Celebrating 80 Years of Making Beautiful Music

October 18, 2019

We have an incredible line-up of music and programming for you to enjoy during our 80th Anniversary Season! We are excited about the future, with wonderful repertoire, soloists, and visions of seasons to come, yet we also honor the incredible history of our symphony and the musical place we hold in the community.

Our 80th Anniversary video shares commentary from previous conductors and soloists, as well as voices of the youth of our community on what our music education program means to them. We thank you for joining us on our journey, and invite you to continue to support the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra through subscription and ticket purchases, and your donations so that we may keep playing the music that you have come to enjoy.

Norwalk Symphony Names New Concertmaster

June 12, 2019

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Krzysztof Kuznik has been chosen as our next Concertmaster.

Throughout our 2018-2019 we worked with six very talented candidates who auditioned with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra for the vacant Concertmaster position, with each having the opportunity to work with the orchestra for a set of rehearsals and a concert. Krzysztof Kuznik, who worked with the orchestra in the fall, has been offered and accepted this position.

Mr. Kuznik is a Polish-born violinist and is an active solo, chamber, and orchestral musician in the New York metropolitan area. He began playing the violin at age seven and has appeared as recitalist and soloist throughout Poland and the United States. He has received numerous violin and chamber music awards. Among them are Tadeusz Wronski Solo Violin Competition, the Young Concert Artists European and the Coleman competitions.

Mr. Kuznik is a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and Manhattan School of Music in New York City, where he was a full-scholarship undergraduate and graduate student as well as a recipient of the Whittaker Scholar Career grant. His former teachers include Krzysztof Jakowicz, Glenn Dicterow, Sheryl Staples, Yoko Takebe, and Lisa E. Kim. As a founding member of the Elsner String Quartet, he has performed at Merkin Hall, the Kosciuszko Foundation, the 92nd Street Y, Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall in London, and the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, among other venues.

In August 1998 Mr. Kuznik was invited by members of the Amadeus Quartet to perform at the Quartet’s 15th Anniversary Gala Concert in London. He has participated in many international music festivals, has made numerous recordings, and has appeared in television and radio broadcasts in both Europe and the United States, including regular live broadcasts on WQXR in New York City with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr. Kuznik was the violinist of the Paderewski Trio, which won the 32nd Artists International’s New York Debut Award Auditions and as the result performed at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall on November 7, 2004. He is a member of the violin faculty of Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division and JCC Thurnauer School of Music in Tenafly, NJ.

Season Finale: Beethoven Symphony No. 9 Featured Soloists

May 01, 2019

Amy Owens, Soprano, enjoys a diverse career in concert work, opera, new music, and alternative pop. She has appeared in concert in venues ranging from Wolf Trap to Carnegie Hall with renowned orchestras across the United States, including the National Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, Omaha Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, and New Mexico Philharmonic. Her operatic engagements have taken her to Santa Fe Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Dallas Opera, Utah Opera, Central City Opera, On Site Opera, and others. She appears regularly with the New York Festival of Song, and she has collaborated with many composers including William Bolcom, Matthew Aucoin, Bright Sheng, and Paola Prestini. Her debut album of original music, HAETHOR, was recently released to acclaim in the electronica world. As a budding conductor, she was selected to participate in the Hart Institute for Women Conductors at Dallas Opera in 2018. She has received awards from several organizations, including the Sullivan Foundation, the George London Foundation, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the Santa Fe Opera. For more information, visit http://amyowenssoprano.com/

A true singing actor, Ann McMahon Quintero, Mezzo-Soprano, has never known a life without an audience to entertain. From her early days as a an instrumentalist, chorister, and dancer, she has evolved into a mezzo-soprano who enjoys a career on the operatic and concert stage where her rich voice has been praised for “warm, honeyed tones” (Baltimore Sun), and “fully nuanced” portrayals of characters ranging from Verdi’s Amneris, Azucena, and Mistress Quickly, to the Old Lady in Candide. In all she does, Ms. Quintero brings to the stage deep intelligence, brilliant artistry, and unmatched confidence.

Ann McMahon Quintero’s recent orchestral engagements have included appearances with Boston Baroque as soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Haydn’s Requiem in C Minor, and in their annual Messiah. She has also sung Messiah with the Charlotte Symphony and the Alabama and National Symphony Orchestras. Ms. Quintero has performed as soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Williamsburg and Columbus Symphonies, and the Buffalo Philharmonic. She has also recorded Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 under the direction of Joann Falletta with the Virginia Arts Festival.

Nationwide engagements with The Defiant Requiem Foundation performing Hours of Freedom: The Story of the Terezín Composer and Defiant Requiem have brought Ms. Quintero to Chicago, Detroit, New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, and Boston Symphony Hall. She has also performed the Verdi Requiem with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Cathedral Choral Society Washington, Brevard Music Center, Berkshire Choral International, Southwest Florida Symphony, and the South Bend Symphony.

Ann McMahon Quintero is a 2006 winner of the Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, placed in the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition, the George London Foundation, Sullivan Foundation, and was a semi-finalist in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia. She sang at the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors Inaugural Awards Concert in 2008. Ms. Quintero was a 2002 Grand National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and made her first appearance on the Met stage in the Grand Finals Concert with Julius Rudel.

Tenor Peter Scott Drackley has been lauded by Opera News as having “showed vocal confidence [...] his luminous head voice blooming with expansive and penetrating phrases,” and by Opera Today as bringing "the performance to an awestruck standstill with his exquisitely (singing). He cuts a fine figure throughout the performance, with an intense stage presence”, Peter Scott Drackley has performed such operatic roles as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème, Gerald in Delibes’ Lakmé, Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Male Chorus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata, a role he partially performed in concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.

Mr. Drackley is a frequent concert soloist, having sung in Handel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Mass in G, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Mozart’s Requiem, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. He also debuted the role of Antonin Scalia in Derrick Wang’s Opera Scalia/Ginsburg at the Supreme Court, a concert that was featured on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. 

A student of Alexandra LoBianco, Mr. Drackley has performed with the Utah Festival Opera, Skylight Music Theatre, Baltimore Concert Opera, the Strathmore Mansion, the National Cathedral, Teatro Grattacielo, Lyric Opera Baltimore, and as a soloist at Carnegie Hall. He recently made his role debuts as Il Duca di Mantova in Verdi's Rigoletto with Anchorage Opera in Alaska, and as Macduff in Verdi's Macbeth with Loft Opera in New York City. He also sang the tenor solo in Mozart's Requiem with the Lancaster Symphony, and returned to Sarasota Opera to cover Avito in Montemezzi's L'amore dei Tre Re, and returned to Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist to cover Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Alfred in Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus. 

Mr. Drackley recently triumphed in five role debuts in six months, including Riccardo in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera with Opera in the Heights in Houston, Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore with Winter Opera of St. Louis, the tenor solo in Verdi's Requiem with the Helena Symphony, Turiddu in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana with Boheme Opera New Jersey, and Fernando in Donizetti's La Favorita with New York City's New Amsterdam Opera. Next season, Mr. Drackley returns to Anchorage Opera to sing Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème, and to Winter Opera St. Louis to debut the role of Pollione in Bellini's Norma. He will perform in the Opening Gala Sing it Loud! for the Londontowne Symphony in Annapolis, Maryland, singing selections from Verdi's Aida, Puccini's Turandot, Bizet's Carmen, and many others, as well as returning to Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s Penn Square Music Festival to perform Death by Puccini, singing Rodolfo in Act III of La Bohème, Mario Cavaradossi in Act II of Tosca, and F. B. Pinkerton in Act III of Madama Butterfly. 

