Massapequa Philharmonic Announces Season Kickoff SYMPHONIC SPOOKTACULAR

The Massapequa Philharmonic kicks off its 2022-2023 season with "SYMPHONIC SPOOKTACULAR" featuring the music of Camille Saint-Saëns and Hector Berlioz.

"Through this special program of Halloween-Themed Symphonic Classical Music, our audience will be treated to a transporting experience into the mysterious, evocative and fun world of the Macabre" says Maestro David Bernard. "Here, you will be taken on a wild ride as only symphonic music can take you." says Bernard.

This program is a "Halloween Hit Parade" of works that will vividly evoke the day. The program begins with Saint-Saëns Dance Macabre, which starts with the clock striking 12 and features a xylophone portraying a dancing skeleton. The major work on the program is Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, which takes the audience on a wild ride through twists and turns, leading us to a Witches dance and a fantastic finale. If there were a satellite radio channel with a name like Sirius Fright or XM Exhume, works such as Danse Macabre and Symphonie Fantastique would be featured prominently in their schedule.

The concert also features the celebrated prodigy violinist Kento Hong in his debut with the Massapequa Philharmonic performing Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No. 3.

All audience members are invited to a post-concert reception featuring food sponsored by Mercato Kitchen and Cocktails and IC Bakers. And bring your costumes, because at the reception, there will be a HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST where prizes will be awarded to adults and children.

Admission is a $20 suggested donation to the orchestra. This event will take place on Sunday, October 23 at 3:00PM at Berner Auditorium, 50 Carman Mill Rd, Massapequa.

For additional information, please visit www.massphil.com

SYMPHONIC SPOOKTACULAR

Sunday, October 23rd, 2022

Berner Auditorium

50 Carman Mill Road, Massapequa, NY 11758

Saint-Saëns Dance Macabre, Op. 40

Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No. 3, Kento Hong, Soloist

Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14

3PM Concert, No Tickets Required, Suggested Donation of $20 at the Door

Post-Concert Reception and Costume Contest

Massapequa Philharmonic performances are made possible by the generous support of the Decentralization Program, a regent program of the NY State Council administered by the Huntington Arts Council, the Town of Oyster Bay Arts Council and the Hilaria and Alec Baldwin Foundation.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Kento Hong, violinist

Kento Hong began his violin studies at age six with Aimee Kreston and made his orchestral solo debut two years later in Los Angeles. He has had master classes with notable musicians, including Anne Akiko Meyers, Almita Vamos, and Roland Vamos. At the age of 10, he entered the Julliard Pre-College program, studying with Dr. Ann Setzer, and went on to perform with numerous orchestras as a soloist. Kento was a concertmaster in the Pre-College String Ensemble and performed in the Julliard Fall Benefit Sextet in 2019. Kento has performed in several major venues in New York City and Los Angles, including Carnegie Hall, Zipper Hall, and Merkin Hall. He has participated in and won multiple competitions, including the 2021 Menuhin International Violin Competition, in which he was awarded Grand 4th prize in the Junior Division, and the Chicago Violin Competition, in which he was awarded First Prize Young Artists.

David Bernard, Music Director & Conductor

David Bernard serves as Music Director of the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, Massapequa Philharmonic and the Eglevsky Ballet. He is an active guest conductor, appearing with the Brooklyn Symphony, the Dubuque (IA) Symphony, the Greenwich (CT) Symphony, Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Island Symphony, the Litha Symphony, the South Shore Symphony and ensembles from the Manhattan School of Music. Called "the Johnny Appleseed of Classical Music" by Long Island Weekly, Maestro Bernard has helped the Arts thrive in the New York Metropolitan Area through his innovative approaches to audience and orchestra building as music director and guest conductor.

Bernard is the First Prize winner of The American Prize Orchestral Conducting Competition (professional division) 2019. In presenting this award, the panel of judges commented:

"Conducting from memory, David Bernard exhibits remarkable skill and considerable elan in a vibrant reading of Stravinsky "Rite of Spring." Not content with a cool, furrowed-brow approach to this music, his interpretation is alive to the nuances of color and, indeed, the dramatic arc, of this legendary masterwork. His is a considerable achievement by any standard." -The American Prize Competition Panel

David Bernard's critically acclaimed performances and recordings include Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at Carnegie Hall (" taught and dramatic" Superconductor) , Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" at Lincoln Center ("transcendent...vivid...expertly choreographed" LucidCulture), a complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies praised for its "intensity, spontaneity, propulsive rhythm, textural clarity, dynamic control, and well-judged phrasing" by Fanfare magazine, Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony ("parts emerge like newly scrubbed details in a restored painting. Bernard and his musicians frequently shed new and valuable light on a thrice-familiar standard" Gramophone) and an album of Dvorak's Late Symphonies ("David Bernard treats each of the symphonies with alert and respectful acuity. He trusts Dvořák's metronome markings, often to surprising and exciting effect, and makes sure the narratives unfold with seamless assurance. Bernard shapes the score with fine control, savouring its tender and invigorating material minus mannerism or bluster." Gramophone)

Devoted to the music of our own time, he has presented world premières of scores by Bruce Adolphe, Chris Caswell, John Mackey, Ted Rosenthal and Jake Runestad, and distinguished concert collaborators have included Anna Lee, Jeffrey Biegel, Carter Brey, David Chan, Catherine Cho, Adrian Daurov, Pedro Díaz, Edith Dowd, Stanley Drucker, Bart Feller, Ryu Goto, Whoopi Goldberg, Sirena Huang, Judith Ingolfsson, Yevgeny Kutik, Anna Lee, Jessica Lee, Kristin Lee, Daniela Liebman, Jon Manasse, Anthony McGill, Spencer Myer, Todd Phillips, Kristin Sampson, Cameron Schutza, Inbal Segev and Michelle Stern.

David Bernard is an acclaimed orchestra builder and is sought after for his artistic leadership and innovation in community engagement. Mr. Bernard is Music Director of InsideOut Concerts, Inc., dedicated to helping orchestras grow their audiences through immersive events where audiences sit inside the orchestra during concerts. His InsideOut Concerts have been acclaimed by WQXR, Newsday, ClassicalWorld and the Epoch Times, bringing an unsurpassed experience and level of engagement for the audiences of all ages.

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