Wednesdays at noontime are a treat for music lovers in Rochester! For over 35 years the Live from Hochstein Concert and Broadcast Series has invited the public to step away from the desk and technology to enjoy the beauty of sight and sound. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring their bag lunches and listen to local and regional classical artists in the physically and acoustically gorgeous Hochstein Performance Hall. The concerts are broadcast live on WXXI-FM, Classical 91.5/90.3 from 12:10–12:50 pm and rebroadcast usually that same evening at 10:00pm, with host Mona Seghatoleslami. Hochstein School remains deeply grateful to Sidney and Barbara Sobel for providing continuous underwriting of Live from Hochstein since 1993, and thereby allowing the concerts to be free of charge.
Each spring Hochstein has a series of auditions for its students who compete for Merit Scholarship Awards. The winners of the Grades 11-12 not only receive a cash award, but the chance to perform on the Live from Hochstein spring series. This year’s winners are outstanding in their musical skills, as well as their academics:
Flutist Yifan Kong is a senior at Webster Schroeder High School. Yifan is in the Hochstein Honors Certificate Program, a rigorous course of study for serious music students and has studied with Hochstein Flute Co-Chair and RPO member, Diane Smith for numerous years. In addition to being Principal Flute for the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Yifan is a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search, the nation’s most prestigious pre-college science competition. She plans to attend Yale in the fall of 2014.
C
ellist Annie Jacobs-Perkins is in her final year at Pittsford Mendon High School where she is on honor roll and is a member of the National Society of High School Scholars. She has won numerous merit scholarships and has been a Hochstein student since the age of five; her instructor is Kathy Murphy Kemp, Asst. Principal Cello of the RPO. Annie has been principal cellist of the RPYO for the past three years. Her former Hochstein chamber ensemble, C4ROC, a rock cello quartet, won the American String Teachers Association’s Eclectic Strings Competition in 2012. Annie will be performing as the only soloist on the upcoming nationally known NPR radio program From the Top, when it tapes locally at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre on Wednesday, March 19.
Guitarist Oksana Miller is a junior at Brighton High School where she also sings and acts. She studies with Tim Shannon, participates in the Hochstein Honors Certificate Program, and has won seven merit scholarships. Oksana is a member of the Eastman Community School Youth Guitar Ensemble.
The 2014 Spring Live from Hochstein Broadcast & Concert Series:
March 26, Hochstein Merit Scholarship Winners
Yifan Kong, flute; Annie Jacobs-Perkins, cello; Oksana Miller, guitar. Selected works performed by outstanding Hochstein students.
April 2, George Taylor, viola
Music of Bach for solo viola. Duet by Leclair with his student Martine Thomas
April 9, American Works by Amy Beach, Arthur Foote, and a World Premiere by Shawn Hundley, “Grouvet”
Rosemary Elliott, cello, Rose Grace, piano
April 23, Edgy Roars: Music for violin and piano from the Golden Decade
Pia Liptak, violin, Ines Draskovic, piano. Music by Ravel, Antheil, Copland.
April 30, Startin’ Sumthin’: Music of Rameau, Larrson, and Scott
Antara Winds: Diane Smith, flute, Judith Ricker, oboe, Margaret Quackenbush, clarinet, John Hunt, bassoon, Mary Hickson Hunt, horn.
May 7, Going for Glory: A Preview of EuphoNY 2014 Gibbs & Main
Featuring the dynamic and diverse music of living New York State composers written especially for Gibbs & Main in styles ranging from classical to rock, Latin to hip hop. Karine Stone, violin 1; Hyeri Choi, violin 2; Jenny Valitalo, viola; Joan Kinsella, cello; Eric Polenic, bass
May 14, Four for Four: Music for four saxophones from four countries
Kilbourn Saxophone Quartet:
Chien-Kwan Lin, soprano saxophone;
Andrew Stoker, alto saxophone; J
amal Rossi, tenor saxophone;
David Yusko, baritone saxophone. Music by G.F. Handel, Jean Rivier, Thierry Escaich, and Ramon Ricker