Seymour Lipkin , piano

November 14, 2009

A student of Rudolf Serkin and Mieczyslaw Horszowski at the Curtis Institute of Music, Seymour Lipkin won the prestigious Rachmaninoff competition at age 20. He went on to appear with all of America's "top five" orchestras: The New York Philharmonic (several times), the Boston Symphony (repeatedly), the Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Chicago, as well as many other major American ensembles. Conductors with whom he has collaborated include Serge Koussevitzky, Fritz Reiner, Charles Munch, Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, William Steinberg, George Szell, and Christoph von Dohnanyi, and more recently with Kenneth Schermerhorn, Gerard Schwarz and George Cleve.

Extremely active in chamber music, he has since 1988 been artistic director of the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival; he has performed with Jascha Heifetz (60 concert tour), Oscar Shumsky, Uto Ughi, Arnold Steinhardt, Aaron Rosand, William Primrose, David Soyer and Lawrence Lesser, and toured the U.S., Europe and South America with the Guarneri Quartet. He performed a ten city European tour with the Juilliard String Quartet in 1999 and appeared again with them at the Library of Congress in 2001. He has recorded sonatas with Shumsky, Rosand and Steinhardt (complete duos of Schubert).

For many years, Mr. Lipkin concentrated on conducting (he studied with Serge Koussevitzky and George Szell). After serving as the New York Philharmonic's assistant conductor, he was Music Director of the Long Island Symphony from 1963 to 1979, and of the Joffrey Ballet company from 1966 to 1979.

Returning to extensive concertizing as a pianist, he has earned particular acclaim for his Beethoven cycles, which have encompassed not only the 32 piano sonatas and the five concertos, but the ten violin sonatas and the five cello sonatas as well. He has recently performed cycles of all of the major works of Schubert, including the complete sonatas.

Lipkin's recording of the Stravinsky piano concerto with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic may be heard on the SONY label. In that orchestra's Special Editions he appears twice, once as soloist and once as conductor.

His recordings of the complete 32 sonatas of Beethoven are available on Newport Classic; all 32 sonatas may also be heard on a single MP3 disc, the first time this has been accomplished. This set has been chosen as one of the ten best of 2004 by the Boston Globe. Recordings of all the major works of Schubert, including the complete sonatas, have just been released by Newport Classic.

Mr. Lipkin is on the faculties of both the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard school. He was formerly director of the University of Maryland's International Piano Festival and William Kapell Piano Competition.

Erica Kiesewetter , violin

March 27-28, 2010

Erica Kiesewetter was appointed concertmaster of the Long Island Philharmonic in 2002.  Since that time she has appeared with the orchestra in concerti of Vivaldi, Beethoven (“Triple”) and Sibelius, and has enjoyed bringing music to her native Long Island.  In addition to her position with the LI Philharmonic, Ms. Kiesewetter is the concertmaster of the American Symphony Orchestra, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Stamford Symphony, Opera Orchestra of N.Y., Amici New York, and the New York Pops, and appears frequently as soloist with these groups. She also recently appeared as soloist in the Berg Violin Concerto with the Jeruselem (Israel) Symphony, the performance of which was subsequently broadcast throughout the US on NPR..

  An avid chamber musician, Ms. Kiesewetter is the former first violinist of the Colorado and Dakota Quartets , and a member of the Leonardo Trio for 14 years. She has performed concerts with these and other groups in 49 U.S. States, Canada and many European and South American countries, and can be heard on more than a dozen cd’s. Established in the NY music scene in the late 1970’s Ms. Kiesewetter has appeared as guest artist with many of the chamber and new music groups in the area, including Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Bargemusic, Orpheus, and innumerable others. She also was a founding member of the Columbia Synfonietta, Perspectives Ensemble, Alexandria Quintet and Odysey Chamber Players.

