12-16 Holiday Brass:Layout 1 12/5/12 1:23 PM Page 27 HOLIDAY BRASS Sunday , December 16, 2012, 3:00 p.m. New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet Philip Smith, Trumpet Ethan Bensdorf, Trumpet Philip Myers, Horn Joseph Alessi, Trombone Alan Baer, Tuba Lee Musiker Trio Lee Musiker, Piano, Celesta, Arranger Jay Leonhart, Bass Rick Cutler, Drums /Percussion Global Sponsor Alan Gilbert, Music Director, holds The Yoko Nagae Ceschina Chair . The New York Philharmonic gratefully This concert will last approximately two hours, acknowledges support for its activities which includes one intermission. from the Gurnee and Marjorie Hart Endowment Fund. Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center Home of the New York Philharmonic Exclusive Timepiece of the New York Philharmonic December 2012 27 12-16 Holiday Brass:Layout 1 12/5/12 1:23 PM Page 28 New York Philharmonic HOLIDAY BRASS New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet Philip Smith, Trumpet Ethan Bensdorf, Trumpet Philip Myers, Horn Joseph Alessi, Trombone Alan Baer, Tuba Lee Musiker Trio Lee Musiker, Piano, Celesta, Arranger Jay Leonhart, Bass Rick Cutler, Drums/Percussion The program, featuring new arrangements of holiday classics by Lee Musiker, will be announced from the stage. Special thanks to Steve Cohen for music preparation and additional arranging. Classical 105.9 FM WQXR is the Radio The New York Philharmonic’s concert -recording Station of the New York Philharmonic. series, Alan Gilbert and the New York Phil - harmonic: 2012 –13 Season, is now available for download at all major online music stores. The New York Philharmonic This Week, Visit nyphil.org/recordings for more information. nationally syndicated on the WFMT Radio Network, is broadcast 52 weeks per year ; Follow us on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, and visit nyphil.org for information . YouTube. PLEASE SILENCE YOUR ELECTRONIC DEVICES . New York Philharmonic 12-16 Holiday Brass:Layout 1 12/5/12 1:23 PM Page 29 The Artists The New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet has been a regular encore fea - ture on the Orchestra’s tours, with appear - ances in Europe, South America, Asia, and in the U.S., as well as at the Orchestra’s resi - dencies in Cagliari, Italy and Vail, Colorado. The ensemble has performed solo concerts throughout the U.S. and Japan, and in the cities of Luxembourg, Monterrey (Mexico), Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. Philip Smith joined the New York Phil- harmonic as Co-Principal Trumpet in 1978, The New York Philharmonic Principal becoming Principal Trumpet, The Paula Levin Brass Quintet enjoys worldwide exposure Chair, in 1988. His early training was and an international reputation. The group’s provided at The Salvation Army and by his debut came at the invitation of the Canadian father, Derek Smith. He is a graduate of The Brass, when they joined that ensemble in a Juilliard School. While still a student, he was 1983 concert in Ottawa, Canada. The two appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orch- groups have since collaborated at the sum - estra. Mr. Smith performs regularly as soloist, mer festivals of Tanglewood, Wolf Trap, Great recitalist, chamber performer, clinician, and Woods, and Mostly Mozart; with their brass recording artist. He has been featured as a colleagues from the Boston Symphony Or - soloist with the Philharmonic almost 100 chestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra on times, in New York and on tour, under con- five recordings and one educational video; ductors such as Bernstein, Järvi, Leinsdorf, and for performances in cities throughout Masur, and Mehta. In addition to releasing Canada and the United States. solo albums on the Deutsche Grammophon, Since 1995 the New York Philharmonic Cala, Summit, New World, and Arabesque Principal Brass Quintet has hosted an annual labels, Mr. Smith has also recorded with the New York Philharmonic Christmas Holiday Canadian Brass, Empire Brass, Chamber Concert at Lincoln Center. Its guests have in - Music Society of Lincoln Center, Mostly cluded groups such as the Canadian Brass Mozart Orchestra, New York Virtuosi Cham- and the German Brass. The Principal Brass ber Symphony, and Bargemusic . Quintet also joined forces with the Salvation Army’s New York Staff Band in two Gala Fes - Ethan Bensdorf joined the New York Phil - tivals at Alice Tully Hall in New York City. In ad - harmonic’s trumpet section in June 2008, dition, the Principal Brass Quintet performed after spending the 2007–08 season as act - with the Empire Brass at the Carnegie Hall ing assistant principal trumpet with the Centennial Gala in May 1991. Naples Philharmonic Orchestra in Naples, December 2012 12-16 Holiday Brass:Layout 1 12/5/12 1:23 PM Page 30 Florida. He received his bachelor of music de - Joseph Alessi was named Principal Trom - gree from Northwestern University in 2007. bone , The Gurnee F. and Marjorie L. Hart While a student at Northwestern, Mr. Bens - Chair , of the New York Philharmonic in 1985. dorf performed with the Civic Orchestra of He has often performed as a soloist with the Chicago, the New World Symphony , and the Philharmonic. Mr. Alessi began his musical Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s contempo - studies in