Vision Concert 2023: An Evening with Paul Barnes and J.A.C. Redford
Pianist Paul Barnes and composer J.A.C. Redford will present the world premiere of Variations on the Incarnation, a work commissioned by Saint Constantine College. Barnes will also perform the Houston premiere of Annunciation Piano Quintet by Philip Glass, Dreaming op. 15 no.2 by Amy Beach, and Kontakion of the Nativity and Communion Hymn of the Annunciation by Nancy Takis.
Admission is free of charge and this event is open to the public. Doors open at 7pm.
Paul Barnes
Praised by the New York Times for his “Lisztian thunder and deft fluidity," and the San Francisco Chronicle as “ferociously virtuosic,” pianist Paul Barnes has electrified audiences with his intensely expressive playing and cutting-edge programming. He has been featured seven times on APM’s Performance Today and on the cover of Clavier Magazine with his recordings streamed worldwide.
Celebrating his twenty-five-year collaboration with Philip Glass, Barnes commissioned and gave the world premiere of Glass's Piano Quintet "Annunciation." The work is Glass's first piano quintet and first work based on Greek Orthodox chant. Barnes recording of the quintet with string quartet superstars Brooklyn Rider was released in October of 2019 to critical acclaim. ResMusica in Paris wrote: "Paul Barnes, whose pianistic lines are always clear, is a marvel of dialogue with Brooklyn Rider." <
Barnes twelfth CD New Generations: The New Etudes of Philip Glass and Music of the Next Generation has also received rave reviews. Gramophone Magazine wrote, "Pianists of Barnes's great technique and musicality are a boon to new music." And American Record Guide commented, "This disc provides further proof of Barnes's ability to communicate new music with flair and passion." Produced by Orange Mountain Music, the recording features the world-premiere recording of Dreaming Awake, a selection of Glass’s etudes and works by N. Lincoln Hanks, Lucas Floyd, Jason Bahr, Zack Stanton, Ivan Moody, and Jonah Gallagher.
Barnes is Marguerite Scribante Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music. He was recently appointed Artistic Director of the Lied Center Piano Academy which welcomes several high-school pianists to Lincoln each summer for an intensive week of piano, composition, improvisation and collaboration. He will also be teaching this summer in Greece at the Piano Plus Summer Institute. In great demand as a pedagogue and clinician, Barnes has served as convention artist at several state MTNA conventions, most recently at Virginia and was recently named "Teacher of the Year" by the Nebraska Music Teachers Association.
Barnes' latest recital Illumination features a contemplative and cathartic program of piano works inspired by the mystical world of chant. Barnes, also a Greek Orthodox chanter, has collaborated most recently with Philip Glass and Victoria Bond to create piano works based on ancient byzantine and Jewish chant. New chant-based works by Native flutist Ron Warren and David von Kampen were also given their premiere performances. Barnes gave the world premiere of Victoria Bond’s Illumination on Byzantine Chant at New York’s Symphony Space in April of 2021. Barnes released his fourteenth recording last fall on Albany Records entitled Illumination: The Piano Works of Victoria Bond including the world-premiere recording of Illuminations on Byzantine Chant. American Record Guide wrote "he sings with haunting musicality...and plays with fervid virtuosity...the music is calm and meditative, perfect for these troubled times."
Barnes commissioned Native American flutist and composer Ron Warren to write a large scale piano work which premiered at a special celebration of Ron's music on September 26th, 2022 in Lincoln. The work entitled "The Way of Mountains and Desert" explores Native themes of creation and beauty.
Barnes' recordings are available on Spotify, Pandora, ITunes, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon.
J.A.C. Redford is a composer, arranger, orchestrator and conductor of concert, chamber and choral music, film, television and theater scores, and music for recordings. Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Joshua Bell, Chicago Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Kansas City Chorale, LA Chamber Singers, LA Master Chorale, New York Philharmonic, Phoenix Chorale, St. Martin's Chamber Choir, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Utah Chamber Artists and Utah Symphony have performed his work. The Alphabet of Revelation, Eternity Shut in a Span and Evening Wind are recordings devoted to his art music. Redford’s 500 episodes of television include multiple seasons of Coach and St Elsewhere, for which he was twice nominated for Emmy Awards. He composed the scores for The Trip to Bountiful, Newsies and One Night with the King, conducted The Little Mermaid, and orchestrated the scores for Avatar, WALL-E and Skyfall, for which he also arranged and conducted Adele’s Oscar-winning title song.
J.A.C. Redford
Featured Artists
Featured Composers
Philip Glass
Amy Beach
Nancy Takis
We invite you to make your concert experience seamless by staying at the Hampton Inn in Downtown Houston. Discount rooms within our block can be booked below.
Book a Room or Suite
