Salerno-Sonnenberg and the New Century Chamber Orchestra Announce 2012-2013
Season
Season includes Lera Auerbach as featured composer,eight-state national tour, tour tour kick-off concerts, Benjamin Britten
Centennial concerts, and return appearances by soprano Melody Moor and pianist
Anne-Marie McDermott.
Music Director Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the New
Century Chamber Orchestra announce the 2012-2013 Season including four
subscription weeks and two special tour kick-off concerts. The ensemble’s 21st
Season, Nadja’s fifth as music director, includes composer and pianist Lera
Auerbach as Featured Composer, New Century’s most extensive national tour to-date,
a concert series celebrating the centennial of composer Benjamin Britten,
Vivaldi’s beloved work The Four Seasons, and the return of New Century
favorites Anne-Marie McDermott and Melody Moore. The 2012-13 Season will also
include an Open Rehearsal Series, featuring five Rehearsals in San Francisco,
which will allow audiences to experience the Orchestra’s dynamic and
collaborative rehearsal style. On May 8, in conjunction with the announcement
of the 2012-13 Season and in celebration of the exciting artistic partnership
established between Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the ensemble, NSS Music
releases On Our Way: The Journey of Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the New
Century Chamber Orchestra. The DVD candidly reveals how one of the most
electrifying soloists and daring recording artists in the classical music world
came to partner with New Century Chamber Orchestra and includes a live tour
concert and behind-the-scenes footage of rehearsals and candid comments from
orchestra members revealing their personal journey with music.
The 2012-13 Season opens with a celebration of Britten’s
centennial featuring the composer’s Simple Symphony and Les Illuminations,
performed by soprano Melody Moore. Writing of the 2007 performances in San
Francisco Classical Voice, which also featured Ms. Moore, Lisa Hirsch
said… “Les Illuminations is most
commonly performed with a full-size string orchestra….NCCO's nineteen players
might as well have been fifty, so overwhelming was the performance. The piece
soars, glitters, buzzes, thrums like a guitar, and over it all, the soloist
must also soar. She (Moore) matched Britten and NCCO's wizardry note for note,
phrase for phrase, executing every detail in the score with complete command
and captivating the audience in the process.” Bartok’s Divertimento is also
featured in the program.
Pianist-composer Lera Auerbach joins New Century for the
2012-13 Season as Featured Composer, a program begun by Salerno-Sonnenberg in
her first season as music director. The composer’s Sogno di Stabat Mater for
Solo Violin, Viola, Vibraphone and String Orchestra,a reworking of the
18th-century Italian sacred work by Giovanni Pergolesi’s famous Stabat Mater in
which Auerbach filters the old baroque style through a contemporary lens, will
be featured on concerts in December. To showcase the ensemble’s virtuosic
musicians as soloists, the December concerts also feature Vivaldi’s beloved The
Four Seasons, Handel’s Solomon, Entrance of the Queen Sheba and Clarice Assad’s
Suite for Lower Strings, based on themes of Bach.
Following the success of their November 2011 East Coast
Tour, New Century Chamber Orchestra will embark on the most extensive tour in
their history and their third under the leadership of Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg.
Bay Area audiences will get a chance to hear tour repertoire including works by
Mendelssohn, Bolcom, Hector Villa-Lobos and Richard Strauss at tour kick-off
concerts January 13 and 15 in Herbst Theater and the Center for the Performing
Arts at Menlo-Atherton High. The January 13 concert will be immediately
followed by An Evening Serenade Gala Fundraiser in the Green Room, with
proceeds benefitting the Orchestra’s education and artistic programs. The Gala
is being sponsored for the second year in a row by City National Bank. From
January 18 through February 2, New Century will perform nine tour concerts in
Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland,
Illinois and Michigan. National releases of the DVD, On Our Way, and two recent
acclaimed CDs – in addition to fifteen national radio broadcasts on NPR’s
Performance Today – have contributed to the national awareness of what Sir
Simon Rattle called “the best kept secret in San Francisco.”
