May 15, 2011 Concert Announcement

There is nothing quite like the excitement of the world’s most celebrated classical music—played live by a symphony orchestra!

On Sunday, May 15, at 4 pm at the Claremont Opera House, the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra, conducted by Max Culpepper, presents its grand-finale symphony concert of the season, A RHINE JOURNEY: THE MUSIC OF GERMANY FROM BACH TO WAGNER. With introductions by Stephen Langley, the program showcases some of Germany’s—and the world’s—most preeminent classical composers, from the Baroque period to the Romantic. The concert opens with Meyerbeer’s stirring and noble Coronation March from his enormously successful opera, The Prophet. The program continues with movements from Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major and Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 “Surprise,” as well as Brahms’ exhilarating and renowned Academic Festival Overture. Following an intermission, the CRVO performs Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, Mozart’s Serenade No. 10 “Gran Partita,” and the third movement of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 “Reformation.” The concert concludes with Siegfried’s Rhine Journey from Wagner’s dramatic Twilight of the Gods—the last in his four-opera series The Ring of the Nibelung—an epic musical saga based on German mythology.

Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864), though less well-known today, was a predominant figure throughout 19th-century Europe, with several successful operas, including The Prophet (or Le Prophète)­­—called “his most original…quite astonishing” by The Times, London, in 1849. The CRVO plays the Coronation March from Act III of this work. Credited for being a genius and the originator of “grand opera,” in which the highest forms of instrumental, vocal, and dramatic arts coalesce, Meyerbeer was, however, defamed for his Jewish heritage, essentially destroying the reputation and rightful place of this composer in music history.

J.S. Bach (1685-1750) is among the most brilliant composers of all time. The six Brandenburg concertos, as they came to be called, were written while he was music director at Köthen, and given to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721. They are some of Bach’s most beloved and ebullient works, as well as some of the Baroque period’s finest music. Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major features virtuosic solo violin passages, flights of notes by two solo flutists, and a delightful, spirited essence, all of which promise to enthrall the audience when the Orchestra performs all three movements of this Concerto.

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), one of the most prolific composers of the late Baroque period, is sometimes known as the “father of the symphony.” He is also noted for his musical humor, such as appears in his Symphony No. 94, called the “Surprise Symphony,” written in London in 1791. The CRVO performs the second movement (Andante), which ranges from lyrical to stormy and sweeping, and is characterized by the surprise forte chord cleverly inserted by Haydn to startle the dozing royal listeners.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), a celebrated composer of the Romantic era, honored past music traditions while also creating new approaches. Well-loved in his day, he is universally deemed one of the giants of music. His Academic Festival Overture was composed in 1880 as a thank you to the University of Breslau for honoring him with a Doctor of Philosophy Degree. One of his most-performed works, the Overture was described by Brahms himself as “a very boisterous potpourri of student songs.”

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), in spite of great personal adversity, was and still is a profoundly influential composer. His powerful symphonies, sonatas, and other works brought innovation while bridging the Classical and Romantic periods. The Coriolan Overture, written in 1807 for a theatrical production based on Shakespeare’s political drama, Coriolanus, is at once heartrending, triumphant, and tender, capturing the moral dilemma and ultimate sacrifice of a tragic figure.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), a genius who produced over 600 works in a very short life, is revered for his prodigious talent and consummate composing that many believe define the Classical era. The CRVO performs the fourth (Minuet) and seventh (Rondo) movements of Mozart’s Serenade No. 10 “Gran Partita,” a breezy work highlighting the interplay of wind instruments.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), a very notable composer of the Romantic era in Germany and Europe, is today one of the most popular of the Romantic composers. The CRVO performs the third movement of his Symphony No. 5, also known as the “Reformation Symphony, which was written in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Lutheran Church and the Protestant Reformation. The third movement, in G minor, is an Andante showcasing the Orchestra’s string section.

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) is probably best known for his important development of opera. His ambitious and massive The Ring of the Nibelung, which comprises four epic operas and took almost 30 years to complete, is based on Teutonic and Norse myths about a magic gold ring that grants the bearer domination over the world. The Connecticut River Valley concludes the concert, A RHINE JOURNEY, appropriately, with Siegfried’s Rhine Journey from the last opera in Wagner’s Ring cycle, Twilight of the Gods. The central hero, Siegfried, is a mortal who must do battle with gods and giants to obtain the ring, but who comes to a dramatic and ill-fated end.

Please join the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra for this fabulous journey through Germany and the classical composers whose brilliant and seminal work has endured­­­—and thrilled audiences—for centuries.

For tickets and information for the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra concert on Sunday, May 15—A RHINE JOURNEY: THE MUSIC OF GERMANY FROM BACH TO WAGNER—contact the Claremont Opera House at 603-542-4433 or visit claremontoperahouse.com. Ticket prices are:

Tier A:  $32.50, Senior $26, Student $20

Tier B:  $28.50, Senior $22, Student $16

Tier C:  $22.50, Senior $16, Student $10.

Children 12 & under (accompanied by an adult) FREE

All Claremont students FREE.

Additional information is available at crvo.org.

CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY ORCHESTRA is a professional symphony orchestra under the baton of well-known and highly respected conductor Max Culpepper. In residence at the historic Claremont Opera House, the CRVO features fifty-plus musicians from New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. With the May 15th concert, the Orchestra concludes its second successful season that has featured two full-symphony concerts, a special brass concert with the top brass soloists in the world, and two chamber music concerts offering intimate onstage seating and refreshments. With a philosophy of entertaining, educating, and reaching out to new audiences, the CRVO concerts offer an engaging potpourri of programming, delightful introductions to each work, world-class guest soloists, superb acoustics, and creative staging to enhance the concert experience for all ages. The CRVO would like to thank all music lovers who have attended the concerts this year, the volunteers, Friends, and donors who have helped make the Orchestra a success, and the Claremont Opera House for providing an outstanding venue.

MAX CULPEPPER, CONDUCTOR was director of the Dartmouth Wind Symphony for 25 years, through 2009, and was formerly the Coordinator of Music Ensembles at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College. He holds a B.S. in music education and M.A. in conducting from The College of New Jersey and has conducted, taught, performed (viola, trombone, and euphonium) and administered music on the faculties of University of Massachusetts, Northern Illinois University, The College of New Jersey, Rowan University, New England Conservatory, and Plymouth State University. He has also conducted the Southern Vermont Art Center Chamber Orchestra, the North Country Community Theater Orchestra at the Lebanon (NH) Opera House, and the Lakes Region Youth Orchestra at Vermont’s Castleton State College. Since 1991, he has been Conductor-in-Residence for members of the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra in residence at the Harmony Ridge Brass Center’s Summer Festival. He was awarded the Otto Helbig Conducting Award and the New England College Band Association Lee Chrisman Award, both for Lifetime Achievement.

