Subscribe now and win free tix on Continental!

Ars Lyrica Houston patrons and fans take note: if you subscribe to our 2009-10 season by June 15, you'll have a chance to win TWO FREE TICKETS ANYWHERE IN THE USA ON CONTINENTAL AIRLINES. Many thanks to our corporate sponsor, Continental Airlines, and the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts for making this generous offer possible. To subscribe: visit Ars Lyrica or call the Hobby Center box office at 713 315-2525. And do it today to get your chance at those free tickets on Continental!

MFAH Lecture on May 7

Yours truly gives a free lecture on Baroque Allegory -- with live music, thanks to sopranos Ava Pine and Melissa Givens -- at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston next Thursday, May 7, at 6:30 pm in the Brown Auditorium. For those who are planning on attending the May 10 Ars Lyrica performance of Handel's "Il Trionfo del Tempo" at the Hobby Center, this is an excellent opportunity to learn something about the work before experiencing it live. It's sensational music, and there's some very beautiful art to look at during the lecture as well, including this "Allegory of Prudence" by Luca Giordano.

Verdi Requiem as Concert-Drama

Tonight the Moores School offers an intriguing take on the Verdi Requiem. It's inspired by performances of the work given by prisoners in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, and uses footage of interviews with survivors plus documentary clips from that era, including some fascinating though repellant propaganda. I attended the dress rehearsal last night and found the historical angle quite interesting, though the production was more like watching the History Channel than seeing a piece of musical theater. Dramatizations of major works are a challenge: the addition of new elements to a well-known score can either distract us from the music or add to our understanding of it...and I'm still sorting out which this is! I'd be interested to hear from readers what their views are, especially if they've seen the work.

Guns on campus

The Texas Legislature is at it again, and Molly Ivins is no longer around to defend us! The latest crazy proposal: to allow concealed weapons on public university campuses in Texas, where they are presently prohibited (as they are in every other state except Utah). Those in support of this change in the law say that students have a right to defend themselves against violent crime, but virtually everyone who has studied this issue in depth says that more guns = more violence. It doesn't take a genius or a PhD to figure this out: people who have guns use them, and on college campuses where there's living in close quarters, pressure and stress, there have been far too many recent shootings by people who obtained guns legally. What we need is not more guns, it's intelligent gun control. How many more of us will have to die in campus shootings before the NRA loses its total and complete grip on American politics?

If you live in Texas, please contact your state representatives and state senators and urge them to vote NO on this dangerous proposal. It's easy to do online: go to TXLegislature to contact your elected officials and let them know how you feel!

So Last Century...

I'm doing something kind of unusual (for me) this Friday: an entire program of contemporary music! Yours truly is appearing with mezzo Sonja Bruzauskas, cellist Erika Johnson, and flautist Daniel Alexander at the Rothko Chapel for a song salon program entitled "So Last Century..." which explores how old instruments are used in contemporary work, how old genres and forms get new sounds, etc. More details at Divas World Productions, the sponsor of this free event. There will be music by David Ashley White, Edmund Rubbra, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and Samuel Adler, plus wine and cheese and an opportunity for the audience to participate in the discussion following the program. Hope to see some of you there!

Musical Pleasure Garden program postponed

Due to bad weather, the Ars Lyrica/MSM Collegium "Musical Pleasure Garden" program at Bayou Bend has been moved from tomorrow (March 14) to Sunday, March 22 at 5:30 pm. The location remains the same: the lovely grounds at Bayou Bend, which will be just as beautiful on the 22nd, and hopefully rain-free then!

Naxos Scarlatti disc now available online!

I'm delighted to announce that Ars Lyrica's first commercial recording is now available online from Naxos. The official release date is March 31, when the CD will be available in record stores worldwide. You can also purchase one directly from Ars Lyrica at our next event. Stay tuned for news of a CD release party in early April!