World premiere a highlight of ACJW concert
Carnegie Hall Premieres: A Concert by Ensemble ACJW returns to Skidmore College at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, in the Arthur Zankel Music Center. A pre-performance talk with the musicians will begin at 7 p.m. Skidmore’s Department of Music and Office of the Dean of Special Programs are sponsors of the concert.
The concert features the world premiere of a new composition commissioned by Carnegie Hall called Anachronism by composer Georg Friedrich Haas. The program also includes Bartok’s Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano; “Till Eulenspiegel-Einmal Anders!” by R. Strauss; and Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-Flat Major, a piece the composer himself is said to have considered the best piece he had ever written. Critics have called this composition a masterpiece of the chamber-music literature that balances the roles of wind instruments and piano.
Musicians of Ensemble ACJW are fellows of The Academy—a program involving Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. The program supports young music professionals in developing their careers as top-quality performers and as innovative programmers through advanced musical training, intensive teaching instruction, and the skills necessary for careers combining musical excellence with education, community engagement, advocacy, and leadership.
Academy fellows work in partnership with specific New York City public school music teachers in a variety of grade levels in areas such as interactive performance, instrumental teaching, creative learning, and general music knowledge, depending on the specific needs of each school.
Fellows participating in this residency, the 13th at Skidmore, include Stuart Breczinski, oboe; Liam Burke, clarinet; Nani Belmont, bassoon; Laura Weiner, horn; Tyler Wottrich, piano; Michelle Ross, violin; and Doug Balliet, bass. The residency is made possible by generous support from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.
Community outreach is a hallmark of the Academy’s partnership with Skidmore. Since
the partnership was launched in 2007, there have been performances and educational
events in the Saratoga Springs region. This residency will include a Poetry and Music
Slam at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, at Northshire Bookstore on Broadway. Skidmore student
poets and ACJW musicians will join forces for an evening of accompanied verse.
Other community events on the schedule include performances with fourth and fifth
grade pupils at Caroline Street Elementary School and Saratoga Independent School,
and a visit to the Home of the Good Shepherd in Wilton.
On the Skidmore campus there will be informal performances in Scribner Library and
visits to such classes as “Social Work Practice With Groups, Organizations, and Communities”
and “Foundations in Arts Administration.”
Admission for Feb. 14 Ensemble ACJW performance is $8 adults and $5 seniors and Skidmore faculty, staff, retirees, and alumni. Students of all ages and children are free. For advance reservations please click here. The Zankel Music Center is wheelchair accessible and offers listening devices for the hearing impaired.
