- By Mabel Pais
“Musica Viva NY: sounds of the city…with a commitment to new music and diverse composers, New York City choir Musica Viva NY is paving the way for daring collaborations” – Choir & Organ
“When Esmail sang, the inmates spontaneously joined the orchestra, clapping along, and they shot up out of their seats to cheer her encore.” – Los Angeles Times
New York City’s leading chamber choir, MUSICA VIVA NY rings in the holiday season with ‘THIS LOVE BETWEEN US’, a one-night only concert capturing the awe and magnificence of our humanity on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at 5:00 p.m., at Manhattan’s All Souls NYC.
Led by the choir’s intrepid Artistic Director/Conductor ALEJANDRO HERNANDEZ-VALDEZ, Musica Viva NY will be joined by a baroque orchestra, sitar and tabla players, and guest vocalists. REENA ESMAIL’s beautiful ‘This Love Between Us: Prayers for Unity’ and BACH’s brilliant ‘Magnificat’ written for Christmas Day make an interesting pairing, juxtaposing the familiar and the unfamiliar, the past and the present, and a young Indian-American composer and a venerated German master.
Celebrating a decade at the helm, Alejandro curates a program of works that are personally meaningful to him while showcasing the diversity that has been a hallmark of Musica Viva NY for the past 10 years. “Pairing Bach with a modern-day female composer of color is Musica Viva NY’s way of making classical music as relevant as possible,” explains Alejandro. “We hope to create a space in which audience members can find themselves reflected in the music they hear.”
PROGRAM
Sunday, December 8, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. (pre-concert talk at 4:00 p.m.)
All Souls NYC, 1157 Lexington Avenue, New York City, Subways: 6 to 77th St or 4/5/6 to 86th St
This Love Between Us: Prayers for Unity (2016) by Reena Esmail
Magnificat BWV 243 (1723) by J.S. Bach
Performers:
Musica Viva NY choir
Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, artistic director and conductor
Guest vocalists – To Be Announced
Sitar and Tabla – To Be Announced
Baroque orchestra
TICKETS
For updates and more information, visit MusicaViva.org
Tickets are available from MusicaViva.org. Students with valid ID get discounts.
REENA ESMAIL – Composer + Vocalist
Indian-American composer Reena Esmail (b. 1983) is known for fusing elements of both Hindustani and classical Western music into sweeping, passionate compositions. Drawing on her South Asian roots, Esmail — who has worked with the Kronos Quartet, Albany Symphony, and Chicago Sinfonietta, among others — creates choral and symphonic pieces that have been hailed as compelling, exhilarating, memorable, and altogether original.
Esmail expounds in her program notes: “Even more than uniting musical practices, this piece unites people from two different musical traditions: a sitar and tabla join the choir and baroque orchestra. Each of the musicians is asked to keep one hand firmly rooted in their own tradition and training, while reaching the other hand outward to greet another musical culture.” Learn more at reenaesmail.com.
J.S. BACH
Through the course of almost half a century, J.S. Bach wrote sacred music for virtually every kind of occasion his faith called for. And among the hundreds of cantatas, the Passions, the masses, and the oratorios, ‘Magnificat’ was Bach’s most elaborate sacred work to date. The ‘Magnificat’ is the first large choral work that Bach composed after his appointment in Leipzig in the spring of 1723. The text comes from the “Song of Mary,” a rich statement of purpose and faith from the Gospel of Luke, and is about the visit made by Mary to her cousin Elisabeth, who was also pregnant. It was first performed on Christmas Day 1723. Musica Viva NY performs Bach’s revised version from 1733 featuring transverse flutes and two oboes.
Musica Viva NY
Learn more at musicaviva.org
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NEW YORK’S BREAKDANCER AND HIP HOP PIONEER KURTIS BLOW HOSTS NJPAC’S HIP HOP NUTCRACKER
- By Mabel Pais
‘The Hip Hop Nutcracker’, Tchaikovsky’s 130-year-old ballet reimagined as a holiday dance spectacle, will take place on Sunday, December 8 for two spectacular performances at 2PM and 7:00PM celebrating the show’s 12th season. Adding to the excitement – inspired by the live stage show, the Original Special ‘The Hip Hop Nutcracker’ from Disney Branded Television will stream this holiday season, only on Disney+.
Breakdancing made its official debut at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and that’s how New York’s KURTIS BLOW started his career.
Watch Kurtis Blow speak on breakdancing and the Olympics – youtu.be/eoN_acSWeLA
‘The Hip Hop Nutcracker’ features breakdancer and hip hop pioneer KURTIS BLOW, the first rapper to be signed by a major label in 1979. Blow is considered one of hip hop’s founding fathers and will perform as the MC of ‘The Hip Hop Nutcracker’. The tour includes a cast of a dozen all-star dancers, an on-stage DJ and an electric violinist who turns the beloved ‘Nutcracker’ score on its head.
Watch a preview of the production here – youtu.be/toBO5yHVIhg.
HISTORY
Created in 2013 by director/choreographer Jennifer Weber and writer Mike Fitelson, ‘The Hip Hop Nutcracker’ pays homage to the original (George) Balanchine ballet, retold through the modern, self-expressive gaze of hip-hop culture. The production has evolved into a masterpiece due to the creators’ never-ending commitment to enhancing the production, and dancers who continue to raise the bar each year. To date, ‘The Hip Hop Nutcracker’ has been performed more than 200 times in 70 cities. “I love performing at NJPAC each year and creating lifelong memories for our audiences,” says Kurtis Walker, known professionally as Kurtis Blow.
It’s a big accomplishment for Blow as well; who on December 6, 2020, had a heart transplant that has given him a new life. He paved the way for generations of hip hop artists and fans after scoring the first certified gold record rap song in 1980, ‘The Breaks’. Blow is also responsible for ‘Christmas Rappin’, acclaimed for being the first rap holiday song.
STORY
Just like the classic Nutcracker story, in ‘The Hip Hop Nutcracker’ Maria-Clara and the Nutcracker Prince go on a dream adventure battling a gang of mice, visiting the land of sweets and learning the lessons of the holiday season. Innovative digital graffiti and visuals transform the landscape of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s beloved story from traditional 19th century Germany to the vibrant, diverse sights and sounds of contemporary New York City. Through the modern, self-expressive gaze of hip hop culture, the dynamic performers of ‘The Hip Hop Nutcracker’ celebrate the magic of the entire holiday season on the most inclusive holiday of them all – New Year’s Eve, a time for new beginnings.
Learn more at hiphopnutcracker.com
TICKETS
For tickets to see Hip Hop Nutcracker visit NJPAC.org or the NJPAC Box Office at 1 Center Street in Newark, N.J or call 888.GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722).
THE HIP HOP NUTCRACKER
For the latest news and updates follow The Hip Hop Nutcracker on Facebook, Instagram (@hiphopnutcracker), and YouTube; #HipHopNutcracker.
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)
Learn more at NJPAC.org
(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Spirituality, Cuisine, Health & Wellness, Business, and Education)