NEWSLETTER
April 19, 2020 at the Purchase Performing Arts Center
Conductor Jayce Ogren, & pianist Ran Dank; works of Mendelssohn, Copland, & Beethoven
White Plains, N.Y. — The Westchester Philharmonic celebrates the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and Beethoven’s 250th birth year on Sunday, April 19th, 3:00 pm, at the Purchase Performing Arts Center. The concert will open with two works composed as love letters to our planet, Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and Copland’s Appalachian Spring, and concludes with Beethoven’s intimate Piano Concerto No. 4.
Conductor Jayce Ogren, who began his career on a high rung as the Cleveland Orchestra’s assistant conductor and has gone on to guest-conduct the major symphony orchestras of the world, is joined by Israeli pianist Ran Dank for a celebration befitting the orchestra’s season finale. About Mr. Dank, the New York Times wrote that he “…played brilliantly, giving a muscular and virtuosic performance…” and the Washington Post raved about his “…impeccable technical surety…explosive force and triumphant exultation.”
Concertgoers are invited to a pre-concert talk with the artists at 2:00 pm, free for ticket-holders. A free open rehearsal on the morning of Sunday, April 19, begins at 11:00 am.
General Information and Tickets
Single tickets range from $36 - $98. Order online at artscenter.org, or call or visit the Purchase College Performing Arts Center box office at (914) 251-6200. Box office hours are Wednesday through Friday, 12 noon to 6:00 pm, and on the day of the concert.
Mainstage performances take place in The Concert Hall at The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, New York.
Program, 04/19/2020, 3:00 pm
Jayce Ogren, conducting
Ran Dank, piano
Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture
Copland: Appalachian Spring (complete ballet)
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4
Pre-concert discussion with the artists at 2pm.
About Jayce Ogren
Jayce Ogren has established himself as one of the most innovative and versatile conductors of his generation. From symphonic concerts to revolutionary community service programs to operatic world premieres, Mr. Ogren is a leader in breaking down barriers between audiences and great music.
Mr. Ogren began his career as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director of the Cleveland Youth Orchestra, a concurrent appointment he held from 2006-2009. In the years since, he has conducted many of the world’s most prominent orchestras, including the BBC Symphony, Boston Symphony, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, the Dallas and San Francisco Symphonies, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, in programs ranging from Mozart to Beethoven through Sibelius and Bernstein, to presenting U.S. and world premieres of works by Steve Mackey and Nico Muhly.
Among the numerous progressive projects Mr. Ogren has conducted are the New York premieres of Leonard Bernstein’s only opera, A Quiet Place, and puppeteer Basil Twist’s The Rite of Spring, both at Lincoln Center; the world premiere of David Lang’s symphony for a broken orchestra, bringing together 400 student, amateur and professional musicians in Philadelphia; and the world premiere of Jack Perla’s Shalimar the Clown at Opera Theatre of St. Louis.
A longtime collaborator of singer/songwriter/composer Rufus Wainwright, Mr. Ogren conducted the 2012 U.S. premiere of his opera Prima Donna at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and led its recording with the BBC Symphony on Deutsche Grammaphon in 2016. Mr. Ogren and Mr. Wainwright have since appeared together throughout the world, with ensembles such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Orchestre national d’Île-de-France in Paris and the Toronto Symphony.
A devoted educator, Mr. Ogren was invited by renowned poet Paul Muldoon to create an interdisciplinary studio class at Princeton University for the 2017-2018 academic year. He has worked with students at the Brevard Music Center, the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Music Academy of the West and Verbier Festival. In 2016, he presented a unique workshop in orchestral rehearsal techniques for music teachers at Carnegie Hall in collaboration with the Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute and the Juilliard School Pre-College. For his own part, Mr. Ogren earned his Masters in conducting at the New England Conservatory and studied as a Fulbright Scholar with Jorma Panula.
A native of Hoquiam, Washington, Jayce Ogren lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife Carly, an architect, and their son, Alistair. An avid athlete, he has run the Big Sur, Boston and New York City marathons, the JFK 50 Miler trail run, and the Ironman Lake Placid triathlon. As an individual member of 1% for the Planet, Mr. Ogren is proud to connect his artistic work with his deep love of nature and concern for the environment.
About Ran Dank
Notable performances during Mr. Dank’s 2019/2020 season include appearances at the National Gallery in DC, the Hawaii Concert Society, Purdue Convocations, Gina Bachauer Concert Series, two consecutive recitals at the Pro Musica series in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, and a collaboration with Jayce Ogren and the Westchester Philharmonic. In addition, he returns to the Chanel Chamber Music Festival in Tokyo and to the Portland Symphony for a performance of Saint Saens’ 2nd Piano Concerto under the baton of Eckart Preu.
