Riverside Symphony's Second Alice Tully Hall Concert Set for 2/7

On Saturday evening, February 7, George Rothman and Riverside Symphony will present the second installment of the orchestra's Alice Tully Hall season. The program brings together the music of four composers in varied dialogue with musical tradition. Wagner (Siegfried Idyll) and Ives (Washington's Birthday), for example, fashioned a new kind of music seemingly out of whole cloth, while Haydn (Symphony No. 62), creating musical miracles in isolation, laid the groundwork for the symphonic tradition. New Yorker Harold Meltzer's resourceful cosmopolitan synthesis, on the other hand, invests a quirky neoclassical sensibility with a distinctly American flair. Meltzer's Full Faith and Credit, in the composer's own words "a musical contemplation of the approaching legality of same-sex marriage," will feature Riverside Symphony's principal and second bassoonist, Marc Goldberg and William Hestand respectively.

Marc Goldberg, principal bassoonist of Riverside Symphony, American Ballet Theater, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and New York City Opera, is also a member of the New York Woodwind Quintet and the American Symphony Orchestra. Previously associate principal bassoonist of The New York Philharmonic, he has performed internationally with The Metropolitan Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and Orpheus. Mr. Goldberg has been a guest of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Music@Menlo, and the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, and has appeared as soloist with the Brandenburg Ensemble, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Riverside Symphony, and ASO. He holds BM and MM degrees from The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Harold Goltzer. He serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School Pre-College Division, Mannes College, The Hartt School, Columbia University, NYU, and the Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Bassoonist William Hestand recently returned to New York after holding the position of second bassoon with The Cleveland Orchestra. He has performed with The New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, New York City Ballet, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Riverside Symphony, The Orchestra of St. Luke's, American Symphony Orchestra, American Composer's Orchestra, and holds the position of second bassoon in the Albany Symphony Orchestra. In addition to a rich orchestral career, Mr. Hestand has also performed extensively in chamber music and solo recital settings in the United States and abroad. Mr. Hestand attended the Interlochen Arts Academy, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Conservatory of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His teachers included Barrick Stees, Patricia Rogers, Kim Laskowski, and Jos de Longe.

George Rothman, Riverside Symphony's Music Director and Conductor since its incep­tion, has led orchestras throughout the United States, in South America, Asia, and Europe. He has been active as pianist and lecturer in a wide variety of musical settings, including appearances with leading American composers in workshops and seminars. Mr. Rothman served as Music Director of the Grand Junction (Colorado) Symphony in 1986-1987, Director of Music Performance at Columbia University and conductor of its orchestra from 1988-2000, and Music Director of the Yale Symphony Orchestra from 2004-2005. He is currently Music Director and Conductor of Brooklyn College's Conservatory Orchestra and Associate Professor of Music. A native New Yorker, Mr. Rothman received his undergraduate training at the Manhattan School of Music and his master's degree from Queens College, where he also served as Associate Lecturer and Conductor. In 1979, Mr. Rothman was awarded a scholarship to study conducting at Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa.

Riverside Symphony, now in its 34th season, was co-founded in 1981 by George Rothman and Anthony Korf. Its original focus on discovery- discovery of young artists, unfamiliar works by the great masters and important new pieces by living composers from around the world-informs all of its programming choices. Critically acclaimed for vibrant performances of music from all periods, the orchestra counts this city's finest instrumentalists among its membership. Riverside Symphony's CDs, including a release by Bridge Records of music by Artistic Director Anthony Korf, have brought international acclaim, including a 2000 Grammy nomination and Editor's Pick from Britain's Gramophone and The New York Times. The Symphony's seventh CD, Marius Constant, was released in November on Riverside Symphony Records.

Tickets range in price from $30 to $64. Subscriptions, group rates, and student tickets are available. To purchase, please call (212) 864-4197 or visit www.riversidesymphony.org.