The Sinfonietta of Riverdale proudly announces its 5th season!
Join us for three innovative programs that highlight great music in the wonderful setting of the Riverdale neighborhood.
The season begins in October with great music which has long been associated with Riverdale. In the 1940's, Hungarian composer Bela Bartok lived on Cambridge Avenue by Ewen Park. Ellen Zwilich, the first women to win the Pulitzer Prize for music, has been a resident of Riverdale for decades. Samuel Barber's beautiful Adagio for Strings received its world premiere under Arturo Toscanini, famed resident of Wave Hill. And Oliver Caplan, born and raised in Riverdale, will create a new work which receives its world premiere at this performance.
The season continues in January as the world of jazz and the world of classical music join together to celebrate the past and present. In 1927, composer Kurt Weill collaborated with Berthold Brecht to create a daring, provocative new twist on the idea of opera, song and musical play with their "songspiel" Mahagonny, which will be performed in its entirety. Following in Weill's footsteps, jazz saxophonist and composer—and Riverdale resident—Chris Byars, presents a new work that combines the forces of a jazz combo with the fine musicians of the Sinfonietta. This is one new work that you will not want to miss!
In June, we are joined by two spectacular soloists. Pianist Benjamin Hochman's playing has been described as blending "the smoothness of cream and the transparency of water"(New York Times). Cellist Wilhelmina Smith, whose playing of the music of Esa-Pekka Salonen was "a tour de force of virtuosity" (Portland Press Herald). The fine artistry of these two musicians will bring to life the concertos of Haydn and Mozart. The Sinfonietta will also perform music by Robert Fuchs, teacher of Mahler and Sibelius, about whose music was said "everything is so fine, so skillful, so charmingly invented"—by none other than Johannes Brahms! This is music certainly worth hearing!
Media Sponsorship
The Sinfonietta of Riverdale has received a media sponsorship from WQXR for our March and April performances.
We need your support!
The Sinfonietta of Riverdale is a non-profit organization. Only a part of our operational budget will be covered by ticket sales. We rely on the generosity of our supporters to help us bring this world-class music to our neighborhood. Please consider making a donation.
The Sinfonietta is a federally recognized 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, and contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Checks made out to "Sinfonietta of Riverdale" can be mailed to: 3875 Waldo Ave. #6E, Bronx, NY 10463. Credit card donations can be made by clicking the button below.
Clicking on the above button will take you to a PayPal webpage to process your credit card donation. Enter the amount you wish to donate to the Sinfonietta and click "Update total." Then, at the bottom left, click on the type of credit card you are using and provide the necessary information.
Thank you for your donation!
About the Sinfonietta
The Sinfonietta of Riverdale is a unique ensemble — large enough to perform chamber symphonies and small enough that each of its world-class musicians can be a featured soloist, with a repertoire that extends from the era of Bach to the present day.
The Sinfonietta will seek to enhance the artistic environment of Riverdale and the surrounding community by presenting great classical and modern music in our own neighborhood. We will also serve as an educational resource by presenting children's concerts and by collaborating with local schools and youth organizations.
2011–2012 Season
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October 28, 2012
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Music of Riverdale
Bela Bartok, Divertimento
Ellen Zwilich, Prologue and Variations
Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings
Oliver Caplan, New work *world premiere*
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January 13, 2013
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All Jazzed Up!
Kurt Weill, Mahagonny (Songspiel)
Christopher Byars, Riverdale Suite *world premiere*
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June 2, 2013
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Viennese Classics
Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 15 in G Major
Benjamin Hochman, piano
Haydn, Cello Concerto in D Major
Wilhelmina Smith, cello
Robert Fuchs, Serenade in G Minor
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All concerts take place at 2:30pm at:
Riverdale Temple
4545 Independence Avenue
(at 246th Street)
Bronx, New York 10471
Tickets are $35 ($25 for seniors and Riverdale Temple members, $15 for students).
About the founder and artistic director
Mark Mandarano is principal guest conductor of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, a position inaugurated in 2007 with a Carnegie Hall gala concert featuring opera stars from the Kirov and Bolshoi Theaters. He has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and has worked with Esa-Pekka Salonen, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Sir Roger Norrington, and Valery Gergiev, among others. He has held staff conducting positions with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, and the Bard Festival. In 1998, Mark Mandarano conducted the world premiere performances of Melinda Wagner's Pulitzer-Prize-winning Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion. He has studied conducting with Karel Husa, Kurt Masur, Zdenek Macal, Jorma Panula, and Gustav Meier.