April 2, 2011 Concert Announcement

Concert à la carte!   In its second chamber music concert of the season, on Saturday, April 2, at 7:30 pm at the at the Claremont Opera House, the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra presents the CRVO wind quintet Windfall in a fun lively evening, featuring an eclectic menu of music, a buffet of delectable hors d’oeuvres and desserts, and up-close, onstage table seating. Flutist Maryly Culpepper, clarinetist Michael Geilich, oboist Zeke Hecker, bassoonist Tiffany Coolidge, and hornist Nancy Thornton perform a collection of classic and contemporary fare selected by the attendees from a “menu of music.” From “appetizers” to “entrées” to “desserts,” the menu includes such tempting choices as Adrian Barthe’s Passacaille, a robust Parisian dish with fanfare and contrapuntal finish; Igor Stravinsky’s The Five Fingers, tantalizing morsels of folk-like melodies, march, and tangy tango; Ferenc Farkas’ Hungarian Dances, a spicy blend of folk and Renaissance styles; all three movements of Franz Danzi’s Wind Quintet in F Major, Op. 68, No. 2, hearty classical German music; Eric Ewazen’s Roaring Fork, refreshingly melodic contemporary American “cuisine” inspired by the Colorado Rockies; Zeke Hecker’s Three Waltzes, a tuneful international recipe by Windfall’s oboist; Percy Grainger’s Walking Tune, a lyrical outdoorsy taste from this Australian charmer; two of Györgi Ligeti’s Six Bagatelles, a witty, Hungarian concoction; and Paquito D’Rivera’s hot and sultry Tropicales Aires, a serving of Cuban dishes.

The concert also features a special guest appearance by a trio of flutist Hilary Lynch, violist Elliott Markow, and harpist Katie Lyon-Pingree, performing Claude Debussy’s 1915 Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, a delightful work from the composer’s late period that is considered one of his finest compositions.

For tickets to this limited-seating, certain-to-sell-out event, call the Claremont Opera House at 603-542-4433 or visit claremontoperahouse.com. Additional information is available at crvo.org. Tickets are $35. The Claremont Opera House is located at 58 Opera House Square in Claremont, New Hampshire.

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

CRVO Wind Quintet Windfall

MARYLY CULPEPPER, flutist, has recorded and performed frequently as a founding member of the Fontenay Chamber Players. She is currently principal flute of the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Dartmouth College, a Masters of Music from Yale University, and a Doctoral Degree from University of Southern California’s School of Music in Los Angeles. Her teachers have included Julius Baker, Jim Walker, and Tom Nyfenger. She is former principal flute with the Portugal Philharmonic and has played piccolo with the New World Symphony.  Ms. Culpepper was accepted to the Spoleto Festival, one of the world's major performing arts festivals, and won a scholarship to the Chigiana Musical Academy in Italy. She was a finalist in the National General Motors Seventeen Magazine Concerto Competition and semi-finalist in the Pepsi Cola Competition. She is the principal flute of the Hat City Opera and an active freelancer. She maintains an extensive teaching schedule and also performs with the Bridgeport Symphony and New Rochelle Opera.

MICHAEL GEILICH, clarinetist, grew up playing clarinet and saxophones in Brockton, Massachusetts. During college, he co-founded a succession of rock and jazz ensembles, ending in a ten-year stint with the Boston-based world-beat band Right Time. Since returning to the Upper Valley in 1989, Michael has played sax as a sideman with local R&B groups and appeared locally with Motown legends Smokey Robinson and Frankie Valli, jazz greats Sun Ra and Michael Ray, and the rock band Phish. In addition, Michael continues to co-found and play with a variety of jazz and contemporary ensembles. Personal projects include the fusion band Casual Sextet and the R&B horn section The Loose Horns. Mr. Geilich plays clarinet regularly in local bands and orchestras, including the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra and the North Country Clarinet Ensemble. He graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in psychology and earned his graduate degrees in electrical engineering from Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering.

ZEKE HECKER, oboist, was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1947, and attended the Lawrenceville School and Harvard College. He began oboe studies with Henry Melnik and continued with Melvin Kaplan of The Juilliard School. He currently lives in Guilford, Vermont, and taught English at Brattleboro Union High School from 1971 until his retirement in 2004. A former representative of the Met School Membership Program, he wrote online study guides for the Metropolitan Opera website and led teacher workshops at the Met. He is co-founder of Friends of Music at Guilford, principal oboist of the Pioneer Valley Symphony and Connecticut River Valley Orchestra, and a former director of the Consortium of Vermont Composers. Hecker has composed 150 works, including operas, orchestral pieces, chamber and choral music, incidental music for plays and films, and songs. His music has been performed by orchestras, chamber groups, choruses, opera companies, and theater groups in New York City, and in the New England, midwest and west coast regions, as well as in Barcelona and London. Zeke’s wife Linda is a violinist and violist, and also a member of the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra.

TIFFANY COOLIDGE, bassoonist, is a native of Rutland, Vermont, and is principal bassoonist of the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra. She holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in bassoon performance from the Crane School of Music at State University of New York, Potsdam, and did graduate work in bassoon performance at DePaul University in Chicago. While in Chicago, she was an active chamber musician, performing with the Harmonie Winds Woodwind Quintet and Accessible Contemporary Music, an ensemble dedicated to performing works by living composers. She has also performed with several regional orchestras, including the Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra, Northbrook Symphony, and Vermont Symphony Orchestra. For the 2008-09 season, Ms. Coolidge was an Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a training orchestra affiliated with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Her primary teachers were Frank Wangler, Lewis Kirk, and William Buchman, and she has performed in master classes with Stephane Levesque, Stefano Canutti, and Daniel Matsukawa. Since 2009, she has been on the faculty at Castleton State College in Castleton, Vermont, where she is instructor of applied bassoon.

