Ambroise Thomas is best known for his opera Mignon ("Cutie"), a huge hit in 1866.
Stravinsky rates his own square, near the Pompidou Centre. His 1913 ballet Le Sacre du Printemps shocked a Paris audience.
Overshadowed by his 16th-century ancestor, Marc-Antione, Gustave Charpentier's music survives only in the aria "Depuis le jour" from his 1900 opera Louise.
The French know how to treat their musicians - here are some streets I encountered named after composers.
Adolphe Adam was a mid-19th-century composer who wrote ballets (Giselle) but is most famous for his Christmas song O Holy Night.
Since my last web update, I've been somewhat busy, musically!
This past fall, my music was the prize winning entry in the first annual Reformation Composition Competition. The work, an arrangment of the chorale tune "A Mighty Fortess is our God," is entited Choral Fantasia on 'Ein Fest Burg' and scored for brass quintet (2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba), handbell ensemble, SATB choir, and organ.
On Reformation Sunday (October 26, 2003), my new composition was premiered at Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation, on Chestnut St. in Rochester, N.Y. at the 11 a.m. service.
Reformation Church music director Rico Contenti conducted the premiere with church members and Eastman School students making up the choir, brass ensemble, and handbell ensemble. Eric Dombrowski was the organist .
Once again I was pleased to help organize, create the printed program, and host the annual Sibley Library Musicale in which staff members get to show off their musical talent. I went through my own archives and brought out some music that hadn't been heard since 1987! Including the short fanfare for three trombones: Prelude that was supposed to have been played in chapel when the organ was broken, but wasn't 'cause it got fixed.
I also performed some short compositions at the piano - some more music from my Houghton days: Les Accords Frais (Cool Chords) and the three movement Children's Songs.
