 Scarsdale, NY - The Hoff-Barthelson Music School has announced that Stanley Drucker, long-time principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, will be its guest soloist for the Festival Orchestra Winter Concert, Sunday, December 9, 2007 at 7 pm.
The concert will be held at the Community Unitarian Church at 468 Rosedale Avenue, White Plains. Jun Nakabayashi, Music Director for the Festival Orchestra, will conduct.
The Hoff-Barthelson Music School Festival Orchestra is a full symphony orchestra reserved for high school students at the highest level of technical ability and musical artistry. The New York State Council on the Arts says that “it ranks among the top community music school orchestras in the country.” The ensemble presents five full orchestra concerts annually and performs with guest soloists drawn among the finest professional musicians performing today.
The program for the winter concert will feature Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1, and the Weber Concerto No. 1 for Clarinet and Orchestra.
Clarinet Stanley Drucker celebrated 50 years as a member of the Orchestra. In honor of this milestone anniversary, and in recognition of his highly respected and widely acknowledged musical excellence and dedication, he was named Musical America’s 1998 Instrumentalist of the Year. He has made approximately 150 solo appearances with the Philharmonic since joining it at age 19.
Mr. Drucker maintains an active solo career in addition to his Philharmonic duties, appearing with ensembles throughout the world. He has been twice nominated for Grammy Awards in the category of Best Instrumental Soloist/Classical with Orchestra: In 1992 for his recording of the Copland Concerto with the Philharmonic and Leonard Bernstein, and in 1982 for John Corigliano’s Concerto with the Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta. Mr. Drucker is featured on a number of other Philharmonic recordings: under the direction of Leonard Bernstein in Debussy’s Premiere Rapsodie; in Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto; and in the world-premiere live performance (1977) of the Corigliano Clarinet Concerto, which is a part of the Orchestra’s acclaimed CD box set, The Historic Broadcasts: 1923-1987.
Mr. Drucker’s other recordings include New York Legends: Recitals with Principals from the New York Philharmonic; Schumann’s Complete Works for Winds and Piano; the Mozart Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A, K.581, and a new two-CD set of the two clarinet sonatas, Trio in A minor, and Quintet in B minor of Johannes Brahms entitled Drucker Plays Brahms. He is also heard on the world-premiere broadcast of William Bolcom’s Clarinet Concerto, part of the New York Philharmonic Special Editions’ boxed set, An American Celebration.
Festival Orchestra Music Director Jun Nakabayashi has been active in both the symphonic and operatic fields for fifteen years. Formerly the Director of Orchestras for San Jose State University, Co-Principal Conductor for Oakland Lyric Opera and Conductor for the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute, Mr. Nakabayashi is now the Director of Westchester’s Taconic Opera in addition to his duties at Hoff-Barthelson as Director of the Festival Orchestra and Festival Chorus.
The Hoff-Barthelson Music School, one of Westchester County’s most cherished and active cultural resources, has achieved national recognition as a premier community music school for its unsurpassed leadership in education, performance and outreach for more than half a century.
Tickets to the Festival Orchestra Winter Concert may be reserved in advance or purchased at the door. $12 general, $10 seniors, $8 Friends of Hoff-Barthelson, free for students. 914-723-1169.
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