Bass-Baritone James Longmire Presents Recital in Support of Arts Access

“An extraordinary man… an extraordinary voice.”
 

James Longmire, whose distinctive bass-baritone voice has been heard in recitals, concerts, oratorio performances, classrooms, and churches throughout the Carolinas, will offer a recital in Meredith College’s Carswell Recital Hall on Wednesday, January 17, at 7:30 p.m. The program promotes the work of Arts Access, Inc., the Raleigh-based non-profit organization devoted to “making the Arts accessible to people with disabilities.” Longmire, blind from birth, will be accompanied by pianist Susan Timmons.
 
For over 30 years, Longmire’s voice has enriched our community. He was “discovered” and encouraged by Geraldine Cate, the distinguished singing teacher and conductor who launched numerous careers while serving on the faculty of St. Mary’s and on the music staff of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church. After he was graduated from St. Augustine’s College, it was Cate who spearheaded Longmire’s efforts to attend the University of South Carolina, where he received his DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts). He has also studied in Graz, Austria. Longmire taught voice and was artist in residence at Shaw University. He now teaches at Southeast Raleigh High School and maintains a private studio. He has also been mainstay of several area churches, including the Christian Science Church on Hillsborough Street. He has enjoyed solo engagements with the North Carolina Symphony, the Raleigh Oratorio Society (now the North Carolina Master Chorale), and the Raleigh Boychoir. Longmire’s January 17 recital will include representation of his extensive repertoire, ranging from oratorio to Lieder to opera to spirituals and major American music.
 
Longmire’s career speaks of his commitment to the arts over the long term, and his work has been highlighted by several substantial partnerships. For many years he and soprano Willie Jordan Williams worked as a concert duo. For the past six years, Longmire has worked with pianist and accompanist Susan Timmons, whose support has helped facilitate his performances, auditions, lessons, competitions, and recitals. Timmons appears regularly on the Fourth Friday Mix series at Ruggero Piano Company.
 
Every year, Arts Access, Inc., sponsors a live performance related uniquely to the arts and disabilities. The program is free, but donations to support the organization’s work will be gratefully accepted. That work includes providing audio description and sign language interpretation of selected performances throughout the Triangle, placement of wheelchairs in selected theatres and auditoriums, and consulting services intended to increase the ease of access to the arts for persons with disabilities. Audio description and sign language interpretation will be provided at this recital.
 
This is the program:
 
Handel: Samson: Honor in arms; Strauss: Die Nacht, Traum durch die Dammerung, & Zueignung; Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro: Non pui andrai; arr. Copland: Old American Songs: Simple gifts, Long time ago, & I bought me a cat; arr. Hall Johnson: Honor, honor; Dusty Road; & Witness; Cole Porter: I got you under my skin, & Night and Day; & Jerry Bock: Fiddler on the Roof: If I were a rich man.
 
For more information, call 919/231-0629, visit http://www.artsaccessinc.org/, or email info@artsaccessinc.org,
 
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News item compiled by John W. Lambert

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Impressions: Met Live in HD at North Hills 14
 
January 6, 2007, Raleigh, NC: The Met’s HD (high definition) production of Bellini’s opera I Puritani at North Hills 14 drew nearly a full house and provided pleasures aplenty, even if bel canto is not your operatic cup-of-tea. The images on the screen were big; the close-ups of the characters’ faces allowed the viewer almost to see pores in the skin. The gentleman sitting next to me agreed we would have preferred fewer close-ups and shifting camera angles, and more sustained views of the whole stage.
 
Of course, the sets, costumes and staging were Met-standard, superb and traditional. The singing was outstanding – brilliant throughout – and almost everyone agreed that Anna Netrebko is nearly unbelievable. Her high C’s were shimmering yet warm, a quality very few sopranos have been blessed with. Her reactions to the action and other singers were truthful and well done. In part of the Act II Mad Scene she was on her back, her head hanging over the orchestra pit – still belting out her pathos and despair.
 