 Ms Kiesewetter teaches at the Bard Conservatory of Music, where she is the director of orchestral studies. She has also been on the faculty of Columbia University, and coached orchestra classes at Juilliard, Mannes, Manhattan School, Purchase SUNY, and the School for Strings. This past season she also gave violin masterclasses at Penn State and Appleton Conservatory, and gave a series of 5 recitals.

A native of Long Island, Ms. Kiesewetter first studies were with Ariana Chmelev and A. W. Liva, the latter of whom eventually took her to study with the great violin pedagogue Ivan Galamian at Juilliard. She has also studied with Charles Castleman, Earl Carlyss, Emanuel Vardi, Joyce Robbins, Gerry Beal, Joey Corpus and Lisa Kim.As a young quartet student she studied with many of the great quartets, including the Juilliard, Vermeer,  Janacek, Guarnerius, Cleveland, and members of the Lenar, Galimir, and Budapest Quartets.

Erica Kiesewetter is the proud mother of Gabriella,18, who plays cello and viol da gamba and studies neurolinguistics at Bard College, and Sebastian, 13, a tournament chess player.

David Creswell , viola
March 27-28, 2010

Violist David Creswell has been performing in the New York area for more than 10 years as an orchestral, chamber, and studio musician, while also keeping a busy schedule as a teacher and music coach.  Mr. Creswell is Principal Violist of the Long Island Philharmonic and Principal Violist of the Greenwich Symphony, and is a member of the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic.  Mr. Creswell also frequently performs with the New York Philharmonic, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and the American Ballet Theater Orchestra.  He is the former Principal Violist of the Sarasota Opera Orchestra in Florida.

As a chamber musician, Mr. Creswell has concertized with such renowned artists as Kathleen Battle, Sidney Harth, and Anthony Newman. His recordings include numerous film scores and popular releases as well as chamber music and projects with music icons David Byrne, Rufus Wainwright, Erasure, Linda Thompson, and Rod Stewart. He was the violist for the original Broadway productions of the Tony Award nominated “Caroline, or Change,” and “The Color Purple,” and currently plays in “South Pacific” at Lincoln Center.  He continues to collaborate on collegiate teaching projects for students of the Juilliard School with the renowned teacher Heidi Castleman.

Mr. Creswell studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Robert Vernon and Heidi Castleman.

Ji Eun Anna Lee ,violin
April 18, 2010

Born in July 1995 in Seoul, Korea, Ji Eun Anna Lee started playing violin at the age of 4 and rapidly emerged as a rising talent, performing in venues such as Avery Fisher Hall, Victoria Concert Hall, Peter Jay Sharp Theater, Paul Hall, and Morse Hall both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. Only after a year and a half of violin studies, she was invited by conductor Lan Shui to perform Paganini ‘s First Violin Concerto with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Since 2001, she has been a full scholarship student at the Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) in Colorado, and Ishikawa Academy in Japan. Anna was also awarded the “Horizon Fellowship” to attend the AMFS in 2007.

In Aspen, she came to the attention of Maestro David Zinman, who recommended and introduced Anna to his fellow musicians. There, Ms. Lee gave a live National Public Radio (NPR) performance, which was greeted with much enthusiasm and applause. In September 2003, she was invited to perform as a soloist at Riverside Church in New York City in memory of the families of the 9/11 attacks, as well as “100 Years of Korean Immigration”. In May of 2003, she was the youngest violinist of the New York Music Competition, winning the grand prize and giving a Winner’s Recital at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall.

This past year, Ms. Lee was awarded the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award and appeared on the radio show “From the Top” with renowned concert pianist Christopher O’Riley. In September 2007, she received an early acceptance letter from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, naming her a Young Scholar. She has also appeared on Good Morning Singapore and Good Morning Japan, being awarded the title of “Young Artist”.

Ms. Lee is an honor student, and was recently inducted into her middle school’s National Junior Honor Society. She was accepted by the Juilliard School at the age of six, under the tutelage of Masao Kawasaki. She loves to demonstrate her love for music through playing recitals in senior centers and churches. She has participated in master classes with many of the most appreciated soloists and artists around the world. She performs on an exceptional violin made by Nicolo Amati, Cremona c. 1635-40 on extended loan through the efforts of The Stradivari Society and Mary Galvin, the patron.

