The Goldman Sonnenfeldt Auditorium to Present PREFORMANCES WITH ALLISON CHARNEY 12/5

"PREformances with Allison Charney" December 5th Concert to feature violinist Laura Goldberg, composer Moshe Knoll, soprano, Indira Mahajan, mezzo-soprano Sara Murphy and Russian-born American pianist Julia Zilberquit.

PHOTO CAPTION: (LEFT TO RIGHT) Indira Mahajan, Julia Zilberquit, Laura Goldberg, Sara Murphy; with Moshe Knoll, far right

"PREformances with Allison Charney" December 5th concert heralds the holidays with featured guests violinist Laura Goldberg, composer and pianist Moshe Knoll, soprano, Indira Mahajan, mezzo-soprano Sara Murphy and Russian-born American pianist Julia Zilberquit. Joining founder and host, soprano Allison Charney and PREformances' collaborative pianist Craig Ketter in performance, the festive program includes contemporary classical compositions, operatic and oratorio masterworks, and selections by Bach-Siloti, Rachmaninoff and Nicolas Slonimsky, as well as seasonal songs by Pietro Yon/Frederick Marten and Hugo Wolf.

"PREformances third concert of its 2016-17 classical music series will take place at the JCC Manhattan's 220 seat performance space, the Goldman Sonnenfeldt Auditorium, located in New York City's upper west side. The popular series, now in its 8th season, conceived by Allison Charney as a unique concert opportunity invites audience to hear"celebrated classical musicians just before they take on the worlds' most prestigious stages." The experience of PREformances"reimagines" the relationship between artist and audience. Guests regularly include many of classical music's most distinguished artists, who relish the unique opportunity 'PREformances offers to artists, and audience, alike.

For the December's concert PREformances curator Allison Charney has assembled an exceptional program celebrating an internationally inspired repertoire and roster.

Violinist Laura Goldberg will play "American Patriotic Medley" arranged and performed by composer and pianist Moshe Knoll. Noted Violinist Laura Goldberg is a seasoned performer of chamber music, a dynamic soloist and teacher. Ms. Goldberg is the founder of ArtsAhimsa, an international network of artists and friends creating concert events dedicated to promoting cross cultural understanding and nonviolence. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she has played the Mendelssohn Concerto with the BSO as well as with the Wellesley Symphony, the Beethoven Concerto with the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra (NH) and "The Lark Ascending" with the Bucknell University Orchestra (PA). She is a featured performer at Bargemusic in Brooklyn, NY, where she often performs in a string quartet with Bargemusic Artistic Director and noted Russian virtuoso violinist Mark Peskanov. Ms. Goldberg was a founding member of the Cassatt quartet, which earned top prizes at the Banff, Coleman and Fischoff competitions and held chamber music residencies at Caramoor, Tanglewood, Juilliard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival. Laura teaches chamber music at The Juilliard School in the pre-college division and is the Music Chair at Belvoir Terrace, a summer fine arts center for girls in Lenox, Ma. Through ArtsAhimsa, she has presented more than thirty concert events since 2004 including the celebration of the International Day of Non-Violence, established by the United Nations, at the Rubin Museum of Art in NY, also recitals in New York, Boston, Calcutta, New Delhi, London, and Beijing. Upcoming events include the seventh annual ArtsAhimsa Music Festival at Belvoir Terrace, a weeklong chamber music festival for both professional and amateur chamber music players. She is a board member of ACMP (Associated Chamber Music Players' Network), as well as DAHA (Dvorak American Heritage Association).

Israeli Pianist-Composer Moshe Knoll has performed in Israel with noted musicians, who include Chilean soprano Macarena Lopez-Lavin, the American flutist Wendy Eisler-Kashy (Duo Ha-Sharon), the French violin virtuoso Gabriel Chouraki, the Israeli flutist Ya'arah Wein-Tzafrir, and the Israeli cellist Rivkah Peled (Classical Duo Ha-Menagnim). His solo performances have included recitals in NYC at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall; Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center; the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium at the United Nations; several concerto performances with orchestras in Venezuela, as well as a concerto recording with the London Symphony Orchestra. He won the "Artist of the year 1987 Award" from the Pianist's Foundation of America, Tucson, AZ. Dr. Knoll's compositions have been performed at various venues in both Venezuela and Israel; in the USA his music has been heard at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Brunswick, ME, as well as at the Chautauqua Music Festival; Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall; Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center; the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium at the United Nations; the Donnell and Lincoln Center branches of the New York City Public Library, the PREformances Series at the JCC in Manhattan, the Calhoun School, LyricaFest Chamber Music Festival, Lincoln, MA and at the ArtsAhimsa Music Festival in Lenox, MA. Dr. Knoll sits on the board of DAHA (Dvorak American Heritage Association).

