Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center October 2012 Concert Calendar 129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam) New York, NY 10023 Tickets at 212 501 3330 or http://www.kaufman-center.org Please note individual press contacts for each event.

Kaufman Center Presentations at Merkin Concert Hall Thu, Oct 11, 7:30 pm Broadway Close Up: New Music From the Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project A Broadway Close Up Special Event Celebrating the first seven years of the Johnny Mercer Foundation's Songwriters Project at Northwestern University, this special evening will feature faculty members, Broadway composers and Tony nominees Craig Carnelia (Is There Life After High School?) and Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family), and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Lari White. Featured songwriters include Adam Gwon, Alina Smith, Joe Kinosian & Kellen Blair, Chris Dimond & Michael Kooman, Phoebe Kreutz, Peter Lerman, Benjamin Pasek & Justin Paul and Benjamin Scheuer. Tickets: $30 Press contact: Joan Jastrebski, 212 501 3386, [email protected]

Tue, Oct 16, 2 pm Tuesday Matinees: Di Wu, piano Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 Ravel: Miroirs Liszt - Valse de l'opéra Faust, S. 407 Praised by The Wall Street Journal as “a musically mature and sensitive pianist” and named one of the “up-andcoming talents” in classical music by Musical America, Chinese-born pianist Di Wu has charmed audiences from East to West with her “charisma, steely technique, and keen musical intelligence” (Philadelphia Inquirer) and her “fire and authority” (Washington Post). A 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition prize winner, Wu made her professional debut at the age of 14 with the Beijing Philharmonic and has gone on to appear as soloist with orchestras across the globe. She made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut under Charles Dutoit in 2009 and recently returned as soloist to Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach. Tickets: $18 Press contact: Joan Jastrebski, 212 501 3386, [email protected]

Sat, Oct 20, 8 pm New York Festival of Song: Mr. Gershwin Goes to Washington Featuring Anne-Carolyn Bird, Lauren Worsham, Marc Kudisch, and David Garrison Steven Blier and Joseph Thalken, piano and Laurence Maslon, director Just in time for election fever, Mr. Gershwin gathers George and Ira's best satirical songs about politics – including “Of Thee I Sing,” “Union Square” and “Strike Up the Band” – into a headline narrative about the trials and tribulations of presidential hopeful John P. Wintergreen. Tickets: $40 Press contact: Aleba Gartner, 212 206 1450, [email protected]

Sun, Oct 21, 3 pm The New York Virtuoso Singers 25th Anniversary Celebration Pre-concert talk: 2:15 Harold Rosenbaum, founder and conductor Brent Funderburk, piano Featuring The Canticum Novum Youth Choir, Edie Rosenbaum, director World Premieres by Jennifer Higdon, George Tsontakis, John Corigliano, David Del Tredici, Shulamit Ran, John Harbison, Steven Stucky, Stephen Hartke, Fred Lerdahl, Chen Yi, Bruce Adolphe and Yehudi Wyner Tickets: $25 Press contact: Joan Jastrebski, 212 501 3386, [email protected]

Mon, Oct 22, 7:30 pm Broadway Close Up: And I Am Telling You - Henry Krieger Dreamgirls composer Henry Krieger shares stories about working with director Michael Bennett and writing material for iconic performers. Featuring Elisabeth Withers-Mendes (The Color Purple, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Mary Testa (Tony nominee for On the Town and 42nd Street), Curt Hansen (Next to Normal, Hairspray), Jill Abramovitz (9 to 5: The Musical) and Ben Thompson (American Idiot). Tickets: $45 Press contact: Joan Jastrebski, 212 501 3386, [email protected]

Additional Events at Merkin Concert Hall Please note individual press contacts for each event. Thu, Oct 4, 6:45 pm Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates Topic: Better Elected Islamists Than Dictators The second in a series of 10 Oxford-style debates. For: Against:

Reuel Marc Gerecht, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow at Center for American Progress Daniel Pipes, President, Middle East Forum Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, Founder & President, American Islamic Forum for Democracy

Tickets: $40 Press contact: Clea Conner Chang, 212 303 4375

Sat, Oct 6, 7:30 pm Concertante Chamber Players: October Trios Xiao-Dong Wang and Lisa Shihoten, violin; Ara Gregorian and Brian Chen, viola; Alexis Pia Gerlach and Zvi Plesser, cello Berg: Adagio for Violin Clarinet and Piano Bruch: Two Songs from Op. 83 for Clarinet, Viola and Piano Stravinsky: Suite de L’Histoire Du Soldat Brahms: Piano Trio in C Major, Op. 87 Tickets: $26 Press contact: Meghan Todt, 212 724 1383

