Cape Ann Symphony’s Musicians Unleashed Series welcomes spring with an afternoon of music featuring special guest artist pianist Tianhong Yang and Cape Ann Symphony musicians Bill Kirkley, clarinet; Seth MacLeod, Cello; Scott Moore, violin; Erica Pisaturo, violin; Richey Tally, string bass; and Brandon White, viola; playing nine compositions from nine composers of varying styles ranging from Gershwin to Liszt.
“The final Musicians Unleashed concert of the season is going to be a great one. Fantastic musicians from the Cape Ann Symphony will be playing a varied program written by a wide range of composers with a lot of different combinations of players. Plus our special guest, the enormously talented pianist Tianhong Yang!”
Yoichi Udagawa, Cape Ann Symphony Conductor and Music Director
The concert program includes
Nine compositions from nine composers: Bach, Beethoven, Dvorák, Gershwin, Koussevitsky, Liszt, Mozart, Saint-Saens, and Trenet-Weisenberg
Beethoven’s Spring Sonata 4th Movement; Bach’s Cello Suite No 1, Prelude; Saint-Saens’ The Swan from The Carnival of the Animals (Le Carnaval des animaux); Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet 1st Movement which is Mozart’s only completed clarinet quintet, and is one of the earliest and best-known works written especially for the clarinet; George Gershwin’s Promenade; Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10 for solo piano; Trenet-Weisenberg’s En Avril à Paris; Koussevitsky’s Valse Minature; and Dvorák’s String Quintet No. 2, 1st Movement.
About the Guest Artist, Tianhong Yang
Based in Boston, Chinese born pianist Tianhong Yang has made solo appearances in a number of prestigious festivals and venues across Europe, Asia and the USA. Yang made her UK debut in 2010 at the St. David’s Hall, Cardiff, performing Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, Op.37, under the direction of Maestro David Jones. Throughout Yang’s competition career, she has participated and won numerous top prizes in international piano competitions such as Liege International Piano Competition and Andree Charlier International Piano Competition. At the age of four, Yang started her piano lessons and continued her studies in the Middle School program at Wuhan Conservatoire of Music, then later was admitted to the High School of Central Conservatoire of Music in Beijing, China. After Yang’s intensive primary school training in China’s most prestigious conservatories she was awarded the inaugural Steinway Full Scholarship in 2009 to further her studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music under the tutelage of Richard McMahon. In 2013, Yang was invited to study with the Piano Legend, Dmitry Bashkirov, at Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Spain and she was sponsored with a full scholarship by the Yamaha Europe Association and the Albeniz Foundation. Yang simultaneously began her master’s degree in performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, Belgium, with Polina Leschenko, and performance diploma program at the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale Incontri Col Maestro, Italy, with Vovka Ashkenazy and Boris Petrushansky. Yang also works closely with Chinese composer, Haofu Zhang, promoting Chinese-Western contemporary compositions. Yang is currently working on her doctoral degree in Piano Performance at Boston University, under the guidance of Pavel Nersessian.
The Cape Ann Symphony’s Musicians Unleashed programs were launched in 2019 and have become a wonderfully popular series with an overwhelmingly enthusiastic audience response. Spring Awakening is Saturday, April 15 at 3:00 PM at the Crowell Chapel, 3 Rosedale Avenue, Manchester-by-the-Sea. Ticket prices for Spring Awakening are $40 for Adults and $15 for Youth. Call Cape Ann Symphony at 978-281-0543 or go to www.capeannsymphony.org for tickets.
Photos attached for Spring Awakening Musicians
Photo 1: Special Guest Artist Tianhong Yang, Piano Photo 2: Bill Kirkley, Clarinet Photo 3: Scott Moore, Violin Photo 4: Erica Pisaturo, Violin Photo 5: Richey Tally, String Bass Photo 6: Brandon White, Viola
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Heidi Dallin shares Save the date reminder for a special concert next month!
Cape Ann Symphony Musicians Unleashed Concert Series
Sunday February 12, 2023
ROMANTIC REVERIES:Six Musicians Richard Einhorn, Alex Fowler, Scott Moore, Erica Pisaturo, Stephanie Stathos & Brandon White and Eight composers: Alexander Borodin, Claude Debussy, Carlos Gardel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Astor Piazzolla, Francis Poulenc, Robert Schumann & Consuelo Velázquez
Cape Ann Symphony proudly announces 2023’s first Musicians Unleashed Concert, Romantic Reveries, on Sunday, February 12 at 3:00 PM at the St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1123 Washington St, Gloucester, MA.
