'Manuscripts Don't Burn' in LA and NYC

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Pianist Inna Faliks highlights new album and book in performances in LA and NYC

May 19: BroadStage (Santa Monica, CA) &
May 23: National Sawdust (Brooklyn, NY)

Recitals feature works written for Faliks by Clarice Assad, Maya Miro Johnson, and more

Pianist Inna Faliks highlights her forthcoming album Manuscripts Don't Burn (rel. May 17, 2024, Sono Luminus) and her new book with recitals in Southern California and New York City.  On May 19 at 2 pm, she performs at the BroadStage in Santa Monica, CA and on May 23 at 7:30 pm she performs at National Sawdust in Brooklyn. Tickets and program details below.

The program features many works featured on the new album, including the premiere of Mike Garson's "Psalm for Odesa" (written in tribute to the Ukrainian city in which she was raised), and works written for the pianist by Ljova, Veronika Krausas, and Maya Miro Johnson. Other program highlights include Beethoven's "Eroica" Variations alongside works by Rodoin Shchedrin, Chopin, Paganini, and Bach. 

The forthcoming album Mansucripts Don't Burn features five world premiere recordings alongside works by Schubert, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Fazil Say. Several of the selections on the album relate to a seminal novel of art censorship - Mikhail Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita"; and others speak to the pianists' homeland of Ukraine and her Jewish heritage.  

"I consider this very personal recording to be something of a mirror image to my memoir, as it intertwines the literal images from "Master and Margarita" with more autobiographical themes and layers," says the pianist who first read the book as a child growing up in Soviet Ukraine. "I took it with me when my parents and I immigrated to the U.S. Throughout the years, the book played a role in my life. My childhood best friend from Odesa reread the book in adulthood and decided to find me - we are now together for 20 years, with two kids."

The recitals also feature Inna Faliks reading excerpts from her recently published memoir The Weight in the Fingertips: A Musical Odyssey from Soviet Ukraine to the World Stage (Backbeat Books, October 2023). The memoir has been widely praised, most recently in the LA Review of Books. Anne Midgette (formerly of The Washington Post) writes "There are a lot of musician's memoirs out there; this one, about a piano prodigy turned professional, is a standout. Highly recommended."

Pianist Inna Faliks
Manuscripts Don't Burn in recital

MAY 19, 2024 at 2 PM
BroadStage (1310 11th St., Santa Monica, CA)
Tickets start at $30 and are available at BroadStage.org

MAY 23, 2024 at 7:30 PM
National Sawdust (8 North 6th St, Brooklyn, NY)
Tickets are $25 and are available at NationalSawdust.org

PROGRAM
Ljova Zhurbin: Sirota for piano and historical recording*      
Mike Garson: Psalm for Odessa (world premiere)*
J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp minor, Book 1
Rodion Shchedrin: Basso Ostinato                                 
Veronika Krausas: Have You Stopped Loving Me?*
Veronika Krausas: 14th on the Month of Nisan*
Maya Miro Johnson: Manuscripts Don't Burn*
Frederic Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasie
L.V. Beethoven: "Eroica" Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme
Paganini (arr. Liszt): La Campanella

*written for Inna Faliks

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

“Adventurous and passionate” (The New Yorker) Ukrainian-born American pianist Inna Faliks has made a name for herself through her commanding performances of standard piano repertoire, as well genre-bending interdisciplinary projects, and inquisitive work with contemporary composers. After her acclaimed teenage debuts at the Gilmore Festival and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, she has performed on many of the world’s great stages in recital and with many major orchestras, performing with conductors Leonard Slatkin, Keith Lockhart and many others.

Ms. Faliks collaborates with and premieres music by some of today’s most significant composers, including Billy Childs, Richard Danielpour, Timo Andres and Clarice Assad. She is known for her poetry-music series Music/Words, and has worked with a number of prominent poets. She regularly tours her monologue-recital Polonaise-Fantasie, the Story of a Pianist, which tells the story of her immigration to the United States from Odessa (recorded on Delos). Her discography includes Manuscripts Don't Burn (Sono Luminus, May 2024), which consists of world premiere recordings alongside 19th and 20th century works. Also in her catalogue: Reimagine: Beethoven and Ravel (Navona), and all-Beethoven and Rachmaninoff/Ravel/Pasternak discs on MSR Classics.

In addition to her other impressive accomplishments, she is is head of Piano Studies at UCLA and is a critically acclaimed writer. Her memoir, Weight in the Fingertips (Backbeat Books) was published in October 2023, and her articles and essays have appeared in Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Inna Faliks is a Yamaha Artist.

May 31: Sylvan Winds @ 45 at Merkin

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Sylvan Winds celebrates 45th anniversary season on May 31 at Merkin Hall

"Mighty Winds" program features music by Richard Strauss, Mozart, and Elizabeth Brown

On May 31, 2024 at 7 pm the Sylvan Winds, hailed by the New York Times for their "adventuresome programming and stylishness of performance," celebrates their 45th anniversary season at Kaufman Music Center's Merkin Hall (129 W 67th St., Manhattan). A ticketed reception will follow the concert. Details here.

The program features larger works for winds, including Mozart's Serenade in C minor for 8 players, and Richard Strauss's Suite in Bb Major for 13 players, alongside a contemporary work by Elizabeth Brown. The current members of the ensemble (Svjetlana Kabalin, flute; Kathy Halvorson, oboe; Nuno Antunes, clarinet; Gina Cuffari, bassoon; and Zohar Schondorf, horn) will be joined by former members and guest artists for this special performance.

Brown's "Pentalogue" was written for the quintet in 2021 in the shadow of the Black Lives Matter protests and COVID-19 pandemic. "I was trying to write something with beauty and hope, but the five movements contain all my anxiety about breath. Maybe that’s why three dark musical quotes insinuated themselves into my subconscious so many times that I gave up trying to get rid of them," says Brown. The work quotes from a Bach cantata, a Mahler symphony, and "Three Blind Mice."

Over 45 years ago, flutist Svjetlana Kabalin joined forces with her colleagues to form what would become one of the most long-lived wind quintets in the country. Since then, the Sylvan Winds have performed under the auspices of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, Caramoor International Music Festival, and venues across the globe. They have recorded for Koch Classics, CRI/New World, North/South, and Albany record labels, enjoyed collaborations with such distinguished artists as Gerard Schwarz, Ransom Wilson and the Guarneri String Quartet, and commissioned dozens of works.

Calendar Listing

Friday, May 31 at 7 pm

Mighty Winds

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Music Center
129 W 67 St, New York, NY

Tickets are $30 general admission
(Premium seating: $45; Seniors/Students: $25; Children $15)

Sylvan Winds
Svjetlana Kabalin, flute; Kathy Halvorson, oboe; Nuno Antunes, clarinet;
Gina Cuffari, bassoon; Zohar Schondorf, horn

Program to include:
Elizabeth Brown: Pentalogue
W.A. Mozart: Serenade in C minor, K.388
Richard Strauss: Suite Bb Major, Op. 4

Program subject to change, additional works TBA

These concerts are made possible, in part, with funding from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council

New album from Inna Faliks: "Manuscripts Don't Burn"

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Pianist Inna Faliks releases new recording on May 17: Manuscripts Don't Burn

Features works written for Faliks by Clarice Assad, Ljova Zhurbin, Veronika Krausas, Maya Miro Johnson, and Mike Garson

Plus music by Fanny Mendelssohn, Fazil Say, and Schubert

Album is companion piece to Faliks' memoir Weight in the Fingertips (Backbeat Books, 2023)

"Inna Faliks is a superb concert pianist" – Berkshire Fine Arts

The pianist Inna Faliks’ new album, Manuscripts Don’t Burn, is released on May 17, 2024 on Sono Luminus. “It is my most personal album yet, with five premieres written for me in celebration of my favorite book, Mikhail Bulgakov's Master and Margarita, my Ukrainian-Jewish heritage, my hometown of Odesa, and so much more,” says Faliks. "This collection of music speaks to my love of dialogue between music and words. The connections between text and sound here are not just literal but emotional, based on memory, intuition, dreams and hopes."

Master and Margarita is a seminal Russian novel of art censorship and dictatorship. Several of the works on the album are directly related to this book: Maya Miro Johnson's theatrical and extended techniques-filled "Manuscripts Don't Burn" (the phrase is a crucial line in the book) and the elegant, understated "Master and Margarita Suite" by Veronika Krausas. Clarice Assad's "Godai" for speaking pianist features a poem by Steve Schroeder depicting the same imagery of the "manuscripts don't burn" line. The lieder of Schubert transcribed for solo piano by Liszt alludes to the mythical and Faustian lore that is also in Master and Margarita: "Gretchen [Margarita] at the Spinning Wheel," a mystical love story "By the Sea," a monstrous Elf King and the death of a child in "Erlkonig." The rarely heard "Notturno" by Fanny Mendelssohn* connects to the story through the dark, impassioned character of Margarita.

