Hoff-Barthelson's Festival Orchestra Closes Out Season With Performance At Purchase Performing Arts Center

Hoff-Barthelson Music School's Festival Orchestra closes out its 2022-23 season on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at 7:00 pm at the Recital Hall at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, New York.

Under the direction of Jun Nakabayashi, the orchestra will perform a program of works by composers who wrote some of their greatest compositions while residing in Vienna. Included on the program are Ludwig van Beethoven's Prometheus Overture, Gustav Mahler's expressive and beloved song cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of the Wayfarer) with guest soloist soprano Samia Bahu and Franz Schubert's majestic Symphony No. 9 - the Great.

There is a suggested admission of $20 for adults; Students may attend free of charge. Tickets are available at the door. Program and artist subject to change.

Hoff-Barthelson Music School's Festival Orchestra is a full symphonic orchestra for high school students at the highest level of technical ability and musical artistry. Lauded as one of the finest high school orchestras in the United States by the New York State Council on the Arts, the Festival Orchestra, under the direction of Jun Nakabayashi, performs three concerts annually; two are with guest artists of international stature. Members of the Orchestra also participate in sectional coachings with musicians from the New York Philharmonic each spring.

Samia Bahu has sung with opera houses and orchestras throughout the United States and Europe specializing in Italian opera. She has received glowing reviews for her portrayal of Puccini heroines such as Manon Lescaut as well as the title roles in Tosca and Suor Angelica, Mimi in La Boheme and Giorgetta in Il Tabarro. Additionally, she has been acclaimed for her interpretations of Verdi heroines, including Elvira in Ernani, Violetta in La Traviata, Desdemona in Otello, Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth and Leonora in Il Trovatore along with several performances as soloist in his Requiem. Upcoming performances for Ms. Bahu include a concert with the Harrisburg Opera Association and the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Taconic Opera in October. She holds degrees from both The Juilliard School and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore.

Hoff-Barthelson Music School has achieved national recognition as a premier community music school for its unsurpassed leadership in education, performance, and community service. With a faculty drawn from the region's most talented teachers and performers, Hoff-Barthelson has long been one of Westchester County's most cherished cultural resources. At Hoff-Barthelson, students find a warm, friendly music school dedicated to the highest standards of education, performance, and community service. Students of all ages, aptitudes, and levels of interest enjoy a supportive, joyful learning environment; a focus on the whole person; exceptional teaching; and a multifaceted curriculum.

Hoff-Barthelson Music School is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive George Latimer. Programs are made possible, in part, with support from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.