Carnegie Hall

(New York, NY, September 28, 2018)—Ensemble Connect embarks on its 12th season with a new group of young professional classical musicians joining the fellowship program from around the world. Following a rigorous audition process, 18 fellows were selected from across the United States and also from Israel, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, Hungary, and Korea. The fellows will perform 12 concerts in the New York City area this season at venues including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Paul Hall at The Juilliard School, Our Saviour’s Atonement Lutheran Church and the Jackson Heights Branch Library as part of Carnegie Hall Citywide, and in Saratoga Springs, NY as part of Ensemble Connect’s continuing biannual residency at Skidmore College.

Ensemble Connect’s first concert of the season in Weill Recital Hall on Monday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. showcases the New York premiere of Anthozoa by Gabriella Smith, commissioned by Carnegie Hall for its 125 Commissions Project. The fellows perform works by Brahms, Dvorák, Ravel, John Adams, Kaija Saariaho, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Pauline Oliveros, and more in concerts throughout the season, along with presenting 80 interactive performances in schools and 10 in community venues across New York City. In addition, following a successful launch in 2017, Ensemble Connect’s Audience Engagement Intensive returns to Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Education Wing in June 2019 with new ensembles to be selected from across the country to participate in the week-long intensive aimed at expanding each group’s ability to connect and engage with audiences.

An additional highlight of Ensemble Connect’s 2018–2019 season will be the group’s second residency in Paris, in cooperation with The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations. Eight fellows will travel to Paris in December for coachings and performances at the Philharmonie de Paris with early-music master Jordi Savall for programs that include Baroque music from Italy and France, as well as works by Arvo Pärt. Ensemble Connect will also reunite with Ensemble intercontemporain for an additional performance.

Alongside their performances in New York and beyond this season, each fellow is paired with a New York City public school instrumental music teacher for a 50-day residency over the course of the next two years. With ten new public school partners joining the program this season, the educational relationships formed through Ensemble Connect represents one of the largest and most in-depth collaborations between a cultural institution and New York City public schools. Ensemble Connect fellows bring their expert musicianship, a professional performer’s perspective, and creative approaches to musical skill building in band, keyboard, and string programs to 20 schools in all five city boroughs. In addition, Ensemble Connect musicians lead Interactive Performances – hour-long assembly style concerts that engage students in a process of discovery through deeper listening activities – in schools twice this year, with a total of 40 performances reaching roughly 6,000 students this season. The two-year partnership culminates in a performance by students from each partner school at The Juilliard School in spring 2020.

Over the past 12 years, Carnegie Hall has maintained close relationships with the program’s 119 alumni. As the reputation of Ensemble Connect has grown, demand for work by its alumni has developed as well. In 2011, Decoda—an ensemble exclusively made up of Ensemble Connect alumni—was formed and later named an affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall. Decoda makes its Carnegie Hall performance debut in two concerts in Weill Recital Hall during the 2018–2019 season.

Additionally, alumni perform with current fellows in Ensemble Connect, lead professional development sessions, serve as advisors for current fellows, and perform as part of the Weill Music Institute’s Social Impact programs to bring live music to people living in challenging circumstances throughout New York City. Ensemble Connect’s alumni currently participate in more than 100 performing ensembles in the US and around the world, including the St. Lawrence String Quartet, New York Woodwind Quintet, Attacca Quartet, Spektral Quartet, Canadian Brass, Ensemble intercontemporain, Argus Quartet, Vega Quartet, and more. Alumni have gone on to perform, teach, and engage with communities in 53 countries around the world. To find out more about the impact of Ensemble Connect worldwide and to learn about alumni projects, follow this link.

Ensemble Connect is an inspirational collective of young musicians created in 2007 by Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. The program prepares the exceptionally talented young musicians for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, leadership, and entrepreneurship. It offers them top-quality performance opportunities, two-year partnerships with New York City public schools, and rigorous professional development.

