March 21
Isle Full of Noises
Our March series explores two treatments of The Tempest, often described as the most musical of Shakespeare's plays. Sibelius's overture includes one of the most evocative representations of a storm in the orchestral repertoire; Tchaikovsky's symphonic poem juxtaposes high drama and sweeping love themes. Elise Frawley is the featured soloist in Bartók's Viola Concerto. A new work by Seth Bedford opens the program commemorating the 1964-65 World's Fair, celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Conductors: Reuben Blundell, Mark Seto
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
Featured Artists
Elise Frawley enjoys playing viola in a variety of venues, from Carnegie Hall to Rockwood Music Hall. She has performed with such ensembles as the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra at the Metropolitan Opera House, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of New York, Ensemble LPR, Wordless Music Orchestra, Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, MetroChamber Orchestra, Ensemble Mise-en, among many other groups. She serves as both principal viola and board member of the Chelsea Symphony, …
Aaron Patterson
Saxophone
Saturday, 3.21
Seth Bedford: Flushing Meadows, 1964 for Saxophone and Orchestra (World Premiere)
DR. AARON THOMAS PATTERSON, originally of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, currently resides in Lakeland, Florida. He instructs Performing Arts Leadership and Marketing at two Polk County School District high schools for students pursuing entrepreneurial careers in music, theatre, and dance. This new program is sponsored in part by Usher Raymond’s New Look Foundation. Aaron received his D.M.A. in Saxophone Performance at Manhattan School of Music with a dissertation entitled Use of Saxophones in West Side Story: A Comparative Analysis of the Original …
Conductor
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 …
Mark Seto leads a wide-ranging musical life as a conductor, scholar, teacher, and violinist. He is Artistic Director and Conductor of The Chelsea Symphony in New York City, and Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Music at Brown University, where he directs the Brown University Orchestra and teaches courses in music history, theory, and conducting. Highlights of his 2023-24 season include performances with violinist Itzhak Perlman, violinist Randall Goosby, and clarinetist Anthony McGill, and the inauguration of The …