Frequent NCCO collaborator and acclaimed pianist
Anne-Marie McDermott returns to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A Major,
K.414and Chausson’s Concert for Piano, Violin and String Quartet, a major work
of chamber music which will feature Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg on the violin. New
Century begins the program with Osvaldo Golijov’s Last Round, a work for double
string quartet and double bass, written in memory of his fellow countryman, the
great Argentinean tango master, Astor Piazzolla. Writing in the Atlanta Journal
Constitution, Susan Elliot said, “The work's first movement had the intensity
and velocity of a white-hot meteorite speeding toward Earth. The second
movement, ethereal and melancholy, benefited from a warm, rich and cohesive
string sound.”
A world premiere from Lera Auerbach will close the season
in May. Written expressly for New Century, the work is entitled Sinfonia for
Strings (Primera Luz). Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 45: “Farewell” and Richard
Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, commemorating the bicentennial of Wagner’s birth,
complete the final subscription concert program.
“In our fifth season together, the members of the
orchestra and I are more deeply connected to one another – and to San Francisco
– than ever,” says Music Director Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. “We welcome back
old friends and look forward to making new ones. We all deeply respect Melody
Moore’s artistry and are in awe of her exquisite voice. She last performed
orchestrations of Schubert lieder with New Century, and next season she’ll
reprise her extraordinary Les Illuminations. And Anne Marie McDermott will
perform both a Mozart Piano Concerto and Chausson’s extraordinary Concert for
Piano, Violin and String Quartet – a piece I have been wanting to do with New
Century since I came here five years ago!”
Subscriptions to the New Century Chamber Orchestra are on
sale now. Regular Subscription packages range from $104 to $224; subscription
packages including a Tour Kick-Off concert range from $130 to $280.
Create-Your-Own Subscriptions are also available. Call (415) 357-1111 ext. 4 or
email info@ncco.org to request a season brochure. Single tickets range in price
from $29 to $59 and go on sale August 1 through City Box Office:
www.cityboxoffice.com or at (415) 392-4400. Discounted $15 single tickets are
available for patrons under 35.
--Karen Ames Communications
The National
Philharmonic Receives Chester Petranek Award for Outstanding Community Service
The National Philharmonic has been selected by the
Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra Board of Directors to receive the 2012 MCYO Chester J. Petranek Community Award for
outstanding community service in enriching the musical life of the Washington
Metropolitan Area.
This award was established in 1986 as a tribute to Chester
J. Petranek, the distinguished educator and conductor who founded MCYO, now a
top youth orchestra program, in 1946. The award is presented each year to an
individual or group for “outstanding community service in enriching the musical
life of the Washington Metropolitan Area.”
Past winners have included the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, David
Lashof of Lashof Violins, Dale Music Company, the Friday Morning Music Club and
Chuck Levin of Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center.
With this award, the MCYO is expressing its appreciation
and gratitude for the many exemplary contributions the National Philharmonic
makes in support of young musicians. The award will be presented at the
forthcoming MCYO concert on May 20th at 3 p.m. in the Music Center at
Strathmore concert hall. For tickets, please visit www.strathmore.org.
--Deborah Birnbaum, National Philharmonic
Fischoff Victories
Showcase Strength of Chamber Music Program
Music Institute Academy ensembles take first and third in
Junior Division
The Music Institute of Chicago confirmed its status as one
of the best schools in the nation for chamber music study with students from
its prestigious Academy for gifted pre-college musicians earning first and
third place wins in the Junior Division of the 2012 Fischoff National Chamber
Music Competition. The Music Institute offers one of the largest and most
accomplished chamber music programs in the U.S. and presents some of the finest
chamber music ensembles at Nichols Concert Hall.
2012 FISCHOFF COMPETITION
Founded in 1973 in South Bend, Indiana, the Fischoff
National Chamber Music Competition, presented by the Fischoff National Chamber
Music Association, has become the largest chamber music competition in the
world and one of the most illustrious classical music prizes attainable today.
Since its founding, more than 5,000 musicians have participated, many of whom
have gone on to distinguished careers in music performance and education.
Quartet Stracciatella, coached by Academy faculty member
Marko Dreher and featuring Erika Gray, violin (16, Wilmette); Hyun Jae Lim,
violin (14, Wilmette); Stephanie Block, viola (17, Barrington); and Johannes
Gray, cello (15, Wilmette), earned the First Place Medal and Scholarship of
$2,000.
