New York Repertory Orchestra: Free Concert -- World Premiere by Composer Stephen Dembski

March 5, 2010 - PRLog -- On Saturday evening, March 27, the New York Repertory Orchestra will present the world premiere of "Raven-year", by award-winning composer Stephen Dembski. Commissioned and written especially for NYRO, this new work is a wonderful new addition to the orchestral repertoire!

Also on the program is Ferruccio Busoni's stunningly original (and rarely-performed) "Geharnsichte Suite."  Max Bruch's popular and festive "Scottish Fantasy," (with internationally acclaimed violin soloist Erin Keefe, making her NYRO debut) rounds out the program.

It's a program of exuberant, earthy and FUN music that will have you smiling with pleasure from start to finish!

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Date: Saturday, March 27, 2010
Time: 8:00pm
Place: Church of St. Mary the Virgin (145 West 46th Street, New York City - between 6th & 7th Avenues)
Admission: FREE

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Here's the complete program:
Ferruccio Busoni: Orchestral Suite No. 2 "Geharnschte Suite"
Stephen Dembski: "Raven-year"
Max Bruch: Scottish Fantasy -- Erin Keefe, violin

David Leibowitz, conductor

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More about the program:

The evening begins with Ferruccio Busoni's Orchestral Suite No. 2 - the "Geharnischte" (or Armored Man) Suite. This rarely-heard four-movement work is an innovative and engaging introduction to the music of this great, but overlooked composer. Evocative of medieval knights and courtly life (and battle), Busoni gives us a nostalgic look at a bygone age.

New York composer Stephen Dembski's wonderful new piece, "Raven-year," was written especially for the New York Repertory Orchestra and the wonderful acoustic of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin. With its exploration of slowly moving masses of sound, punctuated with dramatic rhythmic bursts, "Raven-year" is a work you'll want to hear again and again. It's destined to take its place in the repertoire of orchestras everywhere - and NYRO brings it to life for the first time anywhere!

The evening ends with the ever-popular Scottish Fantasy, by Max Bruch, for solo violin and orchestra. A grand concerto based on traditional Scottish folk tunes, the Scottish Fantasy is full of good spirits and good old-fashioned sentimental emotion. It's both a virtuosic display for the soloist, and a compositional tour de force for the composer. In short - it's a foot-stomping good time!

Our violin soloist for the evening will be 2006 Avery Fisher Career Grant winner Erin Keefe. Quickly establishing a reputation and earning praise as a compelling artist who combines exhilarating temperament and fierce integrity, Ms. Keefe took the Grand Prizes in the 2007 Torun International Violin Competition, the 2006 Schadt Competition, and the Corpus Christi International String Competition. She was the Silver Medalist in the Carl Nielsen, Sendai (Japan), and Gyeongnam (Korea) International Violin Competitions, resulting in performances and immediate re-engagements in the US, Europe and Asia. Ms. Keefe makes her NYRO debut at this concert.

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Celebrated for his innovative programming and exciting performances, conductor David Leibowitz has achieved international acclaim for his work on the concert, opera, and ballet stage.

Mr. Leibowitz is the Music Director/Conductor and founder of the award-winning New York Repertory Orchestra NYRO. Some recent highlights of his tenure there have been a fully staged production of Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio and a landmark performance of Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 3. As an avid fan and champion of today’s music he has both commissioned and performed local and world premieres by some of today’s most important composers; such as Eduard Tubin, Harold Farberman, Paul Moravec, Stephen Dembski, John Schwabe, Salvador Brotons, William Dickerson, and Terry Pender.

Since 2003 Mr. Leibowitz has held the post of Principal Conductor with the Massapequa Philharmonic Orchestra Massapequa Philharmonic (NY) and is the Orchestra Director at the City College of New York. Recently, he directed the orchestra of the Siena (Italy) Summer Music program and from 2003-2007 he was on the conducting staff of the Rome Festival Opera (Italy), leading opera, ballet, and concert performances. He is also on the staff of the International Opera Institute at the Maud Powell Music Festival Maud Powell Music Festival. (IL). Recent operatic highlights include performances of Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, and Le nozze di Figaro, Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore, Bizet’s Carmen, and Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, all to critical acclaim.

Throughout the United States, Mexico, and Europe he has directed such ensembles as the Pleven Philharmonic (Bulgaria), the Orchester Pro Arte (Vienna), the Masterplayers Orchestra (Switzerland), the Orquestra Sinfonico de la Ciudad de Mexico, the Bach Festival Orchestra (Princeton, NJ), and the Brooklyn Opera and Dance Theater. Critics hailed his performances with the Pleven Philharmonic as “passionate and exciting.”

In the New York City area, he has conducted the Greenwich Village Orchestra, Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, Centre Symphony Orchestra, Sound Symphony Orchestra, and Music at St. Paul’s (Columbia University). He has been invited back to those ensembles and venues repeatedly. A dedicated music educator, Mr. Leibowitz conducted the Third Street Philharmonia at the Third Street Music School Settlement in New York City from 2003-2005. He has worked as a conductor and coach with many other student and youth orchestras, including the Maud Powell Music Festival, the orchestras of Brooklyn College and City College of New York, the InterSchools Orchestra of New York, and the Gemini Youth Orchestra.

Mr. Leibowitz received his Master of Arts degree in Performance Practice, Summa Cum Laude, from the City University of New York’s Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College. His main studies were in performance, musicology, and composition. He was awarded a teaching fellowship and was named a Presidential Scholar of the University. He has continued his conducting studies with, among others, Herbert Blomstedt, Carlo Maria Giulini, and Jacques-Louis Monod.

Mr. Leibowitz was a finalist in the International Masterplayers’ Conducting Competition in Lugano, Switzerland in 1986. David Leibowitz was recently given the “Gift to the City” award from the Omega Ensemble of New York for his ongoing contributions to the musical life of New York City.

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The award-winning New York Repertory Orchestra, New York’s leading community orchestra, is composed of talented professional and amateur musicians. Founded in 1991 by Music Director David Leibowitz, the orchestra strives for exciting performances, provocative programs and the highest artistic level. To its fans and followers, these qualities have become the hallmarks of this exceptional ensemble. In 2002, NYRO was invited by Columbia University to perform the Brahms Requiem in a memorial concert for 9/11 as a participant in the Columbia Remembers program. In addition to its regular season at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, NYRO has participated in the Music at St. Paul’s series at Columbia University and at the Music Festival of the Hamptons. In January 2006, NYRO performed in the Chinese New Year Global Gala at Radio City Music Hall, broadcast worldwide by NTD Television. NYRO was recently given the Omega Ensemble of New York’s “Gift to the City” award for ongoing contributions to the musical life of New York .

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The New York Repertory Orchestra, New York’s leading all-volunteer, community-based orchestra, presents a series of free concerts each season. Founded in 1991, NYRO strives for exciting performances, provocative programs and the highest artistic level.