The concert is set to play on Sunday, March 27th at 3pm.
Newton's New Philharmonia Orchestra (New Phil) continues the 27th season of "Music for All" with New Phil Reawakened - Sights & Sounds on Sunday, March 27th at 3 p.m. The program will celebrate the sights, sounds and tastes of Italy and Latin America. Led by Principal Conductor Jorge Soto and featuring Venezuelan trombonist Angel Subero, the performance will include works by Mendelssohn, William Grant Still, and Astor Piazzolla. To enhance the Latin American experience, the New Phil will be providing guests with a special treat from Che! Empanada in Newtonville to take home following the concert. Tickets for New Phil Reawakened - Sights & sounds at Newton North High School are available now at www.newphil.org.
New Phil Reawakened - Sights & Sounds features Felix Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 4, "Italian". Filled with joy and energy, the piece was inspired by a trip through Italy in 1830. The work was well received at its debut, and was first performed in America in Boston by the German Musical Society in 1851.
The program will also include William Grant Still's "Danzas de Panama." One of the most important and celebrated African-American composers of the twentieth century, Grant Still was inspired to write "Danzas de Panama" for a string quartet after listening to the traditional Panamanian folk music collected by ethnomusicologist Elisabeth Waldo.
Angel Subero joins the New Phil for three movements from Astor Piazzolla's Tango Distinto. Piazzolla was a prolific argentinian composer during the 20th century. His works revolutionized the traditional tango incorporating elements from jazz and classical music.
Subero is a Venezuelan trombonist who attended the Conservatorio Itinerante in Caracas, Venezuela, where he studied with the legendary Michel Becquet. After coming to the United States in 2001, he attended Boston Conservatory, where he studied with Lawrence Isaacson, and New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Douglas Yeo. He also studied with John Rojak at the Aspen Music Festival.
Subero has performed with numerous orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Boston Ballet, Pittsburgh Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, the Venezuela Symphony, Simon Bolivar Symphony, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, to name a few. He has worked with such conductors as John Williams, Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Sir Colin Davis, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Keith Lockhart, and Robert Spano, among many others.
The New Phil is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for our performers and guests. The organization will follow all local and state health guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19.
New Phil Reawakened - Sights & Sounds will be held on Sunday, March 27 at 3:00 p.m. at Newton North High School, 457 Walnut St, Newton, MA. Tickets range from $10 - $50 are available online at http://www.newphil.org/ or by calling the New Philharmonia at 617-527-9717.
About Jorge Soto, Principal Conductor
Jorge Soto is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist with an active and diverse career both in North and South America. Currently, he is the Principal Conductor of the New Philharmonia Orchestra, the Principal Guest Conductor of the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra, and the Music Director of the Sistema Side-by-Side Orchestra at Longy School of Music. In addition to his regular posts, Mr. Soto has collaborated with several orchestras. He has twice conducted the Boston Symphony Chamber Players: first in October 2019 for a performance of Stravinsky's Octet at Jordan Hall, and again at Symphony Hall in December 2020, leading the ensemble in Elena Langer's Five Reflections on Water. The latter performance was filmed and released as part of a BSO streaming concert in January 2021. Mr. Soto also served as assistant or cover conductor on several occasions throughout the BSO's 2020-21 online season.
Born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Mr. Soto is a product of El Sistema, an innovative program that uses classical music as a vehicle for social change. He began his musical studies in Venezuela at the Vicente Emilio Sojo State Conservatory, later studying violin at the Latin American Academy of Violin under Rhio Sanchez and Joseì Francisco Del Castillo. Mr. Soto graduated with a Master of Music degree in conducting from the New England Conservatory.
About the New Philharmonia Orchestra
The New Philharmonia Orchestra, founded in 1995, is a 75-member nonprofessional regional orchestra based in Newton. The orchestra's mission to perform "music for all" has been advanced by presenting programs of diverse repertoires of classical music for the enjoyment of audiences of all ages and experiences. The orchestra also strives to provide its nonprofessional players the opportunity to achieve a high level of ensemble performance not otherwise available.
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