THE SEASON

October 6, 2012, 8:00 PM
Beethoven Leonore Overture
Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major
            Andrew Kohji Taylor, violin
Beethoven Symphony No. 2

December 2, 2012, 3:00 PM, HOLIDAY POPS!
Joining the WSO
        Arlington Elementary Chamber Choir and Chamber Orchestra
        Our Lady's Academy Children's Choir

Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622
          Chester Brezniak, clarinet
Anderson Sleigh Ride
Anderson Christmas Festival
Herbert March of the Toys

March 10, 2013, 3:00 PM
Youth Concert
           Isabel Oliart, violin

May 11, 2013, 8:00 PM
Herbert Cello Concerto No. 2
          Allison Eldridge, cello

THE SOLOISTS

ANDREW KOHJI TAYLOR, VIOLIN
BORN IN BOSTON, ANDREW KOHJI-TAYLOR BEGAN TO STUDY VIOLIN AT THE AGE OF FOUR. AT NINE HE BEGAN STUDY WITH DOROTHY DELAY.  THE LATE HENRYK SZERYING NOTICED TAYLOR’S TALENT AT A YOUNG AGE AND BECAME HIS MENTOR FOR MANY YEARS. ADDITIONALLY, TAYLOR HAS STUDIED WITH MASUKO USHIODA AND WITH UWE MARTIN HAIBERG AT THE HOCHSCHULE DER KUNSTE IN BERLIN. SOLO RECITAL APPEARANCES HAVE INCLUDED BERLIN, BOSTON, CHICAGO, LONDON, NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, PARIS, TOKYO AND WASHINGTON, D.C., INCLUDING TOURING THROUGHOUT EUROPE AS A SOLOIST WITH CONDUCTOR DANIEL HARDING.  HE MADE HIS NEW YORK CONCERTO DEBUT AT THE LINCOLN CENTER’S ALICE TULLY HALL WITH GERARD SCHWARTZ AND THE NEW YORK CHAMBER SYMPHONY AND RECENTLY PERFORMED THERE AGAIN AS PART OF THE MOSTLY MOZART FESTIVAL.  IN MAY OF 2008 HE MADE HIS BOSTON CONCERTO DEBUT AT SYMPHONY HALL WITH THE BOSTON POPS ORCHESTRA UNDER KEITH LOCKHART. AS A SOLOIST AND CONDUCTOR HE HAS TOURED THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES WITH THE PRAGUE VIRTUOSI, AND IN JAPAN LEADING THE JANACEK CHAMBER ORCHESTRA.  HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER AS A CHAMBER MUSICIAN, TAYLOR CAN BE HEARD REGULARLY AT MUSIC FESTIVALS, INCLUDING THE MARLBOROUGH AND BERLIN PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVALS, AND HAS TOURED WITH “CHARLES WADSWORTH AND FRIENDS.” TAYLOR CAN BE HEARD ON THE WARNER CLASSIC AND MMC LABELS.  HIS FIRST THREE DISCS FOR WARNER CLASSIC WERE RELEASED TO OVERWHELMINGLY CRITICAL ACCLAIM, WHICH INCLUDED A RECORDING OF THE BACH CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND OBOE, WITH BSO OBOIST, ALFRED GENOVESE.  HE HAS JUST FINISHED RECORDING AN ALBUM FOR MMC WITH CLARINET VIRTUOSO, RICHARD STOLTZMAN.

