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As they begin their 30th Season, the GRAMMY® Award-winning choral ensemble from Austin, Texas, Conspirare, present an emotionally rich and wide-ranging program in their Delos recording: ‘House of Belonging.’

Known worldwide for expanding the boundaries of choral performance, Conspirare has teamed up with the superb Miró Quartet to present a tapestry of intriguing new works by dynamic American composers…. Kevin Puts, Derrick Skye, Alex Berko, Moira Smiley, Ross Lee Finney, Shara Nova, Michael Schachter and Margaret Bonds.

The album’s thoughtful texts explore themes about spirituality, philosophy, the natural world, and the human need for deep connection with verses by Ewen Tait, John Muir, William Stafford, Wendell Berry, Rabindranath Tagore, David Whyte, Langston Hughes, Ludwig van Beethoven, Hildegard of Bingen, Kobayashi Issa, Rūta Kuzmickas, Andrew Marvell, and Kiara Skye.

Conspirare founder and leader, Craig Hella Johnson who curated and conducted the music on House of Belonging, also commissioned many of the pieces, as well as composing the album’s opening track. We’re delighted to have Craig with us to discuss the project.

Listen to the segment

Conspirare - House of Belonging is a dynamic and timely collection of American music for voices and with instruments. Curated and conducted by Craig Hella Johnson, the album showcases the unique combination of choral virtuosity and extraordinarily beautiful human expression in works by composers and poets diverse in age, geography, and ethnicity who speak to our internal and external sense of home and belonging. Each composer, in their unique voice, offers a reflection point for listeners.

Conspirare’s nationwide roster of vocal artists Simon Barrad, Meg Dudley, Haitham Haidar, Chelsea Helm, Michael Jones, Lauren McAllister, Savannah Porter, Kathlene Ritch, and David Kurtenbach Rivera are featured as soloists on the album.

Produced by Max Horowitz - Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

As they begin their 30th Season, the GRAMMY® Award-winning choral ensemble from Austin, Texas, Conspirare, presents an emotionally rich and wide-ranging program in their new Delos recording: ‘House of Belonging.’ Known worldwide for expanding the boundaries of choral performance, Conspirare has teamed up with the superb Miró Quartet to present a tapestry of intriguing new works by dynamic American composers including: Kevin Puts, Derrick Skye, Alex Berko, Moira Smiley, Ross Lee Finney, Share-a Nova, Michael Schachter and Margaret Bonds.

Conspirare founder and leader, Craig Hella Johnson, commissioned many of the pieces on House of Belonging and composed the opening track himself. The album’s thoughtful texts explore themes about spirituality, philosophy, the natural world, and the human need for deep connection with others with verses by Ewen Tait, John Muir, William Stafford, Wendell Berry, Rabindranath Tagore, David Whyte, Langston Hughes, Ludwig van Beethoven and Hildegard of Bingen.

Shara Nova, aka ‘My Brightest Diamond,’ has brought her unique perspective to this project with contributions on a setting of David Whyte’s poem which shares the album’s title, as well as a new arrangement for choir…..her emotionally charged lullaby: “I Have Never Loved Someone.” Shara Nova is here with us to discuss the album as well as give us her unique musical perspective. Listen to the segment

Conspirare - House of Belonging is a dynamic and timely collection of American music for voices and with instruments. Curated and conducted by Craig Hella Johnson, the album showcases the unique combination of choral virtuosity and extraordinarily beautiful human expression in works by composers and poets diverse in age, geography, and ethnicity who speak to our internal and external sense of home and belonging. Each composer, in their unique voice, offers a reflection point for listeners.

Conspirare’s nationwide roster of vocal artists Simon Barrad, Meg Dudley, Haitham Haidar, Chelsea Helm, Michael Jones, Lauren McAllister, Savannah Porter, Kathlene Ritch, and David Kurtenbach Rivera are featured as soloists on the album.

Produced by Max Horowitz - Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Whether it’s prison reform, the plight of refugees, music education for all, or the industry-defining ‘In War and Peace,’ opera superstar Joyce DiDonato transcends the physical confines of the concert hall. DiDonato has long been an artist who has dedicated herself to creating and initiating projects that challenge and galvanise the public.

Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Her latest initiative; EDEN, is one that she will dedicate much of her time over the next four years to. Uniting music, drama, education and organizational partnerships to confront questions about our individual connection to Nature, the EDEN project includes an astonishing new recording released on Er-ato – Warner Classics, and a 2 year, 45 venue stage production tour across five continents. EDEN’s long-term impact and legacy will be far reaching to say the least and Joyce DiDonato is here with us to discuss all of it with us. Listen to this audio piece.

As they begin their 30th Season, the GRAMMY® Award-winning choral ensemble from Austin, Texas, Conspirare, presents an emotionally rich and wide-ranging program in their new Delos recording: ‘House of Belonging.’ Known worldwide for expanding the boundaries of choral performance, Conspirare has teamed up with the superb Miró Quartet to present a tapestry of intriguing new works by dynamic American composers: Kevin Puts, Derrick Skye, Alex Berko, Moira Smiley, Ross Lee Finney, Share-a Nova, Michael Schachter and Margaret Bonds.

Conspirare founder and leader, Craig Hella Johnson, commissioned many of the pieces on House of Belonging and composed the opening track himself. The album’s thoughtful texts explore themes about spirituality, philosophy, the natural world, and the human need for deep connection with verses by Ewen Tait, John Muir, William Stafford, Wendell Berry, Ru-bin-druh-nath Tu-gore, David Whyte, Langston Hughes, Ludwig van Beethoven and Hildegard of Bingen.

The Miró Quartet is one of America’s most celebrated and dedicated string quartets. Described by ‘The New Yorker’ magazine as “furiously committed” and the ‘Cleveland Plain Dealer’ as having an “exceptional tonal focus and interpretive intensity,”, Miro is the Quartet-in-residence at the University of Texas’ Butler School of Music, and for over twenty-five years, has performed on the world’s most prestigious concert stages.

Miró violist: John Largess is a Curtis Institute and Yale University graduate. In 1995 he toured the United States and Canada with the Colorado String Quartet. Appointed principal violist of the Charleston Symphony the following year, in 1997 Mr. Largess joined the Miró Quartet and has been a vital fixture ever since. An active speaker and writer about all things chamber‐music, the violist also holds a degree in Classical Archeology which has led to his participation in excavations in Greece, Israel, and Jordan. John Largess is here with us to discuss Conspirare, new Delos recording: ‘House of Belonging,’ as well as give us his unique musical perspective. Listen to the attached segment.

Conspirare's new recording: ‘House of Belonging’ is a dynamic and timely collection of American music for voices and with instruments. Curated and conducted by Craig Hella Johnson, the album showcases the unique combination of choral virtuosity and extraordinarily beautiful human expression in works by composers and poets diverse in age, geography, and ethnicity who speak to our internal and external sense of home and belonging. Each composer, in their unique voice, offers a reflection point for listeners.

Conspirare’s ongoing commitment to commissioning and performing music of today’s most vibrant living composers is reflected in these world premiere recordings. Conspirare’s nationwide roster of vocal artists Simon Barrad, Meg Dudley, Haitham Haidar, Chelsea Helm, Michael Jones, Lauren McAllister, Savannah Porter, Kathlene Ritch, and David Kurtenbach Rivera are featured as soloists on the album.

Produced by Max Horowitz - Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Hailed as ‘the new Maurice André’ by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Paul Merkelo is a spectacular soloist who the Montreal Gazette calls ‘a most impressive master of his instrument.’ As principal trumpet of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Mr. Merkelo was the first member of the orchestra invited to record a solo album with the ensemble: ‘French Trumpet Concertos’ under the direction of maestro Kent Nagano.

