Boston Musica Viva

Boston Musica Viva is a Boston, Massachusetts-based music ensemble founded by its Music Director, Richard Pittman, in 1969 and dedicated to contemporary music.

Composers and compositions

Boston Musica Viva has performed the works of 233 composers over its 38-year history; more than 565 compositions in all. A total of 143 works have been written for the ensemble to date, and they have performed 158 world premieres, and 71 Boston premieres. Among the composers whose work the ensemble has performed are Pulitzer Prize-winners Ellen Taaffe Zwilich [cite book | last = Brennan | first = Elizabeth A. | authorlink = | coauthors = Seymour Topping, Elizabeth C. Clarage | title = Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | date = 1999 | location = | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1573561118 ] John Harbison, Joseph Schwantner [cite news | first=John | last=Rockwell | coauthors= | title=Boston Musica Viva experiments in idioms | date= | publisher= | url =http://proquest.umi.com/ | work =The New York Times | pages =10 | accessdate = 2008-05-19 | language = ] and Steven Stucky.

World premieres

Boston Musica Viva has presented the world premieres of Thea Musgrave’s opera "The Mocking-Bird", John Harbison’s "A Full Moon in March", Theo Loevendie’s "Gassir, the Hero", Martin Brody’s "Heart of a Dog", and John Eaton’s "Traveling with Gulliver".

Touring

In addition to its Boston concert season, Boston Musica Viva’s touring engagements have taken them to Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress, the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, Tanglewood, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Michigan. The ensemble has made eight tours of Europe, making appearances that included the Settembre Musica Festival in Turin, Italy.

Boston Musica Viva has recorded for the [Albany Records | Albany] , Neuma, Delos, CRI, [Nonesuch Records | Nonesuch] , Newport Classic and Northeastern Records labels.

Boston Musica Viva received an Aaron Copland Fund grant in 1993 [cite news | first=Richard | last=Dyer | coauthors= | title=Classical Notes column | date= | publisher= | url =http://proquest.umi.com/ | work =The Boston Globe | pages = | accessdate = 2008-05-19 | language = ] and in 2003, the ensemble received the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming.

Partial list of composers with works premiered or performed by Boston Musica Viva

* Elliott Carter
* Peter Child
* Osvaldo Golijov
* John Harbison
* Bernard Hoffer
* Shirish Korde
* William Kraft
* Gyorgy Kurtag
* Joyce Mekeel
* Frederic Rzewski
* Gunther Schuller
* Joseph Schwantner
* Ralph Shapey
* Rand Steiger
* Steven Stucky
* Joerg Widmann
* Chen Yi
* Evan Ziporyn
* Ellen Taaffe Zwilich

Current and former members of Boston Musica Viva

Violin

* Bayla Keyes
* Danielle Maddon
* Cecile Garcia-Moeller

Viola

* Willine Thoe

Cello

* Jan Mueller-Szeraws
* Ronald Thomas

Contrabass

* Carolyn Davis Fryer

Flute

* John Heiss (1969-74)
* Fenwick Smith
* Renee Krimsier
* Alicia DiDonato (2003-2008)
* Ann K. Bobo (2008-present)

Oboe

* Nancy Dimock

Clarinet

* William Kirkley

Bassoon

* Greg Newton

French horn

* Rick Menaul
* Bob Marlatt
* Jean Rife

Trumpet

* Steve Banzaert

Trombone

* Robert Couture

Timpani

* Jeffrey Fischer

Percussion

* Robert Schulz
* Dean Anderson

Piano

* Geoffrey Burleson

Performers who have appeared with Boston Musica Viva

* Composer, conductor and pianist Rob Kapilow
* Vocalist Dominique Eade
* Mezzo-soprano Janice Felty
* Pianist Randall Hodgkinson
* Mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal
* Soprano Elizabeth Keusch

References

External links

* [http://www.bmv.org Boston Musica Viva web site]
* [http://www.richardpittmanconductor.com/ Richard Pittman web site]