It began as a conversation over drinks last spring, between Dartmouth Dance Ensemble co-leader Rebecca Stenn and Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra Director Filippo Ciabatti. Wouldn't it be great to collaborate? they opined. OK, so what music would Ciabatti most like to perform? Without missing a beat (he is a conductor, after all), he named Petrushka, Igor Stravinsky's 1911 orchestral work Right away, Stenn and Ciabatti called DDE co-leader John Heginbotham, and three began hatching plans with others in the Hop. One big problem, however: no Hop theater could accommodate both a full … [Read more...]
Fretboard wizard jams with the DSO on Vivaldi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiNEyI1PF6w What do musicians do with free time? Go to music stores, of course, and play everything in sight. Which is what mandolinist Carlo Aonzo did in November 2016 in Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville (see above), when the world-renowned mandolin "god" was passing through that city with his trio. If it be music, Aonzo can play it on his mandolin. He will demonstrate this at Dartmouth the week of February 5-10, where he will give a free public mini-concert on Tuesday, February 6, and perform on Friday, February 9, with the Dartmouth … [Read more...]
New Kid: Meet a first-year in the DSO
By Lex Kang '21 [Editor's note: The Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra performs its fall concert on Saturday, October 28, 8 pm, in Spaulding Auditorium.] Hanlin Wang, ’21, is one of the handful of talented young musicians that joined the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, commonly referred to as the DSO, as a freshman this fall term. Arts Ambassadors got to hear about his musical history and his personal involvement with the DSO and the arts on campus. When and how did you start music? What made you interested in music? I started playing the violin when I was five or six years old. I was too … [Read more...]
Meet a Hop intern: Caroline Filan ’18
Each fall, the Hop welcomes a new batch of Dartmouth student interns. For the next academic year, these six juniors and seniors will spend 10 hours a week embedded in various Hop departments, learning the ropes in production, marketing, educational outreach, box office, house management, graphic design and more, and taking on important responsibilities in those Hop arenas. We asked this year's interns to introduce themselves and tell us what Hop events they most look forward to this fall. Caroline Filan '18, from Alpharetta, GA, is majoring in biomedical engineering and minoring in … [Read more...]
Meet a Hop Intern: Maggie Baird ’18
Each fall, the Hop welcomes a new batch of Dartmouth student interns. For the next academic year, these six juniors and seniors will spend 10 hours a week embedded in various Hop departments, learning the ropes in production, marketing, educational outreach, box office, house management, graphic design and more, and taking on important responsibilities in those Hop arenas. We asked this year's interns to introduce themselves and tell us what Hop events they most look forward to this fall. Maggie Baird ‘18, from Charlottetown, PEI, Canada, is majoring in linguistics and minoring in … [Read more...]
Seniors, Get Serious About Your Dartmouth Arts Bucket List!
OK, Dartmouth seniors: time to get serious about that bucket list! With your last term on campus about to begin, you have precious little time to cram in those essential experiences. Help is at hand--especially for those bucket list items relating to the Hop and the arts. From Friday, February 17, through Saturday, February 25, the Hopkins Center presents Senior Spectacular, eight days of fun events in the arts, especially for '17s! With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Hop Student Engagement Team Interns Cynthia Tan ’17 and Mallory Rutigliano ’17 organized this series to … [Read more...]
Chamber music inspiration from the Danish String Quartet
By Betty Kim '20 As I gain more experience playing in quartets, I realize just how difficult it is to produce a unified, sonorous sound between four different people. Great musical ensembles have it down to a science: it’s not enough to just have the correct intonation, since a seemingly perfect line can be disruptive if it doesn’t blend well with the three other instruments’ sounds. Silences a millisecond shorter than what’s ideal might sound too hurried; a millisecond longer might sound like a gaping abyss. A breath before a beat might change the trajectory of your bow by just a little bit, … [Read more...]
A midterm de-stress break with Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
By Danielle Fang '20 Midterms were finally over and, though they would be making a reappearance in a couple short weeks, I was ready to relax. So on Friday, October 14, I made my way to the Hop to see the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; nothing like two hours of classical music to de-stress a college student. Before the concert started, a few of the orchestra members were kind enough meet and mingle with a group of students, including the principal violin and artistic director of the orchestra, Kyu-Young Kim, and the composer of one of the pieces to be performed that night, George … [Read more...]
Hop interns tell you what not to miss this fall – Part 2!
As promised, the three other new Hop interns share their recommendations for what NOT to miss this fall! To see what the other four interns recommend go here! Jennie Evans '17, Audience Engagement intern and English major, recommends the following: La La Land (September 17): I saw this film musical in Los Angeles this January, and it blew me away with not only beautiful music and set design but a wonderful plot that captured the beauty and sadness of Hollywood. I'm very excited to watch it again as part of Telluride at Dartmouth, a great experience overall. Motherstruck! … [Read more...]
Ciabatti takes helm of Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra
The Hopkins Center for the Arts today announced that Filippo Ciabatti, who has served this year as guest conductor of the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, will be the DSO’s new director. “I couldn’t be more delighted in appointing Filippo Ciabatti as our DSO conductor,” said Hop Interim Director Marga Rahmann. “He has brought extraordinary energy and musicianship to the symphony, and I greatly appreciated his steadfast, approachable demeanor during a very competitive national search. On a personal note, he has the warmest but most incisive sense of humor, which I believe our students and … [Read more...]
