LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERTS RE-CREATED UNDER SCHWARZ’S BATON
Cascade Youth Symphony to Perform Side-by-Side with Seattle Symphony in May 8 & 11 Performances
Part of Community-Wide Seattle Celebrates Bernstein Festival
Seattle, WA – As part of the Seattle Celebrates Bernstein Festival and in tribute to the legendary composer and conductor, Music Director Gerard Schwarz will re-create a Leonard Bernstein Young People’s Concert for Benaroya Hall audiences on Saturday, May 8, at 11 a.m. and Tuesday, May 11, at 10:30 a.m. The concerts will feature Seattle Symphony performing side-by-side with young musicians from around the region, including the Cascade Youth Symphony and three teen soloists. The May 8 program is part of Seattle Symphony’s Gilman Family Discover Music series, designed for children ages 5 to 12 and their families. Tickets are available for $20 per adult and $15 per child/senior. The May 11 concert is a MySymphony program oriented towards middle and high school students and tickets are available for $8. All performances will take place in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium at Benaroya Hall.
The performances will be presented in a music-with-commentary format, with Maestro Schwarz as musical host leading the orchestras and providing insight into music. The Cascade Youth Symphony will join Seattle Symphony for Bernstein’s Overture to Candide and the 4th movement of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World.” The program will also include Ernest Bloch’s Nigun from Baal Shem, Three Pictures of Chassidic Life, featuring University of Washington freshman and violinist Jocelyn Chang; Charles Tomlinson Griffes’ Poem for Flute & Orchestra, featuring Roosevelt High School Senior and flutist Lauren Glass; and Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33, with 15-year-old Issaquah cellist Karissa Zadinsky. Side-by-side concerts provide an opportunity for young musicians to work and learn alongside professional musicians in rehearsal and performances.
Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts
From 1958 to 1972, Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic thrilled audiences around the world with their Young People’s Concerts. These unique concert experiences, which included live orchestra interspersed with musical examples and commentary, introduced an entire generation to the joys of classical music through televised performances. Originally broadcast on Saturday mornings, the programs became so integral to American culture that, for three years, CBS presented them at 7:30 p.m., a prime time for television viewing. The concerts were translated into other languages and syndicated across the globe in 40 countries.
Bernstein led a total of fifty-three Young People's Concerts during his tenure with the New York Philharmonic, covering a broad range of subjects. The works of the great composers were explored, including tributes to modern masters such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Paul Hindemith, Gustav Holst, Aaron Copland and Charles Ives. Bernstein also used the Young People's Concerts to introduce young performers to the musical world: for example, 16-year-old André Watts made his debut on the program on January 15, 1963. While such programs were already a Philharmonic tradition when Bernstein arrived, he made Young People’s Concerts a centerpiece of his work and part of what he described as his "educational mission." He later referred to them as being "among my favorite, most highly prized activities of my life."
Gerard Schwarz
One of the leading conductors of his generation, Gerard Schwarz is internationally recognized for his engaging performances, innovative programming and renowned recording history. This season, Maestro Schwarz’s exciting work with Seattle Symphony continues in its 25th year as he leads the Orchestra in his Silver Anniversary Season. Maestro Schwarz has received 2 Emmy awards, 13 Grammy nominations, six ASCAP awards, and numerous Stereo Review and Ovation awards. His extensive discography of some 260 releases showcases his collaborations with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including The Philadelphia Orchestra; the Tokyo, Czech and Royal Liverpool philharmonics; the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra National de France and Berlin Radio Symphony; the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; and the New York Chamber and Seattle symphonies.
Schwarz has also served on the National Council on the Arts. In 2002, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored Schwarz with its Concert Music Award, and, in 2003, the Pacific Northwest Branch of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences gave Schwarz its first “IMPACT” lifetime achievement award. In 2009, Schwarz received Seattle’s First Citizen Award. Maestro Schwarz is also Music Director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, where he was honored in 2009 by the mayor of Greensboro with the Key to the City. He also has served as Music Director of New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and New York Chamber Symphony, as well as Artistic Advisor to the Tokyo Philharmonic and Orchard Hall.
Jocelyn Chang
Jocelyn Chang began studying the violin at age five, and is presently a student of Seattle Symphony violinist Leonid Keylin. That same year, she began studying piano and has studied under Victoria Bogdashevskaya for 13 years. Since 1997, Chang has been active with the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras and, in 2008, she served as its Assistant Concertmaster. In 2005, Chang performed the Mozart Violin Concerto in D major with the Port Gardner Bay Orchestra and, in 2008, appeared with the Eastside Symphony performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor. In 2006, she was named the second recipient of Music of Remembrance’s David Tonkonogui Award. More recently, Jocelyn competed in the 2009 Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside Concerto Playoffs as a violinist and pianist, was awarded overall excellence in both divisions, and received the Borup Award. She also has been recognized by the Washington State Music Teacher’s Association (MTNA) and received first place in 9th, 11th, and 12th grades. Additional awards include the Barton Scholarship, Rosalyn and Martha Annin Award, and the Mary McSharne Memorial Award for piano. Chang is currently a freshman at the University of Washington, where she is pursuing a double degree in piano performance and electrical engineering. In her spare time, Jocelyn enjoys playing tennis, running, reading, and spending time with her family.
