2011-2012 Concert Season

All concerts at St. George's Church, 105 Grand Street, Newburgh, New York
 

• Sunday, November 13, 2011
  3:00 p.m.
  Ensō String Quartet
  Music of Haydn, Bartók and Dvořák
  
  
  
  Maureen Nelson, violin; John Marcus, violin; Melissa Reardon, viola; Richard Belcher, cello

  With a 2010 Grammy nomination for “Best Chamber Music Performance,” the Ensō Quartet has quickly become one of the country’s most exciting young ensembles. Shortly after the group’s inception at Yale University in 1999, Ensō had success at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and won the Concert Artists Guild International Competition, and has consistently received high praise for performances ever since. The quartet’s debut recording was described by Strad Magazine as “an auspicious start to their recording career,” and was followed by the recent Grammy-nominated release of the quartets of Ginastera. MusicWeb International summed up this album as “playing of jaw-dropping prowess revealing masterpieces of the 20th century quartet literature … seek out this group – they are clearly bound for greatness.” The disc was selected as one of MusicWeb’s Recordings of the Year for 2009. The group is equally at home in many styles, and is committed to the classics of the string quartet repertoire as well as being strong advocates for new music. In 2009 they were the recipients of a Chamber Music America Commissioning Grant with composer Kurt Stallmann, and two CD recordings were released on the Albany Records label that feature the quartet in world premiere recordings of music by Karim Al Zand and Anthony Brandt.

  For more information, click here to visit their website.
  
   To see the press release, click here.

• Sunday, March 25, 2012
  3:00 p.m.
  Gypsy and Jazz-Inspired Music: Innisfree +
  Chamber music inspired by gypsy folk music and American jazz. Jazz pianist Vincent Martucci will join Carole Cowan in jazz classics by George Gershwin and Jerome Kern.
  
   
  
  Carole Cowan, violin; Susan Seligman, cello; Sylvia Buccelli, piano with Vincent Martucci, jazz piano

  The euphonious name Innisfree was chosen for its inspiring literary origin; it also has a regional association with the lovely landscaped park in Millbrook, New York. The sentiment expressed in Yeats' poem "Lake Isle of Innisfree" evokes the peace and centeredness that the Trio strives to convey in its performances.

  The Trio is comprised of Carole Cowan, violin; Susan Seligman, cello; and Sylvia Buccelli, piano - three of the premier musicians of the Hudson Valley. All three are highly-acclaimed chamber players familiar to audiences throughout the region. Carole Cowan has been concertmaster of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic since 1978 and is first violinist of the HVP String Quartet. She has performed throughout the U.S. in numerous string quartets, ensembles and orchestras. Susan Seligman, principal cellist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, has performed at international music festivals in Brazil, France, Italy and Switzerland, and teaches locally at SUNY-New Paltz and Vassar College. Pianist Sylvia Buccelli is a founding member of the Franconia Trio and Abbot Chamber Players. She has performed at Weil Recital Hall in New York City and extensively throughout New England. Together, the trio has performed concerts throughout the northeast since 1994.

   

• Sunday, May 13, 2011
  3:00 p.m.
  Annual Mother's Day Concert
  Joël Evans and the Newburgh Chamber Music Ensemble
  Featuring works for oboe and strings by Telemann, Mozart, Britten and Arnold
  
   

  HVP String Ensemble Members: Carole Cowan, violin; Susan Seligman, cello; Valentina Charlap-Evans, viola
  
  
  
  Joël Evans, oboist and solo English hornist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, has been a familiar musical voice in the Hudson Valley for many years. He is oboist with Poné Ensemble and plays baroque and classical oboes with La Grande Ecurie, the resident historic ensemble at SUNY-New Paltz, where he also serves as director the Symphonic Band and Collegium Musicum. He is assistant professor of oboe and music history at New Paltz.

  Dr. Evans has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Atlantic Chamber Orchesra, and was principal oboist of the Albany Symphony from 1982 to 1985. He leads a busy teaching schedule and has played numerous TV and radio advertisements. He has recorded for Philo, Rounder, Koch International, CRI, and New World, and his playing has been heard throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Far East. He has appeared as a featured soloist at Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, Saratoga, the Charles Ives Center, and Carnegie Hall. Dr. Evans retired as principal oboist of the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point after nearly thirty years of service.

  His commercial work has included playing with such notables as James Taylor, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Luciano Pavarotti, Mstislav Rostropovich, Nancy Wilson, The Moody Blues, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Peter, Paul and Mary, Roy Clark, Roberta Flack, as well as regular performances in the Broadway productions of Camelot, Cabaret, Miss Saigon and Les Miserables.