FUSE@PSO, the popular, genre-bending early evening concert series presented by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, returns Wednesday, March 9 to Heinz Hall with “Stravinsky’s Firebird: Remix | Response.”
For this concert, series Creative Director Steve Hackman has crafted a modern dramatization and remix of Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird. Weaved into the Stravinsky are 12 original songs, inspired by the myth of the Firebird and the original 1911 score, that implement modern pop/DJ/electronica production techniques and tell the story in an entirely new and contemporary way. It is at once a live remix, concept album and classical masterpiece. Joining the Pittsburgh Symphony are rapper Jecorey “1200” Arthur, singer Malia Cievtz, drummer Gabriel Globus-Hoenich and a 15-person female choir.
“This is the first ever piece I’ve written of this nature — integrating the techniques of mash-up, remixing and my own songwriting. It is quite a thrill and opportunity,” says Hackman. “The creation process has been the most exhilarating, challenging and revelatory creative journey of my career thus far. What a complete pleasure and honor to create my own original music based on Stravinsky, to re-tell this myth through my own words and to collaborate with such a phenomenal orchestra and group of guest artists for the debut performance.”
Along with a fresh take on the concert hall experience, FUSE@PSO provides attendees with a vibrant social atmosphere before the concert with music from DJ Pete Butta, activities, happy hour priced drinks, free samples from Hop Farm Brewing Co. and Arsenal Cider, light snacks for purchase and socializing with musicians and fellow music-lovers.
“FUSE@PSO: Stravinsky’s Firebird: Remix | Response” begins at 5 p.m. with happy hour; the concert begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. Tickets are on sale now online at pittsburghsymphony.org/fuse, via phone at 412-392-4900 or in person at the Heinz Hall Box Office. Tickets are general admission and there is no intermission. Drinks are allowed in the concert hall at this performance.
The Pittsburgh Symphony would like to recognize and thank NEXT Pittsburgh for its 2015-2016 media sponsorship of FUSE@PSO, and Rivers Casino for its sponsorship of this concert. Radio station WQED-FM 89.3 and WQEJ-FM 89.7 is the official voice of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
About the Artists
Conductor, composer, arranger, producer and songwriter STEVE HACKMAN is increasingly in demand as one the most compelling artists contributing to a new landscape in classical music. Fluent in both classical and popular repertoire, he crafts virtuosic, cross-genre works and performances that intrigue the established audience and engage an excited new one.
Active across the country as a guest conductor of major symphony orchestras, Hackman presents programs he architects which synthesize orchestral and pop masterworks. His Brahms V. Radiohead interweaves the Brahms’ 1st Symphony with Radiohead’s seminal album OK Computer. He has presented it with the Indianapolis Symphony, Florida Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony and Colorado Music Festival orchestra. His Beethoven V. Coldplay is a re-imagined Eroica symphony, transforming it into an oratorio using the themes of Coldplay.
In 2015, Hackman continues his role of music director of the Mash-Up series at the Colorado Music Festival. The summer season will include the world premiere of his newest creation Bartok V. Björk, a piece which fuses the former’s Concerto for Orchestra with the latter’s first three albums. Also being presented is a re-worked version of Hackman’s first ever large-scale mash-up Copland V. Bon Iver. Last season’s highlights included the premiere of his Beethoven V. Coldplay and collaborations with My Brightest Diamond, Aoife O’Donovan, Olga Bell (of Dirty Projectors) and San Fermin.
From 2009-2013, Hackman served as co-creative director of the Happy Hour at the Symphony Series with the Indianapolis Symphony, where, along with co-artistic directors Time For Three (TF3), he pioneered a new type of concert experience by producing, arranging/composing and conducting compelling presentations that blended classical with pop. He returns as guest conductor regularly, most recently in spring 2015 premiering a program commissioned by the ISO and Time for Three which combined symphonic movements of Mozart, Beethoven and Dvořák with five contemporary pop songs.
Hackman is the creative director of :STEREO HIDEOUT:, a music brand that represents the removal of barriers between classical and popular music and the skillful blending of the two. In 2014, he released the debut :STEREO HIDEOUT: album “The Radio Nouveau,” along with several music videos. The album was mixed in London by Gareth Jones (Grizzly Bear, Depeche Mode) and mastered in Brooklyn by Joe Lambert (Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors). The follow-up album “Down with the Classics” is due in late 2015.
Hackman’s work as a composer and arranger has met with considerable success. The string trio Time for Three and choral ensemble Chanticleer present his works as their showpieces; TF3’s “Chaconne in Winter” highlights their recent release on Universal Records, and Chanticleer’s “Wait Fantasy” can be heard on their recent album “Someone New.” He enjoys a continuing relationship as an arranger for Time for Three, and most recently contributed five new mash-ups to their solo repertoire, two pieces to their holiday EP “Yuletime” (Universal) and arranged the music for their appearance on ABC’s hit show “Dancing with the Stars.” Hackman’s orchestrations for artists like Time for Three, The Five Browns, Michael Cavanaugh, My Brightest Diamond, Arlo Guthrie, Aoife O’Donovan and Joshua Radin have been performed by nearly all the major orchestras in America. This season marked his first collaboration with the world-renowned Tallis Scholars.
