Elegy at the Brand Library - A 9/11 Memorial Concert

     This distinguished Library, located in Glendale, California is known for its audio and art book collections and for its many concert series and music events throughout the year. Carol Worthey 's healing tribute to those lost and those left behind in the aftermath of September 11th, "Elegy" for Cello and Piano was performed by Joyce Geeting , the cellist who commissioned the work and world-premiered it at St. Martin-in-The-Fields, London and who has performed it in Germany to critical raves and throughout the Western United States. This is the Tenth Anniversary of this tragic event. "Elegy" walks the listener through from sunrise of that fateful day to the sunrise of the following day. May this performance bring solace and some sense of closure to all who hear it on that day.

"Elegy" for Cello & Piano
Joyce Geeting, Cello
Christine DeKlotz, Piano
Brand Library & Art Center
1601 W. Mountain Street
Glendale, California 91201-1200
www.BrandLibrary.org

A Musical Banquet

     Corpus Christi Church Music Ministry Presented: A Musical Banquet with Aleksandr Haskin, flute & Mary Au, piano

"Exciting performance... Dazzling virtuosity... Live entertainment at its most engaging and palpable best"

     Works by: Bach, Schubert, Debussy, Prokofiev, Liberman, Albert and world premieres by Busier-Blais, Lefkowitz and Worthey

"Aleksandr Haskin.. A musician of exceptional power and dramatic skill, completely in charge of his instrument" - Washington Post

"Mary Au... an artist of the highest order. Great expressive sensitivity and intensity. Magnetic presence before, during and after her performances." - Allen Forte (Yale) & Madelein Forte (Concert Pianist)

"A Musical Banquet" Recital
Aleksandr Haskin, Flute
Mary Au, Piano
Corpus Christi Church
15100 Sunset Boulevard
Pacific Palisades, California 90272
www.AuMary.com

The lyrical and lilting final piece, Carol Worthey 's "A Simple Ditty" for Flute and Piano performed by Flute virtuoso Aleksandr Haskin and Mary Au , given at the 'A Musical Banquet' recital in Pacific Palisades.

Elegy Comes Home, Bringing Solace to Manhattan

     This distinguished Victorian church, located near Lincoln Center and Juilliard School is renowned throughout Manhattan and internationally for its many concert series and music events throughout the year. It is particularly fitting that Carol Worthey 's healing tribute to those lost and those left behind in the aftermath of September 11th, "Elegy" for Cello and Piano will be performed by Joyce Geeting , the cellist who commissioned the work and world-premiered it at St. Martin-in-The-Fields, London and who has performed it in Germany to critical raves and throughout the Western United States. This marks the East Coast premiere of "Elegy" : It is particularly moving to Carol that — on the Tenth Anniversary of this tragic event — the work now comes to the place where the actuality occurred. "Elegy" walks the listener through from sunrise of that fateful day to the sunrise of the following day. May this performance at this historic church and famous music venue bring solace and some sense of closure to all who hear it on that day.

"Elegy" for Cello & Piano
Joyce Geeting, Cello
Christine DeKlotz, Piano
Christ & St. Stephen's Church
120 West 69th Street
New York City, New York 10023-5106
www.CSSChurch.org

Elegy at the Cal Lutheran Chapel - A 9/11 Memorial Concert

     This beautiful chapel, located on the California Lutheran University campus in Thousand Oaks, California is known for its many concert series and music events throughout the year. Carol Worthey 's healing tribute to those lost and those left behind in the aftermath of September 11th, "Elegy" for Cello and Piano was performed by Joyce Geeting , the cellist who commissioned the work and world-premiered it at St. Martin-in-The-Fields, London and who has performed it in Germany to critical raves and throughout the Western United States. This is the Tenth Anniversary of this tragic event. "Elegy" walks the listener through from sunrise of that fateful day to the sunrise of the following day. May this performance bring solace and some sense of closure to all who hear it on that day.

