This concert is dedicated to the memory of distinguished bassist, Homer Mensch. Mr. Mensch was a member of the School’s bass faculty from 1980 to 2005. His legacy as a performer, teacher, coach and mentor lives on in all whose lives were touched by him. (Please note revised program) BRAHMS: Concerto in D major for Violin & Orchestra, Op. 77 SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 12 in D minor, Op. 112, “The Year 1917” The Manhattan School of Music Symphony, Philharmonia and Chamber Sinfonia perform more than thirty major works each year, ranging from the symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, and Mahler to contemporary works by composers who have included Richard Danielpour, Aaron Jay Kernis, and Ned Rorem. Past conductors who have led performances and orchestral readings include Kurt Masur, Julius Rudel, Charles Dutoit, George Manahan, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, among many others. Manhattan School of Music has been the recipient of ten consecutive ASCAP awards for adventuresome programming of contemporary music. Through the School’s annual concerto competition held each spring, students are selected to perform in solo performances with an orchestra. Distinguished pianist and longtime faculty member Constance Keene established the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto competition, as it is called, in memory of her parents. In addition, Manhattan School of Music maintains an ongoing relationship with the Berlin Philharmonic that began in 1998 when musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic first came to the School. They have subsequently visited Manhattan School of Music when on tour in New York, coaching and conducting orchestral students in sectionals as well as orchestral readings. Berlin Philharmonic assistant conductors Graziella Contratto and Henrik Schaefer, as well as concertmaster Daniel Stabrawa, have led orchestral students in works by Mahler and Brahms. The School has also participated in a special internship under the auspices of the Salzburg Easter Festival that took place in April 2003 and April 2004. Manhattan School of Music orchestral musicians annually participate in orchestra programs in Verbier, Switzerland, and Attergau, Austria. Kenneth Kiesler has been director of orchestras and professor of conducting at the School of Music of the University of Michigan since 1995. In May 2002, he was appointed music director of the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra. Previously, as music director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Kiesler founded the Illinois Symphony Chorus and the Illinois Chamber Orchestra. He received the 1988 Helen M. Thompson Award presented every two years to the outstanding American music director under the age of 35. The Illinois Symphony and Chamber Orchestras honored Kiesler by naming him conductor laureate. Kiesler is a member of the visiting artist faculty at the Royal Academy of Music, in London and Manhattan School of Music, and leads seminars and master classes at Oxford University. He regularly leads conductors’ workshops for the American Symphony Orchestra League, the Conductors’ Guild, and the Conductors’ Institute. Kiesler has appeared as guest conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center; the Chicago Symphony at Orchestra Hall; the Utah, Detroit, New Jersey, Florida, Indianapolis, Memphis, and San Diego symphonies; the orchestras of Albany, Virginia, Omaha, Fresno, Long Beach, Long Island, and Portland; the Texas Chamber Orchestra; the Ohio Chamber Orchestra; and the Festivals of Meadowbrook, Skaneateles, Sewanee, Breckenridge, and Aspen. Kiesler has appeared several times with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Haifa Symphony in Israel; the Osaka Philharmonic in Japan; the Puerto Rico Symphony in San Juan; the New Symphony Orchestra in Sofia, Bulgaria; and the Pusan Symphony, among others, in Korea. His operatic conducting includes the Opera Theatre of St. Louis with the St. Louis Symphony in the pit. Maestro Kies   Date(s): Fri Feb 17, 2006 Event Time: 8:00 PM Location: John C. Borden Auditorium Price: FREE CONCERT; No tickets required Contact: Concert Office  917-493-4428     [Back]