BARD CONSERVATORY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, CONDUCTED BY NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR XIAN ZHANG, IN CONCERT AT BARD’S FISHER CENTER ON OCTOBER 4

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY—On Wednesday, October 4, The Bard College Conservatory of Music presents the Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Xian Zhang, associate conductor of New York Philharmonic, and featuring guest artist Melvin Chen. Free and open to the public, the program begins at 8:00 p.m. in the Sosnoff Theater of the Fisher Center, and includes Aaron Jay Kernis’s Too Hot Toccata; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 37, in C minor, with pianist Melvin Chen; and W. A. Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, K.550, in G minor. Xian Zhang was appointed associate conductor of the New York Philharmonic in July 2005 by music director Lorin Maazel. Zhang, a cowinner of the Maazel-Vilar Conductors’ Competition, studied with Maestro Maazel, and made her debut with the Philharmonic in 2004 leading a Young People’s Concert. Last season she made her debut with the London Symphony Orchestra, which resulted in an immediate invitation to return in 2006. She has appeared as a guest conductor with New Zealand’s Auckland Philharmonia, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and Minnesota Opera, among others. Zhang recently completed a four-year tenure as music director of the Concert Orchestra at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Born in Dandong, China, she received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She served as conductor-in-residence of the China Opera House in Beijing and conductor of the JinFan Symphony Orchestra. Melvin Chen, assistant director of the Conservatory and assistant professor of music and interdisciplinary studies at Bard, has performed at major venues in the United States, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Weill Recital Hall, the Frick Collection, and the Kennedy Center, in addition to other appearances throughout the country, Canada, and Asia. He has collaborated with Ida Kavafian, Steven Tenenbom, David Shifrin, Robert White, Pamela Frank, Peter Wiley, and members of the St. Lawrence, Mendelssohn, Miami, Orion, Borromeo, and Arditti Quartets. He was selected to be a member of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two, and has performed at Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Chautauqua, Music from Angel Fire, and Bard Music Festival, among others. He can be heard on Discover, Nices, and KBS label compact discs with violinist Juliette Kang. The Conservatory Concerts and Lectures continue on Thursday, October 12, at 2:00 p.m. in Olin Hall, with pianist Richard Goode, who presents a master class. A special “Meet the Artist” presentation featuring Dawn Upshaw and Osvaldo Golijov, moderated by Ara Guzelimian, takes place on Thursday, November 9, at 7:00 p.m. in the Sosnoff Theater at the Fisher Center. On Sunday, November 12, at 3:00 p.m., and Wednesday, November 15, at 8:00 p.m., the Conservatory presents two chamber music concerts in Olin Hall. The fall series concludes with the Da Capo Chamber Players, featured in a concert on Thursday, November 30, at 7:30 p.m. in Bard Hall. On Saturday, December 9, the Conservatory presents the second annual Concerto Competition in Olin Hall, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. All programs are open to the public without charge. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. For further information, call 845-758-7900 or e-mail [email protected]. # Building on its distinguished history of innovation in the arts and education, Bard College has launched The Bard College Conservatory of Music. This innovative, five-year, double-degree program is guided by the principle that musicians should be broadly educated in the liberal arts and sciences to achieve their greatest potential. While training and studying for the bachelor of music degree with world-class musicians and teachers and performing in state-of-the-art facilities, such as the Frank Gehry–designed Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard Conservatory students also pursue a bachelor of arts degree at Bard, one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. The Bard College Conservatory of Music’s instrumental and composition faculty includes renowned musicians and composers, including violinists Ani Kavafian, Ida Kavafian, Weigang Li, Laurie Smukler, and Arnold Steinhardt; violists Steven Tenenbom, Michael Tree, and Ira Weller; cellists Sophie Shao and Peter Wiley; double bassist Marji Danilow; pianists Melvin Chen, Jeremy Denk, Peter Serkin, and piano master classes with Richard Goode; oboists Laura Ahlbeck and Richard Dallessio; flutist Tara Helen O’Connor; clarinetists Laura Flax and David Krakauer; bassoonist Marc Goldberg; hornists Julie Landsman and Jeffrey Lang; trombonist John Rojak; and trumpeter Mark Gould. The Colorado Quartet and Da Capo Chamber Players are in residence. Members and principals of the American Symphony Orchestra are also available for instruction, coaching, and leading of sectional rehearsals in the Conservatory Orchestra. This year the Conservatory introduces three additional programs: the Vocal Arts Graduate Program, directed by Dawn Upshaw; The Conductors Institute and its graduate program in conducting, directed by Harold Farberman; and the Composition Program, directed by Joan Tower and George Tsontakis. For more information about the Bard College Conservatory of Music, call 845-758-7196, e-mail [email protected], or log onto the program’s website, www.bard.edu/conservatory. # # # (09.12.06)

This event was last updated on 10-05-2006

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