After a pandemic-induced two-year hiatus, the Westchester Philharmonic joyfully returns to live performances at the Purchase Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 3 p.m. Conductor Jayce Ogren leads the Phil with guest pianist Ran Dank in works of Beethoven, Mozart, and award-winning composer Jessie Montgomery.
Montgomery’s works have been described as “turbulent, wildly colorful and exploding with life” (The Washington Post), with “…a voice as refreshing as it is, inexplicably, recognizable.” (Chicago Tribune). Commissions and composer-in-residence appointments with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago
Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, St. Paul Chamber Ensemble, and many others have solidified Montgomery’s standing the in contemporary
composing world.
Ogren is the former Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and has conducted many of the world’s most prominent orchestras, including the BBC Symphony, Boston Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, the Dallas and San Francisco Symphonies.
He conducted New York premieres of Leonard Bernstein’s only opera, A Quiet Place, puppeteer Basil Twist’s The Rite of Spring, both at Lincoln Center;
the world premiere of David Lang’s symphony for a broken orchestra, and is a longtime collaborator of singer/songwriter/composer Rufus Wainwright, conducting the 2012 U.S. premiere of Wainwright’s opera Prima Donna at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Israeli pianist Ran Dank has appeared with virtually ever major orchestra and esteemed conductors throughout the world. Winner of the Naumberg competition, the New York Times wrote that “Mr. Dank played brilliantly, giving a muscular and virtuosic performance that highlighted the varied sonic palette of the piece, with its Brahmsian sweep, fiendish octaves and serial techniques.”
Performance takes place in The Recital Hall at The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road.
Tickets are $40 and $70, with half-price tickets for young people ages 6-16. For further information about the entire 2022-23 season, as well as links to the PAC box office, visit https://www.westchesterphil.org.
