On Friday, April 4, the Brattleboro Music Center presents Musicians From Marlboro at Centre Congregational Church in Brattleboro, VT, in the final concert of its 2013-14 Chamber Music Series.
Musicians From Marlboro, the touring extension of the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, offers exceptional young professional musicians together with seasoned artists in varied chamber music programs. The resulting ensembles offer audiences the chance to both discover seldom-heard masterworks and enjoy fresh interpretations of chamber music favorites.
The Musicians from Marlboro touring program has introduced to American audiences many of today’s leading solo and chamber music artists early in their careers, and in the process has offered these artists valuable performing experience and exposure.
The Musicians From Marlboro concert in Brattleboro features Tibi Cziger, clarinet; Natalya Rose Vrbsky, bassoon; Wei-Ping Chou, horn; Julianne Lee, violin; David McCarroll, violin; Dimitri Murrath, viola; Judith Serkin, cello; and Tony Flynt, bass, performing Lyrisches Andante by Max Reger; Cypresses for String Quartet, B. 152 by Antonín Dvorák; and Octet in F Major, D. 803 by Franz Schubert.
Cited as an “exciting soloist” by the NY Times, Israeli clarinetist Tibi Cziger is passionate soloist and chamber musician, and has performed a vast amount of chamber music and recital literature for the clarinet in numerous concerts and live and recorded television and radio broadcasts, in Israel, Korea, Europe, and the US. He is the artistic director and founder of the Israeli Chamber Project, a distinguished and award winning chamber ensemble active in Israel and the US, and has participated in festivals such as Marlboro, Musique en Brionnais (France) and the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, to name a few. Mr. Cziger appeared as a soloist with the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen, iPalpiti String Orchestra at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, Metropolis Ensemble, and Israel Chamber Orchestra and has performed as guest clarinetist with chamber ensembles and orchestras in Israel, Europe and the US. He served as the principal clarinetist of the Israeli Camerata Orchestra and co-principal at the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
Mr. Cziger holds an Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School, M.Mus degree from the University of Southern California, and a B.Mus. degree magna cum laude from the Tel Aviv music Academy. His main mentors include Charles Neidich, Yehuda Gilad, Richard Lesser, and Itzhak Kazzap. He currently resides in the exciting town of Tel Aviv, with his wife, cellist Michal Korman, and their daughter iyar.
A native of Taiwan, Wei-Ping Chou, began playing at the age of nine and was a prizewinner at the Taiwan National Horn Competition three years in a row. After accepting an invitation to enroll at Idyllwild Arts Academy in Southern California, she went on to earn degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and then the Juilliard School, becoming the first horn player in the school’s history to be awarded the Artist Diploma. Her primary teachers have been Jerome Ashby and Julie Landsman.
Wei-Ping’s career as a performer has been extraordinarily diverse. In 2007, while still completing her Artist Diploma, Wei-Ping was appointed Acting Assistant Principal Horn of the San Diego Symphony by Maestro Jahja Ling. Her extensive experience as an orchestral performer includes performances with The American Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra of the St. Lukes. As a chamber musician, she is a member of the newly established all-girl-horn ensemble, Genghis Barbie, and she has recorded with the American Brass Quintet, been a member of the Urban Brass Quintet, and appeared with the Jupiter Chamber Players, BargeMusic, and the Wind Soloists of New York, to name just a few. She has also appeared as an orchestral soloist, most notably in a performance of Gliere’s Horn Concerto with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra.
Natalya Rose Vrbsky, bassoon, enjoys an active and wide-ranging performance schedule, regularly appearing throughout the major cities on the East Coast as soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. In addition to being a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, she is a frequent substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra, including on two recent tours of Asia, and performs regularly with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Academy of Vocal Arts Orchestra, and most major Philadelphia ensembles. She has also performed with a variety of orchestras across the US including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Virginia Symphony and as guest principal with the orchestras of Harrisburg, Delaware, Delaware Opera, Syracuse, and Knoxville. In addition to her work in the northeast, she currently holds the principal bassoon chair in the Sarasota Opera Orchestra, a position she has held since 2010. Equally at home in a chamber setting, Rose has performed as a guest artist with the Saratoga Chamber Players, the Bay Chamber Concerts, Astral Artists Concerts, the Knights ensemble, Orchestra 2001, and A Far Cry, among many others. She received a bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory, followed by a master’s degree from Temple University and a diploma from the Curtis Institute. Her primary teachers were Richard Ranti and Daniel Matsukawa.
David McCarroll has been described as “a violinist of mature musicality and deep understanding of his repertoire whose playing is distinguished by clarity of form and line” by Musik Heute. Winner of the 2012 European Young Concert Artists Auditions and Silver Medalist of the Klein International Competition, he made his concerto debut in 2002 with the London Mozart Players and has since performed with many orchestras both in Europe and the US. He has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, New Zealand, Tunisia, Thailand, Panama, El Salvador, Argentina, Chile, Israel, and the US. His performances have been broadcast on radio stations including WGBH Boston, WQXR New York, and National Public Radio.