CHESTER BREZNIAK, CLARINET
 HAS BEEN AN ACTIVE PROFESSIONAL CLARINETIST SINCE 1971. EARNING HIS B.A. FROM BARD COLLEGE AND M.M. FROM NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY, HE STUDIED CLARINET WITH TEACHERS GINO CIOFFI, ATTILIO POTO, CHARLES RUSSO, AND HAROLD WRIGHT, AND TOOK PART IN MASTER CLASSES WITH ROBERT MARCELLUS AND STANLEY DRUCKER. MR. BREZNIAK, FORMERLY A MEMBER OF THE ATLANTA BALLET ORCHESTRA AND UTILITY CLARINETIST WITH THE ATLANTA SYMPHONY, HAS PLAYED PRINCIPAL CLARINET WITH THE SAO PAULO SYMPHONY UNDER ELEAZAR DE CARVALHO, AND PRINCIPAL AND UTILITY WITH THE HARVARD CHAMBER ORCHESTRA UNDER LEON KIRCHNER. HE WAS GUEST ARTIST WITH THE CZECH RADIO SYMPHONY, AND HAS PLAYED PRINCIPAL CLARINET WITH THE BRIDGEPORT SYMPHONY, THE GREEN MOUNTAIN OPERA FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA, AND THE HANOVER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. PRINCIPAL CLARINETIST SINCE 1996 OF THE MASSACHUSETTS SYMPHONY, HE HAS ALSO PERFORMED WITH THE ORCHESTRA OF EMMANUEL MUSIC IN COLLABORATION WITH THE SPECTRUM SINGERS AND THE HARVARD UNIVERSITY CHORUS. MR. BREZNIAK WAS GUEST ARTIST WITH ALEA III UNDER GUNTHER SCHULLER IN THE MOST RECENT PROGRAM, WITH THEODORE ANTONIOU AND MICHALIS ECONOMOU, AND WAS SOLOIST WITH BOSTON’S ZAMIR CHORALE. A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE CAMBRIDGE CHAMBER PLAYERS (CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED BY THE NEW YORK TIMES AND BOSTON GLOBE), HE IS ALSO A MEMBER OF BOTH THE BLACKSTONE TRIO AND TRIO CAPRICCIO, PERFORMING IN PREMIERES OF MANY NEW WORKS FOR THESE GROUPS AND OTHERS, INCLUDING THE ATLANTA VIRTUOSI AND THE FORMER ARIEL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE UNDER THE LATE HARVARD PROFESSOR/COMPOSER EARL KIM. HE HAS ALSO PERFORMED WITH THE VERMEER AND MUIR STRING QUARTETS, AND COMPOSERS IN RED SNEAKERS. HE HAS APPEARED IN CONCERTS IN BOSTON'S SYMPHONY HALL; MERKIN HALL (NYC), JORDAN HALL, SANDERS THEATRE, PICKMAN HALL AT LONGY SCHOOL OF MUSIC, SULLY HALL AT THE BOSTON CONSERVATORY, KRESGE AUDITORIUM (M.I.T.), PAINE HALL AND SANDERS THEATER AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY, BARUCH COLLEGE, HOPKINS CENTER AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, BOSTON COLLEGE, BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC, TSAI CENTER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY,  UMASS/BOSTON, ALLEGHENY COLLEGE, BATES AND BOWDOIN COLLEGES, “ENTRÉE DES ARTISTES” CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES, ORLIAC, FRANCE, FIRST NIGHT BOSTON, AND MANY OTHERS. HIS PERFORMANCES ARE REGULARLY HEARD ON NPR, INCLUDING WGBH-FM’S CLASSICAL PERFORMANCES SERIES. MR. BREZNIAK’S RECORDINGS INCLUDE CENTAUR RECORDS’ RELEASE OF "CLARINET NOW", AND ZEMLINSKY’S TRIO IN D MINOR, OP.3 ON NORTHEASTERN RECORDS. HE HAS BEEN A FACULTY MEMBER AT UMASS/BOSTON SINCE 1996 AND AT THE NEW SCHOOL OF MUSIC, CAMBRIDGE SINCE 1990. 

ISABEL OLIART, VIOLIN
ISABEL OLIART IS A JUNIOR AT NEWTON NORTH HIGH SCHOOL, AND SHE STARTED STUDYING VIOLIN WHEN SHE WAS 4 YEARS OLD. SHE HAS PLAYED WITH THE RIVERS SYMPHONY AND THE NEWTON SYMPHONY, AND WILL ALSO BE PLAYING WITH THE BOSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY IN APRIL AS THE FIRST PLACE WINNER IN THEIR ANNUAL CONCERTO COMPETITION. SHE ALSO WON FIRST PRIZE AT THE ROMAN TOTENBERG COMPETITION IN 2012. SHE HAS ATTENDED THE KILLINGTON SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL AND ALSO THE ARIA INTERNATIONAL SUMMER ACADEMY, AND LAST YEAR SHE TOURED AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY WITH THE BOSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY. SHE IS A STUDENT OF PETER ZAZOFSKY.

