AUGUST 5, 2008 @ 8:30 PM

Naumburg Orchestra
Maxim Eshkenazy, Conductor
Ashu, Saxophone

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Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Rumanian Folk Dances (1915)

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op. 22 (1875)Jacques Ibert (1890-1962)
Concertino da Camera (1935)

Astor Piazzolla (1921-92) (arr. Ashu)
Two Tangos: Tanti Anni Prima (1984) &
Liber Tango (1974)

Jules A. E. Demersseman (1833-66) (orch. Ashu)
Fantaisie sur un theme original (1862)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Maxim Eshkenazy, conductor
Considered a rising star among today’s youngest generation of conductors, Bulgarian native Maxim Eshkenazy has been described as a musician of “vigor and intelligence…” who conducts with “complete assuredness and insight…” The Los Angeles Times calls him “charismatic and exciting.”Maxim Eshkenazy has just been appointed assistant conductor of the Pacific Symphony affective July 2008. His current conducting appointments include Music Director of the Bakersfield Youth Orchestra and Assistant Conductor at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Previously he was associated with the Pasadena Youth Symphony as its Music Director, and served as Music Director of the Music of Changes Chamber Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the American Youth Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Herbert Zipper Chamber Orchestra.He regularly guest conducts Bulgaria’s major orchestras, including the Sofia Philharmonic, Classic FM Orchestra, Pleven Opera-Philharmonic Association, Bourgas Opera-Philharmonic Association. Committed to the promotion of new music, Eshkenazy is frequently involved in performing the music of contemporary composers.During the 2007/08 season, Eshkenazy shares the concert stage with noted violinist Shlomo Mintz in celebration of the State of Israel Independence Day. He also makes his conducting debut with the Varna Opera-Philharmonic Society Orchestra and returns to the Bourgas Opera-Philharmonic Society and Classic FM Orchestra.

Among last season’s highlights was a concert with violin virtuoso Pinchas Zukerman and the Classic FM Orchestra, which received nation-wide attention and was broadcast on Bulgarian National Television.

Maxim Eshkenazy received his early musical training at the Sofia Conservatory before moving to the United States to pursue a double Master of Music degree in Conducting and Violin Performance at the University of Southern California.

He is an alumnus of several world-class conducting schools and workshops including the Pierre Monteux School in Maine, and was awarded a coveted Conductor’s Fellowship to the newly established American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival in the summer of 2000.

An avid sportsman and licensed pilot, Eshkenazy makes his home in Southern California.

Ashu, saxophone soloist
Concert saxophonist Ashu, age 26, has continually defied conventions winning major international and national competitions traditionally won by pianists and violinists. He made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s, Weill Recital Hall. in New York and, at age 16, made his concerto debut at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Since then, performances have taken him throughout the USA and Europe, including such locations as Norway, Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, Portugal, and the French West Indies.

With a dynamic style that captivates audiences, and a repertoire ranging from original soprano and alto saxophone works by Debussy, Ibert, and Villa-Lobos to his own arrangements of Morricone, Rachmaninoff, and Piazzolla, Ashu has shown that the concert saxophone can reach beyond stylistic categorization and to a large diversity of people. His playing has been described as “Riveting…Brilliant…Pizzazz to burn!” (National Public Radio Performance Today host) and “…just as much fun to watch him as it is to listen to him.” (Dallas Morning News).

Born and raised in California, Ashu began playing the saxophone at age 10. His love for performing quickly became apparent and he began entering various competitions. Ashu has won First Prizes at the International Heida Hermanns Competition, International Kingsville Wind Instrumentalist Competition, National Federation of Music Clubs Competition, National Midland-Odessa Competition, National Lennox/RSO Competition, National George S. Howard Competition, and National Alliance for Excellence Competition. In addition, he has been overall winner of the Houston Symphony, Keweenaw Symphony, Skokie Valley Symphony, and Northwestern University Concerto Competitions. Others awards include overall winner of the American Opera Society Competition, First Prize winner of the WAFA Concerto Competition, winner of the Interlochen Governor’s Scholarship, and Grand Prize winner of the Houston Symphony Flores-Smith Competition.

Ashu has toured as concerto soloist with symphony orchestras throughout the world (Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Metropolitan Orchestra of Lisbon, etc.) and has been presented on numerous prestigious recital series, with recent venues including the Vienna Konzerthaus, Kravis Center, and La Jolla Music Society Series. Upcoming engagements include concert tours and performances at music festivals throughout Europe, New Zealand, Australia, the Baltic, and the USA. Ashu received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in saxophone performance from Northwestern University and is currently based in the Chicago area. For more information on Ashu, please visit his website at www.ashuonline.com.

