Violinist Leila Josefowicz Returns to The Philadelphia Orchestra as Artist-in-Residence

Acclaimed violinist and MacArthur Fellow Leila Josefowicz returns to The Philadelphia Orchestra as artist-in-residence for the 2011-12 season, continuing a nearly 20 year artistic collaboration with the ensemble. An engaging performer known for her dynamic repertoire and approachability with audiences, Ms. Josefowicz appears with the Orchestra throughout the season in a number of musical roles, including soloist, host of a Family Concert, and chamber musician. Appearances include the free College Night Concert (October 6); a free Neighborhood Concert at Penn's Landing (October 9); the "Musical Prodigies" Family Concert, for which she serves as host (March 24); subscription concerts featuring Esa-Pekka Salonen's Violin Concerto, a work written for Ms. Josefowicz (March 29-31); and a chamber concert in Perelman Theater with members of the Orchestra (April 1). A heralded champion of contemporary music, Ms. Josefowicz juxtaposes the work of living composers-John Adams and Esa-Pekka Salonen-with classics of the violin repertoire throughout her residency.

Ms. Josefowicz has a deep history with the city of Philadelphia, having studied at and graduated from Masterman High School and the Curtis Institute of Music. She made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts at the age of 15 and has subsequently appeared with the ensemble more than 20 times. "It's an honor for me to come back to this city where I spent six years of my life studying, to be able to give back the gift of something new," Ms. Josefowicz says.

The residency offers the Orchestra and its audiences the opportunity to connect in new ways with the world-class musicians that regularly appear as soloists. "We are eager to find creative avenues for artists to make deeper musical connections over the course of a season, not just a single weekend," says Jeremy Rothman, the vice president of artistic planning at The Philadelphia Orchestra. "We have to foster and promote the creativity of this next great generation of artists. And Leila is among them."

Ms. Josefowicz begins her tenure as artist-in-residence appearing in two free performances with the Orchestra in October 2011. She joins Assistant Conductor Cristian Macelaru and the Orchestra as soloist in a free College Night Concert, performing Kreisler's "Liebesleid" and "Liebesfreud," and the "Meditation" from Massenet's Thaïs alongside the virtuosic Toccare from John Adams's Violin Concerto (October 6). Later that week, Ms. Josefowicz brings her artistry to the masses as part of a free Neighborhood Concert at the RiverStage at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing, where she performs the Kreisler and Massenet works (October 9).

A champion of contemporary music, Ms. Josefowicz returns to Philadelphia in March 2012 for a week of subscription concerts featuring Esa-Pekka Salonen's Violin Concerto, under the baton of the composer (March 29-31). Described as "pure, euphoric poetry" by the Los Angeles Times, the work was written expressly for Ms. Josefowicz and premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Mr. Salonen's final season as that ensemble's music director. She also serves as host of the "Musical Prodigies" Family Concert, in which she will interview and interact with the winners of the 2011 Greenfield Student competition (March 24), and joins members of the Orchestra for a Chamber Music concert in Perelman Theater (April 1).

 For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, please visit www.philorch.org.

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.