ALLISON ELDRIDGE, CELLO
CELLIST ALLISON ELDREDGE IS A RARE TALENT WHO HAS SUCCESSFULLY MADE THE TRANSITION FROM EXCITING VIRTUOSIC PRODIGY TO IMPORTANT, MATURE ARTIST. EARLY IN HER CAREER, SHE WAS AWARDED THE AVERY FISHER CAREER GRANT AND NAMED MUSICAL AMERICA'S “YOUNG ARTIST OF THE YEAR,” AND HAS SINCE RECEIVED CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR HER TECHNICAL POWER AND HER IMPASSIONED PERFOMANCES IN THE PREMIER CONCERT HALLS OF NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, ISRAEL, LATIN AMERICA AND THE FAR EAST. HERALDED AS "A MUSICIAN OF REMARKABLE GIFTS" BY THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, MS. ELDREDGE HAS PERFORMED AS SOLOIST WITH MANY OF THE WORLD'S GREAT ORCHESTRAS, INCLUDING THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC, CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA, CHICAGO SYMPHONY, LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC, SAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY, SAINT PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, MONTREAL SYMPHONY, BOSTON POPS, NEW WORLD SYMPHONY, TOKYO METROPOLITAN SYMPHONY, YOMIURI NIPPON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, OSAKA PHILHARMONIC, ROYAL PHILHARMONIC, CHINA NATIONAL SYMPHONY, BERLIN SYMPHONY, ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS, HAGUE PHILHARMONIC, ZURICH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA AND THE ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA. SHE HAS PERFORMED WITH SUCH DISTINGUISHED CONDUCTORS AS DANIEL BARENBOIM, ZUBIN MEHTA, ANDRE PREVIN, CHARLES DUTOIT, LEONARD SLATKIN, MARIN ALSOP, KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI, YEVGENY SVETLANOV, HANS VONK, SERGIU COMMISSIONA, KEITH LOCKHART, JOANN FALLETTA, STANISLAW SKROWACEWSKI, EIJI OUE, JORGE MESTER, OTTO-WERNER MUELLER AND JAAP VAN SWEDEN.ONE OF THE MOST VERSATILE ARTISTS OF HER GENERATION, MS. ELDREDGE IS A VETERAN SOLOIST, CHAMBER MUSICIAN, AND RECORDING ARTIST. IN 2004, SHE WAS APPOINTED AS THE YOUNGEST ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE KILLINGTON MUSIC FESTIVAL, A SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL NOW IN ITS 27TH YEAR, WHICH PROVIDES A PODIUM TO GIFTED YOUNG MUSICIANS, ARTISTS AND MUSIC LOVERS TO CREATE AND TO MEET THROUGH MUSIC-MAKING IN THE PICTURESQUE MOUNTAINS OF VERMONT. AT THE KILLINGTON MUSIC FESTIVAL, MS. ELDREDGE SHARES HER INTEREST FOR PROMOTING YOUNG MUSICIANS AND EDUCATING FUTURE AUDIENCES. SHE ALSO VISITS SCHOOL AND MUSIC PROGRAMS AROUND THE COUNTRY EACH YEAR TO PROMOTE MUSIC EDUCATION TO THE YOUTH OF AMERICA, A PASSION WHICH HAS TAKEN HER INTO MORE THAN A HUNDRED SCHOOL PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE U.S. HIGHLIGHTS OF RECENT SEASONS INCLUDE SEVEN RECITAL TOURS OF JAPAN, APPEARANCES AS SOLOIST WITH THE ZURICH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, THE OSAKA PHILHARMONIC, THE PUERTO RICO SYMPHONY, THE BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC, THE LANCASTER SYMPHONY, THE PEORIA SYMPHONY, THE GREATER BRIDGEPORT SYMPHONY, THE PACIFIC SYMPHONY, A EUROPEAN TOUR WITH THE ORCHESTRA SINFONICA, PERFORMANCES OF THE BRAHMS DOUBLE CONCERTO WITH VIOLINIST VLADIMIR SPIVAKOV AND THE HAGUE PHILHARMONIC AND PERFORMANCES OF THE BEETHOVEN TRIPLE CONCERTO WITH THE BOSTON CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA. MS. ELDREDGE HAS BEEN THE FEATURED SOLOIST IN NUMEROUS ORCHESTRAL TOURS INCLUDING A NORTH AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN TOUR