Kupferberg Center for the Arts Presents Academy of St Martin in the Fields, 3/10

The Kupferberg Center for the Arts will present the exclusive performance of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Alisa Wellerstein, Cello and Inon Barnatan, piano on Sunday, March 10, 2013 at the Colden Auditorium at 3:00 pm. Tickets are $32-$54 and can be purchased by calling the Kupferberg Center Box Office at 718.793.8080 or online at KupferbergCenter.org.

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is universally regarded as one of the finest chamber orchestras in the world. Hailed as "lithe and elegant" by The New York Times and "stunning" by the Los Angeles Times, The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields continues to receive the highest accolades for its steadfast demonstration of outstanding musicianship.

Formed in 1958 from a group of leading London musicians, and working without a conductor, the Academy gave its first performance in its namesake church in 1959. Originally directed by founder Sir Neville Marriner, the most prolific classical recoding artists in the world, the spirit and agility of the originAl Small, conductorless ensemble remains an Academy hallmark.

The Academy is one of the most recorded chamber orchestras in the world, demonstrating the high esteem in which it is regarded in the orchestral community. Today, the Academy's music director is acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell, assuring an evening of truly exceptional music.

The evening's program includes: Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op.10; Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major, J.S. Bach: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052, Haydn: Symphony No.45 in F-sharp minor 'Farewell'.

Performing with the Academy is American cellist Alisa Weilerstein. She has attracted worldwide attention for playing that combines a natural virtuosic command and technical precision with impassioned musicianship. The intensity of her playing has regularly been lauded, as has the spontaneity and sensitivity of her interpretations. Following her Zankel Hall recital debut in 2008, Justin Davidson of New York Magazine said: "Whatever she plays sounds custom-composed for her, as if she has a natural affinity with everything." In September 2011 she was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow and in 2010 she became an exclusive recording artist for Decca Classics, the first cellist to be signed by the prestigious label in over 30 years. Ms. Weilerstein's debut album with Decca, set for release in November 2012, will feature performances of the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor and the Elliott Carter Cello Concerto with conductor Daniel Barenboim and the Berlin Staatskapelle.

Ms. Weilerstein will make her debut with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in March for a 16-city tour with Mr. Barnatan.

Pianist Inon Barnatan is widely recognized for refined, communicative, insightful playing that combines an extraordinary depth of musicianship and an impeccable, virtuosic technique. Hailed by The New Yorker as "a pianist of uncommon sensitivity," Mr. Barnatan is often praised for his naturally expressive, poetic music making.

Since moving to the United States from Israel in 2006, Mr. Barnatan has performed with many of the most esteemed orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the symphony orchestras of Dallas, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Houston, Philadelphia and San Francisco. He has toured with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields as a conductor and soloist, and has performed in New York at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and at the 92nd Street Y, at San Francisco's Herbst Theater and Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, among many other important venues. In 2009, he was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, an honor reflecting the strong impression he has made on the American music scene in such a short period of time.

An avid chamber musician, Mr. Barnatan was a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's CMS Two program from 2006 to 2009, and is still a regular performer on CMS programs at home in New York and on tour.