For Immediate Release: Feburary 28, 2007
The Esoterics perform works of a pioneering woman
A cappella pieces by Elizabeth Maconchy reveal an indomitable spirit
SEATTLE - Women who seek that elusive balance between career, family, and personal growth need look no further for a role model than Elizabeth Maconchy, who fulfilled the roles of loving mother, caring wife, skilled teacher, and successful composer . . . all before 1950. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Maconchy's birth and The Esoterics will be celebrating her life and works in a series of March concerts.
A well-known composer in the United Kingdom, Maconchy grew up in Ireland before the days of radio, in a location that hosted no orchestra, opera, or chamber ensembles. Some of the only music she was exposed to was her own piano playing and compositions, which she started at age six.
In 1923, at age 16, Maconchy began her formal musical education at the Royal College of Music and had premiered her work by age 23. Her career was interrupted, however, by a bout of tuberculosis that forced her to retreat to the English countryside. At the time, there were no known treatments for TB, but Maconchy was able to survive the disease. As her daughter, Nicole LaFanu, also a composer, says, "she seems to have cured herself more or less by will-power."
Over the next fifty years, Maconchy's career flourished and she produced a variety of works for chamber ensembles, accompanied voice, and a cappella chorus as well as three operas. Along the way, she survived a war, raised a family, and maintained a loving marriage with William LaFanu, a scholar and medical librarian. The two celebrated their Diamond Anniversary (60 years) in 1990 before Maconchy passed away in 1994.
Reflecting on her mother's life work, Nicole LaFanu says, "Throughout her life she somehow managed to give full-time attention to both her composing and her family, and at the same time, pursue an active professional life in which she devoted herself to helping other composers."
For audiences in the United States, Elizabeth Maconchy might be somewhat unknown, but in the United Kingdom and Europe, she is heralded as one of the first female composers of importance. In fact, Maconchy is part of a cohort of female composers from the United Kingdom who rose to eminence several decades before any female composers from the United States would reach such stature.
The Esoterics will be celebrating the Centennial of this pioneering composer's birth with a concert program that includes all of her works written for a cappella chorus and four solo voice pieces to be performed by tenor Eric Banks (the Esoterics' founding director) accompanied by harpist Alexis Odell. Many of these works have never been performed on U.S. soil. The tone and scope of these pieces spans from the profound, Still Falls the Rain, a searing double-chorus work that, in subtle dissonance and stark tones, portrays London after the 1940 Blitz; to the whimsical Creatures, a set of short songs featuring a beetle, a dove, a wren, a snail, two cats, and one extremely proud hen.
Performance dates and locations are as follows:
Saturday . 10 March . 8 pm . Tacoma
Trinity Lutheran Church . 12115 Park Ave S
Sunday . 11 March . 3 pm . Medina
St Thomas Episcopal Church . 8398 NE 12th St
Saturday . 17 March . 8 pm . Seattle
Queen Anne Christian Church . 1316 3rd Ave W
Sunday . 18 March . 3 pm . West Seattle
Holy Rosary Church . 4139 42nd Ave SW
Ticket prices are $20 at the door, $18 in advance, $15 for students, seniors, the un(der)employed, and the differently abled. The ticket price for organized groups of five or more is $12 per person. Active singers of any choral group may attend for only $10. Advance tickets are available online at http://www.TheEsoterics.org (through PayPal.com), or tickets can be reserved by phone at 206.935.7779.
The Esoterics has presented dozens of local and international premieres, and has tackled the most challenging works of 20th and 21st century choral repertoire. Now in its fourteenth season with founding director Eric Banks, the ensemble has drawn national and international praise for presenting the many styles that comprise contemporary choral music. In 2001, 2003, and 2006, The Esoterics' commitment to innovative concert repertoire was nationally recognized when ASCAP and Chorus America granted the ensemble its coveted Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music. The ensemble was also honored to be selected as the only North American chorus to compete at the 2000 International Choral Festival in Cork, Ireland, the 2001 International Choral Festival in Tolosa, Spain, and the 2006 Harald Andersén International Choir Competition in Helsinki (Finland).
If you have additional questions about the Maconchy Centenniel concerts or The Esoterics, please contact Bayta Maring ().