Okay, with a recent earthquake, a hurricane and now a history-making flood in Central Pennsylvania, we need to start off by saying, "Yes, this concert is still going ahead as planned." Set for 3pm on Sunday, September 11th at the Forum in downtown Harrisburg, it is still scheduled.
As HSO executive director Jeff Woodruff was quoted in a Patriot-News article, “The last thing we want to do is cancel this event. Unless the state or city closes the roads, we are going to play. Unless we absolutely can’t."
As of this posting, the highway exits into Harrisburg north from I-81 and south from I-83 and the South Bridge are both closed due to flooding. However, the Harve Taylor Bridge onto Forester Street is open and the State Street Bridge (behind the Capitol complex) was the only way in or out of the city during the Agnes Flood in 1972 and the 1996 Flood, so it also is open and, incidentally, will take you right behind the Forum (make a left and then an immediate right turn to the State Library Entrance, or continue around onto Walnut Street and the front of the Forum building). The river is expected to crest Friday night or Saturday morning (if it hasn't already) but the waters will not recede below the flood stage of 17' until later on Sunday.
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The concert is "9/11: A Community Remembers, A 10th Anniversary Musical Tribute"
with the Harrisburg Symphony conducted by Stuart Malina, a cross-genre “concert of remembrance” coinciding with the nation's
observation of the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.
The concert will take
place on Sunday, September 11 at 3:00 p.m. at the Forum in Harrisburg.
On
the jazz-flavored first half, local jazz piano legend Steve Rudolph
will be joined by saxophonists Tim Warfield and Jonathan Ragonese,
vocalists Diane Wilson and J.D. Walter, and the orchestra. The program
will feature the premiere of an original work called Remembrance, composed by Steve Rudolph for this special performance. Also on the program will be Never Let Me Go, Shower the People, His Eye Is on the Sparrow and a medley of patriotic tunes including The House I live In and America the Beautiful.
On
the second half, Maestro Malina will conduct Mozart’s final work, his
moving Requiem. The performance will include vocal soloists Sasha
Piastro, Amy Yovanovich, Eric Rieger, and Damian Savarino, the
Susquehanna Chorale, and the Harrisburg Symphony.
This
special HSO Community Concert is generously sponsored by Chesapeake
Energy, Capital BlueCross, G.R. Sponaugle & Sons, Inc., Rhoads and
Sinon LLP, abc27, and The Patriot-News.
The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra presents 9/11: A Community Remembers at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 11th at Forum, located at 5th and Walnut Street in downtown Harrisburg, PA. Tickets for this performance range from $10 to $35 depending on seating location and available online at www.HarrisburgSymphony.org or by calling the HSO office (717) 545-5527.
Steve Rudolph is
a jazz pianist, composer, arranger and educator. He has had an
inspiring career in his 40 years of professional music making. Jazz
Improv magazine states, “Rudolph is a savvy, swinging, glimmering
heavyweight… ...simply outstanding.” The winner of the Jazziz Magazine
Piano Competition at the Seven Springs Jazz Festival in 2000, he was
also awarded two Jazz Composition Fellowships from the PA Council on the
Arts. With eleven acclaimed CDs as a leader, he has served as producer,
arranger and performer on many recordings including CDs with Johnny
Coles, Bill Goodwin, Ali Ryerson, Matt Wilson and Vinny Valentino. HIs
latest CD, "Day Dream" - released in 2010, is a trio recording from a
live concert at Bucknell University with drummer Phil Haynes and bassist
Drew Gress. His vast experience encompasses concert performances with
many jazz masters including Louie Bellson, Clark Terry, Terry Gibbs,
Rufus Reid, Buddy Tate, Al Grey, Bill Goodwin, and Sal Nistico. He has
toured throughout the U.S., India, Europe, Canada, Russia and the
Caribbean. When at home in Harrisburg, Pa., Steve, a Yamaha Artist, can
be found performing regularly at the Hilton Harrisburg on his Yamaha
Concert Collection C-7 Grand. Steve is presently in his nineteenth year
playing six nights a week at the Hilton.
Born
in Evansville, Indiana, Steve studied trumpet and composition under
scholarship at Butler University. He switched his main instrumental
focus to the piano at age 22 and was hired by Buddy Morrow to perform
with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in 1977. Since moving to Harrisburg in
1978, he has been largely responsible for the growth and development of
the thriving jazz scene in Central PA. His devotion to the art of jazz
inspired him to found the Central PA Friends of Jazz, now in it’s 30th
successful season of monthly concerts, youth band, jazz camp, and annual
Central PA Jazz Festival. Steve was the recipient of the 2002
Harrisburg Arts Award for dedication to the arts and community service.
