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June 26th, 2013

DSEDebussyConcert(38)Dear friends,
At the close of our eight season, I would like to thank you for sharing in our music-making. It has been another exciting season, with highlights including:
* “Debussy in Our Midst: A Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Claude Debussy (1862-1918),” the season-long theme on our Dolce Suono Ensemble Presents home series in Philadelphia including four concerts devoted to a different aspect of Debussy’s music. Spectacular guest artists joined our core musicians: Matthew Levy, saxophone; Anthony McGill, clarinet; Anthony Newman, harpsichord; Sarah Shafer, soprano; and Natalie Zhu, piano. Check out my project “Syrinx Journey,” my special tribute to Debussy through daily recordings of his Syrinx for solo flute posted on my blog.

* We made our Washington, DC debut with a concert at the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of our partnership with Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists, at the invitation of Plácido Domingo.

* Our CD “Odyssey: 11 American Premieres for Flute and Piano” has continued to garner great press, with rave reviews and radio plays on four continents. Charles Abramovic and I performed selections from it live on WNYC’s “Soundcheck” and I did a live broadcast for Kol HaMusica in Jerusalem on which selections from “Odyssey” were aired.

* We gave the world premiere of Guggenheim Fellowship-winning composer Fang Man’s “Earth,” a song cycle for vocal soloists and sextet, with Lucy Shelton, soprano and Evan Hughes, bass-baritone, and two dancers, at Delaware County Community College in April 2013. Grants from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation and New Music USA made this large scale project possible.

* DSE was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts “Art Works 2013” grant to record our commissioned works from our “Mahler 100 / Schoenberg 60” project. Eric Owens, bass-baritone, and Lucy Shelton, soprano will appear as soloists with DSE in this recording of premieres by Fang Man, David Ludwig, Steven Mackey, Stratis Minakakis, Shulamit Ran, and Steven Stucky.

* WWFM The Classical Network (NJ, NY, PA) is airing a series of broadcasts of live Dolce Suono Ensemble concerts co-hosted by Mimi Stillman and WWFM’s Bill Zagorski.

We could not achieve our artistic accomplishments without you, our steadfast supporters who give us your ears, your time, and your treasure. On behalf of the entire Dolce Suono Ensemble family, I express my deepest gratitude. As we close our 2012-2013 season, which coincides with our fiscal year, I ask you for your tax-deductible contribution. Several of our generous sponsors describe their donations to Dolce Suono Ensemble as investments – in chamber music of the highest quality, in realizing our mission of enriching and informing people’s lives through chamber music – essentially investing in making great art happen and reach an ever broader community. Now we have another very important reason to ask for your support.

In April 2013, we won the Philadelphia Knight Arts Challenge 2013 for our “Músic en tus Manos” (Music in Your Hands) outreach initiative with the Latino community of Philadelphia. The Knight Arts Challenge, which funds innovative projects that engage and enrich urban communities, is an initiative of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. We are honored to have been chosen as one of 43 winners from over 1,200 applicants. The Latino community of Philadelphia is sizeable – 12.6% of Philadelphia’s total population (2011 census) – but it is underserved by the city’s cultural organizations. “Música en tus Manos” is designed to fill this need in a unique, sustainable way with an intensive and engaging array of events throughout the season at community centers in Latino neighborhoods, including chamber music concerts, conversations, instrument “petting zoos”, and work with Pan-Academy’s nascent school music program.
Our Knight Arts Challenge grant, $25,000 over two seasons, will provide the crucial support needed to make a deep and lasting impact on Philadelphia’s Spanish-speaking community. Please donate to help us match the funds dollar-for-dollar. We will only receive the grant if and when we match the entire $25,000 within one year. We ask for your generous support and urge you to join with us in this exciting outreach initiative to increase and expand our impact with Philadelphia’s Latino community.
Wishing you a happy and musical summer. Please follow our summer news via email and on our blog at www.dolcesuono.com, as well as visit our YouTube channel for concert videos. We look forward to seeing you again next season!