The Montclair Orchestra Celebrates Rising Stars In 2019-20 Season

The Montclair Orchestra led by Music Director David Chan will open their 5 concert season on September 22, 2019 at 7pm (St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Montclair) with '1001 Nights', an escape to Persia, featuring New York-based Iranian-American composer Behzad Ranjbaran's song cycle Songs of Eternity with rising star soprano, Gabriella Reyes. The original 12th century Farsi poems from the Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam will be read by Montclair's Mahtab Foroughi. The orchestra is then on full virtuosic display, featuring the enchanting music of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, conjuring up images of the sea, a storm, and a young Persian prince and princess.

On November 3, 2019 at 3pm (Central Presbyterian Church, Montclair), the Montclair Orchestra will offer a family-friendly concert featuring Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals. Hear the regal lion, the silly rooster, and the graceful swan, along with the rest of the animals in this family favorite. A special guest (TBA) will join the orchestra to provide the narrations for the journey. Also on the program are a selection of well-known orchestral works, plus an interactive instrument 'petting zoo' to help introduce children of all ages to the instruments that make up the orchestra!

Moving into winter (January 31, 2020 at 8pm, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Montclair), the orchestra explores the baroque style of 'concerto grosso', in which a small group of soloists play with a larger ensemble. They start with the traditional baroque-classical music of J. S. Bach, but then jump forward two centuries to rediscover the form as presented by Stravinsky and Schnittke in the 20th century. MO's very own concertmaster (Daniel Khalikov) and principal second violinist (Quan Yuan) will be featured for this concert!

With spring around the corner (March 8, 2020 at 5pm, Central Presbyterian Church, Montclair), the Montclair Orchestra journeys to bonnie Scotland with their 'Ceud Mìle Fàilte' program! Long an inspiration for artists and composers alike, the craigs, lochs, and moors of Caledonia will be hard in abundance on this mystical evening. Bruch's violin concerto, Scottish Fantasy, will feature Richard Lin, the 2018 Gold Medal winner of the prestigious Indianapolis Violin Competition. Mendelssohn's 3rd Symphony ("Scottish"), will lead the more classical interpretation of the intrigue of the Scots and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies will provide a contemporary view with his celebratory An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise, featuring world-renowned bagpiper Kenneth MacKenzie.

The season comes to an exciting end on April 26, 2020 at 5pm (Central Presbyterian Church, Montclair) with a special partnership with the Metropolitan Opera's prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, featuring the best and brightest vocalists of tomorrow. Celebrated English bass (and Artistic Consultant to the Lindemann Program) Matthew Rose joins five young artists in a joyous romp through the Finale from Act I of Mozart's Così fan tutte, as well as other operatic favorites.

To post a comment, you must register and login.