Jon Lehrer Dance is an exciting and innovative professional dance ensemble based in New York City. Under the direction of Jon Lehrer, the ensemble showcases Jon's unique choreography and embodies his definitive style. Jon's extensive background in both the modern and jazz dance idioms fosters choreography that is organic, artistic, accessible and often humorous, reflecting life experience and the human condition.
Jon Lehrer's style is based on three main elements of movement: circularity, 3-dimensionality, and momentum. These combine to create a form that is best described as "organically athletic," integrating the approach and fluidity of modern dance and the excitement and energy of jazz dance.
Jon Lehrer took his first dance class at age 19 at the University at Buffalo. While dating a dancer, Jon teased her about how easy it must be to get an A in a dance class. The girl dared Jon to try a beginning level modern dance class and his life was changed. Jon ultimately received his B.F.A in Dance from the University at Buffalo.
As a professional, Jon has danced with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company,Paul Sanasardo, John Passafiume Dancers, in Merv Griffin's "Funderful" and the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. In 1997, Jon was hired by Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, and after three years, was promoted to Rehearsal Director and then given the position of Associate Director two years later. During his ten years with Giordano, Jon also became the resident choreographer, creating seven original works on the company that received rave reviews all around the world.
In July 2007, Jon began his much anticipated professional dance company which showcases his unique choreography. Jon's extensive background in both the modern and jazz dance idioms fosters choreography that is organic, artistic, accessible and often humorous, reflecting life experience and the human condition. In it's short history, the company has received much international recognition and critical acclaim, keeping audiences around the world and throughout the US on the edge of their seats with their trademark athletic style. As Dance Magazine said, "...took the house not so much by storm as by quantum physics. Jon Lehrer's strikingly original choreography transformed the stage into an energy field of super-charged particles."
The Jon Lehrer Dance Home Page
Program Notes for the Evening's Concert.
Violinist Simone Porter has been recognized as an emerging artist of impassioned energy, interpretive integrity, and vibrant communication. In the past few years she has debuted with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic; and with a number of renowned conductors, including Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Stéphane Denève, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, and Donald Runnicles.
Born in 1996, Simone made her professional solo debut at age 10 with the Seattle Symphony and her international debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London at age 13. In March 2015, Simone was named a recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant.
In 2019 Simone will join Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in subscription concerts honoring John Williams, in addition to concerts with orchestras in Oklahoma City, Boise, Orlando, Erie, Lexington, Fort Worth, Spokane, Asheville, Edmonton, Long Beach, and Costa Rica.
Highlights of British conductor Christopher Seaman's 2018/19 season included engagements with Rochester Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, BBC Concert, National Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan and Tampere Philharmonic orchestras. Recognised for his wealth of repertoire, which ranges from baroque to contemporary and in particular for his Bruckner, Brahms and Sibelius and British works, Christopher is also highly regarded for his work with younger musicians. He held the post of Course Director to the Symphony Services International Conductor Development Programme for many years. Seaman was Music Director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra until 2011, and was subsequently named conductor laureate.
The Rochester Philharmonic Home Page
Program Notes for the Evening's Concert
This engagement of The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass is made possible through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass is composed of some of America's top brass musicians dedicated to bringing the joyous experience of great music to a wide range of audiences.
A group that reflects the diverse makeup of men and women in American culture, The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass is dedicated to the notion that music is a gift to be enjoyed by everyone. The group is dedicated to reaching out to the world's youth and inspiring them to reach for their dreams. Under the leadership of Rodney Marsalis, the ensemble burst onto the music scene with a debut performance in Philadelphia's Kimmel Center in Verizon Hall, a residency for the Mann Center for the Performing Arts and a special feature on the National Public Radio show, All Things Considered.
A veritable "dream team" of virtuoso brass players, members of the group have appeared on the world's most prominent stages and performed with such groups as the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Baltimore Symphony, the São Paolo State Symphony Orchestra, the Imani Winds, Canadian Brass, and Boston Brass.
The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass Home Page
YouTube clip of The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass
Program Notes for the Evening's Concert.
Bill Snyder (WSKG) interview with Rodney Marsalis prior to the concert.
Lawrence Loh Music Director of Symphoria, was named Music Director of the West Virginia Symphony commencing in the 2017-18 season. Mr. Loh concluded his 12-year tenure as Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic in 2017. Mr. Loh had a decade-plus association with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra where he currently leads annual pops and other select programs.
Mr. Loh's previous positions include: Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Syracuse Opera; Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra; Associate Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra.
Symphoria is one of only two co-op orchestras in the United States, and its musicians are vested in the success of the organization. Their commitment and passion are just a part of what makes us so noteworthy. Symphoria is composed of a diverse group of talented musicians hailing from all across the globe, bringing with them a breadth of musical talent that extends far beyond the Syracuse community.
Violinist Peter Rovit is the concertmaster of Symphoria and on the faculty of Hamilton College. He was among the last students of Josef Gingold at Indiana University where he also studied Baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie.