Program Notes
By Ashu

Jacques Ibert (1890-1962)
Jacques Ibert was born in Paris and attended the Paris Conservatory. His career was interrupted due to a brief service in the war, but after being demobilized, he wrote one of his most successful works, Escales (Ports of Call) for orchestra. Importantly, Ibert began studying the dramatic arts before turning to music. He believed that music was closely linked to the other arts, and it was simply part of a larger emotional response to all aspects of experience. He considered music to be the “expression of an interior adventure,” and never mere pattern-making. He employed the moods and techniques of Impressionism along with the structure of neo-Classicism. Ibert also wrote incidental music for radio and films, including music for Orson Welles’ film Macbeth (1948), and the circus scene for Gene Kelly’s Invitation to the Dance (1952). In 1935, Ibert composed his Concertino Da Camera for alto saxophone, which is often considered one of the greatest works in the saxophone repertoire.

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Astor Piazzolla is the single most important figure in the history of the tango. He took an earthy, sensual, often disgraceful folk music and elevated it into a sophisticated form of art music. Piazzolla was also a virtuosic performer with unparalleled mastery of the bandoneon (a large button accordion). Born in Mar del Plate to Italian parents and raised in New York, his blend of styles reflects his many cultural influences growing up. He began his career playing the bandoneon on the radio in New York and later in the cabarets of Buenos Aires. Becoming bored with traditional tango, he went to Paris in 1954 to study classical composition with Nadia Boulanger who urged him to use his Argentinean roots in finding his own voice. He returned to Buenos Aires and began performing his newly dubbed “nuevo tango” style with his own ensembles – reworking the traditional tango rhythms and forms, infusing them with often harsh dissonances as well as classical and jazz elements, and eliminating the dancers and vocalists typically part of the tango. While his music earned him ruthless criticism from the tango purists of Argentina for his abandonment of tradition, his new style found an enthusiastic audience amongst young Argentines, a craze which quickly spread through his recordings and concerts during the 70′ and 80’s, bringing him enormous international acclaim throughout Europe and Latin America, and eventually the rest of the world.

Jules Demersseman (1833-1866)
Jules Demersseman was a very well know French composer during his time, though he lived a short life. He was born in the Netherlands and attended the Paris Conservatory at the age of just 11, receiving his “Premier Prix” at the mere age of 12. He was known as a flute virtuoso and composed in a style that demanded extreme virtuosity from the performer. He often used operatic arias as themes for his compositions. His Fantaisie sur un thème original for alto saxophone and piano is one of the earliest known works written for the saxophone and a piece that he was so particularly fond of that he later arranged it for flute and piano.

JULY 22, 2008 @ 7:30 PM

FLAMENCO SAN JUAN & SANDRA RIVERA
Dancers: Sandra Rivera, Liliana Morales & Judith Shapiro
Singer: Dominico Caro
Guitar: Arturo Martinez
Ud: Dimitri Mikelis

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Sandra Rivera and Flamenco San Juan will perform traditional flamenco songs and dances including Caña, Alegrias, Fandangos and Sevillanas. The company includes flamenco artists from the New York area.

PROGRAM

Part I

Jaleo

Cante

Fandangos – Performed by the Company. Choreography: Traditional
A festive dance derived from diverse folkloric sources including the dance, La Jota, a dance from northern Spain

Guitar Solo

Tientos – Dancer: Judith Shapiro. Choreography: Jose Molina
while similar to the Tango Flamenco, Tientos have a particular and intricate accentuation. It is believed that the song and dance originated in the southern Spanish town of Cadiz.

Guitar Solo

Intermission

Part II

Cante

Caña – Performed by Sandra Rivera. Costume: Sara Sendra. Choreography: Originally by Luis Montero, Ms. Rivera adapted this particular Caña and created new movements inspired by the poem, “The Dark Soul of the Night” by St. John of the Cross.

Guitar Solo

Cante

Alegrias – Performed & Choreographed by Liliana Morales. The song and guitar melody for Alegrias originated in Cadiz during the 19th century. Alegrias, which means joy, are characterized by graceful and vivacious movement.

Guitar Solo

Sevillanas Performed by the Company. During the week long fair in the month of May, the Sevillanas are danced in the streets and plazas of Sevilla.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Flamenco San Juan takes its name from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine where the group was initially formed, presenting work specifically created for the Cathedral’s sanctuary. The presentations draw on the spiritual qualities that are inherent in flamenco creating a unique and powerful experience.

“The booming echoes of Rivera’s foot stomp, and her accompanist drumming on a wooden box, made layers of rhythm that resonated thunderously through the Cathedral in an awe-inspiring tribute to the powerful spirit of womanhood.” (Review excerpt by Lisa Jo Sagolla for Back Stage)

JULY 8, 2008 @ 7:30 PM

Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players
Ani Aznavoorian, Cello

Heinrich Hofmann (1842-1902)
Serenade for Flute & String Quartet, Op. 65 (1882)Max Bruch (1838-1920)
String Octet, in B flat Major (1920)

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Cello Concerto No. 1, in C Major (1761-65)
Ani Aznavoorian, soloist

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.