“GREAT DUETS: MUSIC, HISTORY and STORY” at LEHMAN COLLEGE

DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, ALL SHOWS HAVE BEEN CANCELED. WE HOPE TO PRESENT THEM AT SOME FUTURE DATE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT. 

 Thrilled to be presenting my new series, “Great Duets: Music, History and Story,” at Lehman College this Spring.  These are free events sponsored by the City and Humanities Program and Professor Joseph McElligott

Here’s the lineup:

Feb 13:         Pianist/vocalist Nicole Zuraitis and songwriter/vocalist Clare Maloney present “From Opera to Pop and Jazz,” 12:30pm at Lehman College, Lovinger Theatre, 250 Bedford Park Blvd, Bronx, NY.

March 26:   Violinist Jiin Yang, pianist Wayne Weng and narrator Charles R. Hale present “Connecting the Masters” at Lehman College. 12:30pm, Lehman College, Lovinger Theatre, 250 Park Blvd, Bronx, NY.

April 16:      Pianist Baron Fenwick, tenor Robert Anthony Mack, in “Performance and Discussion” with narrator Charles R. Hale at Lehman College. 12:30pm, Lehman College, Lovinger Theatre, 250 Park Blvd, Bronx, NY.

April 30:     Guitarist Yuri Juarez and pianist Renato Diz present “From Classical to Jazz.” 12:30pm at Lehman College, Lovinger Theatre, 250 Bedford Park Blvd, Bronx, NY.     

 

THANK YOU to “CLASSICALLY EXPOSED’S” EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

A special note of gratitude to the generous Executive Producers who have made “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to The Cell” possible. Thank you Tom Myles, Gail and Joseph McElligott, John Moran, Michael Fletcher, Chris Grygon, Seunghee Lee, Clarinet/Sunny Kang, and David S. Goldman.

Featuring the Verona Quartet, Manhattan Chamber Players, Renato Diz, Yuri Juárez, Clare Maloney, Nicole Zuraitis, Jiin Yang, Wayne Weng, JP Jofre, and Empire Wild  

Next Show: From Opera to Pop to Jazz, June 28, 7:30pm at The Cell featuring Grammy nominated Nicole Zuraitis and Clare Maloney. For tickets and information CLICK HERE

‘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

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 

OPENING NIGHT: “CLASSICALLY EXPOSED: FROM CARNEGIE HALL TO THE CELL”

Thank for this wonderful review and write up by Vincent Nauheimer:

“Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to the Cell”

Last night, 23rdStreet in the Chelsea section of Manhattan was filled with magical sounds emanating from the Cell Theater…a preview of Charles R. Hale Productions and Musica Solis’ “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to the Cell.”  If last night was a glimpse of what is to come in this seven-event series, which will explore classical music and its relation to pop, jazz, and other musical genre, one word comes to mind for the rest of the season: Anticipation.  

Nicole Zuraitis, Mitch Lyon, Seunghee Lee, Brandon Ilaw, Clare Maloney and Ken Kubota

Charles R. Hale and Seunghee Lee (Sunny) have a common interest, which was clearly established last evening: They both seek to promote young and upcoming musical artists. Their unique ability to both find and attract superb talent was clearly demonstrated in this preview of their 2019 series.  

CLICK HERE FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS AND TICKETS FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL EVENT.  

Charles R. Hale

Renato Diz/piano and Yuri Juarez/guitar performed the evening’s opening set. Renato, who has performed throughout the world and who be can be heard on over twenty albums and Yuri, who has recorded a number of albums, and has received the  Latin Jazz Corner Award for album of the year, “Afroperuano” were sensational. Watching the finger work of these two enormously talented musicians was special. Their performance included “Concierto de Aranjuez” by Joaquin Rodrigo and “Libertango” by Astor Piazzolla, which they arranged with improvisational references to jazz and other musical genres. Brilliant.

Renato Diz and Yuri Juarez

Sunny, a renowned international solo clarinetist and recording artist, led the trio Empire Wild in  “Another Day of Sun” from the movie LaLa Land. The superb performance highlighted the fact that what would normally be considered a classical ensemble—two cellos, a clarinet and piano—is equally at home performing pop tunes. Empire Wild, which consists of cellists Mitch Lyon and Ken Kubota and the multi-instrumentalist Brandon Ilaw captivated the audience with their virtuosity. Ken played his cello in ways that would have made Casals proud. He played it across his lap like a guitar, plucked the strings and played it with a bow. Mitch Lyon has an affinity for folk music and arranged a beautiful piece with Brandon and Ken’s accompaniment. The versatile Brandon sang a number of tunes, played the piano, cajon, and kept time with a band of bells around his ankle. The three Julliard graduates performed brilliantly and have bright futures. 

