Westchester Symphonic Winds Opens 36th Season with “Legends”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

September 20, 2023

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Curt Ebersole – Conductor/Music Director, Westchester Symphonic Winds

Phone: (914) 281-1976 · E-Mail: info@westchestersymphonicwinds.org

Website: www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org

 Westchester Symphonic Winds Opens 36th Season with “Legends”

TARRYTOWN, NY – Westchester Symphonic Winds (WSW) presents “Legends,” the opening performance of their 36th season on Sunday, November 5, 2023 at 3:00 pm at the Tarrytown Music Hall. The WSW Invitational Double Reed Ensemble and guest artists from legendary corners of the musical community join Maestro Curt Ebersole and the ensemble for this first concert of the new season.

Now in his eighteenth season as English horn soloist with the Metropolitan Opera, Pedro Diaz takes the stage as the featured guest artist for the afternoon, performing Gaetano Donizetti’s Concertino for English Horn. In addition to his solo performance, Mr. Diaz joins the WSW Invitational Double Reed Ensemble for three works specifically arranged for the group by WSW clarinetist and board member Barton Green. 

Leading the ensemble as the first guests on the podium for the 36th season are Brian K. Doyle and Andrew Hill. Making his debut with WSW, guest conductor Dr. Brian Doyle is serving in his seventeenth year as Director of Bands at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Apprentice conductor Andrew Hill, a member of the WSW trombone section, is currently the Band Director at Byram Hills High School and a freelance musician and conductor based in the Metro New York area.

Maestro Ebersole notes the significance of the 36th season opener sharing, “This program includes music that represents different centuries and different styles. But at its heart, these selections are all legendary in scope and cultural impact.”

Program includes:

GREEN – Pre-Americana

SMITH/arr. Sousa & Damrosch – The Star-Spangled Banner

BERNSTEIN – Overture to Candide, Andrew A. Hill, Apprentice Conductor

BIEDENBENDER – dream of ember, dream of star, Dr. Brian K. Doyle, Guest Conductor

DONIZETTI – Concertino for English Horn, Pedro R. Diaz, English horn soloist

DAY – Shimmering Sunshine

Double Reed Ensemble:

HANDEL/arr. Green – Entry of the Queen of Sheba

MANCINI/arr. Watson – Baby Elephant Walk

MERCURY/arr. Green – Bohemian Rhapsody

KOZHEVNIKOV – Symphony No. 3 “Slavyanskaya”

The “Legends” concert, featuring guest artist Pedro R. Díaz and WSW’s Invitational Double Reed Ensemble, is made possible through the generous support of A.Laubin, Inc., American maker of handcrafted oboes and English horns.

To Purchase Tickets: Tickets for this performance are priced at $20 for adults, $15 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/eventperformances.asp?evt=2772.

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About the Guest Artists:

Pedro R. Diaz joined The Metropolitan Opera in 2005 and has performed as solo English hornist in hundreds of productions. As a highly sought teacher, Mr Díaz has lectured extensively at the top music conservatories such as The Juilliard School, The Manhattan School of Music, The Eastman School of Music,The Hartt Music School and Duquesne University. His international appearances include masterclasses in Panama, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Leipzig, Berlin, and Italy.

A native of Puerto Rico, he received his early musical training in the Escuela Libre de Musica, an esteemed public school for the performing arts. He has performed as a guest artist with The Chicago Symphony, Dallas, Pittsburgh and The New York Philharmonic, among others. On a recent research trip to Italy, Mr. Diaz was able to track down the original solo and orchestral parts for the Donizetti Concertino for English horn (1816), at the Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna. For the first time in two hundred years, these materials have been published in a critical edition by Theodore Presser, along with a new album release performance by Pedro Diaz, featuring Riccardo Frizza and musicians of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. His playing has been hailed by critics as evocative, eloquent and expressive and is considered one of the pre-eminent players of his generation.

Mr. Diaz has performed the opera, Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner, sixteen times in three different productions under the batons of James Levine, Daniel Barenboim and Sir Simon Rattle. 

Brian K. Doyle joined the Crane School of Music faculty as Director of Bands in 2006. He conducts the Crane Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, and also teaches courses in conducting. A graduate of Michigan State University, his principal teachers included John Whitwell, Joseph Lulloff and James Forger. Doyle later received the AMusD in Wind Conducting under the mentorship of Michael Haithcock at the University of Michigan. 

Prior to completing his undergraduate degree in Music Education, Doyle served for two years in the United States Air Force as a saxophonist in the 745th Air Force Band at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.  Returning to Michigan State University, Doyle was a member of the award-winning Borealis Saxophone Quartet, taking top honors at the Coleman, Carmel, and Fischoff Chamber Music competitions in the early 1990s.  At that time, he also performed in ensembles backing touring musicians such as Bob Hope, Bernadette Peters, Mel Torme, Jeffrey Osborne, Roberta Flack, and Tommy Tune. Additionally, as an active member of the mid-Michigan music scene, Doyle performed in several big bands as well as the salsa band, Orquesta Tradiçion Latina.

Dr. Doyle’s former teaching posts include faculty positions at Indiana University, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, and as a grade 5-12 public school music educator in Imlay City, Michigan. While in North Carolina, Dr. Doyle served as the resident conductor of the Triangle British Brass Band and performed regularly as saxophonist with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra. For ten summers, Dr. Doyle conducted ensembles at the renowned Interlochen Arts Camp. Dr. Doyle now spends his summers as the conductor of the Crane Youth Music Wind Ensemble. During the year, he is in regular demand as a clinician and conductor.

Andrew A. Hill ​​is a freelance conductor and professional musician based in New York City. He holds a Masters of Music in Conducting from Colorado State University and a Bachelors of Music in Music Education/Trombone Performance from San José State University.

As a conductor, Andrew made his New York City debut with the New Conductors Orchestra leading the orchestra in David Diamond’s Symphony No. 1 (1941) on February 11 and February 12, 2023. He was recently invited to the Final Phase of the Lake Como Conducting Competition in Bellano, Italy and participated in November of 2022. Known as a dynamic leader, he is featured in the book Learn Lead Lift, discussing his approach to leadership and sharing anecdotes from his experience as a music director. As a professional musician, Andrew has extensive experience as a trombonist performing orchestral, jazz, broadway, salsa and contemporary repertoire. He has performed at Carnegie Hall (NYC), Davies Symphony Hall (SF), Walt Disney Concert Hall (LA), Berliner Philharmonie (Berlin, Germany), Milan Conservatory (Milan, Italy), Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine (Udine, Italy), The Royal Concertgebouw Hall (Amsterdam), Smetana Hall (Prague), Teatro El Círculo (Rosario, Argentina) and Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

As a music director, Mr. Hill recently finished four years as the Music Director (band, orchestra and jazz director) at Los Gatos High School, California where he was awarded Educator of the Year in 2021-2022. Currently, he is the Band Director at Byram Hills High School in New York.

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 sixteen 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 many county, regional, and all-state student ensembles, and adult community ensembles across the nation, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Symphony Space, and in Las Vegas, 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:

Membership in the Westchester Symphonic Winds is available to all qualified musicians. Membership information can be obtained by contacting us via email at personnel@westchestersymphonicwinds.org 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.