R A C H A E L K E R R P I A N I S T
2015 Concerts and Events
Rehearsal Pianist: Dead Man Walking
February 20, 22, 26, and 28/Cahn Auditiorium
Jake Heggie, composer; Michael M. Ehrman, director; Michael Sakir, conductor; Donald Nally, chorus master; Robert McConnell, graduate student conductor; University Chorale and Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra
Fully staged Chicago-area premiere!
The Guardian of London declares, “Dead Man Walking makes the most concentrated impact of any piece of American music theater since West Side Story.” Based on the book of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean, the opera tells the story of a nun’s journey as spiritual advisor to Joseph De Rocher, a convicted murderer on death row at Louisiana’s Angola State Prison. Premiered by the San Francisco Opera in 2000, this powerful tale of suffering and redemption, from its wrenching beginning to its emotionally charged conclusion, leaves a lasting impression on all who encounter it. Parental advisory: This performance contains adult situations, graphic violence, and explicit language.
Following this performance, join us for a post-show discussion. Leigh Bienen (Senior Lecturer, Northwestern University School of Law) and Robert C. Owen (Clinical Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law), together with members of the artistic staff and cast, lead a discussion of topics raised in Dead Man Walking.
Tickets are $18 for the general public and $8 for students.
Recital: Kyle Sackett, baritone
April 18, 2015/Lutkin Hall/3:00 PM
Jacques Ibert, Quatre Chansons de Don Quichotte
Johannes Brahms, Selections from Op. 86
Paul Bowles, Blue Mountain Ballads
Steven Mark Kohn, Ten Thousand Miles Away
Stephen Foster, We Are Coming, Father Abraham
Charles Ives, Tom Sails Away
Tom Cipullo, "Monet’s Waterlilies" from America 1968
Lee Hoiby, Last Letter Home
Recital: Musicians Club of Women
April 20th, 2015
Rachael will be performing a double-header concert of both solo and collaborative works!
As a recent winner of a Farwell Trust Award, she will be performing selections from Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 10, No. 3, in addition to works by Ravel and Bolcom.
She will also be joining flutist Rachel Blumenthal on works by Copland, Fauré, and Barber.
Rehearsal Pianist: Ruddigore
May 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, 2015
In this riotous parody of a stock melodrama, a curse on the Murgatroyd line decrees that every baronet of Ruddigore must commit a daily crime or succumb to an agonizing death. When the latest baronet, living in disguise to escape the curse, seeks the hand of the most eligible bachelorette in the village of Rederring, wicked deeds, multiple betrothals, and visits from ancestral ghosts ensue. Performed in English.
Ticket are $18 for the general public and $8 for students.
Solo Recital
June 5th, 2015
As part of her final requirement for the doctoral degree from Northwestern, Rachael will present her fourth recital in Lutkin Hall at 6:00 PM.
On the program is a mix of collaborative and solo works, including Poulenc's Violin Sonata, Fantasy (Those harbor lights...) by Joan Tower, The Starry Night by Jake Heggie for mezzo-soprano, and Prokofiev's rarely heard first sonata for piano.
SONGS & POEMS FROM THE TIME OF WW I: 1915 & Beyond
July 7, 2015 8:00 pm
GURNEY In Flanders
BUTTERWORTH On the Idle Hill of Summer
BURLEIGH The Grey Wolf
Davone Tines, bass-baritone
Rachael Kerr, piano
SONGS BY COMPOSERS BETTER KNOWN FOR THEIR OPERAS
July 12, 2015 8:00 pm
GOUNOD: Barcarola
Où voulez-vous aller?
Mignon
L’Absent
Viens! Les gazons sont verts!
SAINT-SAËNS: Le pas d’armes du Roi Jean
Si vous n’avez rien à me dire
Viens!
