCERS and FRIENDS

Charles R. Hale Productions’ first year has been a very rewarding one. In addition to performing my show “Jazz in the City: The New York Connection” fifteen times in a number of locations including The Cell, Lehman College, the American Irish Historical Society,  Triad and The Duplex, the series “New Yorkers: Together in Story and Song,” headlined by Niamh Hyland, Miho Hazama and JP Jofre, Harriet Stubbs, Yuri Juarez, Annette Homann, Miho Hazama and M Unit, and Luba Mason was also a great success. Each of seven shows filled The Cell theatre and consistently offered superior performances to appreciative audiences.

Thank you’s abound: Thank you to the producers: Michael Fletcher, Joseph McElligott, John Moran, Tom Myles and Lisa Sullivan. Thank you to the subscribers who purchased tickets to all the shows. Thank you to Mitch Traphagen for graphics, photos and website assistance. Thank you to Alexander Wu for his special performance with Annette Homann and research assistance. Thank you to bassist Danny Weller who appeared  in both Niamh Hyland and Annette Homann’s show. (Danny is also the bass player in “Jazz in the City: The New York Connection.) Thank you to Vera Maura for her photos and never-ending support. Thank you to The Cell, particularly Sulei, Macenzie and Brian for all you do. And thank you to all the performers and their music-making friends. 

We’re looking forward to great 2018.

MIHO HAZAMA and M UNIT at THE CELL: A CHARLES R. HALE PRODUCTION, NOV. 9, 2017

We’re thrilled to announce that the next show in our series, “New Yorkers: Together in Story and Song,” features Tokyo born composer Miho Hazama, one of New York’s most astounding young talents, at The Cell Theatre, November 9, 2017, 7:30pm. Lauded in Downbeat as one of “25 for the Future”, Miho is quickly establishing herself as a force of nature on the world’s stage. With her masterful understanding of harmony and orchestration, Miho developed her signature ensemble “m_unit”, utilizing a veritable who’s who of young innovators hailing from all over the world. It is no easy feat to assert yourself in the highly skilled and competitive jazz world. However, m_unit’s riveting performances to packed adoring audiences at venues such as the Jazz Standard, Blue Note NYC and Tokyo, Dizzy’s Club Coca-cola, and the Jazz Gallery show the world that Miho is here to stay.

Now having two full length releases on Sunnyside Records, Miho has written for and expertly showcased the abilities of guest artists such as Joshua Redman, Stefon Harris, Steve Wilson, and Gil Goldstein, to name a few. Furthermore, each album was carefully overseen by Miho’s musical mentor and jazz composition powerhouse, Jim McNeely. Upon reviewing 2012 debut recording Journey to Journey, JazzTimes describes m_unit as a “…classy large ensemble that keeps the listener guessing and enchanted…something is always lurking and ready to pounce; then skitter away again.” After the release of m_unit’s sophomore recording Time River, All About Jazz had this to say: “At a time when orchestral jazz is either ultra- polished, exceedingly high brow, or a pedestrian pandering to sentimental tastes of yore, Hazama’s boldly organic and singularly exciting collective is a breath of fresh air. Her uncanny ability to remain intellectually stimulating and vibrantly spirited is what makes her work singularly innovative.” m_unit continues to drive towards the future with a scrappy determination and aesthetic that is both beautiful and undeniably sincere.

Tickets are $20. To purchase tickets pleas click here

The Cell is located at 338 West 23rd St, NYC. The doors and the bar open at 6:45pm. The show begins at 7:30.

 

 

PIANO VIRTUSO HARRIET STUBBS at THE CELL by VINCENT NAUHEIMER

The following was written by Vincent Nauheimer:


In an ongoing effort to present multicultural artistry and international talent, Charles  R. Hale  Productions’ “New Yorkers: Together in Story and Song” featured English pianist Harriet Stubbs at the Cell Theatre last Thursday. This was the third show of a six performance series.

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Ms. Stubbs, who was recognized as a child prodigy, has a well-deserved reputation and a lengthy repertoire of both individual and collaborative works. Her solo performance at the Cell Theatre last Thursday was at once riveting, nuanced and fresh, as she soared through four warhorses of the piano repertoire.

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Ms Stubbs opened the recital with the Bach-Busoni, Chaccone in D Minor. The Chaccone is regarded as one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s violin masterpieces;  Busoni’s piano transcription has long been recognized as a splendid interpretation of Bach’s work. Ms. Stubbs played this dramatic piece with the insight it deserves,  delighting the audience with her musicality and talent, accentuated by her intensity and expressiveness.

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Ms. Stubbs followed the Chaccone with Alexander Scriabin’s Sonata No. 2, Op 19, one of Scriabin’s most popular works. Scriabin’s sonatas are known as technically difficult works and Ms Stubbs was up to the task, bringing her vast technical skills to the piece, while capturing the very distinctive “voice” of Scriabin’s music.

Ms Stubbs final work of the first section of the program was Frederic Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2, which composer Robert Schumann compared to a Byronic poem, “so overflowing with tenderness, boldness, love and contempt.”  Ms. Stubbs successfully articulated the full range of Byron’s emotions.

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After a short intermission, Ms Stubbs performed the Dante Sonata/Fantasia Quasi Sonata by Franz Liszt. During the piece, commonly believed to be based on Dante’s Inferno, Ms. Stubbs took the audience on a musical journey, deftly navigating the works emotional highs and lows, which served to highlight her prolific talent. The rousing work induced a well deserved standing ovation from the audience.

Photos by Tom Myles and Mitch Traphagen

 

NEW YORKERS TOGETHER in STORY and SONG: NIAMH HYLAND and BAND RAISE the ROOF at THE CELL

The first Charles R. Hale Productions performance of six shows for the 2017 Spring / Summer season “New Yorkers: Together in Story and Song” was an unqualified success with a sold-out house and an emotional, impassioned performance by Niamh Hyland and her band, featuring Ado Coker, Ron Negro, Traci Robinson-Greene, Danny Weller, Sybil Scoby and Shu Nakamura.

A glimpse of a remarkable, memorable evening at the cell. Photos by Mitch Traphagen

Niamh Hyland

Nick Garr welcomes the audience and introduces the band.

Niamh Hyland

Shu Nakamura

Shu Nakamura

Ron Negro

Ron Negro

Ado Coker

Ado Coker

Danny Weller

Danny Weller and Niamh Hyland

Traci Robinson-Greene and Sybil Scoby

Traci Robinson-Greene and Sybil Scoby

Niamh Hyland

Niamh Hyland

Closing the show on an amazing up note.

The performers at Niamh Hyland’s show at The Cell. From left: Ado Coker, Ron Negro, Traci Robinson-Greene, Danny Weller, Niamh, Sybil Scoby and Shu Nakamura.