 | This article possibly contains original research .(February 2008) |
Anna Kepe (born 1977), also known by her married name of Anna Kepe Haas, is a director, actress, producer, pedagogue and entrepreneur. Kepe received her MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre, Academy for Classical Acting in Washington, D.C. under the direction of Michael Kahn.
Kepe directed a performance of German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen's theatrical percussion-ensemble work Musik im Bauch at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. [1] No stranger to opera, Kepe created the physical theater movement for the world premier of Donald Knack's (a.k.a. the Junkman) opera Odin. [2] The New York Times described this production as an unqualified success while "raw energy coursed through the piece". [3]
Kepe's cameo appearance on the Macbeth inspired composition The Charm written by composer Michael Udow can be heard on the Equilibrium record label. Kepe combines her Shakespearean expertise and narration with an ensemble instrumentation that includes the world's largest timpani (74"diameter) and 10 sets of 14-foot chimes.
Kepe has been a featured director and teacher at the Aspen Music Festival combining movement with music featuring the music of Dmitri Shostakovich, Alfred Schnittke and Frank Zappa, all combined with original choreography and physical movement, created by Kepe.
Most recently Kepe has created, directed and presented a series of performances of Philip Glass's rendering of the Prelude to Endgame at New York University, the Latvian National Conservatory (Riga) and as a featured artist at the Percussive Arts International Convention in Austin, Texas. Complementing her innovative vision of this Becket's work, she has created an equally compelling interpretation of Sam Shepard's one act play, Tongues having directed and performed this work with internationally renowned percussionist/timpanist Jonathan Haas. Kepe returned from Barbados, W.I. where she directed Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte at The Holders Season.
Kepe has hosted the Exceptional Young Artists Fund - Gidon Kremer and KREMERATA Baltica Gala Concert at The Purchase Performing Arts Center in Purchase, as well as a benefit concert at the Scandinavia House featuring Gidon Kremer and KREMERata Musica Concert at The Kosciuszko Foundation in NYC. Stephen Pulp's PANGEA featured Kepe at the Page-To-Stage festival at The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC and with Blessed Unrest Theatre Company in NY in ensemble created collaboration The James Wilde Project.
Future projects include directing playwright David Ives's, Philip Glass Buys A Loaf Of Bread at the Loewe Theater, New York University as part of a 70th birthday celebration for Philip Glass, acting in the 365 Days/365 Plays project at the Public Theater.
Kepe coaches privately and has worked with the summer Acting Shakespeare camp and workshops at The Texas Shakespeare Festival.
Kepe is married to the timpanist Jonathan Haas.
Timpani or kettledrums are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. Thus timpani are an example of kettle drums, also known as vessel drums and semispherical drums, whose body is similar to a section of a sphere whose cut conforms the head. Most modern timpani are pedal timpani and can be tuned quickly and accurately to specific pitches by skilled players through the use of a movable foot-pedal. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet. Timpani evolved from military drums to become a staple of the classical orchestra by the last third of the 18th century. Today, they are used in many types of ensembles, including concert bands, marching bands, orchestras, and even in some rock bands.
Gidon Kremer is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica.
Kremerata Baltica is a chamber orchestra consisting of musicians from Baltic countries. It was founded by Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer in 1997. Gidon Kremer is an artistic director of Kremerata Baltica.
Alexander Kuzmich Vustin, also Voustin or Wustin was a Russian composer. His works, including the opera The Devil in Love, were played and recorded internationally.
Estonian Record Productions ("ERP") is an Estonian music production company, founded on 1 March 2001. The main activity was initially record production, and the company has now branched out to produce music festivals and concerts, act as artist management, publish music, and offers notation and specialised travel services for musicians. Peeter Vähi is the artistic director and Tiina Jokinen is the managing director.
Igudesman & Joo is a duo comprising classical musicians Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo, whose shows combine comedy with classical music and popular culture.
Belgrade Music Festival (BEMUS) is a Serbian music festival. Founded in 1969, it is the oldest and the most prominent music festival in Serbia and one of the most distinctive classical music festivals in the South-Eastern Europe. Enjoying the position of a cultural event of special importance for the City of Belgrade, BEMUS has been a member of the European Festivals Association (EFA) since 2002.
Victoria Vita Polevá is a Ukrainian composer.
Alicja Smietana is a Polish and British violinist, viola player, arranger and composer currently based in London.
The Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra is a double timpani concerto written by Philip Glass in 2000. It is paired with the Cello Concerto on Vol. I of Glass' Concerto Project, a set of eight concerti by the composer. A typical performance of the work lasts 25–28 minutes. It was written for Jonathan Haas and later recorded by Evelyn Glennie, and was premiered by Haas and Svet Stoyanov with the American Symphony Orchestra in Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, conducted by Leon Botstein. The work was commissioned jointly by the American Symphony Orchestra, the Peabody Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony and the Phoenix Symphony. In 2004, a transcription for wind ensemble was written by Mark Lortz, which debuted at Peabody Institute in 2005.
The Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival is an annual chamber music festival located in the Austrian state of Burgenland. It is held at three venues in Lockenhaus: Burg Lockenhaus castle, Church of St. Nikolaus, and the old monastery of Lockenhaus. The New York Times has referred to as perhaps one of the "two most refined music festivals of all", and a European cultural treasure. While both older and younger talents perform, notable performers include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Heinz Holliger, Cho-Liang Lin, and András Schiff. According to its founder, violinist Gidon Kremer, the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival philosophically resembles the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, US.
The western classical-style art song has attracted many songs on translations of Arabic texts, notably by composers of French mélodies and German Lieder, but few art songs sung in Arabic.
Vakhtang (Vato) Kakhidze is a Georgian composer and conductor. He is the son of conductor Jansug Kakhidze. He graduated and postgraduated from the Moscow State Conservatory. He studied composition with Nikolai Sidelnikov and orchestration with Edison Denisov. Kakhidze is the conductor of Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra since 1993.
Raminta Šerkšnytė is a Lithuanian composer, pianist and associate professor of composition. She is a laureate of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts, in 2020 she was nominated (shortlisted) for a Gramophone Classical Music Award. Her De profundis for string orchestra (1998), composed when she was just twenty-two years of age, is one of the most popular and performed Lithuanian compositions across the world. Maestro Gidon Kremer described De profundis as “the calling card of Baltic music”.
Avant Bard Theatre is a small, primarily non-Equity theater based in Arlington, VA. The company was founded in 1990 under the name Washington Shakespeare Company; its name was changed to WSC Avant Bard in August 2011; its name was subsequently changed to Avant Bard Theatre in October 2017. Avant Bard focuses on producing "bold and experimental productions of classic and contemporary works".
Joelle Khoury is a Lebanese-American pianist and composer of jazz and contemporary classical music.
Clara Perra was an Italian solo percussionist, music educator, pianist and composer.
The Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 29, is a chamber music work by the Romanian composer George Enescu, written in 1940.
Jonathan Haas is an American timpanist. Philip Glass' Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra was commissioned for him by several orchestras.
Lucas Debargue is a French pianist and composer. He was awarded fourth prize at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition.