CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MUSICIANS PERFORM FREE CONCERT for REFUGEES in NETHERLANDS
CONCERT and CULTURAL EXCHANGE with REFUGEES from SYRIA, AFGHANISTAN and SEVERAL NORTH AFRICAN COUNTRIES in UTRECHT
MONDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER, 2017 | 16:00 | WIJKCENTRUM DE DREEF
Violinists Charles Morey, Paul Patterson, Sylvia Mitchell to play classical favorites and jazz standards with pianist Michael Chertock, saxophonist James Bunte
On 4 September at Buurtcentrum de Dreef in Utrecht, Netherlands, Classical Movements will present a concert for refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Northern Africa, featuring five members of the world-renowned, 122-year-old Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) during their six-country, 11-concert tour of Europe.
Hours before their full CSO concert with Music Director Louis Langrée at the TivoliVredenburg, violinists Charles Morey, Paul Patterson and Sylvia Mitchell will perform a 30-minute program of chamber music and jazz with pianist Michael Chertock and saxophone player James Bunte, followed by a short musical presentation from the Syrian refugees, themselves. The quintet of CSO musicians will then join their Syrian counterparts for what promises to be a most exciting exchange of musical ideas. A Q&A session with all involved parties — audience, Americans, refugees and their hosts, Welkom in Utrecht and Wijk & Co. — will end this delightful afternoon of international music-making and fellowship.
Classical Movements, the U.S. concert tour company that arranged the travel and accommodations for all 21 days of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s blockbuster European tour, as well as the ensemble’s historic return to Asia this March (as both the CSO and the Cincinnati Pops, conducted by John Morris Russell), is a strong believer in and fervent supporter of music for refugees around the world.
This coming Monday’s performance in Utrecht follows recent refugee outreach with Caritas Internationalis in Salzburg, Austria for Prague Summer Nights: Young Artists Music Festival; sponsorship of Pihcintu, an all-girl, all-refugee choir based in Portland, Maine to attend the Serenade! Washington, D.C. Choral Festival; benefit concerts by Yale Concert Band at Eleonas Refugee Camp in Athens, Greece; side-by-side fundraisers for SOS Village in Innsbruck, Austria with the Texas Boys Choir and Wiltener Sängerknaben; the appointment of Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh as Classical Movements’ first-ever Composer-in-Residence.
“For decades, Classical Movements has used the universal language of music to reach beyond boundaries, working tirelessly to share its powerful ability to provide transformative and healing experiences for people around the world,” says Classical Movements Founder and President Neeta Helms.
“Under the present circumstances, we are grateful to bring the gift of music to a group of remarkable individuals, who have been forced to flee their homeland, separated from the comfort of their families and torn from the lives they once knew. Together with the CSO, we are honored to be able to offer these refugees the sound of hope during a time of discord.”
“The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s mission is to both seek and share inspiration,” says CSO Vice President of Communications Chris Pinelo.
“This special concert not only aligns with that important mission, but also reinforces the orchestra’s core value to be Cincinnati’s ambassador.”
DETAILS:
Utrecht, NETHERLANDS | Buurtcentrum de Dreef (Schooneggendreef 27c)
Date: MONDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER, 2017
Time: 16:00 (GMT+2)
Tickets: FREE
Hosts: Welkom in Utrecht, in cooperation with Wijk & Co. and Cultuur Platform Overvecht
BIOGRAPHIES:
Charles Morey began playing the violin at the age of two. Leading a diverse musical life as violinist, composer, conductor and teacher, he regularly performs in the country’s most prestigious halls, including Kennedy Center, Severance Hall and Carnegie Hall. He has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras, including the River Cities Symphony Orchestra, Seneca Chamber Orchestra, Marshall University Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Morey received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in violin performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was a student of William Preucil.
Paul Patterson plays violin in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which also performs as the Cincinnati Pops, and has been a featured soloist with both orchestras, performing on violin, five-string banjo, bouzouki, jazz guitar and mandolin. Before joining the CSO, he toured the country as a jazz violinist with bassist David Friesen and guitarist John Stowell. Paul is in the local band Fabien with French guitarist/composer Sylvain Acher. He also enjoys composing and performing instrumental music with his wife, CSO violinist Sylvia Mitchell.
Violinist Sylvia Mitchell joined the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 1983. Since then, she has been active performing chamber music, new music, jazz and folk music. She studied with Isadore Finkleman, Walter Levin and Dorothy Delay and has lived and played in a wide range of ensembles in Utah, Alaska, San Francisco, Oregon and Canada.