He received his B.M. and M.M. Degrees from The Juilliard School, where he studied Piano with Herbert Stessin, William Masselos and Beveridge Webster and Composition with David Diamond and Richard Danielpour. He holds a D.M.A. Degree from the University of Arizona, where he studied Piano with Ozan Marsh and Composition with Robert Muczinski and Daniel Asia. Dr. Knoll has also studied Harpsichord playing and Basso Continuo with Yochebed Schwartz and Miri Singer in Israel. Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, and living for many years in Israel before his recent return to New York, Moshe is a versatile performer whose repertoire embraces a variety of style-periods from the Baroque to our time. A Staff Pianist at The Mannes College, The New School for Music; Moshe has also taught at the Connecticut Conservatory of Music and Dance, New Milford, CT; The Mary Louis Academy, Jamaica Estates, NY; Temple Israel Center, White Plains, NY; The Music Institute of Long Island, Manhasset, NY; the Ra'anannah Municipal Conservatory, and at the Petakh-Tikva Municipal Conservatory of Music in Israel. He has also worked as Harpsichordist, Arranger and Librarian for the "Apollonia Ensemble for Early Music" in Herzliyah, Israel. Currently, he holds the positions of Composer-in-Residence and Director of Musical Research at ArtsAhimsa; as well as Faculty member of the ArtsAhimsa Music Festival, at Belvoir Terrace, Lenox, MA.

Soprano, Indira Mahajan, returns to PREformances to sing "In questa reggia" from Puccini's Turandot, in anticipation of a debut in the title role in 2017. New York audiences have enjoyed her performances with the New York Philharmonic, as soloist at Carnegie Hall and has also performed a benefit recital for Classical Action: Performing Arts Against Aids. In demand by opera companies, orchestras and recital presenters worldwide, Ms. Majahan's operatic highlights include the title roles in Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Suor Angelica, the roles of Musetta and Mimi in La Bohème, the title role of Aida, Violetta in La Traviata, Gilda in Rigoletto, Nedda in Pagliacci the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, Susanna in the Marriage of Figaro and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. Indira Mahajan made her United Kingdom debut singing the role of Mimi in Francesca Zambello's production of La Bohème at the Royal Albert Hall in London. . Indira is considered one of the most celebrated interpreters of the role of Bess, audiences on five continents have enjoyed her more than 120 appearances in Porgy and Bess. The Internationally acclaimed soprano has also appeared in Gershwin's masterpiece in the major Capital Cities of Amsterdam, Munich, Paris, Rome, São Paulo and Tokyo. Across the United States, she has performed the role at Washington National Opera, Dallas Opera and Los Angeles Opera. A frequent guest artist with orchestras across America, she has performed Handel's Messiah with the Baltimore Symphony, Harbison's The Flight into Egypt, and Previn's Honey and Rue which she then programmed as part of her debut recital at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Indira Mahajan's orchestral repertoire extends from works in the Baroque and Classical genres to the foremost composers of today. She recently performed Steven Stucky and Gene Scheer's riveting oratorio "August 4, 1964" with the Dallas Symphony, at Meyerson Symphony Hall in Dallas and at Carnegie Hall. She has performed Beethoven's Symphony no. 9 with both Gustavo Dudamel's Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra in Caracas and with the Korean Broadcast Symphony Orchestra at the United Nations, as well as Beethoven's Mass in C with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica. Miss Mahajan has performed with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow Chamber Choir. Indira Mahajan holds a Master of Music degree from Mannes College of Music, a Bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and a diploma from the Accademia Musicale Ottorino Respighi. She resides in New York with her husband Craig Sirianni, noted international tenor and voice teacher, and their young daughter Isabella.

