IN THE SPOTLIGHT
WINS NY LAUREATE INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COMPETITION
Keyboard, Age 15-16 Bracket
PATRICK BIRD PLAYS COLTRANE
HALLELUJAH CHORUS 2020
TIME TO BEGIN, Spring 2020
Composition by Maya Brinster, Junior
Premiered at Concordia Conservatory
June 8, 2020
Emily Kalish, Violins
Jiwon Kim, Viola
Julie Diesslin, Cello
Composition by Sam Bright, Sixth Grader
Premiered at 21st Annual Young Composer Honors Concert
December 6, 2019
NYSSMA Conference, Rochester, New York
Sam Bright, sixth grader, was selected to perform his composition, Sahar Aswad, during the Young Composer Honors Concert at the New York State School Music Association Winter Conference on December 6, 2019.
Written for solo piano, Bright described his composition, “Sahar Aswad,” which translates to “dark magic” in Arabic, as a heart-pumping piece that he is excited to share with an audience.
“I chose this name because this piece has a very dark aesthetic, and it uses a lot of Middle-Eastern scales,” said Bright, who has been playing the piano since he was 7. “I always liked heavy metal and rock, and I wanted to apply it to a classical piece.”
Bright wrote his composition as a fifth grader when his elementary school music teacher, Adele Hoffman, encouraged him to enter the competition. She kept him on task with the deadline and requirements, which included sending a recording of his composition, a copy of the music and his application. Out of hundreds of applicants, Bright is among 11 students in the state to be selected to perform at the concert. Only one other child is of elementary school age, while the rest are middle and high school students.
“For such a young composer, his work shows great depth and talent,” Hoffman said. “He is able to seamlessly weave together a variety of musical styles and moods as well as meters. By the end of his composition, there is a feeling of completeness – the work makes great musical sense.”
Hoffman said that Bright is already extending the boundaries of his musical endeavors – he plays the double bass in the middle school orchestra, plays the guitar and electric bass, and participates in a rock band, for which he writes the music. Outside of school, Bright takes private piano lessons and studies composition at the Concordia Conservatory with Dr. Matt Van Brink in Bronxville.
Photo Courtesy of Plamena Quintavalla
CONGRATULATIONS AREA ALL-STATE STUDENTS!
Twelve Bronxville High School students were selected to participate in the 2019 Area All-State Music Ensembles. The selection was based upon the scores students earned during last spring's New York State School Music Association Festival. During the auditions, students sight-read, played scales, and performed a solo from NYSSMA’s most challenging Level Six repertoire.
Performing with the string orchestra are seniors Sabrina Mellinghoff (cello) and Sasha Paradise (cello) and sophomores Tyler Tanaka-Wong (viola) and Patrick Wu (cello). They performedSerenade for String Orchestra, Op. 20 by Edward Elgar and Sinfonia No. 9 for string orchestra by Felix Mendelssohn.
Performing with the symphony orchestra were senior Sofia Ricciarini (violin) and juniors Patrick Bird (string bass) and Eve Sullivan (viola). They performed Nabucco Overture by Giuseppe Verdi, “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” from The Planets Op. 32 by Gustav Holst and A Night in the Tropics by Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
Performing with the mixed chorus were sophomore Ashton Minich (tenor 1) and junior Izaak Thoms (bass 1). They performed “Come Sweet Death” by Johann Sebastian Bach, “Hlohonolofatsa” by Daniel Jackson, “Lullaby” by Daniel Elder, “The King Shall Rejoice” by George Frideric Handel and “Quicksand Years” by Rene Clausen.
Performing with the women’s chorus were junior Megan Barker (soprano 1), sophomores Maggie Lockwood (soprano 1) and Eliza Brennan (soprano 2) and senior Sofia Fenner (alto 2). They performed a repertoire of “Defying Gravity” by Bennett and Robinson, “Duerme Negrito” by Atahualpa Yupanqui, “Deep River” by Deep River, “Under the Willow Tree” by Jo-Michael Scheibe and “Sound the Trumpet” by Henry Purcell.