Cape Ann Symphony’s Musicians Unleashed Series kicks off 2023 with an afternoon of moving romantic music featuring guest artist and longtime Magnolia resident, pianist Richard Einhorn, and Cape Ann Symphony musicians Alex Fowler, cello; Scott, Moore, violin; Erica Pisaturo, violin; Stephanie Stathos, flute; and Brandon White, viola; playing music from eight composers ranging from 19th century classical to 20th century plain-old fun. According to Cape Ann Symphony Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa,
“In the upcoming Musicians Unleashed Concert, we will be presenting works from the standard classical repertoire, as well as some fantastic pieces from Latin America. We have amazing musicians in the orchestra, and these concerts are a real opportunity to hear them in an intimate chamber music setting. In addition, we will also have a Cape Ann Symphony board member performing. Concerts are always full, so make sure to get your tickets early.”
The concert program includes: Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) Flute Sonata, 1st Mvt, Alexander Borodin (1833-87) String Quartet No. 2, 3rd Mvt Notturno, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Flute Quartet No. 1, 2nd and 3rd Mvt, Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Fantaisie in C Major, Op. 17 3rd Mvt, Carlos Gardel (1890-1935) Por Una Cabeza, Consuelo Velázquez (1916-2005) Besame Mucho, Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) Four for Tango, Claude Debussy (1862-1918) String Quartet, 1st Mvt
Born and raised in Montreal, guest artist and current Magnolia resident Richard Einhorn started taking piano lessons at age 6. During his teenage years, he entered the Quebec Music Festival competitions annually, winning first prize in his age group several years running. In college at Yale, he majored in music and gave numerous solo as well as chamber music recitals. After one year as a piano major in Yale’s Graduate School of Music, he took a brief 23-year break from his music endeavors to pursue a career in medicine. He returned to piano in 1998, taking regular lessons from Ludmilla Bekker (an associate of New England Conservatory) and Tim McFarland (at MIT and UMass Boston). He has returned to the concert stage for a series of piano recitals from 1999 to 2007 to benefit musical education in the local public schools. He has been a member and now vice-president of the Boston Piano Amateurs Association since 2001 and won first prize in the 2003 Boston Piano competition run by the BPAA for outstanding amateurs. Since then, he has been part of a benefit concert in Carnegie Hall in 2005 and played The Schumann Concerto with the Newton Symphony. Mr. Einhorn has lived in Magnolia for over 11 years. Prior to moving to Cape Ann, he raised his family in Hamilton, MA and was in a private practice in gastroenterology at Beverly Hospital from 1984 until he retired in 2018. Mr. Einhorn has played in several local concerts more recently, including a Musicians Unleashed concert in 2019. He has been a member of the board of Cape Ann Symphony since 2019.
Cape Ann Symphony’s Concertmaster Scott Moore made his MU debut in October 2022’s American Classical Music Concert. Scott Moore was born and came of age in rural Kentucky. He began his career as a violinist and composer as a four-year-old in New York. He’s been a soloist with a number of orchestras, played Mozart for the Archduke of Austria, and given an impromptu recital in Carnegie Hall for an audience of ghosts. In 2018, he began performing, from memory, the complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by J. S. Bach. Mr. Moore has been an organic farmer and a professional driver, learned fiddle tunes from old-timers in the hills of eastern Kentucky, drunk bourbon with rock stars on a steam-powered riverboat, and played music on four continents. An enthusiastic collaborator on stage and in the recording studio, he has forged a reputation as a skillful and inventive musician unbound by genre equally at home as a soloist with the Louisville Orchestra, with bands at festivals, or in the recording studio with Jim James, Tyler Ramsey, Houndmouth, Dawn Landes, Rachel Grimes, and many more. This native Kentuckian is now a resident of Gloucester. He and his wife violinist Erica Pisaturo, also a member of CAS, moved to New England in the fall of 2019. Moore is the 2022 Artist-in-Residence at the Annisquam Village Church, where he recently performed the complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by J. S. Bach.
Violinist Erica Pisaturo is a native of New England, where she began her violin studies at the age of four. After earning a BA in Music and Art History from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, she escaped the harsh winters to earn an MFA at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. While in the South, Ms. Pisaturo played violin in a number of professional symphony orchestras, including the Hilton Head Symphony and Savannah Philharmonic, both of which she also served as Orchestra Librarian. She recorded with Rachel Grimes and performed in the world premiere of The Way Forth (2019) with the Louisville Orchestra. She and her husband, Scott Moore, CAS’s Concertmaster moved to Gloucester in 2019 and Ms. Pisaturo now plays with the Cape Ann Symphony and Symphony By The Sea.
Originally from New York and now residing in the Boston area, Brandon White has enjoyed a varied career as a violist. A classically trained violist, Mr. White has been recognized as an analytical, and forward-thinking musician with a love of all viola music and new compositions. He holds degrees from The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam where he studied under Shelly Tramposh and earned his BM in Viola Performance, as well as The Boston Conservatory at Berklee where he studied under Lila Brown and earned his MM in String Performance. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Jordan Hall, and Sanders Theater and played with the Orchestra of Northern New York, Hamptons Festival Orchestra and the Choral Society of the Hamptons. Mr. White currently performs in the Rivers Symphony Orchestra and is also a member of the contemporary viola duo Waterhouse Row alongside Emilie Catlett. He performs on a Hungarian Viola from 1968 made by Otto Erdesz.
