Pittsburgh Concert Society 2015–2016 • 73rd Season
The sound of Pittsburgh’s artists Pittsburgh Concert Society WHAT WE’RE ABOUT
The PCS involvement in the Pittsburgh scene The annual June Alumni Concert features “return is deep and varied: performances” by former Pittsburgh Concert Society winners who have achieved distinguished careers in the Major Artists Auditions, held each spring, are judged field of classical music. by independent adjudicators selected from among deans and faculty of leading schools of music. Candidates Outreach Performances. In addition to its formal audition anonymously and are judged solely on the level concert activity, the Pittsburgh Concert Society reaches of their performance and the quality of their program. out into the community and beyond. Outstanding artists Six Major winners are presented in concerts, generally are invited to perform in venues throughout the city, the following September, October, and November. Major with a special emphasis on reaching young audiences. Auditions are open to highly qualified classical musicians, These performances are arranged by the officers of the over the age of 18, living within a 75-mile radius of PCS, working in close collaboration with organizations Pittsburgh who meet the PCS program requirements. such as the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Allegheny Each winner receives an honorarium of $1,000 from the RiverStone Center For the Arts, Chamber Music William and Eleanor Benswanger Memorial Fund of Pittsburgh, assisted living communities, Pittsburgh The Pittsburgh Foundation. and suburban school districts, colleges, and other local arts organizations. Annually, one Young Artist winner Young Artists Auditions are held in January and is featured as a soloist with the Edgewood Symphony are also judged by independent, nationally-known Orchestra and Major winners are featured in the adjudicators. Instrumentalists must be under the age of Chamber Music Series of Greater Johnstown. 19, vocalists under 22, and must live within a 75-mile radius of Pittsburgh. Each winner of the Young Artists The PCS Homer Wickline and Conrad Seamen Auditions receives a $500 scholarship from the Benjamin Memorial Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation and Anna Perlow Scholarships Fund of The Pittsburgh awards annual grants designated to provide financial Foundation, designated for the furtherance of his/her assistance to instrumentalists and vocalists, individuals or music studies. groups, in the classical field, who are working to further their careers or their performance opportunities. Young Organists Auditions are held in March. Organists must be under the age of 23 and must live CONTACT INFO: within a 75-mile radius of Pittsburgh. The Young 412-279-2970 Organist winner is presented in a concert, generally soon pittsburghconcertsociety.org after the auditions. The winner of the Young Organists [email protected] Auditions receives a $500 scholarship designated for the furtherance of his/her music studies. Membership Application I wish to be a member of the Pittsburgh Concert Society. I understand that each FRIEND membership includes ONE season ticket valid for all concerts of the Society’s 2015–2016 season and that each PATRON, SPONSOR, or BENEFACTOR membership includes TWO season tickets.
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Contributing membership levels: Friend (minimum $60.00) Sponsor (minimum $250.00) Patron (minimum $100.00) Benefactor (minimum $500.00)
Please make checks payable to the Pittsburgh Concert Society and mail to: Pittsburgh Concert Society • P.O. Box 14843 • Pittsburgh, PA 15234
Or, you may apply for membership on the PCS website: pittsburghconcertsociety.org
The Pittsburgh Concert Society is a non-profit and equal opportunity organization. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent permissible by law. Alumni Concert SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016 Alvin Zhu, piano Young Artist winner, 2007 Pianist and Young Steinway Artist, Alvin Zhu, has excited audiences around the world, presenting concerts throughout the U.S, China, France, Italy, and Australia. A frequent soloist with orchestras, Zhu has given performances of Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Gershwin, Mendelssohn, and Rachmaninoff concertos. His recent collaborations include Mozart’s Concerto in d minor K. 466 with Maestro Grant Cooper and the West Virginia Symphony in April 2015, and Mozart’s Concerto in C major with Maestro Rossen Milanov and the Chautauqua Symphony in July 2015. Prior, his acclaimed Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto with Maestro Yongyan Hu and the EOS Symphony received a standing ovation from a sold-out performance at the Beijing Concert Hall in 2013. He has been reengaged to perform Rachmaninoff’s Second Concerto with the EOS Symphony in the summer of 2016. His versatility as a performing artist has led him to celebrated performances at the International Women’s Forum, and G20 conference in Pittsburgh.