NANCY THORNTON, hornist, a resident of Cornish, New Hampshire, has performed with the Chester Brass Quintet and Abendmusik Chamber Players, and is currently a member of the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in horn performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and her Master’s Degree in horn performance from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She studied horn with Norman Schweikert (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), Jonathan Menkis, and Jay Wadenpfuhl (Boston Symphony Orchestra) and has performed in master classes with Dale Clevenger, Gale Williams, and Dave Krehbiel. Ms. Thornton has performed with The Civic Orchestra of Chicago, The Chicago Brass Choir, the Illinois Symphony, the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, and the Florida Orchestra, as well as with numerous chamber music ensembles. She can be heard on recordings with the Chicago Brass Choir.

Trio Performing Debussy

HILARY LYNCH, flutist, relocated to the Upper Valley from New York. She holds a Masters Degree in Music from The Juilliard School and was a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. She played for five years with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Italy and in Charleston, South Carolina. Ms. Lynch has held contracts with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Westchester Symphony, and played for 14 years with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. She has toured nationally with Zephyros Winds and was a winner of the Trinity Wall Street competition with Aeros Quintet in New York City. She currently performs with the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra and the chamber music group Hudson Valley Baroque.

ELLIOTT MARKOW, violinist/violist, began his professional performance career at age 11, as soloist performing Mozart’s Concerto No. 4 with the Boston Pops. He has studied with William Kroll, Emanuel Borok, Berl Senofsky, and Jascha Heifetz. Mr. Markow is much in demand across New Hampshire, serving as concertmaster of the New Hampshire Philharmonic, Nashua Symphony Orchestra, Granite State Symphony Orchestra, Granite State Opera Orchestra, and the Great Waters Music Festival Orchestra. He is on the faculties of the Manchester Community Music School, University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and University of New Hampshire. He has appeared extensively in solo, chamber music, and orchestral performances in the New England, Florida/Gulf coast, southern California, and New Orleans areas.

KATIE LYON-PINGREE, harpist, began playing harp at the age of 6. She served for two years as principal harpist for the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, which toured Finland and Sweden. She attended the Salzedo Harp Colony in Camden, Maine, for two summers, studying with Alice Chalifoux, and one summer at the Tanglewood Institute of Music with Lucile Lawrence. She graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, with a Bachelor of Music Degree in harp performance and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. Ms. Lyon-Pingree also holds a Masters of Music Degree (specializing in harp in the therapeutic process) from Northern Illinois University. She studied with Elizabeth Cifani, principal harpist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and served as co-principal harpist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for three years. Ms. Lyon-Pingree has performed with many ensembles, including the Nashua Symphony, New Hampshire Symphony, Keene Chamber Orchestra, Raylinmor Opera, Granite State Opera, Keene Chorale, Concord Chorale, Chorus Pro Musica, Palace Theatre Orchestra, Granite State Symphony Orchestra, and the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra.



February 27, 2011 Concert Announcement

CLAREMONT, NH —YOU’VE NEVER HEARD BRASS LIKE THIS!

An incredible lineup of legendary classical brass players joins forces for the first time ever, in a concert UNPRECEDENTED in the Upper Valley—or anywhere­­! On Sunday, February 27, at 4 pm at the Claremont Opera House, the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra presents the rare opportunity to experience breathtaking performances by the superstars who’ve elevated brass music to its highest virtuosity. Titled A TOUCH OF BRASS, THE WORLD’S BEST BRASS SOLOISTS, BRASS ENSEMBLES & MASSED BRASS CHOIR, the concert features five special guest soloists, plus pianist Susan LaFever. Norwegian tubist Øystein Baadsvik, called “fantastically accomplished” by The New York Times, and who wowed the CRVO audience in 2010, returns with his peerless tuba techniques. Also on the roster, performing solo and in ensembles, are the famed Joseph Alessi, principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic; Adam Frey, “one of the best…euphonium soloists in the world” (Eroica Classical Recordings); the “astonishing” (International Trumpet Guild) Terry Everson, trumpet; and the phenomenal Philip Myers, principal French horn, New York Philharmonic. In a thrilling concert finale, Max Culpepper conducts these celebrities and the ensembles in a triumphant "massed brass choir."

In the concert, trombonist Joe Alessi performs Morceau Symphonique, Op. 88, by Alexandre Guilmant; Largo from Piccolo Concerto in C Major by Antonio Vivaldi; and Kittens on the Keys by Edward Elzear “Zez” Confrey. Internationally revered tubist Øystein Baadsvik plays two self-composed pieces, Ordner Seg (It’ll Be All Right) and Fnugg (Snowflake), as well as Johann Sebastian Bach’s Badinerie­, the final movement of Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor. Trumpet master Terry Everson performs the three movements of Sonate pour Trompette Chromatique et Piano by 20th-century French composer Jean Hubeau. Euphonium phenom Adam Frey plays Valflickens Dans by Swedish composer Hugo Alfvén (arr. Frey), Peace by English composer John Golland, and Brillante by Scottish composer Peter Graham. And French hornist Philip Myer showcases German composer Paul Hindemith’s famous and complex­ Sonata for Horn in F and Piano. Ensembles, including members of the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra’s brass section, are also featured in the concert.

For tickets, call 603-542-4433 or visit claremontoperahouse.com. For additional info, see crvo.org Tickets are $22.50-32.50, Seniors $16-26, Students $10-20. Children 12 & Under (with an adult) FREE, ALL CLAREMONT STUDENTS FREE. The Claremont Opera House is located at 58 Opera House Square in Claremont, New Hampshire.

Related Workshops & Activities

On Saturday, February 26 and Sunday, February 27, in conjunction with the concert A TOUCH OF BRASS, the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra is offering a ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY to join the special-guest brass soloists in a weekend of workshops and other activities. OPEN TO BRASS PLAYERS OF ALL AGES. Pre-registration $75. Registration at the door $90. Registration also includes lunch on Sunday at the Opera House, a concert ticket, and post-performance buffet at Harmony Ridge. To pre-register, or for more details, call 603-542-3037 or e-mail ginger.hrbc@comcast.net.

The weekend workshop includes:

February 26, 1 pm-9 pm

Registration, sitting in on ensemble rehearsals, rehearsing for “massed brass choir” (optional), dinner with the guest artists at a local restaurant (not included in registration fee), open discussions with the guest soloists.

February 27, 10 am-9 pm

Discussions on solo literature with the individual artists, lunch at the Opera House, rehearsals for those participating in “massed brass choir,” A TOUCH OF BRASS concert, post-performance buffet at Harmony Ridge with the guest artists. 