Alex Fowler has been playing the cello for 16 years. He studied cello performance at Virginia Tech with cellist Alan Weinstein and taught with the Virginia Tech String Project. While at Virginia Tech, Mr. Fowler found a passion for contemporary classical music and performed works by Donald Erb, Eric Lyon, Chen-Hui Jen and was a featured artist in the 2015 Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) Conference. He moved to Boston, MA in 2017 and attended the New England Conservatory for three years (M.M. ‘19 & G.D. ‘20). He studied cello performance under Yeesun Kim and played in chamber ensembles under the direction of Nicholas Kitchen, Mai Motobuchi, Kristopher Tong, and Steve Drury. At NEC,Mr. Fowler continued his study of contemporary repertoire and appeared frequently on the BSO concert series, What I Hear, performing solo and chamber works by Derek Bermel, Sebastian Currier, Kaija Saariaho, Jörg Widmann, and Andris Dzenitis. In 2019, Mr. Fowler received NEC’s John Cage Award for Contemporary Performance. Outside of NEC, Alex has also performed as a section cellist with the Du Bois Orchestra, the Phoenix Orchestra, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Chamber Symphony, and the conductor-less string ensemble, Palaver Strings. A teacher for 10 years, he currently teaches at the Community Music Center of Boston in addition to running his own private studio.
Stephanie Stathos earned her degree in Flute Performance from Boston University’s School for the Arts. Based in Lincoln, MA, Ms. Stathos is first piccolo for the Lexington Symphony and also Principal Flute for the Cape Ann Symphony. She has served as the piccolo and second flute with the touring orchestra of the National Lyric Opera of New York. As soloist she has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Other appearances include performances with many of New England’s ensembles including Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Symphony New Hampshire, Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Concord Chorale (NH), Newburyport Choral Society, and North Shore Chamber Music. Ms. Stathos also is passionate about jazz and new music. Ms. Stathos recently joined the Cape Ann Symphony Board of Directors.
The Cape Ann Symphony’s Musicians Unleashed programs were launched in 2019 and have become a wonderfully popular series with overwhelmingly enthusiastic audience response. Romantic Reveries is Sunday, February 12 at 3:00 PM at the St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1123 Washington St, Gloucester, MA Ticket prices for Romantic Reveries are $40 for Adults and $15 for Youth. Call Cape Ann Symphony at 978-281-0543 or go to http://www.capeannsymphony.org for tickets.
Photo 1 & 2: Guest Artist Pianist & Magnolia resident Richard Einhorn Photo 3: Alex Fowler, Cello Photo 4: Scott Moore, Violin Photo 5: Erica Pisaturo, Violin Photo 6: Brandon White, Viola Photo 7: Stephanie Stathos, Flute Photo 8: C. Ryan, 2020
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Read more about the upcoming Cape Ann Symphony season opener:
CAPE ANN SYMPHONY
THE 71st SEASON
Yoichi Udagawa, Music Director
THE BIG THREE: MOZART, BEETHOVEN & TCHAIKOVSKY
Violin Virtuoso Victor Romanul Makes Cape Ann Symphony Debut in Tchaikovsky’s “Unplayable” Violin Concerto
Cape Ann Symphony’s 71st Concert Season opens on Sunday, October 2 at 2:00 pm at the Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA featuring The Big Three: Mozart, Beethoven & Tchaikovsky.
The concert program for The Big Three: Mozart, Beethoven & Tchaikovsky features Mozart’s Magic Flute Overature, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Boston Symphony Orchestra violinist Victor Romanul making his CAS debut playing Tchaikovsky’s “unplayable” Violin Concerto.
Cape Ann Symphony Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa looks forward to this challenging program to open the season,
“This program features three ground breaking pieces written by three of the world’s greatest composers! Mozart’s Magic Flute is one of the greatest operas ever written. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, one of the best-known compositions in classical music and one of the most often played symphonies. Beethoven’s iconic four note opening motif has become one of the most recognizable motifs in classical music. As for Tchaikovsky’s “unplayable” Violin Concerto, audiences will see and hear that in the hands of our guest artist Victor Romanul this concerto is exquisitely “playable”! Victor Romanul is an amazing violinist, and incredible musician. This will be his first appearance with us at the Cape Ann Symphony, and I can hardly wait for our audiences to hear him. Please do not miss his performance of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto!”