His detailed recording and touring information may be found at www.steverudolph.com.
Tim Warfield, Jr.,
a native of York, Pennsylvania, began studying the alto saxophone at
age nine. He switched to tenor saxophone during his first year at
William Penn Sr. High School where he participated in various musical
ensembles, winning many jazz soloist awards including second out of
forty competitors at the Montreal Festival of Music in Canada. After
high school, Warfield attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. for
two years before leaving to lead and co-lead groups in the Central
Pennsylvania and Baltimore/Washington areas.
In
1990 he was chosen to be a member of trumpeter and CBS/Sony recording
artist Marlon Jordan’s Quintet. In 1991 he was selected to record Tough
Young Tenors on the Island/Antilles label, listed as one of the top ten
recordings of the year by the New York Times. He also joined Jazz
Futures, a world touring group assembled by George Wein to showcase some
of the world’s brightest young stars in jazz. Also in 1991, Warfield
placed third at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone
Competition held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Warfield has made several television appearances including the Today Show, Bill Cosby’s You Bet Your Life (where he was a member of the house band until 1992), and Ted Turner’s 1998 Trumpet Awards.
Additionally, he has made numerous stage appearances with such names as
Donald Byrd, Michelle Rosewoman, Marcus Miller, Marlon Jordan, James
Williams, Christian McBride, The Harper Brothers, Dizzy Gillespie, Isaac
Hayes, Shirley Scott, Jimmy Smith, Nicholas Payton, Charles Fambrough,
Eric Reed, Carl Allen, Terell Stafford, Stefon Harris, Orrin Evans, The
Newport Millennium All Stars, “Papa” John Defrancesco, Joey Defrancesco,
Claudio Raggazzi, Danilo Perez, and others. In 1994, he joined bassist
and Verve recording artist Christian McBride’s group, where he remained a
member until 1999.
Warfield’s first recording, A Cool Blue,
was selected as one of the top ten recordings of the year in a 1995 New
York Times critic’s poll, as was his 1998 recording Gentle Warrior
(featuring Cyrus Chestnut, Tarus Mateen, Clarence Penn, Terell Stafford,
and Nicholas Payton), proclaiming him possibly the most powerful tenor
saxophonist of his generation. In 1999, he was awarded “Talent Deserving
Wider Recognition” in DownBeat Magazine’s 49th Annual Jazz
Critic’s poll. In 2000, alongside crooner Loston Harris, Warfield
performed at the MTV GQ Men of the Year Awards in New York City.
In
the fall of 1999 Warfield exclusively joined forces with New Orleans
trumpeter and Warner Bros. recording artist Nicholas Payton of with whom
he toured and recorded until 2005.
In 2006, Warfield joined trumpeter and Maxjazz recording artist Terell Stafford’s Quintet.
Warfield
has appeared on several GRAMMY-nominated recordings such as Stefon
Harris’ “The Grand Unification Theory,” as well as “Dear Louis” and
“Sonic Trance,” both under the leadership of trumpeter Nicholas Payton.
Tim
is currently serving as a board member for the Central Pennsylvania
Friends of Jazz as well as an artist-in-residence at Messiah College in
Grantham , Pa.
Jonathan Ragonese,
composer-arranger-saxophonist, is a native of New Cumberland
Pennsylvania. He has lived in New York City for four years, where he
completed his undergraduate degree at the Manhattan School of Music. As a
saxophonist he has performed and recorded with local and international
performers, Terell Stafford, David Liebman, Tim Warfield, JD Walter, The
Harrisburg Symphony & Stuart Malina, Steve Rudolph, Steve Wilson
and James Moody. As a composer his works have been premiered by
saxophonist Steve Wilson, the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra, the
Harrisburg Symphony, and the Manhattan School of Music Jazz Orchestra.
"Sweet for Duke", commissioned by the Vermont Mozart Festival was
premiered in August of 2010. His latest large work, "Mother Goose Suite"
a collection of dramatic nursery rhymes, was premiered in New York City
with Steve Wilson, Glenn Zaleski, Harp and Winds featuring the
narration of world-renowned composer, historian, and performer Dr. David
Noon.
Diane Wilson
is the winner of the 2007 Pennsylvania State Senior Idol competition
and is known for her soulful renditions of jazz and R&B classics.
