Ensemble ACJW returns for eighth Skidmore residency

Skidmore's Music Department in collaboration with the college's Office of the Dean of Special Programs will present Carnegie Hall Premieres: A Concert by Ensemble ACJW at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21. A pre-performance discussion moderated by Professor Benjamin Givan will begin at 7 p.m.Admission for the performance is $7 general public, $5 seniors, and $3 students. For advance reservations visit  www.skidmore.edu/zankel  or call the Zankel box office (518) 580-8381 for more information.

Ensemble ACJW, a collective of young music professionals, will conclude its eighth Skidmore residency with a concert featuring Loeffler's Two Rhapsodies for Oboe, Viola, and Piano; and Mozart's Viola Quintet in G Minor, K. 516. The program also includes the world premiere of new work, Oboe Quartet, by composer Ryan Gallagher.

Gallagheris currently in his final year of graduate studies at Cornell University after having earned a bachelor of music degree from the Juilliard School in 2007. A native of Wooster, Ohio, he studied composition with his father, Jack Gallagher of the College of Wooster, during high school. Ryan Gallagher has received numerous awards, including a 2009 Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a First Music commission from the New York Youth Symphony in 2008, and the 2007 Arthur Friedman Prize for outstanding orchestral composition at Juilliard. His recent compositional interests have included writing pieces mixing standard ensembles with non-classical instruments. His music has been performed by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Juilliard Orchestra, eighth blackbird, New York Youth Symphony, New Juilliard Ensemble, Society for New Music, Metropolis Ensemble, and Collage New Music Ensemble

ToniMarie Marchioni, oboe; Keats Dieffenbach, violin; Margaret Dyer, viola; and Yves Dharamraj, cello will perform Gallagher's Oboe Quartet. The Loeffler piece, based on two poems by Maurice Rollinar which impress their bleak messages while alternatively creating a sweet floating mysticism and an inward-looking rapture, will be performed by Marchioni, oboe; David Kaplan, piano; and Nathan Schram, viola. The Mozart piece, which reflects the shifting moods of an individual: wide-ranging, deeply felt, and touched with something like anguish, will be performed by Emily Popham Gillins, violin; Keats Dieffenbach, violin; Margaret Dyer, viola; Nathan Schram, viola, and Yves Dharamraj, cello.

Musicians of Ensemble ACJW are fellows of 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. The two-year program provides the finest young musicians with performance opportunities at both Carnegie Hall and the Juilliard School, advanced musical training, intensive teaching instruction, and the skills necessary for careers combining musical excellence with education, community engagement, and advocacy.

Academy fellows work in partnership with a specific New York City public school music teachers in a variety of grade levels in areas such as interactive performance, instrumental teaching, creative learning projects, and general music knowledge, depending on the specific needs of each school. A partnership with Skidmore College that began in 2007 brings performances and educational events to the Saratoga Springs community. This year's residency includes dorm "informances:" small impromptu performances across the campus and a jam session with Skidmore faculty member Veena Chandra that will blend the classical strings of ACJW with the complexity of North Indian sitar; and educational events in Saratoga-area schools, including a presentation at the Wateford-Halfmoon Elementary School and the Warren Saratoga Washington Hamilton Essex BOCES, as well as Skidmore classes.

Admission for the Oct. 21 ACJW performance is $7 general public, $5 seniors, and $3 students. For advance reservations visit  www.skidmore.edu/zankel  or call the Zankel box office (518) 580-8381 for more information. The Zankel Music Center is wheelchair accessible and offers listening devices for the hearing impaired. For more information, please visit  www.skidmore.edu/zankel.