BRONXVILLE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA JOINS
SUNY-PURCHASE COLLEGE ORCHESTRA TO ACCOMPANY
October 26, 2018
Photos Courtesy of Louis Vaccaro
The Bronxville High School orchestra joined college and professional musicians onstage when they performed with the renowned Black Violin duo at a concert held October 26, 2018, at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College.
As part of a community outreach program, which was sponsored by the college’s music conservatory, the students accompanied violinists Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste, who blended classical and hip-hop musical arrangements. The group’s name, Black Violin, is taken from an album by jazz violinist Stuff Smith, whose work has had a significant influence on the duo’s approach to music.
“We were delighted to be invited to perform with Black Violin, both to enjoy playing the hip-hop arrangements of orchestral classics with a college orchestra and professional musicians, and to lend our support to Black Violin’s social action agenda,” orchestra director Denise Lutter said.
The duo has spent 10 years working to empower people of all ages, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, help them discover what connects them, break barriers that divide them and encourage others to follow their passions.
“Black Violin defies every stereotype of violinists, and by sharing their talents and their take on classical music with us and the audience, it inspired us to redefine what an orchestra can and should do,” said Sofia Ricciarini, a violinist and high school junior.
Junior Angie Pearson, a violinist, said she enjoyed playing the mixture of music genres, which included layering a Cardi B song on top of the theme from Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. Junior Amanda Troy, a violinist, said the duo’s music appeals to people with different tastes in music, ethnic backgrounds and age groups.
“Black Violin encouraged the audience to do what they love despite stereotypes, and they made a statement about connecting with others just by adding rap beats to classical music,” said Elaina Poulos, a violist and sophomore.
Black Violin has accompanied Alicia Keys at the 2004 Billboard Awards, played for the 2013 Kids’ Inaugural Concert, which was attended by the Obamas, and has worked with Aerosmith, Lupe Fiasco, Tom Petty and Kanye West, among others.
Photo Courtesy of Plamena Quintavalla
CONGRATULATIONS AREA ALL-STATE STUDENTS!
Eleven Bronxville High School students were selected to participate in the 2018 Area All-State Music Ensembles. The selection was based upon the scores that students earned during last spring's New York State School Music Association Festival. During the auditions, students sight-read, played scales, and performed a solo from NYSSMA’s most challenging Level Six repertoire.
Performing with the string orchestra are junior Sofia Ricciarini (violin) and sophomores Patrick Bird (string bass) and Eve Sullivan (viola). They will present a performance of Finale from Sinfonia for Strings by William Eckfeld and Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughn Williams.
Performing with the symphony orchestra are juniors Justin Barr (viola), Sabrina Mellinghoff (cello) and Sasha Paradise (cello), and sophomore George Daher (violin). They will perform Zampa Overture by Ferdinand Hérold, Stokowski's arrangement of J. S. Bach's Komm, susser Tod, and Prelude to Die Meistersinger by Richard Wagner.
Senior Sophia Sulimirski (oboe) will perform with the band a repertoire of Symphony No. 1 by Johan de Meij, Riften Wed by Julie Giroux, a Clare Grundman arrangement of Candide Suite by Leonard Bernstein, and Camerado by Michael Markowski.
Senior Matthew Pytosh (baritone) and sophomore Izaak Thoms (bass) were selected to perform with the mixed chorus. They will perform Scholz's arrangement of God of Life by Franz Joseph Haydn, The Ground by Ola Gjeilo, Ride the Chariot by William Melton and Let the River Run by Carly Simon and Craig Hella Johnson.
Senior Lily Vorbach (soprano) will perform with the women’s chorus a repertoire of Weep, O Mine Eyes by John Bennet and Russell Robinson, Songbird by Sarah Quartel, Amani, A Song of Peace by Jim Papoulis, Praise His Holy Name by Keith Hampton and Oseh Shalom by Adam Paltrowitz.