PIANIST BLANCA URIBE AND HARPIST SARA CUTLER JOIN THE AMERICAN SYMPHONY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA FOR THE BARD-VASSAR CONCERTS ON SEPTEMBER 22 AND 23

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Guest artists pianist Blanca Uribe and harpist Sara Cutler join the American Symphony Chamber Orchestra (ASCO) for the first of the

2000–2001 Bard-Vassar Concert Series. The concerts, presented by The Bard Center, will be held on Friday, September 22, at Olin Hall, Bard College and on Saturday, September 23, at Skinner Hall, Vassar College.

The program, conducted by Leon Botstein, includes Ernst von Dohnányi's Concertino for Harp and Chamber Orchestra, Op. 45, with harpist Sara Cutler; Robert Schumann's Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54, with pianist Blanca Uribe; and Johannes Brahms's Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11.

Pianist Blanca Uribe was born in Bogotá, Colombia, into a family of many generations of professional musicians. With an extensive repertoire ranging from Scarlatti to contemporary works, Uribe is particularly noted for her interpretations of all thirty-two Beethoven sonatas and the complete Iberia Suite of Isaac Albéniz. She has appeared with such orchestras as the Philadelphia, Philharmonia of London, American Symphony, OPPL Orchestra in Nantes, France, and Residentie Orkest in The Hague. As a chamber musician she has appeared with the Chicago, Brentano, and Orion String Quartets, Ani and Ida Kavafian, and the Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble. Uribe has received many honors, including the General Francisco de Paula Santander Medal, awarded for outstanding contributions to Colombian culture, and the Order of Saint Charles, which she received in 1986 from the president of Colombia. She was also the first recipient of the Dutchess County Artist Award. Her recordings include Iberia Suite by Isaac Albéniz, Danzas Fantásticas by Joaquín Turina, Richard Wilson's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston conducted by Leon Botstein, and Beethoven Sonatas Op. 106 and 110. Uribe holds the George Sherman Dickinson Professorship of Music at Vassar College.

Harpist Sara Cutler, principal harpist with the American Symphony Orchestra, has appeared as concert soloist at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, and the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. As soloist and with flutist Linda Chesis, Cutler has performed around the world, appearing in recital in Tokyo, Tel Aviv, London, Paris, and New York. Her recent recording with soprano Jessye Norman is on the Philips' release In the Spirit. Cutler has worked with such conductors as Georg Solti, James Levine, André Previn, and Robert Shaw. She is solo harpist with the Dance Theater of Harlem and principal harp with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Cutler is on the faculty of Brooklyn College's Conservatory of Music.

Leon Botstein is music director of the ASCO, coartistic director and conductor of the Bard Music Festival, music director of the American Symphony Orchestra, and president of Bard College. He is editor of The Musical Quarterly and has published several books, including The Compleat Brahms and Jefferson's Children: Education and the Promise of American Culture.

The ASCO Bard-Vassar Concert Series continues on February 9 and 10, with a program featuring Ferdinand David's Concertino for Trombone, Op. 4, with trombonist Richard Clark; Mozart's Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K. 491, with pianist Todd Crow; and Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61. The final concert of the series, on May 4 and 5, features Alban Berg's Chamber Concerto, Op. 8, with violinist Erica Kiesewetter and pianist Diane Walsh; George Perle's Sinfonietta No. 1; and Mozart's Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425, "Linz."

Single concert tickets are $15, a series subscription is $40. For further information about the ASCO Bard-Vassar concerts call 845-758-7425.

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This event was last updated on 03-02-2001

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