The other works tie into the pianist's experiences and memories growing up Jewish in Ukraine. Fasil Say's "Black Earth"* takes the listener on a journey from Odesa across the Black Sea, while Mike Garson's "Psalm to Odesa" pulls from a well-known Odesan song and features improvisatory elements. "Voices" by Ljova Zhurbin features historical recordings of Jewish cantorial and klezmer music alongside Faliks' piano.

The recording is a mirror image to Faliks's newly-published memoir, The Weight in the Fingertips: A Musical Odyssey from Soviet Ukraine to the World Stage (Backbeat Books, rel. October 2023), as it intertwines the literal images from Master and Margarita with more autobiographical themes and layers. The memoir has been widely praised, most recently in the LA Review of Books. Anne Midgette (formerly of The Washington Post) writes "There are a lot of musician's memoirs out there; this one, about a piano prodigy turned professional, is a standout. Highly recommended."

* the works by Fanny Mendelssohn and Fazil Say are only available on the digital album

Pianist Inna Faliks

Manuscripts Don't Burn

Release date: May 17, 2024 | Sono Luminus (DSL-92275)
Note: physical CD (DSL-92259) does not include Fanny Mendelssohn & Fazil Say tracks

TRACK LISTING

Veronika Krausas (words by Mikhail Bulgakov, trans. Inna Faliks)
Master and Margarita Suite for Speaking Pianist^
[01] I. Time to Go – a Sarabande 1:37
[02] II. 14th of the Month of Nisan 3:06
[03] III. Night Streets of Moscow – a Polonaise 2:00
[04] IV. Yellow Flower Waltz 2:40
[05] V. Fantasia, “Have you stopped loving me?” 2:30
[06] VI. Behemoth’s Somersaults into Cognac – a Bagatelle 2:08
[07] VII. Listen to the Silence – Epilogue 2:330

Franz Schubert (arr. Franz Liszt)
[08] Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) S. 558/8 4:30

Maya Miro Johnson (words by Mikhail Bulgakov, trans. Inna Faliks)
[09] Manuscripts Don’t Burn, for Speaking Pianist^ 6:59

Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohn (digital album only)
[10] Notturno in G minor, H337 4:23

Franz Schubert (arr. Franz Liszt) 
[11] Erlkonig (Erlking)  S.558/4 4:43

[12] Am Meer (By the Sea) S. 560/4 4:37

Fazil Say (digital album only)
[13] Black Earth 7:06

Mike Garson
[14] A Psalm for Odesa^ 4:36

Ljova Zhurbin
Voices, Suite in Three Movements for piano and historical recordings^
[15] I. Sirota 6:51
[16] II. Alter(ed) Zhok 5:16
[17] III. Freydele 6:05

Clarice Assad (words by Steve Schroeder)
Godai, the Five Elements, for Speaking Pianist^
[18]I. Dry Bones – Wind 2:30
[19] II. Absence – Fire and Water 3:07
[20] III. Earth 2:01
[21] IV. Ascension-Sky 2:19

[22] Hero for piano solo 2:22

Total Time = 84:10

^ – signifies world premiere recording

ARTIST BIO

“Adventurous and passionate” (The New Yorker) Ukrainian-born American pianist Inna Faliks has made a name for herself through her commanding performances of standard piano repertoire, as well genre-bending interdisciplinary projects, and inquisitive work with contemporary composers. After her acclaimed teenage debuts at the Gilmore Festival and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, she has performed on many of the world’s great stages in recital and with many major orchestras, performing with conductors Leonard Slatkin, Keith Lockhart and many others.

Ms. Faliks collaborates with and premieres music by some of today’s most significant composers, including Billy Childs, Richard Danielpour, Timo Andres and Clarice Assad. She is known for her poetry-music series Music/Words, and has worked with a number of prominent poets. She regularly tours her monologue-recital Polonaise-Fantasie, the Story of a Pianist, which tells the story of her immigration to the United States from Odessa (recorded on Delos). Her discography includes Manuscripts Don't Burn (Sono Luminus, May 2024), which consists of world premiere recordings alongside 19th and 20th century works. Also in her catalogue: Reimagine: Beethoven and Ravel (Navona), and all-Beethoven and Rachmaninoff/Ravel/Pasternak discs on MSR Classics.

In addition to her other impressive accomplishments, she is is head of Piano Studies at UCLA and is a critically acclaimed writer. Her memoir, Weight in the Fingertips (Backbeat Books) was published in October 2023, and her articles and essays have appeared in Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Inna Faliks is a Yamaha Artist.

Classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang at Baruch PA

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Award-winning classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang in recital at Baruch PAC

April 19 program features music by Piazzolla, Bach, Boulanger, Gubaidulina and more!

“Staggering virtuosity that held the audience in a state of breathlessness, as thrilling to watch as to hear.”  – Oberon's Grove

On Friday, April 19 at 7:30 pm the award-winning classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang performs at the intimate Engelman Recital Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center (55 Lexington Ave (entrance on 25th St), New York, NY). Tickets are $35, available here.

Highlights of Ms. Wang's program include selections from Bach's Goldberg Variations heard fresh in this arrangement for accordion, a work by Katherine Balch written for Ms. Wang, an original work by the accordionist, and music by Sofia Gubaidulina, Rebecca Clarke, Lili Boulanger, and Astor Piazzolla. Full program details below.

Acclaimed for her “staggering virtuosity,” Ms. Wang is praised for her captivating stage presence and performances that display passion and finesse. A groundbreaking artist, Hanzhi was the first accordionist to win Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the first to be named Musical America’s “New Artist of the Month,” and the first solo accordionist on WQXR Radio’s Young Artists Showcase. Ms. Wang earned her Bachelor’s degree at the China Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She completed her Master’s degree and Soloist Diploma at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen with the renowned accordion professor Geir Draugsvoll.

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Baruch Performing Arts Center is at 55 Lexington Avenue (enter on 25th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues, on the south side of the street) in the heart of Manhattan. Praised for its superb acoustics, the Rosalyn and Irwin Engelman Recital Hall has been called "a perfect hall for chamber music" by Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times. This spring Baruch PAC presentations include the PUBLIQuaret & Harlem Quartets; pianist Maxim Lando; toy-piano/electronic Chromic Duo; Heartbeat Opera's annual spring festival in a co-presentation; and classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang.

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CALENDAR LISTING

Friday, April 19, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Baruch Performing Arts Center presents:

Accordionist Hanzhi Wang

Engelman Recital Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center

55 Lexington Ave., New York, NY
(enter on 25th St. between 3rd and Lexington Aves)

Tickets are $35 available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu

PROGRAM

J.S. Bach: selections from Goldberg Variations
Sofia Gubaidulina: De Profundis
Rebecca Clarke: Lullaby & Grotesque
Lili Boulanger: Cortège
Katherine Balch: Impromptu for Hanzhi
Hanzhi Wang: My Story
Astor Piazzolla: Chinquilin de Bachin, Milonga del Angel, and La Muerte del Angel

Program subject to change

(Photo credit: Matt Dine)

周文中誕生百週年音樂會 (2024年3月21日）

周文中誕生百週年音樂會
回顧其寶貴傳承
(2024年3月21日）

周文中是上世紀首位贏得國際聲譽的華人作曲家，畢生貢獻包括成就 

譚盾、周龍、陳怡、盛宗亮等中國作曲家於上世紀80年代赴美國留學 

音樂會由紐約著名Continuum樂團擔任演出，喬爾·薩克斯（Joel Sachs）負責指揮  

在中國出生的作曲家周文中（1923‒2019）為美國古典音樂界帶來重要貢獻，影響深遠。他曾輔助新生代一批卓越的年青中國音樂家於上世紀80年代赴美國留學。他們包括奧斯卡得主譚盾、普利策大獎得主周龍、古根海姆獎得主陳怡及麥亞瑟“天才”獎得主盛宗亮。周文中是聲明顯赫的現代作曲家埃德加·瓦雷兹（Edgard Varèse）的入室弟子，多年與大師緊密合作。 

音樂會由以演繹當代音樂馳名的Continuum樂團負責演出，喬爾·薩克斯執棒，展示周文中融合中國與西方風格、技巧與理念的獨特才華。曲目中特別亮點是《商調》的美國首演（1956年作品，為室内樂團而作）。中場休息后，周文中的兒子與合作夥伴將進行簡單對話。詳細演出曲目列於下頁。 

這場音樂會是延續周文中寶貴傳承的項目之一。其他紀念周文中誕生百週年活動包括在中美兩國以他的名義委約新作品、在加州大學聖地牙哥分校二十一世紀中國研究中心舉辦系列講座及哥倫比亞大學美中藝術交流中心項目等。 

“簡單地說，沒有任何一個紐約音樂機構可比Continuum樂團的演出 

更引人思考、或比他們的曲目編排更令人滿意。” 

