Juilliard Presents a Free Homecoming Concert With the Israeli Chamber Project and Friends on Thursday, January 18, 2018, at 7:30pm in Paul Hall

NEW YORK –– Juilliard will host a weeklong residency in January with the Israeli Chamber Project, an alumni-founded ensemble, culminating in Homecoming, a free concert of works by Strauss, Stravinsky, and Bartók on Thursday, January 18, 2018, at 7:30pm in Paul Hall. The residency will feature entrepreneurship and mentoring sessions, all in celebration of the ensemble’s 10th anniversary and acknowledging its deep roots at Juilliard. Israeli Chamber Project founding members pianist Assaff Weisman, clarinetist Tibi Cziger, cellist Michal Korman, and violinist Itamar Zorman will be joined for the concert by faculty members Paul Neubauer (violist) and Eric Reed (hornist) and Juilliard students: violinist Ji Won Song, bassoonist Jonathan Gibbons, double bassist Yi Hsuan Chiu, and actor Philip Stoddard, who will narrate.

The program features Strauss/Hasenöhrl’s Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders!; Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat Suite; and Bartók’s Piano Quintet in C Major, Sz. 23.

Tickets for the free concert will be available at juilliard.edu/calendar beginning January 10, 2018.

About the Israeli Chamber Project

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in the 2017-18 season, the Israeli Chamber Project is a dynamic ensemble comprising strings, winds, harp, and piano. Based both in Tel Aviv and in New York, the group was created as a means for its members to give something back to the community where they began their musical education and to showcase Israeli culture, through its music and musicians, to concert-goers overseas.

On its tours of Israel ICP performs at both major venues, as well as in remote locations where access to live classical music is limited. The ensemble offers lessons and masterclasses to students of all cultural and economic backgrounds, and it continues to support emerging Israeli composers by commissioning new works.

Appearances include Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Morgan Library and Museum, Peoples’ Symphony Concerts at Town Hall, Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall, Ottawa’s Chamberfest, Montreal Chamber Music Festival, and Vancouver Friends of Chamber Music. The ensemble’s debut album, Opus 1, was released in 2012 on the Azica label. Guest artists on ICP tours have included the Guarneri String Quartet’s Michael Tree and Peter Wiley, the Cleveland Orchestra’s principal flutist, Joshua Smith, as well as international soloists Antje Weithaas and Liza Ferschtman.

Highlights of the 2017-18 season include the ensemble's first appearances in Hong Kong as well as at major venues across the U.S., including Herbst Theater in San Francisco and Weill Hall at The Green Music Center in Sonoma, Calif. Guest performers this season include violinist Antje Weithaas and soprano Sarah Shafer. The ensemble will premiere a new commissioned work by Gilad Cohen.

Upcoming performances in New York City include at Baruch Performing Arts Center on March 15, 2018 and at Merkin Concert Hall on May 24, 2018. Details at israelichamberproject.org.

Meet the Artists

Taiwanese bassist Yi Hsuan Chiu received her bachelor’s degree from Juilliard under the guidance of Albert Laszlo and is now in the master’s degree program. Ms. Chiu has been invited by the music director and solo violinist Nai-Yuan Hu to play with the Taiwan Connection Chamber Orchestra.  In 2015, Ms. Chiu attended Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra Academy in Germany in which she was principal under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach. In 2013, she was the first-prize winner of American String Teachers Association Double Bass Solo Competition in New York City and won third prize in the International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. She is a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship.

Clarinetist Tibi Cziger is the artistic director of the Israeli Chamber Project and appears frequently both as soloist and chamber musician in Israel, Europe, and the U.S. A sought-after chamber musician and contemporary music interpreter, he has been featured in numerous festivals and ensembles as well as on live and recorded television and radio broadcasts around the world. He is a regular participant in the Musique en Brionnais festival (France) and has appeared at the Marlboro, Jerusalem, Seoul, and Tivoli festivals, to name a few. Mr. Cziger holds an Artist Diploma from Juilliard, a master’s from the University of Southern California, and bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from the Tel Aviv University. His mentors include Charles Neidich, Yehuda Gilad, Richard Lesser, and Itzhak Kazzap. Mr. Cziger serves on the faculty of the Buchman-Mehta School of Music, the Israeli Conservatory, and Jerusalem Music Center.

Bassoonist Jonathan Gibbons is pursuing a master of music degree at Juilliard, studying with William Short. He recently graduated from New York University with degrees in music and Irish American studies; he studied with Marc Goldberg and Daniel Shelly. Active as both a performer and educator, Mr. Gibbons is a Morse Teaching Artist Fellow at Juilliard, teaching weekly music lessons to fourth grade students at the Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School in Harlem. Born in New Jersey, he began studying the piano with his neighbor. He was introduced to the bassoon in high school and soon thereafter joined the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and studied chamber music at the Settlement Music School. He lives in Brooklyn.

A prize winner at the Cassado and Enescu International Competitions, Michal Korman has performed as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, the Tokyo Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Israel Camerata and Juilliard Chamber Orchestra, among others. A sought-after chamber musician, Ms. Korman is a founding member of the Israeli Chamber Project and has participated in the Marlboro, Yellow Barn, Verbier, Manchester International Cello Festival, and the Kfar Blum festivals, to name a few. Ms. Korman has been featured on live and recorded television and radio broadcasts around the world, and has toured in Europe and the U.S. with the Orpheus, Israel Philharmonic and West-Eastern Divan Orchestras. She is a graduate of the Artist Diploma and MM programs at Juilliard and holds a bachelor’s degree from the Buchman-Mehta Academy in Tel Aviv. Ms. Korman is on the faculties of the Jerusalem Academy of Music, the Jerusalem Music Center, and the Sadna Conservatory.

