(PRINCETON, NJ) -- On Saturday, January 27 at 2:00pm, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) BRAVO! Masterclass features piano virtuoso Simone Dinnerstein. The masterclass is free and open to the general public, and will be held at Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College. Attendees will observe four piano students as they are coached on artistry and performance technique. The students are Joanna Hou (Princeton Charter School), Alexander Suponya (East Brunswick High School), Alexa Majana(Westminster Choir College), and Richmond Denzel Garrick (Westminster Choir College). The masterclass is presented in partnership with Westminster Conservatory, the community music school of Westminster College of the Arts of Rider University.
Pianist Simone Dinnerstein is a searching, inventive, and enterprising artist, who is motivated by a desire to find the musical core of every work she approaches. She is known for her “majestic originality of vision” (The Independent) and for organizing dynamic collaborations that not only bolster the work of world-renowned orchestras and players, but bring the talents of lesser-known ones to light. Committed to music education, she brings a digital keyboard into elementary school classrooms across the country through her Bachpackinginitiative. Dinnerstein is on the faculty of the Mannes School of Music
Student applicants were evaluated by a panel of Princeton Symphony Orchestra musicians. Those selected to participate in the masterclass are:
Joanna Hou - Age 9; Grade 4 - Princeton Charter School; Piano Teacher: Jessica Rey-de-Castro
Performance Piece: Anton Diabelli - Sonatina in F Major, Op. 168, No. 1, Rondo
Joanna Hou has been playing the piano since she was 5 years old. In 2017, she won a Grand Prix award from Music-Fest, and she had the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall. In 2016, she won a competition and was awarded a piano scholarship from Westminster Conservatory.
Alexander Suponya - Age 15; Grade 10, East Brunswick High School; Piano Teacher: Rita Shklar
Performance Piece: Enrique Granados - Quejas, ó la Maja y el Ruiseñor (Goyescas) No. 4
Alexander Suponya has been playing piano for 7 years and loves to perform. Alex performed at such venues in New York as: Carnegie Hall in 2014 and 2016, and the Roerich Museum, organized by the Russian Heritage Foundation in 2013. He was a top prize winner at the Olympic Challenge (2014) and Russian Music (2016) Competitions, finalist and Honorable Mention recipient at the Princeton Steinway Competition, winner of a Westminster Conservatory Scholarship competition and High Honors awards of NJMTA spring recital auditions in 2017, 2016 and 2015 and Honors in 2014. Besides piano, Alexander studies guitar and is interested in jazz and singing.
Alexa Majana - Age 20; Junior, Westminster Choir College; Piano Teacher: James Goldsworthy
Performance Piece: Ludwig van Beethoven - Sonata Op. 101, Allegretto ma non troppo
Alexa Majana is a current diploma candidate for a Bachelor of Music in Piano at Westminster Choir College, studying under the direction of Dr. James Goldsworthy. Alexa was born and raised in Nutley, New Jersey and has been studying piano since the age of six. She has performed in numerous venues such as Steinway Piano Gallery, Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall.
Richmond Denzel Garrick - Age 22; Senior - Westminster Choir College; Piano Teacher: Ingrid Clarfield
Performance Piece: Frédéric Chopin - Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat Major, Op. 61
Denzel Garrick has performed in numerous piano recitals, and the “Associated Music Teachers League” recently selected him after auditioning to play in a Young Musicians Concert in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. He won the college division in the 2016 NJMTA piano competition. His outstanding performance at the Regional Piano Competition of the National Association of Negro Musicians earned him a second place position. He was one of the three top finalists at the National Princeton Piano Festival in June 2010, and he received Honorable Mention at the West Chester University Annual Piano Competition in 2011, hosted by West Chester University. He was awarded the Robert B. and Frances Tice-Claytor Endowed Scholarship along with first place in the Sophomore and Junior Division for Westminster Piano Competition from Rider University in this spring semester. He was a recipient of the Damion Dixon Scholarship in the 2016-2017 year.
The PSO BRAVO! piano masterclass with Simone Dinnerstein is free and open to the public. Ticketed reservations are required via princetonsymphony.org or by phone at (609) 497-0020.
On Sunday, January 28, 4 pm at Richardson Auditorium, Simone Dinnerstein performs Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in G Minor and Philip Glass’ Piano Concerto No. 3, a new work co-commissioned by the PSO. The concert is at capacity, but there is a wait list available should seating open up at princetonsymphony.org.
ABOUT PSO BRAVO! EDUCATION PROGRAMS
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s acclaimed PSO BRAVO! education programs reach more than 10,000 students each year. Meet the Orchestra! establishes PSO musicians in teaching partnerships at more than 30 public, private, and special-needs elementary schools throughout Central New Jersey, and stages full-orchestra performances for elementary school students each spring. At the middle school level, Listen Up! invites students to attend Classical Series concerts and create visual art in response to the music they hear. Advanced young artists participate in public masterclasses with world-renowned artists. From kindergarten through college, PSO BRAVO! inspires the next generation of musicians and audiences.
ABOUT THE PRINCETON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey’s finest music organizations, a position established through performances of beloved masterworks, innovative music by living composers, and an extensive network of educational programs offered to area students free of charge. Led by Music Director Rossen Milanov, the PSO presents orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest artistic quality, supported by lectures and related events that supplement the concert experience. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and impactful education programs in partnership with local schools and arts organizations that culminate in students attending their first live orchestral performance. With considerable community support and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the PSO is also a multiple-year recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts’ highest honors. The PSO has been recognized for its commitment to new music with an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a Copland Fund Award. The only independent, professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.
PHOTO OF SIMONE DINNERSTEIN BY LISA MARIE MAZZUCCO
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