Other than appearing live, he has recorded for NPR and WQED radio and has an album distributed on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, and CD-Baby. His merits include Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award on NPR’s “From the Top” and many top prizes in various national competitions around the country. Zhu is an avid composer as well; aside from pieces for piano, recently his Sonata for Violin and Piano, “Poeme” has received acclaim in Juilliard since its premiere at Paul Recital Hall in New York. Having received his Bachelor’s and Master’s through Juilliard’s prestigious 5-year accelerated program with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky, Zhu spent one year pursuing the Artist Diploma with Peter Frankl at Yale University School of Music. Zhu was awarded the C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellowship and will attend Juilliard as a Doctor of Music candidate in Fall 2015. Zhu’s former teachers include Yeeha Chiu and Marylene Dosse. Zhu has collaborated with renowned musicians in masterclasses including Lang Lang, Gary Graffman, Leon Fleisher, Murray Perahia, and Emanuel Ax. For more information, visit alvinzhu.com.
Danielle Pastin, soprano Major winner, 2009 Quoted as having “a lovely demeanor and irresistible creamy timbre” by Opera News, Danielle Pastin is quickly gaining attention from opera houses around the country. She made her main-stage Metropolitan Opera début singing Masha inThe Queen of Spades and has been invited back several times since, in a new production of Massenet’s Manon, in Francesca da Rimini, and, most recently, singing Frasquita in Carmen, a role she also performed in her début with the Dallas Opera. She triumphed in her Santa Fe Opera début, stepping in as Mimì in La bohème under the direction of Maestro Leo Vordoni on just a few hours’ notice and subsequently received their Judith Raskin Memorial Award for Singers. She has since performed the role to international critical acclaim in venues such as The Royal Albert Hall in London, Manitoba Opera, and Arizona Opera. This season Danielle will be debuting the roles of Liu in Nashville Opera’s Turandot and Hanna in The Merry Widow for Pensacola Opera. Since graduating the Pittsburgh young artist program in 2010, she enjoyed a triumphant return to Pittsburgh Opera as Desdemona in last season’s production of Otello and will be returning this season as Fioridligi in Cosi fan Tutte. The Pittsburgh Concert Society Schedule of Events (PCS) promotes the finest 2015–2016 Season Pittsburgh-based classical All events are at 2:00 p.m. at Kresge Recital Hall, musicians, all selected by Carnegie Mellon University. A “Meet the Artists” adjudicators of national stature, reception follows each concert. Tickets can be purchased at the door, by phone at 412-279- providing each winner with a 2970, or online at pittsburghconcertsociety.org: formal recital opportunity as Adults $15 – Seniors $10 – Students Free well as a financial award. MAJOR WINNERS RECITALS Sunday, September 27, 2015 Founded in 1943, the PCS is Sandro Leal-Santiesteban, violin Trio Rizi: Alyssa Wang, violin, Evan Kahn, cello, a non-profit, equal opportunity Dimitri Papadimitriou, piano organization. All artists appearing Sunday, October 11, 2015 in the PCS programs must live Katerina Istomin, viola Kristina Vidic, soprano within a 75-mile radius of Pittsburgh. To ensure fairness Sunday, November 8, 2015 Bill Davidson, piano and impartiality of the selection Alabaster Trio: Raquel Winnica Young, mezzo soprano, Lenny Young, oboe, Jack Kurutz, piano process, the PCS auditions are adjudicated by invited musicians YOUNG ARTISTS WINNERS RECITALS Sunday, March 6 and Sunday, March 20, 2016 from outside the Pittsburgh area. ALUMNI CONCERT Sunday, June 5, 2016 The PCS is proud of its history Alvin Zhu, piano and its contribution to the arts Danielle Pastin, soprano in the Pittsburgh area. It is an SEASON AUDITION DATES organization of dedicated officers Young Artists Auditions Saturday, January 9, 2016 and board members, all volunteers Fred Bronstein, Dean of the Peabody Institute, adjudicator consistently working to maintain Major Auditions the highest level of musicianship Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16, 2016 Fred Bronstein, Dean of the Peabody Institute, adjudicator in their concert presentations. 2015 Major Auditions Winners Recitals