WITH THE WARSAW SINFONIA UNDER KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI; A TOUR OF ENGLAND WITH THE ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS, INCLUDING A CONCERT IN LONDON AT QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL; AND FOUR TOURS OF ISRAEL WITH THE HAIFA SYMPHONY. SHE HAS TOURED EASTERN EUROPE WITH THE UKRAINE STATE SYMPHONY AND 12 CITIES THROUGHOUT EUROPE WITH THE BUDAPEST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. OF SPECIAL INTEREST WAS HER TRAVEL TO RUSSIA FOR PERFORMANCES WITH THE MOSCOW VIRTUOSI AND VLADIMIR SPIVAKOV, WHICH CULMINATED IN A NATIONALLY TELEVISED GALA CONCERT, AT THE MOSCOW CONSERVATORY GRAND HALL. IN AMERICA, HER PERFORMANCES HAVE INCLUDED A SPECIAL CONCERT IN TRIBUTE TO CELLIST PABLO CASALS AT THE CASALS FESTIVAL IN PUERTO RICO AND A GUEST INVITATION AS SOLOIST WITH THE JUILLIARD ORCHESTRA AT LINCOLN CENTER'S AVERY FISHER HALL. MS. ELDREDGE'S MOST RECENT RECORDINGS INCLUDE TWO CD'S ON THE DENON LABEL: MUSIC BY CHOPIN AND FAURÉ, AND IF I LOVED YOU, ARRANGEMENTS OF BROADWAY AND FILM MUSIC FOR CELLO AND PIANO, WHICH WERE HAILED BY FANFARE MAGAZINE AS "PASSIONATE, ILLUMINATING AND ALWAYS ENCHANTING." BOTH THESE DISCS, ORIGINALLY RELEASED IN THE FAR EAST, WILL BE DISTRIBUTED IN NORTH AMERICA IN THE 09/10 SEASON. HER OTHER RECORDINGS INCLUDE CONCERTOS BY LALO AND SAINT-SAËNS WITH THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC AND HANS VONK (PONY CANYON CLASSICS); A RECITAL DISC WITH PIANIST YOSHIE AKIMOTO (PONY CANYON CLASSICS); AND ROMANTIC DUET, AN ALBUM OF CELEBRATED OPERA ARIAS TRANSCRIBED FOR VIOLIN, CELLO, AND ORCHESTRA (BMG) WITH VIOLINIST JAAP VAN SWEDEN; AND ETERNAL DAY, AN ALBUM OF DEVOTIONAL SONGS WITH SINGER ARIEL BYBEE AND PIANIST/ARRANGER DAVID FLETCHER. MS. ELDREDGE IS PRESENTLY WORKING ON A BALLAD ALBUM FROM THE 30'S-50'S AND AN ALBUM OF SPIRITUALS TO BE RELEASED IN THE 09/10 SEASON. MS. ELDREDGE'S RADIO AND TELEVISION CREDITS INCLUDE APPEARANCES ON NEW YORK'S WQXR, BOSTON'S WGBH, JAPAN'S NHK-NATIONAL TELEVISION AND RADIO, ABC'S GOOD MORNING AMERICA AND A PERFORMING ARTS DOCUMENTARY IN WHICH SHE APPEARED WITH ISAAC STERN AND YO-YO MA FOR JAPANESE TELEVISION. HER LOVE OF AND COMMITMENT TO THE ARTS IN VERMONT HAVE MADE HER A FREQUENT LIVE PERFORMER ON VERMONT'S PUBLIC RADIO (VPR). SHE ALSO HAS THE DISTINCTION OF BEING INVITED TO PLAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE. MS. ELDREDGE HAS SHARED THE STAGE WITH NUMEROUS ACCLAIMED ARTISTS, SUCH AS ANDRE PREVIN, JOSHUA BELL, YO-YO MA, AND GIL SHAHAM. SHE IS A FREQUENT GUEST ARTIST OF MUSIC FESTIVALS SUCH AS BAY CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL, THE SAN JUAN CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL AND THE KILLINGTON MUSIC FESTIVAL. OTHER FESTIVAL APPEARANCES INCLUDE THE RAVINIA, CARAMOOR, CASALS, SANTA FE, ROCKPORT CHAMBER, SALT BAY, BRITT, WATERLOO FESTIVALS, THE COLMAR FESTIVAL IN FRANCE, THE DAVOS FESTIVAL IN SWITZERLAND, THE DVORAK FESTIVAL IN PRAGUE, AND THE JOHANESSEN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL IN VICTORIA, BC, AMONG OTHERS.BORN IN NEW YORK CITY, MS. ELDREDGE BEGAN HER MUSICAL TRAINING ON THE PIANO AT AGE THREE WITH HER MOTHER, CONCERT PIANIST YOSHIE AKIMOTO, AND MADE HER FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE AT AGE SIX. AT NINE SHE BEGAN STUDYING THE CELLO AND WON HER FIRST COMPETITION WITHIN SIX MONTHS. SHE IS NOW LIVING IN THE BOSTON AREA WITH HER HUSBAND, PIANIST MAX LEVINSON, AND THEIR DAUGHTERS NATALIE AND JESSICA.