Jay’s Notes

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Dear Friends,

It is with great pleasure that I write this short update of the Sinfonia’s activities. As I suspect you know, we opened our winter concert season on January 7^th at Metropolitan State University, and January 9^th at Temple Israel. What a great way to start! The weather was reasonably cooperative, our soloist, violinist Gary Levinson was terrific, and the orchestra was first rate! And our audiences – packed houses for both concerts. Gary played the Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto No. 5, one of the great and “underplayed” romantic concertos, we premiered Ed Green’s Once Upon a Time – a new work composed especially for the Sinfonia, and, the concert ended with Georges Bizet’s Symphony. We had a great time, and judging by the cheers and standing ovations, so did our audiences.

Our next soloist is Russian cellist, Dmitry Kousov, who is an international prizewinner, and has performed all over the world. Check out his bio.

Dmitry will play one of the greatest classical cello works – Haydn’s D Major concerto. Also on the program will be music by Dvorak, Scarlatti and my newest endeavor, Jewish Sketches, which I have dedicated to my mother, Dorothy Jacobs. The dates are: February 11^th at Metropolitan State University in East St. Paul at 7pm, and February 13^th at 4pm at Temple Israel in Minneapolis.

Life has moved at a rather quick pace these days, and we are excited with the goings on. Our newest endeavor is a partnership with Junior Composers. This is an organization that works with young, talented composers from around the country. They will be holding a two-week workshop in Minneapolis this summer, and our orchestra will play 18-20 of their works, to give them a feel for what a professional orchestra can do with their creations. I will also work with them to give them an idea of how they can work with conductors. And perhaps the icing on the cake will be that the Sinfonia will perform the winning entry for an “overture” contest, to be premiered on the July Lake Harriet “Youth Outreach Concert.” More on that later.

I do hope to see you at one of our upcoming concerts. Until then, I wish you happy listening, jay

Dear Friends,

It is with great pleasure that we are undertaking the beginning of Season number 22! December marks the start of our Music in the Schools program with the first six of 20 Minneapolis and St. Paul inner-city Public Schools to be served. Our program this year is Introducing the Orchestra – the science behind the beautiful sounds our instruments make – with the help of our very talented musicians to be sure.

We will also be offering our Holiday Family Pops – Friday December 3rd at 7pm at Metropolitan State University in East St. Paul, and 2pm on Saturday, the fourth at the Basilica of Saint Mary. These will be fun programs, and will feature Jason Shu, junior winner of last year’s Young Artist Competition, and a mix of familiar classics and great holiday favorites such as Sleigh Ride, White Christmas and the Champaign Polka. All in all, great fun for the whole family, and of course, free admission! Bring the kids!!

A quick plug for the opening of our Winter Concert Series on Friday January 7th at Metropolitan State University and Sunday the 9th at Temple Israel in Minneapolis. Both concerts will feature Russian violinist (by way of Minneapolis) Gary Levinson playing Henri Vieluxtemps’ 5th concerto. Some of you may remember Gary from when he was young and living in Minneapolis, while his father Eugene was principal bass of the Minnesota Orchestra. Eugene later moved on to become the principal bass of the New York Philharmonic, and after completing his studies, Gary became the associate principal at the Dallas Symphony, while at the same time embarking on an international career as a soloist and chamber musician. Also on that program will be Georges Bizet’s Symphony and the world premiere of Ed Green’s latest – Once Upon a Time. This is the fourth piece Ed has composed for us. I am sure that many of you will remember his Pieces for Shakespeare, and his trumpet and saxophone concertos. All are terrific pieces, and very enjoyable both from the musicians’ and audiences’ perspectives. This new work is even better. I told Ed that I think this is the best thing he has composed to date. Plan to come and judge/enjoy for yourselves.

A personal plug. If you are available and interested, Loren Fishman will be giving a doctoral piano recital on Sunday December 5 at the University of Minnesota. He will play Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto (a preview of what he will next perform with us) accompanied by Lydia Artymiw, and a magnificent piano trio by Shostakovich, also featuring Sinfonia violinist Natalia Moiseeva, and cellist Roxana Mendoza Guevara.

I look forward to seeing you all soon. Until then, I wish you a good Thanksgiving, and of course, Happy Listening!

Jay

Dear Friends,

My very best greetings! As we begin another new season, I am happy to report there are several exciting happenings I would like to share with you.

First a big thank you to Emily Lindahl, who was our marketing and administrative assistant this past year who recently moved with her husband to Florida. Emily did some terrific work and I am truly very grateful. We have a new Emily (Matejcek) in our office, and I am very excited. She comes with terrific experience, and I think she will be an outstanding addition to our administration.

Our season is all set! It all starts with our Family Holiday Concerts on December 3rd and 4th. You may remember that because of economic concerns, we did not perform during the holidays last year. We will make up for that this year by performing some all time favorites: Berlin’s White Christmas, Anderson’s Sleigh Ride, and other marvels including the Skater’s Waltz, Champaign Polka, and even a medley from The Sound of Music. And of course there will be lots more!! Do plan to join us.

The Winter Concert Series begins in January and will feature violinist Gary Levinson. I have known Gary for years and years, and I can truthfully tell you he is amazing. And there is even a family connection as well. Gary is Julia’s (our concertmistress) nephew!! We are all very excited, and then some.

You will note I am not doing a video report this month. I have decided to do those quarterly, and then write letters to you in between.

Finally, thanks to all of your continued support, we finished our fiscal year with all bills paid, no outstanding debt, and even some money in the bank. Thank you! I look forward to seeing you at some of our upcoming concerts!

My very best regards,

Jay Fishman

A look at our recent June concerts, a preview of what’s coming up, and a special thanks to our summer supporters! Click the video below to watch.