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Connecticut Post Online (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
September 12, 2008 Friday
New Haven Symphony names concertmaster
By PHYLLIS A.S. BOROS Staff writer
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra has kicked off its 115th anniversary
celebration by announcing the appointment of the noted violin soloist,
recitalist, chamber musician and Yale University professor Ani
Kavafian as its new concertmaster.
At a recent press conference at the Quinnipiack Club in downtown New
Haven, the orchestra's music and artistic director, British conductor
William Boughton, said that engaging a concertmaster of Kavafian's
great stature would help to ensure the NHSO's continued growth and
popularity.
After the conductor, the concertmaster (also known as the first
violinist) is considered key to an orchestra's success.
Boughton compared Kavafian's role to that of superstar soccer
midfielder David Beckham on the Los Angeles Galaxy.
As the leader of the musicians, Kavafian's presence "raises the
standard . . . enormously" for the orchestra, Boughton said.
This season, Kavafian will serve as concertmaster at the Jan. 29 and
March 26 concerts at New Haven's Woolsey Hall. She will join the NHSO
full time beginning with the 2009-'10 season.
Boughton, the founder and former director of the English director of
English Symphony Orchestra, is himself a rather new NHSO
appointment. He was named the NHSO's 10th music director in July of
2007, following a two-year international search. He has relocated from
England to Guilford.
"Chance meetings, encounters, sometimes produce great opportunities
and don't come along that often. When they do, they strike like a
thunderbolt," Boughton said at the event.
"The New Haven Symphony Orchestra's partnership with the violinist Ani
Kavafian in [as the soloist for the East coast premiere of] Ross
Edwards' Violin Concerto in March of 2008 was such an encounter --
[with] a great violinist and musician, as well as a wonderful
person. Our first encounter, and play-through of this demanding music
was a joyful experience which grew with greater intensity at each
subsequent orchestral rehearsal and finally the performance.
"So therefore I am more than delighted to announce that Ani has
accepted the position of concertmaster with the NHSO," the maestro
said.
"I look forward to her partnership in building the NHSO into a fine
ensemble that brings exciting music-making to audiences in Connecticut
and further afield."
Boughton said that Kavafian has delayed her full-time start with the
NHSO because of numerous solo engagements and other commitments,
including serving as an artist with the Chamber Music Society of
Lincoln Center.
Kavafian, who attended the press conference, said she was delighted
with the appointment, and is looking forward to beginning this new
phase of her life, noting that she has not served as a full-time
concertmaster since her student years at the Juilliard School in
Manhattan.
The musician has performed as a soloist with such prestigious
orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra,
the Cleveland Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Minnesota
Orchestra and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Her solo recital engagements have included those at New York's
Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. She also is a
member of the Trio da Salo, a founding member of the Triton Horn Trio
and the Kavafian/Shifrin/Schub Trio. The violinist also frequently
performs and records with her sister, violinist and violist Ida
Kavafian. She performs on a 1736 Muir McKenzie Stradivarius violin.
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, of Armenian descent, Kavafian moved to the
United States with her family at age 9. The musician, who is now a
resident of Westchester County, N.Y., received her master's degree
from the Juilliard School in Manhattan.
SHELTON POPS UPDATE
It was also announced that the NHSO has revised its three-concert
Sunday afternoon Shelton Pops series schedule for the 2008-'09 season
to accommodate one of the stars of the season.
Singer Steve Lippia was to have headlined in a tribute to crooner
Frank Sinatra on Sept. 28 at Shelton Intermediate School. However,
Lippia had a date conflict, which caused the orchestra to reschedule
"Simply Sinatra" for March 8 at 3 p.m.
The pops series will now kick off on Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. with "Best of
Broadway," which had originally been slated for April. Featured will
be baritone Kyle Pfortmiller and soprano Rebecca Robbins. Next up will
be the NHSO's "Holiday Extravaganza" on Dec. 21 at 3 p.m., featuring
soprano Jessica Medoff Bunchman. (This concert also will be offered at
the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University on
Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m.)
All three pops concerts will be under the baton of Gerald Steichen.
In Shelton, single tickets are $33; a three-concert subscription is
$80. All tickets are for general seating.