his native California with his father, rary ensemble, MusicNOW. In May 2005 he Joseph Alessi, Sr., and continued his training appeared at the Kennedy Center for the Per - at The Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadel - forming Arts , representing Northwestern phia. Prior to joining the Philharmonic, he University as part of “The Conservatory Proj - was second trombone of The Philadelphia ect” recital series. Orchestra and principal trombone of the Mr. Bensdorf has participated in the Pa - Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He is an ac - cific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and tive soloist, recitalist, and chamber performer, the National Orchestral Institute in Maryland; appearing with ensembles such as the Na - he was a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music tional Repertory Orchestra, Santa Barbara Center in 2006 and 2007, where he received Symphony, New Japan Philharmonic, Or - the Roger Voisin Trumpet Award. In Septem - chestra of Teatro Bellini in Catania, Sicily, and ber 2006 he received the Armando Ghitalla The Hague Philharmonic; he has also partic - International Trumpet Classic Award, which ipated in many music festivals throughout the included solo appearances with the United world. As a clinician for the Edwards Instru - States Coast Guard Band and the Berkshire ment Co., Mr. Alessi has given master Symphony Orchestra. classes and recitals worldwide. He received the 2002 International Trombone Associa - Philip Myers joined the New York Philhar - tion Award, for having greatly influenced the monic as Principal French Horn, The Ruth F. field of trombone playing. Joseph Alessi is a and Alan J. Broder Chair, in 1980, making his founding member of the Summit Brass en - solo debut with the Orchestra that season in semble at the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute the premiere of Schuman’s Three Colloquies in Tempe, Arizona. for French Horn and Orchestra. His most re - cent solo appearance was this past October Alan Baer joined the Philharmonic in June in Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 3, led by 2004 as Principal Tuba, having served as Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. He began his or - principal tuba with the Milwaukee Symphony, chestral career in 1971 as principal horn of Long Beach Symphony, and Louisiana Phil - the Atlantic Symphony in Halifax, Nova Sco - harmonic orchestras. He has recorded with tia, followed by a term as third horn with the The Cleveland Orchestra, led by Vladimir Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1974 –77). Ashkenazy, and performed with the Los As principal horn of the Minnesota Orches - Angeles Philharmonic, New Orleans Sym - tra, he made a solo debut with that ensemble phony, and the Peninsula Music Festival, Los in 1979, in Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1, Angeles Concert, Ojai Festival, and Chicago under Sir Neville Marriner. A native of Elkhart, Symphony orchestras. Mr. Baer has also per - Indiana, Mr. Myers holds two degrees from formed as a featured soloist, touring several Pittsburgh’s Carnegie-Mellon University. He countries in Europe, including Switzerland, plays Engelbert Schmid French Horns. Austria, Germany, and France. He began his New York Philharmonic 12-16 Holiday Brass:Layout 1 12/5/12 3:45 PM Page 31 undergraduate work at Indiana University of He served as music director and pianist for Pennsylvania and completed his bachelor of the Grammy Award –winning album Tony music degree and did graduate work at the Bennett: Duets — An American Classic and University of Southern California, Cleveland the recent Duets 2. A Steinway Artist, Mr. Institute of Music, and California State Musiker has performed with the New York University–Long Beach. He taught at Cali - Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Ameri - fornia State University, where he also di - can Ballet Theatre, Orpheus, New York Pops, rected the university tuba ensemble and the Boston Pops, Hollywood Bowl, and the Lon - brass choir. Alan Baer was adjunct professor don Symphony Orchestra, and has con - of tuba and euphonium and director of the ducted the New York Philharmonic and the Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble at the University Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Milwau - of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. kee, and Pittsburgh symphony orchestras. He has also conducted the Jerry Lewis Mus - cular Dystrophy Labor Day Telethon; Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestras; and at the Henry Mancini Institute. As an arranger and orchestrator, Mr. Musiker has written for symphony orches - tras, recordings, movies, and television, and has shared Grammy and Emmy Awards. A native New Yorker from a family of mu - sicians, Lee Musiker received degrees from the Manhattan and Eastman Schools of Music, with further studies at The Juilliard School. He has served on the faculties of Pianist, conductor, music director, arranger, and Mannes College of Music, the New School, orchestrator Lee Musiker is well known for and New York University (as part of the dis - his wealth of experience working with the pre - tinguished Piano Faculty Master Class Se - miere artists in the jazz, classical, Broadway, ries).