PMTG PROGRAM CALENDAR 2018 - 2019

October 1, 2018

THE HEIMAT STRING QUARTET

with

RON LEVY, Guest Pianist

The Heimat Quartet

Patrick Shaughnessy, violin

Aubrey Holmes, violin

Ivan Mendoza, viola

Brendon Phelps, cello

The Heimat Quartet was founded during the fall of 2014 in Boston, MA.  All avid chamber musicians, each player brings a wide array of experience and renewed energy to both the music and the group.

The quartets primary teachers have included the Miami String Quartet (Kent State University in Kent, Ohio), and the Shanghai Quartet (Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ).

Notable engagements have included performances and master classes at The College of New Jersey, Mercer College, Duke University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Dickinson College among others. The Heimat Quartet were the 2016 featured young artists for the 34th season of Music From The Western Reserve. Members of the quartet held teaching positions in the greater Cleveland area where they were also the String Quartet-in-Residence at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio (2015-2017).  They held the fellowship quartet position at Interlochen Center for the Arts as faculty at the Advanced String Quartet Seminar during the 2017 summer sessions.

During the 2017-2018 season the quartet made their European debut in Hamburg, Germany at the International Mendelssohn Festival.  This was followed by a recital and educational outreach performances in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia through their participation at Lunenburg Academy of Music (LAMP).  The Heimat’s capped off 2017 with their South American debut, which included performances and a residency at The International Music Festival of Esmeraldas held at Casa de la Musica in Quito, Ecuador.

Recent engagements have included a return to LAMP this past May, followed by performances at Encore Chamber Music Festival, in Cleveland, Ohio.  The quartet will have their Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Recital Hall on March 4th, 2019.

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November 5, 2018

Hui-Mei Lin, Piano

Peter Seidenberg, Cello

Pianist Hui-Mei Lin, a native of Taiwan, made her New York solo debut at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as the winner of the Artists International Competition. She was described by the New York Times as “an excellent pianist throughout” and the Taiwan News as “a sensitive and powerful pianist.” Concert tours have taken her to Italy, Canada, Taiwan, including two concerts at the National Concert Hall in Taipei sponsored by the Taiwanese government, and various cities throughout the United States. Her media broadcast includes solo performances at PBS (Maryland), WQXR (New York City), Taiwan Television and China Broadcasting Company. She has performed solo recitals in many concert series including The Caramoor Music Festival and Friends of Music in New York, The Steinway Society of the Bay Area, California, and various colleges throughout the United States. As a chamber musician, Hui-Mei has performed with the principal cellist of New York Philharmonic, Carter Brey; flutist Robert Stallman and soprano Berenice Bramson at the Weill Recital Hall at the Carnegie Hall; and the New Hungarian Quartet at Taos Chamber Music Festival in New Mexico. Hui-Mei maintains an active performing career, having performed several solo recitals last season in the Northeast, CA, and Paris, France. This November she will be touring in Taiwan with her long time cello partner Peter Seidenberg. After receiving a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt School of Music where she was a scholarship student of Raymond Hanson and Anne Koscielny, she received the renowned William Petchek full scholarship to the Master’s program at the Juilliard School. In 2002, she received a Doctoral of Musical Arts degree from the The City Univ. of New York. Dr. Lin is currently the Director of Music at The Briarcliff Congregational Church, and a faculty member of the Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.

“Totally enchanting, inspired performances, brimming with natural, spontaneous musicianship”, raves Gramophone Magazine about cellist Peter Seidenberg. Mr. Seidenberg has played in major halls throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. He made his solo debut with the Chicago Symphony, and has since appeared as soloist with many orchestras including Century Orchestra of Osaka, New American Chamber Orchestra, De Paul Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Soloists, and the Eastman-Rochester Philharmonic. For four years he served as principal cellist with the Century Orchestra of Osaka. He was a founding member of the critically acclaimed Elements Quartet which created groundbreaking commissioning projects involving over 30 composers. He has collaborated with members of the Cleveland, Tokyo, Juilliard and Emerson Quartets and has participated in the Marlboro, Aspen, Caramoor, Casals and Norfolk festivals. His numerous recordings can be found on the Pantheon, RCA, EMF, CRI, Albany, and Lyrichord labels. He has been featured on PBS, NBC, NHK, New Zealand Public TV, Air Espania and European Broadcast Union (EBU) broadcasts.

Mr. Seidenberg began his studies at the age of six, with Nell Novak, of the Music Center of the North Shore, in Winnetka, Illinois. He later received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory, graduating from both schools with the highest honors. During the course of his study, he was awarded the prestigious Eastman School of Music Performer’s Certificate as well as the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Artist Diploma. His principal teachers have included Paul Katz, Bernard Greenhouse, and Alan Harris. Currently, Peter Seidenberg is the cellist for the Oracle Trio, the Queen’s Chamber Band, and the New York Chamber Soloists. He now lives in Hastings on Hudson, NY with his wife, violinist April Johnson, and two daughters, Beatrice and Olivia. For more information, visit peterseidenberg.com

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December 3, 2018

~I Love a Piano~

Larry Woodard

Larry Woodard is an American pianist, singer, conductor, organist, voice teacher, choral director, jingle singer, and cabaret artist who has won such acclaim for his musical versatility that The New York Times declared, “ Mr. Woodard is a first rate performer of all musical categories...who moves easily between the worlds of classical music and cabaret....combines a rich baritone (tenor) with the high-spirited playfulness of a young Bobby Short.....can slither through “ Ain’t Misbehavin’ in the Fatts Waller manner, move on to an operatic aria, and fall back to humorous material or a medley of sentimental songs, giving his programs an unusual stretch through the world of music.

