Lauded as "exquisite" by The Philadelphia Inquirer and "a pianist of sterling artistry" by Gramophone, Michelle Cann has become one of the most sought-after pianists of her generation. She made her debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2021 and has recently performed concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Cann was the recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization. She also received the Cleveland Institute of Music's 2022 Alumni Achievement Award and the 2022 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award.
Embracing a dual role as performer and pedagogue, Cann is frequently invited to teach master classes, give lecture-demonstrations, and lead teaching residencies. A staunch believer in community-building through music, Cann has served as the director of two children's choruses in the El Sistema-inspired program Play On Philly and was part of the inaugural class of ArtistYear fellows at the Curtis Institute of Music. Through ArtistYear, she worked with community partners City Year, Teach for America, and AmeriCorps to provide arts education and access to underserved communities in Philadelphia.
Lawrence Loh is Music Director of Symphoria. Mr. Loh was Assistant, Associate and Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 2005-2015 and he returns annually to lead a wide variety of programs.
Mr. Loh's previous positions include: Music Director of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Syracuse Opera; 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.
Mr. Loh received his Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from Yale, his Masters in Choral Conducting from Indiana University and his Bachelor of Arts and Certificate of Management Studies from the University of Rochester. Lawrence Loh was born in southern California of Korean parentage and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Jennifer have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Hilary.
The Syracuse Orchestra Home Page
YouTube video of Michelle Cann playing Chopin: Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47.
Program Notes for the Evening's Concert
RUBBERBAND, a contemporary dance company based in Montreal, was founded in 2002 and quickly gained recognition with three performances at Espace Tangente. In the years since, they have also presented smaller works in mixed programs and self-produced events in Montreal and have toured internationally, performing in the United States, Europe, Mexico and Japan. RUBBERBAND recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and continues to be recognized within the dance community for its innovative approach to contemporary dance, making it a leader in the Montreal dance community and acknowledged internationally.
RUBBERBAND is an organization focused on creation and production, with a mission to support the research of choreographer Victor Quijada, promote his works, and ensure the transmission and influence of his artistic practice. The company strives to be globally recognized for its innovation, its meaningful contributions to dance, and its role in shaping a new style that blends breakdance, classical ballet, and dance theatre.
With both humorous and serious moments, Vic's Mix is a kind of "best of" spanning the immense creative territory explored by Victor Quijada, extracting jewels from the choreographer's repertoire.
In a remix of his own work, orchestrating the clash between urban pop and classical composition, Quijada goes further in his experiments defying notions of theatricality and audience expectations, while making sure that each body gravitating onstage in the highly athletic segments exemplifies the RUBBERBAND Method.
Born and raised in Los Angeles to Mexican parents, Victor Quijada began his dance journey in the b-boying circles and hip-hop clubs of his hometown. From 1994 to 1996, he performed with Rudy Perez before relocating to New York City to join THARP! After three years with the company and a period with Ballet Tech, he moved to Montreal in 2000 to dance with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. In 2002, Victor founded RUBBERBAND, dedicating himself to deconstructing traditional choreographic principles by merging them with the raw ethos of his street dance roots. His body of work stands out for its potent theatricality, improvisational energy, and the use of cinematic codes, all shaped by a remarkable precision of movement.
Armed with a technique he conceived for dancers, the RUBBERBAND Method – an electrifying vocabulary combining the energy of Hip Hop, the refinement of classical ballet, and the angular quality of contemporary dance – Quijada has always continued to evolve and innovate throughout his prolific career.
The RUBBERBAND Contemporary Dance Company Home Page
YouTube video of RUBBERBAND teaser for Vic's Mix.
Program Notes for the Evening's Concert.
Over the course of his 35-year career, Andreas Delfs has earned a stellar reputation as one of the most respected conductors in the orchestra world. He is widely recognized as both a successful, hands-on orchestra builder and as an imaginative and inspiring music director. His passionate and dramatic interpretations of the late romantic repertoire with orchestras in both North America and Europe have drawn critical acclaim, reflecting a constantly evolving artistic maturity marked by the insight, depth and integrity he brings to the podium.
Andreas Delfs was educated in the finest conservatories of the old and the new world and mentored by great conductors; his approach to conducting has been forged by decades of experience. At the same time, his love of new music and his commitment to discovering and exploring fresh voices have led him to establish close relationships with many of today's composers and to conduct numerous world premiere performances. Mr. Delfs counts among his profound musical inspirations composers and musicians who span many decades, including Hans Werner Henze, György Ligeti, Philip Glass and Roberto Sierra; he has partnered with many of the world's most renowned solo artists, including André Watts, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang and Renée Fleming.
Over the years Andreas Delfs has led numerous distinguished ensembles. He has conducted orchestras such as the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic and National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan.
Appointed concertmaster of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra 2005 at age twenty-four, Juliana Athayde became the youngest person to hold the position since the orchestra's inception in 1922. She has appeared as guest concertmaster for the Houston and Kansas City Symphonies as well as the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario. Prior to joining the RPO, Ms. Athayde was concertmaster of the Canton (OH) and Plymouth (MI) Symphonies. In 2002, she served as concertmaster of the New York String Seminar under the direction of Jaime Laredo for concerts at Carnegie Hall. For five years, she was a member of the Iris Chamber Orchestra in Memphis and she has performed with The Cleveland Orchestra in the United States and Europe. A fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School for six years, Ms. Athayde was awarded the prestigious Dorothy DeLay fellowship in 2005 and was subsequently invited to return in 2010 to deliver the festival's convocation speech.
Ms. Athayde's numerous solo appearances with the RPO have covered a wide range of composers from Mozart and Brahms to Prokofiev and Piazzolla as well as the 2010 premiere of Allen Shawn's violin concerto, commissioned by the RPO and specifically written for Ms. Athayde.
