Robert Schwartz News

Hoff-Barthelson Music School announce a virtual Open House for its renowned Orchestral Program, taking place on Thursday, November 16, 2023, at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

In anticipation of the arrival of fall and a new school year, Hoff-Barthelson Music School, Westchester's premier community music school, will hold a series of Open Houses and Information Meetings for several of its acclaimed programs.

Hoff-Barthelson Music School students will present the world premiere of Nilo Alcala's composition, “To the Others” at the culminating concert of the School's Music of Our Time Festival on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 7:00 pm at the Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation at White Plains, 468 Rosedale Avenue, White Plains, NY.

Hoff-Barthelson Music School will host a virtual Open House for its Orchestral Program on Saturday, November 19, 2022, at 4:00 pm on Zoom. 

 Join Hoff-Barthelson Music School Music Directors Jun Nakabayashi (Festival Orchestra), Robert Schwartz (Young People’s Symphonette, Chamber Orchestra), Joseph Piscitelli (Wind Ensemble), and Executive Director Ken Cole on Monday, August 22, 2022, at 7:00 pm on Zoom for a lively online introduction to the School’s four-tiered Youth Orchestra Program.

Hoff-Barthelson Music School's Young People’s Symphonette and Chamber Orchestra, both directed by faculty member Robert Schwartz, recently won multiple awards at the 2022 Music Showcase Festival in Allentown, PA, including 1st place prizes for both ensembles. Other awards included the Chamber Orchestra winning the overall instrumental award, signifying that they were the highest scoring instrumental group of the day, section specific awards for the Chamber Orchestra’s cello section and Symphonette’s cello and violin sections, and outstanding soloist awards for Olivia Seidenberg on the viola and Ariana Thomas on the piano. 

Join music directors Jun Nakabayashi (Festival Orchestra), Robert Schwartz (Young People's Symphonette, Chamber Orchestra), Joseph Piscitelli (Wind Ensemble), and Hoff-Barthelson Music School Executive Director Ken Cole on Saturday, April 23, 2022, at 4:00 pm on Zoom for a lively online introduction to the School's four-tiered Youth Orchestra Programs. The discussion will include information about repertoire, educational goals, performance schedules, how to prepare for auditions (only the Festival Orchestra requires auditions), and more!

Hoff-Barthelson Music School's Spanning the Centuries Music Festival, celebrating music composed between 1750 and 1950, takes place Friday, March 12, 2022, through Saturday, March 19, 2022. The Festival, featuring music of the great Germanic composers – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms –  as well as masters from other lands, includes student recitals and instrumental and choral ensemble concerts. 

Learn more about Hoff-Barthelson Music School's offerings by attending one or more of the School's Fall Open Houses!

Hoff-Barthelson Music School's Spanning the Centuries Music Festival, celebrating music composed between 1750 and 1950, takes place Friday, March 6, 2020, through Sunday, March 15, 2020. The Festival, featuring music of the great Germanic composers from the Classical, Romantic and Modern eras, as well as masters from other lands, includes student recitals and instrumental and choral ensemble concerts. The Festival is made possible, in part, with a generous grant from the Westchester Community Foundation, a division of The New York Community Foundation.

Baroque and Beyond, Hoff-Barthelson Music School's week-long Festival celebrating music composed between 1600 and 1750, takes place Today, March 9, 2019, through Today, March 16, 2019. The Festival, featuring music of great Germanic composers - Bach, Telemann, and Handel - as well as masters from other lands, includes student recitals, a lecture on the life and works of J.S. Bach, presented by Michael Boriskin, Artistic Director of the Copland House, and instrumental and choral ensemble concerts. The Festival is made possible by a generous grant from the Westchester Community Foundation.

Hoff-Barthelson Music School presents a special concert and “meet the instruments” party for children ages 4-9 and their adults, featuring a performance of Sergei Prokofiev's enchanting classic “Peter and the Wolf.” Performed by members of Hoff-Barthelson's exceptional faculty, the concert will be presented at 1:15 pm and again at 3:15 pm on Sunday, March 24, 2019, at the School, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale. Admission is free of charge, however, reservations are required and can be made by visiting www.hbms.org.

Baroque and Beyond, Hoff-Barthelson Music School's week-long Festival celebrating music composed between 1600 and 1750, takes place Saturday, March 9, 2019, through Saturday, March 16, 2019. The Festival, featuring music of great Germanic composers - Bach, Telemann, and Handel - as well as masters from other lands, includes student recitals, a lecture on the life and works of J.S. Bach, presented by Michael Boriskin, Artistic Director of the Copland House, and instrumental and choral ensemble concerts. The Festival is made possible by a generous grant from the Westchester Community Foundation.

Spanning the Centuries, Hoff-Barthelson Music School's week-long Festival celebrating music composed between 1750 and 1900, will be held Saturday, March 10, 2018, through Sunday, March 18, 2018. The Festival, featuring music of great Germanic composers - Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms - as well as masters from other lands, includes student recitals, a faculty concert by the School's Cello Virtuosi, a lecture on the life and works of Beethoven, presented by Michael Boriskin, Artistic Director of the Copland House, and instrumental and choral ensemble concerts.

Baroque and Beyond, Hoff-Barthelson Music School's week-long Festival celebrating music composed between 1600 and 1750, will be held Today, March 11, 2017, through Today, March 18, 2017.

Baroque and Beyond, Hoff-Barthelson Music School's week-long Festival celebrating music composed between 1600 and 1750, will be held Saturday, March 11, 2017, through Saturday, March 18, 2017.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has pledged to donate $2 million to the Los Angeles City College Foundation for the college's Cinema and Television Department.

Soprano Lisa Delan (class of 1989) will perform on the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's distinguished Alumni Recital Series tonight, February 11, 2015, at 8 p.m. Ms. Delan's program will include works by American composers John Corigliano, David Garner, Gordon Getty, Jake Heggie and Luna Pearl Woolf. She will be joined by special guests Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley and Jake Heggie. The concert, held at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Sol Joseph Recital Hall, is dedicated to the memory of pianist Kristin Pankonin (class of 1989), alumna and former staff pianist of the Conservatory.

Soprano Lisa Delan (class of 1989) will perform on the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's distinguished Alumni Recital Series on Wednesday, February 11, 2015, at 8 p.m. Ms. Delan's program will include works by American composers John Corigliano, David Garner, Gordon Getty, Jake Heggie and Luna Pearl Woolf. She will be joined by special guests Matt Haimovitz, Christopher O'Riley and Jake Heggie. The concert, held at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Sol Joseph Recital Hall, is dedicated to the memory of pianist Kristin Pankonin (class of 1989), alumna and former staff pianist of the Conservatory.

Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra has announced the 2014 winner of the BSO's 2014 Young Artist Concerto Competition - Christopher Son Richardson, piano, age 15 from Lake Forest Park, who performed Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 54, 1st movement. Jennifer Chong, piano, was awarded second place for her performance of Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 16, and Andrew Liu, piano, was awarded third place for his performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, op. 18, 1st movement. The judges also announced two Honorable Mentions, which were given to Tristan Greeno, piano and Quinn Price, violin.