Experience a delightful musical tour exploring the history of France from Medieval times to the present in the Red Ballroom of Westbury House. Explore the works and styles of Mozart, Chopin, Ravel, Debussy, Rameau and many others presented by the members of Poetica Musica including pianist, Hayk Arsenyan, mezzo soprano, Eleanor Valkenburg, and guest artist, Christopher Preston Thompson (tenor and harpist).
Works will include: Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques by Maurice Ravel, Selected Nocturnes by Frederic Chopin, piano works by Erik Satie and Gabriel Fauré, songs by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Debussy, Rameau and solo harp works played on various historical harps.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
CHRISTOPHER PRESTON THOMPSON has performed as a soloist in venues throughout the United States, including NYC’s Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall. Christopher is the founding Artistic Director of Concordian Dawn, ensemble for Medieval music, and he regularly performs early music with such ensembles as Pomerium, The Broken Consort, and the Choir of St. Luke in the Fields. He enjoys a recurring role in Gotham Early Music Scene’s critically acclaimed production of Medieval musical drama, The Play of Daniel. Other credits include performances with Toby Twining Music, Grand Harmonie, Tucson Desert Song Festival, Encompass New Opera Theater, Heartbeat Opera, On Site Opera, among others. He has conducted presentations and workshops on Medieval vocal and instrumental repertoire and performance practice for such institutions as Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, the CUNY Graduate Center, Hunter College. He currently teaches at Lehman College and Rutgers University.
HAYK ARSENYAN, a native of Armenia, has appeared in numerous recitals in USA, Canada, Armenia, Russia, France, Italy, Spain, Canary Islands, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Syria, and Lebanon. His performance venues have included Carnegie Hall (New York), Palais d'UNESCO and Salle Cortot (Paris), Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and Kremlin (Moscow), "Petranka" House-Museum of Mozart (Prague), Auditorio de Miguel Delibes (Valladolid), Dar-Al-Assad Opera House (Damascus), and appearances at the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago and the Phillips Collection Concert Series in Washington DC. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree from the Gnessin Music Academy in Moscow. In 2007, he was awarded the full-tuition Yevgeny Kissin Scholarship for the Professional-Studies performance program at Manhattan School of Music in New York. Mr. Arsenyan also studied piano in Paris at École Normale Supérieure de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot and the Conservatoire National de Region D'Aubervillier La-Courneuve. He is a scholar of Iberian Early Music and has compiled a Performance Guide to Three Keyboard Sonatas of Antonio Soler.
ELEANOR VALKENBURG, mezzo soprano, has achieved worldwide recognition as a chamber musician, soloist and as the Director of Poetica Musica. Ms Valkenburg has performed in some of the most prestigious festivals and chamber music series including the Bergen Festival, the Istanbul International Music Festival, the Sarajevo Festival and L’ Octobre Festival du Carthage, the Martinu Festival in Czech Republic, at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the St-Martin-in-the Fields in London .As a chamber music musician, she has performed in more than 50 countries including Tunisia, Bosnia, India, Serbia, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Syria, etc., conducting master classes as well as performing concerts. She has taught seminars and master classes at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus, The Music Academies of Sofia, Istanbul, Bucharest, Bratislava, and Belgrade. She is currently on the faculty of the Summer Rhodope Festival in Bulgaria and has taught at the College of New Rochelle, Adelphi University, and University of Alabama. MS. Valkenburg has appeared in radio and television broadcasts for the CNN World Report, CNN Turk, Polish and Czech Television and has received praise for her work and artistry from the New York Times, Newsday, and The Washington Post.
TICKETS & INFORMATION:
$24 OWG Members
$25 Seniors (62+), Full-time Students
$30 General Admission
TICKET ALSO INCLUDES:
Pre-concert discussion: 7:30 pm
Meet the Artists Reception immediately following the concert on the West Porch!