Saturday, November 14, 2009
12:30 – 8 p.m.
Boston College
Gasson Hall 100
Program of Events
12:30 p.m.
Film: “John McCormack: The People’s Tenor” (82 minutes)
Jenks Honors Library, Gasson Hall
2 p.m.
Symposium: The Legacy of John McCormack, Gasson Hall, with Hankus Netsky and Mick Moloney
Professor Hankus Netsky is chair of the Contemporary Improvisation Department at the New England Conservatory. A multi-instrumentalist, composer, and scholar, Netsky teaches improvisation and Jewish music. He is the founder and director of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, an internationally renowned Yiddish music ensemble.
Mick Moloney, the Global Distinguished Professor of Music at New York University, is a folklorist, arts presenter, advocate, collector, professional musician, a frequent contributor on broadcast media, and an Irish music tour guide for the Smithsonian Institute. He is a recipient of the NEA’s National Heritage Award.
3:30 – 4 p.m.
Coffee break in Rotunda
4 p.m.
Lecture: Paul Brock, “Impressions of the Great Irish Tenor”
A distinguished traditional musician from Athlone, Ireland, Paul Brock’s presentation is based upon his lifelong interest in the musical legacy of Count McCormack.
5:30 p.m.
Reception at the John J. Burns Library
Viewing of “John McCormack, Tenor: A Celebration of 125 Years,” featuring a wide array of materials from the Library’s McCormack Collection. Boston College musicologist Ann Spinney will give a short talk titled “Treasures of the McCormack Archive.” Visit the exhibition's Web site.
7 p.m.
Concert: The Irish Room, Gasson Hall
The McCormack event will conclude with music organized by Sullivan Artist-in-Residence Seamus Connolly.
The concert will include a performance by operatic tenor Bryan Griffin who recently graduated as a member of the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Ballad singer Ciaran Sheehan will sing songs made famous by Count McCormack. The Dublin born singer is a star of Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera and sang the role of the phantom in over 1,000 performances on Broadway and Toronto. Boston Symphony violinist Bonnie Bewick Brown will perform the music of Fritz Kreisler, who collaborated with McCormack during his remarkable career. Pianist Timothy Steele who has worked with the Boston Opera Repertory, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Wolf Trap Opera and the Central City Opera will also accompany the performance. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Donohue will also take part and will join accordionist Paul Brock, folklorist Mick Moloney and Sullivan Artist-in-Residence Seamus Connolly.