Last season violist Paul Neubauer made his Chicago Symphony debut with conductor Riccardo Muti. His recording of the Aaron Kernis Viola Concerto with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, a work he premiered with the St. Paul Chamber, Los Angeles Chamber, and Idyllwild Arts orchestras and the Chautauqua Symphony will be released in January on Signum Records as well as the complete viola/piano music by Ernest Bloch with pianist Margo Garrett for Delos. Appointed principal violist of the New York Philharmonic at age 21, a position he held for six years, Mr. Neubauer has appeared as soloist with more than 100 orchestras including the New York, Los Angeles, and Helsinki philharmonics; National, St. Louis, Detroit, Dallas, San Francisco, and Bournemouth symphonies; and Santa Cecilia, English Chamber, and Beethovenhalle orchestras. He is on the faculties of Juilliard and Mannes College.

Eric Reed is the newest member of the American Brass Quintet (ABQ) and serves on the horn and chamber music faculties at Juilliard. In addition to his work with ABQ, he performs regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Reed is a former member of the Canadian Brass and Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, as well as the Oregon, New World, and Harrisburg symphonies. He has performed with dozens of New York City’s leading cultural organizations, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and American Ballet Theatre Orchestra. He holds degrees from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and Juilliard and is a member of the newly formed Ensemble Échappé, a sinfonietta dedicated to music of the 21st century. He has recently given world premiere performances of works by John Zorn, Eric Ewazen, William Bolcom, Steven Franklin, Robert Paterson, Kenneth Fuchs, and Eric Nathan.

Korean violinist Ji Won Song is a versatile soloist and chamber musician who is sought after for her creative approach, vivid sound, and multi-faceted interpretations of classical and contemporary repertoire. Among the renowned many orchestras with which she has appeared as a soloist are the Philadelphia Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Song’s artistry has been recognized on the competition stage as well as the performance stage. She recently received first prize and a special prize at the Isang Yun International Violin Competition, first prize and the audience prize at the Leopold Mozart International Violin Competition, and first prize and the classical music prize at the China International Violin Competition in Qingdao. She holds a Celia Ascher Artist Diploma Fellowship at Juilliard.

Philip Stoddard is a native of Phoenix, Ariz., and is an actor, singer, and director based in New York City. A recent graduate of the Juilliard Vocal Arts program, he is currently studying for his master’s degree in acting in Juilliard’s Drama Division. Last year, he created and produced OperaComp, the first interdivisional, new opera development laboratory at Juilliard, which culminated in the world premiere of six new operas. OperaComp returns for its second season in March. Select theater and opera credits at Juilliard and beyond include the title role of Don Giovanni and Tommy Albright in Brigadoon at the Chautauqua Institution, the title roles in King Lear and Woyzeck, Colonel in Father Comes Home From the Wars, Dorian Belle in the world premiere of PYG, Agis in The Triumph of Love, and Cloten in Cymbeline. He has premiered works by composers Mohammed Fairouz, Thomas Cabaniss, Molly Joyce, Cyrus Von Hochstetter, and Chason Goldschmitz. He holds a Steinberg Fellowship and a Juilliard Scholarship.

Pianist Assaff Weisman’s performances have taken him to some of the major venues in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, including the Rudolfinum in Prague, Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Philips Hall in The Hague, and here at Lincoln Center. He won first prize of the 2006 Iowa International Piano Competition. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Weisman has collaborated with Isidore Cohen, Peter Wiley, and Michael Tree, among others, and is a founding member and the executive director of the Israeli Chamber Project, with which he has toured since 2008. His radio credits include WQXR’s Young Artist Showcase, WGBH Boston, Sirius XM, and The Voice of Music in Israel. Mr. Weisman is a graduate of Juilliard, where he studied with Herbert Stessin and is currently on the Evening Division piano faculty. He is a Yamaha Artist.

Awarded the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award for 2014, violinist Itamar Zorman is the winner of the 2013 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia. He has performed as a soloist with the Mariinsky Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, KBS Symphony Seoul, German Radio Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, and Utah Symphony; working with conductors including Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, David Robertson, and James DePreist; in noted halls including Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. Recitals include Carnegie Hall’s Distinctive Debut series, the Louvre, Suntory Hall, and Frankfurt Radio. He has performed at the Verbier, Marlboro, Rheingau, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Radio France festivals and is a member of Lysander Piano Trio and the Israeli Chamber Project. Mr. Zorman studied at the Jerusalem Academy, Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, and the Kronberg Academy, completing his studies with Sylvia Rosenberg and Christian Tetzlaff. He plays a 1734 Guarneri Del Gesù from the Zisapel collection.

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PROGRAM LISTING:

Thursday, January 18, 2018, 7:30pm, Paul Hall

Homecoming

Tibi Cziger, clarinet

Itamar Zorman, violin

Michal Korman, cello

Assaff Weisman, piano

 

With Faculty Members: 

Paul Neubauer, viola

Eric Reed, horn

 

And Juilliard Students:

Jonathan Gibbons, bassoon

Ji-Won Song, violin

Yi Hsuan Chiu, double bass

Philip Stoddard, narrator

 

Richard STRAUSS/Franz HASENÖHRL Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders!

Igor STRAVINSKY L’histoire du soldat Suite

Bela BARTÓK Piano Quintet in C Major, Sz. 23

 

Tickets for the free concert will be available at juilliard.edu/calendar beginning January 10, 2018.