Newman & Oltman: Christmas Pastorale
WHEN: Sunday, December 16, at 3:00 pm
WHERE: St. Andrew’s Church, 50 York Street, Lambertville
Hailed as a “revelation to hear” by The Washington Post, the Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo’s phenomenal musicianship places them solidly at the top of their field. Their innovative programming, matchless technique and ensemble precision, combined with their commitment to expanding the repertoire for guitar duo, make them a chamber ensemble of world renown.
Newman and Oltman’s concert tours have taken them to world cultural capitals and premiere venues across five continents, the Caribbean, and South Pacific. In addition to their international engagements, they have performed at Carnegie Hall, aboard Queen Elizabeth II, Caramoor, and the Grand Canyon. The Duo has demonstrated extraordinary stylistic breadth in their collaborations with such diverse artists as composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch and the Pittsburgh Symphony, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, fiddler Eileen Ivers, pianist Clarice Assad, violinist Tim Fain, and the ETHEL, Calder and Turtle Island string quartets.
Newman & Oltman will celebrate the premiere of a new work written and dedicated to them by renowned Cuban composer Leo Brouwer in the spring of 2019. The duo hosted Brouwer last spring during a rare US appearance at Mannes School of Music. Highlights of recent and upcoming performances include the world premiere of Concierto Buenos Aires composed for the Duo by Nuevo Tango Master Daniel Binelli with l’Orchestre de l’Opéra de Reims in France. Following on the success of the concerto’s French debut, the Duo “charmed the Ferguson audience with phenomenal musicianship” (Gazette-Journal) when they performed it with the Virginia Symphony. This summer Michael and Laura returned to teach and perform at the Lanciano International Guitar Seminar in Abruzzo, Italy where they are co-artistic directors. They also performed as guest artists and master class presenters at the Camino Artes Guitar Workshop in Palencia, Spain and at the Festival de Violäo in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Through their groundbreaking new music-commissioning program, Newman & Oltman have built a unique repertoire of works for two guitars by composers such as Paul Moravec, Augusta Read Thomas, Lowell Liebermann, Dušan Bogdanovic, Arthur Kampela and Roberto Sierra. Fanfare Magazine hailed the Duo’s latest CD, Music from Raritan River as “top-notch” and “a winner all around.” The recording features a collection of world premieres commissioned by the Duo over the past decade. Their artistry has also been captured on nearly a dozen other acclaimed recordings and has been recognized by grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America and ASCAP.
In addition to founding and serving as artistic directors of the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes, Michael Newman and Laura Oltman have served as ensemble-in-residence at Mannes College of Music since 1987. They are also founders and artistic directors of the Raritan River Music Festival which will mark its 29th season this year.