As a chamber musician, recitalist, and soloist he has performed throughout the United States and at music festivals such as Aspen, Taos, Yellow Barn, Hot Springs, Skaneateles, and Musical Spring in Saint Petersburg (Russia). A concerto competition winner at both the Hartt School and at SUNY Stony Brook, Mr. Rovit has also performed as a soloist with the Montgomery Symphony, the Fort Smith Symphony, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and the Tuscaloosa Symphony. He was a recipient of the prestigious Montgomery Symphony Violin Fellowship, has been a member of the Quartet Oklahoma, Associate Concertmaster of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and Concertmaster of the Tuscaloosa Symphony.
Arvilla Wendland earned Masters and Bachelors of Music degrees from the Juilliard School where she studied with Heidi Castleman, Misha Amory and Hsin-yun Huang. Upon graduating she was awarded the Drs. Norman Roland and Marilyn Pearl Special Achievement Award.
A recipient of the Kay Logan Chamber Music Award, Ms. Wendland has performed at Alice Tully Hall, with the Quartz Mountain Chamber Players and as part of the Brightmusic Chamber Music Series. Ms. Wendland was featured in the Young Artist Concert Series at the Aspen Music Festival. She has also performed at the National Conference of the Society of Composers and for the Oklahoma and Alabama Viola Societies. In the Central New York area Ms. Wendland has performed for the Society for New Music, Ensemble X, Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music, Civic Morning Musicals' Live! at the Everson, Joyful Noise, Merry Go Round Theater, and Cornell's Mayfest.
Symphoria is one of only two co-op orchestras in the United States, and its musicians are vested in the success of the organization. Their commitment and passion are just a part of what makes us so noteworthy. Symphoria is composed of a diverse group of talented musicians hailing from all across the globe, bringing with them a breadth of musical talent that extends far beyond the Syracuse community.
The Symphoria Home Page
This concert is partially supported by a grant of public funds from NYSCA's Decentralization Program, administered locally by Finger Lakes Community Arts Grants (FLCAG).
Program Notes for the Evening's Concert.
Highly acclaimed for her "passionate intensity and remarkable vocal beauty," the Grammy Award winning Isabel Leonard continues to thrill audiences both in the opera house and on the concert stage. In repertoire that spans from Vivaldi to Mozart to Thomas Ades, she has graced the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera, Salzburg Festival, Bavarian State Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Blanche de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites, the title roles in Griselda, La Périchole, and Der Rosenkavalier, as well as Sesto in both Mozart's La clemenza di Tito and Handel's Giulio Cesare.
She has appeared with some of the foremost conductors of her time: James Levine, Valery Gergiev, Charles Dutoit, Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Franz Welser-Möst, Edo de Waart, James Conlon, Andris Nelsons, and Harry Bicket with the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Vienna Philharmonic, among others.
Ms. Leonard is in constant demand as a recitalist and is on the Board of Trustees at Carnegie Hall. She is a recent Grammy Award winner for Thomas Ades' The Tempest (Best Opera Recording) and the recipient of the 2013 Richard Tucker Award. Ms. Leonard starred for the Metropolitan Opera most recently in the May 2019 HD broadcast of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites,. She recently joined the supporters of the Prostate Cancer Foundation to lend her voice in honor of her father who died from the disease when she was in college.
Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as "A rising-star in the conducting firmament," Ward Stare was appointed the twelth music director of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014. He has been praised for "inspiring musicians to impressive heights" by The New York Times. In demand as a guest conductor, Stare has conducted the Symphony Orchestras of Baltimore, Sydney (Australia), Pittsburgh, Grant Park (Chicago), Atlanta, Detroit, Toronto as well as the New World Symphony and Calgary Philharmonic. Stare made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 2017, conducting nine performances of Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow, with Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Susan Graham in the title role. Stare’s frequent collaborations with the Lyric Opera of Chicago began in 2012, conducting a production of Hansel and Gretel, returning in 2013 for Die Fledermaus, and again in 2014 to lead Porgy and Bess to rave reviews. Stare served as resident conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2008 to 2012 and, in 2009, made his highly successful Carnegie Hall debut with the orchestra, stepping in to lead H. K. Gruber’s Frankenstein. Stare has enjoyed an ongoing relationship with the SLSO and returns frequently as a guest.
As passionate advocate for arts education, Ward Stare has served as a Distinguished Artist at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University since 2012. In the fall of 2016, Stare recorded Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and String Orchestra, by R.E.M. bassist and songwriter Mike Mills, with the ensemble and its founder, Robert McDuffie.
The Rochester Philharmonic Home Page
YouTube clip of Isabel Leonard Marnie: "I see Forio" at the Metropolitan Opera.
Program Notes for the Evening's Concert
This concert is partially supported by a grant of public funds from NYSCA's Decentralization Program, administered locally by Finger Lakes Community Arts Grants (FLCAG).
This series is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Williams Family Foundation,by a continuing subscription from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, by a grant from the Wyckoff Family Foundation, by a grant of public funds from NYSCA's Decentralization Program, administered locally by Finger Lakes Community Arts Grants (FLCAG),and by the friends of Geneva Concerts.
The engagement of The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass in 2019–2020 was made possible in part through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