Matthew Curran, Bass, is a Princeton native. Praised for his smooth, rich sound and stylish power by The Baltimore Sun, he brings a blend of intelligent musicianship and strong dramatic instincts to a variety of roles. Having sung on the stages of the Zürich Opera, Seattle, Atlanta, Memphis, and many other regional opera houses, he is a major talent on the rise. His operatic repertoire includes Filippo in Verdi’s Don Carlo, Sarastro in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Oroveso in Bellini’s Norma, Frère Laurent in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and Colline in Puccini’s La Bohème. On the concert stage, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s, Verdi’s, and Brahms’s Requiems, and the great Bach Oratorios. His most recent season included Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Opera Carolina, Opera Grand Rapids, and Toledo Opera, Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd with Baltimore Concert Opera, Simone in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Delaware, and Zuniga in Carmen with the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice. 2016-2017 engagements included Orbazzano in Rossini’s Tancredi with Baltimore Concert Opera and Opera Southwest, a debut with Odyssey Opera to sing Basil in Lowell Liebermann’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Terry in Breaking the Waves, a new opera by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek in its New York premiere at the Prototype Festival, and Thomas Betterton in the New York premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s new opera, Prince of Players, with Little Opera Theater of New York. Concerts included Handel’s Messiah in Prescott, Arizona, Jesus in Bach’s St. John Passion at Duke University Chapel, Mozart’s Requiem at University of Georgia and Verdi’s Requiem at Hamilton College. 2015-2016 included the roles of Ramfis in Aida at Opera Southwest and Baltimore Concert Opera, Don Iñigo Gomez in L’Heure Espagnole with Opera Memphis, and Pistola in Falstaff with Opera Delaware. www.matthewcurran.ne

Norwalk Symphony concert features Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut

March 26, 2019

The Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut (MCC) was founded in 1984 by alumni of the Fairfield University Chamber Singers who wished to continue their musical association with Dr. Carole Ann Maxwell. Under her leadership, the Choir has performed a wide range of repertoire in New England, New York, and many European capitals. The Choir’s renditions of the world’s greatest choral masterpieces have earned it a reputation as one of the leading vocal ensembles of the region. Its diverse programming reflects an extensive repertoire from all periods and genres – from classical to contemporary and from opera to theater, film, and pop. The MCC embraces a mission of developing and promoting the choral arts – a mission that begins with the training of its own members and reaches out to the entire community of Fairfield County.

The Choir’s repertory has included Bach’s Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Meeresstille und gluckliche Fahrt, Schubert’s Miriam’s Siegesgesang, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Brahm’s Alto Rhapsody and Liebeslieder Waltzes, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony and Toward the Unknown Region, Honegger’s King David, Orff’s Carmina Burana and Citulli Carmina, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, and the Stabat Mater and the Armed Man Mass of Karl Jenkins. The MCC has performed Requiem settings by Mozart, Verdi, Fauré, Duruflé, and Rutter, as well as American songbook entries from Gershwin, Sondheim, and many others and film score chorales by John Williams and Patrick Doyle. Opera in concert has been a recurring feature, including performances of Verdi’s Aïda, Bizet’s Carmen, and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

Over the years, the MCC has been honored to present the world premieres of The Child in Us All and the Prologue from North and South, by Tony Award winner Charles Strouse, Stephen Schwartz’s Academy Award-winning song “When You Believe” from Prince of Egypt, and “Chief Seattle” by Gregg Smith. In celebration of its Silver Anniversary, the Choir commissioned a work by Randal Alan Bass, O Divine Music, which it premiered in May 2010. That same year MCC also introduced Connecticut composer Edward Thompson’s What the Ivy Said to the Fallen Snow. In 2014 the Choir premiered Child of War by Jin Hi Kim, a setting of texts by the Vietnamese peace activist Kim Phuc.

The Choir has performed regularly with the symphony orchestras of Norwalk, Bridgeport, Wallingford, and New Haven. The ensemble has appeared several times in Carnegie Hall under the auspices of both Distinguished Choirs International and Mid-America Productions. In addition to a memorable performance at the 2006 National Pastoral Musician’s Conference in Norwalk, the Choir has also sung to enthusiastic audiences in Rome, Florence, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Galway and Dublin.

Beyond its artistic achievements, the MCC plays an important civic role through its local outreach programs, notably its Mendelssingers ensemble. The Mendelssingers regularly perform in hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities and at various community events to bring the wonder and awe of live choral music to the broadest spectrum of the Connecticut public. The Choir receives support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, the Carstenson Foundation, and many generous corporations, businesses and individuals throughout Fairfield County.

One of America’s preeminent conductors of collegiate, community and professional choral ensembles, Carole Ann Maxwell, DSM, has been the Director of Choral Activities at Fairfield University since 1980. She is also the Founding Artistic Director and Conductor of The Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut. In these and all her affiliations, Dr. Maxwell continuously strives for choral excellence through the total commitment and magnificent voices of thousands of gifted singers who gladly audition and travel great distances for the opportunity to work with her.

Noted for immense energy, consummate professionalism and complete dedication to the choral arts, Dr. Maxwell’s mission is to inspire and challenge each singer’s musical potential. Combining her talent with a wonderful sense of humor has set Dr. Maxwell aside from other conductors, making her extremely unique, and placing her in great demand. Her distinctive style and artistic leadership have produced critically acclaimed results from podiums throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. In addition, Dr. Maxwell is a favorite Chorus Master for area orchestras and is a member of the Board of The Fairfield County Children’s Choir.

Dr. Maxwell has been recognized for her artistic achievements with numerous awards. In 1992, Immaculata College presented Dr. Maxwell with the prestigious “Distinguished Music Alumna” award. The National Music Honor Society, Pi Kappa Lambda, honored her with membership citing her excellence and outstanding contributions in the field of choral music. The Connecticut Post named Dr. Maxwell a recipient of the “Woman of Substance” Award, celebrating outstanding women of the region, and Oxford Health Care honored her with its Humancare Award for her exceptional efforts in the community. In 2000, Dr. Maxwell was named “Woman of the Year” by Fairfield University Women’s Studies Program. Dr. Maxwell has been named to the National Jesuit Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Nu, and in 2016 was recognized as the Distinguished Faculty/Administrator for Fairfield University. The University has further acknowledged her commitment to Fairfield and the choral arts by establishing the Carole Ann Maxwell, D.S.M. Endowment for Choral Music.

Actress Mia Dillon narrates NSO's Peter and the Wolf

March 07, 2019

MIA DILLON is a Tony nominated stage actress whose Broadway credits include Our Town with Paul Newman, The Miser, The Corn is Green, Hay Fever, Agnes of God, Once a Catholic, Crimes of the Heart, and Da. She has worked extensively off-Broadway and regionally, including her most recent appearance at The Hartford Stage in The Engagement Party. Previously at Hartford Stage she appeared in the world premiere of Seder, as well as Cloud Nine, and A Song at Twilight. She reprised A Song at Twilight at Westport Country Playhouse where she most recently was seen in Lettice and Lovage. Other awards include the CT Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Nomination, the Clarence Derwent Award, Barrymore Award, and a Dramalogue Award.  Film and TV appearances include all three Law & Order series, Brain Dead, The Jury, Mary and Rhoda, Gods and Generals, The Money Pit, Isn't It Delicious, Ordinary World, and All Good Things. On June 16 she will return as the host of Bloomsday on Broadway at Symphony Space. She has been a reader on the NPR program Selected Shorts since 1988, and can be heard on the audiobook of the award-winning Lily's Crossing. She is thrilled to be a part of tonight’s program. The last time she appeared with an orchestra was in the film The Money Pit, playing her flute.

