BACH'S COMPLETE BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS ARE THE GRAND FINALE OF ASTON MAGNA AT BARD'S 2003 SEASON AND CELEBRATION OF 30 YEARS OF PERFORMANCE
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Aston Magna at Bard, whose concert series has been described by the New York Times as "America's preeminent summer early-music event," will present its final concert of the 2003 series on Friday evening, August 1. Under the artistic direction of Daniel Stepner, Aston Magna aims to interpret the music of the past as each composer imagined it. For three decades, Aston Magna has been internationally recognized for its contributions to the popularization of early music performed with historically accurate instruments and techniques. The concert, presented by The Bard Center, will begin at 8:00 p.m. in Olin Hall. A preconcert talk begins at 7:00 p.m.
Aston Magna will celebrate its 30 years of music making with a gala concert devoted to Johann Sebastian Bach’s complete Brandenburg Concertos. Among the many soloists will be Josh Cohen, trumpet; John Gibbons, harpsichord; Stephen Hammer, baroque oboe and recorder; Laura Jeppesen, baroque viola and viola da gamba; Christopher Krueger, transverse flute and recorder; and Daniel Stepner and Nancy Wilson, baroque violin. Other performers include Virginia Brewer and Sarah Davol, baroque oboe; Alexandra Cook and
R. J. Kelley, natural horns; Michael McGraw, baroque bassoon; Julie Leven, Christina Day Martinson, Krista Buckland Reisner, and Lena Wong, baroque violin; David Miller and Jane Starkman, baroque viola; Alice Robbins, viola da gamba; and Anne Trout, baroque bass and violone.
Daniel Stepner
, Aston Magna artistic director, is a distinguished violinist of great versatility. He has performed and recorded contemporary music with Boston Musica Viva; the sonatas of Charles Ives with pianist John Kirkpatrick; and solo works, chamber works, and concertos from the baroque and classical eras on period instruments. He is first violinist with the Lydian String Quartet and has served as concertmaster of the Handel & Haydn Society, Banchetto Musicale, Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic, and New Haven Symphony, and as associate concertmaster of Frans Brüggen's Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. Stepner has taught at the Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, and Longy School of Music.Aston Magna at Bard
is made possible in part by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, and the generosity of the Homeland Foundation and the Leon Levy Foundation at Bard College. Single tickets cost $20. For information on the concert series and to order tickets, call The Bard Center at 845-758-7425.# # #
(6.16.03)