Hackman was a four-year member, producer and musical director of the a capella group The Other Guys at the University of Illinois, a group that under his direction placed runner-up in the International Competition of Collegiate Acapella at Avery Fisher Hall. He is a prolific songwriter, having written hundreds of songs and releasing several albums of original music. His song “The Pendulum Song” was chosen among tens of thousands as a finalist in the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Competition, and he has also received honorable mention in the Billboard songwriting competition. He has entertained as a dueling piano player at Howl at the Moon piano bar in Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville. In season 7 of American Idol, Hackman was one of 164 contestants chosen from more than 150,000 to attend Hollywood Week. He finished in the top 64.
Hackman studied conducting under Otto-Werner Mueller and counterpoint/composition under Dr. Ford Lallerstedt at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He subsequently studied conducting with David Zinman at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen and received further instruction in orchestration from the prolific Broadway orchestrator and composer William Brohn (“Miss Saigon,” “Wicked,” “Ragtime” and countless others). He served as the assistant conductor of the Reading Symphony for two seasons, where he led subscription, family, education, and New Year’s Eve programs.
JECOREY “1200” ARTHUR is a music educator, composer and performer from Louisville, KY. He began composing music at age 10, and at age 12 purchased the KORG D-1200, which is where his nickname comes from. He quickly became a self-taught recording artist and producer, but decided to become classically trained instead of chasing music industry dreams. Prior to obtaining his Bachelor of Music Education at the University of Louisville, he had the chance to perform at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas, and the Jungfrau Music Festival in Interlaken, Switzerland.
During his undergraduate studies, 1200 was a student of Dr. Greg Byrne, director of percussion studies at the University of Louisville. Though 1200’s compositions can be considered hip hop, he is heavily influenced by neo-classicism and fusion. While in college, 1200 co-founded a creative collective known as the United Legion of DOOM, which features musicians, artists, designers, producers and creative intellectuals from around the globe. 1200 has co-executive produced albums such as Nick B’s Transcendence and Hwang’s It Was Only Yesterday. 1200 additionally executive produced his own release, SYMPHONY I, in August 2014. SYMPHONY I is an exploration of life, narrated in an anachronic fashion. The music on SYMPHONY I features a variety of samples and influences from various genres including 1990s soul and contemporary classical works.
1200’s unique blend of talent, experience and polystylism also appears in Louisville music groups Citizens United and The Monolith. His most notable performance endeavor is his 1200 ensemble, a group of mixed musicians and designers that perform with him at concerts. This group often features DJ Deuce Carter, keyboardist and guitarist Nick B, light coordinator Lauren “Elmo” Morris and more. 1200’s ensemble is known for performing unique shows that differ from previous ones. In December 2014, he performed at Headliners Music Hall, joined on stage by a 12-piece chamber chorus and string quintet. 1200 has also had multiple collaborations with Teddy Abrams, director of music for the Louisville Orchestra. The pair’s most notable performance was LOWF4th (Louisville Orchestra Waterfront 4th), where 1200 performed for 35,000 people alongside the Louisville Orchestra on 4th of July in his hometown. Later that month, 1200 collaborated with Dr. Dundiff and performed at Forecastle Festival, even sharing a stage with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James.
By day, 1200 is a music educator who specializes in percussion pedagogy. His most recent educational endeavor has been to serve as the music specialist at Hite Elementary School. He has also served as program director for AMPED (Academy of Music Production Education and Development) where he developed curriculum for students to learn the arts of rapping, recording and more. Alongside his performance and educational projects, 1200 is an event curator and has organized for PechaKucha, Kleisner Events, Resurfaced (City Collaborative and Louisville Downtown Partnership), Speed Art Museum and the Louisville Orchestra.
1200 graduated from the University of Louisville in May 2015 with his Master of Arts in teaching.
As a senior in the University of Southern California/Thornton School of Music’s popular music program, MALIA CIVETZ is a very busy vocal performance major. She was named “Outstanding Blues/Pop/Rock Solo Performer” by the 2015 Down Beat College Student Music Awards and is also a member of the 2015 International Competition of Collegiate a Capella’s “real life Pitch Perfect” champions, The SoCal VoCals. She was accepted into USC after a beautiful letter of recommendation from Barry Manilow and continues to be a proud recipient of the Manilow Endowed Music Scholarship. Her musical accomplishments are diverse with a long list of highlights including the honor of singing for President Barack Obama, performing in Barry Manilow’s show at Paris Las Vegas, and, at 13 years old, being selected to perform as a Star of Tomorrow at the Apollo Theater in New York.
