December 12

Schwarz-Wong_Dec2014.jpg

Holiday Concert

Friday | 12.12.14 | 8:00 PM
St. Paul's Church

The Chelsea Symphony's holiday concert features BD Wong as our special guest narrator in Aaron Dai's The Night Before Christmas and seasonal favorites arranged by acclaimed conductor and composer Gerard Schwarz. Leonid Iogansen performs the violin solo in Bruch's beloved Scottish Fantasy, and Warren Wernick plays two Baroque trumpet concerti. Otto Nicolai's charming Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor opens the program.

Conductors: Reuben Blundell, Matthew Aubin

Guest conductor: Timothy A. Miller, 2013 Silent Auction Winner

Tickets are available at the door for a suggested donation of $20

All concerts take place at St. Paul's Church, 315 West 22nd Street (between 8th + 9th Avenues), NYC

Program

Otto NicolaiOverture to The Merry Wives of Windsor
Max Bruch

Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46

Leonid Iogansen, Violin
Alessandro StradellaSonata a 8
Warren Wernick, Trumpet
Giuseppe TorelliConcerto in D major
Warren Wernick, Trumpet
Gerard SchwarzVariations on Greensleeves
HK GruberSilent Night (arr. Schwarz)
Leroy AndersonSleigh Ride
Timothy A. Miller, Guest Conductor
Aaron Dai

The Night Before Christmas

Aaron Dai, Composer
BD Wong, Guest Narrator

Featured Artists

Aaron Dai
Composer

Friday, 12.12

Aaron Dai: The Night Before Christmas


A graduate of Columbia University and the Mannes School of Music, Aaron Dai began studying piano at  the age of five and went on to win the UNICEF Youth Concerts Competition three times by the age of  fifteen. As a soloist and collaborative pianist, he has performed around the country and abroad, in New  York venues such as Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Symphony Space, and The Town Hall, and cities  including Dublin, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and San Francisco. …

BD Wong
Guest Narrator

Friday, 12.12

Aaron Dai: The Night Before Christmas


Born and raised in San Francisco, California, BD Wong is the only actor ever to have received all five major New York Theater awards for a single role. For his performance in ‘M. Butterfly,' his Broadway debut, he received the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Theater World Award, the Clarence Derwent Award, and the Tony Award.

Wong appeared in the NBC series ‘Awake,' where he played Dr. Lee, Det. Britten's psychiatrist in the "red" reality. For …

Timothy A. Miller
Guest Conductor

Friday, 12.12

Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride


Although to many people, Timothy A. Miller is considered the second of three Miller generations of performing musicians, his inspiration is more his son than his mother. During a successful career in operations management consulting, he did not fully realize the extent of his fascination with musical structure and performance until after his son became a professional musician.

Already in his 50s, Mr. Miller then learned to play all of the brass and single reed instruments and to arrange music …

Warren Wernick
Trumpet

Friday, 12.12

Alessandro Stradella: Sonata a 8


Friday, 12.12

Giuseppe Torelli: Concerto in D major


Trumpeter Warren Wernick has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and beyond. He is a founding member of The Majestic Brass Quintet and held the position of principal trumpet with the New Philharmonia of Portugal from 1987-90. Mr. Wernick has been heard with many of the leading community orchestras in New York City. The list of community and professional ensembles he has performed with over the years continues to grow. To date he has played at least one concert …

Leonid Iogansen
Violin

Friday, 12.12

Max Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46


Born in St. Petersburg Russia in 1981, Leonid Iogansen started playing violin at the age of seven. Since that time, he has performed at numerous venues in the United States (where he moved twenty years ago) as well as abroad. Leonid has premiered many new chamber and solo works, including his own Violin Concerto. He has won several competitions, such as the Young Virtuosos International Competition in 1999, which resulted in his performance in Carnegie Hall the same year.

As …

Conductor

A leader in the 21st century orchestral landscape, Dr. Matthew Aubin is constantly reaching new audiences through innovative performance formats and creative initiatives both on and off the podium.

The 2022-23 season kicks off Dr. Aubin’s inaugural year as Music Director of the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he is Music Director of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra and serves as Artistic Director of The Chelsea Symphony. In his role at TCS, he has led highly visible collaborations with partners such …

Reuben Blundell has been a Chelsea Symphony conductor/violinist since 2012, enjoying collaborations with musicians, soloists, composers and other conductors. Conducting Aaron Dai’s The Night Before Christmas, first with B. D. Wong then Annie Golden narrating, he initiated, conducted and edited (in Premiere Pro) the orchestra’s 2020 remote performance, narrated by John Lithgow.

Blundell is Music Director of the Riverside Orchestra on the Upper West Side, rehearsing Mondays and performing five concerts each season. He also directs another outstanding community …