"Feeling extraordinary doesn't come from how many people are in the audience or how many audiences you face. It comes from being on stage at one time in your life and having someone take notice. Thanks, people of Piano Slam, for noticing me.
Marquise Lee
Miami Edison Middle School
Piano Slam Vol 2 was a grand event for the students and their families and friends; it was exhausting for Susan and Sarah Wang, the piano duo. Challenging for those behind the scenes and demanding for those on stage. Stretching everyone beyond the comfortable. Mostly, though, it was everything we had hoped for: a moment in time when professionals and students, old and young, male and female, musician and lover of music, organizer and performer and audience - when we all came together to share our community.
I would like to encourage you to support the Dranoff with whatever amount you feel comfortable with. It is very easy - just click on the Support Us button.
Gabriele Fiorentino
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CONTENT
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PIANO SLAM - THE EVENT....read more
POEMS - read the winning poems
PIANO SLAM - ON STAGE by Susan and Sarah
Wang....read more
TWO STEINWAY GRANDS IN SCHOOLS by Duo Antithesis ...read more
TWO PIANO CONCERTS....read more
NEWS ...read more
LISTEN - to music read e
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Started last
year, this project has become part of the Signature Series of the Adrienne Arsht
Center for the Performing Arts. This year, we obtained a
sponsorship by CA Internet Security, enabling us to include the entire Miami-Dade County public school middle and high school level via the school
system's student webportal.
Of over 2000 submissions, our jury selected the top 16 poems. Then the
behind-the-scenes geniuses, Deborah Magdalena and Jeroen Van Veen,
together with DJ Bekay, wove together music to fit the
poems in mood, beat and pacing. Susan and Sarah Wang,classical musicians, had to learn how to loop, repeat,
improvise, soar and retreat - in addition to giving gorgeous
"traditional" performances of Gershwin, Chick Corea and Ravel. In other words, to be of service to an ensemble, and to be stars, all within one moment in time.
The
winning students appeared on stage to
recite their works, as did two spoken word artists, Lela Lombardo and Summer
Hill Seven. Lela chose an ode to the line of women before her whose lives culminate in her existence; Summer's rendering of his "Othello Squircular!"had the audience sitting at the edge of their
seats.
The poems - how much of themselves those young people revealed when they
wrote them, and how much pride they had in their work! Imagine: stand in
front of a huge audience and bare yourself. One boy anxiously
waited for his turn; he went up to the mike, started haltingly, and suddenly,
deus ex machina, came a voice and a performance that could have parted
the waters in the Red Sea. He came running back absolutely stunned. He
had no idea what had just happened - he kept mumbling "I don't believe it, I don't believe it."
That is why we do this project!
The program:
Sergei Rachmaninoff from
Prelude opus 3, #2
William Bolcom* Recuerdos
Choro/Paseo/Valse
Venezolano
Maurice Ravel Rapsodie Espanol
Habanera/Feria
Chick Corea Contest for Two Pianos
George Gershwin/arr.Paul Posnak* Three Songs
Marcel Bergmann* Urban
Pulse
*denotes Dranoff commissioned works
The people on stage:
Susan and Sarah Wang - Website
Summer Hill Seven - Poemedy
Lela Lombardo
DJ Brassking - Website
The people behind the scenes:
Jeroen Van Veen - Website
Deborah Magdalena - Website
The winning poems
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| Two Steinway Grands In School
By Duo Antithesis
Being part of Dranoff's Piano Slam has been one of the most extraordinary experiences in our career.
We performed everyday, sometimes twice a day, in 11 public schools on two of the most beautiful, perfectly tuned Steinway
pianos we have ever played. Isn't that the dream of every pianist? At the same time, the reality of trying to hold the attention of middle and high school students, to 'penetrate' their hearts and minds, was a challenge that made us reach deep into our experience as performers and as teachers. Still, after the concerts, invariably students approached us saying how much
they loved
our playing. We are so looking forward
to the winning poems!
Recuerdos
was the inspiration for the poems. It was commissioned for the third Dranoff International Two Piano Competition in 1991, and continues to delight with its playful exploration of Latin dances.
The school auditoriums, where the concerts were held, amazed us. Most of them are huge and - except for the noisy air-conditioning or the occasional commercial dishwashers, audible from
the stage - would be a dream for many European art centers.
We would especially like
to thank Carol Elkins, our 'Western Mum' as we call her. Her support, help and
hospitality every time we have been in Miami since our participation in the 2003 competition has been enormous; she has now
become our family. Dr. Benson may not be in this life anymore but he will always
be in our hearts!
Dimitris Karydis and Petros Moschos were winners in the 2003 Dranoff International Two Piano Competition. They now live and teach in London.
Duo Antithesis
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Piano Slam On Stage
By Susan and Sarah Wang
When Carlene Sawyer first asked us about taking part in Piano Slam Vol 2, Sarah and I were excited about working with the kids. We had done school concerts last year and looked forward to hear the poetry they would come up with. The part about playing with a DJ utterly confused me, as I have never done that before. Despite that, we went ahead and agreed to play, because there is always a first for everything!
