The Renaissance City Winds has been awarded a grant from the Heinz Endowments’ Small Arts Initiative for a production of Façade, which will open the 2013-14 season on September 20 and 22. This is a major chamber work of the early 20th century with music composed by William Walton and poetry by Edith Sitwell. The narration will be by legendary choral conductor Robert Page and noted actress/singer Kate Young.
William Walton
Edith Sitwell
Q – Where’s the Renaissance music?
A – We’re the RENAISSANCE CITY Winds, named after Pittsburgh’s nickname. In the immediate post-WWII years, downtown Pittsburgh was reborn with the demolition of warehouses and industrial facilities and the construction of Gateway Center, the modern skyscrapers where the Allegheny and the Monogahela merge to form the mighty Ohio River. That’s where the “Renaissance City” came from!
While we play a few transcriptions from the Renaissance (1500s), the first original music for oboes and bassoons came along in the early Baroque, and the clarinet at the very end of the Baroque. So most of our music is from 1630-2013!
In 1943, after the first round of smoke control
Pittsburgh reborn – aka “The Renaissance City”
Mark your calendars for the first concert of the Winds’ summer series at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Freeport, Pennsylvania (just up Route 28 from Pittsburgh). Barb O’Brien and John Marcinizyn have a great program of flute and guitar duos worked up for this. Concert is at 6pm with a reception afterwards. Trinity Lutheran is at Fifth and Buffalo Streets in Freeport. Don’t miss it!
Future events in the same location on July 14 and July 28. All are Sundays at 6pm.
