Ensemble ACJW Musicians Launch Second Year of Fellowship Program

-This season, the eighteen young professional musicians of Ensemble ACJW continue their two-year fellowship program with concerts at Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, Skidmore College, National Sawdust, and in community venues throughout New York City. In a particular season highlight, Ensemble ACJW leads a residency in Paris in cooperation with The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations from November 15-20 that will consist of workshops at local Paris schools led by the ACJW fellows as well as concerts at Théâtre du Châtelet and Studio Bastille. The residency concert at Théâtre du Châtelet on November 18 includes a performance of a work written for the group by Meredith Monk, the recent recipient of the United States National Medal of Arts. On November 19 Ensemble ACJW performs works by Boulez, Michael Jarrell, and Phillippe Leroux at Studio Bastille, conducted by Jean-Christophe Vervoitte, horn player with France's noted Ensemble intercontemporain. Ensemble ACJW then travels to Geneva, Switzerland on November 20 for a performance at the Abbaye de Bonmont.

Ensemble ACJW, an inspirational collective of young musicians, was created in 2007 by Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. The two-year fellowship is designed to prepare the finest young professional musicians for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, leadership, and entrepreneurship. It offers performance opportunities, year-long partnerships within New York City public schools, and intensive professional development.

Highlights of Ensemble ACJW's 2015-2016 New York concert season include performances across the city and collaborations with composers Steve Reich, Timo Andres, and Ted Hearne, who the musicians will work with on bringing performances of their music to the stage. The group's concert season at Carnegie Hall begins on Monday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Weill Recital Hall with a program to include Timo Andres's Piano Quintet along with Schumann's Märchenerzählungen, Op. 312 and Brahms's Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in B Minor, Op. 115. The musicians perform Steve Reich's Nagoya Marimbas and Double Sextet along with Schubert's Octet in F Major, D.803, at Juilliard's Paul Hall on Tuesday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m. Ensemble ACJW will also premiere a new work by Ted Hearne, commissioned by Carnegie Hall, on Monday, February 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Weill Recital Hall. The programs with Timo Andres and Ted Hearne will first be performed at Skidmore College, continuing a biannual residency that brings music and community engagement to the Saratoga Springs, New York area. Ensemble ACJW will also begin a partnership with National Sawdust, a new non-profit music venue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, performing three concerts at the venue in 2016, with details to be announced.

In addition to their performances, members of Ensemble ACJW will continue their residencies at 20 New York City public schools this fall, with each musician working alongside a partner music teacher, all bringing their expert musicianship as well as a professional performer's perspective to band, keyboard, and string programs in music classrooms in all five city boroughs. Each member of Ensemble ACJW will develop and play in interactive ensemble concerts, bringing high-quality performances to their school audience as well as to their fellow ACJW colleagues' schools.

Ensemble ACJW 2015-2016 Fellows

Garrett Arney, percussion
Andrea Casarrubios, cello
Stanislav Chernyshev, clarinet
Jacqueline Cordova-Arrington, flute
Elizabeth Fayette, violin
Catherine Gregory (alum), flute
Michael Katz, cello
Dana Kelley, viola
Beomjae Kim, flute
Danny Kim, viola
Siwoo Kim, violin
Jean Laurenz, trumpet
Kobi Malkin, violin
Jenny Ney, french horn
James Riggs, oboe
Shir Semmel, piano
Michael James Smith, piano
Ian Sullivan (alum), percussion
Caleb van der Swaagh, cello
Michael Zuber, bassoon

Ensemble ACJW, 2015-2016 Concert Season

Performances: During the 2015-2016 season, Ensemble ACJW will perform more than ten concerts at a number of venues, including Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall; The Juilliard School's Paul Hall; in New York City community venues as part of free Neighborhood Concerts presented by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute; and at Skidmore College's Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall.

2015-2016 season highlights include:

• Friday, October 16 at Ladd Concert Hall - Ensemble ACJW kicks off its second season with Schumann's Märchenerzählungen, Op. 132, Timo Andres's Piano Quintet, and Brahms's Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in B Minor, Op. 115. This program is repeated on Monday, October 19 at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall.
  
• Tuesday, November 10 at Paul Hall - After working together in a professional development session with composer Steve Reich, Ensemble ACJW performs a free concert featuring two of his works, Nagoya Marimbas and Double Sextet. Also on the program is Schubert's Octet in F Major, D. 803.
  
• Tuesday, December 1 at Weill Recital Hall - Ensemble ACJW performs a program that includes Mozart's Oboe Quartet in F Major, K. 370, Schumann's Piano Trio No. 2 in F Major, Op. 80, and Mendelssohn's String Quintet No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 87.
  