A couple of months before the event, we started exchanging ideas via email with Jeroen Van Veen about repertoire, trying to find selections that would fit the program. Jeroen had played in the first volume of Piano Slam, and so he had a better idea of how the project would run.
After some stressful flight delays from Berlin (due to volcanic ash), we arrived two days before the event - jetlagged, but glad to feel the warmth of Miami on our skins. At our first rehearsal with DJ BeKay, Deborah Magdalena, Summer Hill Seven and Jeroen the next afternoon, we finally got to hear how everything was supposed to come together. The repertoire and the beats still needed some sorting through, but there were some awesome moments in rehearsal where I really felt the music and the spoken word flowing together.
On the day of the event, Sarah and I were totally exhausted from rehearsals, working with kids unused to performance, and our own performance jitters. This was amplified by entering unexplored territory of hip-hop fusing with classical.
Adrenaline must have given us a push that evening: after taking a deep breath backstage, we went on for the non-stop 75-minute marathon. There were some magical moments in the performance. Despite limited rehearsal time, the kids recited with such enthusiasm and confidence, naturally finding the rhythm of their lyrics fall in sync with the phrasing of our music. The concert was a stimulating, dynamic experience for us and the kids, and judging by the enthusiastic applause, it was for the audience as well.
2008 Dranoff International Two Piano Competition Silver Medal Winners, Susan and Sarah Wang, were born and raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey. They have appeared in performances in New York, Ann Arbor, Miami, Vermont, and on both the Vermont Public Radio and New York's Classical Radio Station WQXR. Appearances with orchestra include the Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos, the Bruch Double Concerto and the Mozart Concerto in Eminor, K 365. They are currently living Germany. Website
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TWO PIANO CONCERTS
| It is our mission to broaden interest in this ensemble music form, therefore we include in this calendar not only to Dranoff artists. Of course, we focus on the careers of Dranoff winners, even if they perform as soloists.
2010United StatesJune 21, 7PM - Duo Seo & Kato Tateuchi Hall at Finn Center, Mountain View, CA Phenomene Sonore I & II by Akira Miyoshi, South American Dances by Sandra Clark "3rd International Piano Music Festival" Opening Concert June 23, 7:30PM - Duo Seo & Kato West Valley College, Saratoga, CA Carillon by Kikuko Massumoto, US Premiere A New Piece by Yoichi Sugiyama, World Premiere June 24 - DUo Seo & Kato in concert, Consul General of Japan, San Francisco official residence "3rd International Piano Music Festival" Gala Concert June 25, 7:30PM - Duo Seo & Kato West Valley College, Saratoga, CA Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion by Bela Bartok The Swan from The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens Neal Goggans and Nick Matthiesen, percussion "3rd International Piano Music Festival" Finale Concert June 26, 7:30PM -Duo Seo & Kato West Valley College, Saratoga, CA Works for piano four hands by Osamu Katsuki Grand Galop Chromatique E-Flat Major by Franz Liszt Seo and Kato were winners of the 2005 Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation.Seo & Kato website
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NEWS
One of our wonderful founding board members, Pat Clarke, was recently honored for her life of volunteering, dedicated to taking care of her home, Coral Gables. Congratulations to a beautiful and strong woman!
Miami Herald article
We would also like to congratulate
Julian Kreeger and his Friends of Chamber Music on having brought to
Miami superb chamber music for 25 years! Miami Herald article
Maxim Mogilvsky will play in the Martha Argerich festival in Switzerland, then he and his wife and partner Svetlana will go to the Mikelli Gergiev festival in Finland to open it with Mariinsky Quartet. Argerich Festival and the Mikkelin Festival
On June 20, Piano Duo Genova & Dimitrov release their new CD of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's
Concertos for Two Pianos 1 & 2
with the Munich Radio Orchestra
under the baton of Ulf Schirmer. cpo 777 463-2
Genova & Dimitrov website
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LISTEN
Maxim Mogilevsky and Svetlan Smolina's recording with the Mariinsky Orchestra.
| Stravinsky "Les Noces" - Mariinsky Orchestra and Chorus,Valery Gergiev, Mogilevsky Smolina
Listen to Marcel Bergmann's "Urban Pulse", a Dranoff Commission for the 2005 Competition, and the Chopin Sonata arranged by Saint-Saens.
Genova & Dimitrov play Bergmann
Genova & Dimitrov play Chopin
Susan and Sarah Wang play Gershwin Songs in an arrangement by Paul Posnak commissioned by the Dranoff.
George Gershwin Songs for 2 Pianos, arr. P. Posnak
Duo Trivella perform one of the Tangoes by A. Piazzola in their own arrangement.
Piazzola Tango
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Piano Slam Vol 2
Video of the concert on
May 12th, 2010 at
Adrienne Arsht Center Miami
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About The Dranoff
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The Dranoff was founded in 1987 with the mission to advance two piano music and its artists. Since then, we have contributed 11 new compositions to the literature, and have been a career stepping stone for dozens of piano duos worldwide.
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|  A Concert ShortDuo Daniele & Davide Trivella |
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