JD Walter
is a Jazz singers singer - a purist and an innovator. Although his
style has been compared to many vocal Titans, it is in the same breath,
uniquely his own, and he has become a singular phenomenon on the music
scene. Respected and lauded by the great musicians of the contemporary
circuit, J.D. has shared the stage and recorded with many legendary
artists. J.D. has currently recorded 5 CD's. "Sirens in the C-House",
"Clear Day", a collaboration with master musician Dave Liebman,
"Dedicated to You", "2Bass, a Face and a little skin", and "live in
Portugal". JD has been a guest artist on many CD's, is also a member of
pianist Orrin Evans Luvpk band, with 2 releases on Imani Records, as
well as performing 3 songs on trumpeter Sean Jones latest release,
"Kaleidoscope", on Mack Avenue records. J.D. has been a featured artist
at countless American jazz festivals and clubs, performed at numerous
festivals in Europe, the Middle East, Central America and toured Russia
25+ times, performing in over 100 cities. J.D. is in demand as a
clinician at schools and universities. He has performed numerous clinics
for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Music
Educators National Conference, and has taught at the prestigious
Sebelius Conservatory in Helsinki Finland, Jazz Palau De Valencia in
Spain, The University of North Texas (invited back as the first vocalist
ever on their lecture series), The Moscow Music Consort, and the Kazan
Music Conservatory in Russia. JD is a regular on the Music Scene in New
York having headlined at such venues as, Lincoln Center, The Jazz
Standard, The Jazz Gallery, Joe's Pub, The Tribeca Performing Arts
Center, Sweet Rhythm, Smoke, and can be seen frequently at the famed 55
Bar. He was also formerly on the faculty of the University of the Arts
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Currently resides in New York City,
teaches at The Aaron Copeland School of Music, The New School, and can
be heard at many major jazz clubs and events.
Sasha Piastro
is a versatile professional singer, equally comfortable with classical
and musical theater styles. Past season’s engagements include Djamileh
with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, L’Africaine with Amici Opera, Celia in
Iolanthe with Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Zerlina in Don Giovanni
with Center Stage Opera, the soprano soloist for Handel’s Messiah with
the Messiah College Choral Arts Society, Leïla in Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs
de Perles with Center Stage Opera, soprano soloist with the Williamsport
Symphony Orchestra, and Cathy in The Last Five Years at the Mary Welch
Theater in Williamsport, PA.
Ms.
Piastro has sung with numerous opera and music theater companies
including Emerald City Opera, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, Center Stage
Opera, Amici Opera, the New York Conservatory for the Arts, Pittsburgh
Music Theater, Pittsburgh Opera, and Penn State Opera Theater. She has
also sung with internationally respected conductors Robert Page and
Stuart Malina, and with well-known directors such as Dorothy Danner,
Sarah Meyers, and Jonathan Eaton.
Ms.
Piastro received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in voice performance
from Carnegie Mellon University and her Master of Music degree in voice
performance and pedagogy from Penn State University. She is currently
working on her Doctorate of Musical Arts in voice performance at
Shenandoah Conservatory. Ms. Piastro is a member of the voice faculty at
Grove City College, and has served on the faculties at Lycoming College
and Susquehanna University. She is an active member of the National
Association of Teachers of Singing and the Associated Guild of Musical
Artists.
Amy Yovanovich
started singing as a child. She is a 1989 graduate of Elizabethtown
Area High School, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. After high school she
served as lead soloist at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania. Ms. Yovanovich studied under Mr. John Darrenkamp, a
well-known veteran of the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City
and currently studies with Ms. Kyle C. Engler, Mezzo-Soprano, Baltimore,
Maryland. She has performed with the Pennsylvania Academy of Music
Opera Theatre Workshop, Lancaster and Harrisburg Opera Companies. She
has performed in a number of operas, including, Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte
as Dorabella, Bizet’s Carmen as Carmen and Mennotti’s Amahl and the
Night Visitors as the Mother. Ms. Yovanovich has also performed many
oratorios, including Verdi & Mozart Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and
Judas Maccabeus, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. She has also performed in several productions
at the Fulton Opera House including The Sound of Music as Mother Abbess,
in Rags as Rosa, in Ragtime as Sarah’s Friend, in Carousel as Netty
Fowler and Oliver at Widow Corney. In February of 2003, she made her
non-musical debut with Ephrata ACT as Berenice Sadie Brown in Carson
McCullers’ “The Member of the Wedding.”
In
March of 1998, Ms. Yovanovich was the recipient of the prestigious
Oxnard Gold Medal, First Place Award in the American Traditions
Competition in Savannah, Georgia, sponsored by Savannah On Stage. She
also was Honorable Mention at the 1998 Metropolitan Opera District
Auditions, finalist in the 1999 National Federation of Music Clubs
Competition, and a winner in the 2000 Connecticut Opera Guild
Competition.
