North/South Consonance, Inc. to Conclude 36th Season This Month

By: Jun. 09, 2016
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North/South Consonance, Inc concludes its 36th consecutive season of free-admission concerts on Tuesday evening June 21. Soprano Carol Wilson and violinist Claudia Schaer will join conductor Max Lifchitz and the North/South Chamber Orchestra for performances of works by Paolo Geminiani, Max Lifchitz, Joyce Solomon Moorman and Margarita Zelenaia. The concert will take place at the auditorium of Christ & St Stephen's Church (120 West 69th Street) on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The free-admission event will start at 8 PM and end around 9:30 PM. The auditorium is ADA accessible. No tickets or reservations needed.

The composers will introduce their works prior to being performed and will also meet with the public after the concert. Composers and performers are available for interviews and media events and may be contacted through our office at <ns.concerts@att.net>.

Since its inception in 1980, the North/South Chamber Orchestra has brought to the attention of the New York City public over 1,000 works by composers hailing from the Americas and elsewhere representing a wide spectrum of aesthetic views. Its activities are made possible in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs as well as grants from the Women's Philharmonic Advocacy and the Music Performance Trust Funds. Contributions by numerous individual donors are also gratefully acknowledged.


ABOUT THE COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC Paolo Geminiani (b. 1960; Faenza, Italy) attended the Bologna and Modena conservatories where he studied composition and choral conducting. He also participated in masterclasses taught by Gyorgy Ligeti and Goffredo Petrassi. His instrumental and choral works have earned prizes at international competitions and have been performed throughout Italy, Japan, Argentina and Brazil. He teaches at the Niccolo Piccini Conservatory in Bari. Written in 2014, Geminiani's Confluences for string orchestra weaves contrasting melodic lines into an exciting and colorful polyphonic tapestry.

Max Lifchitz (b.1948; Mexico City) was awarded first prize in the 1976 International Gaudeamus Competition for Performers of Twentieth Century Music held in Holland. Robert Commanday, writing for The San Francisco Chronicle described him as "a composer of brilliant imagination and a stunning, ultra-sensitive pianist." The New York Times music critic Allan Kozinn praised Mr. Lifchitz for his "clean, measured and sensitive performances" while Anthony Tommasini remarked that he "conducted a strong performance." His recently completed Forget Me Not was written at the request of the evening's vocalist, soprano Carol Wilson. Inspired by poetry of the 19th century American writer Lillian E. Curtis the cycle consists of four contrasting songs that deal with descriptions of nature as well as feelings of nostalgia, love and longing.

Joyce Solomon Moorman (b. 1946; Tuskegee, AL) studied with Meyer Kupferman while attending Vassar, Sarah Lawrence and Columbia University's Teachers College. She has taught at CUNY's Brooklyn College and the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Her works have been performed throughout the US and abroad and have garnered prizes in contests such as the Detroit Symphony Afro-American Competition and the Andy Warhol's Composers Competition. Her Remembrances '68 is a four movement work inspired by the personal memories of a young southerner experiencing her first winter in the northeast. These recollections come alive against a background that included the tumultuous events that took place during 1968 when the Vietnam War was in high gear and Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated.

The music of Margarita Zelenaia (b. 1956, Moscow, Russia) has been described by the press as "possessing humor and lyrical tenderness, while also being capable of tremendous depth and seriousness." Zelenaia has received grants from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council; the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance; and the American Composers Forum. Her works have been performed by many soloists and ensembles at prestigious locations including Lincoln Center and the Chicago Cultural Center. In her native Russia, her compositions have been heard as part of the Moscow Autumn Festival; the Young Peoples' Arts Festival; and the Moscow Spring Festival. Written in 2015, I Believe is a work in one movement for solo violin and strings. It is based on three powerful and passionate melodies derived from the Jewish, Russian and American Gospel liturgical traditions. The music aims to communicate the composer's heartfelt wishes for overall harmony and world peace.


MEET THE PERFORMERS


Soprano Carol Wilson has performed in prestigious opera houses throughout the world including those in Frankfurt, Stockholm, Vancouver, Netherlands, Taipei, Dresden, Stuttgart, Bonn, Hannover and Manitoba. She earned much critical acclaim for her Metropolitan Opera appearances as Marschallin in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. A strong advocate of music by 20th and 21st century composers, Ms. Wilson has appeared as soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the Duesseldorf Symphoniker. She earned the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts at the Yale University School of Music and is now Professor of Voice at the University of North Texas.


Canadian violinist Claudia Schaer trained at The Juilliard School where she was a student and assistant of Sally Thomas before earning a doctorate in performance from The University at Stony Brook, SUNY. Described by the press as a "rock-solid performer" and praised for her "outstanding musicianship," Schaer has appeared as soloist and chamber musician at numerous international festivals. These include the Thy Chamber Festival in Denmark; the Berlin Philharmonic's Opera Barga Festival in Italy; the Luzerne Festival in Switzerland; and China's Nanning Festival, where she was invited to serve a Guest Professor for the Guangxi Arts College. Her recording of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas was recently released to much acclaim.



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