About the Artists

JOSEPH ALESSI, DECLARED “STUNNINGLY VIRTUOSIC” BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, HAS BEEN PRINCIPAL TROMBONE OF THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC SINCE 1985. A graduate of the Curtis Institute, he was previously second trombonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and principal trombone of L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal. In 1990, he made his solo debut with the New York Philharmonic. Other solo engagements have included the New Japan Philharmonic, Nagoya Philharmonic, Orchestra of Teatro Bellini, Mannheim National Theater Orchestra, Hauge Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, and the Colorado, Alabama, Hartford, Santa Barbara, Syracuse, and Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestras. Alessi is the recipient of the 2002 International Trombone Association Award. He is currently on the faculty of The Juilliard School, and many of his former students now occupy posts with major symphony orchestras throughout the world. He has given master classes worldwide and toured Europe extensively as both a master teacher and recitalist. Mr. Alessi has also performed with major concert bands, including the U.S. Marine Band, U.S. Army Band (Pershing’s Own), U.S. Navy Band, and U.S. Military Band at West Point. In addition, he has performed with such jazz ensembles as the Maria Schneider Orchestra and the Village Vanguard Orchestra, and has recorded with jazz artists J.J. Johnson and Steve Turre. Mr. Alessi can be heard on recordings on the New York Philharmonic Special Editions, D'Note, CALA, Summit, Sony Classical, and Philips labels. Further information about Joseph Alessi can be found on his website, slidearea.com.

NORWEGIAN TUBIST ØYSTEIN BAADSVIK’S UNIQUE VIRTUOSITY ON THE TUBA HAS ESTABLISHED HIM AS THE EXEMPLAR OF THE INSTRUMENT. Baadsvik’s multi-faceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, clinician, and recording artist has taken him all over the globe. He studied under the renowned tuba player Harvey Phillips, Indiana University, and with the acclaimed Arnold Jacobs, longtime principal tuba with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Øystein Baadsvik’s international career began in 1991 when he won two prizes at the prestigious Concours International d’Exécution Musicale in Geneva. He has performed with such celebrated orchestras as the Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Taipei National Symphony, Singapore Philharmonic, and the Orchestra Victoria of Melbourne. Baadsvik has performed in some of the most famous venues in the world, and in 2006 he made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall. He is constantly expanding the musical possibilities of the tuba and has premiered over 40 solo works by composers from the U.S., Russia, Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland. He has developed new tuba-playing techniques that have been used in a number of recent works for the instrument. An active recording artist whose CDs receive unstinting praise, Baadsvik has also grown a popular following through his performances posted on YouTube. In a review of his CD Tuba Works, American Record Guide said, “This spectacular recording establishes Baadsvik as one of the best solo tubists in the world.” In praise of Tuba Carnival, The Daily Telegraph stated, “His capacity for lyricism…emancipates the tuba [and] shows that anything a violin can do, a tuba can do too.” For further information, visit baadsvik.com.

TRUMPETER TERRY EVERSON IS A RENOWNED SOLOIST, educator, composer/arranger, conductor, and church musician. Cited recently in The Boston Musical Intelligencer for “virtuosity and musicality that was simply stunning,” Terry Everson first gained international acclaim in 1988, when he won both the Baroque/Classical and Twentieth Century categories of the inaugural Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Solo Competition. Mr. Everson has premiered major solo works by composers Richard Cornell, Stanley Friedman, Jan Krzywicki, and Elena Roussanova Lucas, among others. He has released two complete recordings of numerous notable modern works and is featured in many CD releases of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Mr. Everson is Associate Professor of Music at Boston University, principal trumpet of the Peninsula Music Festival, and soprano cornetist of the Brass Band of Battle Creek. In addition to his work as a soloist and clinician, his extensive concert appearances include the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and as conductor of the Costa Rica National Symphony Brass & Percussion. Also a church musician for over three decades, Mr. Everson has been Minister of Music for congregations in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Massachusetts, and many of his compositions derive from hymnody and related materials. He has also written competition pieces for the Boston University Trumpet Ensemble, whose performances have won prizes in the National Trumpet Competition in Washington, D.C.

ADAM FREY, DEEMED “ONE OF THE BEST…EUPHONIUM SOLOISTS IN THE WORLD” by Eroica Classical Recordings, received his musical training at the University of Georgia and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. As a major ambassador of the euphonium, Mr. Frey has had more than 80 works composed or arranged for him. He has performed with ensembles the world over, including the prestigious Boston Pops, Cheju Symphony Orchestra in South Korea, the Vaasa Symphony Orchestra in Finland, as well as the Seattle, Oregon, Atlanta, Greensboro, and Charleston Symphonies in the United States. He also performs regularly with wind bands and brass bands, including Soli Brass in Holland, Point of Ayr in Wales, the National Youth Brass Band of Switzerland, and wind bands from Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, and the United States. Frey currently teaches at Georgia State and Emory Universities in Atlanta and hosts the annual International Euphonium Institute in Atlanta. Adam Frey has an impressive discography, including eight solo recordings and two pioneering CDs with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra entitled Majestic Journey and Taking Flight. His series of releases of new music for euphonium, Beyond the Horizon, now has three volumes.  He has also collaborated on ten other recordings and has been a featured soloist in broadcasts on BBC Radio 2, Swiss Cable Radio, and NPR in the U.S. More information on Adam Frey can be found at www.euphonium.com.

PHILIP MYERS, PRINCIPAL HORN OF THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC, joined the Philharmonic as principal French horn (The Ruth F. and Alan J. Broder Chair) in January 1980, and made his solo debut with the Orchestra that month in the premiere of William Schuman’s Three Colloquies for French Horn and Orchestra. He has since appeared often as a Philharmonic soloist, most recently performing Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 2, conducted by Lorin Maazel in New York in January 2008 and in February 2008 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Shanghai, China. Mr. Myers began his orchestral career in 1971 with a three-year term as principal horn of the Atlantic Symphony in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was third horn with the Pittsburgh Symphony from 1974 to 1977. As principal horn of the Minnesota Orchestra for a season and a half, he made a solo debut with that ensemble in 1979, performing Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1, Sir Neville Marriner conducting. Philip Myers holds two degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

SUSAN LAFEVER, PIANO, has been a collaborative pianist and vocal coach for over 20 years. She received a Bachelor of Music Performance Degree in horn and piano from Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, and a Masters of Music in horn performance from the University of Nebraska. She is currently pianist with the Ridgewood Choral, the award-winning Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, and The Lakeside Choraliers. She has accompanied Broadway stars in concert and was conductor/pianist for the Northeast tour of Scrooge, The Musical. Also a professional hornist, whose performance The New York Times described as “bold and striking,” Ms. LaFever is principal horn of the Doansburg Chamber Orchestra; third horn, Bridgeport Symphony; and hornist, Zinkali Trio. She also studied at the Manhattan School of Music and attended Harmony Ridge Brass Center in 1996. She has done solo tours of the Midwest and Florida and given master classes and performances at the University of Iowa, Western Illinois University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. Susan LaFever has also taught several recent horn workshops in the Northeast and at the 2010 International Women’s Brass Conference.