David was born in Santa Rosa, California in 1986 and began studying the violin with Helen Payne Sloat at the age of 4. At 8, he attended the Crowden School of Music in Berkeley studying with Anne Crowden. When David was 13, he received an invitation to join an international group of 60 young music students at the Yehudi Menuhin School outside London where he studied with Simon Fischer. David continued his studies with Donald Weilerstein and Miriam Fried at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he received his Masters degree and with Antje Weithaas in the Konzertexamen program at the Hanns Eisler Academy in Berlin.
A member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Julianne Lee recently received the Presser Music Award. She made her solo debut at age 7 with the Lake Placid Symphonietta. Subsequently, she has also appeared as soloist with the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Korea and the Baden-Baden Philharmonie in Germany. Her chamber music collaborations include concerts with such renowned artists as Joseph Silverstein, Peter Wiley, Roger Tapping, Samuel Rhodes and Arnold Steinhardt. Ms. Lee has participated at the Marlboro Music Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and on a European tour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra as Guest Principal Violist. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in violin performance and a Diploma in viola performance from the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Victor Danchenko, Joseph Silverstein and Joseph DePasquale. She received her master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, working with Donald Weilerstein and Kim Kashkashian. She currently serves as the acting assistant concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Born in Brussels, Belgian violist Dimitri Murrath has made his mark as a viola soloist of the international scene, performing regularly in venues including Jordan Hall (Boston), Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Royal Festival Hall (London), Kioi Hall (Tokyo), the National Auditorium (Madrid), and Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels).
A first prize winner at the Primrose International Viola Competition, Belgian violist Dimitri Murrath has won numerous awards, including second prize at the First Tokyo International Viola Competition, the special prize for the contemporary work at the ARD Munich Competition.
An avid chamber musician, Murrath has collaborated with Miriam Fried, Pamela Frank, Richard Goode, Laurence Lesser, Gidon Kremer, Menahem Pressler, Radovan Vlatkovic, Mitsuko Uchida, and members of the Cleveland, Mendelssohn, Juilliard, Emerson, and Guarneri Quartets.
Violist Dimitri Murrath began his musical education at the Yehudi Menuhin School studying with Natalia Boyarsky, and went on to work in London with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He
graduated with an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory as a student of Kim Kashkashian. He is on the Viola Faculty of New England Conservatory and Longy School of Music.
Judith Serkin began her ‘cello studies in Puerto Rico with Marta Casals Istomin and continued with David Soyer, at the Curtis Institute of Music. She was also a student of Mischa Schneider. Ms. Serkin was a member of
the Iceland Symphony, in Reykjavik, and of both the Guilford and the Hebrew Arts (later known as the Mendelssohn) String Quartets. A founding member of the Soldier Creek Music Festival in Nevada, she has been a participant at both the Yellow Barn and Marlboro Music School and Festivals,in Vermont, and has also been on numerous Music from Marlboro tours. Ms. Serkin has performed across the United States and Canada; in Switzerland; and has toured extensively throughout France and Japan. She makes her home in
Guilford, Vermont and is a member of the Brattleboro Music Center faculty. The instrument that she is playing was made by Joseph Hill, in 1760.
Double bassist Tony Flynt enjoys an active career as a chamber musician, soloist, and orchestral player. Based in Brooklyn, NY, Tony frequently collaborates with East Coast Chamber Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Mark Morris Dance Group, Ensemble ACJW, and with the American Symphony Orchestra as guest principal bass. Tony has also served as guest principal of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Tony has been fortunate to perform with members of the Cleveland, Guarneri, Juilliard, Takacs, and Vermeer Quartets, in addition to appearances with the Borromeo String Quartet and the Peabody Trio. Festival performances include Marlboro, Tanglewood, Verbier, Yellow Barn, and Kneisel Hall, among others. In 2014 and 2015, Tony will join Musicians from Marlboro for national touring.
Tony attended Rice University, graduating cum laude with Bachelor’s degrees in Music and Hispanic and Classical Studies. He completed a Professional Studies Certificate at the Colburn School and received a Masters
degree, with Honors, from the New England Conservatory. While at NEC, Tony was awarded the prestigious Edward Hyde Cox Presidential Scholarship, the Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award, and won the 2011 Vanhal Concerto Competition. As a substitute, Tony has joined the bass sections of the Boston, Houston, and San Diego Symphony Orchestras.
Musicians From Marlboro will perform in Brattleboro, VT on Friday, April 4, 7:30 pm, at Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main Street. To purchase concert tickets, ($30, $20, $10), call the Brattleboro Music Center at 802-257-4523 or visit www.bmcvt.org. The “Musicians From Marlboro” concert is sponsored by Against the Grain Gourmet. Media support for the BMC Chamber Music Series is provided by Vermont Public Radio.