For additional information on the NHSO season, visit
www.newhavensymphony.org. The NHSO box office is at the Shubert
Theater, 247 College St. in New Haven;
September 12, 2008 Friday
New Haven Symphony names concertmaster
By PHYLLIS A.S. BOROS Staff writer
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra has kicked off its 115th anniversary
celebration by announcing the appointment of the noted violin soloist,
recitalist, chamber musician and Yale University professor Ani
Kavafian as its new concertmaster.
At a recent press conference at the Quinnipiack Club in downtown New
Haven, the orchestra's music and artistic director, British conductor
William Boughton, said that engaging a concertmaster of Kavafian's
great stature would help to ensure the NHSO's continued growth and
popularity.
After the conductor, the concertmaster (also known as the first
violinist) is considered key to an orchestra's success.
Boughton compared Kavafian's role to that of superstar soccer
midfielder David Beckham on the Los Angeles Galaxy.
As the leader of the musicians, Kavafian's presence "raises the
standard . . . enormously" for the orchestra, Boughton said.
This season, Kavafian will serve as concertmaster at the Jan. 29 and
March 26 concerts at New Haven's Woolsey Hall. She will join the NHSO
full time beginning with the 2009-'10 season.
Boughton, the founder and former director of the English director of
English Symphony Orchestra, is himself a rather new NHSO
appointment. He was named the NHSO's 10th music director in July of
2007, following a two-year international search. He has relocated from
England to Guilford.
"Chance meetings, encounters, sometimes produce great opportunities
and don't come along that often. When they do, they strike like a
thunderbolt," Boughton said at the event.
"The New Haven Symphony Orchestra's partnership with the violinist Ani
Kavafian in [as the soloist for the East coast premiere of] Ross
Edwards' Violin Concerto in March of 2008 was such an encounter --
[with] a great violinist and musician, as well as a wonderful
person. Our first encounter, and play-through of this demanding music
was a joyful experience which grew with greater intensity at each
subsequent orchestral rehearsal and finally the performance.
"So therefore I am more than delighted to announce that Ani has
accepted the position of concertmaster with the NHSO," the maestro
said.
"I look forward to her partnership in building the NHSO into a fine
ensemble that brings exciting music-making to audiences in Connecticut
and further afield."
Boughton said that Kavafian has delayed her full-time start with the
NHSO because of numerous solo engagements and other commitments,
including serving as an artist with the Chamber Music Society of
Lincoln Center.
Kavafian, who attended the press conference, said she was delighted
with the appointment, and is looking forward to beginning this new
phase of her life, noting that she has not served as a full-time
concertmaster since her student years at the Juilliard School in
Manhattan.
The musician has performed as a soloist with such prestigious
orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra,
the Cleveland Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Minnesota
Orchestra and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Her solo recital engagements have included those at New York's
Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. She also is a
member of the Trio da Salo, a founding member of the Triton Horn Trio
and the Kavafian/Shifrin/Schub Trio. The violinist also frequently
performs and records with her sister, violinist and violist Ida
Kavafian. She performs on a 1736 Muir McKenzie Stradivarius violin.
Born in Istanbul, Turkey, of Armenian descent, Kavafian moved to the
United States with her family at age 9. The musician, who is now a
resident of Westchester County, N.Y., received her master's degree
from the Juilliard School in Manhattan.
SHELTON POPS UPDATE
It was also announced that the NHSO has revised its three-concert
Sunday afternoon Shelton Pops series schedule for the 2008-'09 season
to accommodate one of the stars of the season.
Singer Steve Lippia was to have headlined in a tribute to crooner
Frank Sinatra on Sept. 28 at Shelton Intermediate School. However,
Lippia had a date conflict, which caused the orchestra to reschedule
"Simply Sinatra" for March 8 at 3 p.m.
The pops series will now kick off on Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. with "Best of
Broadway," which had originally been slated for April. Featured will
be baritone Kyle Pfortmiller and soprano Rebecca Robbins. Next up will
be the NHSO's "Holiday Extravaganza" on Dec. 21 at 3 p.m., featuring
soprano Jessica Medoff Bunchman. (This concert also will be offered at
the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University on
Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m.)
All three pops concerts will be under the baton of Gerald Steichen.
In Shelton, single tickets are $33; a three-concert subscription is
$80. All tickets are for general seating.
For additional information on the NHSO season, visit
www.newhavensymphony.org. The NHSO box office is at the Shubert
Theater, 247 College St. in New Haven;