"Elegy" for Cello & Piano
Joyce Geeting, Cello
Christine DeKlotz, Piano
California Lutheran University
Samuelson Chapel
60 West Olsen Road
Thousand Oaks, California 91360
www.CalLutheran.edu

Elegy at the United Methodist Church of Westlake Village - A 9/11 Memorial Concert

     This beautiful church, located Westlake Village, California is known for concert series and music events throughout the year. Carol Worthey 's healing tribute to those lost and those left behind in the aftermath of September 11th, "Elegy" for Cello and Piano was performed by Joyce Geeting , the cellist who commissioned the work and world-premiered it at St. Martin-in-The-Fields, London and who has performed it in Germany to critical raves and throughout the Western United States. This is the Tenth Anniversary of this tragic event. "Elegy" walks the listener through from sunrise of that fateful day to the sunrise of the following day. May this performance bring solace and some sense of closure to all who hear it on that day.

"Elegy" for Cello & Piano
Joyce Geeting, Cello
Christine DeKlotz, Piano
United Methodist Church of Westlake Village
The Westlake Village Music Society
1049 S. Westlake Boulevard
Westlake Village, California 91361
www.UMCWV.org

Hong Kong Recital

Concert Pianist
STANLEY WONG

      Carol Worthey is excited that this was the second performance in Hong Kong of her solo piano "Romanza" (the China Premiere was performed last year by American Pianist Gloria Chuang in Hong Kong) and that gifted pianist and teacher Stanley Wong will be playing it in such a lovely venue (see the photo below). Carol hopes to visit that fascinating city of contrasts some day, so the fact that her music is becoming known and appreciated there is particularly exciting to her.

     Carol's ties to China and its long culture and history began in early childhood when she immersed herself in Chinese folk tales, Chinese art and philosophy, and continued at Columbia University where she took Oriental Studies along with Music Composition, a year-long course with the reputation of being the most time-intensive course at the University. In 2008 Carol journeyed to Beijing where her chamber work "Jade Flute in Lo-Yang" (based on a nostalgic poem by T'ang Dynasty poet Li Bai ) combined traditional Chinese instruments with Western Chamber group (see Events April 2008 for details) and gave a seminar imparting ways that eastern and western instruments can be successfully combined, bringing East and West together musically.

     Worthey has long felt the need to create music that embodies principles universal to all of mankind, such as love, compassion, healing with an emotional palette that anyone can relate to — to cite and respect differences in culture while pointing out our commonalities... "Romanza" is such a work — Carol's wish is that the passion and adventure and lyricism inherent in that work will embrace all cultures. And she salutes her dear Chinese friends who have embraced her music with such understanding and beautiful playing.

DoReMi Music Wonderland Recital Hall
13/F Pak Lok Commercial Bldg,
180 Tung Lo Wan Road,
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Italian Brass Week Brings The New Renaissance Alive!!

Dale Clevenger Conducts Fanfare for The New Renaissance

     On August 20th 2011 during Brass Marathon Day, a highlight of Italian Brass Week in the magical town of Santa Fiora, Italy, world-renowned Horn Virtuoso and Distinguished Conductor Dale Clevenger conducted Carol Worthey 's brass work 'Fanfare for The New Renaissance!' The exuberant and brilliant Horn Virtuoso Luca Benucci , Artistic Director and Founder of Italian Brass Week, conducted the World Premiere of this work on Opening Day of the 2007 Florence Biennale International Contemporary Art Exhibit. The work, written in honor of the City of Florence, cradle of the Renaissance, was awarded a Special Recognition Award by the Biennale and received its American Premiere in 2009 in celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra, Beverly Everett , Conductor. In 2009 it was again performed at the Italian Brass Week by brass mentors gathered from some of the greatest orchestras in the world, the Vienna Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic and their students.

     This year it is a SIGNAL HONOR that thrills the composer that world-renowned Horn Virtuoso, multiple Grammy-Award-winner, and Distinguished Conductor Dale Clevenger conducted this work on Brass Marathon Day, August 20th among the historic castles and squares of Santa Fiora!

