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Special Guests
Saturday, June 30, 2001
MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and raised in New Jersey, Japan, and Washington, D.C. Although she played guitar as a child, it wasn’t until after she had earned a Bachelor’s degree in American Civilization from Brown University that she began pursuing music as a career. While working day jobs to support herself, she performed a mixture of originals and pop covers in clubs around the Washington, D.C. area. In 1985, she landed a recording contract with Columbia Records in Nashville, and in 1987, she released her first album, Hometown Girl. Her second release, State Of The Heart (1989), included successful singles like “How Do,” “Quittin’ Time,” and “Never Had it So Good.” 1990’s Shooting Straight In The Dark was her first Platinum record, featuring the single “Down At The Twist And Shout” (recorded with the seminal Cajun ensemble BeauSoleil.) Come On Come On, released in 1992, spawned a remarkable seven hit singles, (including “I Feel Lucky,” “Passionate Kisses,” “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” and “I Take My Chances”). Her next album, Stones In The Road (1994), debuted at Number One on the Billboard Country Album chart and held that position for five consecutive weeks. She has released a total of eight solo albums for Columbia Records, the latest of which is Time*Sex*Love*. Performing with Carpenter this evening are: John Jennings (acoustic bass), Duke Levine (electric guitar), and Jon Carroll (piano & organ). ( http://www.sonynashville.com/MCC/marybioindex2.html)
ROB FISHER is known to longtime listeners of A Prairie Home Companion for his 1989-1993 tenure as music director and as conductor of the Coffee Club Orchestra, which he formed for the program. Fisher grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, where he started playing the piano at age 6. He went on to earn a botany degree at Duke University before giving himself to music. Fisher went from pianist to assistant conductor at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and made his first major New York appearances as a conductor at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s concert revivals of the Gershwin musicals Of Thee I Sing and Let Them Eat Cake. He has since conducted many musicals on Broadway and on tour, including Me and My Girl with Tim Curry, A Threepenny Opera with Sting, and the recent smash hit, Chicago. As a pianist, he has played solo performances with orchestras around the country, and has played the music of George Gershwin at Carnegie Hall and at concert halls across the U.S. and around the world. Fisher has conducted City Center’s Encores! series from its inception in 1994.
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The Juilliard String Quartet
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THE JUILLIARD STRING QUARTET was formed in 1946, partly at the instigation of the then-president of the Juilliard School, William Schuman. It has been a feature of the Juilliard landscape since, giving master classes and concerts every year. The quartet has been quartet-in-residence at the Library of Congress, since 1962, as well as quartet-in-residence at The Juilliard School, where all members are on the faculty. Over the course of its history, the quartet has premiered over sixty new works by American composers, and has been honored with four Grammy Awards, membership in the National Academy Recording Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame, and multiple awards from the French publications Repertoire and Diapason, among other awards. A favorite on concert stages around the world, they appear regularly in the major performing venues in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. The quartet began recording with Sony Classical in 1949, and their discography currently numbers over 100 items. In celebration of the group’s fiftieth anniversary in 1996, Sony Classical released a seven-disc set featuring both new releases and some of their classic recordings. The Juilliard Quartet are: Joel Smirnoff (first violin), Ronald Copes (second violin), Samuel Rhodes (viola), and Joel Krosnick (cello). ( http://juilliardstringquartet.net)
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