“CLASSICALLY EXPOSED”: SEUNGHEE LEE, MANHATTAN CHAMBER PLAYERS with SPECIAL GUEST, JP JOFRE

On March 27, 7:30pm, at The Cell Theatre, The Manhattan Chamber Players and Seunghee Lee (Sunny) will be presenting a sampling of a number of the masterworks written for clarinet by Mozart, Brahms, and Weber. The first half of the program will feature the first movement of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet, a movement from Brahms Clarinet Quintet and the the last movement of the virtuosic Weber Clarinet Quintet.

The second half of the program will feature tango music, including the works of Piazzolla and JP Jofre. JP and Sunny will perform JP’s Double Concerto, a work that was  written for clarinet and bandoneon and demonstrates the evolution of clarinet music and the instrument’s versatility. The Double Concerto was premiered last  year by JP and Sunny during Sunny’s Carnegie Hall recital.  

For tickets, which are $20, and additional info click here

The cell is located at 338 West 23rd St in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. 

 

To PURCHASE TICKETS for: “CLASSICALLY EXPOSED: FROM CARNEGIE HALL to THE CELL”

“Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to The Cell,” beginning on March 27. Tickets for each of the series’ shows will be $20. You can click on the link of an individual event for tickets:  

March 27:  Season Opener…Seunghee Lee and the Manhattan Chamber Players with special guest, JP Jofre. Works by Mozart, Weber, Brahms and Jofre 

April 26:  Yuri Juarez and Renato Diz: “From Classical to Jazz”

May 10:  Verona Quartet “An Outstanding Ensemble…” New York Times

June 28:  Clare Maloney and Nicole Zuraitis: “From Opera to Pop”

September 27:  Ji in and Wayne Weng, “From Classical to Pop to Hip Hop.”

October 18:  Empire Wild “From Bows to Beats

December 6:  “From Carnegie to ‘the cell with narration by Charles R. Hale and live music, featuring historical Carnegie Hall performances 

SEUNGHEE LEE “SUNNY” at THE CELL, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22

Not only is Seunghee Lee and her production company Musica Solis co-producing the series “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to The Cell” with me, she is also performing on March 27 with the Manhattan Chamber Players and JP Jofre.  But you can hear and meet “Sunny” this Friday, February 22 at “The Cell” when she performs with Empire Wild, a brilliant young group of musicians. This is a free event but you must reserve a seat, which you can do by contacting me at charles@crhproductions.com

A little about Sunny: She was included in the “Top 30 Under 30” by KDFC San Francisco radio. Her albums were chosen as “CD of the Week” and her music is performed on classical musical stations around the world, including WQXR here in NYC. She has collaborated with Deepak Chopra and with renowned Italian film composer, Andrea Morricone, performing his world-premiere arrangement of “Love Theme” from Cinema Paradiso for clarinet and orchestra.

“Now here is a talent… who has a warm, silvery, and woody a tone as anyone could imagine with fast and keen finger work to match… amazing expressive capabilities… positively lovely” – Review by Allmusic.com 

ARTISTRY & THE ARTIST:SEUNGHEE LEE. REVIEW by VINCENT NAUHEIMER

Artistry and the Artist by V. Nauheimer

Last night, Seunghee Lee opened Charles R. Hale’s 2018 series “Thoroughly New York.” She was an unequivocal success.  

Ms. Lee, a brilliant clarinetist, is a storyteller like Charles, who enhances story through musical performance.  Effectively handled, there is a synergy in which the narrative and the music become greater than the sum of their parts. What made this show different is that Ms. Lee was both the musician and the storyteller, engaging the audience with her humor, life experiences and carefully selected musical scores to punctuate each story. It made for a richly rewarding experience. 

Ms. Lee played her clarinet with ease and grace, but her performance went far beyond her immense musical skills. She shared an inspirational story of how she’d arrived at this time and place in her life and how she’d wrestled with her love for music and roles as a clarinetist, a mother and wife. At one point she described a moment in her life when in despair, she gave up her music, but turned it into a humorous moment by flashing a photo onto the screen of her clarinet, in her home, with a lampshade over it. Ms. Lee explained that even though she wasn’t actively using it at that point in her life she did not want to let it go. Clearly, the world is richer because Ms. Lee came back to her clarinet.