MAX CULPEPPER, CONDUCTOR, was director of the Dartmouth Wind Symphony for 25 years, through 2009, and was formerly the Coordinator of Music Ensembles at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College. He holds a B.S. in music education and M.A. in conducting from The College of New Jersey and has conducted, taught, performed (viola, trombone, and euphonium) and administered music on the faculties of University of Massachusetts, Northern Illinois University, The College of New Jersey, Rowan University, New England Conservatory, and Plymouth State University. He has also conducted the Southern Vermont Art Center Chamber Orchestra, the North Country Community Theater Orchestra at the Lebanon (NH) Opera House, and the Lakes Region Youth Orchestra at Vermont’s Castleton State College. Since 1991, he has been Conductor-in-Residence for members of the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra in residence at the Harmony Ridge Brass Center’s Summer Festival. He was awarded the Otto Helbig Conducting Award for Lifetime Achievement and was the recipient of the New England College Band Association Lee Chrisman Award for Lifetime Achievement.

October 10, 2010 Concert Announcement

Connecticut River Valley Orchestra

Kicks off its 2010/2011 Season

 “Music of the Gilded Age 1885‑1910

Celebrating the 125^th Anniversary of the Cornish Colony”

Max Culpepper, conductor

Special guest Virginia Eskin, piano

“The pleasure of Eskin’s playing lies…in its elan and its inexorable momentum…superb pianism.

Eskin always goes for broke.”  The Boston Globe

EVENT: Connecticut River Valley Orchestra concert “Music of the Gilded Age 1885‑1910, Celebrating the 125^th Anniversary of the Cornish Colony” with special guest, Virginia Eskin, piano, conducted by Max Culpepper with introductions by Stephen Langley

DATE/TIME:  Sunday, October 10, 4 pm

LOCATION:            Claremont Opera House, 58 Opera House Square, Claremont, NH

TICKET PRICES:

Tier A:  $32.50, Senior $26, Student $20/Tier B:  $28.50, Senior $22, Student $16/Tier C:  $22.50, Senior $16, Student $10/Children 12 & Under (accompanied by an adult) FREE, All Claremont students FREE

TICKETS: Claremont Opera House, 603-542-4433 or claremontoperahouse.com

ADDITIONAL  INFORMATION: www.crvo.org

FOR PSA OR CALENDAR LISTING:  The Connecticut River Valley Orchestra, the symphony based at the Claremont Opera House and conducted by Max Culpepper, presents “Music of the Gilded Age 1885-1910, Celebrating the 125^th Anniversary of the Cornish Colony,” on Sunday, October 10, at 4 pm. Included are pieces by three Cornish Colony composers and well-known works by Strauss, Beach, Chadwick, and Dvořák. The Claremont Opera House is located at 58 Opera House Square in Claremont, NH. Tickets $22.50-32.50, Seniors $16-26, Students $10-20. Children 12 & Under (accompanied by an adult) FREE, All Claremont students FREE. For tickets call 603-542-4433 or visit claremontoperahouse.com. For additional info, www.crvo.us.

* * *

PRESS RELEASE:

CLAREMONT, NH — The turn of the 20th century, with its rapid social, economic and technological changes, also witnessed a transformation in the arts. The Cornish Colony, first founded in 1885 in Cornish, New Hampshire, and then expanded to include Plainfield (Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site) and Windsor, Vermont (current location of The Cornish Colony Museum), was a community where famed composers, musicians, artists, and writers gathered to create, to inspire, and to help drive this cultural evolution. Now, the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra, conducted by Max Culpepper, kicks off its 2010-2011 season by celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Cornish Colony—and the Gilded Age of Music, that saw the rise of ragtime and musical theater, both of which would be incorporated into modern classical music.

Join CRVO for a golden afternoon of diverse turn-of-the-century music on Sunday, October 10, at 4 pm, at the historic Claremont Opera House, with comfortable seating and superb acoustics.

The program includes movements from works by three Cornish Colony composers:  Edgar Stillman Kelley’s Aladdin: A Chinese Suite, Arthur Whiting’s “Prince of Love” from The Golden Cage, and Horatio Parker’s A Northern Ballad, Op. 46. CRVO also plays the opening fanfare from Richard Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra, and nationally renowned pianist Virginia Eskin joins the Orchestra to perform the first movement of Amy Beach’s Piano Concerto, Op. 45. The second half of the program features “Jubilee” from George Whitefield Chadwick’s Symphonic Sketches in A Major and all four movements of Dvořák’s  well-loved Symphony No. 9—New World Symphony.

A special feature of the concert are projected images of the art and landscape of the Cornish Colony. Their selection was curated by author and Cornish Colony historian Fern Meyers of Etna, New Hampshire.

The Cornish Colony

For many decades, from the late 1880s through the early part of the 20^th century, the Cornish Colony attracted some of the most prominent American painters, sculptors, writers, poets, composers, musicians, designers, and dancers, who came primarily from Boston and New York to the Cornish-Windsor area to develop their work in the seclusion and beauty of nature, with the inspirational backdrop of Mt. Ascutney. Sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens was among the first to arrive, and his homestead and work are on exhibit at what is now the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Plainfield. Other participants in the Colony included such famed individuals as architect Charles Platt, sculptor Daniel French, painters Maxfield Parrish and William Zorach, performers Ethel Barrymore and Isadora Duncan,  statesmen/writers Woodrow Wilson and Winston Churchill, and composers Walter Damrosch and Horatio Parker.

CRVO October 10 Concert Program

In this concert, the music of three Cornish Colony composers is brought to light for a contemporary audience by the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra. Edgar Stillman Kelley (1857-1944), a composer and music educator who taught at Yale, NYU, and the Cincinnati Conservatory, wrote his Chinese-inspired orchestral suite, Aladdin, in 1894. Arthur Whiting (1861-1936), who lived in Boston and New York, was a composer/pianist whose ‘expositions’ were given at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton; his Prince of Love was incidental music for the dance pageant, The Golden Cage. Horatio Parker (1863-1919), a Connecticut and New York-based composer and teacher, was considered during his lifetime one of America’s best composers. His piece, A Northern Ballad, Op. 46, written in 1899, is a lyrical portrayal of an expansive landscape.

