BENEDICTUS LA reviews & interviews

LA City Beat's Critic's Choice.

http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=6580&IssueNum=235

AND for the buzz in Iran:

http://www.irandokht.com/TV/TVmore.php?PID=58

On Denise Massman's CREA proseminar

I just had the most moving experience of my 27 years at Siena. I attended the final session of Denise's CREA111 class and talked with the students about their work. It was incredible. They are so creative, intelligent and open, humorous and serious at the same time. They brought themselves in every way to the process of the class. They interacted with each other, drew inspiration from each other, took risks expressing themselves, experimented with media...I felt like this tremendous sense of hope while I was there and now afterwards. They are the future-our future-I am privileged that I was there to see it.

Thank you, Denise.

Greg Zoltowski

Siena Chamber Orchestra Concert

On Thurs. Nov. 29th, the Siena Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Paul Konye, with the legendary Max Lifchitz at the piano, dedicated its performance of Oklahoma and Beethoven's Piano Concerto #1 to Fr. Kevin Mullen--Siena's 10th President.

View a video clip of that concert at www.siena.edu/konye

Benedictus on Youtube

See Benedictus discussed on Youtube! Just click the blue text.

A note from Mahmood from LA:

Well dear ones,
We are working hard getting the show ready for the opening on Nov. 29th.
Meanwhile I have been busy promoting the play as well as speaking of/ about its development process at Siena at few TV program each 45 minutes to 1:5 hours and two hour long radio talk shows. Tomorrow I am the keynote speaker at a gathering of Iranian/American businessmen to speak about arts/theatre education and importance of liberal arts ed. in the growth of the younger generation. I will speak about Siena. I have (I think) already convinced two young women who promised to at least "look at" our school next year when they are ready to choose a college.
Will let you know how it went once I return on Friday right after the opening.
Love to you all,

mkh

Thursday's Concert features Max Lifchitz

Thursday evening's 7 p.m. concert in the Beaudoin Theatre in Foy Hall features Max Lifchitz, graduate of the Juilliard School and Harvard University, winner of the International Gaudeamus Competition for Performers of Twentieth Century Music (Holland, 1976) after which he was called a "composer of brilliant imagination and a stunning, ultra-sensitive pianist." Lifchitz taught a UAlbany, Columbia University and the Manhattan School of Music. For his recordings (for which he received Grammy nominations) open this Amazon.com link.

Maestro Lifchitz will play Beethoven's Piano Concerto no. I accompanied by the Siena Chamber Orchestra conducted by Siena 's own Paul Konye.

Thanks for those photos. I'm looking forward to having some color tones on the walls to set things off better if we can too instead of that insistent ghetto high-school WHITE.

I was just in the Dia: Beacon museum and it's very different but also inspiring. The height of Industrial Hip with the original messed up Nabisco factory floors which are so beautiful now they looked as good as most of the art work and better than some of it (sorry Blinky).

Benedictus goes Hollywood!

Following its successful professional premier, Benedictus is now traveling to Los Angeles to join eleven other theatre productions from around the world at LATC's World Theatre Festival. Please look at the following links for more info, and wish us a "break a leg!"

http://www.goldenthread.org/