A terrific feature article about The Jamie Raskin Oratorio
by Jim Saksa in Roll Call!
“This is completely astonishing and totally humbling. I know Anne Becker’s poetry and Washington Viva’s music will stand the test of time, but I’m just not sure about my speeches. My family is touched.” Jamie Raskin
“The Jamie Raskin Oratorio was riveting and haunting in its brilliance. Anne Becker’s poetry profoundly captured the American Carnage we have witnessed for the last nine years. References to “my soul, my son” and the clarity of the ocean strongly reverberate. The musical composition touched the right emotional chords of Congressman Raskin’s, UNTHINKABLE: TRAUMA, TRUTH, AND THE TRIAL OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. The juxtaposition of Congressman Raskin’s personal loss with the January 6th Insurrection and its brutal aftermath vividly remind us of the GREATER AMERICAN LOSS. I wonder how The Jamie Raskin Oratorio can be utilized to “speak truth to power” now!” S.C.
'It gave me some desperately needed hope." RS
"Beautifully moving and gorgeous." KF
Archived Press
“From the grand first movement through the rollicking scherzo, to the passionate finale, the performers were involved and intense.”
--- Mark J. Estren, Washington Post
Drawing by Lucy Blake Elahi (outdoor music during pandemic)
VCCA Fireplace Series 22: Marilyn Banner and Ellen Prentiss Campbell
Composer and VCCA Fellows Council member Martin Hundley hosts this virtual event featuring longtime friends Marilyn Banner and Ellen Prentiss Campbell. Banner, a visual artist, and Campbell, a writer, reconnected at a VCCA residency in 2009. Campbell reads from her new novel, FRIEDA's SONG, which will be published on May 25, 2021 (the cover image is from a painting by Banner)! Banner shares images of artwork from early residencies at VCCA, as well as more recent work.
LIBBY LARSEN
Libby Larsen appreciated the all-Larsen concert we produced at the Cosmos Club.
Nicole Miller’s Washington Post feature article that brought WMV to the attention of the Washington public in January 2001.
Voice of America feature (video) by Julie Taboh,
4.1.20 (Print version)
CultureSpot Feature by Eric Althoff,
May 22, 2019
"...flowed with such freedom that one couldn't help but imagine standing on a boat's bow, arms outstretched. "
--- Grace Jean, in the Washington Post
“There was nothing boring about the high level of performance that Washington Musica Viva offered at the Ratner Museum on Wednesday. What there was, in spades, was a feeling of geniality that invited a collaboration, not only among the musicians but also among musicians and audience in the pleasures of the music…. Musica Viva is pianist Carl Banner's baby, and he has surrounded himself with fine chamber artists: clarinetist Ben Redwine, whose sophistication in the Brahms was as compelling as his sense of humor in switching among six different-size clarinets for the Stephens work; violinist Judith Spokes, who offered a soulful if somewhat careful reading of the Dvorak; cellist Amy Leung, who projected lyricism throughout…”
--- Joan Reinthaler, Washington Post
An appreciation: "I really appreciate your skill and passion in how you play, not only my music, but everything you perform. I always feel like you put your heart and soul into everything that you play, and it comes through clearly in your performances." Blair Goins, composer
Vacla Havel expressed his appreciation of my Czech music performance during a gathering of human rights heroes at the Czech Embassy by signing one of my scores.
PARTY OF FOUR: Washington Musica Viva Presents Schumann and Martinů Piano Quartets.
Feature article by Ellyn Wexler. June 6, 2017
VIVA LA MUSICA! Cellist and Pianist Collaborate on Concert at Silver Spring Church.
Feature article by Ellyn Wexler
March 23, 2017
Review of September 13, 2017 concert in Raleigh NC: Bonnie Thron and Carl Banner
Meredith College Bill Robinson concert, review by John W. Lampert, March 24, 2019.
"The audience didn't just like it, they whooped, yelped, [and] bravoed… After the Czech Embassy standing ovation, one audience member summed it up: 'This music makes me feel it’s good to be alive.' ” Marsha Dubrow in examiner.com
“The concert by the Milo Trio was incredibly lovely! I have just discovered the Washington Musica Viva through a good friend and hope to attend many more of these lovely concerts. Symphonies and concerts at the Kennedy Center and Strathmore are very nice but the more casual and friendly nature of the WMV concerts makes them more fun.” Audience member, June 22, 2019
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