Illustrious late-Romantic German composer/conductor Richard Strauss (1864-1949) wrote Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra) in 1896. Based on Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical treatise of the same name, the symphonic piece is a dramatic tone poem, and its fanfare, “Sunrise,” performed in this concert by CRVO, is equally glorious, epitomizing Strauss’s enduring orchestral imagination.

New Hampshire-born composer/pianist Amy Beach (1867-1944), deemed one of America’s foremost musical figures, composed one of her finest works, Piano Concerto, Op. 45, in 1899. The first movement is performed in the concert by special guest pianist Virginia Eskin, whose well-recognized talents make Beach’s concerto as radiant today as it was over a decade ago.

George Whitefield Chadwick (1854-1931), born in Massachusetts, was a prominent member of the late 19^th-century “New England School of American composers.” He was to become the director of the New England Conservatory and a major American composer—as well as teacher to Arthur Whiting and Horatio Parker. “Jubilee,” the first movement from his Impressionistic Symphonic Sketches in A Major, reflects a free-spirited modernism.

Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904), the Czech composer known for his works incorporating native Bohemian folk music, wrote his New World Symphony, No. 9, in 1893, during his three-year tenure as director of New York City’s National Conservatory of Music. Perhaps his most beloved symphony, its four movements reflect not only Dvořák’s maturity as a composer, but his perennial love of the indigenous and his sense of an America influenced by African-American and Native American music and spirituality.   

Connecticut River Valley Orchestra

In residence at the historic Claremont Opera House, the CRVO is a symphony orchestra under the baton of well-known and highly respected conductor Max Culpepper. It features fifty-plus professional musicians from New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. After its successful inaugural season in 2009-2010, the Orchestra now presents an exciting second season beginning October, 2010. With a philosophy of entertaining, educating and reaching out to new audiences, CRVO concerts offer an engaging potpourri of programming, delightful introductions to each work, world-class guest soloists, superb acoustics, and creative staging to enhance the concert experience for all ages.

For tickets and information to the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra concert on Sunday, October 10—“Music of the Gilded Age 1885-1910, Celebrating the 125^th Anniversary of the Cornish Colony”—contact the Claremont Opera House at 603-542-4433 or visit claremontoperahouse.com. Ticket prices are: Tier A:  $32.50, Senior $26, Student $20/Tier B:  $28.50, Senior $22, Student $16/Tier C:  $22.50, Senior $16, Student $10. Children 12 & under (accompanied by an adult) FREE, All Claremont students FREE.

For additional information, visit www.crvo.us.

Biographies

VIRGINIA ESKIN, a California native and long-time Boston resident, is an extremely versatile solo pianist, chamber player, and lecturer, known for both standard classical repertoire and ragtime, and a longtime champion of the works of American and European women composers. She has performed as a soloist with many orchestras, including the Annapolis, Buffalo, Louisville, New Hampshire, Rochester, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Utah Symphony Orchestras, the Boston Classical, the Israel Sinfonietta, and the Boston Pops. She has also performed as a soloist with the New York City and Boston Ballet Companies, at Morgan Library in New York and Jordan Hall in Boston, and in concert halls and museums throughout the United States and Europe. In 2007, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of Edward MacDowell's death, Eskin performed his 2nd Piano Concerto with the New Hampshire Philharmonic and with Boston's Civic Symphony at Jordon Hall. With the Portland String Quartet, she performed the Amy Beach Quintet to open its 2008-2009 season.  In February 2009, at Boston’s Jordan Hall, she performed the premiere of Kaprálová’s Partita with the Chamber Orchestra of Boston and in spring 2009, performed Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3 and No. 5.

Eskin's many recordings include works by American composers Amy Beach, Arthur Foote, Rebecca Clark, and George Chadwick. With the Hawthorne Quartet she recorded Chamber Music From Theresienstadt (Channel Classics), Music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (Koch), and Silenced Voices (Northeastern). She recorded Dvořák’s Piano Quintet with the Portland String Quartet (Arabesque). Her “Ragtime Project,” recorded on the Koch label, includes the CDs Fluffy-Ruffle Girls, American Beauties: The Rags of Joseph Lamb, and Spring Beauties. She has also recorded Mrs. H.H.A. Beach (Koch), Works by Marion Bauer and Ruth Crawford (Albany), and previously unrecorded works by Marion Bauer (Albany). In 2008, Koch released her premiere recording of works by Czech composer Vítezslava Kaprálová, which has received rave reviews in newspapers and music journals throughout Europe. Virginia Eskin created and hosted First Ladies of Music, a 13-program radio series sponsored by Northeastern University and produced by WFMT, Chicago, and carried by over 100 radio stations in the U.S. and abroad. She holds the appointment of Visiting Artist, Northeastern University Department of Music, and received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Keene State College (NH) to recognize her contributions to women's music.

MAX CULPEPPER was conductor of the Dartmouth Wind Symphony for 25 years, through 2009, and is now Dartmouth Conductor Emeritus. He has conducted, taught, performed (trombone and euphonium) and administered music programs on the faculties of University of Massachusetts, Northern Illinois University, The College of New Jersey, Rowan University, New England Conservatory, and Plymouth State University. He has also conducted the Southern Vermont Art Center Chamber Orchestra, the North Country Community Theater Orchestra, and the Lakes Region Youth Orchestra at Vermont’s Castleton State College. Since 1991, he has been Conductor-in-Residence of the Harmony Ridge Brass Center, with participants from the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestras. In 1991, he was awarded the Otto Helbig Conducting Award for Lifetime Achievement and in 2009 was the recipient of the New England College Band Association Lee Chrisman Award for Lifetime Achievement.

STEPHEN LANGLEY, who provides short introductions to each musical selection on the program, is the Executive Director of the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra and of the Harmony Ridge Brass Center—a resource for professional brass players. He is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire in Music Education and has taught music in Massachusetts and Maine. For almost a decade, he trained digital-mapping technicians at a high-tech firm while pursuing his Master’s Degree in adult learning. He currently coordinates student performance ensembles at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College and for a number of years, was the narrator for Dartmouth Wind Symphony concerts conducted by Max Culpepper.

