(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; December 21, 2009)—Ensemble ACJW continues its 2009–2010 season this winter with affordable or free concerts in venues throughout New York City and New York State. Highlights from January through March 2010 include Ensemble ACJW’s annual residency at Skidmore College where fellows are slated to play the inaugural concert in the New Ladd Concert Hall in Saratoga Springs on Friday, February 5; performances of composer David Bruce’s Gumboots (a Carnegie Hall commission) in both Saratoga Springs and New York City; programs at (Le) Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village, and a Zankel Hall performance, led by guest conductor Thomas Adès, to include his own compositions and other works.Ensemble ACJW’s new year begins with a free concert at The Juilliard School’s Paul Hall on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. with a program to include Robert Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen, Op. 132, for clarinet, viola, and piano; Clara Schumann’s Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 17; and Brahms’s Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11.
On February 3–6, 2010, the Ensemble heads upstate for its second mini-residency of the season at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. As part of the residency, on February 5, 2010 at 8:00 p.m., Ensemble ACJW is slated to play the inaugural concert in the campus’s spectacular new Arthur Zankel Music Center (in the center’s Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall).The program includes Prokofiev’s Quintet in G Minor, Op. 39; Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67; and David Bruce’s Gumboots for Clarinet and String Quartet. Mr. Bruce’s piece, Gumboots, was commissioned by Carnegie Hall in 2008 and is based on dancing that originated in the mines of South Africa under the brutal conditions of Apartheid. Mr. Bruce will work with fellows during the residency and throughout the rehearsal process at Skidmore College. During the residency, fellows will also work with Skidmore College music students in master classes and lessons, composition reading sessions with student composers, and outreach to schools in the surrounding community. For more details about the residency, please click here to view a video about the fellows’ experience at Skidmore College during the 2008–09 season. Ensemble ACJW repeats its Skidmore College program in New York City in Weill Recital Hall on Tuesday, February 9 at 7:30 p.m.
The group’s (Le) Poisson Rouge series, ACJW Gets Extreme, which launched earlier this month, continues on Tuesday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m. The program will consist largely of duo works including Philippe Manoury’s Last for bass clarinet and percussion, Harrison Birtwistle’s An Endless Interrupted Melody for oboe and percussion, Stefan Wolpe’s Suite im Hexachord for clarinet and oboe, and Michael Brown’s Five A.M. Composers from the Ensemble’s generation will also be represented on the program through Brown’s Five A.M. and a new piece specifically written for this concert by Elliot Cole. Another work on the program is Osvaldo Golijov’s The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind. Members of Ensemble ACJW developed the concept of the series and have selected the works for each program, choosing music by composers who are considered “extreme” or finding repertoire that could be considered extreme chamber music.On Thursday, March 11 at 8:00 p.m., Ensemble ACJW performs a free concert at Paul Hall with an exciting program that includes Hugo Wolf’s Italian Serenade, Oskar Böhme’s Sextet in E-flat Minor, and Schubert’s Octet in F Major. Academy Alumni Nathan Botts (trumpet) and Stephen Dunn (trombone) along with guest artist Michael Seltzer (euphonium) will join the Ensemble performing Böhme’s Sextet in E-flat Minor.
Guest conductor Thomas Adès leads Ensemble ACJW on Wednesday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall in a program that includes his own compositions The Origin of the Harp and Concerto Conciso as well as Brahms’s Ophelia Lieder, Gerald Barry’s Sextet, and works by Henry Purcell featuring countertenor Daniel Taylor. Each season, fellows in The Academy are given opportunities to work with world-renowned musicians, composers, and conductors. In addition to Mr. Adès, Ensemble ACJW will perform with conductor/composer John Adams and pianist Jeremy Denk in May 2010. Artists who have previously worked with fellows include Marc-André Dalbavie, Matthias Pintscher, Bright Sheng, James Conlon, Kayhan Kalhor, Reinbert de Leeuw, Susanna Mälkki, Jeffrey Milarsky, Andrew Manze, Lucy Shelton, James Blachly, and Nico Muhly.