Brandon Ilaw, Mitch Lyon and Ken Kubota

Capping off a mesmerizing evening with a grand performance were Clare Maloney and Nicole Zuraitis, who will, from my point of view, be forever known as the “Cell Sopranos.” Both Clare and Nicole were classically trained and have branched out to become versatile performers. Nicole, nominated for a Grammy in 2019, is a singer songwriter and Clare has been hailed by audiences around the world for her magnificent voice and range. Clare led off with the flirtatious “Musetta’s Waltz” (Quando m’en vo) from Puccini’s La Boheme.  Each lady in turn sang a popular song with its roots in opera and then Nicole did a solo rendition of “O Solo Mio.” The evening ended with a stirring performance of the “Flower Duet” from Delibe’s opera Lakme. Dame Joan Sutherland would have enjoyed listening to these two women sing.

Clare Maloney and Nicole Zuraitis

It was a beautiful evening of musical entertainment made more memorable by the interactions of the artists with the audience. The “cell” is a cozy intimate theatre, where there is little space between the artist and the audience  Does that work? It certainly does. The audience came to their feet several times during the performances. In addition, spontaneous applause broke out in the middle of a number of the instrumental solos. 

Anticipation for the future shows in this series was palpable and I, and I’m sure the entire audience, anxiously await the next performance.  Thank you to Charles, Sunny Lee and all of lasts night’s performers for a memorable evening.  

CLICK HERE FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS AND TICKETS FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL EVENT.  

All photos by Vera Maura. 

“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.

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 AT LEHMAN COLLEGE THIS FALL

Charles R. Hale Productions is excited to announce this season’s series of shows at Lehman College, which are produced in collaboration with the City and Humanities Program and Professor Joseph McElligott:

Sept 6: Storytelling in a Digital World/Charles R. Hale
Sept 13: Women Who Have Overcome/Theresa Sareo
October 11: Yuri Juárez and the Afroperuano Group
October 25: Generations of Her/ Nicole Zuraitis
Nov 15: From Beyonce to Bach/Jiin Yang & Wayne Weng
Nov 29: Jazz in the City/Charles R. Hale and the David J RaleighQuartet

All performances, which will be in Lovinger Theatre or the Studio Theatre, begin at 12:30pm.

Montage by Mitch Traphagen

CHARLES R. HALE PRESENTS: A MUSICAL HISTORY OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE

Clockwise from upper left, Yuri Juarez, Mala Waldron, Ashley Bell, Charles R.Hale, David S. Goldman, Clare Maloney, and Alicia Svigals

Charles R. Hale has developed a reputation as a storyteller who blends imagery and performance art to create uniquely New York experiences. His show, “Jazz and the City” was a sold out success at the American Irish Historical Society last fall and he’s returning with another show, “A Musical History of the Lower East Side.”  

This special concert will present songs reflecting the historically rich ethnicity of the New York City’s Lower East Side. You’ll hear an all-star cast perform Irish laments, Yiddish and Ladino music, operatic and Neopolitan songs, German lied, jazz and blues, all representative of the ethnic groups who have passed through the Lower East Side. The show will also include images and historical narration provided by Charles.

“A Musical History of the Lower East Side” premiered at Rockwood Music Hall in 2015 to a standing-room-only crowd and has been performed at Lehman College and BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center.

The performers include Charles R. Hale, (Narrator, Writer); Ashley Bell, (Opera Singer); David S. Goldman, (Vocalist, Guitarist, Music Director); Clare Maloney, (Vocalist); Yuri Juarez, (Guitarist, Composer) Alicia Svigals, (Violinist) and Mala Waldron, (Vocalist, Pianist).

The show takes place on June 12, 2018. Showtime is 7:00pm and will be followed by a wine reception. The American Irish Historical Society is located at 991 Fifth Avenue (Between 80th and 81st) For tix and additional information CLICK HERE