Note from the Music Director

In this 41st season, Boston Musica Viva will make its ninth trip to Europe to present three concerts of American music at the brand new Kings Place concert hall in London.  The object of our series at Kings Place is to introduce London audiences to American composers that are well established in the U.S. but are not among the handful of American composers frequently played in London.  We will present an overview of what’s new in music in the U.S. through the prism of BMV’s commissioned works by Americans.

The first three concerts of our Boston series will include many of the works that we’ll take to London by composers long associated with BMV and some fresh faces as well.  We will present world premieres by our dear friend Richard Cornell and relative newcomers to BMV, David Rakowski and Rand Steiger. Mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal will travel with us to London and will be the featured vocalist for three of our Boston performances.

These first three concerts showcase the variety of compositional styles of today’s finest composers.  Our final project is the second fully staged chamber opera written for BMV by Shirish Korde.  Phoolan Devi: The Bandit Queen tells the story of the woman who robbed the rich to help the poor, was elected to the Indian Parliament, and was later murdered.  There will be two singers as the main protagonists, and a tabla player will join the BMV ensemble to enable Shirish to more fully draw upon his Indian heritage.

As always, the composers and I will give brief verbal program notes to help you more fully enjoy the music.  Highlights from one work on each program will be demonstrated in advance to deepen your understanding of the composer’s intent.  In our post concert receptions, you’ll have an opportunity to meet the composers and our wonderful musicians.  Please join us as a subscriber to share the adventure of what’s new in music.

-Richard Pittman