The Academy/Ensemble ACJW
The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education—is a two-year leadership program designed to develop the skills and values necessary for careers that combine musical excellence with education, community engagement, and advocacy. The program serves young professional musicians with opportunities to perform in concert halls, to teach in public schools, to engage in local communities and college campuses, and to support this work through professional development. The program reflects the belief that the artist of tomorrow will require both the ability to perform at the highest level and the capacity to give back to the community, inspiring the next generation of musicians and music lovers. Ensemble ACJW—the performing arm of The Academy—comes together in different sizes, having the opportunity to play intimate chamber music as well as larger, conducted chamber orchestra works. A partnership with Skidmore College that began in the 2007–08 season also brings performances and educational events to the Saratoga Springs community.
The Academy was launched in January 2007, initiated by Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director Clive Gillinson in partnership with Joseph W. Polisi, President of The Juilliard School. The fellows in the program were selected because of their extraordinary level of musicianship, deep commitment to education and community engagement, and leadership qualities. Fellows are graduates of leading music schools, including The Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, The Juilliard School, Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, Mannes College The New School for Music, New England Conservatory, and Yale School of Music. Please visit acjw.org for more information about the program.
Program Information
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.
Paul Hall at Juilliard
ENSEMBLE ACJW
Featuring musicians of The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education
ROBERT SCHUMANN Märchenerzählungen, Op. 132
CLARA SCHUMANN Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 17
JOHANNES BRAHMS Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11
Tickets: Free, limited availability (Available beginning on January 5 at The Juilliard Box Office)
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Friday, February 5, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.
Ladd Concert Hall in the Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College
ENSEMBLE ACJW
Featuring musicians of The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Quintet in G Minor, Op. 39
DAVID BRUCE Gumboots for Clarinet and String Quartet
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67
Admission is free; for more information, please call the college's Department of Music at 518-580-5320.
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Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
ENSEMBLE ACJW
Featuring musicians of The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Quintet in G Minor, Op. 39
DAVID BRUCE Gumboots for Clarinet and String Quartet
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67
Tickets: $25
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Tuesday, February 24, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
(Le) Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street (between Thompson & Sullivan)
ENSEMBLE ACJW
Featuring musicians of The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education
ACJW GETS EXTREME
PHILIPPE MANOURY Last
HARRISON BIRTWISTLE An Endless Interrupted Melody
STEFAN WOLPE Suite im Hexachord
MICHAEL BROWN Five A.M.
ELLIOT COLE New Work (World Premiere)
OSVALDO GOLIJOV The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind
Tickets: $15
For more information, visit http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/518.
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Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.
Paul Hall at Juilliard
ENSEMBLE ACJW
Featuring musicians of The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education
HUGO WOLF Italian Serenade
OSKAR BÖHME Sextet in E-flat Minor, Op. 30
FRANZ SCHUBERT Octet in F Major, D. 803
Tickets: Free (Available beginning on February 25 at The Juilliard Box Office)
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall
ENSEMBLE ACJW
Featuring musicians of The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education
Thomas Adès, Conductor
Daniel Taylor, Countertenor
Soprano to be announced
THOMAS ADÈS The Origin of the Harp
JOHANNES BRAHMS Ophelia Lieder (arr. John Woolrich)
GERALD BARRY Sextet
HENRY PURCELL "Music for a while"
HENRY PURCELL Dance for the followers of night from The Fairy Queen
HENRY PURCELL "One Charming Night" from The Fairy Queen
HENRY PURCELL "Strike the viol" from Come, ye sons of art away
HENRY PURCELL Fantasy upon a Ground in D Major
HENRY PURCELL An Evening Hymn
THOMAS ADÈS Concerto Conciso
Tickets: $22, $37
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The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education—is made possible by a leadership gift from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Major funding has also been provided by Mercedes and Sid Bass, The Irving Harris Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Kovner Foundation, Martha and Bob Lipp, Mr. and Mrs. Lester S. Morse Jr., Judith and Burton Resnick, Susan and Elihu Rose, and The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, with additional support from Mr. and Mrs. Nicola Bulgari, Jean and Louis Dreyfus Foundation, Susan and Ed Forst, Mrs. Nancy A. Marks, The William Petschek Family, Suki Sandler, and the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation.
The Academy School Partnerships benefitting NYC public school students are made possible, in part, by Bank of America.
The Academy and Ensemble ACJW are made possible, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Recovery Act, and the New York State Council on the Arts.
Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.