Ms. Lee opened her show with an Elgar piece that is very dear to her, Salut d’Amour Bravo, (Salute to Love) She explained how the piece was written for violin, but because of her love for the work, she became the first clarinetist to record it. It was a pattern that she would repeat often, which included producing a book containing sheet music for the clarinet called “Hidden Treasures.”

Ms. Lee also regaled us with tales of her love of golf even comparing it to music, noting that each discipline required,  “practice, practice, practice…” as well as finding a good teacher, having fun and developing a good rhythm and tempo. To punctuate the story, she played Gabriel Faure’s 1893 piece, Sicilienne, which she stated gave her a sense of freedom and wonder while she played golf.

As the evening progressed, it was clear that little held back Ms. Lee. When it came to performing and her love of her instrument…anything was possible. Nothing underscored that more than her two Puccini arias “O Mio Bambino Cara” from Gianna Schicchi and “Nessun Dorma” from Turandot. I’m an opera fan, but hearing these well known arias performed as clarinet solos was a richly rewarding experience. While Sunny performed, accompanied by pianist Evan Solomon, it would have been impossible not to hear Kathleen Battle or the great Pavarotti, whose signature song was Nessun Dorma, singing these arias.  Quite riveting. 

The most moving moment of the evening was Ms Lee’s tribute to her father, who was taken from her in a most unfortunate and untimely manner. To honor his life, which included introducing her to the clarinet, as well as instructing her, Ms. Lee performed her father’s favorite song, “Danny Boy.” The soul and emotion she put into the song was a magnificent tribute. The audience was on the edge of their seats, the emotion palpable.  

I’d never experienced a classically trained musician of Seunghee Lee’s talent, combine superior musicality and riveting storytelling. A novel concept, superbly crafted.  It was an exceptional evening and if this is a portent of things to come, I await the next performance in this series, “Thoroughly New York,” with great anticipation

Photos by Mitch Traphagen

ARTISTRY & THE ARTIST: SEUNGHEE “SUNNY” LEE, WEDNESDAY at THE CELL

 

Seunghee Lee, “Sunny”

TICKETS FOR SEUNGHEE LEE ON MAY 16  CLICK HERE.

“Now here is a talent…  who has as warm, silvery, and woody a tone as anyone could imagine with fast and keen finger work to match… amazing expressive capabilities… positively lovely” – Review by Allmusic.com

Seunghee Lee is a multi-faceted musician, international recording artist, and musical entrepreneur, Seunghee (Sunny) brings a vivacious energy, an exquisite elegance and extraordinary precision to all her endeavors. Ms. Lee has been recognized by the Clarinet Magazine as “an uncompromising soloist, destined to be an upcoming contender of top stature”.

Sunny’s 2017-2018 season included a tour of northern Italy performing the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, visiting professorship at Yale School of Music, and a Sold-Out debut recital at Carnegie Hall. An advocate for exploring new ideas, embracing all musical genres, one of the greatest highlights was her collaboration with DEEPAK CHOPRA on his new album & book: HOME: Where Everyone is Welcome, a collection of thirty-four original poems and twelve songs inspired by a diverse group of immigrants.

Click here to listen to Sunny performing “Gabriel’s Oboe” with composer Andrea Morricone, who is also the composer of the “Love Theme” from Cinema Paradiso, which you can hear Sunny perform here.

Join us for, “Artistry & the Artist, a great night of music and storytelling.  TICKETS FOR SEUNGHEE LEE ON MAY 16  CLICK HERE.

CHARLES R. HALE PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS: “THOROUGHLY NEW YORK”

From top left: Miho Hazama, Nicole Zuraitis, Sunny Lee, Charles R. Hale. From bottom left: David S. Goldman and Yuri Juarez

Charles R. Hale Productions’ series “New Yorkers: Together in Story and Song.” was both an exciting and succesful experience. Each of the seven shows filled The Cell theatre and consistently offered superior performances to appreciative audiences.

This year’s series, “Thoroughly New York” is set and our performers and I are looking forward to rewarding our audience with another great season of top-notch entertainment, in a great setting–The Cell–at a very reasonable price. The “New York” performers are Seunghee Lee, Yuri Juarez and the Afroperuano Group, Miho Hazama and m_unit, the Nicole Zuraitis Quartet and David S. Goldman and Charles R. Hale.