      Dale Clevenger 's Biography:
Considered by international audiences and colleagues to be the reigning virtuoso of the horn, Dale Clevenger is also a consummate and multifaceted musician. Long sought after as a teacher by students from around the globe, he is increasingly in demand as a conductor due to his elegant style and artistry. Throughout the world, Clevenger has performed to acclaim as soloist and/or conductor in symphonic, chamber music and jazz performances, on classical and commercial recordings, three of which won Grammy Awards, and in countless musical festivals, master classes, workshops and instructional engagements.
Among the highlights of his illustrious career:

• 45 years with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
  
• Three Grammy Awards
  
• Conductor and/or soloist with numerous orchestras in North and Central America, Europe, Asia, Australia and elsewhere, including recent conducting in Spain with Daniel Barenboim as soloist
  
• John Williams Concerto for Horn written for - and premiered by - him
  
• Faculty of Roosevelt University and the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University; former faculty of Northwestern University Music School
  
• Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Horn Society, 2010
  
• Honorary Doctorate (Elmhurst College) and Distinguished Alumni Award (coming October 2011 from Carnegie Mellon University)
  

     How was this Fanfare "born"?
This work (which dreams of a better time for all mankind) indeed began in a dream. In her dream Carol Worthey was amongst a huge crowd in an Italian square lit by candles, fireworks and city lights. A hundred thousand people had gathered to celebrate that for one month there had been no wars or revolutions anywhere. A fanfare was filling the air and Carol remembers that as she dreamed this vivid dream, she asked herself, "Wow! Who wrote this?" Then she had to wake herself up when she realized that she was creating the fanfare in her sleep! Carol rushed to the piano, waking her long-suffering husband in the process. As they say, "The rest is history!"

     The fanfare begins in a blaze, with the brass calling back and forth in a lively call-and-response (contrapuntal dialogue), announcing and envisioning a time where creativity, prosperity and understanding will bloom on Earth! The middle section harks back to the Florence of old, with bells ringing out and a lyrical tribute to the beauty of that special time, then the music builds until again the brass call forth the vision of a bright future!

     To have Maestro Clevenger conduct this work is an enormous honor and Carol Worthey is thrilled! If you are an aspiring brass player, Italian Brass Week is always THE place to be in August.

12^th Italian Brass Week / Santa Fiora Music Festival
Luca Benucci, Artistic Director
Santa Fiora, Italy
Brass Marathon Day
Fanfare for The New Renaissance
for Trumpets, Trombones, 2 Hns & Tuba
by Carol Worthey
Conducted by Dale Clevenger
http://www.daleclevenger.com

Italian Brass Week: http://www.italianbrass.com

An Artistic Visitor

     Internationally known art journalist and theater critic Ed Rubin , returning from a round of plays and theater conferences in Ashland, Oregon, visited with Carol Worthey and Ray Korns in their Hollywood Hills home. After the champagne that Ed brought was popped, the evening was off to a great start and a wonderful conversation over Thai food at Pimai Restaurant in Hollywood followed — it is always a special treat to meet friends who are passionate about the arts and knowledgeable to boot! Ed is both the quintessential New Yorker and a Citizen of The World, so an evening with Mr. Rubin is the definition of bon vivant cameraderie, aka just plan FUN!

     Ed first met Carol and Ray at the 2007 Florence Biennale International Contemporary Art Exhibit where Carol's paintings were on exhibit and enthusiastically encouraged her upon hearing her brass work "Fanfare for The New Renaissance" on Opening Day of the Biennale. Since then the three had became fast friends, no surprise since Ed Rubin 's moniker is "Fast Eddy", known as he is for his quick wit and insightful articles about contemporary art, theater and all things cultural. In 2010 the three had enjoyed an Italian meal in the Village when Carol's music was performed in Manhattan at Facebook Friends Concert. In May through June 2011, Ed became curator of a unique and delightful exhibit in Manhattan, "Billowing Beauty", at the Roger Smith Lab featuring the exuberant sculptures of Parisian sculptor Anne Ferrer . Anne's playful free-form sculptures are sewn by her from parachute material in vivid pastel colors and then are blown up so that they seem to move and breathe. When curator Ed suggested that Carol's music would be a perfect accompaniment to the gently billowing sculptures, Anne Ferrer totally concurred, and so Carol's music was heard by many tens of thousands of visitors to the Lab. The exhibit was voted Top Ten for the month of May through June in Manhattan!

"A Choral Calendar" Is Born!