——《紐約時報》 

***  

Spiralis 音樂基金聯同哥倫比亞大學音樂系呈獻 

紀念周文中誕生百週年音樂會暨回顧其寶貴傳承 

2024年3月21日（週四）晚上7時30分 

哥倫比亞大學米勒劇院 

（地址：紐約曼哈頓百老匯2960號，位於西116街） 

門票：20元（學生/長者10元優惠），可於米勒劇院官網購買 

Continuum樂團；喬爾·薩克斯（Joel Sachs，指揮兼鋼琴）；主要成員包括Renée Jolles與Airi Yoshioka（小提琴）；Stephanie Griffin （中提琴）；Kristina Reiko Cooper （大提琴）; Emily Duncan（長笛）; Moran Katz（單簧管） 

演出曲目（全部周文中作品） 

《商調》（1956年）（美國首演） 
室内樂團  

《柳色新》（1957年） 
鋼琴獨奏  

《漁歌》（1965年） 
小提琴、管樂、鋼琴與打擊樂  

《霞光》（2007年） 
木管與弦樂六重奏  

《誦松》（2009年） 
室内樂團 

作曲家介紹 

在中國出生的作曲家周文中（1923‒2019）於1946年赴美國求學，在新英格蘭音樂學院師從尼古拉斯·斯洛尼姆斯基，往後移居紐約市，成為埃德加·瓦雷兹的入室弟子。上世紀50年代初在哥倫比亞研究院深造，導師是奧托·呂寧；曾跟隨作曲家博胡斯拉夫·馬爾蒂努及音樂學家保羅·亨利·朗學習。周文中自1964年至1991年在哥倫比亞大學任教。他致力發展哥大至今國際知名的作曲課程，期間有13年掌管哥大藝術學院的學術事務。 

周文中於1978年創辦中美藝術交流中心，與來自東亞及東南亞的專家與機構合作，共創項目包括在日本札幌創辦的太平洋音樂節（1990年）；在中國舉辦藝術教育項目（長達15年）；還有自1990年開始，致力在世界上最多元化的地區之一——雲南——策劃文化保護與發展項目。 

周文中是美國藝術暨文學學會會員、國際現代音樂協會及亞洲作曲家聯盟榮譽會員，2001年獲法國藝術及文學勛章（軍官勛位）。 

樂團介紹 

紐約Continuum樂團曾獲西門子國際大獎、四度榮獲美國作曲家作詞家協會“冒險性節目”大獎。自1966年創辦以來，在新音樂界舉足輕重。 

Continuum在美國各地亮相，包括肯尼迪中心及國會圖書館；曾遠赴歐洲巡演十數次，也多次到訪亞洲及拉丁美洲。 

樂團的演出及活動曾在美國CBS電台、國家公共電台、美國之音以及歐洲廣播網絡播出。Continuum已錄製過20多張唱片，即將發行Roberto Sierra作品專輯（NAXOS唱片公司）。演出曲目涵蓋20世紀經典（如埃夫斯、喬普林、魏本等作曲家）以及全球各地當代作曲家的作品。 

Pianist Orli Shaham: "insightful and perspicacious"

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Pianist Orli Shaham releases final volumes of
"Mozart: The Complete Piano Sonatas"

Volumes 5 & 6 include Sonatas K.309, K.311, K.330, K.457 and K.533/494

Digital release: February 9, 2024
Physical release: February 23, 2024
on Canary Classics

"insightful and perspicacious playing" 
— Classical Music Sentinel

The internationally-renowned concert pianist Orli Shaham is wrapping up her multi-year endeavor of recording all of Mozart’s piano sonatas. Volumes 5/6 of Orli Shaham's "Mozart: The Complete Piano Sonatas" (Canary Classics CC24) is released on CD February 23, 2024. The digital album is currently available for download and streaming. The complete box set with all six volumes will be released this spring.

Preparing to record the sonatas inspired Shaham to keep in mind where Mozart was when he wrote each of them. Whether it was Munich or Paris or Salzburg, she said in the album's liner notes written by Donald Rosenberg, “Was he trying out that piano? Was he writing for someone’s daughters? I want that something from every single one of them.”

"Mozart is both subtle and daring in his distinctive handling of materials," writes Rosenberg. "And to Shaham, there’s more. 'He’s also experimenting with audience manipulation—with the things he sets up beautifully and fulfills, how he thwarts your expectations. I do see through these sonatas that you the listener or amateur pianist—you were on his mind. In his letters, ‘you’ means whatever your level of musical training.'"

Critics call Shaham "an intelligent and sensitive guide" for this music. For a digital or physical copy of Volumes 5/6 or any of the previously released discs, contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com.

“A top-tier and consistently satisfying Mozart cycle.”
– International Piano

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Pianist Orli Shaham
Mozart Piano Sonatas
Volumes 5 & 6

K.309 ● K.311 ● K.330
K.457 ● K.533/494

Canary Classics CC24
Digital release: February 9, 2024
Physical release: February 23, 2024
UPC: 5 060133 300144

• Download the cover art

• Read the liner notes

• Pre-order on Amazon

• View Orli Shaham's DPK

• Request a copy of this CD

TRACK LIST

Volume 5 (Total time 65:11)
1–3 Piano Sonata in C Major, No. 7, K.309
4–6 Piano Sonata in D Major, No. 8, K.311
7–9 Piano Sonata in C Major, No. 10, K.330

Volume 6 (Total time 53:05)
1–3 Piano Sonata in C minor, No. 14, K.457
4–6 Piano Sonata in F Major, No. 15, K.533/494

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Hailed as “a first-rate Mozartean” by Chicago Tribune, Orli Shaham has established an international reputation as one of today's most gifted pianists.

Orli Shaham has performed with many of the major orchestras around the world, and has appeared in recital from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. She is Artistic Director of Pacific Symphony’s chamber series Café Ludwig in Costa Mesa, California and Artistic Director of the interactive children's concert series, Orli Shaham’s Bach Yard, which she founded in 2010. She has served on the juries of both the Cliburn and Honens International Piano Competitions.

In 2024, Ms. Shaham releases Volumes 5 and 6, the final volumes of "Mozart: The Complete Piano Sonatas". Her Mozart recording project also includes Piano Concertos with St. Louis Symphony, all of which are part of her discography of over a dozen titles on Canary Classics, Deutsche Gramophone, Albany Records, SFS Media and more.

Orli Shaham is a Co-Host and Creative for the national radio program From the Top. She is on the piano and chamber music faculty at The Juilliard School and is chair of the board of trustees at Kaufman Music Center in New York. 

March 16: Sylvan Winds perform Debussy, Bach and more

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Sylvan Winds continues 45th anniversary season with two concerts

March 16: "World Winds: Traditions Reimagined" features works by Debussy, Bach, and more

May 31: Season finale at Merkin Hall

"a superb group of musicians" – Fanfare

The Sylvan Winds is in the midst of their 45th anniversary season. On March 16, 2024 the quintet performs a program of some of their favorite compositions, including music by Bach, Debussy, Irving Fine, and José-Luis Hurtado.

"It's a delight to return to this repertoire that we know so well," says founding member and flutist Svjetlana Kabalin. "Each time we present the works in a new context, we find different aspects of the music to bring out. This particular program 'World Winds: Traditions Reimagined' highlights the longstanding tradition of composers pulling inspiration from older styles. Mordechai Rechtman created a brilliant arrangement of a Bach concerto (which itself was an arrangement of a Vivaldi concerto) and Gordon Davies’ transcription of Debussy’s Petite Suite is a longtime concert favorite.”

Tickets to the March 16 concert at 2 pm at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church (152 W 66th St, Manhattan) are $25, with discounts available for students, seniors, and children, available at SylvanWinds.com.

On May 31, the 45th anniversary season concludes with a special performance at Kaufman Music Center's Merkin Hall (129 W 67th St., Manhattan). The grand finale features larger works for winds, including Mozart's Serenade in C minor, and Richard Strauss's Suite in Bb Major, alongside contemporary works by Elizabeth Brown and Valerie Coleman. A ticketed reception will follow the concert. Details here.

Hailed by The New York Times for "…its adventuresome programming and stylishness of performance," Sylvan Winds was founded in 1982. Founding member and flutist Svjetlana Kabalin is joined by oboist Kathy Halvorson, clarinetist Nuno Antunes, Gina Cuffari on bassoon, and horn player Zohar Schondorf, completing the traditional woodwind quintet instrumentation. The quintet has appeared under the auspices of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival and the Caramoor International Music Festival.

Calendar Listing

Saturday, March 16 at 2 pm
World Winds: Traditions Reimagined

Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
(152 West 66th Street, New York, NY)

Tickets are $25 general admission
(Seniors/Students: $20; Children $10)

Sylvan Winds

Svjetlana Kabalin, flute; Kathy Halvorson, oboe;
Nuno Antunes, clarinet; Gina Cuffari, bassoon;
Zohar Schondorf, horn

PROGRAM

Claude Debussy: Petite Suite
 José-Luis Hurtado: Son de la Bruja
J.S. Bach (arr. Rechtman): Concerto No. 2 after Vivaldi, S.593
Irving Fine: Partita

Program subject to change

These concerts are made possible, in part, with funding from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council

March 12: Cassatt String Quartet at Symphony Space

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March 12: Cassatt String Quartet and Ursula Oppens perform piano quintets by Joan Tower and Tania León at Symphony Space

Part of Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival's 27th season

Also: Victoria Bond's Blue and Green Music and Wang Jie's Song for Mahler in the Absence of Words

On March 12, 2024 at 7:30 pm, the internationally acclaimed Cassatt String Quartet and pianist Ursula Oppens perform at Symphony Space. The program is part of Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival and features 21st century works for strings and piano by Tania León, Joan Tower, Victoria Bond and Wang Jie. For more on Oppens, read a profile of the pianist in the New York Times.