Meet our 2019 Concerto Competition winner

March 07, 2019

The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce the winner of its 7th Annual Young Artists’ Concerto Competition! Twelve-year-old pianist HUDSON RAGINS won the event with his expressive performance of the third movement of Beethoven’s Concerto in C Major, No. 1 for piano. Hudson began piano study at age seven and has studied with Wilton teacher Yoshie Akimoto, Steinway Artist, since he was nine. He is home schooled.

Hudson has won many first prizes already, including the 2018 Steinway Competition, the Norwalk Symphony Young Artist Festival Junior Level, and the French Award at the Schubert Award Competition. He was the alternate winner of Danbury Symphony Concerto Competition. In prior years he won first prizes at the Renee B. Fisher Competition and the Deborah Kahan Competition, and was third prize winner at the Princeton Festival Piano Competition.

Hudson has been a brilliant young pianist in Young Talent Chamber Music concerts in Connecticut and New York. He performed in a YTCM Trio as featured guests of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony conducted by Eric Jacobsen.

Says Hudson, “My favorite way to express music is through playing with others, like chamber music. Music inspires me in all ideas, and sometimes a mythical world of dragons and evil forces. When I am not practicing piano or getting into some kind of trouble, you can find me with my nose in a book or a role-player game.”

He will be performing with the symphony in the subscription Music for All Ages concert on Sunday, March 17 at 3 p.m. in the Norwalk Concert Hall. This concert also features members of the Norwalk Youth Symphony playing Side-by-Side with the professionals in the symphony. Sara Watkins, Executive Director of the NYS, says that “It is a great opportunity for our talented musicians to experience a professional experience. Many of them are considering a future in music and this is a perfect taste.”

The Concerto Competition is part of a Young Artists’ Festival hosted by the NSO each year. The winner of the Junior level was Wilton resident Caleb Sharp, who studies cello with Madeleine Bouissou and Clara Kim in New York City. The 2nd place for the Junior Level went to Norwalk resident Arav Amin, who studies violin with Lucie Gelinas at The Juilliard School.

An Afternoon of Holst, Beethoven, and Prokofiev

March 07, 2019

Join us at 3 p.m. on March 17 for our annual Music for All Ages concert, where the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra performs Jupiter from Gustav Holst’s Planets side-by-side with the Norwalk Youth Symphony’s Principal Orchestra. We will also feature the winner of the Symphony’s 2019 Young Artists Festival Concerto Competition, twelve-year old Hudson Ragins, who will perform the third movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1. We conclude our concert with Sergei Prokofiev’s beloved Peter and the Wolf, with noted stage and screen actress Mia Dillon providing the narration and New England Academy of Dance members providing ballet interpretation.

We are excited to partner with other local non-profits for this concert as well:

• Children will have an opportunity to make masks as Stepping Stones Museum for Children facilitates this craft project from 2:00-2:50 p.m.  Then they can wear their masks during the performance!

• We also ask you to bring new or gently used children's books that will be donated to the library at the Child Guidance Center in Norwalk through a project sponsored by the Leadership Institute under the Norwalk Chamber of Commerce.  

We are also partnering with Norwalk's Wheels2U free bus to transport you from the train stations or within the local-ride zone to the concert hall, and to enjoy a discount at three area restaurants - Harlan Public, Don Carmello's and Station House - by showing your ticket stub!  Go for lunch or brunch before the show, or dinner when it ends! 

In all, this promises to be a wonderful afternoon. Bring the family and share the joy of listening to wonderful music in the acoustically wonderful Norwalk Concert Hall.

Meet the soloists for West Side Story!

February 09, 2019

Bronson Norris Murphy*: Tony

Bronson Norris Murphy is delighted to debut with the Norwalk Symphony singing this beautifully timeless score. Recognized for his “prodigious acting abilities” and a voice that has been acclaimed as “masterful, passionate and soaringly beautiful,” Mr. Murphy is best known to American audiences for premiering the role of The Phantom in the first North American production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns. Previously, Mr. Murphy made his principal Broadway debut as Raoul in the long-running production of The Phantom of the Opera. Notable performances include the 30th Anniversary company of CATS as Gus, Growltiger and Bustopher Jones, multiple US productions of West Side Story as Tony (twice previously with Ms. Ortiz!), New York City developmental productions of: Faustus, the Musical (MTM’s Best Actor Award), I Hate Holmes, Catch the Wind, Alan Menken & Tim Rice’s King David and Maybe One Day: A Fable for the York Theatre. His work in regional theatres include Goodspeed Opera House, North Shore Music Theatre, The Skirball Center, John W. Engeman Theatre, The Players’ Theatre, The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, West Virginia Public Theatre and two seasons as Stephen Foster in The Stephen Foster Story in the US and Japan. Concert work includes I Am Harvey Milk at The Avery Fisher Hall, The Ocean City Pops’ tribute to the American Songbook and as a soloist for Bach’s Cantata No. 140, Ramirez’s Misa Criolla, Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio, Vivaldi’s Magnificat and Dubois’ Seven Last Words of Christ. In addition to his work onstage, Mr. Murphy is an advocate for music education and maintains regular classroom hours as an active voice and acting teacher in NYC. For more information, follow @BronsonBiz or visit www.BronsonNorrisMurphy.com – Many thanks to the wonderful team at Uzan International Artists. For my family, always. “Te adoro, mi Taria”

Evy Ortiz*: Maria

Evy Ortiz is excited to be returning to one of her favorite roles! She has toured throughout the USA as Maria in the 1st National Broadway Tour of West Side Story (Broadway revival), and debuted that production in Canada and Japan. She has played the role at numerous regional theaters including the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, North Shore Music Theatre and Theatre by the Sea. Other favorite theater credits include Luisa in the off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks (dir. Tom Jones), Philia in A Funny Thing…Forum, Masha in The Seagull and Other World (dir. Gabriel Barre.) She has appeared as a featured concert soloist in Inside Broadway: Musicals at the Movies, Inside Broadway: Leonard Bernstein Centennial, the West Point Holiday Show and her NYC solo concert at the Metropolitan Room. She is a native New Yorker and studied classical singing for many years as a lyric coloratura. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre Arts from Pace University and a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from New York University. Much love to her supportive Mom, family and friends! Next up: West Side Story at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre in Florida. www.evyortiz.com

Paola Fernandez: Anita

Really excited to be part of this beautiful performance! Born and raised in Puerto Rico. Proud Circle in the Square Theatre School Aumna. Recent: Man of La Manch (Antonia), Rent National Tour (Mimi Marquez), Rent National Tour (Swing, U/S Mimi, Maureen), Twelfth Night (Viola), Spring Awakening (Martha), Legally Blonde (Vivienne), Harispray (Dynamite), Godspell, Hair. Gracias to my familia: www.paola-hernandez.com. Follow: @p_vhernandez

Naysh Fox: Riff

Naysh Fox is thrilled and honored to be making his Norwalk Symphony Orchestra and New Paradigm Theatre debut.  Naysh was recently on the North American Tour of “Pippin” as Pippin, a role that truly changed his life, and has just finished touring Europe in “Grease” as Danny Zuko, with RCCL. Favorite roles include Woof (HAIR), Will Parker (Oklahoma), and Warner (Legally Blonde). Lastly, Naysh would like to thank his family, especially the holy cow crew, Jacobs Pillow, and the one and only Chet Walker!