Violinist Victor Romanul currently holds the Bessie Pappas Violin Chair in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He served as the BSO’s assistant concertmaster from 1993 to 1995. He has performed with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players for the Beethoven Septet. As a soloist, he was named in “Best of Boston” in 1997 by the Boston Globe. Composer John Williams wrote a violin-viola duo, Duo Concertante for Romanul and Violist Michael Zaretsky, to whom the Duo is dedicated. Mr. Romanul recently completed a three-year tenure as concertmaster of the Ars Poetica Chamber Orchestra, based in Detroit and made up of outstanding players from major U.S. orchestras.
Mr. Romanul started performing at the age of 7. His Grandmother, Stella Roman(ul) was a leading dramatic soprano at the Metropolitan Opera, and at the La Scala theatre in Milan, where she was hand-picked by Richard Strauss for the title role of Empress for his premiere there of Die Frau ohne Schatten. Mr. Romanul, along with his three brothers traveled and performed extensively as the Romanul Quartet. After studying with Ivan Galamian, Joseph Silverstein, and Jascha Heifetz, he joined the Pittsburgh Symphony as a second violinist at the age of 21. During his first week there he won the position of Associate Concertmaster, remaining for six years.
The father of five children, now grown, he enjoys performing many obscure, and fascinating works, hidden violin gems of composers such as Paganini, Sauret, Vieuxtemps, Tarrega, Reger, Westhoff, Matteis, Leon de Saint-Lubin, Agusta Read Thomas, Alard, and Loccatelli among others. He often performs as soloist with orchestra, with over 50 concerti in his repertoire. Performances of the Dvorak, Korngold, Beethoven, Bruch, Brahms Double, Vivaldi Seasons, Bach violin-oboe Double, Saint-Saens #3, and others dot his schedule. Projects such as performances of all the Beethoven Sonatas at the Goethe Institute, or of the complete Ysaye or Bach Sonatas in one concert and several performances of the complete 24 caprices of Paganini, are commonplace.
Mr. Romanul has given master classes at many schools throughout the country including Northwestern, Columbia, Oberlin and SUNY Stony Brook as well as for the Fellows at the Tanglewood Music Center. He has served as a coach for the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and the New England Conservatory Preparatory orchestras.
Tchaikovsky wrote his only Violin Concerto in March 1878 with the help of his friend Josif Kotek, one of his students at the Moscow Conservatory. Tchaikovsky would write a passage and Kotek would play it, giving Tchaikovsky, who did not play the violin, feedback regarding violin technique. The masterpiece that emerged would become one of the most beloved violin concertos in history despite Tchaikovsky’s struggles to premiere the piece and negative reviews.
Tchaikovsky dedicated the violin concerto to the Hungarian violinist Leopold Auer, but Auer rejected the piece as unplayable. The premiere finally took place in Vienna in 1881 when the violinist Adolph Brodsky decided that the unplayable was playable after all. The audience loved it, but the critics were not impressed.
Renowned critic, Eduard Hanslick wrote
“The Russian composer Tchaikovsky is surely not an ordinary talent, but rather an inflated one, with a genius-obsession without discrimination or taste. Such is also his latest, long and pretentious Violin Concerto. For a while it moves soberly, musically, and not without spirit. But soon vulgarity gains the upper hand, and asserts itself to the end of the first movement. The violin is no longer played; it is pulled, torn, drubbed. The Adagio . . . soon breaks off to make way for a finale that transfers us to a brutal and wretched jollity of a Russian holiday. We see plainly the savage vulgar faces, we hear curses, we smell vodka. . . Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto gives us for the first time the hideous notion that there can be music that stinks to the ear.”
Tchaikovsky memorized Hanslick’s review and could quote it for the rest of his life. Fortunately, Hanslick’s opinion didn’t seem to matter, as Brodsky was in demand all over the country to perform the concerto and the piece has been a mainstay ever since.
About Cape Ann Symphony
Founded in Gloucester in 1951, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra. Maestro Udagawa is on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory where he teaches conducting. Frequently invited to guest conduct, Maestro Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony. Maestro Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which has helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs often include premieres of new works – some specially commissioned for the orchestra — as well as great orchestral works across the symphonic repertoire and lively Pops programs. He is also an integral part of the Cape Ann Symphony Youth Initiative.
Yoichi Udagawa, the son of a nuclear physicist father and singer/artist mother, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. His family immigrated to the United States soon thereafter. He began playing the violin at age four and made his conducting debut at age fifteen. After receiving a music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he continued advanced studies in conducting with Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, Morihiro Okabe, and Henry Charles Smith. A fan of many different styles of music, Mr. Udagawa also enjoys performing gospel music in addition to his conducting activities. He is also an accomplished violinist and an avid fan of exercise and yoga.
