UMBC Symphony Orchestra

On Sunday, May 5, at 7:30 PM, the UMBC Symphony will present a program of music by Gustav Holst, Piotyr Tchaikovsky, Bohuslav Martinu, Franz Doppler, and UMBC student composer, Collin David.  

The Symphony will be joined by the internationally renowned Trio Des Alpes in a performance of the Concertino for Violin, Cello, Piano and Strings by Bohuslav Martinu, a Czech composer active during the first half of the twentieth century whose works display a distinctive blend of French, Czech, and “Stravinsky” influences.  The Trio Des Alpes, an Italian-Swiss ensemble, features violinist Hana Kotková, cellist Claude Hauri, and pianist Corrado Greco.  “Individually excellent, they are even more impressive together,” wrote the Gazzetta di Mantova after a concert by the Trio des Alpes. The attraction of this ensemble is the quintessence of chamber music: dialogue, a shared sound, and the blending of three instruments into a single voice.  The New York Times described Hana Kotková as a"sublime solist" - and The Strad wrote about a "seductive and wonderful' violinist in 2012 at the American premiere of "Violin and Orchestra" by Morton Feldman at Lincoln Center in New York.  Claude Hauri was principal cellist in numerous ensembles, starting at an early age as a solo cellist in the JM Youth World Orchestra, then in the "Ensemble Algoritmo" of Rome, and in the ensemble "Nuovo Contrappunto" of Florence.  These groups were especially devoted to contemporary music, and for this type of music, Mr. Hauri has become an interpretative reference.  Pianist Corrado Greco is an experienced chamber musician who has collaborated with Bruno Canino, Rodolfo Bonucci, Mario Ancillotti, Giovanni Sollima, Mario Caroli, Massimo Quarta, Lorna Windsor, and with members of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Winners of the UMBC Symphony Concerto Competition will also be performing with the Symphony as soloists on the May 5 concert.  Violinist Molly Schneider (who will finish her B.A. degree in May 2019 in Music Performance and has studied violin with Dr. Airi Yoshioka at UMBC) will play the Finale of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major, and flutist Sara Cochran (another UMBC candidate for a B.A. in Music Performance) will perform the Fantaisie Pastorale Hongroise by Franz Doppler – a virtuoso flutist and composer who was born in Poland in 1870.  Sarah’s teacher at UMBC has been Dr. Lisa Cella.

Student composer Collin David, a student of Dr. Linda Dusman, is part the B.A. in Music Composition program at UMBC.  Collin’s work, Child’s Play, was premiered by a student orchestra in Brazil earlier this academic year.  The UMBC Symphony will present the American Premiere on May 5.

Finally, the Symphony will present a suite from Gustav Holst’s The Planets (Mars; Venus; Mercury; and Jupiter).  Our performance will not only celebrate the 104th anniversary of this remarkable work, but also the 60th year of NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration).