FROST SCHOOL OF MUSIC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI ‘BRINGS MUSIC BACK TO LIVE’

CORAL GABLES, Fla., March 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

FROST MUSIC FEST ’21

WITH SPECIAL GUEST SUPERSTAR SOPRANO RENÉE FLEMING

In her first live outdoor festival appearance

 since the start of the pandemic,

she will join maestro Gerard Schwarz conducting the

 all-student Frost Symphony Orchestra

 

Saturday, March 20, 2021

4–10 p.m.

 

This event is not open to the public. In-person attendance is restricted to the University of Miami community; a live stream will be available.

 

The festival lineup features Frost’s GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY Award-winning faculty leading gifted student ensembles

 

You Tube Festival Livestream –https://youtu.be/-shHcBInvtg

Tip jar proceeds during the live stream will benefit the Travis Quinn Memorial Scholarship Fund

 

Internationally renowned superstar soprano Renée Fleming, one of the most honored singers of our time, will make her first live outdoor appearance since the pandemic began, singing at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami on Saturday, March 20, 2021. The U. S. National Medal of the Arts recipient and four-time GRAMMY winner will perform with the all-student Frost Symphony Orchestra led by world-renowned maestro Gerard Schwarz. Her appearance is the highlight of the festival line-up, which features talented Frost School students performing in various music ensembles of jazz, pop, classical, Latin music, and more, led by the school’s award-winning faculty. A talented Frost School alumnus will close out the night with a special set. Frost Music Fest ’21 is open only to University of Miami students, faculty, and staff and UHealth frontline workers.

The first live festival of its kind will take place outdoors on the University of Miami Coral Gables Campus and will follow strict COVID-19 safety protocols, including limiting attendance, mandatory use of face coverings, physical distancing, and completion of a health questionnaire by all guests and staff at the event. The festival was inspired by Frost School Dean Shelton G. Berg, who wanted to create an unforgettable memory for University of Miami students and frontline workers. 

When asked about participating in the festival, Renée Fleming stated, “I’m so happy to be able to join this outdoor festival at the Frost School of Music. It’s always a joy to make music with Gerard Schwarz. And I can’t wait to perform with these gifted students. It’s the resilience of young musicians like these that has really kept me hopeful through the pandemic.”

“As we approach a year of living through the pandemic, our students miss the joy of performing for live audiences,” Berg said. “We have had great success with our COVID-19 safety measures and have decided to bring music back live in a spectacular way —and it doesn’t get any bigger than performing with Renée Fleming.”

Schwarz, who is a Distinguished Professor of Music Frost Symphony Orchestra music director, stated, “This is a very exciting and important moment for our school. Having Renée Fleming choose our Frost Symphony Orchestra as her very first live orchestral performance since the pandemic began is not only a testament to our gifted student orchestra, it also confirms the commitment of our school to creating safe environments that support the highest level of experience and education one can receive.”

FROST MUSIC FEST ’21

SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2021

4–10 p.m. ET

Event is not open to the public

FESTIVAL LINE-UP:

 

Frost Band of the Hour

Café con Leche

Frost Extensions Vocal Ensemble

            Martin Bejerano –Frost faculty/guest artist

R&B Ensemble

BisCaydence A Capella

Frost Concert Jazz Band with GRAMMY Winners:                        

• Dafnis Prieto – conductor (Frost faculty)
• John Daversa – Frost faculty/guest artist

Frost Percussion Ensemble

Sunshine State

RUCK Ensemble 

Guest Artists:

Frost Symphony Orchestra

            Renée Fleming – Special Guest

Gerard Schwarz – Conductor / Frost faculty

            Shelly Berg – Guest Pianist / Frost dean

American Music Ensemble

John Splithoff – Special Guest / Frost alumnus

YouTube Festival Livestream –https://youtu.be/-shHcBInvtg

MEDIA INFORMATION: Event is not open to the public

Please note: Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, there will be no on-site media coverage. 