The highlight of the program is Victoria Bond’s Blue and Green Music, which the quartet recorded for Albany Records and is based on a Georgia O’Keefe painting of the same title. Tania León's Ethos, Joan Tower’s Dumbarton piano quintet and Wang Jie’s Songs for Mahler in the Absence of Words for piano quartet are also on the program. The concert will explore facets of contemporary music by living composers, all of whom will be present to discuss their works on stage with host and creator, Victoria Bond.

"I'm so delighted to invite the Cassatt String Quartet and Ursula Oppens back to the Cutting Edge Concerts' stage. The Cassatts are one of the finest ensembles of today, and it's been such a pleasure to hear them take my work Blue and Green Music on tour around the country this past season. I cannot wait to hear this program along with the audience," says Bond.

Program details for the March 12 concert are below. The performance is at Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater (2537 Broadway, Manhattan). Tickets are $25 in advance ($20 senior/student) and available at SymphonySpace.org.

Calendar Listing

CUTTING EDGE CONCERTS NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL

Cassatt String Quartet and Pianist Ursula Oppens

Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Symphony Space (2537 Broadway, Manhattan)
Tickets: $25 in advance (at SymphonySpace.org)

PROGRAM

Victoria Bond: Blue and Green Music
Tania León: Ethos for Piano and String Quartet
Wang Jie: Song for Mahler in the Absence of Words
Joan Tower: Dumbarton Quintet for piano quintet

About Cassatt String Quartet

Hailed for its “mighty rapport and relentless commitment,” the New York City-based Cassatt String Quartet has performed throughout the world for nearly four decades, with appearances at Alice Tully Hall and Weill Recital Hall; Tanglewood Music Center; the Kennedy Center; Théâtre des Champs-Élysées; Centro National de las Artes; Maeda Hall; and Beijing’s Central Conservatory. The Quartet’s prolific discography – featured three times in Alex Ross’s “10 Best Classical Recordings” column in The New Yorker – includes over forty recordings, for the Koch, Naxos, New World, Point, CRI, Tzadik, and Albany labels.

The Cassatt Quartet’s 2023-2024 season includes performances and recordings of works by Tania León, Adolphus Hailstork, Chen Yi, Joan Tower, Zhou Long, Victoria Bond and Daniel S. Godfrey; their annual residencies at the Seal Bay Festival in Maine and Cassatt in the Basin! in West Texas; hometown concerts in the New York area, including at Symphony Space and Bargemusic; and appearances at Treetops Chamber Music Society, Maverick Concerts, and Music Mountain.

The CSQ is named for the American Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt.

Out February 23: Solomiya Ivakhiv's "Ukrainian Masters"

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Violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv releases “Ukrainian Masters: Sonatas for Violin and Piano by Bortkiewicz, Kosenko and Skoryk”

Album features sonatas spanning the 20th century with pianist Steven Beck

Featuring a world premiere recording; released February 23 on Naxos

“a fabulous tone and virtuoso panache that feels just right.” — Gapplegate Classical

The Ukrainian-American violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv has made it her mission to share the music of her home country. Her latest release, “Ukrainian Masters” (Naxos 8.579146, rel. February 23, 2024) includes violin sonatas spanning 1922 to 1991 by three seminal Ukrainian composers, including a world premiere recording of Viktor Kosenko's Sonata in A minor, Op. 18. Ivakhiv is joined by the renowned pianist Steven Beck who frequently performs with the New York Philharmonic.

Each of the three composers on the new album are major figures in Ukrainian classical music and in Ivakhiv's own musical life. "I knew Kosenko's piano music growing up, but it was not popular to play Ukrainian music, as the Soviet government only promoted Russian composers. Therefore his music was not professionally recorded. I discovered the sonata after I moved to the U.S. when I was studying at Curtis and planning my recitals."

Bortkiewicz's music on the other hand was completely banned in the Soviet Union as he was a refugee and fled Ukraine via Istanbul, Belgrade, Sofia, Serbia and Vienna when Russians occupied Eastern Ukraine. "He was declared an enemy of the people as a result, and I only discovered his music with the war in Ukraine," continues the violinist. "Skoryk I did know personally, and had the opportunity to play his music for him before he passed away in 2020."

In addition to Ukrainian Masters, Ivakhiv has highlighted works from Ukrainian composers on her recordings Poems and Rhapsodies with the National Symphony of Ukraine (Centaur, 2022) and Ukraine - Journey to Freedom (NAXOS, 2016). Other album releases include Haydn + Hummel Concertos (Centaur, 2020) and Mendelssohn Concertos (Brilliant Classics, 2019).

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of Ukrainian Masters.

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February 9: Album release performance and panel discussion in NYC

To celebrate the release of Ukrainian Masters, Ivakhiv and Beck will perform selections from the album at the Ukrainian Institute of America in NYC on February 9 at 7 pm. The evening will feature a conversation on "Ukrainian Composers and their Words" with Maria Sonevytsky, Professor of Music, Bard College and Peter Schmelz, Professor of Music, Johns Hopkins University. Admission includes a copy of the CD. Ticket information coming soon.

"There is absolutely no stuffiness about this playing, just a constant outpouring of joy.”
– Classical Candor

Ukrainian Masters: Sonatas for Violin and Piano by Bortkiewicz, Kosenko and Skoryk

Solomiya Ivakhiv, violin
Steven Beck, piano

Naxos 8.579146

Release date: February 23, 2024

• Read the liner notes

• View Solomiya Ivakhiv's Digital Press Kit

• Download cover art

• Request a copy of this CD

TRACKS

Viktor Kosenko: Violin Sonata in A minor, Op. 18 (1927)* 17:42
[01] I. Allegro 9:24
[02] II. Andantino semplice 8:06

Myroslav Skoryk: Violin Sonata No. 2 (1991) 14:58
[03] I. The Word: Moderato con moto 5:15
[04] II. Aria: Andante con moto 5:56
[05] III. Burlesque: Vivo 3:40

Sergei Bortkiewicz: Violin Sonata in G minor, Op. 26 (1922) 25:21
[06] I. Sostenuto – Allegro drammatico 10:22
[07] II. Andante 7:24
[08] III. Allegro vivace e con brio 7:30

*world premiere recording

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Ukrainian born violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv is a highly celebrated soloist, chamber musician and educator. She has made solo appearances with the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Lviv National Philharmonic of Ukraine, Charleston Symphony in the United States and Hunan Symphony Orchestra in China, and has performed at chamber music festivals worldwide, including Tanglewood, Newport, Nevada Chamber Music Festival and KyivFest. Her recordings have been featured on NPR’s Performance Today and have placed in the top charts on iTunes and Spotify.

Since 2010, Dr Ivakhiv has served as artistic director of the Music at the Institute (MATI) Concert Series in New York City, where her primary focus is to introduce audiences to Ukrainian classical music. She is also artistic director of the Caspian Monday Music Festival in Greensboro, Vermont. She holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and Stony Brook University, and is associate professor of violin and viola and head of strings at the University of Connecticut. In 2021, she was named Honoured (Merited) Artist of Ukraine, her native country’s highest cultural honour.

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A graduate of The Juilliard School, pianist Steven Beck made his concerto debut with the National Symphony Orchestra. His annual Christmas Eve performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at Bargemusic has become a New York institution. As an orchestral musician he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Beck is an experienced performer of new music, having worked with Elliott Carter, Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, Charles Wuorinen, George Crumb, George Perle and Fred Lerdahl. He is a member of The Knights, the Talea Ensemble, Quattro Mani and the Da Capo Chamber Players. His discography includes George Walker’s piano sonatas for Bridge Records, and Elliott Carter’s Double Concerto on Albany Records. He is a Steinway Artist, and is on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Cutting Edge Concerts returns March 12

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CUTTING EDGE CONCERTS
New Music Festival

Victoria Bond, Artistic Director

Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival's 27th season continues with March 12 concert at Symphony Space

Cassatt String Quartet and Ursula Oppens perform piano quintets by Joan Tower and Tania León

Also: Victoria Bond's Blue and Green Music and Wang Jie's Song for Mahler in the Absence of Words

"a gift to New Yorkers thirsty for new sounds"
– Time Out New York

Composer Victoria Bond founded Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival to celebrate, support and promote the work of living composers. Its 27th season continues on March 12, 2024 at 7:30 pm with the internationally acclaimed Cassatt String Quartet and pianist Ursula Oppens at Symphony Space. The program features 21st century works for strings and piano by Tania León, Joan Tower, Victoria Bond and Wang Jie. For more on Oppens, read a profile of the pianist in this week's New York Times.

