Westchester Philharmonic Reunites Inaugural Artists

Oct. 19, 2009 - PRLog -- (Purchase, New York) — The Westchester Philharmonic continues another record-breaking season under the baton of Artistic Director Itzhak Perlman on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 8 pm and Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 3 pm with clarinetist Anthony McGill, whose breathtaking performance with Yo-Yo Ma and Maestro Perlman during January’s Presidential Inauguration vaulted him into national prominence. McGill will perform the enduring masterpiece that is Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

“His Mozart was distinguished by a subtly shaded tone, pearly fast passages and seamless legato phrasing. Indeed, McGill’s splendid technique and graceful shaping of long lyric lines called to mind the breath control of the great singers he accompanies from the orchestra pit at the Met,” wrote the Chicago Tribune’s John Von Rhein of McGill’s performance with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra in March.

Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, McGill currently serves as principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He is one of the few principal wind players in a major orchestra who are African-American. “If my life as a musician is about reaching out to people, being able to communicate music to the world and to people on my small scale – my clarinet playing – this is obviously such a gift,” commented the 29 year-old musician in a recent New York Times interview.

Conducted by Maestro Perlman, the November program opens with Felix Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and concludes with Schubert’s “Great” Symphony No. 9.

Ticket holders are also invited to Tuning Up, a pre-concert event, which will feature a discussion with members of the Philharmonic. Tuning Up will take place in The Concert Hall an hour and a quarter before each concert and is free for ticket holders.

All events take place at The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College. A free open rehearsal with Perlman and McGill is also scheduled for Saturday, November 21 at 10 am in The Concert Hall.

This concert made possible, in part, by a grant from the Rudyard and Emanuella Reimss Memorial Fund of the Westchester Community Foundation.


High resolution photos are available and may be downloaded from: www.westchesterphil.org/pressphotos.asp


Concert Tickets
All performances will take place in The Concert Hall at The Performing Arts Center Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, New York. Single tickets range from $85-$25. Student/child/group discounts are available.

To purchase tickets and for additional information call the Westchester Philharmonic Box Office at (914) 682-3707 ext. 10.  Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Card accepted.  Visit the Westchester Philharmonic’s website at www.westchesterphil.org.


About the Westchester Philharmonic
The Westchester Philharmonic orchestra, which is led by world-renowned Artistic Director Itzhak Perlman, is the only fully-professional symphony orchestra devoted to serving the people of Westchester County. Founded in 1983 by Paul Lustig Dunkel, who was recently named Music Director Emeritus, the Philharmonic fulfills its mission in the concert hall, in the community, and in the classroom. The Philharmonic performs a main stage concert series at the Performing Arts Center Purchase College and partners with local agencies to present free and low-cost concerts for all County residents. Its award-winning education program serves over 2,000 elementary school students.
   
The orchestra is comprised of the finest musicians from the greater New York area and has worked with the world’s finest soloists, including Midori, Joshua Bell, and the late Isaac Stern. With a focus on presenting the best music of the past and present, the orchestra places particular emphasis on providing young musicians with an opportunity to perform with, or compose for, a professional symphony orchestra early in their careers. The Philharmonic has become a home for living American composers and has proudly commissioned many orchestral works such as Melinda Wagner’s Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

The orchestra is dedicated to inviting and attracting people of diverse backgrounds to its concerts and continues to explore new partnerships with local schools, libraries, and community centers, so that all in the community have the opportunity to experience the joy of a live, classical music concert.

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The Westchester Philharmonic, which is led by world-renowned Artistic Director Itzhak Perlman, is the only fully-professional classical symphony orchestra devoted to serving the people of Westchester County, NY.