Westchester Symphonic Winds Closes 37th Season with “Celebrations”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

March 17, 2025

MEDIA CONTACT:
Curt Ebersole – Conductor/Music Director, Westchester Symphonic Winds
Phone: (914) 281-1976 · E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org

Westchester Symphonic Winds Continues 37th Season with “Celebrations”

TARRYTOWN, NY – Westchester Symphonic Winds (WSW) continues its progressive season of music for wind band with “Celebrations” on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 8:00 pm at Tarrytown Music Hall. As the third and final concert of WSW’s 2024-2025 Tarrytown Music Hall series, Celebrations features exciting programming recognizing several musical milestones for the ensemble, including the 17th anniversary of artistic leadership by its conductor and music director, Curt Ebersole.

Joining Maestro Ebersole and WSW are guest conductor Dr. Malcolm Jones, Director of Bands/Professional Lecturer of Music at Marist University, and assistant conductor Jessica Stein-Natale, a member of WSW’s trumpet section and former apprentice conductor. In celebration of clarinetist Steve Cohen returning to the group as the featured guest soloist, the ensemble is pleased to welcome their first Invitational Clarinet Choir to the stage, joined by Cohen and thirty-seven clarinetists from WSW, West Point Band, and the New York metro area.

Noting the significance of the concert program theme, Maestro Ebersole shared, 

This concert is a true celebration of a wide array of connections and milestones. We are honored to collaborate with our guest conductor, Dr. Malcolm Jones, and our guest soloist, Steve Cohen, who returns to solo with WSW for a second time. Our invitational Clarinet Choir will revel in works from the symphonic, operatic, and pop niches of our vast repertoire. And we are honored to celebrate two composers with whom WSW is fortunate to collaborate: Michael Markowski and Viet Cuong, whose new work, The Man and the Echo, will receive its world premiere at this concert. This is a not-to-be-missed event!

Program includes:

CRESTON – Celebration Overture, Dr. Malcolm Jones, guest conductor

MARKOWSKI – All My Heart, Jessica Stein-Natale, conductor

NAVARRO – Second Concerto for Clarinet, Steve Cohen, clarinet soloist

Invitational Clarinet Choir:

SHOSTAKOVICH/BRACKETT – Festive Overture

MASCAGNI/arr.BRACKETT – Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana

GERMANOTTA and LAURSEN/arr.GREEN – Born This Way

CUONG – The Man and the Echo, world premiere

To Purchase Tickets: Tickets for this performance are priced at $30 for adults, $20 for students and seniors, and free of charge for children under 10. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Tarrytown Music Hall box office, by calling 877-840-0457, or online at https://tickets.tarrytownmusichall.org/WSWCelebrations.

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About the Guest Artists:

Steve Cohen joined the New Orleans Symphony (later known as the Louisiana Philharmonic) in 1975 and remained as principal clarinet through May 2004. He began his career as clarinet professor at Northwestern University in 2005, retiring in 2022 as Professor Emeritus. Cohen toured the United States as principal clarinetist of the Texas Opera Theater and Europe as principal clarinetist of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. For 43 summers, he performed as principal clarinet at the Brevard Music Center. Cohen was a guest artist and master class clinician at the Seoul Philharmonic’s Clarinet Festival in 1998, returning to perform again in September of 2022. He has performed recitals and held master classes throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Korea, China, Taiwan, Bangkok and Japan. He hosted the International Clarinet Association (ICA) Convention in New Orleans in 2001, contributed many articles to the ICA journal, performed at  several ICA conventions including the August 2009 convention in Porto, Portugal. He returned to Portugal as a guest artist and teacher at the International Music Course in Guimaraes. In Chicago, Cohen was principal clarinet with the Music of the Baroque orchestra and has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (including on Eb clarinet), Chicago Lyric Opera orchestra, and as a chamber musician throughout the area. He taught at the Oberlin Conservatory, University of Southern California, Indiana University, Hartt College of Music, Yale University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory, Louisiana State University, and University of Texas at Austin. Since retiring, he has taught at Juilliard and Yale, and performed with the New Haven Symphony, among others. A native of New York City, his teachers have included Loren Kitt, Larry McDonald, Karl Leister, and Robert Marcellus.

