Gil Morgenstern's Reflections Series International Returns To City Winery

Tickets: $40 General Admission
To purchase:  City Winery

Violinist Gil Morgenstern's Reflections Series International is pleased to return to City Winery after its sold out inaugural performance last December. Reality Chamber Theatre, a series of informal, interactive concerts designed to pull back the curtain on the creative process, aims to speak to both traditional and new audiences. Over the next several seasons, the series will invite audiences to be witness to and a part of the nuts and bolts of creating exciting and illuminating programs. With an increasing emphasis on collaboration between contemporary artists and public experimentation, Reality Chamber Theatre will showcase works performed in real time and of our time. Audiences are invited to ask the questions they don't get to ask at other performances - to come and take a peek under the hood.

The concert on May 9th will feature the music of familiar masters as well as that of their more contemporary descendants including works by Lera Auerbach, Bright Sheng, Reinhold Glière, Bruce Saylor, Erwin Schulhoff and Maurice Ravel. Joining Mr. Morgenstern will be cellist, Ole Akahosi, and Obie-Award winning actor Bill Camp, narrating excerpts from Dante's Inferno in dialogue with Bruce Saylor's "Dante Suite for Solo Violin."

The Winery room at City Winery is the perfect venue for this type of presentation: located in SoHo's dynamic Hudson Square, it's a fully functioning winery by day and one of the most unique and intimate performance spaces by night (seating capacity 50). Much as with Reflections' Reality Chamber Theatre, the process is clearly on display with its large stainless steel vats of wine as well as exposed wine-making equipment. There simply is no other space like it in Manhattan - and Reality Chamber Theatre aims to be like no other performance series.

ABOUT GIL MORGENSTERN:

Acclaimed for his artistry and technical brilliance as soloist with orchestra, in recital or as a chamber musician, violinist Gil Morgenstern has performed all over the world to overwhelming critical praise ("a perfect demonstration of supreme ability" The New York Times). Performing in public since he was five years old, Morgenstern has gone on to perform all across the globe, playing in such musical centers as New York, London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Berlin and Hong Kong. He has toured extensively throughout the United States, appearing in recital and with many leading orchestras including the, St. Louis, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Denver, Milwaukee, New Jersey and North Carolina Symphonies. Morgenstern has collaborated with many eminent artists in all disciplines including musicians Lynn Harrell, Philippe Entremont, André-Michel Schub, Sharon Isbin; United States Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa; the actress Claire Bloome; performance artist Laurie Anderson; and the Juilliard Dance Ensemble at Lincoln Center. He has been the subject of numerous television and radio shows both at home and abroad, and his performances can be regularly heard on National Public Radio broadcasts. Morgenstern's latest recording, 20th Century Duos for Violin and Cello was the No. 1 classical CD for over a month on emusic, the largest online store for independent music in the world, and was one of the top ten bestselling classical music albums on Amazon. Morgenstern records for the MMC, Engine Company and Koch International Classics labels.

Growing out of a long-standing interest in exploring new and innovative ways of communicating with audiences, Morgenstern founded Reflections Series International with the goal of creating original programs that explore the intersections of music, visual art, cinema, dance, poetry and prose. Morgenstern invites audiences to reflect on the relationships between artistic disciplines and to reflect anew on universal themes. Since its inaugural performance in 2007, Reflections Series International has grown to have a presence throughout the United States and Europe.

Mr. Morgenstern's many honors include a command performance at the White House when he was just 21 years old and a citation from the floor of the House of Representatives entered in the Congressional Record for Outstanding Service in the Arts. He resides in New York City.

REFLECTIONS SERIES INTERNATIONAL presents unique and original programming of the highest quality, combining the intimacy of chamber music with the tools of theater, inviting artists of different disciplines to expand performance traditions and create new works. Reflections seeks to attract new audiences of diverse ages and backgrounds through a body of original, thought-provoking programming.

CELLIST OLE AKAHOSHI from Germany has performed in recitals and as a soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras on four continents. He has won numerous competitions including Concertino Praga and Jugend Musiziert. He is also recipient of the fellowship award from Charlotte White's Salon de Virtuosi. Akahoshi has performed in many prestigious concert halls worldwide and his performances have been featured on CNN, NPR, Sender-Freies-Berlin, RIAS-Berlin and Korean Broadcasting Station, among others. He has also made recordings for the Albany, New World Records and Composers Recording Inc., to name a few. He has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Sarah Chang, Ani Kavafian, Wolfgang Schultz, Naoko Yoshino and Hyuna Yu. At age 11, Ole Akahoshi was the youngest student to be accepted by Pierre Fournier. He has received his bachelors from Juilliard and master's degree from Yale University. Akahoshi has served as teaching assistant for both Aldo Parisot and Janos Starker. He has been teaching at the Manhattan School of Music since 2004. He joined the faculty of the Yale School of Music in 1997 and is assistant professor of cello at Yale University.

ACTOR Bill Camp most recently starred in HBO's critically acclaimed limited series The Night Of, alongside John Turturro and Riz Ahmed directed by Steve Zaillian and written by Richard Price. He has just signed on to play FBI veteran Robert Chesney in the upcoming Hulu series The Looming Tower, based on Lawrence Wright's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that chronicles the events that led to the September 11 terrorist attacks. He is currently filming The Land Of Steady Habits both written and directed by Nicole Holofcener with Anthony Bregman of Likely Story producing. This year alone Bill has key roles in Midnight Special and Loving (both from writer-director Jeff Nichols) as well as Jason Bourne directed by Paul Greengrass. Additionally, Bill shot a pivotal role in Molly's Game directed by Aaron Sorkin and co-starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan in Wildlife, Paul Dano's directoral debut. Other upcoming films include Gold directed by Stephen Gaghan, The Killing of a Sacred Deer directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, and Woman Walks Ahead directed by SusAnna White. Bill is notably set for Scott Cooper's latest feature, Hostiles, which marks his second time working with Cooper, as the duo previously collaborated on Black Mass. Bill has also appeared in Aloha for director Cameron Crowe, Birdman (Academy Award Winner, Best Picture) for director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Love & Mercy, 12 Years a Slave, Lincoln Compliance, Lawless, Tamara Drewe and Public Enemies. On the small screen he has played recurring roles on The Leftovers, Manhattan, Boardwalk Empire and Damages. A veteran of the stage, Bill received a Tony Award nomination earlier this year for his performance as Reverend John Hale in Arthur Miller's The Crucible, directed by Ivo Van Hove and produced by Scott Rudin. He is an alumnus of The Juilliard School and recipient of several awards and honors, including the Obie, Elliot Norton, Drama Desk, and Boston Critics Association.

All music and artists subject to change

TTickets: $40 General Admission
City Winery

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
www.ReflectionsSeries.com