Clarinetist Seunghee Lee/”Sunny” is a multi-faceted musician, international recording artist, and musical entrepreneur, Seunghee brings a vivacious energy, an exquisite elegance and extraordinary precision to all her endeavors.  Of Sunny, Allmusic.com said, “Now here is a talent… who has as warm, silvery, and woody a tone as anyone could imagine with fast and keen finger work to match… amazing expressive capabilities… positively lovely” May 16, 7:30pm. Tickets are on sale now at $25 if purchased in advance– click here.  Tickets are $30 at the door. 

Yuri Juarez has performed in a number of shows written by Charles R. Hale, including, “The Musical History of the Lower East,”” New York: A Shining Mosaic” and Yuri appeared with his Afroperuano band in last year’s series “New Yorkers: Together in Story and Song.” Yuri and his band are proof that the music of Peru is fast occupying a prominent part of the world stage. If you haven’t heard these musicians perform you are in for a great treat. Yuri and the members of his band are internationally acclaimed and their shows are nothing short of fabulous. June 13, 7:30pm

Tokyo born composer Miho Hazama, one of New York’s most astounding young talents, will be performing with her signature ensemble “m_unit.” Lauded in Downbeat as one of “25 for the Future,” Miho is quickly establishing herself as a force of nature on the world’s stage. Her masterful understanding of harmony and orchestration combined with a who’s who of musicians results in riveting performances to packed adoring audiences at venues such as the Jazz Standard, Blue Note NYC and Tokyo, Dizzy’s Club Coca-cola, the Jazz Gallery and wowed the crowd at The Cell last year, as part of CRH Pro’s series “New Yorkers: Together in Story and Song.” July 12, 8:00pm

Audiences worldwide have been enchanted by the seismic talent of inspired jazz vocalist, keyboard player and songwriter Nicole Zuraitis who blends bountiful songwriting skills, an effervescent presence and dazzling vocals in a consummate package that has thrilled audiences. Nicole is the 2016 New York City Songwriting Competition Coffee Music Project Winner, 2015 second runner-up in the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and the 2014 Herb Albert ASCAP Young Composer Awards Winner. Nicole has headlined the Blue Note (NYC) and maintains residencies at the 55 Bar (every second Thursday of the month), Rockwood Music Hall (with the Dan Pugach Nonet), and Redeye Grill. August 14, 7:30pm

David S. Goldman is a world-traveled singer-songwriter who performs in many genres, including blues, folk, pop-jazz, and the romance and other foreign languages. He has appeared at Tarrytown Music Hall, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Irvington Town Hall Theatre, etc. and recently did a reading of his original work at Deepak Chopra’s CD and book release.  Charles R. Hale has written a number of  “New York” centric shows that blend imagery and performance art to create uniquely New York experiences. His historically-themed shows, including “Crossing Boroughs” which was recently performed at the Museum of the City of New York, incorporate story, music, imagery and dance.  David and Charles share a great love for the family “characters” who came before them and the New York neighborhoods they inhabited. Using music and story, a central part of each of their lives, Charles and David re-create the stories of their family’s lives, some sad, some uproarious. November 19, 7:30

A very big thank you to our Executive Producers, Chris Grygon and Michael Fletcher, Gail and Joe McElligott, John Moran, Tom Myles and Lisa Sullivan for once again making another great series possible.

Tickets in advance of each show are $25. CLICK HERE for Seunghee Lee’s show. Ticket links for the remainders of the shows will be added shortly. A subscription to all five performances is $90, which is a 28% discount CLICK HERE

 

 

 

ARTIST SERIES

Charles R. Hale and “M_Unit”

Artist Shows produced and sponsored by Charles R. Hale:

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Click link for info:

Luba Mason and Triangle at the Cell

Yuri Juarez and his Afroperuano Band

Miho Hazama and the m_unit

Artistry and Artist: Seunghee Lee at The Cell Theatre…Review by V. Nauheimer

Nicole Zuraitis: Generations of Her…Women Songwriters and Lyricists

Annette Homann and Friends: A Memorable Evening

Niamh Hyland and Band Raise the Roof at The Cell

Piano Virtuoso Harriet Stubbs at The Cell: Review by V. Nauheimer

Mesmerizing JP Jofre and Miho Hazama at The Cell