A special treat was to have a camera view backstage when Netrebko came off after the Act III curtain calls, jumping up and down and clapping her hands like an excited nine-year old. Dressing room interviews conducted by Renée Fleming revealed her – as has already been well established – as a down-to-earth human being. Add to this the informative commentary of Met broadcast host Margaret Juntwait and her guest, the inimitable Beverly Sills, and you had a very special afternoon indeed. If you cared to, you could eat a huge tub of popcorn and drink a half-gallon sized cola while you enjoyed the show (something that would be frowned on at the Met itself.)
 
Four more productions are to be broadcast on the HD theater screen at Movies at North Hills 14: The First Emperor by Tan Dun (world premiere production) on January 13, a repeat of The Magic Flute on January 23, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin on February 24, Rossini’s The Barber of Seville on March 24 and Puccini’s Il Trittico on April 28. Tickets are available from the theater box office and it might be a good idea to call and get your tickets ahead of time. (Details are in our calendar.) It is very much worth the price of the ticket to take in one or more of these unique events.
 
Ken Hoover
 
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Winston-Salem Composer, Greensboro Choir in the News: Dan Locklair’s New Work to be Premiered on March 23, 2007
 
“The Board of Directors of the Virginia Chorale has commissioned composer Dan Locklair to compose “Stirring the Silence,” a choral work in honor of Music Director Robert Shoup’s 10th anniversary season as part of the Virginia Festival of American Voices, where Locklair has also been named Festival Resident Composer. Other Locklair compositions will be featured in festival concerts, and he will also participate in panel discussions and workshops.
 
“The Premiere performance of Stirring the Silence for chorus and strings will be given on Friday, March 23, at 8 p.m. at Regent University Theatre, 1000 Regent University Drive in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The performance will be conducted by Robert Shoup as part of the festival that will feature two-time Grammy award winning conductor and lifelong advocate of American music and prolific arranger of American song Robert Page, the Virginia Symphony, JoAnn Falletta, Music Director, the Virginia Symphony Chorus, and multiple choirs including the Virginia Chorale, the Virginia Children’s Chorus, the Young Singers Project and the Norfolk State University Choir. The concert, featuring the premiere of “Stirring the Silence,” is being produced by the orchestra and will be telecast live in Virginia. Funding is provided, in part by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of their American Masterpieces: Choral Music Initiative.
 
“This concert will be repeated on Sunday, March 25, at 2:30 p.m. at the Ferguson Center for the Arts Concert Hall on the campus of Christopher Newport University, 1 University Place in Newport News, Virginia.
 
“The text for “Stirring the Silence” is taken from “The Attending,” by Fred Chappell, former Poet Laureate of North Carolina. The poem can be read at http://www.ncarts.org/chappell/attending.cfm.
 
“Among the multiple components of the Virginia Festival of American Voices will be the March 17 “American Legacies” concert, produced by the Virginia Chorale at the Attucks Theater in Norfolk, Virginia. In addition to works by Locklair, the concert will feature music by composers and arrangers such as Alice Parker, William Dawson, Charles Ives and Adolphus Hailstork. The Virginia Chorale will be joined by the Bel Canto Company of Greensboro, NC, and the James River Singers of Richmond for this performance.
 
“Other festival concerts will feature the Virginia Symphony Orchestra along with guitarist Christopher Parkening and singer Jubilant Sykes.
“One of only seven such festivals in the United States in 2006-7, the Festival explores the breadth of beauty, drama, and virtuosity of American choral music. The Festival will include many of the Symphony’s series events as well as the March 17 performance hosted by the Virginia Chorale. A variety of related events will feature recognized figures in the American choral landscape. More about the Virginia Festival of American Voices online at http://www.virginiasymphony.org/explore/2007%20pages/amvoices.html [inactive 8/07] and
http://www.virginiasymphony.org/explore/2007%20pages/amperformances.html#Voices [inactive 8/07].

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“Internationally recognized American composer Dan Locklair, a native of Charlotte, NC, is Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC…. For more information about composer Dan Locklair, including a bio, list of works, discography and much more, please visit the newly redesigned http://www.locklair.com/.”
 
CVNC is indebted to Jeffrey James Arts Consulting (Farmingale, NY) for this announcement.