The Big Three: Mozart, Beethoven & Tchaikovsky is Sunday, October 2 at 2:00 pm at the Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA . Single ticket prices are $45 for adults, $40 for senior citizens, $20 for students of any age; $5 for youth 12 years old and under. Season subscriptions are available. For information or tickets, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org
Pictured: Guest Artist Victor Romanul Pictured: Cape Ann Symphony Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa Photo Credit Jeph Ellis
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Heidi Dallin shares a reminder about Cape Ann Symphony’s outdoor concert in Magnolia next week. The program sounds glorious!
CAPE ANN SYMPHONY – THE 70th SEASON
Yoichi Udagawa, Music Director
A SPECIAL CAPE ANN SYMPHONY OUTDOOR CONCERT
Sunday August 21, 2022
ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY: 4:00 PM
LIMITED SEATING
Cape Ann Symphony announces A Special Outdoor Concert on Sunday, August 21, 2022, at 4:00 pm, featuring CAS lead flutist Stephanie Stathos and the Cape Ann Symphony Chamber Orchestra under the direction of CAS Conductor and Music Director Maestro Yoichi Udagawa performing poolside at the home of CAS President Fran White, 179 Hesperus Avenue, Magnolia, MA. Refreshments will be served. Seating for the performance is limited to 75. Ticket prices are $45 for adults, $40 for senior citizens, $20 for students of any age; and $5 for youth 12 years old and under. For tickets and further information, call 978-281-0543 or go to www.capeannsymphony.org.
Maestro Udagawa looks forward to returning to perform at 179 Hesperus Avenue.
“The musicians and I are thrilled and excited to be able to perform together during the summer, and are grateful to Cape Ann President Fran White and her husband David for opening up their large backyard to host a concert again this year. It is such a pleasant, tranquil (and bug free!) venue that offers the audience close proximity to the musicians – a chance we don’t get often in large concert halls! “
This special outdoor concert features Charles Floyd’s Hymn For The Fallen, Wolfgang A. Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G Major, performed by CAS lead Flutist Stephanie Stathos, and Joseph Bologne’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major.
“The musicians and I are delighted to share this gorgeous music with our audiences” explains Maestro Udagawa.
Charles Floyd’s Hymn For The Fallen, commissioned by CAS, had its world premiere in the CAS March 2022 Concert. “Charles Floyd’s incredible piece for CAS was a highlight of our 70th Season, points out Maestro Udagawa, “I was eager to perform this inspiring piece outdoors with our chamber orchestra.”
Floyd wrote Hymn For The Fallen to highlight the sense of isolation and helplessness experienced since 2020.
“Hymn For The Fallen begins in isolation with violins commencing a tuneful exposition that is later joined by violas and cellos. The harmonies that build are bittersweet, but quite tonal in nature. Polytonality (the simultaneous use of two or more keys) plays a big role as a vehicle to prevent the emotional affect from feeling too ‘settled’ or too ‘sweet’. This is to reflect the notion that the emotional aspects of the past two years remain largely unsettled and unresolved. The final result is a haunting melody that is as singable as a hymn which (hopefully) does not gloss over the gravity of sadness rather than to honor with reverence the loss of a loved one. The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and the insurmountable loss of life as a result of it, various riots, fear, brutality, extremism, civil unrest, confusion, grief, and violence inspired me to create a series of works called The Fallen of which Hymn for The Fallen is one. The series is not intended to be performed in one sitting. Rather it is a collection of works on a series of difficult topics.”
Charles Floyd
Maestro Udagawa looks forward to sharing Mozart’s first flute concerto with audiences, “Mozart’s first Flute Concerto was written in his early twenties. It is a beautiful work, and really requires the soloist to have tons of technique. Stephanie will do an amazing job, and we are all thrilled to be able to perform this work with her. I’m sure the audience will love it.” Commissioned by the Dutch flutist Ferdinand De Jean in 1777, Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G Major, his first flute concerto, was written in 1778. Mozart was supposed to provide four flute quartets and three flute concertos, but he only completed two of the three concertos. The piece is divided into 3 movements: 1. Allegro Maestoso; 2. Adagio Ma Non Troppo; 3. Rondo Tempo di Menuetto. The Andante for Flute and Orchestra K. 315 is thought to have been written as an alternative slow movement for this concerto, but there is no existing manuscript. Stephanie Stathos is the Principal Flute of the Cape Ann Symphony and the soloist in Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G Major Ms. Stathos is thrilled to play this Mozart piece with CAS, ” This wonderful work is part of all classical flutists’ repertoire,” points out Stathos, “Most of us begin learning it in high school and continue to study it throughout our entire careers! The third movement is a favorite of mine for its humor and joyful 3/4 meter, alternating between sparkling 16th note passage work and beautiful, lyrical melodies. I am delighted to be performing this concerto with the Cape Ann Symphony Chamber Orchestra this coming August 21.”