Wed, Oct 10, 8 pm Joy In Singing: Abigail Levis, mezzo-soprano Jonathan Ware, piano Berg: Mignon Schubert: Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt Schumann: Heiss mich nicht redden Wolf: So lass’ mich scheinen Harbison: North and South Berlioz: La mort d’Ophelie Larsen: Love After 1950 Poulenc: La dame de Monte-Carlo Tickets: $25 Press contact: Doreen Marshall, 212 362 1046

Sun, Oct 14, 3 pm New York Philharmonic Ensembles Anna Rabinova, Yulia Ziskel, Joo Young Oh, violin; Judith Nelson, Dawn Hannay, Rebecca Young, viola; Eileen Moon and Wei Yu, cello; Mindy Kaufman, flute; Sherry Sylar, oboe; Pascual Martínez Forteza, clarinet; Kim Laskowski, bassoon; R. Allen Spanjer and Philip Myers, horn; James Markey, bass trombone and Keun A Lee, piano Victor Yoran: Duo for Violin and Bass Trombone Mozart: Quintet for Horn and Strings Barber: Summer Music Schumann: Piano Quartet Tickets: $34 Press contact: Ed Yim, 212 875 5925

Mon, Oct 15, 7:30 pm The Bohemians – The New York Musicians’ Club A Musical Tribute to Abba Bogin Maria Ferrante, Seymour Lipkin, Joan Morris & William Bolcom, Masako Yanagita and others Tickets: Free Press contact: Masaka Yamagita, 212 663 4198

Tue, Oct 23, 8:30 pm Matchstick Productions Ski Film Screening Superheros of Stoke “Superheroes of Stoke” honors the heroes who have made the sport of free skiing what it is today. Tickets: $TBA Press contact: Frankie Alisaug, 970 275 1457

Wed, Oct 24, 6:45 pm Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates Topic: The Rich Are Taxed Enough The third in a series of Oxford-style debates. For:

Against:

Glenn Hubbard, Dean of Columbia Business School and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury Arthur Laffer, former member of President Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board, "the Father of Supply-Side Economics," and President of Laffer Associates Robert Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley, former Secretary of Labor Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody’s Analytics

Tickets: $40 Press contact: Clea Conner Chang, 212 303 4375

Sat, Oct 27, 8 pm The Youth in Music String Project String Extravaganza Mark O’Connor, violin; Ars Viva Chamber Orchestra and Noel Pointer Foundation Youth Orchestra; Jesse Henkensiefken, conductor Copland: Adagio Hoedown from “Rodeo” for String Orchestra Mark O’Connor: Strings and Threads Suite for Violin and String Orchestra, 2nd Movement from “Elevations for String Orchestra,” American Seasons (Seasons of an American Life) for String Orchestra Tickets: $65, 45 Press contact: Kliment Krylovskiy, 626 222 5013

Mon, Oct 29, 8 pm New York New Music Ensemble Meets Jonathan Harvey Jayn Rosenfeld, flute; Jean Kopperud, clarinet; Linda Quan, violin; Christopher Finckel, piano; Stephen Gosling, piano; Daniel Druckman, percussion

Jonathan Harvey: Cirrus Light, Concelebration, The Riot, Trio, Be(com)ing Tickets: $20 Press contact: Lisa Freeman, 516 680 1508

Tue, Oct 30, 7:30 pm The 52nd Young Concert Artists Series: Paul Huang, violin (New York Debut) Jessica Osborne, piano Beethoven: Sonata No. 8 in G Major Saint-Saëns: Sonata No. 1 in d minor Ysaÿe: Sonata No. 3 for solo violin “Ballade” Messiaen: Theme and Variations Ravel: Habanera Debussy: La plus que lente Waxman: Carmen Fantasy Tickets: $40/$27 Press contact: Jennifer DeCinque, 212 307 6656 Ticket Information Tickets at 212 501 3330 or http://www.kaufman-center.org Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center 129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam) New York, NY 10023

Press contact for Kaufman Center presentations in Merkin Concert Hall: Joan Jastrebski 212 501 3386 [email protected] Kaufman Center: New York’s creative home for listeners, learners and performers Kaufman Center is one of New York City's most vibrant cultural organizations, combining the finest in music education for all ages with world class performance in the acoustically superior Merkin Concert Hall. Founded in 1952 as a community school for pre-conservatory music training, today's Kaufman Center is home to Merkin Concert Hall; Lucy Moses School, New York’s largest community arts school; and Special Music School, a K-12 public school for musically gifted children. Kaufman Center presentations in Merkin Concert Hall are made possible, in part, with institutional support from: Bloomberg Philanthropies, BMI Foundation Inc., The Edward T. Cone Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, The Friars Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation, The Janis and Alan Menken Foundation, The Edith Meiser Foundation, New Music USA, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, TD Charitable Foundation, and Warburg Pincus Foundation. Presentations in Merkin Concert Hall are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and from the New York City Council through the good offices of Councilmember Gale Brewer. Kaufman Center presentations in Merkin Concert Hall are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Merkin Concert Hall has also been awarded support from the National Endowment for the Arts.