Eric Rieger
has consistently received critical praise for his beautiful singing and
exciting performances throughout his impressive international career.
Opernnetz.de hails his “erotic, radiant voice” and “cultivated manner.”
The Trierischer Volksfreund applauds his “fine-timbered tenor voice” and
“beautiful lyric singing,” and continues by stating, “There is bel
canto style to be felt, skillfulness and every amount of talent.”
Indeed, musicweb-international.com says, “this is a lovely tenor voice
and a winning personality who will go a long way on both the recital
platform and the opera stage." He has had great success in opera
throughout Europe, particularly in the repertoire of Rossini, Donizetti,
Mozart, Handel, and Britten. His busy career has led him to the opera
companies of Zürich, Luzern, Basel (Switzerland), Trier, Regensburg,
Kaiserslautern, Bremerhaven, Osnabrück, Nordhausen, Konstanz (Germany),
and Novara, (Italy), as well as Zomeropera Alden Biesen (Belgium),
Citizens Theatre (Glasgow, Scotland), Everyman Palace Theatre (Cork,
Ireland), and the Mozart and Friends Opera Festival (New Jersey).
Equally
at home on the concert platform, Mr. Rieger has appeared with such
notable orchestras as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Basel
Sinfonietta, St. John’s Orchestra (London), the Luxembourg Chamber
Orchestra “Les Musiciens,” and the Trier Philharmonic Orchestra. He has
also been featured at the Claudio Monteverdi Festival in Italy, the
Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Frequent oratorio and concert performances have included Handel’s
Messiah; J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Magnificat and many Cantatas;
Mozart’s Requiem; Rossini’s Messe Solennelle; Orff’s Carmina Burana and
Britten’s Serenade, among others. A passionate recitalist, he has been
heard in the United States and Europe interpreting a vast array of song
literature. Mr. Rieger is also in demand as a voice teacher and is an
active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
Currently, he serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Voice at Texas
Tech University. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and
the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Bass Damian Savarino
is quickly gaining attention as one of today’s most talented singers.
With his rich voice, striking musicality, and commanding acting ability,
he is becoming one of the most sought-after young performers in opera
and in concert. He has appeared throughout the U.S. performing such
roles as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro,
Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Zuniga in Carmen, and Guglielmo in Così Fan
Tutte. While at the Ohio Light Opera, he sang and recorded the roles of
Colonel Lester in Victor Herbert’s Eileen and Lord Dramaleigh in
Gilbert & Sullivan’s Utopia Limited for the Newport Classic label as
well as performed roles in Patience, Eduard Künneke’s Der Vetter aus
Dingsda, Romberg’s New Moon, and Camelot.
During
the past two seasons, Mr. Savarino appeared with Teatro Grattacielo as
Lo zio in Riccitelli’s I Compagnacci and L’uomo di Legge in Giordano’s
Il Re at the Rose Theater, Lincoln Center. Other appearances include
the bass solos in Charpentier’s Filius Prodigus and Carissimi’s Vanitas
Vanitatum with Musica Sacra (Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center) and
Handel’s Messiah with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra (Ithaca, NY). He had
also first performed with Teatro Grattacielo as Rocco in Wolf-Ferrari’s
I Gioielli della Madonna.
In
January 2010, Mr. Savarino sang the bass solos in Haydn’s Lord Nelson
Mass in Carnegie Hall with Distinguished Concerts International New
York. He has also recently sung Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the
Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra/Symphonic Choir, Handel’s Messiah and
Mozart’s Requiem with the Choral Arts Society of Messiah College, Aaron
Copland’s Old American Songs with the West Shore Symphony (PA), and
Schubert’s Mass in G with the Handel & Haydn Society of Boston.
During a trip to Greece, Mr. Savarino performed the bass solos in Mikis
Theodorakis’ oratorio Canto General, based on texts by Pablo Neruda.
Mr. Savarino is also an active recitalist who has presented recitals in
Germany, Greece, and Sicily.
The Susquehanna Chorale
was founded in 1981 by Artistic Director Linda L. Tedford. The chorus
is recognized for its artistic interpretation of choral works of many
styles, for its commissions of 14 new works, and for its educational
outreach programs. The Chorale is the recipient of Chorus America’s
highest award: The Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and is
currently Ensemble-in-Residence at Messiah College. In addition to its
series of performances throughout Central Pennsylvania, the Chorale
performs regularly with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra and has toured
Great Britain and Europe. The Chorale’s CD’s have received national
recognition: Wondrous Love and American Treasures were offered for
consideration for a Grammy Nomination.
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