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Music for Rothko

Presented by Da Camera of Houston and Houston Chamber Choir at Rothko Chapel

February 25-February 27, 2011

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Da Camera of Houston presents Music for Rothko, Friday, February 25, 2011, 8:00 PM and Saturday, February 26, 2011, 8:00 PM in The Rothko Chapel. Pre-concert reception at 7:00 PM outside Rothko Chapel. In celebration of the Rothko Chapel’s 40th Anniversary.. Presented in collaboration with Houston Chamber Choir.

Added concert:  Sunday, February 27, 2011, 2:30 pm.

Houston Chamber Choir and Da Camera combine their considerable talents to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Rothko Chapel. Presented in the intimate interior of the Rothko Chapel, the program includes piano works by John Cage and Erik Satie; a viola and percussion work by Tigran Mansurian; and evocative choral compositions by John Cage.

The masterwork, Rothko Chapel by Morton Feldman, inspired by his visit to the chapel in 1971, is the centerpiece of the program.

The Rothko Chapel, one of Houston’s greatest landmarks, is above all a place of contemplation. Da Camera offers a powerful program of avant-garde music that resonates with the deep spirituality of this unique space.

Performers include the Houston Chamber Choir conducted by Robert Simpson; Sarah Rothenberg, piano and celesta; Brian Del Signore; percussion; and world-renowned violist Kim Kashkashian, in her first Houston appearance in more than 20 years.

“[Kim Kashkashian is] an artist who combines a probing, restless musical intellect with enormous beauty of tone.” — The San Francisco Chronicle

“Beautiful, lithe, well-honed sound…[Houston Chamber Choir] performed with dexterity, grace and excellent unanimity.” — Houston Chronicle

“The Houston Chamber Choir and I are proud to be part of the 40th anniversary celebration of this Houston treasure,” said Robert Simpson, Artistic Director of Houston Chamber Choir. “It is especially meaningful to have the opportunity to perform Morton Feldman’s “Rothko Chapel” within the space that inspired it. Feldman wrote this deeply personal piece in 1971 as a tribute to his close friend Mark Rothko who had died the year before.”

A sacred space dedicated to broadening interfaith understanding, the Rothko Chapel is committed to bringing together people of all faiths to experience the tranquil meditative environment inspired by the murals of American painter Mark Rothko.

Robert Simpson, Founder and Artistic Director of the internationally renowned Houston Chamber Choir, was honored by Chorus America with the Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art at its national conference in June 2010.

Throughout his illustrious career, Simpson has worked tirelessly to cultivate America’s passion for choral music. The programming of the 15th Anniversary Season, A Bridge Across Time, captures the vocal clarity and grace of the Houston Chamber Choir and showcases its brilliance. As noted by Gramophone magazine, an internationally recognized authority on classical recordings, the Houston Chamber Choir’s recent release, Ravishingly Russian, is highlighted by “exquisite harmonic illustration and enriched by an outpouring of graceful melody and restrained sentiment.”

Scheduled Program:
John Cage Selected works for choir, solo piano and percussion
Erik Satie Selected Gymnopedies, Gnossiennes and Ogives for piano
Schubert Moment musical
Mansurian Tagh for the Funeral of the Lord
Morton Feldman Rothko Chapel

The Da Camera at The Menil series also includes Arcanto Quartet; ICE: New Sounds and Jeremy Denk: The American Piano.

Rothko Chapel Photo: Hickey-Robertson Photos, courtesy of Rothko Chapel.