Joyce DiDonato & Mitsuko Uchida to Lead Young Musician Programs in Early 2016

Following last season's acclaimed series of master classes, open to the public and reaching viewers around the world online at medici.tv, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato returns to Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing for three additional master classes focusing on opera arias on January 8-10, 2016. Four young professional singers-soprano Amalia Avilán Castillo, mezzo-soprano Miya Higashiyama, countertenor Daniel Moody, and bass Anthony Robin Schneider-have been selected to participate, along with pianists Justina Lee and Adam Nielsen. In addition to being open to the public (see ticket information below), the master classes will be available for free on medici.tv, where they will be streamed live and will remain available on-demand for one year following the classes. Additional private sessions on breathing, movement, and career development complete the program.

Last season's master classes from February 21, 22, and 23 are still available for free viewing on medici.tv.

"I think that in these classes, opera lovers can see behind the gloss and the glamour to the profound amount of work it takes to give a polished performance-not to mention a performance that just might transcend," said mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. "These young singers are so brave to open themselves up to this kind of adventure, and I love that the public can come along for the ride."

The following month, pianist Mitsuko Uchida presents a private workshop for classical pianists ages 18-35 from February 24-25, 2016, focusing on the piano concertos of Mozart, repertoire with which she is closely associated. Participating pianists will perform two-piano arrangements of selected concertos, working on both the orchestral and solo parts, under Ms. Uchida's guidance. Invited participants will also have the opportunity to attend Ms. Uchida's Carnegie Hall performance on Tuesday, February 23 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage.

Both events are presented by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute as part of its series of programs for young musicians.

About the Artists
Recipient of the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Solo, Kansas-born Joyce DiDonato's signature roles include the bel canto roles of Rossini, and she also specializes in operas by Handel and Mozart. Ms. DiDonato is in demand on the recital circuit. In 2013, she received critical acclaim for her debut recital tour of South America, where she returned in the summer of 2014. She has recently appeared in concert and recital in Berlin, Vienna, Toulouse, Milan, and Aspen. An exclusive recording artist with Erato / Warner Classics, Ms. DiDonato's Grammy Award-winning solo CD Diva Divo comprises arias by male and female characters, celebrating the dramatic world of the mezzo-soprano. This was followed by Drama Queens, nominated for a 2014 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Solo. A retrospective of her first 10 years of recordings, entitled ReJOYCE!, was released in September 2013. Other honors include the Gramophone Artist of the Year and Recital of the Year awards and a German Echo Klassik award as Female Singer of the Year.

During her Carnegie Hall Perspectives residency last season, Ms. DiDonato showed off a wide range of her interests and talents not just as a leading opera star, but as an educator and passionate advocate for young singers. A particular highlight grew out of her participation in the Weill Music Institute's Lullaby Project-a Carnegie Hall program that engages young mothers from local shelters and prisons in song-writing workshops-when she selected and sang lullabies written by the participants in commissioned arrangements by Luna Pearl Woolf in a Zankel Hall concert with the Brentano String Quartet. She also worked extensively with New York City middle school students. This season, in addition to the master classes, Ms. DiDonato will workshop new songs written for her by inmates at Sing Sing Correctional Facility as part of WMI's Musical Connections program, and also perform them in concert there.

Legendary pianist Mitsuko Uchida brings a deep insight into the music she plays through her own quest for truth and beauty. Renowned for her interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and Beethoven, she has also illuminated the music of Berg, Schoenberg, Webern, and Boulez for a new generation of listeners. Highlights this season include a performance at the BBC Proms with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski, the Berliner Philharmoniker with Sir Simon Rattle as well as play-directing Mozart concerti with The Cleveland Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra with which she will return to the Salzburg Mozartwoche. Recital performances in 2016 include the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Royal Festival Hall in London, and Carnegie Hall in New York.

With a strong commitment to playing chamber music, Ms. Uchida collaborates closely with the world's finest musicians. A European tour with Magdalena Kožená in the autumn will be followed by a performance of the Schumann piano quintet with the Quatuor Ebène at Wigmore Hall. Ms. Uchida will also appear in chamber music programs with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and members of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra with Jörg Widmann. Ms. Uchida's loyal relationship with the finest orchestras and concert halls has resulted in numerous residencies. She has been Artist-in-Residence at The Cleveland Orchestra and at the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Vienna Konzerthaus, Salzburg Mozartwoche, and Lucerne Festival. Carnegie Hall dedicated a Perspectives series to her entitled Mitsuko Uchida: Vienna Revisited, and she was featured at the Concertgebouw in a Carte Blanche series. Ms. Uchida records exclusively for Decca.

About Workshops and Master Classes
Artists on the rise are given valuable access to world-class performers and composers who have established themselves on the Carnegie Hall stages. Participants are selected after responding to an open call for auditions. These up-and coming musicians (ages 18-35) receive coaching and mentoring that assists them in reaching their artistic and professional goals. In addition to the Joyce DiDonato master classes and Mitsuko Uchida workshop, other upcoming master classes and workshops include The Song Continues, an annual celebration of art song founded by mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, from January 19-23; and a weeklong workshop led by Kronos Quartet exploring new works commissioned as part of Fifty for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire, from April 9-15. The workshops are tuition-free for participants. Additional information and online applications are available at carnegiehall.org/workshops.
Program Information
Friday, January 8 at 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 9 at 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 10 at 4:00 p.m.
Resnick Education Wing
JOYCE DIDONATO MASTER CLASS
Amalia Avilán Castillo, Soprano
Miya Higashiyama, Mezzo-Soprano
Daniel Moody, Countertenor
Anthony Robin Schneider, Bass
Justina Lee, Piano
Adam Nielsen, Piano

Tickets: $15

Workshops and master classes are made possible, in part, by Mr. and Mrs. Nicola Bulgari and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

Ticket Information
Tickets can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org. Tickets are not available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office.

Photo by Chris Lee

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