Gateway Orchestra Tri-State Regional Tour Features Three Award Winning Violinists

    NEW YORK, NY, September 18, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Gateway Classical Music Society will present, in several regional Tri-State city and suburban communities, seven Great Works of Art performances by the Gateway Orchestra. The repertoire will include Beethoven symphonies No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 and No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93; three major violin concerti (the Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77, the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47, and the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 77), and four shorter works (Brahms' Tragic Overture, Op. 81, Brahms' Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, Op. 56a, Verdi's Overture to La forza del destino and Glinka's Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila).

All performances will be conducted by Gateway's Artistic Director Ida Angland, who was featured last year in a front page article by the Greenwich Time entitled "Leading lady conductor makes her mark in field dominated by men." Guest soloists with the Gateway Orchestra include International Szigeti Violin Competition winner Xiao Wang, who will play the Sibelius Violin Concerto on Sunday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Greenwich, 108 Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich. CT. Mr. Wang will also play the Sibelius on Friday, October 2, 8:00 p.m. at the St. Philip's Church of Harlem, 204 West 134th Street in New York City and on Sunday, October 4, 7:00 p.m. at The Ridgewood United Methodist Church, 100 Dayton Street in Ridgewood, NJ. Korean violinist Yezu Elizabeth Woo will perform the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 on Sunday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Temple Sholom, 300 West Putnam Avenue in Greenwich, CT. Ms Woo will also play the Shostakovich No. 1 on Sunday, October 25, 7:30 p.m. at the Little Church Around the Corner, 1 East 29th Street in New York City and on Sunday, November 8, 7:00 p.m. at the Ridgewood United Methodist Church, 100 Dayton Street in Ridgewood, NJ. Violinist Richard Lin will be the soloist for the Brahms Violin Concerto on Thursday, October 29, 8:00 p.m. at the Little Church Around the Corner, 1 East 29th Street in New York City. The St. Philip's Church of Harlem performance on October 2 will be offered free of charge as part of Gateway's Ambassadors for Masterworks outreach to underserved neighborhoods.

Tickets: Adult $35; Senior $25; Student $15. Ambassador tickets for $100 and above are tax deductible minus the ticket value and help to bring Great Works of Art performances of masterworks to underserved neighborhoods free of charge. All tickets may be purchased on the website at www.gatewayclassical.org or at the door one hour prior to performances. Contact Gateway for group discounts of 6 or more by emailing [email protected].

Gateway Classical Music Society began in 2004 with Verdi's Aida as the inaugural performance. It is now in its twelfth season. Gateway's objectives are to present exciting performances of music masterworks and to provide opportunities for deserving talent with the goal of fostering appreciation and popularity for classical music. Every performance offered to the public is presented with the Gateway Orchestra, Gateway's seventy-member professional orchestra. Gateway highlights soloists of outstanding talent from all over the world. Gateway's Great Works of Art Up Close and Personal program initiative has been met with enthusiastic audience response and reviews praising the performances, which have been presented to city and suburban neighborhoods in New York City, Southern Connecticut, Westchester and Northern New Jersey.

The Gateway Orchestra comprises outstanding musicians from the Tri-State area. Some players are former members of orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic. Others are young, professional freelance musicians, many of whom perform in the U.S. and abroad with renowned chamber ensembles and various other professional orchestras. The Gateway Orchestra is a member of the League of American Orchestras.

Ida Angland is the Artistic Director for Gateway Classical Music Society and the Conductor of the Gateway Orchestra. Ms Angland is one of only a few American woman conductors who consistently program and conduct large masterworks that are among the most difficult in the repertoire. Prior and concurrent to her involvement with Gateway, Ms Angland assistant-conducted with the New York Grand Opera for seven years for numerous operas and concerts in Central Park and Carnegie Hall. Ms Angland has been characterized as having "inner genius," "flair," "idealism," and "grit." Gateway's Great Works of Art performances have been described as "fantastic," "thrilling," "compelling," "a revelation," "unforgettable," and "amazing." (Brooklyn Eagle, Italian Voice, Greenwich Time, Stamford Advocate, Italian Citizen and other regional publications).

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