Jared Starkey: Action

Jared is thrilled to be joining the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra and the New Paradigm Theater’s collaborative production of West Side Story! Credits include: National Tour: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Young Max), New York: Two by Two; feat. Chip Zien & Christine Pedi (Japheth - Feinstein’s/54 Below), Regional: Peter and the Starcatcher (Peter), Sweeney Todd (Tobias), Grease, A Chorus Line (Frank, U/S Mark/Larry) Wittenberg, The Doctor’s Dilemma, Spring Awakening, Oklahoma!. Love and thanks to my family, Julio, Neil, Bartoli, DePoto, Eric, Megan and the O’Callaghans, and Nancy. Carson-Adler Agency. @JaredStarkey www.JaredStarkey.com

Legna Cedillo: Rosalia

Legna Cedillo is thrilled for her first performance with New Paradigm Theatre. She is a Recording Artist with her band, Lumos and Voice Actor for various Disney and Hasbro commercials. Legna’s musical theater experience began in her home town of Kansas City where she performed in shows such as Jekyll & Hyde, and Big River. After a few years of a focus on writing and recording music, Legna is excited to be back on stage! She would like to thank her family and friends for their unyielding support and love! All glory to God.

Christian Cardozo*: Bernardo

Christian is so excited to be working with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra and New Paradigm Theatre in this exciting production! He last appeared at Music Theatre of Connecticut as Simon Stride in Jekyll & Hyde. Other regional credits include Clopin in The Hunchback of Notre Dame with New Paradigm Theatre, Che in Evita at Downtown Cabaret Theatre and Billy Bigelow in Carousel at Summer Theatre of New Canaan. Cheers!  Instagram @cardozocm

Michael Miller: Baby John

Mikey Miller is excited to be returning to this classic after playing aRab his junior year of high school. Last May, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with his B.A. in English and a minor in theatre arts. Regional credits: Spring Awakening (Ernst), Junie B. Jones (Sheldon). University credits: Ruddigore (Robin Oakapple), Anything Goes (Lord Evelyn Oakleigh), High School Musical (Ryan Evans), Once on This Island (Papa Ge), How to Succeed (J. Pierrepont Finch). Thanks to all in his life for the constant support and all involved for putting on an awesome concert. Twitter/Instagram: @mikeyemiller

Nicholas Rylands: Diesel

Nicholas is thrilled to be joining the New Paradigm Theater and the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra for this amazing concert event. Previous credits include: Playhouse on Park: Captain Robert Falcon Scott PETER AND THE STARCATCHER; Hartford Stage: 18th Century Apparition A CHRISTMAS CAROL; Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals: Ensemble PASSING THROUGH; Monomoy Theatre: Romain Tournel A FLEA IN HER EAR, Frid A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, Don Carney BILOXI BLUES; The Hartt School: Juan Peron EVITA, Joseph Cardin CHILDREN'S HOUR, Doctor Carasco/The Duke MAN OF LA MANCHA. "To my Mom and Dad: without you, I would not be living this dream. I love you so much. Thank you."

Carolyn Savoia: Francisca

Carolyn Savoia is a Ridgefield, CT native who is thrilled to be part of this production! She was previously seen in The New Paradigm Theatre’s production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame last summer. Other regional credits include: Jekyll & Hyde (Music Theatre of Connecticut), Joseph…Dreamcoat (ACT of CT); Hairspray, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid (STONC), Seussical (Westchester Broadway Theatre). Carolyn holds a BA in Theatre Performance from Wagner College. Endless thanks to Kristin Huffman, Claire Kelly, Jonathan Yates, and all at The New Paradigm Theatre and The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra for this incredible opportunity. Follow: @csavs32 and www.carolynsavoia.com

Yarden Barr: Consuela

Yarden Barr is ecstatic to be returning to West Side Story after performing the fully staged version at Barrington Stage Company (Maria u/s) and Square Foot Theatre (Maria). Other previous credits include: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Lucy Van Pelt), Carrie (Sue Snell), and A Chorus Line (Diana Morales). She is currently a Sophomore at the Hartt School pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre and is an Equity Membership Candidate.

Miles Messier: Arab

Miles Messier is making his New Paradigm Theatre debut! Credits include The Wedding Singer (Robbie Hart), Assassins (Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald), Into the Woods (Wolf/Rapunzel’s Prince), and West Side Story (Action). Miles is currently studying at The Hartt School, pursuing a BFA in Music Theatre with a minor in Composition. He also plays keyboard in pit orchestras and has experience with music direction.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the U.S.

Pianist wins Norwalk Symphony's Young Artists Concerto Competition

February 09, 2019

We are pleased to announce that HUDSON RAGINS is our Young Artists Festival Concerto Competition winner for 2019.  He will play the third movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in C Major, No. 1 with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra at our March 17th “Music for all Ages” concert.  Hudson is shown above with Rebecca Christopherson, Young Artists Festival chair, and Christopher Bell, NSO Board President.

The Norwalk Symphony offers this unique program for young musicians, and we added many new features in 2019. Most notably, we opened the Junior and Senior competition levels to pianists! You will find the Young Artists Festival brochure for 2019 here, and the Young Artists Festival Concerto Competition brochure here. These are provided as samples, and specific details for 2020's event will be available in Summer 2019. Also, we have worksheets available to help students prepare for the theory test in the Festival level.

Finding your Voice in Self Defense

January 08, 2019

Join us for a FREE workshop: "Finding your voice in Self Defense"  

Where:  Norwalk High School
When:  Sunday,  February 3, 2019
TIme:  2:00-4:00 pm 

——- Please arrive 15 minutes early so we can start on time! ——-

Short Sessions include:  

• “Be an Upstander” - led by the Stage Director of West Side Story, Claire Kelly

• RAD (rape, aggression, defense system) taught by a Sergeant of the Norwalk Police Department

• “Our Voices All Matter” led by Catlina Horak and Michelle Saldivar from partner nonprofit Building One Community.

This free workshop will end with a opportunity to buy discount tickets to West Side Story (Feb 23rd). 

About New England Academy of Dance

November 15, 2018

Founded in 1968 by former Broadway dancer and esteemed ballerina Doris Driver, NEAD began as a boutique studio with only 12 dancers. Slowly, the school grew to extend class offerings to dancers of all ages, and encompass a studio company. In 2003, ownership was transferred to 3 directors with professional dance & choreography experience: Frances Ortiz, Ginna Ortiz, and Ted Thomas. Together, the new directors focused their energy on defining a curriculum for each distinct age group, and transforming the Nutcracker and Spring Performances into highly theatrical, community events. Enrolling over 500 dancers each semester during the past decade, NEAD has grown to become one of the foremost dance institutions in Fairfield County.