Mezzo-soprano Sara Murphy returns to New York City and PREformances from her successful company and role debut this October at the Opera Theater of Rome as Ulrica in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera under the baton of Jesús López-Cobos. As a special treat, Sara Murphy will sing the duets 'Recordare' from Verdi's Requiem and Delibes' beloved 'Flower Duet' from Lakme with series host, soprano Allison Charney as well as the beloved seasonal composition by Pietro Yon/Frederick Martens "When Blossoms Flowered 'mid the Snows" and a solo performance of Hugo Wolf's "Schlafendes Jesuskind."

Ms. Murphy is a concert, opera and recital artist who has been called "absolutely unforgettable for her versatility and ability to conquer any sensitive soul" (El Nacional, Dominican Republic) has been described as "a gorgeous, deep, dark mezzo-soprano" (New York Times). Her current season highlights include two appearances at New York City's Carnegie Hall: A Prayer for Peace featuring the music of Leonard Bernstein and Turkish composer Ahmed Adnan Saygun with MidAtlantic Opera under the baton of Jason Tramm and Handel's Messiah with Oratorio Society of New York. Sara appears again with Oratorio Society of New York in two performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 8"Symphony of a Thousand," one with full orchestra and one with a world premiere organ transcription by David Briggs. Sara returns to Cincinnati May Festival as Emilia in Verdi's Otello and mezzo soprano soloist in Mendelssohn's Elijah. During 2014-2015, performances included the Ligeti Requiem, Schnittke's Nagasaki and Hindemith's The Long Christmas Dinner with American Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leon Botstein, Handel's Messiah and the Verdi Requiem with Oratorio Society of New York conducted by Kent Tritle and a recital at Cincinnati May Festival. In 2013-2014, she debuted at Cincinnati's May Festival in Mahler's Symphony No. 8, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Tchaikovsky's Ode to Joy with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Conlon. Other notable performances included the Verdi Requiem at Bard College with conductor Leon Botstein and Elgar's Dream of Gerontius at Berkshire Choral Festival with conductor Kent Tritle. Sara debuted at the Ravinia Festival in 2013 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Conlon, earning critical acclaim for Britten's Phaedra, Barber's Dover Beach and High Priestess in Verdi's Aida from the Chicago Tribune: "Sara Murphy brought a rich, voluminous mezzo voice, excellent diction and an acute feeling for words and music." The 2013 season also included numerous performances of the Verdi Requiem as well as two concerts with the MidAtlantic Opera Orchestra and conductor Jason Tramm. Additionally, she joined the Ensemble for the Romantic Century for the theatrical concert Frankenstein singing music of Bach and Schubert, and was alto soloist in Handel's Messiah and the Rachmaninoff Vespers. Sara was the first-prize winner in the 2013 Oratorio Society of New York Solo Vocal Competition and received an Inter-Cities Performing Arts grant in the same year.Since 2012 Sara has appeared in concert and semi-staged productions of Wagner's Die Walküre (Fricka), Verdi's Il Trovatore (Azucena) and Aida (Amneris). She has also performed abridged versions or scenes from Verdi's Don Carlo (Eboli), Un Ballo in Maschera (Ulrica) and Nabucco (Fenena); Wagner's Lohengrin (Ortrud) and Die Walküre (Sieglinde); Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana (Santuzza); Mozart's Don Giovanni (Donna Elvira), Bellini's Norma (Adalgisa) and Puccini's Madama Butterfly (Suzuki).

Sara is a frequent soloist on the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series in New York City, performing such works as Mozart's Requiem and Solemn Vespers, Bach's Magnificat, Szymanowski's Stabat Mater, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Duruflé's Requiem and the Rachmaninoff Vespers. In addition to these works, her oratorio repertoire includes Verdi's Requiem, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, Dvorak's Stabat Mater, Handel's Messiah and Beethoven's Mass in C. In recital, Sara has frequently presented Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder and Mahler's Rückert Lieder, and her collaborators have included pianist Dalton Baldwin and duo pianists Pascal and Ami Rogé. Sara earned a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and a Master's degree from Catholic University. In 2010 she was awarded an honorable mention in the George London Foundation Competition and was a finalist in the Joy in Singing Competition, as well as a recipient of a Wagner Society of New York grant. Her recordings include the recently released Hindemith's "The Long Christmas Dinner" on Bridge Records which was named one of the "Top Ten Opera Recordings of 2015" in Opera News, and made the top of Arts Beat's playlist in the New York Times.

