New York Philharmonic To Begin New Season of Young People's Concerts in October

The 94th season of the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts (YPCs) will begin on Saturday, October 22, 2016, at 2:00 p.m. with "Baroque," the first program in this season's series, The Ages of Music - each program exploring the sound, composers, and culture of the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras, respectively. The program will include selections from J.S. Bach's Violin Concerto in D minor (reconstructed), BWV 1052, led and performed by The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Leonidas Kavakos; Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major; and Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Assistant Conductor Joshua Gersen will lead the latter two works; Vice President, Education, Theodore Wiprud will host the event.

Attendees are invited to come early to take part in YPC Overtures, at which children meet Philharmonic musicians and try out orchestral instruments on the Grand Promenade and upper tiers of David Geffen Hall, starting at 12:45 p.m. Pre-concert activities inside the hall include live performances by ensembles of Philharmonic musicians of works by Very Young Composers inspired by the YPC's thematic content.

This performance is among Leonidas Kavakos's first as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence. He will make his Philharmonic conducting debutOctober 20-22 and 25, 2016, leading and performing J.S. Bach's Violin Concerto in D minor (reconstructed), BWV 1052, and conducting Busoni's Berceuse élégiaque and Schumann's Symphony No. 2.

Individual tickets for the Young People's Concerts are $14 to $41. All tickets include admission to YPC Overtures. Tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the David Geffen Hall Box Office. The Box Office opens at 10:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and at noon on Sunday. On performance evenings, the Box Office closes one-half hour after performance time; other evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonic's Customer Relations Department at (212) 875-5656. (Ticket prices subject to change.)

Artists
Joshua Gersen, music director of the New York Youth Symphony since September 2012, began his tenure as New York Philharmonic Assistant Conductor in September 2015. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, he studied conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller and was the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Conducting Fellow of the New World Symphony, where he served as assistant conductor to artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas, and led subscription, education, and family concerts. Mr. Gersen made his conducting debut with the San Francisco Symphony in the fall of 2013; he has since led that orchestra numerous times, including filling in for Tilson Thomas on part of a subscription series. Joshua Gersen was the principal conductor of the Ojai Music Festival in 2013; has conducted the Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville symphony orchestras; and has served as a cover conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and many other orchestras throughout the United States. Winner of a Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, he is also a recipient of the 2010 Robert Harth Prize and 2011 Aspen Conducting Prize from the Aspen Summer Festival, where he served as assistant conductor in the summer of 2012. Mr. Gersen is also an avid composer, and his works have been performed by the New Mexico and Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestras as well as the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestra and at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. Mr. Gersen received his bachelor of music degree in composition from the New England Conservatory, studying with Michael Gandolfi. His work as a composer has led to an interest in conducting contemporary music; he has led World Premieres with the New World Symphony and New York Youth Symphony, and has collaborated with many composers including John Adams, Christopher Rouse, Steven Mackey, Mason Bates, and Michael Gandolfi. Joshua Gersen made his New York Philharmonic debut leading a Young People's Concert in December 2015; most recently, in July 2016, he led the Orchestra in a Young People's Concert in Shanghai as part of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership.

The New York Philharmonic has named violinist and conductor Leonidas Kavakos The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence for the 2016-17 season. His residency features three solo appearances in repertoire ranging from the Baroque to the contemporary, his Philharmonic conducting debut, a recital with pianist Yuja Wang (presented in association with Lincoln Center's Great Performers), and a Young People's Concert. Also in the season he appears with The Philadelphia Orchestra; plays and conducts the Houston Symphony; embarks on a recital tour with Ms. Wang in both Europe and the U.S.; and undertakes a European tour with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and a tour to Switzerland with the Mariinsky Orchestra. Mr. Kavakos had already won three major competitions by age 21: the Sibelius, the Paganini, and the Naumburg. This success led to his making the first recording in history of the original Sibelius Violin Concerto (1903-04), which won the 1991 GramophoneConcerto of the Year Award. He has since appeared regularly as soloist with the Vienna, Berlin, New York, and Los Angeles philharmonic orchestras; London, Boston, and Chicago symphony orchestras; and Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw and Philadelphia Orchestras. As a conductor Mr. Kavakos has worked with the Atlanta, Boston, London, and Vienna symphony orchestras; Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France; and Budapest Festival Orchestra. This season he makes conducting debuts with the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. An exclusive Decca Classics recording artist, Mr. Kavakos's first release on the label, of the complete Beethoven violin sonatas with pianist Enrico Pace (2013), earned him an ECHO Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year award. Later recordings include Brahms's Violin Concerto with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly; Brahms's violin sonatas with Yuja Wang; and, his most recent recording, Virtuoso (released in April 2016). His earlier discography includes recordings for BIS, ECM, and Sony Classical. Mr. Kavakos was named Gramophone Artist of the Year 2014. Leonidas Kavakos plays the "Abergavenny" Stradivarius violin of 1724. He made his New York Philharmonic debut playing Bruch's Scottish Fantasy as part of a July 2002 Concerts in the Parks performance, led by Bramwell Tovey; he will have most recently joined the Orchestra leading and performing J.S. Bach's Violin Concerto in D minor (reconstructed), BWV 1052, and conducting Busoni's Berceuse élégiaque and Schumann's Symphony No. 2 in his Philharmonic conducting debut.

Theodore Wiprud - New York Philharmonic Vice President, Education, The Sue B. Mercy Chair - has directed the Orchestra's Education Department since 2004. The Philharmonic's education programs include the famed Young People's Concerts (which Mr. Wiprud hosts), Philharmonic Schools (an immersive classroom program that reaches thousands of New York City students), Very Young Composers (which enables students to express themselves through original works, often performed by Philharmonic musicians), adult education programs, and many special projects. Mr. Wiprud has also created innovative programs as director of education and community engagement at the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the American Composers Orchestra; served as associate director of The Commission Project; and assisted the Orchestra of St. Luke's on its education programs. He has worked as a teaching artist and resident composer in a number of New York City schools. From 1990 to 1997 he directed national grant-making programs at Meet the Composer. Prior to that position, he taught at and directed the music department for Walnut Hill School, a pre-professional arts boarding school near Boston. Mr. Wiprud is also an active composer, whose Violin Concerto (Katrina) was released on Champs Hill Records. His music for orchestra, chamber ensembles, and voice is published by Allemar Music. Theodore Wiprud holds degrees from Harvard and Boston Universities and studied at Cambridge University as a visiting scholar.