Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra presents RIMMA PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY

The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra presents the fourth concert in the FAIRWINDS Classics Series, Rimma Plays Tchaikovsky on Saturday March 18, featuring Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Concertmaster Rimma Bergeron-Langlois. Performance is at Bob Carr Theater, 401 W. Livingston Street, Orlando, Florida at 8 p.m.

The Philharmonic, under the direction of Gemma New, the St. Louis Symphony's Resident Conductor, will lead this thrilling program and will open with Glenn Buhr's Akasha, Sanskrit for 'sky', a well-known Canadian composer. Followed by the Philharmonic Concertmaster's performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, a dazzling and not to be missed Russian masterpiece.

The evening will close out with Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, a powerful and pulse-racing protest of Stalin's condemnation of his artistic style, which he composed under fear of arrest and death.

Single tickets are available online at orlandophil.org, by calling 407.770.0071, or in person at the Box Office, located at The Plaza Live (425 N. Bumby Avenue, Orlando). The Box Office is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Ticket prices subject to change.)

Now in its 24th season, The Orlando Philharmonic is Central Florida's professional orchestra, comprised of accomplished musicians recruited from around the world. Presenting over 125 events each year, the orchestra provides captivating musical experiences and education programs to people of all ages, and is committed to building a rich, sustainable future for symphonic music in Central Florida. Learn more at OrlandoPhil.org.

Artists

Gemma New Known for her insightful interpretations and dynamic presence, New Zealand-born conductor Gemma New is Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in Ontario, Canada and Resident Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Maintaining a close relationship with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio, New also enjoys guest engagements this season with the Malmö symfoniorkester in Malmö, Sweden, Orlando Philharmonic, and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in Winnipeg, Canada.

A former Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New has led youth, school, and community programs with the LA Phil, and has assisted Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen and other guest conductors. Additional significant experiences include a David A. Karetsky Conducting Fellowship at the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival, an Ansbacher Fellowship, in which she was selected by members of the Vienna Philharmonic to take up residence at the Salzburg Music Festival, and a Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Fellowship, where she studied Mendelssohn's music with Kurt Masur and led the Leipziger Symphonieorchester in the historic Lindensaal of Markkleeberg.

Holding a strong interest in contemporary music, New made her Carnegie Hall conducting debut in 2013 when she led works by John Adams and Andrew Norman on the American Soundscapes series. She is Founder of the Lunar Ensemble, which recently performed as a headliner for the National New Music Gathering in Baltimore, Maryland. New has conducted several contemporary operas, as well as assisted operas by Mozart, Verdi, and Ravel. With the LA Phil, she has assisted for semi-staged productions of Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. This season, New leads a Wagner/Arnauld arrangement of Tristan und Isolde with the Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio. Https://www.gemmanew.com/

RIMMA BERGERON-LANGLOIS (Yermosh) is a native of Kharkov, Ukraine. Prior to becoming the Concertmaster of Orlando Philharmonic she was a member of the Syracuse Symphony where she had just been appointed Associate Concertmaster. She was also the concertmaster of UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra for seven years working with James Levine, Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, Zubin Mehta, Charles Dutoit, Christoph von Dohnányi, Mstislav Rostropovich, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Michael Tilson Thomas and many others. She was also the Concertmaster of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra for Maxim Vengerov's recent EMI Classics Mozart recording. Rimma has also worked with Charles Dutoit at Miyazaki Festival and Seiji Ozawa at Saito Kinen Festival in Japan.

In addition, she has played with the Detroit Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Basque National Symphony in Spain and has been the Concertmaster of Gardner Museum Chamber Orchestra in Boston.

Rimma has been playing the violin since she was five years old. Her first public appearance was on Ukrainian National television when she was six. She completed her studies at the Specialized music school in Kharkov, Ukraine and then went on to pursue her Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the New England Conservatory in Boston with Masuko Ushioda and Donald Weilerstein.

She has performed extensively in concerts and recitals throughout the Europe, Russia, USA, South America, Asia and Australia. Mrs. Bergeron-Langlois has performed as a soloist under the direction of Yuri Bashmet and Dmitry Sitkovetsky. She was also a soloist with the BMOP orchestra in Boston after winning their competition and has won concerto competitions at NEC. Mrs. Bergeron-Langlois was a prize winner at the Adolescent's Assemblies of Arts International competition in Moscow, Russia.

Rimma is married to bassoonist Gabriel Bergeron-Langlois.

Glenn Buhr http://glennbuhr.com/