FERN MEYERS is a cellist, educator, writer, and Cornish Colony historian. She has lectured, given presentations, and authored or co-authored articles and books on this turn-of-the-century arts community, including New Hampshire’s Cornish Colony, America’s Musical Pioneers and the Cornish Colony, and Beyond a Gilded Cage. She has given pre-performance discussions at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site and elsewhere, and written such essays as “Music for the Masque of the Golden Bowl,” a section in the booklet Celebrating Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the Pageants of 1905 and 2005; and a new supplement to Colby and Atkinson's book Footprints of the Past. She has also recorded two CDs (2001, 2002) of Cornish Colony music on the Harmony Hill label and produced a 2010 CD, American Music Sampler, with her ensembles Bowforte and SilverWood. In 2007 and 2008, she presented the course “Exploring the Cornish Colony” in Dartmouth’s ILEAD program. 

May 16, 2010 Concert Announcement

CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY ORCHESTRA
PERFORMS LAST CONCERT IN ’09-10 SEASON
“AN EVENING IN PARIS”

Max Culpepper, conductor
Stephen Langley, narrator
Gregory Hayes & Alissa Leiser, special guest pianists
James Lenz, guest narrator

EVENT:           Connecticut River Valley Orchestra concert “An Evening in Paris”
DATE/TIME:  Sunday, May 16, 4 pm
LOCATION:     Claremont Opera House, 58 Opera House Square, Claremont, NH

TICKETS:  Gold $35, Adults $25, Senior Citizens $20, All children 12 & under accompanied by an adult FREE, Claremont students over 12 FREE,

All other students $10

TICKETS: Claremont Opera House, 603-542-4433 or claremontoperahouse.com

OTHER CRVO INFORMATION: www.crvo.us

FOR PSA OR CALENDAR LISTING:  The Connecticut River Valley Orchestra, a professional symphony orchestra conducted by Max Culpepper, presents classical music by 18th- and 19th-century French composers in its concert AN EVENING IN PARIS, on Sunday, May 16, at 4 pm at the Claremont Opera House. The concert features Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals, with special guest pianists Gregory Hayes and Alissa Leiser, and James Lenz reading the accompanying humorous verses by poet Ogden Nash. The orchestra also performs works by Lisle, Bizet, Debussy, Berlioz, Mouret, and Offenbach, with narrative introductions to each piece by Stephen Langley. The Claremont Opera House is located at 58 Opera House Square in Claremont, NH. Gold Seats $35, Adults $25, Seniors $20, All children 12 & under accompanied by an adult FREE, Claremont students over 12 FREE, All other students $10. For tickets call 603-542-4433 or visit claremontoperahouse.com. For additional info, e-mail info@claremontoperahouse.com or visit www.crvo.us or www.claremontoperahouse.com.

* * *

PRESS RELEASE:

CLAREMONT, NH — On Sunday, May 16, at 4 pm, the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra completes its ’09-10 season at the Claremont Opera House with its fourth concert, AN EVENING IN PARIS. The symphony orchestra, conducted by Max Culpepper and narrated by Stephen Langley, transports you to the City of Light with music by such famous 18th- and 19th-century French composers as Lisle, Bizet, Debussy, Berlioz, Mouret, Saint-Saëns, and Offenbach. The concert also features special guest pianists Gregory Hayes and Alissa Leiser, performing with the orchestra on Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals—along with James Lenz reading the accompanying humorous Ogden Nash verses. A delightful mélange of classical music that has enthralled audiences in concert halls around the world, the concert promises to make YOUR spirit soar with the vibrant essence of France.

The Carnival of the Animals (Le carnaval des animaux), a suite of 14 movements written by French Romantic composer Saint-Saëns in 1886, is a lively romp through the animal world—from the most famous movement portraying the gracefully gliding swan, to those depicting the stately lion, speeding burro, plodding tortoise and lumbering elephant, clucking hens, leaping kangaroos, languid fish, calling cuckoos and some fun-loving “fossils.”  This exuberant and technically challenging work also references French nursery rhymes like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the “can-can” from Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, and other classical music, including Saint-Saëns’ own Danse Macabre—with the tinkling of the xylophone mimicking the clattering of skeletons. Scored for full orchestra, glockenspiel and two solo pianos—played in this concert by special guests Gregory Hayes and Alissa Leiser—The Carnival of the Animals is one of Saint-Saëns’ most popular works. The Ogden Nash verses, written for the suite in 1949 and read here by James Lenz, help make The Carnival a dazzlingly entertaining musical experience:

            At midnight in the museum hall

            The fossils gathered for a ball…

            I caught the eye of one small fossil.

            "Cheer up, sad world," he said, and winked—

            "It's kind of fun to be extinct."

            - from Ogden Nash verses for The Carnival of the Animals

The Connecticut River Valley Orchestra concert on May 16 also includes Rouget de Lisle’s La Marseillaise, the French national anthem. Composed in 1792, this buoyant, driving march that became the rallying song of the French Revolution was arranged for orchestra by Hector Berlioz in about 1830.

Georges Bizet’s L’Arlésienne Suites were originally written in 1872 for the play L’Arlésienne (The Girl from Arles). In this concert, CRVO performs the bell-like, melodious last movement of Suite No. 1 and the last three movements from Suite No. 2, with music ranging from soothing and emotional to dynamic and vigorous.

Celebrated French composer Claude Debussy, whose work transitioned musical styles from the late Romantic period to the Modernist, wrote his Nocturnes at the very end of the 19th century. CRVO plays the first two movements from this work: Nuages (Clouds) and Fêtes (Festivals). In Debussy’s own words, “Nuages renders the immutable aspect of the sky and the slow, solemn motion of the clouds, fading away in grey tones lightly tinged with white. Fêtes gives us the vibrating, dancing rhythm of the atmosphere with sudden flashes of light.”

Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz, one of France’s most distinguished composers, is perhaps his best-known and most-performed work. Completed in 1830, the symphony reflects the emotional turbulence of an artist hopelessly in love. The fifth and final movement, Songe d'une nuit de sabbat (Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath), performed in this concert by CRVO, is a dramatic piece with eclectic and intriguing musical effects representing the eerie, funereal dance of the witches.

The French Baroque composer Jean-Joseph Mouret is most remembered for the Fanfare-Rondeau from his first Suite de symphonies, made famous today as the theme song for the PBS TV show, “Masterpiece Theatre.”

Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld (Orphée aux enfers), composed in the late 1850s, is still an extremely popular comic operetta. The often-performed overture to Orpheus parodies both Greek mythology and operas based on the classical myths. It includes the vivacious, fast-paced galop infernal—often known as the “can-can”—which was considered very lewd and shocking at the time.

