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1 and 3 PM
Collaborative Arts Ensemble was founded in 2017 as a way to promote social understanding in the world. Our roster consists of thirty world-class interdisciplinary artists dedicated to creating theatrical concert programs that might open pathways for community building dialogue in concert halls, community centers, and schools so as to reinforce respect, empathy, and appreciation for all human beings. Every concert created by CAE artists tell a story: text, music, and physical movement that embody a time of history, a social justice issue, or an important question. We tell our stories by fusing art forms into one another and celebrating each unique outcome, believing that these collaborations offer our audiences multiple entry points into every story shared.
Our inaugural concert program, Letters of the American South, features Violinist Jocelyn Zhu, Pianist Matthew Maimone, Actress Victoria Pollack, and Baritone Thomas West, and toured originally this past September in three different cities in the state of Georgia. Since that time, CAE has been the proud recipients of grant support from the Alan D. Marks Center at The Juilliard School, and National Public Radio’s From the Top, and were recently awarded awarded a prestigious residency at Avaloch Music Farm in Boscawen, New Hampshire to create our organization’s second touring program. This fall, CAE will become the ensemble-in-residence at Blessed Sacrament Church (W 71st between Broadway/Columbus) as part of their Arts at Blessed Sacrament program. For more exciting updates, check us at out at www.collaborativeartsensemble.com
Program
Shenandoah Traditional
Jocelyn Zhu, violin
Matthew Maimone, piano
Excursions, Op. 20, No. 1 (Un Poco Allegro) Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Matthew Maimone, piano
Moon River Henry Mancini (1924-1994)
Victoria Pollack, vocals
Jocelyn Zhu, violin
Thomas West, piano
Four Souvenirs: For Violin and Piano Paul Schoenfield (b. 1947)
Movement I: Samba
Jocelyn Zhu, violin
Matthew Maimone, piano
Memories Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Thomas West, baritone
Matthew Maimone, piano
Orange Blossom Special Johnny Cash (1932-2003)
Jocelyn Zhu, violin
The Boatman’s Dance from Old American Songs Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Thomas West, baritone
Matthew Maimone, piano
Beautiful Dreamer Stephen Foster (1826-1884)
Thomas West, baritone
Jocelyn Zhu, violin
Hallelujah Traditional (Arr. MaMuse)
Thomas West, vocals
Jocelyn Zhu, vocals
Matthew Maimone, vocals
Victoria Pollack, vocals
Georgia on my Mind Hoagy Carmichael (1899-1981)
Thomas West, baritone & piano
Victoria Pollack, dance
Hard Times Come Again No More Stephen Foster (1826-1864)
Thomas West, baritone
Jocelyn Zhu, violin
Matthew Maimone, piano
Victoria Pollack, vocals
*Texts being read by:
Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) Harper Lee (1926-2016)
Robert Creeley (1926-2005) Brené Brown (b. 1965)
Eudora Welty (1909-2001)
Marilyn Allerton (unknown)
About the Program
“Letters of the American South” takes a journey through first-hand stories in the Southern United States (read by Actress Victoria Pollack), placing Southern musical compositions in conversation with poems, letters, and literature from Southern writers. The performance is comprised of an experiential-based presentation where each paired letter and piece of music mark various moments in time, ultimately creating a kind of historical arch. Woven together through the diverse abilities of the performers (all of whom share through more than one discipline), the program brings the beauty and poignancy of these art forms into the room, offering each audience member multiple pathways into the South’s collective history and opportunities to explore the truths of a region powerfully shaped by community and conversation.
Performers
Thomas West, baritone
Jocelyn Zhu, violin
Matthew Maimone, piano
Victoria Pollack, actress