The highlight of the program is Victoria Bond’s Blue and Green Music, which the quartet recorded for Albany Records and is based on a Georgia O’Keefe painting of the same title. Tania León's Ethos, Joan Tower’s Dumbarton piano quintet and Wang Jie’s Songs for Mahler in the Absence of Words for piano quartet are also on the program. The concert will explore facets of contemporary music by living composers, all of whom will be present to discuss their works on stage with host and creator, Victoria Bond.

"I'm so delighted to invite the Cassatt String Quartet and Ursula Oppens back to the Cutting Edge Concerts' stage. The Cassatts are one of the finest ensembles of today, and it's been such a pleasure to hear them take my work Blue and Green Music on tour around the country this past season. I cannot wait to hear this program along with the audience," says Bond.

Program details for the March 12 concert are below. The performance is at Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater (2537 Broadway, Manhattan). Tickets are $25 in advance ($20 senior/student) and available at SymphonySpace.org.

Calendar Listing

CUTTING EDGE CONCERTS NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL

Cassatt String Quartet and Pianist Ursula Oppens

Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Symphony Space (2537 Broadway, Manhattan)
Tickets: $25 in advance (at SymphonySpace.org)

PROGRAM

Victoria Bond: Blue and Green Music
Tania León: Ethos for Piano and String Quartet
Wang Jie: Song for Mahler in the Absence of Words
Joan Tower: Dumbarton Quintet for piano quintet

About Cutting Edge Concerts

Inspired by Pierre Boulez's series, "Perspective Encounters", the composer and conductor Victoria Bond founded Cutting Edge Concerts in 1998. With 26 years of concerts, Cutting Edge Concerts has presented over 300 new works by more than 200 composers. Each program highlights the music of living composers, all of whom attend the concert. Along with performances by world-class ensembles and soloists, each program features on-stage discussions between host Victoria Bond and the composers.

About Victoria Bond

A major force in 21st century music, composer Victoria Bond is known for her melodic gift and dramatic flair. Her works for orchestra, chamber ensemble and opera have been lauded by The New York Times as "powerful, stylistically varied and technically demanding." Her compositions have been performed by the New York City Opera, Shanghai, Dallas and Houston Symphonies, members of the Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic, American Ballet Theater and the Cassatt and Audubon Quartets.  Ms. Bond is also an acclaimed conductor, and is the principal guest conductor of Chamber Opera Chicago, and has held conducting positions with Pittsburgh Symphony, New York City Opera, Roanoke Symphony, and Bel Canto and Harrisburg Operas.

Sunday: Joan Tower at 85! with Da Capo Chamber Players

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Feb 25: Da Capo Chamber Players celebrates Joan Tower at 85

Performance at Tenri Cultural Institute honors one of the ensemble's founders

Concert is part of Da Capo's 52nd concert season which continues on May 19 with a program of music inspired by the Middle East

"[a] fantastic experience of musical beauty" - Seen and Heard International

The Da Capo Chamber Players honors composer Joan Tower at age 85 with a program spanning five decades of her chamber works. In addition to Tower’s music, the concert includes world premieres of works written by two of Tower’s associates, John Boggs and Erica Lindsay.

Tower (born September 6, 1938) was a founding member of the groundbreaking ensemble, served as its pianist from 1970 to 1985, and continues to have a close association with Da Capo. "Joan’s inspiration not only helped launch this amazing group, she has also written numerous major works for us which have become classics in the field,” said Patricia Spencer, curator of this concert and founding member of Da Capo.

Da Capo Chamber Players commissioned Erica Lindsay, recent winner of a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works award and a colleague of Tower’s at Bard College, to compose a new work for the occasion. Also receiving a premiere on this concert is a quintet written for Tower and Da Capo by John Boggs, former student of the composer, now a teacher of piano and voice in Colorado.

Da Capo Chamber Players concert, Joan Tower at 85!, is on Sunday, February 25 at 8 pm at Tenri Cultural Institute (43A West 13th Street in Manhattan). Tickets are $30 ($15 students/seniors), available online and at the door.

Da Capo's 52nd concert season continues on May 19 with a program of music inspired by the Middle East. Ugandan composer Shirish Korde's The Conference of the Birds 2 is based on medieval Persian mythology. Yotam Haber grew up in Israel, Netherlands, and the U.S. His composition Bloodsnow captures a harrowing experience where he nearly lost his finger taking care of a friend's sled dogs in Alaska. Iranian composer Ramin Heydarbeygi's Aramesh deals with the theme of exile.

Calendar Listing

Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 8 pm

Tenri Cultural Institute (43A West 13th Street, New York, NY)

Joan Tower at 85!

Da Capo Chamber Players
Curtis Macomber violin | Chris Gross cello
Marianne Gythfeldt clarinet | Steven Beck piano
Patricia Spencer curator 

GUEST ARTISTS
James Baker conductor 
Laura Cocks flute | Michael Lipsey percussion
Andrea Ábel flute | Isabel Lepanto Gleicher flute
Jessica Taskov flute | Mark Helias upright bass

Tickets are $30/$15 (students/seniors), available online or at the door

PROGRAM

Joan Tower Breakfast Rhythms I and II (1974)  
Joan Tower Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No.5 (1993)  
Joan Tower Big Sky (2000)  
Joan Tower Into the Night (2022)
Erica Lindsay slowly, letting go (2024)* – World Premiere
Erica Lindsay Transmutation Variations 
John Boggs Descending the Catskills (2019)* – NY Premiere

*written for Joan Tower and Da Capo

Next up from Da Capo Chamber Players:
Sunday, May 19, 8 pm | Tenri Cultural Institute
Middle East Influences
A program of music by Shirish Korde, Yotam Haber, and Ramin Heydarbeygi.

About the Artists

The Da Capo Chamber Players has been hailed by The New Yorker as a "distinguished ensemble...at the center of the New York new-music scene”. Founded in 1970, the "Pierrot ensemble” (flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano) won the Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 1973 and went on to commission and perform new American chamber music in an enormous spectrum of styles over more than a half century.

The Da Capo Chamber Players' long-running New York series has been praised for "superb" and "gripping" performances, including premieres by Elliott Carter, George Perle, Louis Karchin, Joan Tower, Shulamit Ran, Chinary Ung, and dozens of others. Da Capo also brings performances of American music around the world, and presents music of global cultures to American audiences. 

Joan Tower was co-founder and pianist for the Da Capo Chamber Players from 1970-85, and is widely regarded as one of the most important American composers living today. During a career spanning more than sixty years, she has made lasting contributions to musical life in the United States as composer, performer, conductor, and educator. Her works have been commissioned by over one hundred major ensembles, soloists, and orchestras around the globe.

Tower was the first woman to win the prestigious Grawemeyer Award; she was named Composer of the Year by Musical America, and the League of American Orchestras awarded her the Gold Baton. The recording of Tower’s Made in America, a work commissioned by 65 American orchestras, earned the composer three Grammy awards. 

Pianist Inna Faliks premieres concerto by Clarice Assad

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Pianist Inna Faliks premieres piano concerto by Clarice Assad in Washington, D.C.

Program celebrating International Women's Day also features Clara Schumann's piano concerto

March 10 concert at National Gallery of Art features Faliks as soloist with Inscape Chamber Orchestra

On March 10 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the internationally renowned Ukrainian-American pianist and author Inna Faliks performs the world premiere of Lilith, a new piano concerto by Grammy-nominated composer Clarice Assad.

Written for Faliks, Lilith refers to the biblical character who was considered a primordial she-demon. Each of the movement titles (Spellbinder, Forbidden Charms, and Unchained) outline Lilith's iconic phases and sensuality. On the same program, Faliks plays the Piano Concerto by Clara Schumann.

The concert on March 10 at 3 pm falls within days of International Women's Day. Admission is free; details on the National Gallery of Art's website. Students from regional youth ensembles will join the Grammy-nominated Inscape Chamber Orchestra, led by Richard Scerbo, for this world premiere performance.

Faliks performs regional premieres of Lilith in Durango, CO (April 20) and Farmington, NM (April 21) with the San Juan Symphony and conductor Thomas Heuser.

