Andrea Clearfield's new work for Carol Wincenc's Ruby Anniverary Series, "...and low to the lake falls home...A Memoriam to Joseph and Margaret Wincenc" was premiered at the Morgan Library, NYC on February 22, 2010 by Les Amies trio with nationally renowned flutist Carol Wincenc and New York Philharmonic principal players Cynthia Phelps (viola) and Nancy Allen (harp). The five-movement work, composed at the VCCA and The MacDowell Colony was commissioned by Carol Wincenc in commemoration of her parents. The concert was sold out and the NY Times wrote a favorable review. For more information: www.andreaclearfield.com

Beautiful drifts of snow grace the walk up to the Studio Barn. Seventeen inches of snow on December 17, another eleven on January 29, and about six inches last weekend have VCCA staff and Fellows slipping and sliding back and forth to the Studio Barn. As those of us in Virginia are accustomed to milder winters, the winter of 2009-10 has been a challenge, albeit a beautiful one.

POSTPONED TO FEBRUARY 28 due to bad weather: On February 28, 2010 at Lorin Maazel's Chateauville Foundation, there will be a premiere of Aesop's Fables for Orchestra and Narrator , composed by VCCA Fellow Paul Reisler and Art Wheeler, with libretto by Tom Paxton with Paul Reisler. The performances are in memory of Julie Portman, a great storyteller. For tickets, contact the Chateauville Foundation . The evening will also feature a performance of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Jamie Bernstein.

“Runes and Ritual,” a brand-new quartet for piano, violin, viola and cello by Joelle Wallach , celebrating the magical and mystical elements of the Blue Ridge region of Virginia, commissioned by the James Piano Quartet will be premiered by the James Piano Quartet February 4, 2010 at Sweet Briar College. When VCCA composer Joelle Wa llach was invited to speak to an interdisciplinary arts class at Sweet Briar College taught by Sweet Briar Professor Nick Ross, Ross was struck by her music. He commissioned Wallach to write a quartet especially for the James Piano Quartet in which Ross was the pianist and which was then Ensemble-in-Residence at Sweet Briar College. Under the auspices of SBC-VCCA fellowships, and with the enthusiastic support of Dean and VCCA composer Dr. Jonathan Green, Ross and Wallach collaborated through a remarkable series of three VCCA residencies in April 2008, September 2008 and January 2010. Wallach gave three talks to Sweet Briar students on each of h...

Laura Kaminsky and Rebecca Allan gave a set of dishes and dish towels to the VCCA's Fellows kitchen in honor of Fellows Council chairperson Karen Bell and her recent birthday. Bell continues to promote the use of reusable dishes in the Fellows Kitchen as a responsible, green practice. Kaminsky, Allan, and Bell were in residence together in early January. Laura Kaminsky also serves on the Fellows Council.

In 2010, the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF) will award fully-funded residencies at the VCCA to one or two artists, writers or composers from each of the following states: Delaware, the Virgin Islands, and West Virginia. The application deadline for applicants from these areas has been extended to January 31, 2010 for residencies from June to September 2010. To download an application, click here . pictured: Ethel Morgan Smith, writer, Morgantown, WV (photo by Amy Allen)

Ruth Knafo Setton was in residence at the VCCA in December 2009, working on her current novel, T he Jigsaw Woman , which is the second book in a trilogy focusing on magic in America. Of her December stay, she says: " This last VCCA stay may have been my most productive-- maybe the snow had something to do with it! Anyway I'm still on a roll ... so my new year is starting well! " You can read about her current projects here .