At NEAD, each class level has a unique curriculum that has been carefully crafted with specific, age-appropriate goals and achievements in mind. Both the classical Russian Vaganova technique and Italian Chichetti methods are incorporated into class work for all age groups. Additionally, the three NEAD Directors are certified to teach the AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE® National Training Curriculum, levels primary through five (5). At its core, the curriculum aims to provide students with the highest quality of age-appropriate, outcome-based training. These leanings have been integrated into all levels of NEAD schooling, to ensure high levels of physical and mental engagement across age groups.

Frances Ortiz, Director, graduated from the New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL, and went on to earn a BFA at SUNY Purchase and a MA in Dance Education at NYU. During her professional dance career, Frances received scholarships to Dance Theater of Harlem, The Martha Graham School and The Ailey School, and performed works by Kevin Wynn, Elisa Monte and Ti Martin. Additionally, her choreography was showcased in City Arts on PBS. In 2002, Ms. Ortiz co-founded Thomas/Ortiz Dance, a company that has since been invited to perform at esteemed venues such as Jacobs Pillow and Battery Arts Dance Festival. One year after founding Thomas/Ortiz Dance, Frances simultaneously became a director of NEAD, where she continues to act as a teacher, choreographer, and mentor for many. While overseeing progress of NEAD, Frances has taught and presented dance works at Yale and NYU, while also teaching dance at Greenwich High School. In 2015, Frances became certified to teach the AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE® National Training Curriculum, levels primary through five (5).

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ginna Ortiz, Director, studied dance at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL, and received her BFA from SUNY Purchase with her twin sister Frances. For almost five years, Ms. Ortiz performed with Dance Theater of Harlem, and subsequently worked with a number of independent choreographers in New York City. In 1996, Ms. Ortiz began teaching at NEAD, where she later became a director in 2003. In addition to teaching and directing rehearsals at NEAD, Ginna actively performs with the Thomas/Ortiz company. In 2015, Ginna became certified to teach the AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE® National Training Curriculum, levels primary through five (5).

Ted Thomas, Director, attended La Guardia High School of Performing Arts in New York City, where his early interest in dance evolved into a professional passion. He went on to earn his BFA in dance from SUNY Purchase, and his MA in Dance Education from NYU. During his time dancing professionally, Ted spent seven years as a member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and performed with Ballet Hispanico, the Elisa Monte Dance Company, and Nikolais/Louis Dance. He was also afforded the opportunity to teach dance at Barnard College. In 2002, Mr. Thomas co-founded Thomas/Ortiz Dance with Frances Ortiz, and one year later became a director of the New England Academy of Dance. In 2015, Ted became certified to teach the AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE® National Training Curriculum, levels primary through five (5).

"Bach to Pops" December Concert Featured Artists

November 13, 2018

Join us for our annual holiday spectacular! This year’s concert includes Bach’s Magnificat, Bizet’s Farandole from L’Arlesienne and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves. The Magnificat features an exciting roster of artists, listed below. The New England Academy of Dance returns for Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Snowflakes. Finally, Christmas and Chanukah favorites and Handel’s immortal Hallelujah chorus round out our special family-centered celebration.

Described as having “A rich, glowing lyric sound destined for the heights" (Opera News), soprano Amelia Watkins has performed with leading orchestras and opera companies in North America, Europe and Asia, including the Los Angeles Opera, New York City Opera, Prague National Opera, Carnegie Hall, Weill Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Verbier Festival, Leipzig Gewandhaus, National Arts Center, and in concert in Hong Kong. Embracing musical styles from Bach to Berio and beyond, Amelia specializes in the works of living composers. She recently drew praise for her performance as Brainy Woman in Michael Gordon and Deborah Artman’s Acquanetta, directed by Daniel Fish at the 2018 Prototype Festival.   Ms. Watkins can be heard on Albany Records in New Growth, the Grammy nominated Bobby McFerrin album Vocabularies, Missy Mazzoli’s Song From the Uproar, the upcoming studio recording of Acquanetta, and in various film and television scores. A familiar face at the Norwalk Symphony, she is always delighted to make music with Jonathan Yates, as a recital partner or conductor! www.ameliawatkins.com

Devony Smith is a versatile soprano excelling in both contemporary and traditional repertoire with her “sensuous” and “strong” voice (New York Times). A California native, Devony makes her mark on New York City as a professional member of Musica Viva NY, where she recently performed the soprano solos for Vivaldi’s Gloria,  Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, and Carmina Burana. This year, Devony was the recipient of the Lyndon Woodside award in the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition at Carnegie Hall. Also at Carnegie, she participated in the prestigious Song Continues Workshop with Marilyn Horne, Renée Fleming, and Graham Johnson. In 2019, she will present a recital in a partnership with Carnegie Hall’s Citywide Concerts.

Recently on the operatic stage, Devony performed Kate Soper’s self-accompanied opera Here Be Sirens at National Sawdust, the title role in the workshop of Matt Aucoin’s new opera Eurydice as a part of Cincinnati Opera’s Opera Fusion: New Works program, Micaëla (Carmen) at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center, Violetta (La Traviata) at the Narnia Festival, Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) with Bronx Opera, and the title role in Cendrillon with Utopia Opera.   

Devony relishes the opportunity to perform contemporary works. As a Sorel Fellow at Songfest, she performed John Harbison’s “Simple Daylight” at Zipper Hall. As a 2017 fellow at Ravinia Steans Music Institute, she collaborated with composer William Bolcom in a concert of his music. Also at Songfest, she performed the world premiere of Ben Moore’s “John and Abigail” and the west coast premiere of John Musto's “Six Scottish Songs.”

Augusta Caso, mezzo-soprano, made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2017-2018 season as a Flowermaiden in Wagner’s Parsifal under the baton of Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and her LA Opera debut as First Twin in Getty’s Canterville Ghost, a role she also sang with Center for Contemporary Opera (CCO). She sang Isaura in Tancredi rifatto at Teatro Nuovo with Maestro Will Crutchfield and covered the title role in the mainstage production of Tancredi; she also sang the title role of Carmen with New York Opera Collaborative. The New York Times called Ms. Caso’s 2016 performance of Andriessen’s Anaïs Nin with CCO “compelling” and “courageous”; she then made her European debut in the same role at the Musiekgebouw aan’t IJ (Amsterdam), which Volkskrant called “a star role.” She looks forward to returning to Anaïs Nin in Europe in 2019, again in Amsterdam and at Opera Rotterdam; she also sings the title role of Artemisia in a new opera by Laura Schwendinger, and creates the character of Marilyn Monroe in a new work by composer JacobTV in 2020. Last season, Ms. Caso made her mainstage debut at the Spoleto Festival USA as Gilade in Vivaldi’s Farnace; sang the roles of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly and Hélène in La Belle Hélène with Opera North; and sang Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites with Resonanz Opera. Other recent performances include Dorabella in Così fan tutte; Prince Charming in Cendrillon; the title role in La Cenerentola; Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle; Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder; and Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été. Augusta holds degrees from Williams College and the University of Oklahoma. She grew up in Phoenix, Maryland and studies with Andrea DelGiudice.

