The Symphony of Westchester 20th Season Opening Concert

The Symphony of Westchester will open its 20^th concert season at Iona College in New Rochelle on Sat., Oct. 22, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. with an all-Mozart program featuring pianist Tian Lu and soprano Sharla Nafzinger.

Lu will perform Piano Concerto, no 23, K.488 in A Major. Nafziger will sing Dove Sono, Recit and  Aria from Le nozze di Figaro. The program also includes Overture: Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 and

Symphony no. 31, K. 297 (The Paris) in D Major.

A native of China, Lu has performed internationally, including appearances in Venezuela, Odessa and Aruba. She has also performed with numerous chamber and small ensembles and has been honored at several piano competitions.
Nafziger has appeared with opera companies, symphony orchestras, choral societies and festivals across North America, performing a wide variety of oratorio, contemporary and concert repertoire.

The Symphony’s second concert this season, featuring oboist Katherine Needleman and violinist Alex Abayev, is on Sun., Dec. 11 at 3:00 p.m.

Needleman, principal oboist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, is a founding member of the oboe trio Trio La Milpa, the woodwind quintet Astral Winds and Mico Nonet, an improvisational ambient chamber music ensemble. She will play Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto.  Abayev, the Symphony of Westchester’s concertmaster, will perform J. S. Bach’s Violin Concerto, no. 2, BWV 1042 in E Major. The orchestra will also perform Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and Bach’s Air; from Suite no. 3, BWV 1068 in D Major.

A snow date for this concert has been set for Sat., Dec. 10 at 3:00 p.m.  The decision to use the snow date will be made on Fri., Dec. 9 and available on the website: www.thesymphonyofwestchester.org and by phone: (914) 654-4926.

The Symphony’s traditional Family Concert, scheduled for Sun., Feb. 12, 2017 at 3:00 p.m., will feature the winner of their third annual Young Artist Competition. The program also includes pieces written by students in the Composers of the Future program, a collaboration with New Rochelle’s Songcatchers after-school program. Also on the program is Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto, played by Leonard Hindell.

The snow date for this concert is Sat., Feb. 11 at 3:00 p.m. Ticket prices for this concert only are $15 general admission and $5 for all students.

Concluding the season on Sat., May 6, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. will be an all-Romantic program including Gioachino Rossini’s The William Tell Overture, Bedřich Smetna’s The Moldau and Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, op. 47 in D Major.
            All concerts are at Iona’s Christopher J. Murphy Auditorium, 715 North Ave., New Rochelle. Ticket prices for the October, December and May concerts are $50 general admission, $35 seniors (65+) and $15 students. Single tickets and subscriptions are available on-line: http://www.thesymphonyofwestchester.org or by phone: (914) 654-4926. More information is available on the website or by emailing info@thesymphonyofwestchester.org.

This concert series is sponsored in part by the Iona College Council on the Arts through the generosity of JoAnn and Joseph M. Murphy and the Baron Lambert Fund.