As performers on the concert stage and in their work in schools and communities, musicians of Ensemble Connect have earned accolades from critics and audiences alike for the quality of their concerts, their fresh and open-minded approach to programming, and their ability to actively engage any audience. Exemplary performers, dedicated teachers, and advocates for music throughout the community, these forward-looking musicians are redefining what it means to be a musician in the 21st century.

Introducing the 2018–2020 Ensemble Connect Fellows

Ensemble Connect is excited to welcome the following musicians who join the group for the next two seasons:
 

 

      Wilden Dannenberg, French horn (Perry, Georgia)

• Florida State University (Undergraduate) / Stony Brook University (Graduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: J.H.S. 216 George J. Ryan, Queens
   

      Ari Evan, Cello (Forest Hills, New York)

• Northwestern University (Undergraduate) / The Juilliard School (Graduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: P.S. 52 Sheepshead Bay School, Brooklyn
   

      Tomer Gewirtzman, Piano (Haifa, Israel)

• Tel Aviv University (Undergraduate) / The Juilliard School (Graduate and Artist Diploma)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: I.S. 25 Adrien Block, Queens
   

      Christopher Goodpasture, Piano (Los Angeles, California)

• University of Southern California (Undergraduate) / Yale School of Music, The Juilliard School (Graduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: P.S. 100 Glen Morris School, Queens
   

      Gergana Haralampieva, Violin (Norwood, Massachusetts)

• Curtis Institute of Music (Undergraduate) / New England Conservatory (Graduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: City College Academy of the Arts, Manhattan
   

      Sae Hashimoto, Percussion (Osaka, Japan)

• The Juilliard School (Undergraduate and Graduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: Wadleigh Secondary School for The Performing & Visual Arts, Manhattan
   

      Arlen Hlusko, Cello (Ontario, Canada)

• Curtis Institute of Music (Undergraduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: P.S. 532 New Bridges Elementary, Brooklyn
   

      Brian Hong, Violin (Fairfax Station, Virginia)

• New England Conservatory (Undergraduate) / The Juilliard School (Graduate and Artist Diploma candidate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: Celia Cruz Bronx High School for Music, Bronx
   

      Thea Humphries, French horn (Ontario, Canada)

• Eastman School of Music (Undergraduate) / The Juilliard School (Graduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: M.S. 224 Manhattan East School for Arts and Academics, Manhattan
   

      Ha Young Jung, Double Bass (Seoul, Korea)

• Royal College of Music (Undergraduate) / The Juilliard School (Graduate) / Yale University (Artist Diploma) / Boston University (Doctorate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: Maspeth High School, Queens
   

      Jennifer Liu, Violin (Santa Monica, California)

• The Juilliard School (Undergraduate and Graduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: P.S. 16 The Nancy DeBenedittis School, Queens
   

      Noémi Sallai, Clarinet (Eger, Hungary)

• Bard College (Undergraduate) / The Juilliard School (Graduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: P.S. 234, Queens
   

      Caeli Smith, Viola (Boulder, Colorado)

• The Juilliard School (Undergraduate and Graduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: P.S.I.S. 226 Alfred de B. Mason, Brooklyn
   

      Leo Sussman, Flute (San Francisco, California)

• Lawrence University (Undergraduate) / Yale School of Music (Graduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: P.S. 200 The Benson School, Brooklyn
   

      Suliman Tekalli, Violin (Orlando, Florida)

• The Juilliard School (Undergraduate) / Cleveland Institute of Music (Graduate) / Yale School of Music (Artist Diploma)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: Edward R. Murrow High School, Brooklyn
   

      Meagan Turner, Viola (Ontario, Canada)

• University of Toronto (Undergraduate) / The Juilliard School (Graduate) / Manhattan School of Music (Professional Studies Certificate candidate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: I.S. 61 William A. Morris, Staten Island
   

      Tamara Winston, Oboe (Skokie, Illinois)

• The Juilliard School (Undergraduate) / Mannes School of Music (Graduate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: P.S. 17 Henry David Thoreau, Queens
   

      Yen-Chen Wu, Bassoon (Tainan, Taiwan)

• Yale School of Music (Graduate) / Stony Brook University (Doctoral Candidate)
• Partnered with NYC Public School: P.S. 21 Edward Hart, Queens

 

Ensemble Connect, 2018–2019 Concert Season

During the 2018–2019 season, Ensemble Connect performs concerts at a number of venues, including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall; The Juilliard School’s Paul Hall; in New York City community venues as part of Carnegie Hall Citywide; and at Skidmore College’s Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall.