A highly-anticipated appearance by Russian-born American pianist Julia Zilberquit awaits December's audiences. Ms. Zilberquit will play works by Bach-Siloti, Rachmaninoff and the infrequently heard composer Nicolas Slonimsky. Russian-born American pianist Julia Zilberquit has earned critical acclaim as a recitalist, orchestral soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist. She was praised by The New York Times as "an outstanding soloist" after her Carnegie Hall performance of Cesar Franck's symphonic poem Les Djinns for piano and orchestra with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Zilberquit also premiered her own arrangement of Shostakovich's Concertino for piano and orchestra at Carnegie Hall and recorded it with Vladimir Spivakov and the Moscow Virtuosi. In 2014 Warner Classics released her CD, Bach: Complete Solo Keyboard Concertos; Bach-Vivald, hailed as a "gorgeous rendition" by the prestigious Gramophone Magazine. In commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the State of Israel, Ms. Zilberquit performed Slonimsky's, The Jewish Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, dedicated to her by the composer.

Ms. Zilberquit has been a guest soloist with numerous orchestras, including The Brooklyn Philharmonic, Russian State Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Deutsche Symphony, Moscow Soloists, Cairo Symphony, Moscow Virtuosi, Bolshoi Orchestra, Musica Viva, "I Musici de Montréal", The Russian Philharmonia, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonietta Cracovia, and Sinfonia Varsovia. Ms. Zilberquit has given recitals at the world's major halls including New York's Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, and the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. Her engagements at major international music festivals include appearances in Seattle, Colmar (France), Klangbogen (Vienna), Valery Gergiev's "White Nights" (St. Petersburg), Richter's "December Nights" (Moscow), "The Palaces of St. Petersburg," Bard Music Festival in New York, and the Penderecki Festival (Poland). A native of Moscow, Julia Zilberquit was born into a family of musicians. She graduated from Moscow Gnessin School of Music and The Juilliard School (class of Bella Davidovich). She lives in New York City with her husband, son, and daughter.

ABOUT 'PREFORMANCES WITH ALLISON CHARNEY'

The inspiration for PREFORMANCES draws from host Allison Charney's personal perspective as both an audience member and performer whose experience includes singing Puccini's leading soprano roles with New York City Opera and opera companies throughout the country. "In each concert, PREFORMANCES seeks to provide artists and audience the unique experience obtained in an intimate concert venue where traditional boundaries between performer and audience are deconstructed and reimagined" said Allison. "While PREFORMANCES concerts are professionally rehearsed and not impromptu, the experimental dimension of the performance, allowing artists the opportunity to explore new material outside of the intended performance context, is fully realized."

Located on 76th Street and Amsterdam, Goldman Sonnenfeldt Auditorium is a key cultural asset of the JCC Manhattan, a vibrant non-profit community center on the Upper West Side and home to the Lambert Center for Arts + Ideas, presenter of PREFORMANCES WITH ALLISON CHARNEY. The cornerstone of progressive programming in Manhattan, the JCC serves over 55,000 people annually through 1,200 programs each season that educate, inspire, and transform participants' minds, bodies, and spirits. Since its inception, the JCC has been committed to serving the community by offering programs and services that reach beyond neighborhood boundaries. Programs at the JCC reach people at all stages of their lives, and serve the entire family and community. Proceeds from PREFORMANCES WITH ALLISON CHARNEY help support the pivotal work of The Basser Center for BRCA and the breadth of arts programing at the JCC.

PREFORMANCES WITH ALLISON CHARNEY

With violinist Laura Goldberg, composer and pianist Moshe Knoll; soprano, Indira Mahajan, mezzo-soprano Sara Murphy and Russian-born American pianist Julia Zilberquit.

Monday December 5 at 12:30 PM

The Goldman Sonnenfeldt Auditorium

JCC Manhattan, Lambert Center for Arts + Ideas

334 Amsterdam Avenue at West 76th Street, NY

Accessible by Subway: 1/2/3 to 72nd St.; Bus: M7 or M11 to West 75th Street

TICKETS: General Admission $15, JCC Members $10; Seniors/Students $5

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