Jane Ring Frank
Encyclopedia
Jane Ring Frank is a female American Choral Conductor who leads music publisher E. G. Schirmer's
Philovox Recording Chorus along with Boston Secession the professional chorus she founded.
at Long Beach where she studied conducting under Frank Pooler
. Her Hollywood connections are deep as her Uncle Lawrence Frank along with Walter Van de Kamp founded Lawry's
the Prime Rib and associated restaurants such as the Tam O'Shanter and the Five Crowns in the greater Los Angeles
area where the regulars were the stars Fatty Arbuckle
, John Wayne
, Walt Disney
and Tom Mix
.
Her mother Blanche was also well connected to Hollywood. Blanche Ring Frank's great-aunt was Blanche Ring
. an American singer and actress in Broadway theatre
productions, musicals, and Hollywood motion pictures who was also featured on many tobacco silks and cards.
. After college she served as associate conductor of the 70-voice University Choir, staff pianist, lecturer, and musical director and conductor for the California State University, Long Beach's Department of Theatre Arts.
Ring Frank moved to Boston
, Massachusetts
in 1991 to accept a conducting position at Harvard University
.
, Massachusetts
as a vehicle to champion new music, music by women composers, and through her programming style of combining narrative with the music to explore the concert's theme allow the audience to experience a deeper connection with the piece and the performers. Ring Frank has re-scored the classic films Wings of Desire
; Like Water for Chocolate
; Orpheus
; and The Seventh Seal
where she replaces the original vocal and musical soundtrack with a live musical performance of instrumentalists and vocalists who recreate the film's narrative via music.
Ring Frank served from 1998–2003 as the Director of Chapel Music at the Episcopal Divinity School
in Cambridge
, Massachusetts collaborating with Archbishop Desmond Tutu
, Bishop Emeritus of Cape Town
, South Africa
.
Ring Frank is a Resident Scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University
where she met composer Ruth Lomon
who would later become Composer-in-Residence for her professional group Boston Secession. The pair are currently working on the World Premier of Lomon's concert length oratorio Testimony of Witnesses based on the poetry and writings of survivors and victims of the Holocaust. The work is scheduled for World Premier in March 2009 in Cambridge
, Massachusetts
.
While at Brandeis
Ring Frank organized the Festival of Women Composers in 2004.
In addition to her responsibilities with Boston Secession Ring Frank is conductor of Philovox; the publishing house of E.C. Schirmer's resident professional recording chorus. She holds a faculty position at Emerson College
, Conducts the Concord Women's Chorus, a 50-voice women's chorus, and serves as Director of Music at the First Congregational Church in Winchester, Massachusetts.
Ring Frank has toured extensively as a guest lecturer, choral/instrumental conductor, and pianist in Vienna
, Australia
, Munich
, Prague
, Stockholm
, Poland
and the United States
.
G. Schirmer
G. Schirmer Inc. is an American classical music publishing company based in New York City, founded in 1861. It publishes sheet music for sale and rental, and represents some well-known European music publishers in North America, such as the Italian Ricordi, Music Sales Affiliates ChesterNovello,...
Philovox Recording Chorus along with Boston Secession the professional chorus she founded.
Personal life
Ring Frank attended California State UniversityCalifornia State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
at Long Beach where she studied conducting under Frank Pooler
Frank Pooler
Frank Pooler is an award-winning American choirmaster, and former Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Long Beach.-Professional career:...
. Her Hollywood connections are deep as her Uncle Lawrence Frank along with Walter Van de Kamp founded Lawry's
Lawry's
Lawry's The Prime Rib is a high-end, gourmet restaurant chain. The original location on Restaurant Row on La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California, was founded by Lawrence L. Frank and Walter Van de Kamp and opened in 1938...
the Prime Rib and associated restaurants such as the Tam O'Shanter and the Five Crowns in the greater Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area where the regulars were the stars Fatty Arbuckle
Fatty Arbuckle
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
, John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
and Tom Mix
Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
.
Her mother Blanche was also well connected to Hollywood. Blanche Ring Frank's great-aunt was Blanche Ring
Blanche Ring
Blanche Ring , was an American singer and actress in Broadway theatre productions, musicals, and Hollywood motion pictures....
. an American singer and actress in Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
productions, musicals, and Hollywood motion pictures who was also featured on many tobacco silks and cards.
Early career
Ring Frank's professional career began early in life recording back-up vocals for The CarpentersThe Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
. After college she served as associate conductor of the 70-voice University Choir, staff pianist, lecturer, and musical director and conductor for the California State University, Long Beach's Department of Theatre Arts.
Ring Frank moved to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in 1991 to accept a conducting position at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Professional career
A voting member of The Recording Academy, in 1996 Ring Frank founded Boston Secession a 25 member professional chorus based in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
as a vehicle to champion new music, music by women composers, and through her programming style of combining narrative with the music to explore the concert's theme allow the audience to experience a deeper connection with the piece and the performers. Ring Frank has re-scored the classic films Wings of Desire
Wings of Desire
Wings of Desire is a 1987 Franco-German romantic fantasy film directed by Wim Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of the human inhabitants and comfort those who are in distress...
; Like Water for Chocolate
Like Water for Chocolate
Like Water for Chocolate is a popular novel published in 1989 by first-time Mexican novelist Laura Esquivel.The novel follows the story of a young girl named Tita who longs her entire life to marry her lover, Pedro, but can never have him because of her mother's upholding of the family tradition...
; Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
; and The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death , who has come to take his life. Bergman developed the film from his own play...
where she replaces the original vocal and musical soundtrack with a live musical performance of instrumentalists and vocalists who recreate the film's narrative via music.
Ring Frank served from 1998–2003 as the Director of Chapel Music at the Episcopal Divinity School
Episcopal Divinity School
The Episcopal Divinity School is a seminary of the Episcopal Church based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Known throughout the Anglican Communion for prophetic teaching and action on issues of civil rights and social justice, its faculty and students have been directly involved in many of the social...
in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Massachusetts collaborating with Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
, Bishop Emeritus of Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Ring Frank is a Resident Scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
where she met composer Ruth Lomon
Ruth Lomon
A native of Montreal, Canada, Ruth Lomon attended le Conservatoire de Quebec and McGill University. She continued her studies with Francis Judd Cooke at the New England Conservatory of Music and later with Witold Lutosławski at Dartington College in England.Since 1998, Ms...
who would later become Composer-in-Residence for her professional group Boston Secession. The pair are currently working on the World Premier of Lomon's concert length oratorio Testimony of Witnesses based on the poetry and writings of survivors and victims of the Holocaust. The work is scheduled for World Premier in March 2009 in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
While at Brandeis
Brandeis
Brandeis may refer to:* Louis Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice* Things named for Louis Brandeis:** Brandeis Brief, a 1908 document written by Brandeis as a litigator** Brandeis University, in Massachusetts, USA...
Ring Frank organized the Festival of Women Composers in 2004.
In addition to her responsibilities with Boston Secession Ring Frank is conductor of Philovox; the publishing house of E.C. Schirmer's resident professional recording chorus. She holds a faculty position at Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
, Conducts the Concord Women's Chorus, a 50-voice women's chorus, and serves as Director of Music at the First Congregational Church in Winchester, Massachusetts.
Ring Frank has toured extensively as a guest lecturer, choral/instrumental conductor, and pianist in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Recordings
Ring Frank has recorded four CDs:- An Apple Gathering (1999) (1997)
- Songs of Remembrance
- Afterlife: German Choral Meditations on Mortality (2005)
- Surprised by Beauty: Minimalism in Choral Music (2008).