Woodard has performed at the White House, the United Nations, the New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera House, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Morgan Library, the Frick Collection, the 92nd St. “Y”, the Russian Tea Room, the Algonquin Oak Room, the Caramoor Festival, the Bard College Summerscape Festival, the Berklee School of Music, Fisk University, Opera Ebony, Opera North, Gracie Mansion, and countless other venues.  Mr. Woodard’s radiant singing persona and distinctive piano tone have prompted cheers from fans in Rome, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Washington, Palm Beach, Montreal, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Hamburg, Salzburg, Cincinnati, and scores of other cities.

Mr. Woodard has appeared on all the major network morning shows with some of today’s most celebrated opera singers including Kathleen Battle, Florence Quivar, Rene Pape, and Francisco Araiza.

Mr. Woodard recorded for Angel/EMI with Opera diva Florence Quivar a CD of spirituals which topped Billboard’s classical crossover chart and remained there for more than six weeks. He recorded with KT Sullivan for DRG “The Sweetest Sounds of Richard Rodgers” which won them the 2001 “MAC” Award for Best Recording by a Duo. And, among Mr. Woodard’s recordings is a solo piano/ vocal CD produced by JM Records entitled Lucky to Be ME, available for purchase at larrywoodard.com, at Amazon, and other outlets.

Mr. Woodard’s principal voice teacher is his esteemed colleague Mahon Bishop. His principal piano teacher was Kyriena Siloti, daughter of Alexander Siloti, a pupil of Liszt, Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky.  Woodard is a resident of the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, NJ. He teaches singing privately and leads the Thursday Morning Voice Class at the South East Center for Independent Living.

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April 1, 2019

Bloch Party

Alisa Horn, Cello

Meg Zervoulis is a versatile music director, arranger, educator, and pianist in the NYC/NJ area.  Broadway: As assistant conductor: Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.  As a keyboard/accordion sub and/or rehearsal pianist: American in Paris, Bandstand, Bright Star, Bronx Tale, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland, Matilda, and Something Rotten. Off-Broadway (Music Direction): Rated P...for Parenthood (Westside Theater, now in development with ABC Family),Chuckleball: Jailhouse Jocks (Snapple Center), Cagney (Westside Theatre, as sub conductor).  Regional: A Christmas Story, Bandstand, Ever After, Elf, Mary Poppins, and Oliver! at Paper Mill Playhouse.  Meg has served as the music director/arranger/orchestrator for Paper Mill's Summer Musical Theatre Conservatory annual concert, New Voices, for the past 9 years, after 3 additional years as staff accompanist.

Broadway-Bound New Works: Meg is thrilled to be on the music teams for the following Broadway-Bound Musicals: THE PROM by Martin/Beguelin/Sklar and directed by Casey Nicholaw, MEAN GIRLS by Tina Fey, Nell Benjamin, and Jeff Richmond, Fiasco Theater's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG,, and HEAD OVER HEELS directed by Michael Mayer with Music Supervision by Tom Kitt (featuring the music of the Go Go's!). Other Selected New Works: Buñuel (Public Theatre) by Stephen Sondheim,  Kooman and Dimond’s Dani Girl in the ASCAP/Disney Workshop, OTHER WORLD by Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen, and Ann McNamee, Stu for Silverton (NAMT 2014) by Peter Duchan and BREEDLOVE, TEETH (Sundance 2017) by Anna Jacobs and Michael Jackson, and Andrea Grody’s Strange Faces (directed by John Rando.)  Other: She also helms Hotel Elefant, a chamber ensemble in NYC, and played keyboard for the Big Apple Circus. Meg frequently appears as pianist/bandleader all over the country with the Nunziata Twins (www.willandanthony.com) and Bryce Pinkham.  She is also on the rosters of Sing for Hope, Sing for Your Seniors and Concerts in Motion (three wonderful service organizations through the arts). She has been the musical theatre accompanist for National YoungArts Week for the past two years, in collaboration with Michael McElroy. Meg is a proud member of the Lilly Power Network and Local 802 AFM.  

For 2 years, Meg served as the music supervisor for Sheri Sanders’ ROCK THE PERFORMANCE enterprise, which provides top notch audition and performance resources for today's musical theatre actors. Other past residencies: Midtown Direct Rep, Mile Square Theatre, NJPAC, Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Ballet. Meg has served as music director at Kean and Montclair State Universities on a seasonal basis and was the collaborative pianist for the Multiple Woodwinds MM program at New Jersey City University under the supervision of Dr. Ed Joffe, Giuseppe Fusco, and Dave Noland. Education: Carnegie Mellon University - B.F.A. with University Honors, inaugural classes of the Goodspeed Opera House Musical Direction Intensive and the Marvin Hamlisch/ASCAP Broadway Conductors’ Program. Meg served as a music therapist and educator in the Hudson County public schools for 9 years and was a sacred music director for 13 years.