Cape Ann Symphony Concludes Season 74 With ROSSINI, GRIEG, TCHAIKOVSKY and Pianist MOYER
Pianist Frederick Moyer joins conductor Yoichi Udagawa at Manchester-Essex Regional High School Auditorium
Cape Ann Symphony will wrap up Season 74 at 2:00 PM on Sunday, May 10 with ROSSINI, GRIEG, AND TCHAIKOVSKY featuring guest artist pianist Frederick Moyer. The Cape Ann Symphony performs at Manchester-Essex Regional High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA.
The program for ROSSINI, GRIEG, AND TCHAIKOVSKY includes Gioachino Rossini's Barber of Seville, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4. and Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto. "The final concert of the Cape Ann Symphony's 74th season," says CAS Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa, "features works by Rossini, Grieg and Tchaikovsky. We are thrilled to have the brilliant pianist Frederick Moyer as soloist in a performance of the Grieg Piano Concerto. The concerto is one of the most popular works in the classical music repertoire because of its gorgeous lush melodies, perfect form, and tremendous emotional range. Fred plays this piece so beautifully. I can't wait for our audience to hear him. It's going to be incredible!"
Internationally acclaimed concert pianist Frederick Moyer has thrilled audiences in 44 countries — from the Sydney Opera House to Windsor Castle to Carnegie Recital Hall to the Kennedy Center and has performed with most of the major orchestras in the United States as well as many orchestras throughout Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia. For over 35 years, Mr. Moyer has made a living solely from concerts and recordings. Mr. Moyer made his CAS debut in September 2001.
Frederick Moyer began studies at age seven with his mother Betsy Moyer, a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory. In junior high school, he began studies with Theodore Lettvin, and in high school entered Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Eleanor Sokoloff. Later, at Indiana University, he studied with Menahem Pressler of the Beaux Arts Trio. Throughout, he coached with his grandfather David Moyer, a student of Ferruccio Busoni and Ernst von Dohnanyi.
An avid computer programmer and inventor with multiple patents, Mr. Moyer has created innovative concerts that redefine the piano recital. His MoyerCam gives the audience a view of the hands and keyboard from virtually any seat. His USolo software allows him to play piano concertos in recital with orchestral accompaniment synchronized to his interpretations. He performs, along with bass and drums, note-for-note transcriptions of great jazz pianists such as Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Erroll Garner and Ahmad Jamal, introducing the greatest creations of this art form to classical music audiences. In 2009 and 2010, he and Dr. Paul Green presented to the world several unknown piano works by Robert Schumann – a musical find that was widely reported in the news media.
Mr. Moyer's many recordings comprise works by over thirty composers and reflect an affinity for a wide variety of styles. His CD of Clara Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor was the first commercial recording of a large-scale Romantic work using an orchestra created from sampled sounds. His Mussorgsky/Mendelssohn CD was the first using the Bosendorfer 290 SE Recording Piano. Other recordings include David Ott's Second Piano Concerto with the London Symphony which was written for Moyer. Many other composers have written for Moyer including Pulitzer Prize winners George Walker and Ned Rorem, and Donal Fox whose Etudes of 2002-2006 were commissioned by the Guggenheim Foundation.
Founded in Gloucester in 1952, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra. Frequently invited to guest conduct, Maestro Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony. Maestro Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which has helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs often include premieres of new works – some specially commissioned for the orchestra — as well as great orchestral works across the symphonic repertoire and lively Pops programs. He is also an integral part of the Cape Ann Symphony Youth Initiative.
Yoichi Udagawa, the son of a nuclear physicist father and singer/artist mother, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. His family immigrated to the United States soon thereafter. He began playing the violin at age four and made his conducting debut at age fifteen. After receiving a music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he continued advanced studies in conducting with Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, Morihiro Okabe, and Henry Charles Smith. A fan of many different styles of music, Mr. Udagawa also enjoys performing gospel music in addition to his conducting activities. He is also an accomplished violinist and an avid fan of exercise and yoga.
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