JUNE 24, 2008 @ 7:30 PM
Brooklyn Philharmonic
George Garrett Keast, conductor
Tim Fain, violin
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Concerto in E flat (Dumbarton Oaks) (1937-38)Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91)
Violin Concerto No. 5, in A Major K. 219 (1775)
Intermission
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 4, in B flat Major, Op. 60 (1806)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
George Garrett Keast, conductor
George Garrett Keast, “one of America’s brightest young conductors” (Town-Crier News) whose “strong energetic body language” (News Times) and “strong technique and right artistic sense” (Austin American Statesman) make him a promising and sought-after exponent of the young generation of conductors.Among Keast’s highlights during the 2007/08 season are a re-engagement as guest conductor with the Oregon Symphony, guest conductor of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and a concert with the New York All-State Symphony in Rochester’s Eastman Theater. He also leads a production of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah at the Butler Opera Center of the University of Texas at Austin and returns for his seventh season as conductor of Canada’s Music at Port Milford Chamber Music Festival2006/07 was a landmark season with a steady array of debuts with such orchestras as the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, Ridgefield Symphony and Mexico’s Orquesta Sinfonica de Xalapa. He also served in his third season as associate conductor of New York City Opera and conducted Bellini’s Norma in South Florida. In July 2006 he led a program of Mozart, Stravinsky, and Beethoven with the Naumburg Orchestra in Central Park, and returned for his fifth season as conductor of Canada’s Music at Port Milford Chamber Music Festival.The 2005-2006 season featured Keast as the assistant conductor of the Dallas Opera, where he was awarded the Bruno Walter Foundation Career Development Grant. In Dallas he conducted successful outreach programs with the Dallas Opera Orchestra and served as a speaker for Dallas Opera pre-performance lectures and education programs. Working under music director Graeme Jenkins, the season’s repertoire included Ariadne auf Naxos, Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci, The Tales of Hoffmann, Rodelinda, and Die Zauberflöte. George Garrett Keast also served as associate conductor of New York City Opera, covering performances of Madama Butterfly. In the spring he served on the faculty of The University of Texas School of Music, where he conducted four performances of Dialogues of the Carmelites. The production was crowned “Best Opera Performance” by the Austin Critics Table for that season.
During the 2004-2005 season, Keast served as associate conductor of New York City Opera, assisting George Manahan with Dialogues of the Carmelites. He conducted the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra in a series of Symphony Kids Concerts, served as a cover conductor with the Long Island Philharmonic, and conducted concert performances of Tosca and Die Zauberflöte with New York’s Prism Opera Showcase. He conducted ten concerts with the Queens Symphony Orchestra, where he served as resident conductor and director of education & community relations. The season also marked Mr. Keast’s fifth season on the titles staff of The Metropolitan Opera. Additionally, during the 2003-2004 season, Keast conducted Mississippi Opera’s double-bill of Gianni Schicchi & Pagliacci, South Florida Opera’s Madama Butterfly, and performances of La Bohème and Rigoletto with Prism Opera Showcase.
From 1995 to 2000, Keast spent much of his time studying and working with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, music director Christoph Eschenbach, and conductor-in-residence Stephen Stein. At the Houston Symphony, he led rehearsals of the Houston Symphony Chamber Players, served as a cover conductor, assisted in the orchestra library, and assisted with PBS television production. In 2000 he was selected to participate in a conductor reading, leading the New York Philharmonic in Avery Fisher Hall under the mentorship of Kurt Masur.
A 1995 graduate of The University of Texas School of Music, George Garrett Keast has performed and studied at the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, Festival at Sandpoint, and the Opera Theatre of Lucca. Important mentors from festivals and workshops have included conductors Louis Lane, Yoel Levi, Larry Rachleff, Simon Rattle, Robert Spano, Gunther Schuller, and David Zinman. Keast has a deep interest in performing and promoting new music. He is passionate about teaching young people, building audiences for classical music, and developing stimulating programs for the modern symphony orchestra.
Tim Fain, violinist
Tim Fain is quickly emerging as a leading violinist of the younger generation, possessing “everything he needs for a first-rate career,” (Washington Post). Adventurous in spirit and exciting on stage, he is “a charismatic young violinist with a matinee idol profile, strong musical instincts, and first rate chops,” according to the Boston Globe. An Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, he was recently selected as one of Symphony Magazine’s “Up-and-Coming” young musicians in 2006.
2007/08 continues the upward trajectory of Fain’s career. Highlights include his debut with the Baltimore Symphony under Marin Alsop in a performance of Aaron Jay Kernis’ Lament and Prayer, and appearances with the Maryland Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic, and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony at the Krannert Center. He also plays the solo violin part of Einstein on the Beach in a concert version of Philip Glass’ opera at Carnegie Hall and give a recital at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.
Tim Fain’s 2006-2007 season included performances as soloist with the Flagstaff Symphony, the Fairfax Symphony, the Chappaquah Symphony, Curtis Chamber Orchestra at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and the symphonies of Meridian (MS), Fort Smith (AR), Fox Valley (WI), Long Bay (SC), and Westmoreland (PA), among others. He gave recitals and educational residencies at the St. Vincent College (PA), Vanguard Concerts (OH), and a residency at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Vail Bravo! Festival. In addition, he toured with the Rossetti Quartet and Jean-Yves Thibaudet across the Netherlands before returning for recitals at the Frick Collection, Flagler Museum, Portland Chamber Music Festival and Indianapolis Chamber Music Society.
Fain made his New York City concerto debut with the New York Chamber Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz at Alice Tully Hall in 2002, and has been soloist with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival. Abroad, he has appeared with the Mexico City Philharmonic, Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires in Argentina, and at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Tim Fain is also in demand as a superb chamber musician. He has performed with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and at New York’s Bargemusic, and he is first violinist of the Rossetti String Quartet. He has also appeared at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Ives Festival in Boston. He has toured nationally with “Musicians from Marlboro” and performed at festivals including Ravinia, Bridgehampton, Santa Fe, Caramoor, Bard, Cooperstown, Chamber Music Northwest, Vail Valley, Moab, and Martha’s Vineyard.
Also a fervent champion of contemporary composers, his debut CD on the Image Recordings label reflects his inquisitive passion and intellect with a sampling of works by Bach, Kreisler and Kevin Puts, Mark O’Connor, Daniel Ott, and Randy Woolf. He was hailed for his solo violin performance onstage with New York City Ballet, performing alongside the dancers in the company’s premiere of Benjamin Millepied’s “Double Aria.” He has also appeared with the Mark Morris Dance Group, the Seán Curran Company, and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in the U.S. and abroad. He continues to pursue his interest in jazz and recently appeared at the Jazz Standard with composer and saxophonist Patrick Zimmerli. Fain made his film debut in 2005 on the soundtrack of the Fox Searchlight movie Bee Season, in which he plays the voice of Richard Gere’s violin.
After winning the 1999 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Tim Fain gave acclaimed debuts in the Young Concert Artists Series at the 92nd Street Y in New York, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
A native of Santa Monica, Tim Fain is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Victor Danchenko, and The Juilliard School, where he worked with Robert Mann. He currently resides in New York City.