Anna Polonsky (photo Steve Riskind)
(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) –The Orchestra Now, conducted by Dr. Leon Botstein, will make its debut performance at Simon’s Rock College on Friday, September 25, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in the Daniel Arts Center’s McConnell Theater. The orchestra, featuring pianist Anna Polonsky, will perform works by Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn. This event is free, and open to the public.
Founded this year by Bard College, The Orchestra Now is a unique training orchestra and master’s degree program — preparing a new generation of musicians to break down barriers between modern audiences and noteworthy orchestral music of the past and present.
Botstein, the music director, explains, “The musicians of The Orchestra Now represent some of the finest musicians from around the world. This is their inaugural season, and I’m very pleased that they’ll be making their concert debut at the Daniel Arts Center at Simon’s Rock.”
Botstein, president of Bard College since 1975, brings a renowned career as both a conductor and educator to his dual role of The Orchestra Now. He has been music director of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992, and co-artistic director of Bard SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival since 1990. Dr. Botstein also served as the music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra from 2003–2011. Botstein, a prolific author and music historian, has an active career as a guest conductor with orchestras around the globe. He has also made numerous recordings, and received many honors for his contributions to the music industry.
Leon Botstein
ABOUT THE ORCHESTRA NOW
Bringing together extraordinary musicians from around the world, The Orchestra Now mines the wealth of underperformed repertoire, reimagines traditional concert formats, and strives to make the experience of the performers a part of the audience experience. At a The Orchestra Now concert, musicians and audience inspire each other, both following their curiosity with a shared sense of adventure.
ABOUT SIMON’S ROCK
Bard College at Simon’s Rock | the Early College, founded in 1966 and nestled in the bucolic Berkshires, is the only college in the country specifically designed for bright, highly motivated students ready to enter college early, usually after the 10th or 11th grade. As part of the Bard network, Simon’s Rock has access to a global consortium of institutions – including numerous civic, scientific, and art organizations. Simon’s Rock offers a challenging program in the liberal arts and sciences, taught exclusively in small seminars by a supportive, highly-trained faculty. Degrees are granted in more than 40 majors. The Princeton Review’s Best 380 Colleges rates academics at Simon’s Rock higher than Harvard and Princeton.