She wrapped up 2015 with the honor of singing once again for President Obama. Along with The SoCal VoCals, Civetz was invited to sing at the White House for the President, First Lady and their staff. The year brought many outstanding performance highlights including, singing in Steven Hackman’s “Beethoven + Coldplay” with both the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and in Hackman’s symphonic mash-up of “Bartok + Bjork” at the Colorado Music Festival.
She is thrilled to be joining Hackman in the world premiere of Stravinksy’s Firebird concept remix along with the incredible Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Civetz graduated from the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts in 2012 as a theatre major starring with rave reviews as Tracy in Hairspray and as Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. She’s a favorite to sing for professional sporting and special events at venues including Angel Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Staples Center, StubHub Center and AT&T Park. For more about Civetz including videos and music please visit: maliacivetz.com; youtube.com/user/MaliaSings; maliasings.com; or soundcloud.com/malia-katherine-civetz;
Montreal native GABRIEL GLOBUS-HOENICH’S is a New York City-based drummer, percussionist, composer and teaching artist whose career reflects a deep love for the worlds of jazz, classical music and world music. Globus-Hoenich performs frequently with some of the top players in Latin music, including John Benitez, Axel Laugart and Luisito Quintero. A busy jazz drummer, Globus-Hoenich has performed with a multitude of jazz greats, and has been featured on drum-set with the Philly Pops, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony and Louisville Orchestra, among others. He collaborates frequently with Teddy Abrams and the Sixth Floor Trio, serving as principal percussionist and education director at the trio’s chamber music festival, GardenMusic, in South Miami. An active composer and arranger, Globus-Hoenich has written for Achilles Liarmakopolous of the Canadian Brass, Grammy-nominated Tiempo Libre and the Louisville Orchestra. In addition to his work in the orchestral and jazz music worlds, Globus-Hoenich has completed extensive world percussion studies having studied Afro-Brazilian percussion in Salvador, Bahia with Gabi Guedes and Mario Pam, and Cuban percussion with Girardo Piloto, Rociel Riveron and Adonis Panter.
Globus-Hoenich continues to work as a teaching artist for the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, Philadelphia Orchestra, 92nd Street Y, and Marquis Studios. He was formerly a teaching artist with Play On Philly! as well as musician-in-residence at The Please Touch Museum. He is a co-founder of PlasticBand, a community drumming group based in Harlem, New York, and received a Carnegie Hall NeON Arts Grant to build this program. He is a 2008 graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Don Liuzzi and Robert van Sice.
The PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, celebrating its 120th anniversary year in the 2015-2016 season, is credited with a rich history of the world’s finest conductors and musicians, and a strong commitment to the Pittsburgh region and its citizens. Past music directors have included Fritz Reiner (1938-1948), William Steinberg (1952-1976), Andre Previn (1976-1984), Lorin Maazel (1984-1996) and Mariss Jansons (1995-2004). This tradition of outstanding international music directors was furthered in fall 2008, when Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck became music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony. The orchestra has been at the forefront of championing new American works, and gave the first performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah” in 1944 and John Adams’ “Short Ride in a Fast Machine” in 1986. The Pittsburgh Symphony has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and radio concerts. As early as 1936, the Pittsburgh Symphony broadcast on the airwaves coast-to-coast and in the late 1970s it made the ground breaking PBS series “Previn and the Pittsburgh.” The orchestra has received increased national attention since 1982 through network radio broadcasts on Public Radio International, produced by Classical WQED-FM 89.3, made possible by the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. With a long and distinguished history of touring both domestically and overseas since 1900—including 36 international tours to Europe, the Far East and South America—the Pittsburgh Symphony continues to be critically acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest orchestras.
HEINZ HALL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Symphony, Inc., a non-profit organization, and is the year-round home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The cornerstone of Pittsburgh’s Cultural District, Heinz Hall also hosts many other events that do not feature its world-renowned orchestra, including Broadway shows, comedians, speakers and much more. For a full calendar of upcoming non-symphony events at the hall, visit heinzhall.org.
Editors please note:
Wednesday, March 9, 6:30 p.m. (Happy hour starts at 5 p.m.)
Heinz Hall
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
FUSE@PSO: STRAVINSKY’S FIREBIRD: REMIX | RESPONSE
STEVE HACKMAN, conductor
JECOREY “1200” ARTHUR, rapper
MALIA CIEVTZ, vocalist
GABRIEL GLOBUS-HOENICH, percussionist
Igor Stravinsky (Arranged by Steve Hackman):
Stravinsky’s Firebird: Remix | Response: A remix of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite treated with electronica production techniques
