Bassoonist Frank Morelli Is Joined by Pianist Jonathan Feldman in Recital On Wednesday, January 17, 2018, at 7:30pm in Paul Hall

NEW YORK –– Juilliard presents a recital with bassoonist Frank Morelli and pianist Jonathan Feldman on Wednesday, January 17, 2018, at 7:30pm in Paul Hall as part of Juilliard’s Daniel Saidenberg Faculty Recital Series. The recital commemorates 25 years as a faculty member for Mr. Morelli, who is also an alumnus. The program features Rossini’s The Barber of Seville by Rossini (arr. by François-René Gebauer/Frank Morelli); Brahms’ Cello Sonata No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 38; Ezra Laderman’s Elegy for Stephen for Solo Bassoon (2002); Sofia Gubaidulina’s Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings (1975), with an ensemble of Juilliard students led by Juilliard conductor Jesse Brault; and “Mir ist so wunderbar” from Beethoven’s Fidelio (arr. by Frank Morelli), with students of Mr. Morelli’s studio.

Tickets are $20 ($10 for full-time students) and available for purchase at juilliard.edu/calendar.

About Frank Morelli

Frank Morelli, the first bassoonist to receive a doctorate from Juilliard, has been a soloist at Carnegie Hall on nine occasions and performed at the White House for President Bill Clinton’s final state dinner. Principal bassoonist of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, and the Westchester Philharmonic, Mr. Morelli was also principal bassoonist of the New York City Opera for 27 years. He has taught at Juilliard since 1992, and also teaches at Yale, Manhattan School of Music, and SUNY Stony Brook. His more than 170 recordings include MSR Classics solo albums From the Heart, Romance and Caprice, Bassoon Brasileiro, and Baroque Fireworks. The Orpheus album Shadow Dances, which features Mr. Morelli, won a 2001 Grammy Award.

A prolific chamber musician, he has appeared at the most prestigious national and international festivals. He is a member of Windscape, a woodwind quintet in residence at the Manhattan School of Music and Festival Chamber Music. He compiled the landmark excerpt book, Stravinsky: Difficult Passages for Bassoon for Boosey and Hawkes and has numerous transcriptions in print. Carl Fischer will soon print his revision of the widely-used Weissenborn Bassoon Method Book and Studies, which the publisher commissioned. (morellibassoon.com)

About Jesse Brault

Conductor and composer Jesse Brault studies orchestral conducting at Juilliard with Alan Gilbert. He made his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Lab Orchestra in 2015 and later led the New Juilliard Ensemble in music by Milton Babbitt. He has since conducted additional concerts with the Juilliard Lab Orchestra. While at the Juilliard, he has worked with noted conductors including Bernard Haitink, Gianandrea Noseda, and Fabio Luisi. Growing up in rural Wisconsin, Mr. Brault began his musical studies while in grade school. He's also a composer and his music has been performed across the country. He attended St. Olaf College in Minnesota where he studied music theory and composition. He has attended master classes both at home and abroad, working with conductors including Tito Muñoz, Larry Rachleff, Lütz Kohler, Markand Thakar, and Donald Schleicher. At Juilliard, he holds the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship in Conducting, the Evelyn and Phil Spitalny Scholarship, and the Barnett Breeskin and Gertrude Breeskin Kartzmer Scholarship.

About Jonathan Feldman

A New York City native, Jonathan Feldman is an ensemble player, solo recitalist, and accompanist. He has performed around the world with Nathan Milstein, Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, Midori, Pierre Fournier, Kyung Wha Chung, and Zara Nelsova. He has been a participant in New York Philharmonic Chamber Ensembles concerts throughout the New York area and on orchestra tours of the Far East, South America, Russia, and Europe. He has performed at the Tanglewood Festival, Bridgehampton Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire (New Mexico), Aspen Music Festival, and California’s Hidden Valley Music Festival, given master classes throughout the U.S., and has recorded on the Columbia Masterworks, DGG, RCA Red Seal, Titanic, Philo, and Nonesuch labels. Mr. Feldman has been on the faculty at Juilliard since 1989 and was chair of the collaborative piano department from 1992 to 2015. Director of the collaborative piano program at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, Calif., he has been on the collaborative piano faculty of New England Conservatory since 2011. He has a BM from Juilliard and studied piano with Irwin Freundlich, Dorothy Taubman, and
Rosetta Goodkind.

About Jacob Wellman

Bassoonist Jacob Wellman has performed in venues including Carabinieri Hall in Salzburg, Austria, the Rudolfinum’s Dvořák Hall in Prague, Carnegie Hall, and the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. He has participated in summer programs including master classes at the Banff Centre, Hidden Valley Music Seminars, Talis Festival and Academy in Switzerland, and the Festival Internacional de Inverno Campos do Jordão in Brazil. He is a frequent performer at Juilliard appearing with the school’s orchestra, chamber orchestra, and wind orchestra as well as with the New Juilliard Ensemble. He holds a BM in bassoon from Juilliard and is currently pursuing his master’s degree as a student of Frank Morelli. Born in Sacramento, Mr. Wellman began his musical studies on the piano and trumpet before switching to the bassoon at age 12. He has also had success as an award-winning jazz trombonist, participating in the Stanford Jazz Workshop and several annual jazz festivals near his hometown. Mr. Wellman holds the Frederick Raymond Heward Scholarship and the Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship.

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PROGRAM LISTING:

Wednesday, January 17, 2018, 7:30pm, Paul Hall

Frank Morelli, bassoon

Jonathan Feldman, piano

Jesse Brault, conductor

Jacob Wellman, bassoon

Bassoonists from Mr. Morelli's studio, Joey Lavarias, Jorge Pacheco, Blair Shepperd, and Cornelia Sommer, will be joining him on the Beethoven excerpt.

 

Gioachino ROSSINI From The Barber of Seville (arr. by François-René Gebauer/Frank Morelli)

Johannes BRAHMS Cello Sonata No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 38

Ezra LADERMAN Elegy for Stephen for Solo Bassoon (2002)

Sofia GUBAIDULINA Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings (1975)

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN “Mir ist so wunderbar” from Fidelio (arr. by Frank Morelli)

 

Tickets are $20 ($10 for full-time students) and available for purchase at juilliard.edu/calendar.