Stephanie Stathos earned her degree in Flute Performance from Boston University’s School for the Arts. Based in Lincoln, MA, Ms. Stathos is first piccolo for the Lexington Symphony. She has served as the piccolo and second flute with the touring orchestra of the National Lyric Opera of New York. As soloist she has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Other appearances include performances with many of New England’s ensembles including Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Symphony New Hampshire, Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Concord Chorale (NH), Newburyport Choral Society, and North Shore Chamber Music. Ms. Stathos also is passionate about jazz, new music and ethnic music.
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, is the first known classical musician of African descent. A man of many talents he was a composer, virtuoso violinist, conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris, and a soldier and a renowned champion fencer. He was celebrated in Paris when the then unknown Mozart visited the city.
“Joseph Bologne had an extraordinary life, and it’s reflected in his music, ” says Maestro Udagawa, “Audiences will be enthralled with his Symphony No. 2. Last summer we performed Bologne’s Symphony No. 1 and I am so pleased to be able to share more of his extraordinary work with our audiences!”
photo credits:
Yoichi Udagawa, CAS Conductor and Music Director Photo Credit Jeph Ellis
Cape Ann Symphony Chamber Orchestra led by Maestro Udagawa performing at 179 Hesperus Avenue Courtesy photo
Stephanie Stathos, Principal Flute of the Cape Ann Symphony and the soloist in Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G Major Photo Credit: Robert Torres Charles Floyd, Composer Hymn For The Fallen Courtesy Photo
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Heidi Dallin shares Spring Bouquet concert details from Cape Ann Symphony:
Cape Ann Symphony Musicians UnleashedConcert Series
LIVE ON SATURDAY, April 16: SPRING BOUQUET
Featuring works by Boulanger, Beethoven, Franck, Grieg, Mozart and Faure
&An Original Improvisation by Cape Ann Symphony violist Anna Stromer
at Manchester’s Crowell Chapel
Cape Ann Symphony proudly announcesa Musicians Unleashed Concert, Spring Bouquet at 3:00 pm on Saturday, April 16, 2022 at The Crowell Chapel, 3 Rosedale Avenue, Manchester-by-the-Sea. The ticket price for Spring Bouquet is $40. Call CAS at 978-281-0543 or go to www.capeannsymphony.org to purchase tickets.
Five musicians will perform 6 works by 6 composers, plus violist Anna Stromer will perform an original improvisation.
“The Musicians Unleashed program on April 16 will give audiences an occasion to see extraordinary CAS musicians playing in an intimate venue. The music in the program really highlights the artistry of these 5 musicians. Plus the exciting improvisation from violist Anna Stromer is a once in a lifetime opportunity! This piece has never been played before and will never be played again! Spring Bouquet is a concert not to be missed! “
Maestro Udagawa
The Spring Bouquet concert program includes works by Lili Boulanger, Ludvig van Beethoven, Cesare Franck, Edvard Greig, Wolfgang A. Mozart, Gabriel Faure and Anna Stromer performed by CAS musicians: Stephanie Stathos, flute; Olga Kradenova, violin; Anna Stromer, viola; Johnny Mok, cello; and Tianhong Yang, piano. Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps will be played by Stephanie Stathos, flute and Tianhong Yang, piano; Beethoven’s Spring Sonata No.5, 1st Movement will be played by Olga Kradenova, violin and Tianhong Yang, piano; Franck’s Sonata 4th Movement will be played by Johnny Mok, cello and Tianhong Yang, piano; Greig’s To Spring (from The Lyric Pieces for Piano)will be played by Tianhong Yang, piano; Stromer’s Original Improvisation will becreated and played by Anna Stromer, viola; Mozart’s Flute Quartet, 1st Movement will be played by Stephanie Stathos, flute, Olga Kradenova, violin, Anna Stromer, viola and Johnny Mok, cello; and Faure’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, 4th Movement played by Olga Kradenova, violin, Anna Stromer, viola and Johnny Mok, cello and Tianhong Yang, piano.
Stephanie Stathos is the Principal Flute of the Cape Ann Symphony. She earned her degree in Flute Performance from Boston University’s School for the Arts. Based in Lincoln, MA, Ms. Stathos is first piccolo for the Lexington Symphony. She has served as the piccolo and second flute with the touring orchestra of the National Lyric Opera of New York. As soloist she has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Other appearances include performances with many of New England’s ensembles including Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Symphony New Hampshire, Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Concord Chorale (NH), Newburyport Choral Society, and North Shore Chamber Music. Ms. Stathos also is passionate about jazz, new music and ethnic music.
A Native of St. Petersburg, Russia, violinist Olga Kradenova holds a bachelor’s degree with distinction from the St. Petersburg Conservatory and Royal Northern College of Music in United Kingdom, and a Master’s degree from Cambridge’s Longy School of Music. She played with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and appeared as a chamber musician and a soloist throughout Europe. Currently, Ms. Kradenova performs regularly with orchestras and chamber ensembles in the Boston area including Cape Ann Symphony and the Rivers Symphony as well as teaching privately and at the Brooks School in North Andover.