2018–2019 season highlights include:

• Monday, October 22 at Weill Recital Hall – Ensemble Connect gives the New York premiere performance of Anthozoa by Gabriella Smith, commissioned by Carnegie Hall as part of the 125 Commissions Project. The program also includes works by Brahms, Ligeti, and Kaija Saariaho. (This program is also performed on Friday, October 19 at Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall at Skidmore College)

• Tuesday, November 6 at Paul Hall – Ensemble Connect performs chamber works by Beethoven, including his Sextet in E-flat Major, Op. 81b and Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97, “Archduke.” The program also includes Leoš Janácek’s String Quartet No. 2, “Intimate Letters.”

• Wednesday, December 5 at Weill Recital Hall – Ensemble Connect performs Bach’s Sonata sopra il Soggetto Reale from A Musical Offering, BWV 1079, Dvorák’s String Sextet in A Major, Op. 48, and Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Hrim.

• Tuesday, January 8 at Paul Hall – Ensemble Connect performs Brahms’s Two Songs, Op. 91; Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major, K. 452; and Schoenberg’s Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4.

• Friday, February 15 at Skidmore College – Ensemble Connect performs Pauline Oliveros’s The Witness, Steve Reich’s Quartet, and Terry Riley’s In C in Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall at Skidmore College following a week-long residency.

• Tuesday, February 19 at Weill Recital Hall – Ensemble Connect performs a program of contemporary works including Colin McPhee’s Balinese Ceremonial Music, Steve Reich’s Quartet, Julia Wolfe’s On Seven-Star-Shoes, and John Adams’s Chamber Symphony.

• Tuesday, March 12 at Paul Hall – Ensemble Connect performs a free concert at The Juilliard School that features Florence Price’s String Quartet in G Major, Bartók’s Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano, and Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49. (This program is also performed on Sunday, March 10 at Our Saviour’s Atonement Lutheran Church and on Saturday, April 13 at the Jackson Heights Branch Library, with the addition of Mozart’s String Quartet in D Major, K. 575, as part of Carnegie Hall Citywide).

• Wednesday, April 17 at Weill Recital Hall – Ensemble Connect performs Ravel’s Piano Trio in A Minor, Beethoven’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 16, and Ruth Crawford Seeger’s Suite for Wind Quintet.

• Wednesday, June 5 at Paul Hall – Ensemble Connect performs a free concert at The Juilliard School that includes R. Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel – Einmal Anders!, Prokofiev’s Quinetet in G Minor, Op. 39, and George Enescu’s String Octet in C Major, Op. 7.

 

2018–2019 Residencies & Special Projects 

Paris Residency: Ensemble Connect takes part in a residency in Paris, France from December 8–15 made possible in cooperation with The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations. The residency includes coaching and a performance at the Philharmonie de Paris with early-music master Jordi Savall in a program that include Baroque music from Italy and France, as well as works by Arvo Pärt. Ensemble Connect also reunites with Ensemble intercontemporain for an additional performance in Paris.

For more information about the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, please visit edrfoundations.org.