featuring Sean Neukom’s Solo Violin Sonatas, the fourth Major Auditions are open to instrumentalists, of which is dedicated to him and will be premiered in the fall of 2015. vocalists, and chamber music ensembles over the age of 18 who live within a 75-mile radius Trio Rizi – Alyssa Wang/ of Pittsburgh and who meet PCS program violin, Evan Kahn/cello, and Dimitri Papadimitriou/piano requirements. This season’s auditions were held – met while they were students on April 17 and 18, 2015, the adjudicator was at Carnegie Mellon last year, and quickly realized they were Benjamin Juarez, Dean of the Boston University meant for each other. After their debut recital last March, College of Fine Arts. they quickly went on to win local awards in the Pittsburgh Concert Society Competition and the Silberman Chamber Music Competition. Alyssa is beginning her senior year at Carnegie Mellon, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 studying with Andrés Cárdenes and she plans to go on to Sandro Leal-Santiesteban, violin graduate school. Evan is studying for a Professional Studies Diploma at San Francisco Conservatory under the tutelage Trio Rizi – Alyssa Wang, violin, Evan Kahn, cello, of Jennifer Culp; his studies focus on the contemporary Dimitri Papadimitriou, piano cello, and its relationship with different kinds of audiences. Dimitri was recently appointed as faculty in chamber music Sandro Leal-Santiesteban began at Carnegie Mellon University, and coordinates a faculty his musical journey at a very young age chamber music series. in Havana where he performed with numerous orchestras including the Oakland SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2015 Youth Symphony Orchestra, the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Katerina Istomin, viola Orchestra and the Gustav Mahler Youth Symphony Orchestra. While in the U.S., Sandro was Kristina Vidic, soprano under the tutelage of Marylou Churchill in Boston, Mikhail Kopelman from Eastman School of Music and Cyrus Lauded for her “special artistry” Forough from Carnegie Mellon School of Music where he (Concertonet.com), Russian-American graduated with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. violist Katerina Istomin continues to establish herself as an international Memorable performances for Sandro include a concert performer and educator. As principal of with the Sinfónica de Matanzas performing Khachaturian’s the Juilliard Orchestra and the New World violin concerto under the baton of his mother Lourdes Symphony, Ms. Istomin has performed Santiesteban, the Mendelssohn String Octet alongside under conductors such as Michael Tilson-Thomas, Manfred Andrés Cárdenes, Behzad Ranjbaran’s Violin Concerto Honeck, and John Adams. As a chamber musician, Ms. with the Carnegie Mellon University Philharmonic as first Istomin has collaborated with illustrious musicians like prize winner of the Carnegie Mellon University concerto Itzhak Perlman, Donald Weilerstein, and Roger Tapping. competition, and an American tour with the Sphinx As a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, Ms.Istomin Chamber Orchestra following a semi-finalist award for the has toured throughout North and South America, Europe, 2006 Sphinx Competition. Other notable concerts include and Asia. Recognized for her powerful effect on young playing under the direction of Plácido Domingo, Kent musicians, she has worked as a fellow with the Music Nagano, Carlos Miguel Prieto and Claudio Abbado. Advancement and Gluck Community Service programs with The Juilliard School and as a teaching artist in Medellin, Sandro is currently a member of the Beo String Quartet. Colombia, with the New World Symphony. Throughout His ongoing projects include recording a debut solo album her experiences as a performer, Ms. Istomin has developed a commitment to bringing music to underserved areas 2015 Major Auditions Winners Recitals through music education and community outreach. Ms. he