Composer/Painter/Writer Carol Worthey is proud to announce the "birth" of a new major work for choir: Twelve musical portraits of each month painted in musical colors and textures that depict the characteristic moods, changing weather, special holidays and unique feeling of each month. "A Choral Calendar" is a uniquely flexible work in its performance possibilities: It is designed to function enjoyable as a whole concert piece, with each stylistically distinct month flowing one to the next until an entire year is portrayed in music, in artwork and in verse. It is also a multi-faceted set of pieces, each unique, that can function with each month being performed by itself as the year passes, or for special occasions such as a Holiday, a Wedding or to celebrate a Birthday during any particular month.

The overall cover of "A Choral Calendar" should give you a vivid taste of the variety and freshness in this choral work.

Inside this overall cover of the "A Choral Calendar" book are the music scores from "January" to "December", each month having its own "iconic" (highly symbolic and representative) cover artwork, a page showing the evocative poem by Carol which she set to music, followed by the music score, for choir with handy rehearsal piano part. "A Choral Calendar" is scored for a cappella [unaccompanied] mixed choir of Sopranos-Altos-Tenors-Basses.

The overall effect of "A Choral Calendar" is designed to be life-giving: A passage through time and emotion, in music that senses the weather of the heart, in words that punctuate the specialness of each passing month. "A Choral Calendar" speaks of the need for personal connection, affection, and meaning in our lives. It is a testament to those heartwarming moments of the past we all experience throughout the year, to the aliveness of the present moment that spurs us on and to the dreams for the future that can keep us young.

A Choral Calandar

June 2011, A new work by Carol Worthey

Limited Edition Printmaking

Carol Worthey journeys to the impressive photography and print studio of Errol Higgins in Tustin, California to ensure personally that each limited edition fine art print is exact in every tiny detail to the original paintings.

On May 24th, several full-size prints of Carol's two most popular watercolors, "Summer Breeze" and "Morning Muse", were made under the watchful eye of the artist and her dynamic new Art Rep, Rita Harris . Rita's enthusiasm for Carol's work is infectious and it was a very rewarding afternoon for Carol to see Rita experience the process, from test prints and fine-tuning all the way to the exciting moment when the final print is made. Here we see Carol, Rita and Errol inspecting a print as it emerges from the high-tech press.

These full-size watercolor prints are printed on the finest handmade watercolor paper from England. Carol's oil and acrylic paintings have prints made on the finest linen canvas, later stretched on wood after curing overnight and being specially glazed. Each watercolor or oil/acrylic print is signed and numbered by the artist, with Certificate of Authenticity attached. There will only be 99 prints made of each, thus assuring the value of each such print.

If you have inquiries or wish to order a print, please contact Carol at carol@carolworthey.com

BILLOWING BEAUTY
An installation of moving sculptures and music
Sculptures by Anne Ferrer
Music by Carol Worthey
Curated by Ed Rubin
The Lab at the Roger Smith Hotel
47th & Lexington, New York City
May 13th, 2011 to June 3rd, 2011

Paris-based sculptor Anne Ferrer creates playful, sensuous, joyous works that breathe with life and exuberance. Anne's sculptures, sewn in free-form fantastical shapes and colored in hot pastel shades, can be seen from the giant windows of the Roger Smith Lab on 47th Street and Lexington Avenue in Mid-Manhattan, moving to music by Carol Worthey that adds to the dance-like quality of this remarkable installation. Curator of this exhibit Ed Rubin had first met Carol Worthey at the 2007 Florence Biennale when her "Fanfare for The New Renaissance" was played on Opening Day. In 2011 Ed visited Anne Ferrer's studio in Paris, and when she blew up the sea of fabrics on the floor and the sculptures took shape and seemed to dance and breathe, he thought the Lab (which features installation and performance art in a unique setting) would be the perfect exhibition space and that Carol Worthey 's "lighter than air" music would be a fitting complement to the art...