Caroline Suh , violin
April 18, 2010

Violinist, Caroline Suh began her violin studies at the age of three. She made her orchestral debut as guest soloist of the North Shore Symphony Orchestra at the age of ten playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.  Locally, she has appeared as guest soloist with the C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival orchestra, Ensemble 212 orchestra, and Island Senior Symphony orchestra.  She has participated in master classes with violinists Giora Schmidt and David Kim as part of the Long Island Philharmonic Master Class series. Her Prokofiev duo was one of the top high school chamber ensembles from the tri-state area chosen by The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center to perform at Merkin Concert Hall. 

In addition, Caroline has performed at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Tilles Center, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Recently, she was invited to play at the Manhattan School of Music's 2009 Gala Concert in a chamber quintet with cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

 Caroline currently attends the Manhattan School of Music Pre-college division where she has served as concertmistress in two of its four Pre-college division orchestras and has won two Pre-college Concerto Competitions. She has also served as concertmistress in two All-County Orchestras in Nassau County.

Currently, Caroline studies with Julie Artzt Becker at the Manhattan School of Music Pre-college division and for two summers has attended the Perlman Music Program in Shelter Island, New York.

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg , violin
May 15-16, 2010

Passionate interpretations, impeccable technique, and profound musicianship are just few of the characteristics that have established violin virtuoso Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg as one of the most prominent violinists of our time.  Her performances are as unique and powerful as the artist behind them. In the 2008-09 season, Nadja takes on a new challenge when she becomes the Music Director and Concertmaster of New Century Chamber Orchestra, a 17-member string orchestra made up of an international group of top chamber musicians. She leads this ensemble in four different subscription series throughout the season.

Fall 2008 finds Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg inaugurating her association with the New Century Chamber Orchestra as she presents a colorful program of works by Ginastera, Assad, Piazzolla and Villa-Lobos, in the opening season concerts, September 11-16 in Berkeley, San Francisco, San Rafael and Palo Alto. To celebrate the holiday season, Nadja reunites with the NCCO for a festive selection of pieces by Handel and Bach, and is joined by soprano Melody Moore and San Francisco's Schola Cantorum for Holiday Songs & Carols, December 11-14, 2008. She is also soloist this season with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, Memphis Symphony, and San Diego Symphony. In March 2009, Nadja embarks on a tour with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, bringing Piazzolla's ­Four Seasons of Buenos Aires to New York's Carnegie Hall and to the Florida music centers of Miami, Naples and Clearwater, as well as Easton, PA.  Additional performances find Nadja reunited with the NCCO in March and May, 2009. A celebrated master of recital repertoire, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg is once again joined by pianist Anne-Marie McDermott for performances throughout the US, including University of Arizona and Phoenix Chamber Music Society. Other highlights include collaborations with famed guitarists Sérgio and Odair Assad in concerts hosted by Omaha Performing Arts Society, Friends of Chamber Music (Portland, Oregon), Santa Fe Concert Association and University of Georgia. In February 2009, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and Aspen Incorporated present her in two concerts, bringing her artistry to the audiences of Tokyo Opera City (February 7) and Muza Kawasaki (February 8).

A powerful and innovative presence on the recording scene, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg continues to enrich the collection of her record label NSS Music, which she started in 2005. The label already features Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg's "Merry" (a compilation of Christmas favorites, performed by Nadja and friends), "Nadja" (Tchaikovsky and Assad, Violin concertos), "Live" (Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Anne-Marie McDermott), as well as Anne-Marie McDermott's "Bach", and John Cerminaro's "John Cerminaro, A Life of Music." This year marked the release of NSS Music's first jazz album, entitled "Love, All That It Is," featuring The Clarice Assad Trio. An ever-evolving and creative project, NSS Music will continue to bring forth unique performances from many musical genres.

Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg's exceptional artistry is paired with great musical intelligence, which along with her unique sense of humor have served her well in numerous environments-on  camera, in a commercial for Signet Bank, hosting a Backstage/Live from Lincoln Center program for PBS, appearing in the PBS/BBC series The Mind, even talking to Big Bird on Sesame Street.  She was the subject of the 2000 Academy Award-nominated film, Speaking In Strings, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Released in theaters nationwide and subsequently premiered on HBO's Signatures channel in 1999, this intensely personal documentary on her life is available on VHS and DVD through New Video.  The CD of music from the film was released in 1999 by Angel/EMI.  Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg has also appeared on ABC's prime time comedy Dharma & Greg in 2001, and she has been interviewed and profiled on CBS' 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes II, and Sunday Morning; CNN's Newsstand; NBC's National News and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson; A & E's Artist of the Week with Elliot Forrest; Bravo's Arts & Minds and The Art of Influence; PBS' Live from Lincoln Center, The Charlie Rose Show, and City Arts.  On the publishing front, Nadja: On My Way, her autobiography written for children discussing her experiences as a young musician building a career, was published by Crown Books in 1989.

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg's professional career began in 1981 when she won the Walter W. Naumburg International Violin Competition.  In 1983 she was recognized with an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and in 1988 was Ovations Debut Recording Artist of the Year.  In 1999 she was honored with the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize, awarded to instrumentalists who have demonstrated "outstanding achievement and excellence in music."  In May of that same year, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg was awarded an honorary Masters of Musical Arts from the New Mexico State University, the first honorary degree the University has ever awarded.  An American citizen, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg was born in Rome and emigrated to the United States at the age of eight to study at The Curtis Institute of Music.  She later studied with Dorothy DeLay at The Juilliard School.

Franc D'Ambrosio , vocalist
November 20, 2009

Franc D’Ambrosio grew up in the Bronx, New York, in a family of bakers.  He is best known for his role in The Phantom of the Opera, for which he earned the title, “The World’s Longest Running Phantom”, after playing the role over 3000 times, including the national tour and the San Francisco run for over 5 years.

Franc had the opportunity to study at the famed Vocal Academy of Lucca in Italy. He was also personally invited to study with legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti at his home in Pesaro.

He made his Broadway debut in the first revival of Sweeney Todd.  After an international talent search lasting over a year, Franc was selected to play the role of Anthony Corleone, the opera-singing son of Al Pacino in Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather III. The film received 7 Academy Award nominations,

including Best Score, featuring Franc on the Original Motion Picture soundtrack. Franc had the honor of sing the Academy Award winning theme song for the film.

It was in the Off Broadway production of Valentino that Franc caught the eye of Barry Manilow, who personally selected him to create and star as the male lead “Tony” in the pre-Broadway tour of Copacabana. The show enjoyed a successful year-long tour and a performance that earned Franc a National Theatre Award nomination for Best Male Performer in a Musical.

Television appearances include “Entertainment Tonight”, “Access Hollywood” and “MTV’s Spotlight”, various television specials and live events.  As a result of his Phantom status, Franc not only attended the American premiere of Joel Schumacher’s much anticipated musical film production of The Phantom of the Opera held in New York City, but also served as the red carpet correspondent for “Access Hollywood’s” coverage of the film.

Olympic Champion Brian Boitano invited Franc to perform as a Special Musical Guest in the skater’s NBC special “Brian Boitano’s Skating Spectacular”, followed by Boitano’s next TV special, “The 2005 Tribute to Movies on Ice”, where Franc starred as Special Musical Guest with Michael Bolton. Franc’s performance of “Music of the Night” from the movie The Phantom of the Opera, skated to by Mr. Boitano, received the evening’s standing ovation.

Franc is featured on many CD’s and his performance of “Panis Angelicus” earned him a Grammy Consideration for Best Male Vocalist 1999.  He also appeared with Michael Feinstein, Amanda McBroom, Maureen McGovern and others
on a new CD titled In Good Company (LML Music) released Spring 2005.

