'The Fox and the Pomegranate' Named a Winner of Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize

POTSDAM, NY (08/28/2013)(readMedia)-- The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam recently announced the winners of the first Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize. Three operas were chosen from a pool of 74 submissions, which came from across the U.S. and Canada, as well as from Europe.

The winners included "The Fox and the Pomegranate," with music by Matt Frey and libretto by Daniel J. Kushner. The opera will receive a $5,000 prize, and the production of an act or segment.

"The Fox and the Pomegranate" takes place in a grove yielding many different fruits. A seductive and mysterious young man named Aril delivers a cryptic omen before seducing Nate, a gender-fluid individual, who has betrayed his lover, Meg. This allegorical opera explores the multifaceted nature of love, the fluidity of gender roles and the nuances of infidelity.

"In a Mirror, Darkly," with music by Christopher Weiss and a libretto by S. O'Duinn Magee, will also receive a $5,000 prize and the production of part of that winning opera. A prize of $10,000 and a full production will be awarded to the featured winner, "A Letter to East 11th Street," with music by Martin Hennessy and libretto by Mark Campbell.

The three winning compositions will be presented by the Crane Opera Ensemble and Orchestra in November 2014 at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music.

"The extraordinary gift of Dr. Gary Jaquay, honoring his life partner Domenic, gives The Crane School the opportunity to bring new, musically exciting and socially profound operatic works not only to our students, faculty and community, but also to the operatic world. As we anticipate this first production, we can only imagine the ripples that will extend from these and future Pellicciotti Prize operas into the lives of those who participate, experience and come to know the operas selected. We are confident that this program will continue to foster exciting new work by composers and librettists active today and in the future," said Crane School of Music Dean Dr. Michael Sitton.

The performances will be offered in November 2014 in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater on the SUNY Potsdam campus, featuring students from The Crane School of Music. Additional events, including forums and masterclasses with the composers and librettists and outreach events for regional schools, will round out the performance experience for the campus and the Northern New York community.

About the Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize:

The Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize was founded by Dr. Gary C. Jaquay to honor his life partner Domenic J. Pellicciotti, an ardent fan of opera. The award seeks to encourage and acknowledge the creation of new opera works that explore, within a broad range of possible expressions and representations, themes related to tolerance, inclusion and/or the celebration of diversity within an inclusive community. Works that explore issues relevant to the LGBT community were particularly encouraged for this round. The $20,000 prize will be awarded every four years, along with a production of the winning operas.

The selection committee for the 2014 prize included Crane School of Music faculty members Carleen Graham, Kirk Severtson and Gregory Wanamaker, as well as Fort Worth Opera General Director Darren K. Woods, who is also Artistic Director of the Seagle Music Colony in Schroon Lake, N.Y.

To learn more about the Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize, visit www.potsdam.edu/pellicciotti.

About the winners:

Matt Frey is a Brooklyn-based composer of contemporary concert music, both for vocal and instrumental ensembles. In 2013, selections from "The Fox and the Pomegranate" were selected for performance at Fort Worth Opera's inaugural Frontiers showcase. Frey's concert music has been heard in performances with the JACK String Quartet, the West Point Woodwind Quintet, the NYU Symphony Orchestra, the Manhattan Wind Ensemble, the Washington Square Winds, as well as at the 2012 Etchings Festival in Auvillar, France, and 2012 Duffy Festival in Norfolk, Va. A recent graduate of the master's program in music composition at New York University, Frey is also known as a new music producer, performer, conductor and advocate, through his activities as co-founder of the West 4th New Music Collective, a cooperative of New York City-based composers and performers. The Brooklyn, N.Y., resident is a native of Stephens, Penn.

Daniel J. Kushner is a Buffalo-born arts journalist and music critic whose work has been featured in such publications as Opera News, NewMusicBox, I Care If You Listen, the Huffington Post and Symphony magazine. His writings often focus on the contemporary classical music scene, as well as non-classical music and visual art. He trained as a tenor during his undergraduate studies, and he completed his Master of Arts degree at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. "The Fox and the Pomegranate" marks Kushner's debut as an opera librettist; the work was first workshopped at the 2012 John Duffy Composers Institute and was featured at Fort Worth Opera in May 2013 as part of its inaugural Frontiers showcase. Originally from Orchard Park, N.Y., Kushner now resides in Rochester, N.Y.

About The Crane Opera Ensemble:

The award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble produces two fully staged productions each year -- one with orchestra and one with a chamber instrumental group or piano. The ensemble also enjoys a collaborative relationship with the Department of Theatre and Dance, co-producing a musical every three years. Its opera education outreach program has served over 4,000 North Country school children, many experiencing opera for the first time. The ensemble's 2011 production of "Amahl & the Night Visitors" was the first place winner of The American Prize In Operatic Performance and second place in the National Opera Association's annual Collegiate Production Competition (Division 3). The 2010 production of "L'Enfant et les Sortilèges" was also the first place winner of the American Prize. The 2009 production of "L'Egisto" and the 2003 production of "The Mikado" were winners of the NOA competition in their respective categories.

About The Crane School of Music:

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution. For more information, visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

###

Posted Wednesday August 28, 2013 at 11:57 am by SUNY Potsdam
Last Updated Thursday August 29, 2013 at 03:39 pm