Join the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra for this exciting concert on Sunday, May 16, at 4 pm at the Claremont Opera House, under the Clock Tower in downtown Claremont. TICKETS MAKE A GREAT MOTHER’S DAY GIFT!

For tickets and information, contact the Claremont Opera House at 603-542-4433 or visit claremontoperahouse.com. Tickets are Gold Seats $35, Adults $25, Seniors $20, All children 12 & under accompanied by an adult FREE, Claremont students over 12 FREE, All other students $10.

To complete your evening, present your May 16 CRVO ticket or ticket stub to enjoy meal discounts at Ramunto’s and BJ Brickers in Claremont. Good for Sunday, May 16 only. For details, please contact each restaurant directly. 

For donor, sponsorship, business partnering or volunteer opportunities, contact CRVO Board President Phil Schaefer at philschaefer42@gmail.com or visit www.crvo.us.

* * *

SPECIAL GUESTS:

Gregory Hayes, piano

Gregory Hayes is a chamber musician and orchestral keyboard player who has appeared as a soloist with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and the Albany Symphony Orchestra. He plays various keyboard instruments regularly with the Albany Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the Vermont Symphony and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York. He has participated frequently in the New England Bach Festival, Marlboro Music Festival, and the Mohawk Trail Concerts Series.

He is the longtime music director for the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence, Massachusetts, and for 14 years directed Da Camera Singers, an auditioned chorus based in Amherst. Mr. Hayes is a summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Amherst College, and is the recipient of a Masters of Music Degree from the Manhattan School of Music. He has also studied at the Hartt School of Music and for several summers at the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin College. His teachers have included Ming Tcherepnin, Kenneth Fearn, Dora Zaslavsky, and Raymond Hanson. Mr. Hayes has taught piano and harpsichord at Dartmouth College since 1991 and has also taught at Smith and Mount Holyoke Colleges.

Mr. Hayes has written frequently on music, including liner notes for many recordings, as well as articles and reviews for magazines and newspapers. He has participated in recordings on the Albany and Koch music labels and has assisted with editorial preparation for Broude International editions of works by Dietrich Buxtehude, Johann Kuhnau, and Henri D’Anglebert. He lives in Goshen, Massachusetts, and has been a teacher for many summers at Greenwood Music Camp in nearby Cummington.

Alissa Leiser, piano

Pianist Alissa Leiser is recognized as both a soloist and a collaborative artist of technical skill and interpretive command. A native of Teaneck, New Jersey, Ms. Leiser attended The Juilliard School Pre-College Division as a student of Jane Carlson, and later received her Bachelors and Masters Degrees from Juilliard as a student of William Masselos.  She also studied with Benjamin Kaplan in London, Carl Schachter in New York, and Leon Fleisher in Baltimore. 

Ms. Leiser has performed at such venues as Alice Tully Hall, the Ravinia Festival, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago. Her orchestral appearances have included the New Jersey Symphony, the New Orchestra of Boston, and Orchestra New England. She has been heard on several radio and television stations, including WQXR, WFUV, WAMC, and WNET in New York.  Her CD, Sounds of America, with flutist Adrianne Greenbaum, was featured on National Public Radio as part of President Clinton’s inaugural celebration in 1992.

Ms. Leiser is an active teacher, has served as an adjudicator for piano competitions, and given master classes at such institutions as Meredith College in North Carolina and the University of Ohio, Akron.  She has held teaching positions at Montclair State College, Deerfield Academy, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and most recently at Amherst College, where she has taught since 1998.

James Lenz, clarinetist/narrator

Originally from western North Carolina, Dr. James Lenz has lived in New Hampshire since 1985. He graduated from Duke University with a degree in electrical engineering and later received his medical degree from the University of North Carolina. He has played clarinet since the age of 9 and has performed with the Asheville (North Carolina) Symphony, Duke University Symphony, and with many groups in the Upper Valley, including the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra, the Upper Valley Community Band, and the North Country Clarinet Ensemble, as well as in numerous theater productions in the region.

* * *

The Connecticut River Valley Orchestra, completing its first successful season with this fourth concert, is a professional symphony led by Dartmouth College’s well-known Conductor Emeritus Max Culpepper, and narrated by Stephen Langley. Based at Claremont’s historic Opera House, the orchestra offers a wide range of classical music and features musicians selected by audition from New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. With a philosophy of entertaining, educating, and reaching out to new audiences, the orchestra provides engaging themes and seasonal programs, helpful introductions to each work, renowned soloists, a Young Person’s Concert, and creative staging—all of which enhance and enliven the concert experience. This collaboration between the Claremont Opera House and the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra provides superb musical opportunities for Claremont and the surrounding region and broadened new programming for the Opera House.

Max Culpepper, conductor

After 25 years as conductor of the Dartmouth Wind Symphony, as well as former Coordinator of Music Ensembles at the Hopkins Center for the Arts, Max Culpepper retired in 2009 from Dartmouth College. He holds a B.S. in Music Education and M.A. in Conducting from The College of New Jersey and has conducted, taught, performed (viola, trombone and euphonium) and administrated music on the faculties of University of Massachusetts, Northern Illinois University, The College of New Jersey, Rowan University, New England Conservatory, and Plymouth State University. He has also conducted the Southern Vermont Art Center Chamber Orchestra, the North Country Community Theater Orchestra at the Lebanon (NH) Opera House, and the Lakes Region Youth Orchestra at Vermont’s Castleton State College. Since 1991, he has been Conductor-in-Residence for the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra resident members at the Harmony Ridge Brass Center’s Summer Festival at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont. In 1991 he was awarded the Otto Helbig Conducting Award for Lifetime Achievement from The College of New Jersey, and in 2009 was the recipient of the New England College Band Association Lee Chrisman Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Stephen Langley, narrator

Stephen Langley is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire in Music Education and has taught music in Massachusetts and Maine. For almost a decade, he trained digital-mapping technicians at a local high-tech firm while pursuing his Master’s Degree in adult learning. He currently coordinates student performance ensembles at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College and is Executive Director of the Harmony Ridge Brass Center, a resource for professional brass players. For a number of years, he was the narrator for Dartmouth Wind Symphony concerts conducted by Max Culpepper and is pleased to offer his special narrating skills to the Connecticut River Valley Orchestra.

* * *

For press inquiries, contact Marcy Menitove at 802-763-5285 or marcymenitove@gmail.com.