The Orchestra Now Returns to Simon’s Rock
The Orchestra Now (TŌN) returns to Simon’s Rock on Friday, March 3, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. in the Daniel Arts Center with guest conductor Zachary Schwartzman leading TŌN in an overture, a symphony, and “four meditations for orchestra.”
Lara Baker-Finch and other members of The Orchestra Now at the Fisher Center at Bard College. Photo: Matt Dine
Schwartzman was recently appointed resident conductor of TŌN and music director of the Bard College Orchestra. He has been music director of the Blue Hill Troupe since 2004, and assistant conductor for the American Symphony Orchestra since 2012.
The program includes works by Tchaikovsky, Messiaen, and Glinka.
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 journeys from gloom to jubilee. Tchaikovsky composed this piece in the aftermath
of his disastrous marriage.
Messiaen: L’Ascension is pensive and reverent. Messiaen described this piece as “four meditations for orchestra.”
Mikhail Glinka: Overture from Ruslan and Lyudmila is heroically rousing. Glinka is considered to be the father of Russian music, a
hero to Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky.
Zachary Schwartzman has conducted in the United States, Brazil, England, Bosnia, and Mexico. His orchestral
performances have been featured on NPR, including a national broadcast on “Performance
Today.” In 2004, he received a career development grant from the Bruno Walter Memorial
Foundation. He has served as assistant conductor for the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera
Atelier (Toronto), Berkshire Opera Festival, Opéra Français de New York, L’Ensemble
orchestral de Paris, Gotham Chamber Opera, Oakland East Bay Symphony, Connecticut
Grand Opera, and Opera Omaha, among others. He was associate conductor for two seasons
with New York City Opera, as well as conductor in their VOX series. He's been an associate/assistant
conductor for 15 productions at Glimmerglass Opera, where he conducted performances
of Carmen and the world premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck.
Mr. Schwartzman’s credits as assistant conductor include recordings for Albany Records,
Bridge Records, Naxos Records, and a Grammy-nominated world-premiere recording for
Chandos Records. He has appeared as both assistant conductor and conductor at Bard
SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival at The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing
Arts. In addition to degrees in Piano Performance and Orchestral Conducting, he earned
a BA in East Asian Studies from Oberlin College.
This event is free. Seating is general admission but limited. Reservations are highly
recommended and can be made online. For venue and reservation-related questions, contact boxoffice@simons-rock.edu or call 413-528-7278. Attendees should print their e-tickets and bring them to the
concert.
For questions about The Orchestra Now contact info@theorchestranow.org or call 646-237-5034.
ABOUT THE ORCHESTRA NOW
Founded in 2015, The Orchestra Now (TŌN) is an innovative preprofessional orchestra
and master’s degree program at Bard College that is preparing a new generation of
musicians to break down barriers between modern audiences and great orchestral music
of the past and present. Under the leadership of conductor, educator, and music historian Leon Botstein, TŌN mines the wealth of underperformed repertoire, reimagines traditional concert
formats, and strives to make the experience of the performers a part of the listeners’
experience. At a TŌN concert, musicians, and audience inspire one another, each following
their curiosity with a shared sense of adventure.