January 27-28

Friday | 1.27.17 | 8:30 PM
Saturday | 1.28.17 | 7:30 PM
St. Paul's Church

The Chelsea Symphony features a delightful potpourri of music including the NYC premiere of Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks' Concerto for English Horn featuring Jason Smoller, Saturday only. Friday's concert features Dan Dunford performing J.S. Bach's Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major, arranged for bass trombone.

The concert series opens with a world premiere, Song of Zippy, by TCS composer Tim Kiah, featuring TCS members and friends Aaron Dai, Alexandra Fees, and Phil Rashkin. Both performances close with fresh faces as we welcome to the podium guest conductors Matthew Dell on Johann Strauss II's Overture to Die Fledermaus, Eric Mahl on Bartok's Romanian Folk Dances (also Song of Zippy), and Tristan Rais-Sherman on Finlandia by Sibelius.

Tickets available now on Eventbrite: http://thechelseasymphony.eventbrite.com

Concerts will be held at St. Paul's Church, 315 West 22nd Street

The performance of Pēteris Vasks' Concerto for English Horn and Orchestra featuring Jason Smoller has been generously underwritten by the American Latvian Association Cultural Foundation, Council of Latvian Organizations of New York, Latvian Cultural Association TILTS, Latvia Centennial, the Permanent Mission of Latvia to the UN, and the International Double Reed Society.

Program

Tim Kiah

Song of Zippy

(World Premiere)

Aaron Dai, Piano
Phil Rashkin, Oboe
Tim Kiah, Composer
Johann Sebastian BachViolin Concerto No.2, BWV 1042, E major
Daniel Dunford, Bass Trombone
Pēteris VasksConcerto for English horn (NYC premiere)
Johann Strauss IIOverture to Die Fledermaus
Matthew Dell, Guest Conductor
Béla BartókRomanian Folk Dances, BB 76 (Román népi táncok )
Eric Mahl, Guest Conductor
Jean SibeliusFinlandia, op. 26, no. 7
Tristan Rais-Sherman, Guest Conductor

Featured Artists

Tristan Rais-Sherman
Guest Conductor

Friday, 1.27, Saturday, 1.28

Jean Sibelius: Finlandia, op. 26, no. 7


Tristan Rais-Sherman is the Assistant Conductor and David Alan Miller Fellow of the New York Youth Symphony where he began his duties in September 2015. Tristan recently performed as part of the Lamont Conducting Workshop in Denver, CO, the Aurora Festival in Vänersborg, Sweden, as well as with the Hilltop Chamber Orchestra in Greenwich, CT. He serves as cello coach of the Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic, as well as a faculty member of Mary Ann Hall’s Music for Children. He …

Eric Mahl
Guest Conductor

Friday, 1.27, Saturday, 1.28

Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, BB 76 (Román népi táncok )


As the Music Director of the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Harmony Program Youth Orchestra North, and assistant conductor of the Greenwich Village Orchestra in New York, New York, Mr. Mahl is a musician who believes in the transformative powers of music above all else. His hope is to provide meaningful, enriching and educational musical experiences to as many people as possible. Under the belief that the study of music is essentially an exploration of the human …

Matthew Dell
Guest Conductor

Friday, 1.27, Saturday, 1.28

Johann Strauss II: Overture to Die Fledermaus


Conductor and educator Matthew B. Dell is the music director of the Rowan Youth Orchestra and an adjunct faculty member at Rowan University’s College of Performing Arts. Previously he served as music director of the Michigan Pops Orchestra and assistant conductor of the orchestras of the University of Michigan, Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra, Saybrook Orchestra of Yale, and Yale Glee Club. He has conducted the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, US Army Band, Berlin Sinfonietta, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, University …

Jason Smoller
Oboe

Saturday, 1.28

Pēteris Vasks: Concerto for English horn (NYC premiere)


Jason Smoller maintains an active freelance performance career in New York City, where he plays regularly with the Handel Festival Orchestra, The Chelsea Symphony, and the Greenwich Village Orchestra. In 2017, he gave the New York Premiere of the English Horn Concerto by Peteris Vasks with The Chelsea Symphony.


In addition to concerts in many of New York’s most iconic venues, including Carnegie Hall and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, he has appeared with orchestras around the United …

Daniel Dunford
Bass Trombone

Friday, 1.27

Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Concerto No.2, BWV 1042, E major


Hailing from the South Bronx, Dan Dunford is a multi-talented and versatile bass trombonist who performs throughout the New York metropolitan area. He plays regularly with various orchestras, ensembles, and Broadway training groups around the city and has been seen on stage at many of the most important venues in New York City including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and SymphonySpace. A former student of bass trombone legend David Taylor, Dan is well-versed in orchestral, solo, chamber, …

Alexandra Fees
Voice

Friday, 1.27, Saturday, 1.28

Tim Kiah: Song of Zippy


Artistic Director of Opera Upper West, Alexandra Fees' work has been described by the New York Times as “captivating, immersive...almost voyeuristic." Her production of The Cell: La voix humaine/The Telephone, in which two women’s relationships with their cell phones isolate them from their human connections, premiered at New York Opera Fest 2016. The Cell was featured in Philadelphia for National Opera Week and toured in Huntsville, Alabama in partnership with Ars Nova School of the Arts for New Year's Eve …

Tim Kiah
Composer

Friday, 1.27, Saturday, 1.28

Tim Kiah: Song of Zippy


Tim Kiah is a Brooklyn-based composer, vocalist, and bassist. He has been commissioned by Chamber Music America, Lincoln Center, La Mama Theatre, the Washington Square Winds, the Gusto Chamber Players, and the Northern Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra in Newcastle, England. His works have been premiered at venues such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, and have been broadcast on NPR. He is a member and composer of The Chelsea Symphony.

Upon moving to New York, Kiah, a registered nurse, formed a …

Phil Rashkin
Oboe

Friday, 1.27, Saturday, 1.28

Tim Kiah: Song of Zippy


Phil Rashkin is a conductor, pianist, oboist, and composer based in New York City. He is the music director of Opera Upper West, the assistant conductor of the Manhattan Symphonie, and oboist with the Downtown Music at Grace chamber music series with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He conducts the Wind Ensemble at the Special Music High School and teaches at Mannes Prep Pre-College at The New School, The Horace Mann School, and Manhattan School of Music Summer. He …

Aaron Dai
Piano

Friday, 1.27, Saturday, 1.28

Tim Kiah: Song of Zippy


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. …

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 …

Conductor and educator Matthew B. Dell is the music director of the Rowan Youth Orchestra and an adjunct faculty member at Rowan University’s College of Performing Arts. Previously he served as music director of the Michigan Pops Orchestra and assistant conductor of the orchestras of the University of Michigan, Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra, Saybrook Orchestra of Yale, and Yale Glee Club. He has conducted the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, US Army Band, Berlin Sinfonietta, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, University …

As the Music Director of the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Harmony Program Youth Orchestra North, and assistant conductor of the Greenwich Village Orchestra in New York, New York, Mr. Mahl is a musician who believes in the transformative powers of music above all else. His hope is to provide meaningful, enriching and educational musical experiences to as many people as possible. Under the belief that the study of music is essentially an exploration of the human …

Tristan Rais-Sherman is the Assistant Conductor and David Alan Miller Fellow of the New York Youth Symphony where he began his duties in September 2015. Tristan recently performed as part of the Lamont Conducting Workshop in Denver, CO, the Aurora Festival in Vänersborg, Sweden, as well as with the Hilltop Chamber Orchestra in Greenwich, CT. He serves as cello coach of the Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic, as well as a faculty member of Mary Ann Hall’s Music for Children. He …