Calendar Listing

National Gallery of Art presents

Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 3 pm

Inna Faliks with the Inscape Chamber Orchestra
World premiere of Lilith by Clarice Assad

Inna Faliks, piano
Robert Scerbo, conductor
Inscape Chamber Orchestra

with students from the DC Youth Orchestra Program and Washington Musical Pathways Initiative

National Gallery of Art 
(West Building, Main Floor - West Garden Court)
6th St and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

PROGRAM

Fanny Mendelssohn Overture in C Major
Clara Schumann Piano Concerto in A Minor
Clarice Assad A Retirada
Clarice Assad Lilith, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (World Premiere)

Coming Up

• February 18 (Los Angeles, CA): Four-hand Mahler with Daniel Schlosberg at St. James in-the-City Episcopal Church

• March 2 (Chapel Hill, NC): Recital at UNC Chapel Hill

• March 10 (Washington, D.C.): Lilith Concerto world premiere by Clarice Assad at National Gallery of Art (written for Ms. Faliks)

• March 22 (Torrance, CA): "Polanaise-Fantasie: The Story of a Pianist" recital at El Camino College Center for the Arts

• April 5 (New Orleans, LA): Recital at Tulane University Piano Series

• April 20 (Durango, CO): Lilith Concerto with San Juan Symphony led by Thomas Heuser

• April 21 (Farmington, NM): Lilith Concerto with San Juan Symphony led by Thomas Heuser

• May 19 (Santa Monica, CA): Recital/book celebration at Broad Stage

• May 23 (Brooklyn, NY): Recital/book celebration at National Sawdust

• June 8 (Healdsburg, CA): "Polanaise-Fantasie: The Story of a Pianist" recital at the 222

“Adventurous and passionate” (The New Yorker) Ukrainian-born American pianist Inna Faliks has made a name for herself through her commanding performances of standard piano repertoire, as well genre-bending interdisciplinary projects, and inquisitive work with contemporary composers. After her acclaimed teenage debuts at the Gilmore Festival and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, she has performed on many of the world’s great stages in recital and with many major orchestras, performing with conductors Leonard Slatkin, Keith Lockhart and many others.

Ms. Faliks collaborates with and premieres music by some of today’s most significant composers, including Billy Childs, Richard Danielpour, Timo Andres and Clarice Assad. She is known for her poetry-music series Music/Words, and has worked with a number of prominent poets. She regularly tours her monologue-recital Polonaise-Fantasie, the Story of a Pianist, which tells the story of her immigration to the United States from Odessa (recorded on Delos). Her discography includes Manuscripts Don't Burn (Sono Luminus, May 2024), which consists of world premiere recordings alongside 19th and 20th century works. Also in her catalogue: Reimagine: Beethoven and Ravel (Navona), and all-Beethoven and Rachmaninoff/Ravel/Pasternak discs on MSR Classics.

In addition to her other impressive accomplishments, she is is head of Piano Studies at UCLA and is a critically acclaimed writer. Her memoir, Weight in the Fingertips: A Musical Odyssey from Soviet Ukraine to the World Stage (Backbeat Books) was published in October 2023, and her articles and essays have appeared in Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Inna Faliks is a Yamaha Artist.

Baruch PAC's 2024 spring season

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Baruch Performing Arts Center's Spring 2024 Performances

Pianist Maxim Lando, classical accordionist Hangzhi Wang and Chromic Duo's toy piano and electronics fill BPAC's intimate Engelman Recital Hall with compelling music

Plus Heartbeat Opera's new production of Eugene Onegin and a world-premiere by Daniel Schlosberg and Amanda Quaid

This spring, Baruch Performing Arts Center's "perfect hall for chamber music" (New York Times) is full of performances. From the sounds of award-winning pianist Maxim Lando to classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang to the ingenuity of the Chromic Duo on keyboards and electronics, audiences will experience the best chamber music anywhere.

Ticket offer (valid til Feb. 9): Purchase tickets to all three recitals for a special price of $68 with code ADVANCE at this link.

Also this spring: Heartbeat Opera returns with their annual spring festival, presenting a new arrangement of Eugene Onegin alongside the world premiere of Daniel Schlosberg & Amanda Quaid’s The Extinctionist.

Tickets to all shows available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu

Downloadable images & bios available in the digital press kit

"Brilliance and infectious exuberance" Pianist Maxim Lando

February 9, 7:30 pm: Pianist Maxim Lando
Colorful classics by an award-winning performer

Award-winning pianist Maxim Lando performs Robert Schumann's Carnaval, Modest Mussorgsky’s evocative Pictures at an Exhibition, and the pianist’s own arrangement of Stephen Sondheim’s The Worst Pies in London from "Sweeney Todd." Schumann's Carnaval is a timely choice, as it depicts pre-Lenten festivities within a few days of Mardi Gras 2024.

Lando has been praised for his “brilliance and infectious exuberance” (The New York Times) and called a “dazzling fire-eater” by ARTS San Francisco. He is recipient of the prestigious Gilmore Young Artist Award, earned First Prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and is winner of the New York Franz Liszt International Competition and The Vendome Prize.

Tickets $35 ($15 for students and Baruch staff).

"playful soundscapes” Chromic Duo

March 5, 7:30 pm: Chromic Duo
Multi-media duo plays toy pianos merged with electronics

Chromic Duo - Lucy Yao and Dorothy Chan - blends classical music, toy piano, and electronics into genre-fluid performances and installations. Inspired by the small wonders of the everyday, they compose sound worlds inspired by the multitudes as Third-Culture-Kids discovering their voices within the vast Asian-American diaspora.

Chromic Duo often blurs the lines between film, virtual reality, and augmented reality, but the heart of their work remains constant: to create an intimacy and sense of wonder in their music that unravels the story of self-discovery and passion, connecting the dots between grief and joy, belonging and displacement, and creating community in boundary-pushing performances and web-based experiences.

Tickets $35 ($15 for students and Baruch staff).

“staggering virtuosity” Classical Accordionist Hanzhi Wang

April 19, 7:30 pm: Classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang

Acclaimed for her “staggering virtuosity,” the classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang is praised for her captivating stage presence and performances that display passion and finesse. A groundbreaking artist, Hanzhi was the first accordionist to win Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the first to be named Musical America’s “New Artist of the Month,” and the first solo accordionist on WQXR Radio’s Young Artists Showcase.

Hanzhi made her Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center debuts in 2017. Her awards include the Ruth Laredo Prize and Mortimer Levitt Career Development Award for Women Artists of YCA and First Prize in the 40th Castelfidardo International Accordion Competition in Italy. She inspires the next generation of accordionists with lectures, performances, and master classes at the Manhattan School of Music, Royal Danish Academy of Music, Tianjin Music Conservatory, and across Europe. 

Tickets $35 ($15 for students and Baruch staff).

Heartbeat Opera at Baruch PAC

On April 2-14, Heartbeat Opera returns to BPAC for their annual spring festival. Alternating nights, the critically-acclaimed company presents a new 100-minute adaptation of Tchaikovsky's exquisite masterpiece Eugene Onegin alongside the highly anticipated premiere of Daniel Schlosberg and Amanda Quaid's thrilling The Extinctionist.

Baruch Performing Arts Center

Baruch Performing Arts Center is at 55 Lexington Avenue (enter on 25th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues, on the south side of the street) in the heart of Manhattan. Praised for its superb acoustics, the Rosalyn and Irwin Engelman Recital Hall has been called "a perfect hall for chamber music" by Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times. 

Feb 9: Award-winning pianist Maxim Lando at BPAC

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Award-winning pianist Maxim Lando performs at Baruch PAC on February 9

Colorful program includes Robert Schumann's Carnaval, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and music by Sondheim

On Friday, February 9, the award-winning American pianist Maxim Lando performs at the intimate Engelman Recital Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center. His program includes Robert Schumann's Carnaval, Modest Mussorgsky’s evocative Pictures at an Exhibition, and the pianist’s own arrangement of Stephen Sondheim’s The Worst Pies in London from "Sweeney Todd." Schumann's Carnaval is a timely choice, as it depicts pre-Lenten festivities within a few days of Mardi Gras 2024. Tickets are $35, available here.

Lando has been praised for his “brilliance and infectious exuberance” (The New York Times) and called a “dazzling fire-eater” by ARTS San Francisco. He is recipient of the prestigious Gilmore Young Artist Award, earned First Prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and is winner of the New York Franz Liszt International Competition and The Vendome Prize.

Maxim made his Alice Tully Hall debut performing with the Juilliard Orchestra in 2021 and appeared with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall as First Prize Winner in the 2022 New York Franz Liszt International Piano Competition. Recent awards include "Best Chamber Music Album of the Year" at the 2023 International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) for his album “Into Madness” with German violinist Tassilo Probst.

Baruch Performing Arts Center is at 55 Lexington Avenue (enter on 25th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues, on the south side of the street) in the heart of Manhattan. Praised for its superb acoustics, the Rosalyn and Irwin Engelman Recital Hall has been called "a perfect hall for chamber music" by Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times. 

Tickets are now on sale for all Spring 2024 performances. Details below, and tickets are available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu.