• Thursday, January 7 at Paul Hall - Ensemble ACJW returns to The Juilliard School to perform Kurtág's Wind Quintet, Op. 2, Pintscher's Study II for Treatise on the Veil, and Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4.
  
• Friday, February 12 at Ladd Concert Hall - Ensemble ACJW gives the world premiere performance of a new work by Ted Hearne, commissioned by Carnegie Hall. The program also includes Mozart's Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, K. 493, Beethoven's Duet for Viola and Cello in E-flat Major, "With Two Eyeglasses Obligato," WoO 32, and Hummel's Septet in D Minor, Op. 74. This program is repeated on Monday, February 15 at Weill Recital Hall.
  
• Tuesday, March 8 at Paul Hall - Ensemble ACJW performs a free concert at Juilliard's Paul Hall with a program that includes Heitor Villa-Lobos's Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon; Osvaldo Golijov's The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind; and Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67.
  
• Tuesday, April 12 at Weill Recital Hall - Ensemble ACJW performs an all-American music program featuring Aaron Copland's Quiet City, Steven Mackey's Micro-Concerto, Charles Ives's The Unanswered Question, and Philip Glass's String Quartet No. 5.
  
• Wednesday, June 1 at Paul Hall - Ensemble ACJW pairs Louis Spohr's Septet in A Major, Op. 147 with Beethoven's Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97, "Archduke" in this free concert at The Juilliard School. This program is repeated on Sunday, June 12 at Our Saviour's Atonement Lutheran Church in a free Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert.

Residencies & Special Projects
Paris Residency: Ensemble ACJW takes part in a residency in Paris from November 15-20 made possible by a partnership with The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations. Reflecting the educational and performance work the ensemble does in New York City, fellows will conduct workshops in local schools and give a concert at the Paris Conservatoire for children ages 9-11. The residency includes a private concert for Rothschild guests at the Théâtre du Châtelet, a public performance at Studio Bastille conducted by Jean-Christophe Vervoitte, horn player with Ensemble intercontemporain, and a performance for Rothschild guests at Abbaye de Bonmont in Geneva, Switzerland.

For more information about the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, please visit edrfoundations.org.

Skidmore College: For the ninth consecutive season, Ensemble ACJW returns to Saratoga Springs, New York, for two five-day residencies at Skidmore College from October 13-17, and from February 9-13. While on campus the fellows work with music department faculty and students, offering master classes, lessons, and class demonstrations. The fellows also play side by side with the students of the Skidmore College Orchestra and read student composers' new works. Ensemble ACJW performs in the Arthur Zankel Music Center, presenting concerts that include a world premiere of a Carnegie Hall-commissioned piece by Ted Hearne in February. In addition, the fellows offer collaborative demonstrations and informal performances beyond the music department in classes and the library, and at the Tang Museum as well as in schools and other community venues in Saratoga Springs.

Musical Connections: Ensemble ACJW will continue to work with diverse audiences, engaging in community-based musical work in non-traditional venues across New York City through Musical Connections-a program of Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. Through this program, fellows will bring live music to people coping with challenging circumstances at correctional facilities, healthcare settings, and senior-service organizations throughout New York City.

Alumni Activities
Carnegie Hall maintains close relationships with the program's 83 alumni. As the reputation of Ensemble ACJW has grown, demand for work by its alumni has developed as well. In 2011, Decoda-an ensemble exclusively made up of Ensemble ACJW alumni-was formed. The group was recently named as an affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall. Program alums have also co-founded music ensembles and festivals, such as Third Coast Percussion, Genghis Barbie, New Docta International Music Festival, Scrag Mountain Music, Miami Chamber Music Society, Las Vegas Wine and Music Festival, and New York Chamber Musicians. They are members of world-renowned orchestras and ensembles, such as the New York Philharmonic, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orchestra of St. Luke's, The Knights, and Canadian Brass. Many alumni also hold faculty and guest artist teaching positions at US universities and colleges.

Additionally, alumni perform with current fellows in Ensemble ACJW, lead professional development sessions, serve as advisors for current fellows, and perform as part of the Weill Music Institute's Family Concerts series and Musical Connections program.

Ensemble ACJW
Ensemble ACJW is made up of some of the finest young professional classical musicians in the United States who are taking part in a two-year fellowship program created in 2007 by Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. The program prepares fellows for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership by offering them top-quality performance opportunities, intensive professional development, and the opportunity to partner throughout the fellowship with a New York City public school.

As performers on the concert stage and in their work in schools and communities, musicians of Ensemble ACJW have earned accolades from critics and audiences alike for the quality of their concerts, their fresh and open-minded approach to programming, and their ability to actively engage any audience.

Exemplary performers, dedicated teachers, and advocates for music throughout the community, the forward-looking musicians of Ensemble ACJW are redefining what it means to be a musician in the 21st century.

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