Violinist Mark Chien
8:30pm Sunday, May 9, 2021
Our concertmaster performs music by Beach, Clara Schumann, Jessie Montgomery, and Ysaÿe.

Trio 212
8:30pm Sunday, April 25, 2021
This outstanding reed trio presents a concert of new and old, featuring composers Leanne Primiani, Damian Montano, Gordon Jacob, and Jean Françaix.

Cellist Valeriya Sholokhova
8:30pm Sunday, April 11, 2021
Our principal cellist shares works by Ligeti, Dall’Abaco, Britten and Bach.

Ashley Windle & Taisiya Pushkar
8:30pm Sunday, March 28, 2021
WHCO’s associate concertmaster and pianist Taisiya Pushkar present music of Mozart, Jessie Montgomery, and Joel Engel!

Catalyst Quartet
8:30pm Sunday, March 14, 2021
Our friends at Catalyst Quartet present an all Florence Price program featuring a performance of a movement from a newly uncovered work, “Negro Folksongs in Counterpoint.”

Exponential Ensemble
8:30pm Sunday, February 28, 2021
Principal Flutist Anna Urrey and her trio play works by Ulysses Kay, Nemo Keane, Daniel Wilson, Amy Brandon and more!

Live Webinar: Digital Audio and Video for Musicians 101
8:00-9:30pm Sunday, February 21, 2021
Join Music Director Chris Whittaker for a seminar on the essentials of digital audio and video.

8:00pm Sunday April 26, 2020
Encore performance from October 19, 2019

What Keeps Me Awake
Villa-Lobos, Negrón & Brahms

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Rise above fear of the unknown.

From Angélica Negrón’s probing and wandering soundscape to the simmering and questioning phrases of Brahms’ 4th symphony, our program, a reprise from October 2019, takes us on a journey to overcome anxiety, as we explore what keeps us awake.

Brahms, Montgomery & Wieniawski

8:00pm April 19, 2020

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Program
Jessie Montgomery: Starburst
Henryk Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22
Featuring Jun Lin, Violin - Winner of the 2nd Annual Young Artists Competition in Partnership with Florian Leonhard Fine Violins
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73

Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra
Chris Whittaker, Music Director

La Historia del Soldado

8:00pm March 29, 2020
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Program
Igor Stravinsky: L’histoire du Soldat

New bilingual production commissioned by WHCO. Libretto by C.F. Ramuz, English version by Michael Flanders and Kitty Black; Spanish translation by Margarita Feliciano.

Personnel
Domingo Estrada Jr., Soldier
Aaron Loux, Devil
Mica Bernas, Princess
Billy Smith, Choreographer
Ursula Tinoco, Devil/Narrator
Luis Ponce, Soldier/Narrator

Mark Chien, Violin
Max Jacob, Bass
John Hong, Clarinet
Nanci Belmont, Bassoon
Andy Kemp, Cornet
Sara Mayo, Trombone
Sae Hashimoto, Percussion
Chris Whittaker, Conductor

Synopsis

Our Soldier, José, is walking along the road with ten days vacation from his post. The Devil appears and persuades him to trade his prized-possession, his violin, for a magic book that predicts future stock market quotes. The Devil is a poor violinist however, and he further entices José to come home with him for a few days so they can teach one another the way of the book and the way of the fiddle. Three days pass. José returns to his home town and is startled when no one recognizes him. It’s as if he is a ghost. José realizes that, in fact, three years have passed while in the Devil’s company, and everyone in his life has moved on without him, even his own mother.

Distraught, José turns now to the only thing he has left – the book. He learns to use the book in order to become an unfathomably wealthy businessman. He now has every possession anyone could want in life, but is still unhappy. The Devil, disguised as an old woman, comes to see him and taunts him as she cleverly attempts to sell him back his old possessions – vestiges of his former life. He is startled when she brings out his old brown fiddle. He tries to play it, but the violin is silent – he is still under the grasp of the Devil – and he hurls the fiddle away in disgust.

José heads to another land. At the local inn a mysterious stranger relays the news that the King has decreed: Anyone who can heal his daughter, the Princess who lies ill in bed, will receive her hand in marriage. José accepts the challenge – Why not? He tells the King he is an army doctor and promises to come back tomorrow to heal the Princess.

First, he must escape the Devil’s spell. The Devil appears carrying the violin, taunting him that his luck has run out, and the Devil in fact will cure the Princess himself. José realizes that his wealth keeps him in the Devil’s grasp. José plots to play him at cards in order to lose all he’s gained, as to have nothing again and be free. The plan works – the Devil is intoxicated – and José breaks the spell. He takes back his violin and plays a Little Concert.

José runs back to the Princess, begins to play for her, and she begins to dance. The Devil reappears, angry and contorted. Yet José and the Princess have lost their fear. They are together, and José will be happy at last. The Devil threatens to have the last laugh.

It appears The Soldier has taken to heart the lesson – No one can have it all. That is forbidden. But the Princess entices José to use the book’s magic to take him back to his mother and family, the ones he left behind. He falls to the temptation – Why not? Then I should really have it all. They begin to travel back. The Soldier hesitates for a moment but changes his mind and pushes on ahead with the Princess. The Devil has won. At last, the Devil appears again with the violin and begins to play his brutal and twisted Triumphal March. - Chris Whittaker

Melodies Pour Out of Me

8:00pm *March 23, 2020
*Rescheduled from Sunday March 22
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Program
José Dolores Cerón: A la caída de la tarde
Chris Whittaker: Violin Concerto featuring Amos Fayette
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 in G, Op. 88

Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra
Chris Whittaker, Music Director
Amos Fayette, Violin

Enter the flow state. It’s the summer of 1889, and Antonín Dvořák is on fire. He’s just about to begin composing what would become his eighth symphony, and he writes to his friend with unabashed confidence: “It’s going unexpectedly easily… the melodies simply pour out of me!” Our concert features melodically bold music from three centuries. Cerón’s “A la caída de la tarde” (At the End of the Afternoon) is a beautifully nostalgic and flowing soundscape from the Dominican classical tradition. Music Director Chris Whittaker presents a new violin concerto for former WHCO-concertmaster Amos Fayette. The concert concludes with the sublime and melodious 8th Symphony of Dvořák.