Dr. Malcolm Jones has been the Director of Bands/Professional Lecturer of Music at Marist University since 2022. Overseeing all aspects of the comprehensive band program at Marist, he directs the Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Marching Band, and Pep Band. Before his appointment at Marist, Malcolm Jones was the Director of Bands at Casteel High School in Queen Creek, AZ from 2020-2022. Jones served as the Interim Director of Bands at Malone University (OH) and an Adjunct Professor at Kent State University in 2017. He has also served as the Director of Bands in the Maple Heights City School District (OH), teaching grades 5-12 from 2013-2015. As a regionally and nationally sought-after adjudicator, clinician, and presenter, Jones has had frequent guest conducting appearances at honor bands, public schools, and other college/university campuses. Jones holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Band Conducting from Arizona State University, studying with Prof. Gary Hill, Dr. Jason Caslor, and Prof. James Hudson. In addition, he holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Akron and a Master of Music in Wind Band Conducting from Kent State University. Dr. Jones is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Education, New York State School Music Association, New York State Band Directors Association, Dutchess Country Music Education Association, and World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. Dr. Jones is also an honorary member of the Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity.

Jessica Stein-Natale  is a trumpet player and music educator from the Hudson Valley. She serves as the 4th–12th grade band director at Haldane Central School District, where she directs five student bands. In 2025 Jessica also became the instrumental music director for the Haldane Drama pit orchestra, leading professional and student musicians. Jessica is the Vice President of the Putnam County Music Educators Association and has held leadership positions as Band Chairperson for the Junior High All-County Festival and the Zone 10 NYSSMA Area All-State Festival. As a performer, Jessica is a member of Westchester Symphonic Winds (Tarrytown, NY) and has played in numerous musical theater productions with organizations such as Brewster Theater Company, Marist College, and Yorktown Stage. She has performed at prestigious music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, and has performed internationally with the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Jessica served as the apprentice conductor for Westchester Symphonic Winds during the 2022–2023 season and in 2024 she began her role as Assistant Conductor for WSW. Jessica has received additional conducting training through the Westchester Symphonic Winds-Music Educators of Bergen County Conducting Symposium, The Hartt School of Music Conducting Clinic (Glen Adsit), and Sleepy Hollow Conducting Clinic (Aaron Burgess – Ithaca College). She holds a Master of Music from SUNY Purchase and a double Bachelor of Music in trumpet performance and music education from The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. 

About the Conductor:

Curt Ebersole has served as the Conductor/Music Director (John P. Paynter Memorial Chair) of the Westchester Symphonic Winds since 2008, fostering its exponential growth over the past seventeen years, culminating in The American Prize for 2018-2019. He retired from Northern Valley Regional High School (Old Tappan, New Jersey) in 2013 after serving as Director of Instrumental Music for 31 years, and now teaches at The Masters School, in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree and a Master of Music in Conducting degree from Northwestern University, where he studied conducting with John P. Paynter and clarinet with Larry Combs, and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Clarinet Performance from SUNY-Purchase, studying with Ben Armato. He has served as guest conductor/clinician for dozens of county, regional, and all-state student ensembles, as well as adult community ensembles across the nation, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Symphony Space, and in Las Vegas, Tacoma, South Korea, and Australia. His achievements include multiple teaching awards, ensemble performances as a clarinetist and basset hornist, and speaking/clinic engagements with the Midwest Clinic, TEDxOneonta, and numerous state music education conventions and conducting symposia. 

About the Westchester Symphonic Winds:

The Westchester Symphonic Winds (WSW) is a 60-piece adult community-based wind and percussion ensemble, originally known as the Hudson Valley Wind Symphony. This year we celebrate our 37th season as the area’s premiere community band. We exist to promote music in our area, instill pride in our nation and heritage, provide opportunities for personal expression and growth within our membership, and nurture the love of music by offering an exceptional musical experience for people of all ages. WSW performed at the Association of Concert Bands National Conventions in 2012 and 2019, the New York State Band Directors Association in 2017, and the Caramoor Festival annually since 2014. WSW made its Lincoln Center debut in 2010, and its Carnegie Hall debut in 2023. WSW was the winner of three The American Prize awards in 2018-2019. The organization is an Ensemble-in-Residence at the historic Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York, and rehearses there on Monday evenings, September through June.

Membership in the Westchester Symphonic Winds is available to all qualified musicians. Membership information can be obtained by contacting us via email at [email protected] or by U.S. mail (Westchester Symphonic Winds, Box 485, 333 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605). You can also visit us online at: www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org and through any of our social media platforms.

Westchester Symphonic Winds, Inc. is a Section 501(c)(3) Not-for-Profit organization. Corporate and personal contributions, financial assistance, and volunteers are essential and always welcomed! 

For additional concert and ticket information, advertising, donations, and updates, visit us at: www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org.