Gershwin & Ellington CD released!

2 CD SET
Satin Doll - “Duke” Ellington
“I Got Rhythm” Variations - George Gershwin
Concerto in F - Gershwin
Second Rhapsody for Orchestra with Piano - Gershwin
New World A-Comin’ - Ellington
Rhapsody in Blue - Gershwin
Recorded live, Friday, January 4, 2013, in the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Phila. PA.

Click to purchase your copy today!

We are thrilled to announce the release of the recording of our January concert, "Gershwin & Ellington," featuring Peter Donohoe with the Ama Deus Ensemble, conducted by Music Director, Valentin Radu. For those who attended this exhilarating concert, the memory of an exciting evening of music is fresh in their memories. Buying one of these CD sets, you can feel as if you are there in the Perelman Theater. The electricity is evident from the first note!

May 2013 Newsletter: Beethoven & Paganini at the Kimmel Center

Niccolò Paganini

Violin Concerto No. 1

The Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 6, was composed by Paganini in Italy, probably between 1817 and 1818. The concerto reveals that Paganini’s technical wizardry was fully developed. Contemporary audiences gasped at the extended passages of double-stop thirds, both chromatic and in harmonics.

Paganini intended the Concerto to be heard in E-flat major: the orchestral parts were written in E-flat, and the solo part was written in D major with instructions for the violin to be tuned a semitone high (a technique known as scordatura), so that it would therefore sound in E-flat. This enables the soloist to achieve effects in E-flat which would not be possible with a normal D tuning (for example, the opening of the third movement, where the violin plays a rapid downward scale A-G-F♯-E-D, both bowed and pizzicato. This is possible on an open D-string, but is not possible in the key of E-flat), because two strings would be required. The key of E flat would mute the sound of the orchestra, whose strings would play fewer tones on open strings, and this would make the solo part emerge more clearly from the orchestral accompaniment.

In Conversation with John Ostendorf, Recording Producer

Meet the Man Behind the Earphones

John Ostendorf

VoxAmaDeus’ master recording producer, in conversation with Richard A. Shapp

Vox recording session

At every VoxAmaDeus concert our audience is offered the opportunity to purchase a wide array of compact disc recordings from Vox’s extensive concert repertoire. In this interview we invite you to meet the man you never see, but whose golden ears are essential to the success of every recording you can purchase to take home and enjoy at your leisure. Meet John Ostendorf!

RAS: John, how and when did you begin your association with Valentin Radu and VoxAmaDeus?

JO: My nearly 20-year association with Valentin Radu and VoxAmaDeus coincided with the winding-up of my active singing career and my move to a full-time concentration on record producing. The two endeavors had overlapped for some time—more on that later. I'd just produced a Bach solo album for soprano Julianne Baird, a longtime vocal colleague and friend in Philadelphia. She introduced me to Valentin Radu; we hit it off instantly and planned a period-instrument Messiah recording for the VOX label—a happy coincidence. That went really well, and two decades and about thirty recordings (maybe more?) later, we're still at it.

Philadelphia Boys Choir joins the Ama Deus Ensemble

Valentin Radu

Welcomes the

Philadelphia Boys Choir

performing with the

Ama Deus Ensemble

J.S. Bach’s Saint John Passion

at the Kimmel Center on March 29 at 8:00 PM

Buy tickets here!

Adding to the beauty of Bach’s music—enjoy the exquisite, angelic voices of the Philadelphia Boys Choir when it joins musical forces with the Ama Deus Ensemble in the Perelman Theater of the Kimmel Center on Friday, March 29 performing the Saint John Passion in English.

Since 1968, the Philadelphia Boys Choir has provided the finest musical education and performing experience for ensembles of its genre in the Greater Philadelphia area. Though our style has been emulated by many, none can top the beautiful and unique sound our boys create. Every week in rehearsal, boys interact and connect with other boys from all over the Tri-State region, allowing them to learn from one another through friendships they might not otherwise find. The opportunities for travel and concerts around the world help our Choir members build character in a safe and constructive environment, while carrying out the esteemed tradition of being part of America’s Ambassadors of Song.

March 2013 - J.S. Bach's St. John Passion

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The St. John Passion is a dramatic representation of the Passion story with extravagance and an expressive immediacy. It is the oldest of Bach's settings of the Passion. Written in 1724, it is fast-paced and emotionally moving. Bach innovatively and freely explores harmony and word-painting in this work, and delivers a exuberance not found in many other Baroque works.

VoxAmaDeus welcomes the Philadelphia Boys Choir (Jeffrey Smith, Director) to this performance featuring an all-Baroque instrument orchestra.

 A Conversation with Tenor Dana Wilson

 ...In conversation with Richard A. Shapp...

 
Tenor Dana Wilson prepares To sing the Evangelist’s Role in Bach’s monumental Saint John Passion on Good Friday, March 29th at 8 PM

As you will discover, Dana Wilson has been a member of the VoxAmaDeus vocal ensemble for nearly ten years. And although he has had his share of solo parts, this March 29 he will take on an extremely challenging leading role in the Perelman Theater of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Dana will be featured as the Evangelist (in other words, the Narrator) in J.S. Bach’s monumental Saint John Passion. This is one of the most demanding tenor parts in the concert repertoire and Dana’s musical journey to Baroque music expert began in an unexpected place!

RAS: So Dana, let’s begin at the beginning. How and when did you begin your association with Valentin Radu and VoxAmaDeus?

DW: It's amazing to think that it's closing in on a decade since I began my association with Valentin Radu and VoxAmaDeus!

(continued)

Click HERE to buy tickets