A native of Richmond, Virginia, tenor William Ferguson appeared with the Santa Fe Opera as Caliban in the North American premiere of Thomas Adès’ The Tempest and bowed in Sydney with Opera Australia singing Truffaldino in a new production of The Love for Three Oranges—a recording of which has since been released on the Chandos label. In New York, Ferguson has performed Beppe in I Pagliacci at The Metropolitan Opera as well as Candide, Nanki-Poo, the Funeral Director in A Quiet Place, Hérisson de Porc-Épic in L’Étoile, and most recently The Electrician in Powder Her Face at New York City Opera. Additional credits include appearances as George in Our Town at Central City Opera; Don Basilio/Curzio with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Dudamel conducting) and Milwaukee Symphony (de Waart conducting); Remendado, Spoletta, and Guillot de Morfontaine at The Dallas Opera; a staged production of Handel’s Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony (Honeck conducting); Powder Her Face at Opéra Festival de Quebec; Andres in Wozzeck at Opera Festival of New Jersey; Male Chorus in Rape of Lucretia at Opera Memphis; Ferrando in Cosi fan Tutte at Aspen; Fenton in Falstaff and Gonzalve in l’Heure Espagnole at Tanglewood (both with Maestro Ozawa); Bentley Drummle in Miss Havisham’s Fire at Opera Theatre of St. Louis; Frederick, Nanki-Poo, and Jupiter in Semele at Opera Omaha; Frederick at Virginia Opera; Dido and Aeneas with Gotham Chamber Opera, Turandot with Opera Philadelphia, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at both The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain, and Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Sicily.  He holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music degree from The Juilliard School.

A passionate concert and recital performer, Mr. Ferguson has appeared with The American Symphony Orchestra, BBC Orchestra (London), Boston Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (England), Houston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Musica Sacra New York, National Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Opera Orchestra of New York, Oratorio Society of New York, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest (Netherlands), and San Francisco Symphony; as well as the local symphony orchestras of Bellingham, Duluth, New Haven, Omaha, Orlando, Richmond, Santa Barbara, South Dakota, Wheeling, and Winston-Salem.  Furthermore, he has performed for the 92nd Street Y, Bard Music Festival, Marlboro Music Festival, and New York Festival of Song. Prizes include First Place in the Oratorio Society of New York Solo Competition, The Alice Tully Debut Recital Award, and awards from Opera Index, The Bagby Foundation, and Opera Orchestra of New York. Mr. Ferguson appears as Brian on the recording and DVD of Not The Messiah, an oratorio based on Monty Python’s Life of Brian recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall.

Matthew Curran, bass, is a Princeton native. Praised for his smooth, rich sound and stylish power by The Baltimore Sun, he brings a blend of intelligent musicianship and strong dramatic instincts to a variety of roles. Having sung on the stages of the Zürich Opera, Seattle, Atlanta, Memphis, and many other regional opera houses, he is a major talent on the rise. His operatic repertoire includes Filippo in Verdi’s Don Carlo, Sarastro in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Oroveso in Bellini’s Norma, Frère Laurent in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and Colline in Puccini’s La Bohème. On the concert stage, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s, Verdi’s, and Brahms’s Requiems, and the great Bach Oratorios. His most recent season included Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Opera Carolina, Opera Grand Rapids, and Toledo Opera, Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd with Baltimore Concert Opera, Simone in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Delaware, and Zuniga in Carmen with the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice. 2016-2017 engagements included Orbazzano in Rossini’s Tancredi with Baltimore Concert Opera and Opera Southwest, a debut with Odyssey Opera to sing Basil in Lowell Liebermann’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Terry in Breaking the Waves, a new opera by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek in its New York premiere at the Prototype Festival, and Thomas Betterton in the New York premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s new opera Prince of Players with Little Opera Theater of New York. Concerts included Handel’s Messiah in Prescott, Arizona, Jesus in Bach’s St. John Passion at Duke University Chapel, Mozart’s Requiem at University of Georgia and Verdi’s Requiem at Hamilton College. 2015-2016 included the roles of Ramfis in Aida at Opera Southwest and Baltimore Concert Opera, Don Iñigo Gomez in L’Heure Espagnole with Opera Memphis, and Pistola in Falstaff with Opera Delaware. www.matthewcurran.net

The Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut (MCC) was founded in 1984 by alumni of the Fairfield University Chamber Singers who wished to continue their musical association with Dr. Carole Ann Maxwell. Under Dr. Maxwell’s leadership, the Choir has performed a wide range of repertoire in New England, New York, and many European capitals. The Choir’s renditions of the world’s greatest choral masterpieces have earned it a reputation as one of the leading vocal ensembles of the region. Its diverse programming reflects an extensive repertoire from all periods and genres – from classical to contemporary and from opera to theater, film, and pop. The MCC embraces a mission of developing and promoting the choral arts – a mission that begins with the training of its own members and reaches out to the entire community of Fairfield County.

November "Armistice and Triumph" Concert Featured Artists

October 01, 2018

Our next Main Series concert features two soloists, Helena Brown and Edward J. Tipton, as well as the Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut conducted by Carole Ann Maxwell.

Lauded as having a "stunningly large round sound," as well as a “steely, velvety” timbre, American dramatic soprano Helena Brown is quickly distinguishing herself as a force of nature for the international stages. She was recently awarded the Sergio Franchi Award in the Deborah Voigt/Vero Beach Opera Competition, Second Place in the Young Patronesses of the Opera/Florida Grand Opera Vocal Competition, as well as awards from the Cooper-Bing, Opera at Florham, Opera Birmingham, and Opera Ebony Benjamin Matthews vocal competitions. Helena additionally received grants from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Giulio Gari Foundation, and Encouragement Grants from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Philadelphia, Jensen Foundation, the Wagner Society of New York, and the MetroWest Opera Vocal Competition in Boston. Helena was a member of Sarasota Opera for their 2017 winter season as a Studio Artist, covering the role of Madame Lidoine (New Prioress) in the Dialogues of the Carmelites. That summer, she returned to the Glimmerglass Festival to sing Isabella in the American premiere of The Siege of Calais and covered Serena in Porgy and Bess. In 2018, Helena made her role debuts as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Rioja Lirica/DIVAria Productions and Sieglinde in Die Walküre with Miami Wagner Institute.

Formerly a mezzo-soprano, Helena was a young artist at the 2016 Glimmerglass Festival where she performed Rebecca Nurse and covered Tituba under the baton of Nicole Paiement in Francesca Zambello’s acclaimed production of The Crucible. She made her European debut as Serena and Strawberry Woman in Porgy & Bess with New York Harlem Productions, appearing in theaters such as Grand Théâtre de Genève, Chassé Theater, and Amsterdam RAI. Additionally, Helena appeared with Minnesota Opera, performing Dryad in Ariadne auf Naxos; portrayed Bloody Mary in South Pacific at Opera Roanoke; sang Addie in Regina and Mrs. Herring in Albert Herring at Bronx Opera; covered Mama McCourt in Ballad of Baby Doe with Chautauqua Opera; and covered Grandmother Buryjovka in Jenůfa with Des Moines Metro Opera, where she also appeared in scenes concerts as Dalila in Samson et Dalila, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Martha in Faust, and Filippyevna in Eugene Onegin.

As a Masters student at Manhattan School of Music, Helena Brown performed the roles of the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel, Klementia in Hindemith’s Sancta Susanna, Madame Halitiere in Cendrillon, Queen Jezebel and Angel in Elijah, and in Mignon Dunn’s beloved scenes program, played Martha in Faust, Leonora in La Favorita, and Erste Magd in Elektra. She also appeared at the Crittenden Opera Festival as La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica and Marcellina in scenes from Le Nozze di Figaro.

No stranger to contemporary music, Helena has premiered compositions as well as principal roles in opera and theater. Recently, she collaborated with Rebecca Erin Smith in the premiere of Feast for Pierrot ensemble at Manhattan School of Music. Helena also performed the actor-singer role of Mother in Bellocq’s Ophelia, written by U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, which was presented in festival at the Kennedy Center.