Alyssa Wills, soprano
Dimitri Katotakis, baritone
Rachael Kerr, piano
Prelude Concert
July 13, 2015 6:00pm
SONGS OF HUGO WOLF
Blumengruß
Nicht Gelegenheit macht Diebe
Gretchen vor dem Andachtsbild der Mater Dolorosa
Hoch beglückt in deiner Liebe
Elizabeth Fischborn, soprano
Rachael Kerr, piano
FROM STRANGE LANDS AND PEOPLE
August 4, 2015 5:00 pm
English Folk Tale: The Edge of the World
Songs of BRITTEN
Songs of GRAINGER
Songs of VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Patrick Kilbride, reader
Nola Richardson, soprano
Rachael Kerr, piano
Prelude Concert
August 8, 2015 6:00 pm
ALMA MAHLER Die Stille Stadt
GUSTAV MAHLER Ging heut Morgen übers Feld
Urlicht (from Symphony No. 2)
Zoe Band, mezzo-soprano
Rachael Kerr, piano
Vocal Concert
August 11, 2015 8:00 pm
FOSS Time Cycle (chamber version)
Lucy Fitz Gibbon, soprano
Sam Rothstein, clarinet
Natalie Helm, cello
Brian Maloney, percussion
Rachael Kerr, piano
"Devil Makes Three"
August 29-30, 2015
The inaugural program by the Wire & Cork trio features amazing music by William Bolcom and Alan Hovhaness in addition to Igor Stravinsky’s trio arrangement of his masterpiece, “The Soldier’s Tale.” The program should last about an hour, and has free admission at both locations.
August 29th at 7:00pm @ Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel, Lake Forest College
August 30th at 2:00 pm @ Temperance Brewery in Evanston
Andy Hudson, clarinet
Kate Carter, violin
Rachael Kerr, piano
CAIC Presents: Craig Terry Masterclass
September 11, 2015
Craig Terry, who appears regularly in recital with such esteemed singers as Christine Brewer, Stephanie Blythe, Joyce Didonato, Susan Graham, and Luca Pisaroni in venues such as the Kennedy Center, Ravinia Festival, and Carnegie Hall, will lead the Festival’s annual Master Class at PianoForte on theafternoon of September 11, 2015. This year’s master class will focus on American art song, and will feature rising young stars of Chicago’s classical vocal music scene, accompanied by CAIC artistic staff.
2:00 PM @ PianoForte Foundation
Rehearsal Pianist: Andina, The Opera That Never Was
September 18, 2015
Enjoy the story of a young Colombian mountain girl who is caught between two suitors: one, a wealthy don from the city; the other, a simple local farmhand. The process of resurrecting this forgotten opera is also being filmed for an upcoming documentary. Be a part of this one-night-only theatrical concert event.
Low Brass Master Class with Joseph Alessi
October 17th, 2015
Rachael will be performing with trombone and tuba stuents at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservaotry in a master class with Joe Alessi, principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic.
December 6th, 2015
Longtime friends and colleagues from Aspen Music Festival, Northwestern University, and the Tanglewood Music Center, mezzo-soprano Quinn Middleman and Rachael Kerr join forces at the finals of the Art Song Competition, a program of the Ziering-Conlon Initiative at the Colburn School.
This Colburn Conservatory initiative is inspired by James Conlon's "Recovered Voices" project at the LA Opera. The objective of the competition is to introduce the music of composers suppressed during the Nazi regime to young singers and collaborative pianists and to reward excellence in its performance. Live finals, with audience, to be held in Zipper Hall of the Colburn School on December 6, 2015. Music of Zemlinsky, Shreker, and Ullman are to be highlighted in the first annual competition.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra Presents: A Christmas Circus
December 13th, 2015
Prepare to be astounded as members of Cirque de la Symphonie perform awe-inspiring feats to the joyous sounds of well-known classical Christmas music, played live by the TSO. Get ready to witness jugglers, contortionists, magic, and more! A perfect holiday event for the whole family.
Join us in the lobby at intermission for free art activities with the Avenue Road Arts School.