NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Deborah Leonard Kosits, Executive Director Office: 603.238.9007 Cell: 603.387.6698 [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW HAMPSHIRE MUSIC FESTIVAL WELCOMES NEW AND RETURNING ARTISTIC LEADERS

MAESTRO PAUL POLIVNICK RETURNS AS CONDUCTOR LAUREATE AND YULIA MILSHTEIN APPOINTED AS CONCERTMASTER

Plymouth, NH, December 8, 2015 – The New Hampshire Music Festival welcomes the return of maestro Paul Polivnick as conductor laureate to lead the 2016 summer season, “Wanderlust.” The Festival is also pleased to officially announce the appointment of Yulia Milshtein as concertmaster for the festival after two summers of auditions. Executive Director Deb Kosits says, “We are thrilled to welcome these two internationally respected artists to our artistic team and look forward to planning and presenting the 2016 season and beyond.” Polivnick and Milshtein join an artistic team that includes Dan Perkins, Director of Choral Activities and Principal Guest Conductor, members of the orchestra, and Festival staff. The Festival welcomes back maestro Polivnick following three years of successful artistic leadership under conductor Donato Cabrera. Cabrera has completed his three-year contract with the New Hampshire Music Festival and has decided to move on to focus on his significant artistic commitments in other parts of the country, including the Las Vegas Philharmonic and California Symphony. “Over the last three years, Donato has moved NHMF forward artistically and raised its profile considerably in our community and beyond,” Kosits said. Subscription renewals are currently available from the box office at the Silver Center for the Arts for any patron who was a subscriber to the 2015 season. Tickets will go on sale to the public beginning in March. Paul Polivnick Paul Polivnick is the Conductor Laureate of the New Hampshire Music Festival, appointed to this position in recognition of the quality of his service as the Festival's Music Director from 1992-2009. ~more~ Page 2 NEW HAMPSHIRE MUSIC FESTIVAL WELCOMES NEW AND RETURNING ARTISTIC LEADERS

Maestro Polivnick was the Music Director of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the Oberlin Conservatory Orchestras. Prior these activities, Paul was the Associate Principal Conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of Harmonia Classica of Vienna, Founder of the Los Angeles Radio Orchestra and Conductor of the Debut Orchestra of the Young Musicians Foundation of Los Angeles. Paul graduated from the Juilliard School as a conducting major having studied with the legendary Jean Morel. Paul also studied with Leonard Bernstein at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Franco Ferrara at the Academia Chighiana in Siena, Italy, Walter Susskind at the Aspen Music Festival and his father, Sidney Polivnick, a brilliant music educator who was Paul's first teacher on the violin and trumpet at the age of eight.

Yulia Milshtein

Yulia Milshtein resides in Madrid and is Concertmaster of the Excelentia Orchestra, Concertmaster- Conductor of the European Ensemble as well as Soloist and Assistant Concertmaster of the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra. She moved to Spain in 1999 and has traversed the entire Spanish geography offering recitals as a soloist, numerous concerts with the violin and piano duo "Icono", and as a member of the Fatum String Trio. During these years, Yulia toured the United States and Canada.

As concertmaster, she has had the experience of working with organizations such as the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of Bilbao, the Classical Orchestra Santa Cecilia and the Symphony Orchestra of the Region of Murcia. Yulia has made recordings for Russian Radio and Television, Spanish Television, Spanish National Radio, Canal Clásico, Albany Records and many more. She has collaborated with Spanish composers of film music, having recorded the music for well-known films such as "Cometas en el Cielo", "Che" with music by Alberto Iglesias and "El Hierro" with music by Zacarías de la Riva.

For further information please visit www.nhmf.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About the New Hampshire Music Festival The New Hampshire Music Festival is a summer music festival that honors the tradition of classical music while exploring new artistic paths. The NHMF strives to connect the Lakes Region with an engaging, immersive festival experience by presenting world-class performances, creating strong collaborations with community partners, and offering educational programs to students of all ages. The New Hampshire Music Festival is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. www.nhmf.org www.facebook.com/NHMusicFestival # # #