Friday, February 9, 2023 at 7:30 pm

Baruch Performing Arts Center presents:

Pianist Maxim Lando

Engelman Recital Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center

55 Lexington Ave., New York, NY (enter on 25th St. between 3rd and Lexington Aves)

Tickets are $35 available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu

PROGRAM
Schumann: Carnaval
Sondheim (arr. Lando): The Worst Pies in London from "Sweeney Todd"
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Baruch PAC 2024 Spring Season

January 13: PUBLIQuartet and Harlem Quartet (double-bill)
February 9: Pianist Maxim Lando (Gilmore Young Artist)
March 5: Chromic Duo
April 2-14: Heartbeat Opera Spring Festival: Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and The Extinctionist, a world premiere by Daniel Schlosberg
April 19: Classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang

Jan 29: Clarinetist Sam Boutris - Carnegie debut

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Musica Solis presents

Clarinetist Sam Boutris - Carnegie Hall debut on January 29, 2024

Program includes Mozart Quintet with Aizuri Quartet, a world premiere by Sheridan Seyfried, recital favorites by Schumann, Brahms, and more

“Boutris played with a natural articulation and lyricism." — Rutland Herald

The award-winning clarinetist Sam Boutris makes his Carnegie recital debut on January 29, 2024 at 7:30 pm at Weill Recital Hall (154 W 57th St, New York, NY). A highlight of the evening is Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet with the Aizuri Quartet and a world premiere by Philadelphia-based composer Sheridan Seyfried. Also on the program, works by Nielsen, Brahms, Cahuzac, and Schumann's evocative Fantasiestücke, with the pianist Sophiko Simsive. Tickets start at $35, and are at carnegiehall.org | CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh.

The recital coincides with the release of Sam Boutris’ debut album Phases (Musica Solis MS202401, rel. January 26, 2024). More information about Phases is at this link.

“I’m excited to perform some of my favorite music at Carnegie Hall. It’s an honor and a career milestone to have this opportunity to perform in this iconic venue," says Boutris. "It's also a thrill to work with the fabulous Aizuri Quartet; and when it comes to collaborative pianists, none are better than Sophiko Simsive."

Winner of the grand prize at the 2019 Chamber Music Northwest International Clarinet Competition, clarinetist Sam Boutris regularly performs as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician across North America. Mr. Boutris holds degrees from Yale University and the Curtis Institute of Music, and an Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School.

Musica Solis presents

Sam Boutris, clarinet
Sophiko Simsive, piano

Monday, January 29 at 7:30 pm
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Tickets start at $35, and are at carnegiehall.org | CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800 | Box Office at 57th and Seventh

PROGRAM
Robert Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 for clarinet and piano
Louis Cahuzac: Cantilène
Carl Nielsen: Fantasy for clarinet and piano in G minor
Sheridan Seyfried: Forest and Sky (world premiere, commissioned by Sam Boutris)
Johannes Brahms: Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 120 for clarinet and piano
W.A. Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581 (with Aizuri Quartet)

About the Artist

Clarinetist Sam Boutris leads a diverse career as concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. He is the recipient of the ‘Musica Solis’ Grand Prize Award at the 2019 Chamber Music Northwest International Clarinet Competition. Boutris has since released his debut album 'Phases' on the Musica Solis label and collaborated with the Rolston String Quartet, Attacca Quartet, and musicians at Chamber Music Northwest. He presented recitals on the Crypt Sessions series in New York City, The Violin Channel, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago, Carnegie Hall, and performed live on WQXR (NYC), WFMT(Chicago), and WSMR (Sarasota). Boutris appeared as soloist with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, Chamber Music Northwest, Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra, and the Yale Undergraduate Chamber Orchestra. He also served as principal/guest clarinet with the Louisville Orchestra, The Knights, the Pacific Symphony, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. Boutris is a resident artist of Soundbox Ventures’ Suncoast Composer Fellowship Program, performing and advocating for clarinet chamber music in contemporary classical repertoire. Boutris holds an undergraduate degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, a graduate degree from the Yale School of Music, and an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School.

Out Friday: "breath-taking virtuosity" from clarinetist Sam Boutris

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Clarinetist Sam Boutris' debut recording includes music by Robert Schumann, Debussy, Verdi and more

Released January 26, 2024 on Musica Solis

“breath-taking virtuosity." — EarRelevant

The award-winning clarinetist Sam Boutris’s first studio recording, Phases will be released on digital platforms on January 26, 2024. Boutris recorded works by Robert Schumann, Claude Debussy, Carl Nielsen and other recital favorites with the acclaimed pianist Sophiko Simsive. In celebration of the new album, Boutris makes his Carnegie Hall debut with Simsive and the Aizuri Quartet on January 29, 2024. Concert details at this link.

Phases (Musica Solis MS202401) is available for pre-order on Bandcamp and on the Musica Solis website.

Winner of the grand prize at the 2019 Chamber Music Northwest International Clarinet Competition, clarinetist Sam Boutris regularly performs as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician across North America. Mr. Boutris holds degrees from Yale University and the Curtis Institute of Music, and an Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School.

PHASES

Sam Boutris, clarinet
Sophiko Simsive, piano

Musica Solis
Catalog No: MS202401
UPC: 197999418463

Release date: January 26, 2024

TRACK LISTING
Louis Cahuzac
[01] Cantilène 4'50

Robert Schumann
Three Romances, Op. 94
[02] Nicht schnell 3'31
[03] Einfach, innig 3'58
[04] Nicht schnell 4'30

Luigi Bassi
[05] Fantasy on Themes from Verdi's "Rigoletto" 12'22

Claude Debussy (arr. by Sam Boutris)
[06] Suite Bergamasque, L. 75: III. Clair de Lune 4'36

Carl Nielsen
[07] Fantasy Piece for Clarinet and Piano in G minor 4'04

Carl Maria von Weber
[08] Andante e Rondo Ungarese, Op.35 9'16

Total Time [47'07]

About the Artist

Clarinetist Sam Boutris regularly performs as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Boutris is the recipient of the ‘Musica Solis’ grand prize award at the 2019 Chamber Music Northwest international Clarinet Competition. His upcoming performances include solo and chamber recitals at the Sarasota Art Museum, Piano On Park, Van Vleck Museum, and Carnegie Hall. Recent season highlights include performances of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet (Rolston String Quartet) and Clarinet Concerto at Chamber Music Northwest.

A featured recital on the award-winning Crypt Sessions series in New York City, a live broadcast solo recital on WQXR’s Midday Master Series at the Greene Space; solo recitals at Dame Myra Hess (Chicago) Lincoln Centers’ Paul Hall and Wilson Theater, the Harvard Club of New York, La Maison Française at New York University, and a featured recital of the Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets with the Attacca Quartet on the Rockerfeller Noon Series. Other significant performances include concerto appearances with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, Chamber Music Northwest, Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra and the Yale Undergraduate Chamber Orchestra.

As an orchestral musician Boutris has performed as guest principal clarinet with the Louisville Symphony Orchestra, the Knights Chamber Orchestra, and ‘Symphony in C.’ He has also appeared as guest clarinet with the New Haven and Princeton symphonies. Boutris has also had video performances featured on ClassicFM, and The Violin Channel.

Boutris holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Yale University, and recently held a position in the Artist Diploma Program at the Juilliard School.

Jan 20: "Anne Frank's Tree" by Victoria Bond

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World premiere of Anne Frank's Tree by Victoria Bond on January 20

Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra commissioned new work based on text from The Diary of Anne Frank

On January 20, 2024 at 7:30 pm, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra performs the world premiere of Anne Frank's Tree by Victoria Bond. Passages from the journal kept by Anne Frank as a youngster hiding from the Nazis in 1940's Amsterdam are narrated by the award-winning teenage actor Sadie Cohen. Performance is conducted by Matthew Kraemer, ICO Music Director. Details are below.

"The Diary of Anne Frank has been an important book to me since I read it as a teenager," said composer Victoria Bond. "I was struck by the important role the tree that grew outside Anne’s window played in her emotional life: it represented nature, beauty, freedom and hope. When I learned that a sapling from the very same tree had been planted in the garden of the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, I resolved to write a piece of music about Anne Frank and this tree."

Victoria Bond and Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra have had a long history of collaboration. Over the past two decades, ICO commissioned Bond's piano concerto, “Ancient Keys,” and three works for storyteller and chamber ensemble.

The program also includes music by Felix Mendelssohn, Erich Korngold and Franz Schrecker. The concert is on January 20, 7:30 pm at the Schrott Center for the Arts at Butler University in Indianapolis (610 W 46th St). Tickets: Children/students free with reservation. Adults $20-$45; available at ICOMusic.org or by calling 317-940-9607.

Anne Frank's Tree
World premiere by Victoria Bond

Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra
Matthew Kraemer, conductor
Sadie Cohen, Narrator

January 20, 2024 at 7:30 pm

Schrott Center for the Arts at Butler University (610 W 46th St, Indianapolis, IN)

Tickets: Children/students free with reservation. Adults $20-$45

Available at ICOMusic.org

PROGRAM
Victoria Bond: Anne Frank’s Tree (with Sadie Cohen, narrator)*
Franz Schreker: Kammersymphonie
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Straussiana
Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (with Julian Rhee, violin)

*world premiere performance

Celebrating composer Chou Wen-chung's centennial

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Chou Wen-chung’s centennial and legacy is celebrated in a concert on March 21, 2024 at Miller Theatre

Influential Chinese-born composer's legacy includes the composers he helped bring to the US: Tan Dun, Zhou Long, Chen Yi, and Bright Sheng

Performed by Continuum, Joel Sachs conductor

The Chinese-born composer Chou Wen-chung (1923–2019) had an enormous influence on concert music in America and was responsible for bringing over the next generation of musicians from China, including Pulitzer Prize winner Zhou Long, Chen Yi and Bright Sheng. He studied with and worked closely with Edgar Varèse. On March 21, 2024 at 7:30 pm Continuum performs a special concert celebrating the composer's centennial and legacy at Columbia University's Miller Theatre. The concert is presented by Spiralis Music Trust in cooperation with the Music Department at Columbia University. Details and ticket links will be announced soon.