Thomas Warfield is an international performing artist who's lived in six countries.
As a singer, dancer, actor, model, composer, pianist, choreographer, director, producer,
educator, activist, and poet, Mr. Warfield has performed on stage, television, and film in
more than 100 cities worldwide.
His childhood dance training in Rochester, NY was with Olive McCue at the Mercury
Ballet, and piano and voice training at Eastman School of Music where he performed
with Opera Theatre of Rochester and local theatre groups. He also trained in New York
City at the School of American Ballet. Mr. Warfield holds a bachelor's degree in dance and
journalism from SUNY Purchase, and a master's in dance ethnology from the University of
Utah. His professional dance career has included performing with the Joffrey Ballet,
Jane Dudley in London and New York, and ballet companies in Hong Kong, Stockholm,
Paris, San Francisco, Macau, and elsewhere.
Mr. Warfield was recently appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul to the New York Hate and Bias Prevention Council, and appointed by Rochester mayor Lovely Warren as co-chair of the City of Rochester's Arts & Creative Community Committee.
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Home Page.
Program Notes for the afternoon's concert.
Now in his third decade of touring worldwide, American pianist Jon Nakamatsu continues to draw critical and public acclaim for his intensity, elegance and electrifying solo, concerto and chamber music performances. Catapulted to international attention in 1997 as the Gold Medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—the only American to achieve this distinction since 1981—Mr. Nakamatsu subsequently developed a multi-faceted career that encompasses recording, education, arts administration and public speaking in addition to his vast concert schedule.
Mr. Nakamatsu has been guest soloist with over 150 orchestras worldwide, including those of Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Florence, Los Angeles, Milan, San Francisco, Seattle, Tokyo and Vancouver. He has worked with such esteemed conductors as Marin Alsop, Sergiu Comissiona, James Conlon, Philippe Entremont, Hans Graf, Marek Janowski, Raymond Leppard, Gerard Schwarz, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and Michael Tilson Thomas.
With clarinetist Jon Manasse, Mr. Nakamatsu tours as a member of the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo. Following its Boston debut in 2004, the Duo released its first CD for harmonia mundi usa (Brahms Sonatas for Clarinet and Piano) which received the highest praise from The New York Times Classical Music Editor James Oestreich, who named it among the "Best of the Year" for 2008. Mr. Nakamatsu's 13 CDs recorded for harmonia mundi usa have garnered extraordinary critical praise. An all-Gershwin recording with Jeff Tyzik and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F remained in the top echelons of Billboard's classical charts for over six months.
Lawrence Loh is Music Director of The Syracuse Orchestra. Mr. Loh was Assistant, Associate and Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 2005-2015 and he returns annually to lead a wide variety of programs.
Mr. Loh's previous positions include: Music Director of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Syracuse Opera; 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.
Mr. Loh received his Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from Yale, his Masters in Choral Conducting from Indiana University and his Bachelor of Arts and Certificate of Management Studies from the University of Rochester. Lawrence Loh was born in southern California of Korean parentage and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Jennifer have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Hilary.
The Syracuse Orchestra Home Page
YouTube video of Jon Nakamatsu performing the Schumann's Sonata No.2 in G Minor, Op.22.
Violinist Tessa Lark is one of the most captivating artistic voices of our time, consistently praised by critics and audiences for her astounding range of sounds, technical agility, and musical elegance. In 2020 she was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category, and she is also a highly acclaimed fiddler in the tradition of her native Kentucky.
Highlights of Lark's 2023-24 season include the world premiere of Carlos Izcaray's Violin Concerto and performances of Michael Torke's violin concerto, Sky – both pieces written for her – as well as her European orchestral debut with the Stuttgart Philharmonic. She also performs with the Virginia Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, England's City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and others; and gives duo concerts with double bassist Michael Thurber and jazz guitarist Frank Vignola.
Lark's newest album, The Stradgrass Sessions, was released this past spring. Her debut commercial recording was the Grammy-nominated SKY, and her discography also includes Fantasy; Invention, recorded with Michael Thurber; and a live recording of Piazzolla's Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.
In addition to her performance schedule, Lark champions young aspiring artists and supports the next generation of musicians through her work as Co-host/Creative of NPR's From the Top.
Lark plays a ca. 1600 G.P. Maggini violin on loan from an anonymous donor through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
Over the course of his 35-year career, Andreas Delfs has earned a stellar reputation as one of the most respected conductors in the orchestra world. He is widely recognized as both a successful, hands-on orchestra builder and as an imaginative and inspiring music director. His passionate and dramatic interpretations of the late romantic repertoire with orchestras in both North America and Europe have drawn critical acclaim, reflecting a constantly evolving artistic maturity marked by the insight, depth and integrity he brings to the podium.
Andreas Delfs was educated in the finest conservatories of the old and the new world and mentored by great conductors; his approach to conducting has been forged by decades of experience. At the same time, his love of new music and his commitment to discovering and exploring fresh voices have led him to establish close relationships with many of today's composers and to conduct numerous world premiere performances. Mr. Delfs counts among his profound musical inspirations composers and musicians who span many decades, including Hans Werner Henze, György Ligeti, Philip Glass and Roberto Sierra; he has partnered with many of the world's most renowned solo artists, including André Watts, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang and Renée Fleming.
Over the years Andreas Delfs has led numerous distinguished ensembles. He has conducted orchestras such as the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic and National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan.
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| Geneva Concerts' programs for 2024 and 2025 are made possible in part by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. |
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| This series is made possible, in part, by grants from the Williams Family Foundation and the Wyckoff Family Foundation, and by the friends of Geneva Concerts. |
 Preferred lodging partner of Geneva Concerts is Fairfield by Marriott Geneva Finger Lakes. |
