Cooperstown Summer Music Festival to Feature BSO Members

The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival will present a "Boston Comes to Cooperstown" concert on Wednesday, August 10 at 7:30 pm at The Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown. Performing are: Keisuke Wakao, assistant principal oboe at the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Alexander Velinzon, the BSO's assistant concertmaster; and violist Marcus Thompson, Artistic Director of the Boston Chamber Music Society. Joining them are NYC-based cellist Inbal Segev, and Festival artistic director, flutist Linda Chesis.

They will perform:
Bach Inventions
Britten Phantasy Quartet
Mozart Oboe Quartet
Roussel Trio, Op. 40
Dohnanyi Serenade Op. 10 in C major for string trio

Keisuke Wakao was appointed assistant principal oboe of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal oboe of the Boston Pops Orchestra in the fall of 1990. He was previously a member of the New World Symphony from its 1988 inaugural season. A native of Tokyo, Mr. Wakao performed with the New Japan Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa in 1985 and made his concerto debut with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra under Kazuyoshi Akiyama in the summer of 1989. He made his Tokyo recital debut in 1997 and performed with pianist Christoph Eschenbach in a recital at Sapporo's 1998 Pacific Music Festival. Mr. Wakao has made three solo recordings on the Denon label, including Keisuke Wakao Plays John Williams (1998). Mr. Williams wrote an oboe concerto for Mr. Wakao, who played its world premiere on May 25 and 26, 2011, with John Williams conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra at Symphony Hall, Boston.

A native of St. Petersburg, violinist Alexander Velinzon joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in January 2000 and became assistant concertmaster in 2005. Since then he has played as concertmaster under the direction of James Levine, Kurt Masur, Sir Colin Davis, Michael Tilson Thomas, and other leading conductors. In addition, he has been invited to play as concertmaster with such orchestras as the London Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, WDR Symphony Orchestra, and NDR Radio Philharmonic. An active performer of chamber music, Mr. Velinzon is a member of the Boston-based Walden Chamber Players and has appeared with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. He has been seen playing chamber music in Europe, Japan, and the United States, and since 2009 has been a member of the LiveArts string quartet.

Marcus Thompson, violist, has appeared as soloist, recitalist and chamber music player in series throughout the Americas, Europe and the Far East. He was featured as soloist with the Symphony Orchestras of Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, St. Louis and with the Boston Pops, and has recorded with the Slovenian Radio Symphony and the Czech National Symphony. He has received critical acclaim for performances of the John Harbison Viola Concerto with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta, and for performances of the Penderecki Viola Concerto in Boston and London. He has been a guest of The Audubon, Borromeo, Cleveland, Emerson, Lydian, Orion, Shanghai and Vermeer String Quartets, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and a frequent participant in chamber music festivals. He is a winner and alumnus of Young Concert Artists, Inc. Born and raised in The Bronx, he currently lives in Boston where he is the Robert R. Taylor Professor of Music at M.I.T., and serves on the viola faculty at the New England Conservatory.

Israeli-American cellist Inbal Segev's playing has been described as "characterized by a strong and warm tone . . . delivered with impressive fluency and style," by The Strad and "first class," "richly inspired," and "very moving indeed," by Gramophone. Ms. Segev has performed as soloist with orchestras including the Helsinki Philharmonic, Radio Symphony of Helsinki, Reutlingen Symphony, Dortmund Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Bangkok Symphony, and with all the major orchestras of Israel. She made debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic, led by Zubin Mehta, at age 17. Ms. Segev is a founding member of the Amerigo Trio with New York Philharmonic concertmaster Glenn Dicterow and violist Karen Dreyfus. Ms. Segev regularly performs chamber music with artists including Emanuel Ax, Agustin Dumay, Pamela Franck, Gilbert Kalish, Michael Tree, and the Vogler Quartet. This concert is her fifth performance at the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival. Ms. Segev performs on a cello made by Francesco Rugeri in 1673.

Flutist Linda Chesis is founder and artistic director of the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival. She is a member of the flute faculty and chair of the Woodwind Department at the Manhattan School of Music. She has been hailed by critics on three continents as one of the most exciting and dynamic flutists of her generation. The top prize winner at the Paris and Barcelona International competitions, and at the National Flute Association Competition, Ms. Chesis has performed with orchestras and in solo recitals throughout the US, France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan and Korea. Her recordings can be heard on the EMI, Nonesuch and Music Masters labels.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students, and can be purchased online, www.cooperstownmusicfest.org, by phone, 24/day, at Brown Paper Tickets, 800/838-3006, and at the door, as available.

 

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