The North/south Chamber Orchestra Concludes Its 38th Season Of Concerts With Finale Concert

The North/South Chamber Orchestra concludes its 38th consecutive season of free-admission concerts in New York City on Tuesday evening June 19. Vocalist Sandra Moon will appear as soloist while Max Lifchitz - the ensemble's founder - will be on the podium.

The program celebrates the arrival of summer featuring four luminous compositions by New Yorkers Douglas Hedwig and Max Lifchitz, Italian Carla Magnan and Canadian Leslie Opatril. The event will take place at the intimate and acoustically superior auditorium of Christ & St Stephen's Church (120 West 69th Street) on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The free-admission event will start at 8 PM and end around 9:30 PM. The auditorium is ADA accessible. No tickets or reservations needed.

Since its inception in 1980, the North/South Consonance, Inc. has brought to the attention of the New York City public over 1,000 works by composers hailing from the Americas and elsewhere representing a wide spectrum of aesthetic views. Its activities are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; the BMI Foundation; the Music Performance Trust Fund; and the generosity of numerous individual donors.

Douglas Hedwig performed trumpet with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 27 years before serving as composer-in-residence for the Bush Creek Foundation for the Arts. His Movable Borders for string orchestra reflects Hedwig's travels and cultural exploration in various parts of the world. Hedwig writes that "the work's musical language combines musical elements from Argentina, Hungary, India and Serbia with a bit of Frank Zappa thrown in for good measure."

A dynamic figure in America's musical life, Max Lifchitz was born in Mexico City and has lived in New York since 1966. Active as composer, pianist and conductor, he was awarded first prize in the 1976 International Gaudeamus Competition for Performers of Twentieth Century Music held in Holland. His recently completed Forget Me Not for voice and strings was inspired by poetry of the 19th century American writer Lillian E. Curtis. The cycle consists of four contrasting songs that deal with descriptions of nature as well as feelings of nostalgia, love and longing.

Italian Carla Magnan studied at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena and now teaches at the Verdi Conservatory in Como. Her post-modern style comprises elements derived from classical and baroque forms as well as the most daring experimental ways of writing. Her Una Stanza per Judith (A Room for Judith) is a commentary on the unfortunate fact that many societies have banned women from pursuing their creative dreams. Similarly to Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, Magnan asserts that a woman must have money and a room of her own to write her own music.

Canadian Leslie Opatril is a recent graduate from the University of Ottawa. Her works have been performed by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Sidney Classical Orchestra. Opatril's Caldera evokes the peaceful ebb, flow, and magical luminescence of a dark evening by the ocean.

Soprano Sandra Moon made her professional debut at Chicago's Lyric Opera before making many appearences at the Metropolitan Opera. Her first engagement in Europe was at the Stadttheater in Aachen followed by long-term engagements at the Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe and at Munich's Gärtnerplatz Theater. Her extensive repertoire of over 100 roles earned her invitations to perform with opera companies throughout Europe and the US. In addition to her vocal repertoire, she has performed the role of Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's Tony Award winning play, Master Class.

For the complete Winter/Spring concert series schedule please visit http://www.northsouthmusic.org/calendar.asp