was invited to perform in the Gilmore International Istomin earned her Bachelors of Music degree from the Keyboard Festival. He has received many awards for his Juilliard School and her Masters of Music degree from musicianship, most notably including the Guy D. & Mary the University of Montreal and the Hochschule fur Musik Edith Halladay Music Scholarship, 1st prize in the Chopin und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria. In August, Piano Competition in St. Joseph, and prize-winner of the 2015, she will have completed a Master of Science in Pittsburgh Concert Society Competition. In masterclasses Professional Counseling degree from Carlow University and private lessons, he has studied under renowned where she received the prized Robert A. Reed Excellence pianists, Fred Hersch, Lori Sims, Nikolai Lugansky, and in Counseling Award for her exemplary performance in the Barry Douglas. Before moving to Pittsburgh, Bill studied at classroom and at her clinical internships. She is currently in Western Michigan University under Dr. Stephen Zegree, placement at Allegheny Hospital’s Neuropsychiatric Center. Jeremy Siskind, and Dr. Silvia Roederer. He is now pursuing a master’s degree in performance at Carnegie Mellon University where he studies under Sergey Schepkin. Kristina Vidic, soprano, was born in Belgrade, Serbia and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade The members of the in 2005. She also studied at the Opera Alabaster Trio have been Academy in Copenhagen (IDELLA grant) performing together for and at the CUBEC school with Mirella the past five years. They Freni. As a young singer Kristina won are three of the founders second prize in the Nikola Cvejic International Singing and producers of the Living Competition in 1997, was the youngest participant at Room Chamber Music the Kammeroperschloss Rheinsberg Festival in Germany Project concert series, and have presented concerts all in 2001 and received her first stage experience as The across the metropolitan Pittsburgh area. Second Lady in Mozart’s Magic Flute at the National Theatre of Belgrade in 2002. During the summers of 2013 Mezzo-soprano Raquel Winnica Young earned her and 2014, she attended Sherill Milnes’ studio within the Degree in Vocal Performance from the Colon Opera House VOICExperience Program in Savannah. Kristina has had in Buenos Aires and an Artist Diploma from Duquesne numerous concerts in Serbia, Greece, Germany, Denmark, University. She has performed locally (Quantum Theatre, and the Netherlands. Apollo’s Fire, Chatham Baroque, Johnstown Symphony, Pittsburgh Camerata, Alia Musica) as well as in Europe and Since Fall 2014, Kristina has continued her studies of South America. In January 2014 she joined the voice faculty classical singing with prof. Maria Spacagna at Carnegie of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Mellon University School of Music. This year, she is again a participant in the Savannah Voice Festival, founded and led Lenny Young, oboist and composer, is Principal Oboe of by Mr. Sherill Milnes. the Altoona Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Johnstown, Westmoreland and McKeesport Symphonies. He holds BFA and MM degrees SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2015 in oboe from Carnegie Mellon University. Bill Davidson, piano Pianist Jack Kurutz received his undergraduate degree from the University of Miami and his Master of Music Alabaster Trio – Raquel Winnica Young, mezzo soprano, from New England Conservatory. In 2005, Mr. Kurutz Lenny Young, oboe, Jack Kurutz, piano completed an Artist Diploma from Carnegie Mellon University. Mr. Kurutz won First Prize in the William Bill Davidson is often praised for his Garrison Piano Competition; he was also a finalist in the refined musicianship as both a classical Simone Belsky Competition. and jazz pianist. He has performed with Grammy-Award winning artists, The New York Voices and Paquito D’Rivera and in venues such as Lincoln Center, the Aronoff Theatre, and the Kennedy Center. In 2014, Pittsburgh Concert Society Non-Profit Org. P.O. Box 14843 U.S. POSTAGE PAID Pittsburgh, PA 15234 Pittsburgh, PA Permit No. 1094