Helena holds a Master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Music, Summa Cum Laude, from Hollins University where she also studied arts management and theatre.

Edward “Ned” Tipton began his musical studies at the age of four, and gave his first recital at the age of six. He soon took up the violin, organ, trumpet, oboe, and flute. His first post as church organist was at the age of fourteen in his native Asheville, North Carolina, where he was a student of Marilyn Keiser and William Dan Hardin.  As a winner of a Rotary International Foundation Scholarship for the school year 1979-1980, he continued his piano studies at the Ecole Normale de Musique, Paris, as a student of Jules Gentil. He received his BM in Piano and his MM in Choral Conducting from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, Ohio.  His studies of the organ works of Maurice Duruflé were with the wife of the composer, Marie-Madeline Duruflé-Chevalier. 

From 1989 until 2010 he served as Canon for Music and Organist-Choirmaster of the American Cathedral in Paris.  He was Artistic Director of Les Arts George V, the American Cathedral’s not-for-profit arts association. In 1994 he co-founded the Paris Choral Society, and under his 16-year tenure as Music Director and Conductor the “PCS” performed an impressive number of the major works for symphonic chorus and orchestra (among which were the Beethoven Missa Solemnis and Ninth Symphony, the Verdi Requiem, and the complete choral works of Maurice Duruflé during the centenary year of the composer’s birth, 2002.).  He served as Canon for Music Ministry and Cathedral Arts, at St. John’s Cathedral, Los Angeles, from 2010 until 2017. He remains a permanent member of the International Steering Committee of the Association Maurice et Marie-Madeleine Duruflé.  A resident of Atlanta from 1986 until late 1989, he was Assistant Administrator and Interim Director of the Robert Shaw Institute at Emory University, and rehearsal assistant for and a member of the Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Chamber Chorus.  

Tipton, who maintains an active international career as an organist, was a featured recitalist of the 2009 conference of the Association of Anglican Musicians in Los Angeles.  In June of 2015 he was named one of six Honorary Canons of the Cathedral Center of St. Paul (the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles) by Bishop J. Jon Bruno. In September of 2017 he performed Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Timpani with the National Symphony of Costa Rica, under the baton of Maestro John Nelson. Future recitals include Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville, and St. Philip’s Cathedral, Atlanta.

The Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut (MCC) was founded in 1984 by alumni of the Fairfield University Chamber Singers who wished to continue their musical association with Dr. Carole Ann Maxwell. Under Dr. Maxwell’s leadership, the Choir has performed a wide range of repertoire in New England, New York, and many European capitals. The Choir’s renditions of the world’s greatest choral masterpieces have earned it a reputation as one of the leading vocal ensembles of the region. Its diverse programming reflects an extensive repertoire from all periods and genres – from classical to contemporary and from opera to theater, film, and pop. The MCC embraces a mission of developing and promoting the choral arts – a mission that begins with the training of its own members and reaches out to the entire community of Fairfield County.

The Choir’s repertory has included Bach’s Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Meeresstille und gluckliche Fahrt, Schubert’s Miriam’s Siegesgesang, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Brahm’s Alto Rhapsody and Liebeslieder Waltzes, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony and Toward the Unknown Region, Honegger’s King David, Orff’s Carmina Burana and Citulli Carmina, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, and the Stabat Mater and the Armed Man Mass of Karl Jenkins. The MCC has performed Requiem settings by Mozart, Verdi, Faure, Durufle, and Rutter, as well as American songbook entries from Gershwin, Sondheim, and many others and film score chorales by John Williams and Patrick Doyle. Opera in concert has been a recurring feature, including performances of Verdi’s Aida, Bizet’s Carmen, and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

Over the years, the MCC has been honored to present the world premieres of The Child in Us All and the Prologue from North and South, by Tony Award winner Charles Strouse, Stephen Schwartz’s Academy Award-winning song “When You Believe” from Prince of Egypt, and “Chief Seattle” by Gregg Smith. In celebration of its Silver Anniversary, the Choir commissioned a work by Randal Alan Bass, O Divine Music, which it premiered in May 2010. That same year MCC also introduced Connecticut composer Edward Thompson’s What the Ivy Said to the Fallen Snow. In 2014 the Choir premiered Child of War by Jin Hi Kim, a setting of texts by the Vietnamese peace activist Kim Phuc.

The Choir has performed regularly with the symphony orchestras of Bridgeport, Norwalk, Wallingford, and New Haven. The ensemble has appeared several times in Carnegie Hall under the auspices of both Distinguished Choirs International and Mid-America Productions. In addition to a memorable performance at the 2006 National Pastoral Musician’s Conference in Norwalk, the Choir has also sung to enthusiastic audiences in Rome, Florence, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Galway and Dublin.

Beyond its artistic achievements, the MCC plays an important civic role through its local outreach programs, notably its Mendelssingers ensemble. The Mendelssingers regularly perform in hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities and at various community events to bring the wonder and awe of live choral music to the broadest spectrum of the Connecticut public. The Choir receives support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, the Carstenson Foundation, and many generous corporations, businesses and individuals throughout Fairfield County.

One of America’s preeminent conductors of collegiate, community and professional choral ensembles, Carole Ann Maxwell, DSM, has been the Director of Choral Activities at Fairfield University since 1980. She is also the Founding Artistic Director and Conductor of The Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut. In these and all her affiliations, Dr. Maxwell continuously strives for choral excellence through the total commitment and magnificent voices of thousands of gifted singers who gladly audition and travel great distances for the opportunity to work with her.

Noted for immense energy, consummate professionalism and complete dedication to the choral arts, Dr. Maxwell’s mission is to inspire and challenge each singer’s musical potential. Combining her talent with a wonderful sense of humor has set Dr. Maxwell aside from other conductors, making her extremely unique, and placing her in great demand. Her distinctive style and artistic leadership have produced critically acclaimed results from podiums throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. In addition, Dr. Maxwell is a favorite Chorus Master for area orchestras and is a member of the Board of The Fairfield County Children’s Choir. 

Dr. Maxwell has been recognized for her artistic achievements with numerous awards. In 1992, Immaculata College presented Dr. Maxwell with the prestigious “Distinguished Music Alumna” award. The National Music Honor Society, Pi Kappa Lambda, honored her with membership citing her excellence and outstanding contributions in the field of choral music. The Connecticut Post named Dr. Maxwell a recipient of the “Woman of Substance” Award, celebrating outstanding women of the region, and Oxford Health Care honored her with its Humancare Award for her exceptional efforts in the community. In 2000, Dr. Maxwell was named “Woman of the Year” by Fairfield University Women’s Studies Program and is the 2016 recipient of the Fairfield University Distinguished Faculty/Administrator Award. Dr. Maxwell has been named to the National Jesuit Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Nu.

September Concert Featured Artist: Francisco Fullana

September 09, 2018

Spanish-born violinist Francisco Fullana, winner of a 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant, has been hailed as a "rising star" (BBC Music Magazine), an "amazing talent" (conductor Gustavo Dudamel) and "a paragon of delicacy" (San Francisco Classical Voice). His Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2016 was noted for its “joy and playfulness in collaboration; it was perfection” (New York Classical Review).