Johnny Mok, Cape Ann Symphony’s principal cellist, is currently a freelance musician and teacher in the Greater Boston Area. He began his cello studies at the age of five at the Hong Kong Performing Arts Academy and continued his studies after immigrating to New Mexico. During Mr. Mok’s primary and secondary education, he was very active in the Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program and participated in multiple competitions where he was awarded with first prize. He continued to pursue Music Performance with a full scholarship at the University of Alabama where he entered competitions throughout the state of Alabama and was awarded first prize in the Birmingham Music Club, Alabama Federation of Music Clubs, and the Camilla Huxford Symphony Concerto Competition, among others. Following a summer as an Orchestra Fellow at the Texas Music Festival in Houston, Mr. Mok pursued a Master’s Degree and the Professional Studies Certificate in Cello Performance at The Boston Conservatory. He has performed with many symphonies throughout the US including Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, Cape Symphony, Tupelo Symphony, Boston Chamber Symphony, and National Repertory Orchestra, In addition to Cape Ann Symphony, Mr. Mok is also currently the Principal Cellist of New Hampshire Philharmonic, and Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra. In 2020, he founded the Aroma Duo with his duo piano partner, Tianhong Yang. Since then, Aroma Duo has performed in several chamber music series in the New England area.
Violist Anna Stromer has collaborated with jazz, rock, reggae, blues and hip hop artists in the Boston area as a student at Berklee College of Music. She has performed with Wyclef Jean, Mark O’Connor, Eugene Friesen, Mili Bermejo and Issac Delgado. As a founding member of the performing and recording string quartet originally affiliated with rock band Art Decade, she has recorded two full-length albums, performed at the South By Southwest Music Festival in 2010 and 2011. In May of 2011 she was selected to be the violist for the Vitamin String Quartet (a long-standing studio recording quartet known for its renditions of rock and pop classics) for its first live performance on MTV Unplugged (July 2011). Thirty Seconds to Mars’ song, Hurricane, which featured her viola mirroring the lead singer’s voice, was awarded MTV’s Best Live Performanceof 2011. The year ended with special performances by VSQwith 30 Seconds to Mars in NYC as they completed their two year world tour. The live Vitamin String Quartet was also featured on the hit TV showGossip Girl (100th episode). The Boston Ballet selected Stromer to be the violist in a quartet performing in Alexander Ekman’sCacti in May 2014. This innovative choreographer features a string quartet improvising on stage with the dancers; the quartet also performs classical repertoire with the Boston Ballet orchestra.
Based in Boston, Chinese born pianist Tianhong Yang has made solo appearances in a number of prestigious festivals and venues across Europe, Asia and the USA. Yang made her UK debut in 2010 at the St. David’s Hall, Cardiff, performing Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, Op.37, under the direction of Maestro David Jones. Throughout Yang’s competition career, she has participated and won numerous top prizes in international piano competitions such as Liege International Piano Competition and Andree Charlier International Piano Competition. At the age of four, Yang started her piano lessons and continued her studies in the Middle School program at Wuhan Conservatoire of Music, then later was admitted to the High School of Central Conservatoire of Music in Beijing, China. After Yang’s intensive primary school training in China’s most prestigious conservatories, in 2009, she was awarded the inaugural Steinway Full Scholarship to further her studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music under the tutelage of Richard McMahon. In 2013, Yang was invited to study with the Piano Legend, Dmitry Bashkirov, at Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Spain and she was sponsored with a full scholarship by the Yamaha Europe Association and the Albeniz Foundation. Yang simultaneously began her master’s degree in performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, Belgium, with Polina Leschenko, and performance diploma program at the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale Incontri Col Maestro, Italy, with Vovka Ashkenazy and Boris Petrushansky. Yang also works closely with Chinese composer, Haofu Zhang, promoting Chinese-Western contemporary compositions. Yang is currently working on her doctoral degree in Piano Performance at Boston University, under the guidance of Pavel Nersessian.
The Cape Ann Symphony’s Musicians Unleashed programs were launched in 2019 and have become a wonderfully popular series with overwhelmingly enthusiastic audience response. Ticket prices for Spring Bouquetare $40. Call Cape Ann Symphony at 978-281-0543 or go to www.capeannsymphony.org for tickets.