Pianist Michael Chertock made his debut at the age of 17, performing the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto №3 with conductor Andrew Litton. Chertock has performed as soloist with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Montreal, Toronto, Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Naples and Indianapolis, among others. Chertock has garnered numerous awards at major competitions, among them top prizes in the 1989 Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition (Brahms Division), the 1991 World Piano Competition of the American Music Scholarship Association and the 1993 St. Charles International Piano Competition. Chertock currently serves as chair of the piano department at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
James Bunte earned degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder (BM, BME) and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (MM, DMA). An active concert saxophonist, Dr. Bunte has given recitals and masterclasses throughout the United States, France, Thailand, Scotland, Japan and Taiwan. A regular saxophonist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, he has recorded eight compact discs with the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops. Bunte is also an experienced jazz musician, having toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and he has performed with Ray Charles, Manhattan Transfer, Dick Hyman, John Pizzarelli and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
About the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra:
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is a dynamic ensemble of some of the world’s finest musicians The sixth-oldest symphony orchestra in the U.S. and the oldest orchestra in Ohio, the CSO has played a leading role in the cultural life of Greater Cincinnati and the Midwest since its founding in 1895. Louis Langrée began his tenure as the CSO’s 13th Music Director in the 2013–14 season with a celebrated program the New York Times said “deftly combined nods to the orchestra’s history, the city’s musical life and new music.” Over the orchestra’s 120-year history, it has also been led by Leopold Stokowski, Eugène Ysaÿe, Fritz Reiner, Eugene Goossens, Max Rudolf, Thomas Schippers, Jesús López-Cobos and Paavo Järvi, among others. The CSO has built a reputation as one of the world’s foremost orchestras, determined for greatness and heralded as a place of experimentation. A champion of new music, the orchestra has given American premieres of works by such composers as Debussy, Ravel, Mahler and Bartók and has commissioned works that have since become mainstays of the classical repertoire, including Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. The CSO was the first orchestra to be broadcast to a national radio audience (1921) and the third to record (1917). The orchestra continues to commission and premiere new works from such composers as Philip Glass, Nico Muhly, David Lang, Caroline Shaw, André Previn, Thierry Escaich, Zhou Tian and more. The orchestra is Cincinnati’s ambassador with over 10 million units sold, many of which have received Grammy awards and nominations. The CSO was the first American orchestra to make a world tour sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and continues to tour domestically and internationally, most recently to Asia in March 2017. The orchestra also performs, records and tours as the Cincinnati Pops under the direction of John Morris Russell, and the CSO is the official orchestra for the Cincinnati May Festival, Cincinnati Opera and Cincinnati Ballet. The CSO is Cincinnati’s own and committed to bringing music education, in its many different forms, to as broad a public as possible, elevating the city’s vibrant cultural scene.
About Classical Movements:
The premier concert tour company for the world’s great orchestras and choirs, Classical Movements creates meaningful cultural experiences through music in 145 countries. An industry leader for over a quarter-century, Classical Movements organizes more than 60 tours every year, producing some 200 concerts every season. Producer of two international choral festivals — Ihlombe! in South Africa and Serenade! in Washington, D.C. — and the Prague Summer Nights: Young Artists Music Festival, in addition, Classical Movements’ Eric Daniel Helms New Music Program has commissioned over 50 works from Grammy, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize-winning composers. Winner of Americans for the Arts’ BCA10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts Award, since its founding in 1992, as a truly global company, Classical Movements remains committed to facilitating cultural diplomacy across the world — promoting peace through the medium of music.
About Welkom in Utrecht:
Welkom in Utrecht brings refugees living in Utrecht in contact with people from the region, and vice versa. Activities are offered by, for and with refugees. Together with local Utrechters, refugees practice language, sports and cooking or meet up for casual social events, helping refugees to build the support networks necessary for independent living. Concurrently, Welkom in Utrecht provides Utrechters with important personal contact with refugees, fostering tolerance and understanding. Out of these contacts new friendships emerge.
PRESS CONTACTS
Logan K. Young
Classical Movements, Marketing and Public Relations Manager
(703) 683–6040 (office) | (803) 403–3645 (mobile)
Meghan Berneking
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Director of Communications
(513) 744–3258 (office) | (812) 319–4760 (mobile)
Elizabeth Townsend
WildKat PR, CSO European Tour Publicist
+44 (0)20 3422 3344
