Ensemble ACJW in residence Oct. 3-5

Skidmore collaborates with Carnegie, Juilliard in new venture

Skidmore College will inaugurate the new Carnegie Hall Premieres series on Oct. 3-5 with a residency by Ensemble ACJW ? 14 of the brightest, most promising young musicians in the country brought together by Carnegie Hall and the Julliard School for a new program called the Academy. The first upstate performances of music commissioned by and premiered at Carnegie Hall will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5. A pre-concert discussion, moderated by Professor Thomas Denny and featuring composer David Bruce and some of the performers, will begin at 7 p.m.

Concert poster (PDF)

Both the performance and talk will take place in Filene Recital Hall on the Skidmore campus. Admission is free and open to the public.

The evening?s program features new works?Bright Sheng?s Four Movements for Piano Trio and Sweet May Again and David Bruce?s Piosenki (the two last works commissioned by Carnegie Hall) ?alongside two 20th-century classics, Francis Poulenc?s Sextet for Piano and Winds and Bela Bartok?s Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano.

The Carnegie Hall Premieres series brings to Skidmore and the region one of the hottest new ensembles?Ensemble ACJW?to hit the New York scene in some time. Following an Ensemble ACJW concert earlier this year, Steve Smith of The New York Times described the ensemble and its talented performers as ?buzzworthy,? and wrote, ?Their concert was among the most adventurous presented in New York or anywhere else this season.? Members of this new ensemble are post-graduate fellows from the Academy, a program of Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, and the Weill Music
Institute, in partnership with the New York City Department of Education.

Established in 2007, the Academy is a two-year fellowship program that provides extensive performance opportunities and intensive music education training for post-graduate
musicians. As Ensemble ACJW, the fellows of the Academy will perform in 19 concerts at Carnegie Hall and Juilliard this season. The fellows will make a major contribution to New York City?s public school music education programs, working with teachers in all five boroughs.

The Skidmore residencies?this October and again in February 2008?will feature encore presentations of new works that Carnegie Hall commissioned for the 2006-07 season. Following the Skidmore performances, Ensemble ACJW will take these same programs immediately to Carnegie Hall. The visit by the fellows marks an important step toward the Academy?s goal to broaden its reach outside of the city of New York. While on the Skidmore campus, fellows will perform in concert and interact with members of the Skidmore and surrounding communities

About the Partners:

Carnegie Hall features the world?s greatest soloists, ensembles, and orchestras in its renowned Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, intimate Weill Recital Hall, and technologically advanced Zankel Hall. The legendary concert venue presents over 200 events each year and produces such acclaimed series as Perspectives, Making Music, and Distinctive Debuts. The recent establishment of the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall paves the way for expanded opportunities as Carnegie Hall moves forward as an international cultural center representing the very best in musical performance and arts education.

The Juilliard School has set this country's standard for education in the performing arts since its 1905 founding. In 1968, Juilliard became an original?and the only
academic?constituent of Lincoln Center. Its music programs have been joined by a Dance Division (est. 1951) and Drama Division (est. 1968). In 2001, Juilliard broke new ground by adding a jazz curriculum, including bachelor and master of music programs, as well as the pre-professional Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, a collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center. The school?s current renovation is adding 39,000 square feet including new state-of-the-art spaces?studios, classrooms, rehearsal halls, centers for music technology and writing/communication, a theater, and a secure facility for storage and use of the priceless Juilliard Manuscript Collection.

The Weill Music Institute creates broad-reaching music education programs, playing a central role in Carnegie Hall?s commitment to making great music accessible to as many people as possible through creative musical interaction and lifelong learning. Educational programs are woven into the fabric of the Carnegie Hall concert season, with opportunities for a range of learners?from preschoolers to adults, from new listeners to emerging professional musicians. With its access to the world?s greatest artists and latest technologies, the Weill Music Institute is uniquely positioned to inspire the next generation of music lovers, to nurture tomorrow?s musical talent, and to shape the evolution of music education itself. The Weill Music Institute annually serves over 115,000 children, students, teachers, parents, young music professionals, and adults in the New York City metropolitan area, across the United States, and around the world.

New York City Department of Education provides instruction to students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The New York City public school system is the largest in the nation and has the responsibility to develop, support, and sustain more than 1,400 schools, with the goal of giving every student the opportunity to succeed.