DATE: March 12 2006, 3 PM

SITE: The Progress Energy (formerly BTI) Center for the Performing Arts   Map 

PROGRAM

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Celebrating its 41st season during 2005-2006, the Musicians from Marlboro touring program was created as an extension of Vermont's Marlboro Music Festival, founded in 1951. Musicians from Marlboro tours are noted not only for their joyous performances but also for offering valuable touring experience to artists at the beginning of their careers and touring with unusual chamber repertoire.

Since their inception, the Musicians from Marlboro tours have introduced such great talents as Richard Goode, Jaime Laredo, Murray Perahia, Paula Robison, András Schiff, Peter Serkin, Richard Stoltzman and Benita Valente. They have boasted other exceptional artists now heard in the Emerson, Guarneri, Juilliard and Tokyo Quartets, and the Beaux Arts and the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trios. In the words of the Washington Post, "Musicians from Marlboro is a virtual guarantee of musical excellence!"

Valérie Tessa Chermiset, flute, was born in Brussels and graduated at an early age from Belgium’s Royal Conservatory. She was also awarded a First Prize from the Paris Conservatory and received a Fulbright Scholarship to attend Yale University, from which she graduated with honors. In 1998, she was invited by Michael Tilson-Thomas to play principal flute with the New World Symphony. Since then, she has decided to focus her career on chamber music. Ms. Chermiset has been invited by music festivals around the world and has participated regularly at the Marlboro Music Festival, Spoleto Festival, European Mozart Academy, Pacific Music Festival, and Lincoln Center Festival. She has also toured and recorded numerous CDs with the Grammy-nominated Absolute Ensemble. Over the last few years, Ms. Chermiset’s musical adventures have led her to discover places such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Europe, the Middle-East, and South America, in addition to North America.

Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet, was born in Belarus and raised in Israel. He received first prize in both the Carl Nielsen International Clarinet Competition (Denmark) and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. He is also a member of the prestigious Chamber Music Society II of Lincoln Center. He has appeared with Orchestra of St. Luke's at Lincoln Center, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, and the China National Symphony Orchestra. He has given recitals at the Louvre (Paris), 92nd St. Y (NY), Kennedy Center (DC), Tel Aviv Museum, and Suntory Hall (Tokyo). Mr. Fiterstein's engagements during the 05-06 season include concerts at the Library of Congress in Washington, the Vancouver Recital Society, a return engagement to the Louvre in Paris, and concerts with the Fine Arts and Jerusalem Quartets. He has performed with Daniel Barenboim, Richard Goode, Emanuel Ax, Elena Bashkirova, Roberta Peters, Ensemble Wien-Berlin, and the American, Borromeo, and Mendelssohn Quartets. He participated in the Marlboro Music Festival for four summers and also appeared at the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern festival in Germany.

Gilbert Kalish, piano, has had a profound influence on the musical community as both educator and pianist, establishing him as a major figure in American music making. He is a frequent guest artist with many of the world’s most distinguished chamber ensembles. His thirty-year partnership with the great mezzo-soprano Jan De Gaetani is universally recognized as one of the most remarkable artistic collaborations of our time. He maintains longstanding duos with the cellists Timothy Eddy and Joel Krosnick, and he appears frequently with soprano Dawn Upshaw. As educator he is Distinguished Professor and Head of Performance Activities at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. From 1969-1997 he was a faculty member of the Tanglewood Music Center and served as faculty chairman as well. He often serves as guest artist at distinguished music institutions such as the Banff Centre, and the Steans Institute at Ravinia, and the Marlboro Festival. Mr. Kalish’s discography of some 100 recordings encompasses classical repertory, 20th Century masterworks and new compositions. In 1995, he was presented with the Paul Fromm Award by the University of Chicago Music Department for distinguished service to the music of our time. In January of 2002, he was the recipient of the Chamber Music America’s Service Award for his exceptional contributions in the field of chamber music.

Paul S. LaFollette III, horn, a native of Philadelphia, enjoys a varied performance schedule of both chamber music and orchestral repertoire. In addition to holding the position of Third Horn with the Richmond Symphony, he plays with the Astral Winds woodwind quintet and is a member of the Mico Nonet, an ambient chamber music ensemble with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony. Mr. LaFollette also spent a season as Principal Horn of the Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico in Toluca, Mexico. He has performed chamber music with such artists as Martha Argerich, Evgeny Kissin, and Mischa Maisky, and has played principal horn under the baton of James Levine with the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland. Active also as a teacher, he was a member the faculty of the Music Departments of both Moravian College and Lehigh University from 1999 to 2005. Equally adept in various genres, Paul plays guitar with the pop/punk band, Cow Path 40. Mr. LaFollette received his B.A. in French Horn Performance from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he was a student of Myron Bloom, Mason Jones, and Barry Tuckwell.

Rudy Vrbsky, oboe, is principal oboe of the National Symphony and has been participating at the Marlboro Music Festival since 1971. He was a member of the Aulos Quintet, recipient of the Naumberg Chamber Music Award, and of the Camerata Quintet. Mr. Vrbsky has been a featured artist at the Spoleto and Mostly Mozart Festivals, has appeared with the Cleveland and Lark Quartets, and is currently involved with the 21st Century Consort. His interest in contemporary music has led him to perform works by Takemitsu, Wolpe and Shapey along with recent works by Jafee, Froome, Putz, Wolosoff and others. Mr. Vrbsky has recorded for Teldec, Deutsche Grammophon, RCA, Sony, CRI and Marlboro Recording Society.

Shinyee Na, bassoon, is a native of Taiwan and received both bachelor's and master's degrees from Boston University with full scholarships. While studying with Rick Ranti and Richard Svoboda, she was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and has been a participant at the Marlboro Music Festival since 2002. A finalist with the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony and National Symphony, Shinyee is also the winner of the Grand Park Festival Orchestra and the Taipei National Symphony Orchestra auditions. Currently, she is a member of the Jacksonville Symphony.

Hyunah Yu, soprano, was a prize-winner in the 1999 Walter W. Naumburg International Competition and a finalist in the Dutch International Vocal Competition and the Concert Artist Guild International Competition. In 2003, she was awarded a Fellowship by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust. She made her successful New York City recital debut in May 2004 at Carnegie Hall on their Evenings of Song Series. She also appeared in the Shriver Hall Concert Series in Baltimore and in England she recorded solo recitals in 2004 and 2005 on the BBC Voices programme, of which the 2004 recording was picked as one of BBC’s Best of 2004. During Spring and Summer 2006, Hyunah will sing the title role in Mozart opera Zaide, in a joint production between The Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival and the Vienna Festival. Following this she has been cast to appear in a new John Adams opera to be premiered in Vienna in fall 2006 and performed in concert with the Berlin Philharmonic. Born in South Korea, Ms. Yu studied voice at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She has recorded for Dorian, Norae Records, BBC Radio 3, and the Marlboro Recording Society. Ms. Yu also holds a degree in molecular biology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Artist Website: Marlboro on Tour