The Arts at Harvard Radio Special

So over ArtsFirst weekend, a few of us over at WHRB put together an Arts at Harvard orgy - four hours of honoring the different artistic endeavors that Harvard students undertake and the various sources of artistic revelry on campus. We featured a variety of things, ranging from poetry readings to performances by campus music groups, an interview with John Lithgow (the founding father of ArtsFirst), and much more. Naturally, I put together the music part of it, and had a chance to talk to some of the most high-profile musicians that currently grace the Harvard campus. I edited each interview and put, as background, performances by the musicians themselves.

Nora Bartosik '08, piano

As a child, Nora began studying the piano with her mother. Since then, she's made quite a name for herself in the international circuit, and even studied piano in Vienna for a year before coming to Harvard. While at Harvard, she's won both the MSO Freshman Concerto Competition and the BachSoc Concerto Competitions.



Background music:
Grieg - Piano Concerto in A Minor, performed with the Bach Society Orchestra (Demirjian), Paine Hall, March 2007
Rachmaninoff - Moment Musical Op. 16, No. 4, from Nora's solo recital for Harvard STAGE in Sanders Theatre, April 2007

Aram Demirjian '08, conductor

Until I came to Harvard, I never met any aspiring conductors. Here, the campus almost seems to be brimming with opportunities for student conductors, although one of the hallmarks of the experience is definitely leading BachSoc. Aram's been the BachSoc conductor for the past two years, and, well, as a member of BachSoc for the past two years, I'll just say that it's been an incredible experience working with him. :-)



Background Music:
Bach - Passepied I and II, from the Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C Major, performed by the Bach Society Orchestra, Paine Hall, October 2006
Dvorak - Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, "From the New World," Mvt. I, performed by the Cleveland Orchestra (George Szell, conductor)
Ravel - IV. Rigadoun, from Le Tombeau de Couperin, performed by the Bach Society Orchestra, Paine Hall, March 2008

Bong Ihn Koh '08, cello

The Crimson once did a feature on Bong Ihn, and there was a picture of him in lab, playing the cello. This Biochemical Sciences concentrator seems to do it all - virtuoso cellist enrolled in the NEC double-degree program, active labrat engaging in stem cell research at MGH - and still have hours to practice each day. He's one of the recipients of the Louis Sudler Prize, which is given each year to a student that exemplifies "outstanding artistic talent."



Background music:
Elgar - Cello Concerto in E Minor, performed with the Bach Society Orchestra, Paine Hall, December 2006
Beethoven - Cello Sonata No. 1, Pablo Casals and Rudolf Serkin
Schumann - II. Langsam, from Five Pieces in Folk Style, Op. 102

Rachel Lee '10, violin

Rachel's one of those people who touring the world half the time playing the violin that it's a marvel how she crams all of that, plus practicing, plus getting all her work done at a place like Harvard. She's soloed with such prominent orchestras as the Chicago Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony at the Aspen Music Festival, Colorado Springs and Rochester Philharmonic. Yowza.



Background music:
Paganini - Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, performed with the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra (Johannes Fritzsch, conductor), October 2007

Elizabeth Lim '08, composer

Liz seems to have been composing all her life - and she's got the credentials to prove it, too. Her first composition, “Imagine that I’m a Ballerina,” received honors at the National Parent Teachers Association Reflections Contest in 1992. Since then, she's had her work performed by a variety of different ensembles, including the New York Youth Symphony, the East Coast New Music Ensemble, the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, and the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra. While at Harvard, she won the Hugh MacColl prize for Composition in 2006 and the Bach Society Orchestra Composition Competition in 2008. She's also the other recipient of the Louis Sudler Award.



Background music:
Mendelssohn - Rondo Cappricioso (Elizabeth Lim, piano)
Lim - Tangled Threads, performed by White Rabbit (residence ensemble of the Harvard Group for New Music)
Lim - Night Dance Ritual, performed by the Bach Society Orchestra, Paine Hall, March 2008

Noah van Niel '08, tenor

Noah's another one of those do-it-all types. A varsity football player, he was even mentioned in the New York Times for his versatility between the stage and the playing field. And on top of that, he's an English concentrator, and has been president of the Dunster House Opera Society for the past two years. Crazy, right?



Background music:
Donizetti - "Ah mes amis....Pour Mon Ame" from La Fille du Regiment

Brattle Street Chamber Players
interview featuring Liz Adams '10, viola; Aaron Kuan '09, violin; Alex Shiozaki '09, violin
Group Website

According to the members, Brattle is an identity crisis. At 13 (or 14 or 15...depending on the season) members, it attempts to strike a delicate balance between being a chamber ensemble and a string orchestra. Composed of some the finest string players on campus, the ensemble not only performs prominent works for string orchestra, but also compositions by student composers.



Background music:
Dvorak - III. Scherzo: Vivace, from Serenade for Strings, Paine Hall, March 2008

Whew. Now for the exciting news: yesterday, I met with Jack Megan, Tom Lee, and Scott Lozier from the Office of the Arts, and together, we're going to turn this into a weekly Arts at Harvard show to be broadcast on WHRB and also as a podcast for The Beat. I'm not entirely sure how we'll be doing this yet, but starting in the fall, each weekly show will feature a preview of all the arts events going on around campus that coming weekend. We'll expand beyond music - theater, dance, maybe even some art shows - and it'll be a way for Harvard student productions to publicize to a much wider audience, and meanwhile let Harvard students themselves be more aware of the radio. Most people don't really understand the extent of WHRB's outreach and output - there's about 10,000 people on our Program Guide mailing list, plus all of the people who just download our Program Guide from the internet. We're all really excited, and hopefully we'll (I'll?) be able to make this into a regular staple of the Harvard arts scene.