A native of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands of Spain, Francisco is making a name for himself as both a performer and a leader of innovative educational institutions. As an orchestral soloist he has performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Bayerische Philharmonie led by the late Sir Colin Davis, the Sibelius Concerto with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, and the Brahms Violin Concerto with Venezuela’s Teresa Careño Orchestra under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. He has also soloed with the Vancouver, Pacific, Alabama, Maryland, Madrid, and Hof symphony orchestras and the Spanish Radio Television Orchestra, and has worked with such noted conductors as Carlos Izcaray, Alondra de la Parra, Christoph Poppen, Jeannette Sorrell, and Joshua Weilerstein.

Active as a chamber musician, Francisco has participated in the Marlboro Music Festival and its Musicians from Marlboro tours, as well as Yellow Barn, the Perlman Music Program, the Da Camera Society, and the Music@Menlo, Mainly Mozart, Music in the Vineyards, and Newport music festivals. His musical collaborators have included Viviane Hagner, Nobuko Imai, Charles Neidich, Mitsuko Uchida, and members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Pacifica, Takács, and Cleveland quartets. And among the many chamber music engagements on his upcoming schedule, Francisco has been invited to join the prestigious CMS Two roster of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center starting in 2018.

Highlights of Francisco’s 2018-19 season include debuts with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra, Oviedo Filarmonía, and Santa Fe Pro Musica. Also scheduled are two weeks of activities with Poland’s Krzyzowa Festival at home and on tour, and return engagements with the Alabama, Balearic Islands, Extremadura, and Xalapa symphonies. Francisco’s ongoing collaboration with Argentinian bandoneonist J.P. Jofre will culminate with the 2018 premiere of Jofre’s Double Concerto for Bandoneon and Violin, a work commissioned by the Balearic Islands Symphony, San Antonio Chamber Orchestra, and New York City’s Metropolis Ensemble.

In March 2018, Orchid Classics released Francisco’s recording “Through the Lens of Time,” which includes Max Richter’s 2012 composition The Four Seasons Recomposed performed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Carlos Izcaray. This ambitious project, recently named Forbes's CD of the Week and featured as the #1 Classical Track on Apple Music, carries forward from its modern reconsideration of Vivaldi’s beloved classic with a series of contemporary solo works for violin that also shine a new light on the Baroque musical tradition.

Born into a family of educators, Francisco first studied with Bernat Pomar in his hometown of Palma de Mallorca and later graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Madrid, where he matriculated under the tutelage of Manuel Guillén. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School following studies with Donald Weilerstein and Masao Kawasaki, and holds an Artist Diploma from the USC Thornton School of Music, where he worked with the renowned violinist Midori.

In 2015 Francisco was honored with the Pro Musicis International Award and First Prize in Japan’s Munetsugu Angel Violin Competition, as well as all four of that competition’s special prizes including the Audience and Orchestra awards. He won First Prize in the 2014 Johannes Brahms International Violin Competition in Austria. Other awards include First Prizes at the Julio Cardona International Violin Competition and the Pablo Sarasate Competition.

Francisco is a committed innovator, leading new institutions of musical education for young people. He is a co-founder of San Antonio’s Classical Music Summer Institute, where he currently serves as Chamber Music Director. He also created the Fortissimo Youth Initiative, a series of Baroque and Classical music seminars and performances with youth orchestras, which aims to explore and deepen young musicians’ understanding of 18th-century music. The seminars are deeply immersive, thrusting youngsters into the sonic world of a single composer while inspiring them to channel their overwhelming energy in the service of vibrant older styles of musical expression. The results can be galvanic, and Francisco continues to build on these educational models.

He currently performs on the 1735 "Mary Portman" ex-Kreisler Guarneri del Gesù violin, kindly on loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Dynamic Violin Star joins with Symphony to open season

September 09, 2018

The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra opens its 79th season on Saturday, September 29th, at the Norwalk Concert Hall with “3 Stitches in Time,” a lively program consisting of Sibelius’ Symphony No.5, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Arvo Pärt’s iconic short piece Fratres. “Each of the masterpieces in this program looked back in time, but were, and are, in essence new,” commented conductor Jonathan Yates, who returns for his seventh season with the Symphony.

Francisco Fullana will be the violin soloist in the Beethoven and the Pärt. “We are thrilled to bring such an amazing young talent to Norwalk area audiences,” Yates continued. Francisco Fullana is one of a handful of young musicians to be awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant for this year. A graduate of Madrid’s Royal Conservatory and New York’s Julliard School, he has already has performed major violin concertos with premiere orchestras (Mendelssohn with Bayerische Philharmonie under Colin Davis and Brahms with the Simon Bolivar Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel). His debut recital at Carnegie Hall in 2016 received praise for its “playfulness and joy” and was described by New York Classical Review as “perfection.” Later this Autumn, Fullana returns to his native Mallorca, Spain, for a series of Baroque concerts in historic locales. His remarkable versatility is revealed in his recently released CD “Through the Lens of Time” with the City of Birmingham Orchestra under Carlo Izcaray.

This September concert will be the start of an expanded six-concert season for the Norwalk Symphony. On November 10th, they will perform at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in New Canaan in a program that memorializes the 100th anniversary of end of World War I. In December, the Symphony will be the live accompaniment for the New England Academy of Dance’s presentation of the Nutcracker and then returns to the Norwalk Concert Hall for their traditional Holiday concert, which will include excerpts from Bach’s Magnificat. In February, West Side Story comes to life with a cast of soloists on the Norwalk Stage. In March, the orchestra joins forces with the Norwalk Youth Symphony for their annual Music for All Ages concert. Finally, on May 18th, the Season Finale will be Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the same piece that opened their first season eighty years prior.

To quote Norwalk Mayor, Harry Rilling: “The Symphony’s long-standing commitment to providing music and educational opportunities has made them an integral part of the Norwalk community. We are so thankful for the beautiful music, magnificent performances, and enlightening discussions the Symphony brings the City of Norwalk and southwestern Connecticut every year.”

Norwalk Symphony Orchestra hires new Executive Director

July 07, 2018

The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra (NSO) welcomes Sandra Miklave as the new Executive Director. She began her tenure on April 1st, and is replacing outgoing Executive Director Louis Pietig. As a part of the transition, she was introduced at the Norwalk Symphony’s FIGARO concert on May 19th.

The Symphony will expand its reach with six concerts in the upcoming season, as well as provide the music for the New England Dance Theatre’s annual Nutcracker performance. The Symphony’s educational outreach program, (Not) Just for Kids, presented a week prior to each performance, introduces children to the families of instruments in the orchestra while also offering an opportunity to play these instruments.

As Miklave transitions on, the Norwalk Symphony is poised to expand its fundraising efforts, repositioning its strategic plan and mission, and working to extend collaboration with other organizations in the community it serves. “I am so excited to be working with the talented musicians and individuals involved with the Norwalk Symphony. We play in a concert hall with world-class acoustics, and musicians that rival any large-city orchestra. The Symphony is a cultural gem that needs to be discovered by more people in our community who do not know what they are missing.”

Miklave is currently the Board Chair at Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, and has been a volunteer with the museum for 20 years. She has also volunteered with numerous local organizations, including the Norwalk High School Boys Soccer Team, Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic, the Fairfield Prep Crew Team Booster Club and various school-based organizations.

The Norwalk Symphony is also happy to announce its 79th Season beginning on September 29, 2018. For more information and subscription reservations please see elsewhere on this website or call 203.956.6771.