Ran’s recent performances have included recitals at the San Francisco Performances Series, Gilmore, Ravinia, Carnegie Hall’s Zankel and Weill Halls, Steinway Hall, Gardner Museum, Kennedy Center, Town Hall, Yale School of Music, Philips Collection, Morgan Library, Pro Musica in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Portland Ovations, and have garnered critical acclaim from the New York Times and The Washington Post. Mr. Dank has performed as a soloist with the orchestras of Cleveland, Sydney, St. Luke’s, Portland, Eugene, Toledo, Hawaii, Kansas City, Vermont, Charleston, Jerusalem, Valencia, Phoenix, Hilton Head, among others, working under the batons such as Michael Stern, Jahja Ling, Michael Christie, Kirill Karabits, Jun Märkl, Pinchas Zukerman, Jorge Mester, Jaime Laredo, and Ken-David Masur. His chamber music festival appearances have included Santa Fe, Seattle, Chanel in Tokyo, Great Lakes, Bridgehampton, Cooperstown, Mänttä, Bowdoin, Maverick, Skaneateles, and Montreal, and he has collaborated with luminaries of the field such as Paul Watkins, Augustin Hadelich, Eugene Drucker, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, James Ehnes, and The Orion, Shanghai, Takács, and Dover String Quartets. Mr. Dank’s recent performance of the monumental set of variations “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!” at the University of Chicago has been selected as one of the top ten performances of 2017 by the Chicago Classical Review.
Mr. Dank is an ardent advocate for contemporary music, and has performed in recent seasons Kevin Puts’ piano concerto “Night,” the Tobias Picker concerto, “Keys to the City,” Frederic Rzewski’s “The People United Will Never Be Defeated,” William Bolcom’s Pulitzer-winning set of “Twelve New Etudes,” and has given, alongside pianist and wife, Soyeon Kate Lee, the world premieres of Frederic Rzewski’s “Four Hands,” and Alexander Goehr’s “Seven Impromptus.” This season Mr. Dank and Soyeon Kate lee will feature the world premiere of multiple grammy-nominated pianist and composer’s Marc-André Hamelin’s “Tango” for piano four-hands.
Ran Dank and Soyeon Kate Lee have established a series of concerts, Music by the Glass, held in a New York SoHo art gallery, where the audience of young professionals listen, mix and mingle with performing artists who play solo pieces and chamber works accompanied by treats sweet and savory, paired with wines by the glass.
Ran Dank is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Naumburg Piano Competition and the Sydney International Piano Competition, and First Prize winner of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.
About the Westchester Philharmonic
Now in its 37th season, the Westchester Philharmonic is the oldest, continuously running professional symphony orchestra and largest performing arts organization of any kind in Westchester County. The Philharmonic’s main stage concert series makes its home at the 1,300 seat Concert Hall at the Purchase Performing Arts Center, with outdoor concerts, chamber concerts, children’s programs, and special events throughout the area, attracting savvy music-lovers from Rockland, Bergen, Fairfield, and Putnam counties, New York City, and beyond.
The orchestra was founded in 1983 under the leadership of late Music Director Paul Lustig Dunkel (who became Music Director Emeritus in 2008), and is now led by Executive & Artistic Director Joshua Worby. Renowned artists who have performed with the Phil include Joshua Bell, Julia Bullock, Barbara Cook, Jeremy Denk, Branford Marsalis, Midori, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Kelly O’Hara, Garrick Ohlsson, Itzhak Perlman, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Gil Shaham, Isaac Stern, and André Watts.
Among the many new works commissioned and premiered by the Westchester Philharmonic is Melinda Wagner’s Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1999. Newly commissioned works by award-winning composers Christopher Theofanidis, David Ludwig, and Jed Feuer debuted in 2014, 2016, and 2018, respectively.
The Westchester Philharmonic has a rich history of supporting artists of diverse backgrounds and is setting a new standard for how mid-size regional symphony orchestras can have an impact on the face of classical music. Many of the composers whose works have been commissioned or premiered with the Philharmonic come from diverse backgrounds and/or are women. Over the past ten seasons the Phil has engaged 30 conductors or guest soloists of African-American, Hispanic, and Asian backgrounds. Women conductors and composers have appeared in eight of the last ten seasons.
The orchestra’s award-winning education program reaches thousands of elementary school students each year and culminates in a full orchestra concert. The Phil also partners with local organizations to present free and low-cost chamber concerts, as well as to provide subsidized seating at main stage concerts, welcoming hundreds of area residents each year who might not otherwise have an opportunity to attend.
The orchestra is comprised of the finest professional free-lance musicians from around the greater metropolitan area, who also perform regularly with the New York City Ballet, Orchestra St. Luke’s, Orpheus, Mostly Mozart, and for many Broadway shows. Members of the Phil hold faculty positions at Juilliard, Mannes, Manhattan School of Music, Purchase Conservatory, Vassar and Bard Colleges, and at local public schools.
Upcoming at the Westchester Philharmonic
CHAMBER SERIES
March 4, 2020, at 12:10 pm, Downtown Music at Grace Church, White Plains
Stephen Hart, clarinet
Roberta Cooper, cello
Christopher Oldfather, piano
Saint-Saëns: "The Swan" (from Carnival of the Animals)
J.S. Bach: Arioso (from Cantata 156), arr. by Sam Franko
Beethoven: Trio in B flat major, op. 11
Paquito D'Rivera: Three Pieces for clarinet and piano
MAINSTAGE SERIES
April 19, 2020, at 3:00 pm, Purchase Performing Arts Center
Jayce Ogren, conducting
Ran Dank, piano
Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture
Copland: Appalachian Spring (complete ballet)
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4
CHAMBER SERIES
May 13, 2020, at 12:10 pm, Downtown Music at Grace Church, White Plains
Gregg August, double bass
Jesse Mills, violin
Manuel Valera, piano
Gregg August: Trio for violin, piano, and bass
Ignacio Cervantes: Los Tres Golpes (arr. by G. August)
This season is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
This season is also made possible, in part, by ArtsWestchester with funds from Westchester County Government.