The program, performed by the contemporary ensemble Continuum led by Joel Sachs, displays Chou’s special ability to blend Eastern and Western styles, techniques and tropes in his compositions. A highlight of the concert is the American premiere of In the Mode of Shang for chamber orchestra. Program details are below.  

The event is part of an ongoing endeavor to maintain and extend Chou Wen-chung’s legacy. Other components include commissioned works in Chou's name in China and the United States, a lecture series at the 21st Century China Center at UCSD, the Center for US-China Arts Exchange at Columbia University, and more.

Spiralis Music Trust in cooperation with the Music Department at Columbia University present

March 21, 2024 at 7:30 pm

Celebrating Chou Wen-chung’s Centennial and his Legacy

Miller Theatre at Columbia University (2960 Broadway at W 116 St, New York, NY)

Ticket info TBA

CONTINUUM®
Joel Sachs, conductor and piano
Chamber orchestra featuring long-time Continuum players Renée Jolles, violin; Stephanie Griffin, viola; Kristina Reiko Cooper, cello; Emily Duncan, flute (Continuum debut); and Moran Katz, clarinet with additional instrumentalists

PROGRAM

All selections by Chou Wen-chung (1923 – 2019)

In the Mode of Shang (1956) (US Premiere) 
Chamber Orchestra 

The Willows are New (1957)
Piano 

Yu Ko (Fisherman’s Song) (1965)
Ensemble for Violin, Winds, Piano and Percussion 

Twilight Colors (2007)
Double trio for woodwinds and strings

Ode to Eternal Pine (2009)
Chamber Ensemble

About the Artists

The Chinese-born composer Chou Wen-chung (1923 - 2019) came to the United States in 1946. He studied with Nicholas Slonimsky at the New England Conservatory of Music, and later moved to New York City where Edgard Varèse became his teacher and mentor. In the early 1950’s, he did graduate work at Columbia University under Otto Luening, and studied with Bohuslav Martinu and musicologist Paul Henry Lang. This began a long career (1964 to 1991) at Columbia where he developed an internationally renowned composition program and, for 13 years, was in charge of academic affairs for all the creative arts.

In 1978, Chou founded the Center for United States-China Arts Exchange which has collaborated with specialists and institutions from East/Southeast Asia on projects, such as the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan (1990); an arts education program in China spanning 15 years; and an ongoing project, begun in 1990, for cultural conservation and development in Yunnan, one of the most culturally diverse regions in the world. 

Chou was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an honorary member of the International Society for Contemporary Music and Asian Composers League, and recipient of the Officier des Arts et Lettres

Winner of the Siemens international prize and four ASCAP awards for Adventuresome Programming, New-York-based CONTINUUM® has been a major presence in the new music world since it was founded in 1966.

Continuum has performed across the United States, including at the Kennedy Center and the Library of Congress; toured Europe dozens of times, and made numerous trips to Asia and Latin America.

CBS-TV, National Public Radio, the Voice of America, and European networks have broadcast CONTINUUM® events. The ensemble has recorded nearly two dozen titles and in 2024 records music by Roberto Sierra and Ursula Mamlok. Its concert programs embrace the entire range of music from 20th-century classics such as Ives, Joplin and Webern, to today's composers from all over the world.

Continuum is a registered service mark of The Performers' Committee, Inc.

January 13: PUBLIQuartet & Harlem Qt at Baruch PAC

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Baruch Performing Arts Center presents PUBLIQuartet and Harlem Quartet on Saturday, January 13, 2024

Baruch PAC's concert series continues through the Spring with Gilmore Young Artist Maxim Lando, Heartbeat Opera's Spring Festival, and classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang

On Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 7 pm, Baruch Performing Arts Center presents a double-bill of two internationally-renowned ensembles: PUBLIQuartet and Harlem Quartet at Engelman Recital Hall. Tickets are $45, available on Baruch PAC's website.

Multi-Grammy nominated PUBLIQuartet has built a reputation for improvising, blending genres, and highlighting American multiculturalism. They are winners of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Visionary Award for outstanding and innovative approaches to contemporary classical, jazz, and world chamber music and the Concert Artists Guild New Music/New Places award.

Harlem Quartet has collaborated with a wide range of artists, from Chick Corea to Itzhak Perlman and Jeremy Denk. Harlem Quartet's album with Corea and Gary Burton won multiple Grammy Awards, and the group's mission to advance diversity in classical music has brought them around the world; including a performance at The White House and a South African tour.

Baruch Performing Arts Center is at 55 Lexington Avenue (enter on 25th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues, on the south side of the street) in the heart of Manhattan. Praised for its superb acoustics, the Rosalyn and Irwin Engelman Recital Hall has been called "a perfect hall for chamber music" by Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times. 

CALENDAR LISTING

January 13, 2023 at 7 pm

Baruch Performing Arts Center presents:
PUBLIQuartet and Harlem Quartet

Engelman Recital Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Ave., New York, NY (enter on 25th St. between 3rd and Lexington Aves)

Tickets are $45 available at bpac.baruch.cuny.edu

Coming up at Baruch PAC

January 13: PUBLIQuartet and Harlem Quartet (double-bill)
February 9: Pianist Maxim Lando (Gilmore Young Artist)
March: artist and date to be revealed soon
April 2-14: Heartbeat Opera Spring Festival: Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and The Extinctionist, a world premiere by Daniel Schlosberg
April 19: Classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang

Watch this space for complete spring season details!

Artist Biographies

Applauded by The Washington Post as “a perfect encapsulation of today’s trends in chamber music,” and by The New Yorker as “independent-minded,” multi-GRAMMY®-nominated PUBLIQuartet is an improvising string quartet whose repertoire blends genres and highlights American multiculturalism. PUBLIQuartet rose on the music scene as winner of the 2013 Concert Artists Guild New Music/New Places award, and in 2019 garnered Chamber Music America’s prestigious Visionary Award for outstanding and innovative approaches to contemporary classical, jazz, and world chamber music. PQ’s genre-bending programs range from newly commissioned pieces to re-imaginations of classical works featuring open-form improvisations that expand the techniques and aesthetic of the traditional string quartet.

Harlem Quartet advances diversity in classical music while engaging new audiences with varied repertoire that includes works by minority composers. Their mission to share their passion with a wider audience has taken them around the world; from a 2009 performance at The White House for President Obama and First Lady, Michelle Obama, to a highly successful tour of South Africa in 2012, and numerous venues in between. The musically versatile ensemble has performed with such distinguished artists as Itzhak Perlman, Ida Kavafian, Carter Brey, Fred Sherry, Misha Dichter, Jeremy Denk, and Paquito D’Rivera. The quartet also collaborated with jazz masters Chick Corea and Gary Burton on the album Hot House, a 2013 multi-Grammy Award winning release.

Educational Programs from The Defiant Requiem Foundation

Education Programs at The Defiant Requiem Foundation

Over 100 programs offered since 2008

There’s a lot going on behind the scenes at The Defiant Requiem Foundation. In addition to its public-facing programs — the concert-drama Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín, the Emmy-nominated documentary film Defiant Requiem, and other special programs presented online and in-person around the world — the Foundation also plays a major role in educational programs for teachers, students, and the general public.

On January 29 and February 28, 2024, DRF will present two workshops for teachers. The January event, in partnership with the Leo Baeck Institute at The Center for Jewish History will introduce NYC public school teachers to a new set of high school lesson plans about Terezín using the archival collections of the Leo Baeck Institute. The February event is co-presented by Centropa, an organization devoted to preserving Jewish memory. This online workshop introduces teachers to resources from both organizations that relate to Jewish life in Prague, the Terezín concentration camp, and cultural resistance.

These programs are part of Defiant Requiem’s educational mission to use the story of Terezín to introduce and deepen students' knowledge of the Holocaust and cultural resistance, past and present. The Foundation offers educational programming and materials for teachers of social students, English language arts, music and art to support the use of the 45-minute documentary film, Defiant Requiem in classrooms. The modules were developed through a rigorous process of conceptualization, critical review, and evaluation, and have been revised and refined based on feedback from dozens of highly experienced teachers from public, private, charter, and parochial schools.

Since its founding in 2008, The Defiant Requiem Foundation has offered over one hundred educational programs, including workshops for teachers and presentations for students in schools, across the United States. 

Curriculum details and additional information at education.defiantrequiem.org. Contact DRF Director of Education Alexandra Zapruder (azapruder@defiantrequiem.org) for inquiries about specific materials and programs.