Lauren Glass
Lauren Glass is a senior at Roosevelt High School in Seattle, playing in her school symphony and chamber orchestras. She is principal flute in the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra and has played with the Academy Chamber Orchestra. In 2009, she won the senior division of the Horsfall Competition and the Simon-Fiset Woodwind Competition. After being named a winner in the 2009 Seattle Young Artists Music Festival Concerto Competition, she soloed with Philharmonia Northwest. That same year, Glass became the Washington State flute solo winner and took first place in flute solo, 1st place in large ensembles with her woodwind quintet, and first place in small ensembles with her flute duo in the Elliot Bay Music Educators Competition. In 2008, she placed second in the MTNA National Senior Woodwind Competition, having won at the Northwest Division and State levels. She has soloed with the Musicians Emeritus Symphony Orchestra playing the Reinecke Flute Concerto. Glass was a concerto finalist in the Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside from 2005 to 2009 and was awarded Outstanding in Division from 2004 to 2009. During the summer seasons, she has appeared at the Marrowstone Music Festival, where she was principal flute with the Concert Orchestra. She has also studied at Oberlin Conservatory with Michel Dubost and Kathleen Chastain; at the University of Santa Barbara with Jill Felber and Marianne Gedigian; and at the University of Michigan with Amy Porter. Glass has also participated in master classes with Linda Chesis, Paula Roberson, Donna Shin, Bradley Garner, Susan Milan, Hal Ott and Tony Robertello. She studies with Bonnie Blanchard and is a Miyazawa Young Artist.
Karissa Zadinsky
Karissa Zadinsky, age 14, is a resident of Issaquah and began studying cello at age 7 with Leslie Marckx. She has distinguished herself in numerous regional competitions, including the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival, Washington State Chapter of Music Teachers National Association, Washington State Chapter of American String Teachers Association, and the Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside, where she received the Josephine Bryant Scholarship. In 2009, Zadinsky won second place in the Northwest Sinfonietta Youth Concerto Competition, and was the alternate with both Sammamish Symphony and Seattle Young Artists Music Festival concerto competitions. As a young chamber musician, she collaborated with Mark O’Connor as part of Seattle Symphony’s 2008 SummerFest. She also has served as principal cellist in the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, and is currently involved in several chamber ensembles with other gifted students who are raising funds with concert performances for various charitable organizations. Zadinsky has studied with many renowned artists through private lessons and master classes, including Johannes Moser, Jaap ter Linden, Joshua Roman, Richard Aaron, Meeka Quan DiLorenzo and Raymond Davis. She is a 9th grade honors student at the Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus in the Issaquah School District.
Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestras
Under the leadership of Music Director Gerry Jon Marsh and presented by Kennelly Keys Music and Classical KING FM 98.1, The Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestras are comprised of five merit-based youth symphony ensembles. With student players from 8 to 21-years old, hailing from throughout north and east King and south Snohomish counties, CYSO has been working cooperatively with regional schools for more than 33 years to provide after-school instrumental music instruction and performance opportunities to talented young musicians. Marsh is celebrating his 26th anniversary with the CYSO this season. He also serves as a music professor at Seattle Pacific University. This collaboration with Seattle Symphony is part of a larger initiative that involves working with public, private and home-school organizations, as well as with service organizations such as Rotary clubs and senior-living communities, to encourage attendance at symphony performances. For more information on Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestras, visit www.cyso.us.
Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony, presenting its 107th season in 2009–2010, has been under the artistic leadership of Music Director Gerard Schwarz since 1985. In 1998, the Orchestra began performing in the acoustically superb Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. The Symphony is internationally recognized for its adventurous programming of contemporary works, its devotion to the classics, and its extensive recording history. Seattle Symphony has made more than 125 recordings, garnered 12 Grammy nominations and won two Emmy Awards. From September through July, the Symphony is heard live by more than 315,000 people. For more information on Seattle Symphony, visit www.seattlesymphony.org.
Tickets
Tickets for the May 8 Discover Music concert are available for $20 per adult and $15 per child/senior. Tickets for the May 11 MySymphony concert are available for $8. Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased by calling the Seattle Symphony Ticket Office at (206) 215-4747 or toll-free at (866) 833-4747, faxing the Symphony at (206) 215-4748, ordering online at www.seattlesymphony.org with the Select Your Own Seat option, or visiting the Seattle Symphony Ticket Office in Benaroya Hall at Third Avenue & Union Street, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 1 to 6 p.m.
Program
THE GILMAN FAMILY DISCOVER MUSIC SERIES/ MYSYMPHONY
A TRIBUTE TO LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S YOUNG PEOPLE'S CONCERTS
Saturday, May 8, 2010, at 11 a.m.
Tuesday, May 11, at 10:30 a.m.
Gerard Schwarz, conductor
Lauren Glass, flute
Jocelyn Chang, violin
Karissa Zadinsky, cello
Cascade Youth Symphony
Seattle Symphony
LEONARD BERNSTEIN Overture to Candide
Cascade Youth Symphony
Seattle Symphony
ERNEST BLOCH Nigun from Baal Shem, Three Pictures of Chassidic Life
/arr. Gerard Schwarz Jocelyn Chang, violin
CHARLES TOMLINSON GRIFFES Poem for Flute & Orchestra
Lauren Glass, flute
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
Karissa Zadinsky, cello
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Allegro con fuoco from Symphony No. 9 in E minor “From the New World” Cascade Youth Symphony
Seattle Symphony
All programs and artists subject to change. Photos of guest artists and Seattle Symphony are available to the media on request.
Media Contacts: Rel#0910-105
April 16, 2010
Elizabeth Ferlic, Seattle Symphony, Associate Director of Public Relations
(206) 215-4714; elizabeth.ferlic@seattlesymphony.org
David Endicott, Cascade Youth Symphony, Executive Director
(206) 409-3275; DavidEn@CYSO.US
