Bard College Orchestra Performs in the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on October 26

The program begins with Gustav Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite, followed by a world premiere of Greg Armbruster’s Ainu Dreams, with vocalists from the Bard Vocal Arts Program, and Franz Schubert’s Symphony #8, also known as his“Unfinished Symphony.”

Ainu Dreams (pronounced “eye-new”) is a 9-song, 30-minute song cycle originally scored for piano and vocalist, and now arranged for orchestra and solo vocalist(s). The piece was written in 1997 and won the international Art Song Competition sponsored by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) in 1998. The lyrics are based on selected texts from a series of poems, “Ainu Dreams”, written by poet George Quasha in collaboration with Chie Hasegawa.

The Bard Orchestra was originally established by Joan Tower in 1998. The majority of participants are non-music majors who nevertheless want to continue practicing and performing orchestral music in college. In addition, the ensemble usually includes one or more community members as well as Bard Conservatory musicians. A graduate of Bard’s Conductors Institute, this is Nathan Madsen’s second year as conductor and music director. He’s committed to presenting a wide range of interesting repertoire, including new works by contemporary composers. Last semester, the Orchestra performed Joan Tower’s Grammy-winning piece, “Made in America.”

Ariadne Greif, Ainu Dreams soprano soloist, is already making her mark as a recitalist, a champion of new music, and, a well-informed baroque musician. She is planning a career as a recitalist and opera singer, and is currently a master’s degree candidate at the Bard Conservatory of Music, where she studies with Lorraine Nubar.

Greg Armbruster received his bachelor of music degree from Notre Dame de Namur University, where he studied classical piano performance with Thomas LaRatta, and master of arts degree from San Jose State University, where he studied composition with Lou Harrison. From 2000 to ’07, Greg taught the Songwriting Workshop at Bard College. In addition to songs and song cyles, his compositions include musicals (The Fishkin Touch premiered Off-Broadway, 1998), works for piano (Voyages CD, 2000), string quartet (“Suite for Strings,” premiered by the Colorado String Quartet, 2002), and chamber orchestra (Life’s Journey: Love and Purpose premiered by the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, 2004).

Nathan Madsen, recently appointed music director of the Bard Orchestra, just completed his third season as staff conductor at the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra, and this season will begin work with the Empire State Youth Orchestra. Recent appearances as guest conductor include performances with the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, Bard College Conservatory of Music, Da Capo Chamber Players, and Bard Musical Theater Group. Madsen received a master’s degree from the Conductors Institute at The Bard College Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Harold Farberman. He holds a dual degree in music and East Asian languages and cultures from the University of Southern California. A recipient of a grant from the Freeman Foundation, he also attended the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

For more information call 845-758-7131.

This event was last updated on 04-02-2019

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