Pre-event Zoom interviews and post-event video coverage will be made available.

Photos of performing artists can be accessed via Link: Frost Spring Festival Pics

Dean Shelly Berg bio:  https://people.miami.edu/profile/sberg@miami.edu

Maestro Gerard Schwarz bio:  https://people.miami.edu/profile/gxs752@miami.edu

About Renée Fleming:

Renée Fleming is one of the most highly acclaimed singers of our time, performing on the stages of the world’s greatest opera houses and concert halls. Honored with four Grammy® awards and the U.S. National Medal of Arts, Renée has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In 2014, she brought her voice to vast new audience as the first classical artist ever to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl. On Jan. 20, Renée sang at a private Mass attended by President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, along with congressional leaders of both parties, prior to the Presidential Inauguration.

Earning 17 Grammy nominations, Renée has recorded everything from complete operas and song recitals to jazz and indie rock. Her voice is featured on the soundtracks of Best Picture Oscar winners The Shape of Water and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

In May, Renée launched Music and Mind LIVE, a weekly web series exploring the intersection of music and arts with human health and the brain. In 19 episodes, the show amassed more than 650,000 views, from 70 countries. Renée was inspired to launch the series by the Sound Health initiative she leads as Artistic Advisor to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with the NIH and the NEA. She has given presentations with scientists and practitioners on the connection of arts and health around the world.

Renée’s other awards include the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, Germany’s Cross of the Order of Merit, and France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. www.reneefleming.com

About the Travis Quinn Opportunity Scholarship Fund

The Travis Quinn Opportunity Scholarship Fund was established at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in 2020. The fund awards scholarships to high-achieving and talented music students who have overcome substantial economic or educational hardship to apply to, attend, and remain at the music school. It was named in memory of Travis Quinn, a gifted young musician and educator following his untimely tragic passing in May 2020. 

Travis Quinn was a beloved role model and mentor for under privileged aspiring young musicians and personified the mission of this scholarship fund. Born and raised in Miami, his love of music began at a very young age at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center in Liberty City. He eventually became band director of their Heritage Band, an instrumental music apprentice program for youth ages 9 – 17. For several years, Travis was also a member of the Miami Heat Street Band and went on to become their band director in 2019. A multi-instrumentalist, his music education spanned years as he navigated as a freelance musician and educator in between attending various higher education schools including FAMU and Miami Dade College.  His road to the Frost School began in 2015 as a member of Frost Band of the Hour and in 2019 he auditioned to attend for acceptance to the 2020/21 school year.  The fund has evolved and will continue to grow in his honor.  It was made possible by generous separate donations from Kent Savage and Carmine Parente. For more information go to https://support.frost.miami.edu/giving-portals/index.html.

About the Frost School of Music

The Frost School of Music at the University of Miami is one of the most innovative and acclaimed music schools located in a private university in the U.S.  It is renowned for its unique Frost Method^® curriculum which creates musicians that have artistic, technological, and entrepreneurial skills to thrive and succeed in the rapidly changing world of professional music.  Course work and performance opportunities can be cross-genre and non-siloed, affording 700 students a rare and musically diverse education. Frost is a top choice for the highest level of education in classical, jazz and pop, as well as music engineering, music education, music therapy and music business.

It is one of two schools created in 1926 when the University of Miami was founded. The naming gift from Dr. Phillip and Patricia Frost in 2003 was a historic occasion. Consistently named one of the Top 10 music schools by Billboard Magazine and The Hollywood Reporter among numerous other media outlets, The Frost School of Music seeks to transform lives through the study and performance of music, and to enhance music’s future as the result of the most innovative and relevant curricula in higher education. For further information, visit: www.frost.miami.edu. Follow us at @FrostSchoolU

Patricia San Pedro
University of Miami Frost School of Music
3052848283
psanpedro@miami.edu

Sheryl Feuerstein
EastWest Media
3106508668
sheryl@eastwestmedia.net