In November 2005, Franc received a Grammy Consideration for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Franc D’Ambrosio’s Broadway.  Franc D'Ambrosio's BROADWAY has enjoyed a two year national tour with more then 150 performances to date including a three week SOLD OUT run at the New Conservatory theatre in San Francisco. During this time, Franc has been the #1 touring artist with Live on Stage out of Nashville, TN.

Franc D'Ambrosio's HOLLYWOOD presented by BIG LEAGUE PRODUCTIONS and KIM STOERMER will debut in spring 2007.

Chita Rivera , dancer/actress/singer
May 1, 2010

Universally regarded as an American national treasure, Chita Rivera is Broadway's most accomplished and versatile dancer/actress/singer. A recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center honor, presented by the President of the United States, Chita has won two Tony Awards as Best Leading Actress in a Musical and has received six additional Tony Award nominations. She most recently appeared on Broadway in Chita Rivera: the Dancer's Life, the story of her own life in the theater, written by Terrence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele. She received a Tony nomination for this performance. Her most recent Broadway appearance previous to this was in the Tony Award winning revival of Nine, starring Antonio Banderas.

Born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero in Washington, D.C., on January 23, 1933, Chita’s parents were from Puerto Rico. Her father, Pedro Julio Figueroa, played clarinet and saxophone for the Navy Band; after his death when Chita was 7, her mother, Katherine Anderson del Rivero, went to work at the Pentagon. (Chita's mother died in 1983).

Young Conchita was a tomboy. To tone down her rambunctiousness, when she was 11, her mother enrolled her in the Jones-Hayward School of Ballet, a school run by an impressive pair of black women, Doris Jones and Claire Haywood. When Conchita was 15, a teacher from George Balanchine's School of American Ballet visited their studio. She was one of two students picked to audition in New York.

At the audition, Doris Jones calmed her student with a piece of advice. "Conchita, stay in your lane." Meaning, “Don't worry about the long bodies and blond ponytails lining up next to you for the auditions; be who you are!” Chita Rivera never forgot it. Chita paid tribute to Miss Jones in her autobiographical show, Chita Rivera: the Dancer's Life.

Chita was admitted to the prestigious school on the basis of her audition and was given a scholarship. Her teachers included some of the top American dancers of the century: Edward Villella, Allegra Kent, and Maria Tallchief among them. Soon, however, the ballet world lost and Broadway gained a future star when the 17-year-old aspiring ballerina accompanied a friend to the auditions for the national tour of Call Me Madam starring Elaine Stritch. Conchita intended only to support her friend, but she ended up landing the part herself. Other roles quickly followed in such shows as Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh Heaven, and Mr. Wonderful with Sammy Davis Jr.

Then in 1957, Broadway history was made when Chita’s electric performance as Anita in the Broadway premiere of West Side Story brought her stardom. Chita's talent enabled genius, Jerome Robbins, to realize his groundbreaking choreographic vision for the production. She married Tony Mordente, a dancer from the West Side Story cast, on December 1 of that year. (The couple divorced in 1966).

Chita's performance as Anita was so central to the success of West Side Story that the London production was postoned until after she had given birth to her daughter, Lisa Mordente.

The starring role in Bye Bye Birdie followed West Side Story, and Chita returned to the West End in 1960 to reprise her performance in that role as well. Around the nation or on tour, Chita subsequently starred in Born Yesterday, The Rose Tattoo, Call Me Madam, Threepenny Opera, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, and Zorba. A national tour of Can-Can with the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes took her to Japan as well. Chita also played Nicky in the film version of Sweet Charity with Shirley MacLaine. In a wry tribute to Nicky, Chita's character for her most recent screen appearance, a cameo in the film version of Chicago, is also named "Nicky."

Chita is currently preparing for the Signature Theatre production of the Kander, Ebb, McNally musical, The Visit.

Despite the many highlights of her stellar and historic career, Chita always maintains that her most treasured production is her daughter, singer/dancer/choreographer Lisa Mordente.