PREVIEW PERFORMANCE
Featuring Special Guests Alicia Svigals and Former EMS Faculty Member Tito Muñoz
WHEN: Tuesday, August 14, 2 PM, Thursday, August 16, 1:30 PM
WHERE: Peter Lawrence Gymkana within The Elisabeth Morrow School grounds, located at 435 Lydecker Street.
ADMISSION: Free to General Public
For five days in August, over 200 young violinists, violists, cellists, harpists and bassists will rehearse and perform Bach, Holst, Handel, and Vivaldi in an intensive music training program. (Left: Alicia Svigals)
Community members and media are encouraged to attend the "Preview Performance," during which time students will participate in an open dress rehearsal ahead of the eagerly anticipated, culminating performance of the Festival on the 17th.
Every year, over 300 students audition to participate in this music festival; one-third of the children who were chosen by Gold to participate hail from underserved communities and will receive scholarships and financial aid funded by The Russell Berrie Foundation and private donations. (1/3 of the Students who were chosen by Director Amelia Gold are from underserved communities East Harlem, West Harlem, Bedford Sty and are receiving scholarships and financial aid from The Russell Berrie Foundation)
This year, the Summer String Festival will feature special guest, Alicia Svigals, who Seth Rogovoy, author of The Essential Klezmer, has called "without question the greatest living exponent of the klezmer fiddle...." During the past two decades, Alicia has almost single-handedly revived klezmer fiddle playing. She taught and toured with violinist Itzhak Perlman, who recorded her compositions as duets with Ms. Svigals, and she was awarded first prize at the Safed, Israel international Klezmer Festival competition.
As a part of Alicia Svigals’ Klezmer ensemble, Christina Crowder (accordion), Brian Glassman (bass), and Aaron Alexander (drums) will join her on Tuesday, August 14, at 2 PM. Summer String Festival students will perform alongside these master musicians, while learning the rudiments of Klezmer song and dance. The community is welcome to attend.
Lauded by the Cincinnati Enquirer for his "natural facility and convincing musicianship on the podium," Tito Muñoz is increasingly recognized as one of the most gifted conductors of his generation. Tito began his conducting career at age 16 when he conducted the counselor orchestra at The EMS Summer String Festival. Recently appointed Music Director of the Opéra National de Lorraine and the Orchestre Symphonique et Lyrique de Nancy, he previously served a three year tenure as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and was appointed by Franz Welser-Möst. Tito is also a League of American Orchestras Conducting Fellow. The Maestro returns to camp this summer to work with EMS Summer String Festival students, conduct the faculty and staff in the Faculty Concert, as well as, run a short workshop so students may meet him and be inspired by his amazing story.
Amelia Gold, Music Director for The Elisabeth Morrow School Summer String Festival and Orchestra Director at The Elisabeth Morrow School, is a Juilliard graduate and accomplished violinist. She has accompanied Madonna, toured will the Juilliard Orchestra in France, and coached Meryl Streep for her role in Music of the Heart.
About Elisabeth Morrow School
The Elisabeth Morrow School is an independent, coeducational country day school in Englewood, New Jersey drawing families from Bergen, Rockland, Passaic, Morris, Essex, Union, Hudson Counties and New York City. For seventy-eight years, the School has offered a comprehensive and rigorous educational experience for students three-years old through grade eight. The fourteen acre campus includes six buildings, four state-of-the-art computer labs, two gymnasiums, three science labs, three libraries containing over 30,000 volumes, an athletic field, a certified wildlife habitat with nature trails, running brook, forest, working gardens and three playgrounds. Elisabeth Morrow School 435 Lydecker Street, Englewood, New Jersey 07631 www.elisabethmorrow.org