Courtesy photos
Photo 1: Stephanie Stathos, Flute
Photo 2: Johnny Mok, Cello
Photo 3: Anna Stromer, Viola
Photo 4: Olga Kradenova, Violin
Photo 5: CAS Music Director Yoichi Udagawa
Photo 6: Tianhong Yang, Piano
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Cape Ann Symphony Musicians UnleashedConcert Series Returns LIVE On Sunday, October 3, 2021
AUTUMN AWAKENING at The Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church
Cape Ann Symphony proudly announces Autumn Awakening, a Musicians Unleashed Concert, at 3:00 pm on Sunday, October 3, 2021 at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church Street, Gloucester, MA. Musicians Unleashed is a series of musical events featuring Cape Ann Symphony musicians performing in a variety of intimate settings on Cape Ann and beyond. CAS launched the popular series to an overwhelmingly enthusiastic audience response in 2019. The ticket price for Autumn Awakening is $40. Call CAS at 978-281-0543 or go to www.capeannsymphony.org to purchase tickets. In accordance with the CAS Covid Safety Policy, all concert attendees will be required to show proof of Covid 19 vaccination or to present documentation of a negative test within 72 hours prior to the event and will be required to wear a mask during the performance.
Autumn Awakening is a chamber music concert featuring music written for flute, oboe, clarinet and strings in various combinations and performed by seven CAS musicians at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church. An historic meetinghouse founded in 1779, the church was the first Universalist congregation in the United States. Built in 1806, the building was created in a perfect “shoe box” design which gives it ideal acoustics. CAS Music Director Yoichi Udagawa programmed a varied selection of music written by a mix of well known and lesser known composers from all over the world. Maestro Udagawa and the musicians will introduce each piece of music to offer audiences insight and little known facts about the composers and their music.
Maestro Udagawa looks forward to these intimate Musicians Unleashed concerts, “ The Cape Ann Symphony is made up of extraordinary musicians, and we are thrilled to be able to highlight them! This concert will feature our principal flute, oboe and clarinet as well as some of our outstanding string players. We tried to make this concert a mixture of different composers as well as combination of instruments, and I’m sure the audience will enjoy this concert very much.” The musicians performing in Autumn Awakening are Stephanie Stathos, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Bill Kirkley, clarinet; Oksana Gorokhovskiy, violin; Olga Kradenova, violin; Anna Stromer, viola, and Johnny Mok, cello. The concert program includes Salem, MA born and raised composer Arthur Foote’s Scherzo for Flute and String Quartet;Britishcomposer Malcolm Arnold’s Divertimento for Flute, Oboe and Clarinet; Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Oboe Quartet; German composer Johannes Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet, 1st Movement; and Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s American String Quartet, 4th Movement.
Salem native composer Arthur Foote, known for his chamber music, art music and choral music, was also a musician and a teacher. “When thinking about the program for the concert, we wanted to include music by a ”local”,” explains Udagawa, “and this charming piece by Arthur Foote fit the bill perfectly! We have an amazing tradition of musicians, writers and artists who worked right here in our area, and left great works for all of us to enjoy. And Gloucester’s Unitarian Universalist Church is a perfect venue for Foote’s music with his strong ties to the Unitarian Church.” Foote’s father, Caleb Foote, was the owner and editor of the Salem Gazette and his mother, Mary Wilder Foote, was a devout Unitarian. Arthur Foote began composing while studying harmony at the newly formed New England Conservatory in 1867. He then went on to study music at Harvard University where he received a Bachelor of Arts and the very first Master of Arts degree in Music awarded by an American university according to Foote’s Faculty Papers at New England Conservatory .
Arthur Foote was a leading member of a group of composers known as the Boston Six or the Second New England School. Together, the Six: John Knowles Paine, Horatio Parker, George Chadwick, Edward MacDowell, Amy Beach, and Arthur Foote wrote the first substantial body of “American” classical music.“In his time Foote was considered to be the ‘Dean of American Composers'” points out Maestro Udagawa.
Arthur Foote was the organist and Choirmaster at the First Unitarian Church in Boston for 32 years, taught piano in his own studio for over 50 years and served on the faculty of New England Conservatory for 16 years, teaching piano and piano pedagogy. Foote helped edit Hymns of the Church Universal in 1890, and collaborated in the writing of Hymns for Church and Home, prepared for the American Unitarian Association in 1896 according to Unitarian Universalist History & Heritage Society
Ticket prices for Autumn Awakening are $40. Call Cape Ann Symphony at 978-281-0543 or go to www.capeannsymphony.org for tickets. In accordance with the CAS Covid Safety Policy, all concert attendees will be required to show proof of Covid 19 vaccination or to present documentation of a negative test within 72 hours prior to the event and will be required to wear a mask during the performance.
Courtesy photos attached: Photo 1: Bill Kirkley, Clarinet Photo 2: Stephanie Stathos, Flute Photo 3: Johnny Mok, Cello Photo 4: Izumi Sakamoto, Oboe Photo 5: Anna Stromer, Viola Photo 6: Oksana Gorokhovskiy, Violin Photo 7: Olga Kradenova, Violin Photo 8: Salem’s Arthur Foote, Composer Photo 9: CAS Music Director Yoichi Udagawa
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Good Morning Gloucester 