Rhapsody in Blue
Thursday, April 27, 2023, 7:30pm
Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston (MATCH)
Gallery
WindSync and friends celebrate the spirit of collaboration in a joyous season finale. Part of WindSync’s seventh annual Onstage Offstage Chamber Music Festival, the concert will feature OOMF guest artists David Connor and Rainel Joubert, in a pop and Latin jazz-influenced duet for violin and bass. The full group will join pianist Yvonne Chen in a chamber reduction of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. WindSync's set includes a brand new work bursting with life by New York composer Nathalie Joachim and music with Caribbean ties, including pieces by Ernesto Lecuona, the “Cuban Gershwin.”
Tickets are $35 General Admission, $20 Patreon Members (limit 5), and $10 Students.
Tickets are $35 General Admission, $20 Patreon Members (limit 5), and $10 Students.
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MATCH 3400 Main Street, Houston TX 77002 Garage parking and street parking available. Visit Location and Parking Information at MATCH for more information. |
Featured on this program
David Connor, bassist
David Connor was born in Chelmsford, MA and began playing the double bass when he was nine years old. He joins the Houston Symphony as a Community-Embedded Musician after two seasons with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL. Connor earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University and his Masters of Music at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. While at Rice, he was a fellow of the DACAMERA Young Artist Program for two seasons, which led to many community outreach opportunities and chamber music collaborations in the greater Houston area.
Connor has participated in summer festivals including Music Academy of the West, Aspen, Sarasota, Domaine Forget, and the Britten Pears Young Artist Program. He has been a recipient of the Aspen Academy Orchestra Fellowship and was chosen in 2011 to be a member of the New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Jaime Laredo. As a member of the New World Symphony, he has had the opportunity to teach double bass both at home and abroad, traveling to Medellín, Colombia and Geneva, Switzerland in 2014.
Rainel Joubert, violinist
Cuban-born violinist Rainel Joubert joined the Houston Symphony as a Community-Embedded Musician in 2016. He has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, the Opera and Ballet Orchestras of Havana and has played for many renowned musicians, including Claudio Abbado, Gidon Kremer, Erick Grossman, Ilmar López Gavilán, Paul Kantor, and the Borromeo String Quartet.
His many awards include being named one of the four finalists of the 15th Annual Sphinx Competition, First Prize in the Concerto Competition of the University of Southern Mississippi, and Second Prize in the Violin Competition and Best Interpretation of Cuban Music at the 2006 Union de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (Cuban Artists and Writers Union).
As a member of Sphinx Virtuosi (SV) he performed in important halls such as New World Center (Miami), Kennedy Center (Washington), Carnegie Hall (New York), and participated in extensive community engagement activities. He speaks three languages (Spanish, Portuguese, and English) and holds a Master’s Degree in Music Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Yvonne Chen, pianist
Taiwanese-American pianist Yvonne Chen performs across the US as a solo recitalist and a chamber music collaborator during the 22-23 season. Recent and upcoming collaborators and presenters include Music at Midday (Washington, DC), Redwood Library and Athenaeum (Rockport, RI), Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra (Los Angeles, CA), and Houston’s Monarch Chamber Players, MUSIQA, Performing Arts Houston, Music in Context, DACAMERA, WindSync, and Houston Chamber Choir. As a recipient of a Let Creativity Happen! Grant from Houston Arts Alliance, she organized Bach/Berio at the Silos, a walking tour/concert experience at Houston’s iconic Success Rice Silos. Upon receiving the 2017 Presser Graduate Music Award at Rice University, she co-founded Loop38, a contemporary ensemble whose concerts have been featured in Houstonia Magazine, Houston CityBook, Arts and Culture TX, and the Houston Chronicle.
Originally from the Washington, DC area, Chen received degrees in piano performance from the Juilliard School and graduated with a doctoral degree from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music in December 2019. Having studied with leading performers and pedagogues including Julian Martin, Simone Dinnerstein, Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnatan, Jeremy Denk, Arie Vardi, and Yoheved Kaplinsky, Chen is committed to sharing her expertise and experiences with the next generation. Chen currently serves on the piano faculty of St. John's School. www.pianistyvonnechen.com
Nathalie Joachim, composer
Nathalie Joachim is a Brooklyn born Haitian-American flutist, composer, and vocalist known for her “powerful and unpretentious voice” (The New York Times). Joachim is co-founder of the critically acclaimed urban art pop duo Flutronix and the former flutist of four-time Grammy winning contemporary chamber ensemble Eighth Blackbird.
She comfortably navigates everything from classical to indie rock, all while being a committed advocate for cultural awareness. As a composer, she is regularly commissioned to write for instrumental and vocal artists, dance, and interdisciplinary theater, each highlighting her unique electroacoustic style. Upcoming works include Discourse, an evening-length performance, community engagement, and social change initiative commissioned by Carolina Performing Arts; new solo instrumental works for cellist Seth Parker Woods and violinist Yvonne Lam; and larger scale chamber works for So Percussion, Lorelei Ensemble, and Duo Noire. Fanm d’Ayiti, Joachim’s evening-length work for flute, voice, string quartet, and electronics, celebrates Haitian female artists and her heritage. The work is currently touring with Chicago-based Grammy-nominated ensemble Spektral Quartet, and was recently released on New Amsterdam Records as her first featured solo album.
Joachim is Director of Contemporary Chamber Music at the Perlman Music Program, a guest teaching artist for The Juilliard-Nord Anglia Performing Arts Programme, and holds faculty positions at the Bang On a Can Summer Festival and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. www.nathaliejoachim.com