Skidmore College: For the 12th consecutive year, Ensemble Connect returns to Saratoga Springs, New York, for two five-day residencies at Skidmore College from October 15–19 and from February 11–15. During these residencies, the fellows engage with Skidmore College students as well as the broader Saratoga Springs community. While on campus, they work with music department faculty and students, offering master classes, lessons, and class demonstrations. The fellows also play side by side with the students of the Skidmore College Orchestra and read student composers’ new works. Ensemble Connect performs in the Arthur Zankel Music Center, this season presenting concerts that include the world premiere of a new work by Gabriella Smith in October and works by Pauline Oliveros, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley in February. In addition, the fellows offer collaborative demonstrations and informal performances beyond the music department in classes, dormitories, and libraries, as well as in schools and other community venues in the Saratoga Springs area.

Carnegie Hall Citywide: Throughout the season, Ensemble Connect fellows perform several times per year as part of Carnegie Hall Citywide, a series of free concerts throughout New York City. Fellows also participate in community-based performances across New York City as part of the Weill Music Institute’s social impact programs. These programs are designed to bring live music to people coping with challenging circumstances in correctional facilities, senior care facilities, as well as for special needs populations and those without access to live music.

Audience Engagement Intensive: Launched in 2017, Ensemble Connect’s Audience Engagement Intensive welcomes established chamber groups from across the United States to participate in an eight-day series of tuition-free workshops at Carnegie Hall during the summer. During the workshops, the ensembles learn how to strengthen their professional portfolios, design and perform interactive concerts for school and community audiences, and explore strategies for building dynamic concert experiences. They have the unique opportunity to work with alumni and current members of Ensemble Connect as well as with distinguished arts professionals and artists. The weeklong intensive culminates in each group presenting an interactive performance in a NYC public schools and a community venue, implementing what they created and fine-tuned during the week. Ensemble Connect hosts the second Audience Engagement Intensive in June 2019.

 

Alumni Activities

Throughout the 12 years since Ensemble Connect was established, Carnegie Hall has maintained close relationships with the program’s alumni. As the reputation of this group has grown, demand for work by its now 119 alumni has developed as well. In 2011, Decoda—an ensemble made up exclusively of Ensemble Connect alumni—was formed and later named an affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall. In the 2018–2019 season, Carnegie Hall presents Decoda for the first time in concert for two performances in Weill Recital Hall. In addition, alumni are at the forefront of initiatives that use their art form to impact a variety of audiences around the world; examples include Notes with a Purpose in Las Vegas, Musicambia in New York, New Docta international music festival in Argentina, Scrag Mountain Music in Vermont, Vivo Festival in Ohio, and Reveler in California. Many alumni also hold faculty and guest artist teaching positions at US universities and colleges.

Additionally, alumni regularly perform with current fellows in Ensemble Connect, lead professional development sessions, serve as advisors for current fellows, and perform as part of the Weill Music Institute’s Social Impact programs.

 

About Ensemble Connect

Ensemble Connect is made up of some of the finest young professional classical musicians residing in the US who take part in a two-year fellowship program created in 2007 by Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. The program prepares fellows for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership by offering top-quality performance opportunities, intensive professional development, and partnerships throughout the fellowship with New York City public schools.

On the concert stage and in schools and communities, Ensemble Connect has earned accolades from critics and audiences alike for the quality of the concerts, the fresh and open-minded approach to programming, and the ability to actively engage any audience.

Exemplary performers, dedicated teachers, and passionate advocates of music throughout the community, the forward-looking musicians of Ensemble Connect are redefining what it means to be a musician in the 21st century. 

 

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Ensemble Connect is a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education

Lead funding has been provided by the Max H. Gluck Foundation, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Irving Harris Foundation, the Hearst Foundations, The Kovner Foundation, Phyllis and Charles Rosenthal, and The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations.

Additional support has been provided by the Arnow Family Fund, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the E.H.A Foundation, Barbara G. Fleischman, Leslie and Tom Maheras, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Susan and Elihu Rose Foundation, Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding.

Public support is provided by the New York City Department of Education and the New York State Council on the Arts with support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Ensemble Connect is also supported, in part, by an endowment grant from The Kovner Foundation.

Lead support for Carnegie Hall Citywide is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation.

Additional support is provided by the A. L. and Jennie L. Luria Foundation.

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.