MONTCLAIR, NJ — The Montclair Orchestra officially announced its fall season with plans to broadcast concerts from the South Orange Performing Arts Center in October and the Van Vleck House & Gardens in November. All concerts and programs will be available for virtual viewing. For more information, visit www.montclairorchestra.org.
With arts organizations across the country scrambling to pivot due to health restrictions, Montclair Orchestra announces ambitious plans for innovative programming and a continued commitment to its fellowship program.
“This period has been an extraordinarily difficult time for artists and musicians, both financially and artistically,” President and founder Andre Weker said. “During this health crisis, we are proud that MO is able to find agile ways to perform diverse and innovative repertoire, and to lead the way for what the future of classical music can offer for musicians and audiences of all backgrounds.”
Montclair Orchestra will present its first concert in partnership with SOPAC, as part of its SOPAC Sessions Series, on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7:30 p.m. Tune in as Montclair Orchestra Music Director David Chan trades his baton for the violin when the orchestra’s musicians take the stage for the first time in many months. Montclair resident Terrence Wilson will join longtime friend and colleague David Chan in their first duo performance since they were students together at Juilliard. For the second half, Montclair Orchestra fellows will join Montclair Orchestra string mentors to play side-by-side.
“The conditions at the moment make convening larger ensembles difficult, but there are advantages to the chamber music format, which allows us to continue our mission of mentoring the next generation of musicians in a very personal and focused way,” Chan said. “In the SOPAC program, I will have the tremendous pleasure of reuniting with Terrence Wilson, phenomenal pianist and an old friend from our Juilliard days together. This program will also bring together mentors and fellows in an exciting handful of virtuosic string adaptations.”
Tickets are available for purchase at www.sopacnow.org/events/montclair-orchestra-2020/ and, for Montclair Orchestra members, the performance is included with membership.
Later this fall, Montclair Orchestra will return to the local Montclair community for a virtual performance from the Van Vleck House & Gardens. On Thursday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m., mentors and fellows will present a chamber music program of Shostakovich and Mendelssohn.
“It gives me great joy that we are able to resume live music-making despite the challenges we all currently face,” Chan said. “The Van Vleck event will offer a nearly orchestral sonority in the string octets of Shostakovich and Mendelssohn, though the two works are stylistically polar opposites of one another. Altogether, I’m tremendously excited about our fall programs and expect them to help fill the void we’ve all felt in the absence of live music.”
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