Moab Music Festival Announces 11th Season
August 30-September 13, 2003

With a decade of fantastic music, beautiful scenery and magical memories behind it, the Moab Music Festival now looks forward to the 11th season, August 30-September 13, 2003 as it announces an exciting line-up of brilliant musical works and performers.

The 2003 concert series will begin Labor Day weekend with Opening Night, Saturday, August 30th, 7:00 p.m. at the Grand County High School Auditorium. The program will include Songs by Schubert, Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat Major and Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet, with artists Michael Barrett and John Musto piano; Jennifer Frautschi and Juliette Kang, violin; Tom Kraines and Tanya Tomkins, cello; Eric Thomas, clarinet; Leslie Tomkins, viola; and William Sharp, baritone.

An emphasis on French music will be presented at 7:00 p.m. in Star Hall, August 31st with “Souvenir de France”, a program featuring French works from the first half of the 20th century, including Darius Milhaud’s Dada Latin masterpiece Le Boeuf Sur Le Toit. This program will also feature New York City Opera star, soprano Amy Burton in highlights from her recent New York show based on the life and music of chanteuse Yvonne Printemps. Others featured artists include Michael Boriskin, piano; Tim Day, flute and Jennifer Frautschi and Juliette Kang, violin.

The Utah Power Family Picnic Concert will close the first weekend of the Festival with the first outdoor concert of the season on Labor Day, Monday, September 1st at 2:00 p.m. What better way to celebrate the end of summer than by bringing the entire family to hear terrific music at this free concert in Old City Park. The program will feature popular American songs by Gershwin, Blitzstein, Bernstein, Rodgers, and others, including Scott Joplin’s Piano Rags, by Festival artists, Michael Boriskin and John Musto, piano; Amy Burton, soprano; William Sharp, baritone and Eric Thomas, director, as well as musicians from the Festival’s Education Outreach Program and the University of Utah’s Jazz Band.

“What Makes It American?” will be presented on Wednesday, September 3rd, 7:00 p.m. at Star Hall. This program will investigate how American composers have embraced or rejected European models and tastes, with a unique look at American composers from the east and west coasts, extolling European ideals and esthetics vs. composers known for their quintessential American voice. Composers Virgil Thomson, Samuel Barber, Charles Griffes, Ned Rorem, H.T. Burleigh, John Cage, and Marc Blitzstein will make a solid basis for discussion, as well as two new works: John Musto’s Divertimento, and Eric Zivian’s Three Character Pieces for cello and piano. John and Eric will be on hand to discuss their works and to field questions. Other featured artists include Michael Barrett, Michael Boriskin and Eric Zivian, piano; James Baker, percussion; Tim Day, flute; William Sharp, baritone; Eric Thomas, clarinet and Tanya Tomkins, cello.

The first “Colorado River Benefit Concert” of the season will take place in the grotto on Thursday, September 4th, featuring works by the greatest of Baroque masters, J.S. Bach, and his composing sons C.P.E. Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and Johann Christian Bach. This performance will include works for solo violin, Concert Arias for baritone, and music for keyboard in the acoustically superb red rock setting 30 miles down river from Moab on the Colorado River. Artists include Michael Barrett and John Musto, piano; Juliette Kang, violin; William Sharp, baritone; Leslie Tomkins, viola and Tanya Tomkins, cello.

Friday, September 5, 6:00 p.m. at the Festival Tent at Onion Creek will be an exciting night of “MMF Virtuosos”. The program will include a showcase of virtuoso solo pieces by the gifted musicians of the Moab Music Festival including Michael Barrett, Michael Boriskin and Eric Zivian, piano; Tim Day, flute; Juliette Kang, violin, Eric Thomas, clarinet; Leslie Tomkins, viola and Tanya Tomkins, cello. Enjoy the music and clear desert air from a seat inside the tent or out under the stars at this popular outdoor concert site, 20 miles upriver from Moab.

Veteran radio personality Gene Pack will cover a lot of music history when he narrates “Author, Author!” on Saturday, September 6th, 6:00 p.m. in the Festival Tent at Onion Creek. Gene will read from the written work of composers who also made significant contributions to the art of prose. Composer/writers will include Claude Debussy, Robert Schumann, Ned Rorem, Leonard Bernstein, Paul Bowles, Virgil Thomson, Aaron Copland and Henry Cowell. There will be a lot of musical examples by the same composers with nearly all Festival musicians taking part, including Michael Barrett and Michael Boriskin, piano; Kurt Ollmann, baritone; Gene Pack, narrator and Eric Thomas, clarinet.

