News Release
October 2003

Moravian College Community Orchestra to perform with guest artist Mikhail Yanovitsky

Heard@Moravian Faculty Chamber Ensemble to debut

(Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)- A prize-winning Russian pianist and a performance of Paul Hindemith’s ground-breaking “Kammermusik No. 1” highlight the fall concert of the Moravian College-Community Orchestra and the College’s new faculty instrumental ensemble "Heard @ Moravian." They will perform a joint program on Sunday, October 5, at 2:00 p.m. in Foy Concert Hall on the Priscilla Payne Hurd Campus.

Pianist Mikhail Yanovitsky will be featured in the Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 35, written in 1933 by the Soviet-era composer Dimitri Shostakovich. The important trumpet solo will be played by artist-lecturer Lawrence Wright.

To pay tribute to Moravian’s project to become an all-Steinway institution, Jacob's Music Company of Philadelphia, the area’s Steinway piano dealer, is sponsoring the appearance of the Leningrad-born Yanovitsky. The winner of numerous competitions, including the Miriam Klausner Competition and the Piano Concerto Competition in Cantu, Italy, Mr. Yanovitsky has been the recipient of two Gina Bachauer scholarships for graduate study at the Juilliard School, where he worked with Seymour Lipkin. He also received a doctorate from Temple University, where he studied with Harvey Wedeen. In 2002, he joined the faculty of Eastern Illinois University as Professor of Piano. This season, he appears with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and in performances in Romania and Moldova. His first CD, on which he played works of Chopin and Scriabin, was released in 2001 for the Helicon label.

At 12:30 p.m. Saturday, October 4, the Moravian College Music Alliance will sponsor a master class with Mikhail Yanovitsky in Peter Hall. He will work with Moravian College piano majors Matthew Cavoto '04 (Norristown, Pa.), Nathan Diehl '05 (Coopersburg, Pa.), Caress Prince '04 (Oak Forest, Ill.), and Crystal Reinhart '04 (Coplay, Pa.). The event is free to observers.

The "Heard @ Moravian" faculty ensemble, whose hallmark is its flexible instrumentation, will perform Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 and Hindemith's Kammermusik No. 1. Featured in the Bach will be artist-lecturers Robin Kani, flute, and Inna Eyzerovich, violin. The accompanying ensemble will include string players Aundrey Mitchell, viola; Audrey Simons, cello; Nancy Bidlack, double bass; and Martha Schrempel, keyboard.

Hindemith’s “Kammermusik” is one of a set of seven that he wrote between 1922 and 1927. Each is scored for a different arrangement of instruments: this one is for flute, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, percussion, piano, accordion, and string quartet plus double bass.

Foy Concert Hall is located on the Priscilla Payne Hurd Campus, Main and Church Streets, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Admission is $12 general, $6 for students, senior citizens, and children 12 and younger. For more information, contact the Music Department at 610-861-1650 or visit www.moravian.edu.