2011 marked the inaugural year of The Cornish-American Song Institute.  Founded by Drs. David and Lelia Sadlier, the CASI was the result of their deep love of Art Song and time spent in Oxford and Cornwall during a 2010 recital tour in England and Holland. Having now grown to encompass far more than art song, CASI has rebranded to Music Across the Pond.  This new stage of our program will still embrace art song training, but allow us to continue to grow our commitment to training in Concert Repertoire Performance, Choral Conducting, and now, Chamber Music.

 

In many ways, vocal music is the common denominator among composers and compositional periods.  From the advent of the forte-piano, and its arrival in salons and private homes, art song has been a central part of the artistic experience for people throughout the western musical tradition.  Choral music has, likewise, been a core element of many religious traditions and concert stages.   Both represent a bridge between literature and music and span the gap between intimate and heroic in a way of which few other musical genres can dream.   The founder’s affinity for Art- Song results from years of collaboration together in some of the genres’ greatest pieces and the influence of their many teachers, including: Philip Frohnmayer, Edmund Battersby, Andreas Poulimenos, Mary Ann Hart, Leonard Hokanson, Emanuel Ax, and Giorgio Tozzi. 

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The Institute alternates between two of England’s most enchanting areas: Cornwall and Oxford.  Cornwall offers the perfect locale for such an endeavor: idyllic vistas and towns; wonderful, warm people; beautiful concert locations; and a long history of thriving folk-arts.  Our time in Oxford certainly includes all of the above as well, but as one of the major seats of western intellect, the City of Dreaming Spires offers an unprecedented cultural and artistic experience.   Each year the Institute will be devoted to a different theme; be it the works of a single composer or poet, a comparison between the music of different national heritages, or extra-musical inspiration that links disparate composers, we will teach our students to look beyond the page and find their own artistic voice as they perform masterful music.