Paul Hersh will mix up his annual “Piano Talk” on Tuesday, September 9th, 7:00 p.m. at Star Hall by leading the audience through a violin and piano work, the great Schubert Fantasie. While it’s true that Paul makes a habit of regularly practicing the violin, he really can’t be expected to play two instruments simultaneously. He will be joined by his San Francisco Conservatory of Music faculty colleague and Naumberg Competition laureate Axel Strauss on violin.

Paul Woodiel will pick up on the French theme with “From the French Court to the Cajun Kitchen”- tracing the trans-Atlantic journey of early formal French dances from the court of Louis XIV to the New World of Canada, and down to Louisiana on Wednesday, September 10, 6:00 p.m., upriver from Moab at an outdoor concert at Sorrel River Ranch Resort on the banks of the Colorado River. Paul’s hilarious repartee and fiddle mastery will be joined by piper Chris Layer and accordionist Jeremy McLean. Other features artists include Emily and Julia Bruskin from The Claremont Trio on violin and cello; Kurt Ollmann, baritone and Leslie Tomkins, viola.

The second “Colorado River Benefit Concert” of the season will take place on Thursday, September 11th at the grotto and will include an amazing display of talent with the young Claremont Trio (Emily Bruskin, violin; Julia Bruskin, cello and Donna Kwong, piano) returning for the Brahms Piano Quartet in c minor with Leslie Tomkins on viola. Pianist Michael Barrett and baritone Kurt Ollmann will present Schumann’s Dichterliebe (A Poets Love). Other stellar performers on the program will be Paul Hersh on piano, with violinists Tim Fain and Axel Strauss and cellist Tanya Tomkins performing Dvorák’s Piano Quartet E-flat Major.

On Friday, September 12th, 6:00 p.m., the Festival will return to one of its newest venues, Red Cliffs Lodge, on the banks of the Colorado for “Dvorák and American Music”, with works by Dvorák, Smetena, Rorem, and newcomer Mason Bates. Featured artists include Michael Barrett, piano; The Claremont Trio (Emily Bruskin, violin; Julia Bruskin, cello and Donna Kwong, piano); Timothy Fain and Axel Strauss, violin; Paul Hersh and Leslie Tomkins, viola; and Kurt Ollmann, baritone.

Saturday, September 13th, 7:00 p.m. will top off the concert mix with what is sure to be one of the highlights of the season, “Paquito D’Rivera and Friends”. This season’s Composer-in-Residence and multi-Grammy Award winner Paquito D’Rivera will return to play clarinet with his Trio (Mark Summer, cello and Alon Yavnai, piano) joined by soprano Brenda Feliciano, Rolando Morales, percussion and Nestor Torres, flute. This will be a program of new offerings by Paquito with Cuban and South American works. D’Rivera and company dazzled the audience last season when they played the fastest Night in Tunisia on record to beat an oncoming storm. This year’s concert should be interruption- free indoors at the Grand County High School Auditorium.

Festival to present June Concerts

The Moab Music Festival is pleased to announce it will present two concerts this spring on Monday, June 9th and Tuesday, the 10th in two different locations. The program will be the same at each venue and the Festival’s world-class artists will play a mix of classical and folk music. Performers slated to appear are Michael Barrett, piano; Eric Thomas, clarinet; Christopher Layer, bagpipes and flutes; Leslie Tomkins, viola; Paul Woodiel, fiddle and Festival newcomer Mark Stewart, cello and guitar. The concert on June 9th will be held in Star Hall in Moab at 7:00 pm. Tickets for this concert are a mere $10, so come one, come all to this pre-Festival treat. We’re hoping for a sell-out! You can get tickets and more information through the Moab Music Festival box office at 435-259-7003.

June 10th will take us to an entirely new venue near Grand Junction, Colorado - the Grande River Vineyards where we will be presented as part of their annual summer series. This outdoor concert will begin at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door and are available through the vineyards. For more information about the concert at Grande River Vineyards call 1-800-CO-GROWN – that’s 1-800-264-7696.