Press Releases
Renowned Pianist Votapek Returns to PMMF
Friday, July 2, 2010
Contact: Peter Van Pelt
Pine Mountain Music Festival
906-482-1542
Date: July 1, 2010
Renowned Pianist Votapek Returns to PMMF
Ralph Votapek, world-famous pianist and the first winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, returns to Pine Mountain Music Festival this season for two concerts. He will appear in Marquette on July 11 and in Houghton on July 14.
Mr. Votapek has appeared with Pine Mountain Music Festival several times in the past. He has made hundreds of appearances with major orchestras in America and abroad, with a particular commitment to Latin America, where he has toured every other year for over 40 years. He has appeared with such legendary conductors as Rafael Kubelik, Joseph Krips and Erich Leinsdorf. He is a favorite in Chicago, where he has been guest soloist sixteen times with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. A native of Milwaukee, he is Professor Emeritus of Piano at the Michigan State University College of Music.
Mr. Votapek will appear July 14 at Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and July 11 at Reynolds Recital Hall in Marquette, both concerts at 7:30 pm. He will play works by Scarlatti, Schubert, Chopin, Albéniz and Kapustin. Tickets are $20, or $10 for students and children and are available at the Rozsa Center Box Office (call 1-877-746-3999) and at the door.
The Ralph Votapek Piano Recital is sponsored by Isle Royale Line, Inc., which operates Isle Royale Queen IV out of Copper Harbor.
Pine Mountain Music Festival presents a season of opera, classical and popular music each June-July in the Dickinson County area, the Marquette area, the Keweenaw Peninsula, and other towns in the Upper Peninsula. Headquartered in Hancock, Michigan, it is supported by donations, ticket sales and grants. Visit the web at http://www.pmmf.org or call 888-309-7861 for more information, or call 1-877-746-3999 for tickets.
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Chamber Music Ensembles - Variations on a Theme
Friday, July 2, 2010
Photos: Duo Piacevole with Fangye Sun and Daniel Tressel; Belden Piano Quartet (top left to right) with Clifton Antoine, Hannah Yi, Maria Crosby, and Matthew Detrick (in front)
Contact: Peter Van Pelt
Pine Mountain Music Festival
906-482-1542
Date: June 29, 2010
Chamber Music Ensembles – Variations on a Theme
Hancock – Pine Mountain Music Festival will present a special evening of chamber music in seven Upper Peninsula towns in the coming days. The Festival is hosting two chamber music ensembles; the Belden Piano Quartet, and the violin-cello Duo Piacevole.
The two ensembles will share the stage for this concert, giving audiences a rare treat of a varied program of chamber music in all its purity, clarity and passion. The program will be announced at the performance, with selections from composers such as Brahms, Kadaly, Mahler, Gliere, Turina, Handel and Faure.
For Ontonagon audiences, the performance will be on June 30 at Ontonagon Theatre of Performing Arts. Other concerts by these ensembles will be given in Ironwood, Escanaba, Munising, Marquette, Iron Mountain and Houghton. All performances are at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $12, or $10 for students and children.
The Belden Piano Quartet is composed of Matthew Detrick, violin; Clifton Antoine, viola; Maria Crosby, cello; and Hannah Sue Yi, piano. The group is now based in Los Angeles, but got its start in Chicago when three of its members were studying at De Paul University School of Music on Belden Avenue, from which the quartet derives its name. Their aim is to provide high-quality musical experiences in a freer and more spontaneous setting than is usually available to the classical musician of today.
Duo Piacevole consists of Fangye Sun on the violin and Daniel Tressel on the cello. They formed their duo in 2008 when they met at Michigan State University, where they are currently Doctoral candidates. Fangye Sun is a teacher and a prizewinner at numerous competitions, and has performed in China, Japan, Canada and the USA. Daniel Tressel performs in numerous orchestras and is also a composer.
The Resident Chamber Musicians concert is sponsored by Upper Peninsula Power Company.
Pine Mountain Music Festival presents a season of opera, classical and popular music each June-July in the Dickinson County area, the Marquette area, the Keweenaw Peninsula, and other towns in the Upper Peninsula. Headquartered in Hancock, Michigan, it is supported by donations, ticket sales and grants. Visit the web at http://www.pmmf.org or call 888-309-7861 for more information, or call 1-877-746-3999 for tickets.
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Festival Presents Music in a Different Vein—Tango!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Photo: Frank Almond and Stas Venglevski
Contact: Peter Van Pelt
Pine Mountain Music Festival
906-482-1542
Date: June 21, 2010
Festival Presents Music in a Different Vein – Tango!
Pine Mountain Music Festival, with its long history of interesting and varied programming, has outdone itself this year, which is its 20th season. It will present an evening of tango music, with emphasis on the great Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla.
This unusual and vibrant event will be presented July 6 at Reynolds Recital Hall in Marquette, July 7 at Calumet Theatre in Calumet, and July 9 at Crystal Theatre in Crystal Falls. Tickets are $20, or $10 for students and children. The concerts start at 7:30 pm local time. They are sponsored by Klungness Family Foundation.
The musicians are Stas Venglevski and his quartet. Last summer, PMMF audiences made the acquaintance of Stas Venglevski who appeared with Misha Litvin in a bayan-and-mandolin concert, and they were captivated both by the music and by Stas’s personality as a host. This year, Stas is returning with his wife on the cello plus a violinist and a pianist.
This energetic and passionate concert will delight audiences both for its lively content and for the quality of the musicians. The violinist, for example, is Frank Almond who is concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and has served as concertmaster at the Rotterdam Philharmonic under Valery Gergiev.
Tango music has long been strongly identified with Argentina, and especially with the composer Astor Piazzolla. Moving back and forth between Argentina, France and the United States during the second half of the twentieth century, he developed a new tango that influenced many other composers and was featured in film scores, television programs and commercials. Tango music is also prominent in Finland, where local composers have developed their own style.
Stas Venglevski will conduct an accordion workshop on July 8, 6:30 pm, in Houghton, cost $30. Call 906-482-1542 for information or to register.
Pine Mountain Music Festival presents a season of opera, classical and popular music each June-July in the Dickinson County area, the Marquette area, the Keweenaw Peninsula, and other towns in the Upper Peninsula. Headquartered in Hancock, Michigan, it is supported by donations, ticket sales and grants. Visit the web at http://www.pmmf.org or call 888-309-7861 for more information, or call 1-877-746-3999 for tickets.
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