The North/South Chamber Orchestra welcomesthe New Year onTuesday eveningJanuary 9, 2018 performing optimistic and vibrant works by four livingAmerican composers.
Violinist Kurt Nikkanen and pianist Maria Asteriadouwill appear as soloists in the first New York performance of Encore IIbyDinos Constantinides -- theGreek-American composer celebrating his 90th birthday next year. Other works also receiving their first hearing in New York include the American Elegy by Richard Brooks;Hextet by Paul Reale;and Fire Withinby the ensemble's conductor, Max Lifchitz. American Elegy for string orchestra, by Richard Brooks, was composed in 2002 with a profound love for New York and a deep sadness for those who were lost on September 11, 2001. Brooks has composed over one hundred works in all media. His opera for young audiences, Rapunzel, was commissioned by the Tri-Cities Opera (Binghamton) in 1971 and has been mounted also by the Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia, Wolf Trap Farm Park, and the Denver Symphony/Central City Singers. Most recently, it received sixty-five performances by the Cincinnati Opera. A native of upstate New York, Brooks holds a B.S. degree in Music Education from the Crane School of Music, Potsdam College; an M.A. in Composition from Binghamton University; and a Ph. D. in Composition from New York University.