Carol Worthey was immediately attracted to these lifelike and yet imaginative "creatures"—— imagine beach umbrellas that have morphed into sea creatures or denizens from a magical forest that one can walk through or hot air balloons suddenly descended to earth to be touched. — and was thrilled when Anne Ferrer heard her music and said, "Yes, this is the perfect collaboration for my sculptures!" The music, heard from both inside the Lab space and outside on the busy street corner, combines elements of classical, jazz and world music into a rhapsodic mix that soars and breathes with life and color, inviting passerby's to look and delight! About 20,000 people a day pass by this particular intersection....

An article in NYArts Magazine says, "This 'live ballet' brings a continuous element of chaos, surprise and joy, like a floating bubble, or a shimmering shrine, to one of the busiest avenues of New York City."

Anne Ferrer comes from a Catalan family and was raised in the South of France, studied art in the United States and has shown her beautiful sculptures around the world, at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2002), the Centre Pompidou (2005), France, the Blue Star, San Antonio Texas (2009), the School of Art Institute of Chicago (1996), the Ho Ham Museum in Seoul, la Casa de Americas in Madrid, the French Institute in Rome and Naples, etc, and has recently built a monumental installation for the Dumbo Art Festival in Brooklyn. She has collaborated with Perfumers (International Flavors and Fragrances) as well as pastry chef Jean Paul Hevin , for her multi-sensorial sculpters. Ferrer is currently busy preparing a show for this summer at Chateau d'Avignon, France.

For further information, contact Danika Druttman on 212.339.2092 or email rogersmitharts@rogersmith.com . The Lab Gallery. The Roger Smith Hotel, 501 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017.

Carol Worthey featured in March magazine article by Ebell of Los Angeles!

Each month The Ebell of Los Angeles sends its members a magazine bursting with that month's array of enriching activities and events. The covers are always exceptionally beautiful and worth collecting, ranging from a gorgeous painting in the club's collection to a view of the elegant ballrooms or perhaps the sculpted fountain in its garden. This month of March 2011, a warm-hued photo-portrait of the historic Wilshire-Ebell Theatre graced its cover, hailing the fact that it had recently hosted a Grammy event.

Inside the cover is an even more impressive treasure, for the club boasts a seemingly endless flow of varied activities and events, informative, innovative, gala or civic-minded: Fascinating talks after gourmet lunches prepared by their master chef, book club meetings perhaps with the author attending for a signing, enthusiastic Ebell Choir rehearsals, all manner of important charitable and civic events, filmings on location, and numerous plays, concerts and galas in its historic Italianate clubhouse and famous Theatre. There are well-attended art exhibits in the high-ceilinged Art Salon (where Carol Worthey had her first solo exhibit in 2009) and page after page invites members and their guests to participate — warm new and long-term friendships are easily formed in such a rich environment.

This month of March 2011 the Ebell magazine-booklet focused on Arts and Culture. Club President Shirlee Taylor Haizlip is herself a gifted published author and her monthly letter to the members is inspiring and thought-provoking.

To prepare a special feature about six particular members who contribute to the cultural and professional artistic life of the city and the world, Professional writer and Editor Laura Foti Cohen prepared an article entitled "Multi-Talented Ebell Members Excel in the Arts." Laura visited Carol's home and personally interviewed her (over tea and croissants) — the result is a marvelous feature on Carol's music, painting and writing, with a color photo-portrait that really sets off the interview-article. Carol is very proud and truly honored to be featured along with Melissa Wildman (dancer, documentary producer and champion for a return of the arts in our schools), Opera singer Irena Tchillingarian Gibbons (who speaks of the discipline and passion it takes to be "one's own instrument"), Patricia Rye (founder/director of the Society Players theatre group who has herself performed on Broadway and brings wonderful plays and shows to the Ebell's second theatre, the newly refurbished intimate second-floor venue), talented and successful makeup artist for film and TV Cinzia Zanetti who has had delightful conversations with Carol at one of the famous Ebell Monday Luncheons, and very creative set designer Amy Vuckovich (who has a slew of TV shows and films she's worked on, evoking character and era in her varied sets). Carol welcomes you to read her feature in the article: In it you can get a feel for what it is like to enter Carol's gracious, art and music-filled home, and you can get a glimpse of how Carol manages to do all the many projects and different art forms she is working on without getting swamped or losing focus — Writer Laura Cohen was able to capture the answer to that in an apt quote!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!