Search - Michele Gingras;Ron Matson :: Daniel Galay: Klassical Klezmer - Michele Gingras, clarinet

Much of Daniel Galay s output as a composer revolves around the life, language, and music of the Jews of Eastern Europe. Yiddish folklore and literature as well as klezmer music have formed the core of his music in recent years. Each of his books of klezmer music consists of 18 (for chai life) selections, and revolves around a particular theme. The titles of the pieces start with the same word in Yiddish. For his first book of original klezmer melodies the composer chose the theme of far for. Galay s klezmer varies from joyous to melancholy, and takes us on a journey to the world of Eastern European Jewry of a century ago. Unique to Galay s style is the setting for clarinet and piano, making performance of klezmer music accessible to the classical performer. Thus folk meets classical, and the composer encourages the performer to be creative and seek out new sounds in his playing. The clarinetist Michèle Gingras has become one of the premier performers of Galay s klezmer music. Her sensitive playing captures the nuances of the music and brings the beautiful tone of the clarinet to the fore. Sit back, and enjoy the concert! Michèle Gingras is Professor of Clarinet at Miami University (OH) since 1986, where she was named Crossan Hays Curry Distinguished Educator and Distinguished Scholar of the Graduate Faculty. The revised edition of her book Clarinet Secrets 52 Performance Strategies for the Advanced Clarinetist was published in 2006 by Scarecrow Press. She performed as a soloist, chamber, orchestral and klezmer musician on four continents, recorded 13 CDs, published 150 articles and reviews in various international clarinet magazines, and taught numerous master classes worldwide. Ms. Gingras is Past-Secretary of the International Clarinet Association, and an Artist Clinician for Buffet Crampon USA and Rico International. She earned a Premier Prix from the Montreal Music Conservatory and a M.M. from Northwestern University. She is sponsored by the Miami University School of Fine Arts. Ron J. Matson is a versatile musician who has shaped a career as a conductor, accompanist, organist, piano soloist and teacher. He has performed as piano accompanist across the U.S. and throughout Europe. The New York Times called him the considerate and sensitively musical piano accompanist. Mr. Matson has served many years as pianist for Cincinnati Ballet, performing much of the solo piano repertoire for that company. He is conductor of the Richmond (Virginia) Ballet and music director and conductor for the Suzanne Farrell Ballet Company at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Daniel Galay is a prolific composer whose works span many genres, including music for orchestra, theater, ballet and chamber music. Many of his works were composed to his own texts, which concern themselves with Jewish folklore. Since his first book of Klezmer Tunes with a classical touch was published in 1998, the music has been widely accepted, and selections from it have been recorded by klezmer artists in several countries. This is the first commercially released recording of the music of the entire book. Mr. Galay has been awarded many prizes and grants, among them the Sarah Gorby Prize for his many works composed to Yiddish texts. He travels frequently, performing his works as piano soloist and with various chamber ensembles, and conducting workshops on klezmer music. Daniel Galay serves as director of the Beit Frankfurt Music Conservatory in Tel Aviv. Mr. Galay was born in 1945 in Argentina and immigrated to Israel in 1965. He is a graduate of the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, and of the University of Chicago where he received his MA degree in Composition in 1979. Galay's love for the klezmer style - Jewish soul music - dates from his childhood in Argentina.