New York String Orchestra
One of the country's most acclaimed professional training programs, the New York String
Orchestra Seminar was created in 1969 by arts manager Frank Salomon for violinist and
conductor Alexander "Sasha" Schneider. Sasha inspired a generation of musicians with his
deep commitment to young artists; prior to his death, he chose Jaime Laredo to succeed him
as director. In its 43-year history, the seminar has introduced more than 2,000 exceptional
young musicians to new musical ideas, offering them the challenge of performing two
professional-level concerts presented by Carnegie Hall. There is no application fee to
apply, and all participants receive full scholarships.
Seminar alumni are found in leadership roles around the world. They include cellist Yo-Yo
Ma; violinists Cho-Liang Lin, Gil Shaham, Kyoko Takezawa, and Shlomo Mintz; members of the
Guarneri, Emerson, Orion, Johannes, Takács, and Kronos string quartets; concertmasters and
members of the Philadelphia, Cleveland, and MET orchestras, the New York and Los Angeles
philharmonics, and the Boston, Cincinnati, Chicago, and National symphonies; conductors
Peter Oundjian, Joseph Swensen, Douglas Boyd, and Marin Alsop; and faculty members of the
most distinguished conservatories and universities in the US.
This year, the 62 New York String Orchestra members (ages 15-22) are from conservatories,
colleges, and high schools across the US and Canada. Selected through highly competitive
national auditions, students give up their winter holidays to come to New York City for 10
days of intensive orchestral rehearsals and chamber music sessions with master artists,
including members of the Emerson, Juilliard, Orion, and Guarneri string quartets. The 2012
faculty includes Daniel Druckman*, Bart Feller*, Pamela Frank*, Mark Gould, Bonnie Hampton,
Ida Kavafian, Cho-Liang Lin*, Peter Lloyd*, Raymond Mase, Frank Morelli, Duncan Patton,
Kurt Muroki*, Daniel Phillips*, Samuel Rhodes, Sharon Robinson, Stewart Rose, Sylvia
Rosenberg, Stephen Shipps*, Laurie Smukler*, Linda Strommen*, Steven Tenenbom*, Michael
Tree*, Peter Wiley*, Carol Wincenc, and Hiroko Yajima (*NYSOS alumni).
The New York String Orchestra Seminar is a program of Mannes College The New School for
Music's New School Concerts Department, administration: Frank Salomon, founding director;
Rohana Elias-Reyes, director; music advisors Pamela Frank, Jaime Laredo, Cho-Liang Lin,
Arnold Steinhardt, and Michael Tree; Advisory Committee members Dominick DeRiso, Mark
Epstein, Fiona Morgan Fein, Bart Feller, Theodore Harris, Elisabeth Lorin, Frank Salomon,
Linda Strommen, Jani Tree, and Helen Wright.
New School Concerts thanks the conductor, coaches, soloists, audition panelists and
advisors for their invaluable contributions to the project, and the many others whose time,
effort, and resources make the seminar possible. Our thanks to the Cleveland Institute of
Music, The Colburn School Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, Hyperbolic Audio,
Manhattan School of Music, Rice University's The Shepherd School of Music, and the
Wellington Hotel. We thank Nathan Cole, Bart Feller, Valerie Feuer, Laura Flax, Ida
Kavafian, Dean Richard Kessler, Julie Landsman, Diane Lesser, Julia Lichtman, Don Liuzzi,
Mary Malin, Raymond Mase, Frank Morelli, Kurt Muroki, Tara O'Connor, Susan Sawyer, Michael
Seabrook, Stephen Shipps, Linda Strommen, Steven Tenenbom, Jonathan Vinocour, and Hiroko
Yajima for their extra efforts on behalf of the project. Additionally, we are grateful to
Carnegie Hall's administration and staff, whose efforts go into making the New York String
Orchestra Seminar a success.
Visit newschool.edu/mannes/nysos for more information.
Jaime Laredo
Performing across the globe for more than five decades, Jaime Laredo has excelled in the
multiple roles of soloist, conductor, recitalist, pedagogue, and chamber musician. Since
his stunning San Francisco Symphony debut at the age of 11, he has won the admiration and
respect of audiences, critics, and fellow musicians with his passionate and polished
performances. Mr. Laredo's education and development were greatly influenced by his
teachers Josef Gingold and Ivan Galamian, as well as by private coachings with eminent
masters Pablo Casals and George Szell. At the age of 17, he won the prestigious Queen
Elisabeth Competition in Belgium, launching his rise to international prominence.
In the 2012-2013 season, Mr. Laredo tours as conductor, soloist, and member of the
award-winning Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. Mr. Laredo and his colleague and former
student Jennifer Koh embark together on a project called Two x Four, which
celebrates the relationship between teacher and student through music. They perform double
violin concertos by Bach, Philip Glass, and two newly commissioned works by composers Anna
Clyne and David Ludwig. This season, Mr. Laredo and Ms. Koh also perform with the IRIS
Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Vermont Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Laredo has made close to 100 recordings, including a Grammy Award-winning disc of
Brahms piano quartets with Emanuel Ax, Isaac Stern, and Yo-Yo Ma. His numerous releases
range from the complete Bach sonatas with Glenn Gould (CBS/RCA) to Triple Doubles,
a 2011 album with Sharon Robinson and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra that includes three
double concerto premieres by Daron Hagen, Richard Danielpour, and David Ludwig.
Mr. Laredo's stewardships of the annual New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall
and the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis have become beloved educational
pillars of the string community. This year marks the beginning of his tenure at the
Cleveland Institute of Music. He concurrently holds director positions with the Vermont
Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music at 92Y series in New York, and Linton Chamber Music
Series in Cincinnati.