Concert Recognizes Holocaust Remembrance Day

Editor's Note: The following is a news release issued by Rider University.

Westminster Conservatory’s Kaleidoscope Chamber Series will present “I Remember,” a recital in recognition of Holocaust Remembrance Day, on Sunday, April 22 at 2:30 p.m. in Gill Memorial Chapel on the Lawrence Township campus of Rider University.  Admission is free.

The program consists of music that both recognizes the loss of life related to the Holocaust and embraces a sense of renewal.  Selections include Ani Maamin (I Believe), a composition based on a Hebrew folk melody by Valerie Shields for treble voices, flute and piano, "Theme from Schindler's List" and "Jewish Town" for violin and piano by John Williams, Nigun by Ernst Bloch for violin and piano, I Never Saw Another Butterfly for two voices and flute by John Hardyk, Longing for solo flute by Olga Gorelli, "Spring Will Come Again" from Leonard Bernstein's Skin of Our Teeth, Michael Cohen's cantata I Remember based on the Diary of Anne Frank formezzo-soprano, flute, cello, and harp, and the "Lord is My Shepherd" from the Requiem of John Rutter.

The performers will be Westminster Conservatory faculty members Tracey Chebra, soprano; Linda Mindlin, mezzo-soprano; Katherine McClure, flute; Carol Vizzini, 'cello; Galina Prilutskaya, piano; Alison Simpson harp and guest artist Milena Dawidowicz, violin.

Tracey Chebra received the Master of Music in voice performance and the Bachelor of Music Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  She has attended master classes and coachings with Richard Miller, Arvid Knudsen, Boris Goldovsky, and Wesley Balk.  She teaches voice at Westminster Choir College and Westminster Conservatory, and she is head of the voice department at the Conservatory.  She has performed with the Boheme Society and the Opera Repertory Theatre of Greensboro, N.C.

Linda Mindlin is a versatile musician performing as soloist in oratorio and concert with area orchestras including the Westminster Conservatory Orchestra.  She has performed roles in opera, operetta and musical theater, including The Magic Flute, The Gondoliers, The Mikado, Carousel, and Guys & Dolls.  In recital she has performed works of all styles of repertoire including premiering works of contemporary composers.  She is a choral vocal coach, has directed children's choirs, and is a voice clinician for the Middlesex County Teen Arts Festival.  Ms Mindlin earned a degree from Westminster Choir College and was recipient of a first place NJNATS award.

Katherine McClure earned a Bachelor of Arts in music from Skidmore College and a Master of Music in flute performance from the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University.  She teaches flute at Westminster Conservatory and the Lawrenceville School.  She is music director and conductor of the wind ensemble at the Lawrenceville School, and maintains a private flute studio in Kingston, N.J.  An active chamber and orchestral player in the greater New York and Philadelphia metropolitan area, Ms. McClure is the principal flutist of the Edison Symphony and is a tenured member of Riverside Symphonia, Delaware Valley Philharmonic, the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra, and the American Repertory Ballet Orchestra.  Ms. McClure has also performed with Lee Ann Rimes, Patti Lupone, Linda Ronstadt, the Irish Tenors, and Il Divo.

Carol Redfield Vizzini has been a teacher, soloist, and performer in the New Jersey-New York area for many years.  She has been principal 'cellist of the New Philharmonic and the Orchestra of Saint Peter by the Sea.  She has performed in London, England, as a member of the Delbarton Baroque Ensemble and in Amman, Jordan, and Cairo, Egypt, with the Princeton Chamber Symphony.  She has appeared in recital at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall and at Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter Auditorium.  She has soloed with the Westminster Community Orchestra and the Society of Musical Arts Orchestra.  She is an active proponent of contemporary music and has premiered several works dedicated to her.  Ms. Vizzini is head of the string department at Westminster Conservatory and is a member of the Conservatory’s Master Faculty.  She has taught at the Lawrenceville School and Delbarton School and serves on the coaching and teaching staff of the New Jersey Youth Symphony. She is a graduate of The Philadelphia Musical Academy.

Galina Prilutskaya has performed as piano soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist throughout the Moscow region and the United States. She has a Bachelor of Music from Moscow College and a Master of Music from Astrakhan Conservatory.  She formerly taught at Moscow State Music School and in her private studio in Moscow.  Her teachers include Roman Klyachko, Gregory Dinor, and Valentina Pavlova.

Alison Simpson graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and she continued there with graduate studies. In addition, Ms. Simpson has a Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College.  She has taught at the Settlement Music School, the Solebury School, and in her private studio.  She joined the faculty of Westminster Conservatory in 1985.

Classically trained violinist Milena Dawidowicz has collected and performed folk music of Eastern Europe since she was a student at the Kiev Academy of Music.  She completed her classical training at Montclair State University.  She has performed with the Garden State Philharmonic, the Haddonfield Symphony Orchestra, the Monmouth Symphony and Sinfonietta Nova.  In January 2007 Mrs. Dawidowicz was the featured soloist with the Monmouth Symphony Orchestra, performing the world premier of Gypsy Rhapsody, which was arranged for her by New Jersey composer Ed Prince.  She teaches music in the South Brunswick school system and performs folk music with pianist Elena Panova in Duo Baval.

To learn more about this performance call the Westminster Choir College box office at 609-921-2663 or go to www.rider.edu/arts.