Making his Lincoln Center debut in 1999 with the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, Paul Merkelo has worked with the world’s greatest orchestras including: the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Sapporo Symphony, Venice Baroque Orchestra and the Eastman Wind Ensemble among others. He has performed with a veritable who’s who of legendary conductors. Leonard Bernstein, Charles Dutoit, Lorin Maazel, Sir Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta and Valery Gergiev among them

Paul Merkelo has now released a new recording for the Naxos label showcasing the Trumpet Concertos of Alexander Arutiunian, Dmitry Shostakovich, and Mieczyslaw Weinberg. Featuring The Russian National Orchestra under the direction of maestro Hans Graf, along with the acclaimed pianist Jae-Hyuck Cho, the three works on this recording each have a connection to the legendary Ukrainian trumpeter: Timofei Dokshizer who not only served as principal trumpeter with Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre but who also enjoyed a spectacular live performance and recording career.

Paul Merkelo is here with us to discuss these 3 great concertos. Listen to the podcast.

Here's the track listing for the recording:

Alexander Arutiunian (1920–2012)
1 Trumpet Concerto
(1950, cadenza by Timofei Dokshizer, 1921–2005) xx:xx
Andante maestoso – Allegro energico – Meno mosso – Tempo I – Meno mosso – Tempo I – Cadenza – Coda
Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919–1996)
Trumpet Concerto in B flat major, Op. 94 (1966–67) xx:xx
2 I. Etudes x:xx
3 II. Episodes – x:xx
4 III. Fanfares x:xx
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906–1975)
Concerto No. 1, Op. 35, for Piano, Trumpet and Strings (1933) (expanded trumpet part by Timofei Dokschizer* and Paul Merkelo**) xx:xx
5 I. Allegro moderato x:xx
6 II. Lento x:xx
7 III. Moderato – x:xx
8 IV. Allegro con brio x:xx
*From the 2009 transcription for trumpet and piano (DSCH Publishers, 2009)
**Assisted by Jae-Hyuck Cho and Hans Graf

Album Produced by Michael Fine. Engineer Erdo Groot

Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.

Houston Texas based ‘Apollo Chamber Players’ sixth studio recording; ‘Moonstrike’ on Azica Records includes Jennifer Higdon’s groundbreaking work for string quartet; ‘In the Shadow of the Mountain.’ The piece is the 20th and final work in Apollo’s 20 by 2020 multicultural commissioning initiative and multiple GRAMMY and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon joined us for this podcast along with Apollo Chamber Players violinist and founder Matthew Detrick to discuss the piece. Listen to the Segment

‘In the Shadow of the Mountain’ has great intensity and emotionalism, while at the same time is very technically challenging. Jennifer Higdon grew up in the shadow of the Smoky Mountains and the subject matter for this commission was heavily influenced by her childhood memories of sound, light, and music of the mountain and its people. Topics include:

How this commission came about.

The genesis for this piece and it’s relationship to Jennifer Higdon’s first opera which honors the resonance of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Jennifer Higdon’s approach rethinking the structure converted an opera, a work that has words, to a string quartet arrangement, which is wordless.


The Apollo Chamber Players return to Carnegie Hall for a program celebrating the ensemble's 15th season of multicultural programming and the conclusion of its Moonshot-inspired 20x2020 commissioning project. New works by Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, Emmy-winning Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, and Rome Prize-winning composer Pierre Jalbert are showcased, along with a homage to Turkish-born composer Erek Eryilmaz's heritage and a peace-infused work by Prairie View A&M composer John Cornelius. Special guests include Houston Poet Laureate Outspoken Bean, vocalist Kenneth Gayle , and astronaut narrator John Herrington, the first Native American to fly in space.

The Program Is As Follows:
JENNIFER HIGDON In the Shadow of the Mountain (NY Premiere)
JEROD IMPICHCHAACHAAHA' TATE MoonStrike (NY Premiere)
PIERRE JALBERT L'esprit du Nord (NY Premiere)
JOHN CORNELIUS PAX (NY Premiere)
ERBERK ERYILMAZ Thracian Airs of Besime Sultan (NY Premiere)

Apollo Chamber Players Performers are:
··Matthew J. Detrick, Violin
··Anabel Ramirez Detrick, Violin
··Matthew Dudzik, Cello

Produced by Max Horowitz — Crossover Media, This content, as well as the related podcast, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) for redistribution and adaptation.