Spotlight Series:
Ashley Windle, Violin
& Madeleine Tucker, Cello
Saturday, February 11, 2017
3:00pm
Fort Washington Collegiate Church
729 W. 181st St., New York, NY 10033
Ashley Windle, Violin
Madeleine Tucker, Cello
Taisiya Pushkar, Piano
Generously presented by the Bizzarro Agency.
This concert will last approximately two hours including intermission.
Members of the orchestra are featured this season in our new solo recital series! Violinist Ashley Windle plays works by Gershwin, Israeli composer Avner Dorman, and Maurice Ravel. Cellist Madeleine Tucker plays works by Bach and Mendelssohn. Come hear our fabulous orchestra musicians perform in the solo spotlight!
Free and open to all ages.
Program
Preludes George Gershwin (1898-1937)
(ed. & transcribed by J. Heifetz)
Sonata for violin and piano (2004) Avner Dorman (1975 - )
Tzigane Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Ashley Windle, Violin
Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 58 Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
I. Allegro assai vivace
II. Allegretto scherzando
III. Adagio
IV. Molto allegro e vivace
Madeleine Tucker, Cello
About the Artists
Violinist Ashley Windle is a member of the Fair Trade Trio, a professional string trio that regularly performs around New York City. Her 2016/17 season with the trio includes a world premiere by composer Emily Doolittle and performances in the U.S.A and Canada. She has also performed with the MuSE string quartet and as a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago’s Musicorps program where she developed and performed educational chamber concerts.
A passionate orchestral player, she is pleased to be performing with the Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra this season. She is also a regular substitute in Symphony in C and served as a tenured member of the Reading Symphony Orchestra. She was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where she performed with world-renowned conductors including Bernard Haitink, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Gustavo Dudamel.
Originally from Canada, she earned an M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music, and completed both a Graduate Performance Diploma and a B.M. from the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
Born and raised outside of Boston, MA, cellist Madeleine Tucker currently resides in New York City. Madeleine is the founder of String Theory, Columbia University's premiere cello ensemble. String Theory arranges and performs a wide range of musical genres, including classical, pop, jazz, electronic, and many more. They perform all over the country and were the official musical group for Google's 2013 Zeitgeist Conference in Paradise Valley, AZ. In 2015, Madeleine received her Bachelors degree in Applied Mathematics from Columbia University. Last May, she received her Masters degree in Cello Performance from The Juilliard School as a participant in the Columbia-Juilliard Joint Program under the guidance of cellist Natasha Brofsky. A strong advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration, Madeleine strives to find a way to connect her two passions, math and music, into one career.
Described as 'a graceful pianist', with an 'impeccable sense of timing', Taisiya Pushkar enjoys a vibrant career as a collaborative pianist. Having performed extensively in Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, Israel, Canada and the United States as a recitalist and in collaboration with many leading singers and instrumentalists, Taisiya is in demand as a dynamic performer and a sensitive collaborator.
Most notably, a long-time musical partnership with the cellist Amber Docters van Leeuwen has led to the recording of their debut CD, which has been released on the Brilliant Classics label. Together, the duo has made their debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, and at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Last season, Taisiya has appeared on the acclaimed “What Makes it Great?” series at Merkin Concert Hall with Rob Kapilow, performing Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” sonata for violin and piano.
Since 2009, Taisiya has been the official pianist of the Melodia Women's Choir of NYC, a group dedicated to exploring rarely heard music written for women's voices, as well as nurturing emerging women composers through commissions and performances. Dr. Pushkar is on the faculty of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, and of the Lucy Moses School at Kaufman Center, of which she is an alumna. Taisiya is also a teaching artist for the Distance Learning Center at the Manhattan School of Music, where she develops programs for students in a cutting-edge interactive videoconference setting, and has presented to schools both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Taisiya Pushkar holds a Bachelor's Degree from Oberlin College, and a Master’s Degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where she recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree.