It is Enough: Mendelssohn’s personal connection to his most famous protagonist, Elijah
Watch the replay ANYTIME on the Mendelssohn’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
8pm EDT/7pm CDT
American conductor and educator Matthew Mehaffey is crafting a national reputation in the field of choral/orchestral music through his engaging artistry, collaborative spirit, affirming pedagogical style, and entrepreneurial approach to concert programming.
As a conductor, Dr. Mehaffey serves as Music Director of two respected civic choruses, The Oratorio Society of Minnesota and The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh – the “Chorus of Choice” of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Each week he leads over 200 passionate amateur and professional singers in Pittsburgh and St. Paul in the development of concert programs that both celebrate the standard choral/orchestral repertoire and push the boundaries of a traditional choral concert.
Peter Mercer-Taylor, Professor of Musicology, joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 2001. Mercer-Taylor’s scholarship has been divided between the 19th-century German classical tradition “Felix Mendelssohn in particular” and contemporary popular music. He is the author of The Life of Mendelssohn (Cambridge University Press, 2000) and the editor of The Cambridge Companion to Mendelssohn (2004), and he is currently at work on a book on the impact of European classical music on 19th-century American hymnody.
Mezzo-soprano Victoria Vargas will lead participants through a video which will focus on alignment, breath and easy phonation. We will work to bring more awareness to the body and find news ways to sing with efficiency and ease!
Reading/Listening Materials
Matthew Mehaffey and Mendelssohn scholar Peter Mercer-Taylor discuss Felix Mendelssohn’s personal connection to his most famous oratorio, Elijah.
Listening for the “Still Small Voice” of Mendelssohn’s Domestic Elijah
Widow Scene
Listen to 34:50
#19 – O Man of God
Listen to 1:07:29
#34 – And in a Still Voice
Listen to 1:49:43
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