The Third Place Medal and Scholarship ($1,000) went to the
Quartet Ardella, coached by Academy faculty members Hans Jorgen Jensen and
Desiree Ruhstrat and featuring Laura Park, violin (18, Des Plaines); Jennifer
Cha, violin (16, Naperville); Devon Naftzger, viola (18, Lincolnshire); and Ben
Solomonow, cello (16, Evanston).
In addition, the judges made an unprecedented move to
award two honorable mention designations, one of which went to the Academy’s
Pallas Trio featuring Kelly Talim, violin (16, Buffalo Grove); Mariel Werner,
cello (20, Belgrade, Montana); and Kate Liu, piano (17, Winnetka).
“The quality of contestants at this weekend’s Fischoff
competition was very high,” commented Academy Director Jim Setapen. “From an
initial field of 70 junior applicant groups nationwide, 10 of the 24
quarterfinalists were from the Music Institute and six of the 12 semi-finalist
groups advancing were from the Music Institute’s Academy. This is a tribute to
the extremely high level of chamber music instruction at the Academy and the
Music Institute, as well as to the students’ dedication to excelling in this
area of their music studies.”
Students in the Music Institute’s Academy have taken first
place in the Junior Division in four of the past five years, as well as earning
five additional top medals:
2012 – 1st, Quartet
Stracciatella; 3rd, Quartet Ardella
2010 – 1st,
Quartet Danae; 2nd, Emerald String Quartet
2009 – 1st,
Aurelia String Quartet; 3rd, Quartet Danae
2008 – 1st,
Quartet Polaris; 2nd, Ridere Quartet; 3rd, Aurelia String Quartet
ACADEMY ACHIEVEMENTS IN CHAMBER MUSIC
In addition to wins at Fischoff, two Academy chamber
groups made it to the final round in this year’s St. Paul String Quartet
Competition, showcasing the nation’s finest pre-college string players. Academy
groups took first and second place in both 2009 and 2010. This year, Quartet
Ventoso, coached by Academy faculty member Desiree Ruhstrat and featuring
Jennifer Cha and Erika Gray, violins; Caitlin Adamson, viola (17, Evanston);
and Johannes Gray, cello, received the Haydn Prize for best interpretation of
the master’s work and Audience Prize.
Another competition in which the Academy has dominated is
the Jules M. Laser Chamber Music Competition, which offers chamber ensembles
with members ages 10–18 the chance to win a $1,200 award, live broadcast on
WFMT 98.7 and performance opportunities at the Music in the Loft and 2012
Society of American Musicians’ Winner's Concert. This year, Quartet Ventoso
took first place, the fourth consecutive year of first place wins for Music
Institute ensembles.
Broadcast on more than 200 stations nationwide to an
audience of more than 700,000 listeners each week, From the Top is one of the
most popular classical music programs on radio. Many Music Institute students
and alumni have performed on the program, most recently the Academy’s Al Dente
String Quartet featuring Ade Williams, violin (14, Chicago); Claire Bourg,
violin (17, Aurora); Caitlin Adamson, viola (17, Evanston); and Tara Safavi,
cello (16, Naperville).
LEADING CHAMBER MUSIC INSTRUCTION AND PERFORMANCES
The Music Institute of Chicago offers one of the largest
chamber music programs in the U.S. with nearly 200 Community Music School
chamber music participants each year and more than 30 dedicated coaches.
Ensembles in residence—Lincoln Trio, WarnerNuvoza, Quintet Attacca (2002
Fischoff Grand Prize Winner) and Axiom Brass (2010 Fischoff winner and 2011
Fischoff Educator Award)—enhance faculty instruction as well as expose
Chicago-area students to chamber music through the Music Institute’s ArtsLink
outreach program. The fall application deadline is July 15; late deadline is
September 1. For more information visit musicinst.org/chamber-music.
In addition to its robust program of chamber music
instruction, the Music Institute of Chicago presents some of the best
professional chamber groups working today in the historic Nichols Concert Hall.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary during the 2012–13 season, Nichols will host
the Lincoln Trio (September 23), winners from the 2012 Fischoff Competition (October
21), WarnerNuzova (November 17), Pacifica Quartet (February 16), the Lincoln
String Quartet, and more. For more information visit
musicinst.org/nichols-concert-hall.
--Jill Chukerman, JAC Communications
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