Soloists
Vincent Beer-Demander
Born in 1982, Vincent Beer-Demander began his musical studies at the age of 8 at the Mandolin School and at the Conservatoire National de Région de Toulouse. In 2000 he joined the E.N.M. d'Argenteuil where he won the First Prize for Chamber Music and Musical Formation, as well as a First Mandolin Prize in the class of Florentino Calvo. He then perfected himself at the Conservatorio di Padova (Italy) with Ugo Orlandi and at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris with the Master Alberto Ponce, where he was awarded the prestigious Bachelor of Chamber Music Concert, unanimously with congratulations from the jury. At the same time, he studied Orchestration and Composition at the C.N.R.R. in Marseilles with Régis Campo, where he also won a First Composition Prize unanimously with congratulations from the jury. An eclectic musician, Vincent Beer-Demande is illustrated in several musical fields: teaching, composition, direction, research, creation.
Member of the Contemporary Ensemble Cbarré, he remains nevertheless a fervent defender from the original repertoire of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. In 2014, Vladimir Cosma, Claude Bolling and Francis Lai composed for them their Mandolin and Orchestra Concerto and the following year it was Richard Galliano, Hamilton of Holanda and Ricardo Sandoval who composed for him.
In 1997, he founded the Duo Chitarrone with Gregory Morello. Already awarded the first unanimous prize in chamber music by CNR Toulouse in 2002, the Duo won the G. Sartori de Ala International Competition (Italy) the following year and created its own festival in the Ariège area.
Co-director of the CNRR Orchestra of Marseille, he has also worked with formations such as the Orchester National de France, the Opéra Bastille, the Orchester National de Lyon, the Monté Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, the Toulouse National Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Bucharest, the Toulon Opera, the National Orchestra of Lorraine, the Metz Opera, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Nice, the National Orchestra of Montpellier, Tm + Ensemble, Philippe Nahon of Ars Nova, CNSM of Paris, Marseille Opera, The Israel Chamber Orchestra "Ramandhan."
His important discography (nearly 20 records) reflects his taste for stylistic plurality: contemporary music, Neapolitan song, chamber music, baroque music. He also collaborates with Radio (Radio Nacional Clasica Española, France, Music, France Inter), Television and Cinema.
For several years Vincent Beer-Demander has collaborated with the Duo Ama and the JMF (Jeunesse Musicales de France) to introduce the music to young audiences of children from all regions of France.
Member of the Contemporary Ensemble Cbarré, he remains nevertheless a fervent defender from the original repertoire of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. In 2014, Vladimir Cosma, Claude Bolling and Francis Lai composed for them their Mandolin and Orchestra Concerto and the following year it was Richard Galliano, Hamilton of Holanda and Ricardo Sandoval who composed for him.
In 1997, he founded the Duo Chitarrone with Gregory Morello. Already awarded the first unanimous prize in chamber music by CNR Toulouse in 2002, the Duo won the G. Sartori de Ala International Competition (Italy) the following year and created its own festival in the Ariège area.
Co-director of the CNRR Orchestra of Marseille, he has also worked with formations such as the Orchester National de France, the Opéra Bastille, the Orchester National de Lyon, the Monté Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, the Toulouse National Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Bucharest, the Toulon Opera, the National Orchestra of Lorraine, the Metz Opera, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Nice, the National Orchestra of Montpellier, Tm + Ensemble, Philippe Nahon of Ars Nova, CNSM of Paris, Marseille Opera, The Israel Chamber Orchestra "Ramandhan."
His important discography (nearly 20 records) reflects his taste for stylistic plurality: contemporary music, Neapolitan song, chamber music, baroque music. He also collaborates with Radio (Radio Nacional Clasica Española, France, Music, France Inter), Television and Cinema.
For several years Vincent Beer-Demander has collaborated with the Duo Ama and the JMF (Jeunesse Musicales de France) to introduce the music to young audiences of children from all regions of France.
Kurt Nikkanen
American violinist Kurt Nikkanen is an international soloist of the highest order. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he began his violin studies at the age of three, later studying with Roman Totenberg and Jens Ellerman. At twelve he gave his Carnegie Hall debut, performing with the New York Symphony; two years later he was invited by Zubin Mehta to perform the Paganini Concerto No.1 with the New York Philharmonic for a Young People’s Concert. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he was a scholarship student of Dorothy DeLay.
Mr. Nikkanen regularly receives invitations from the leading orchestras and presenters in the USA and Europe, and has toured Japan and the Far East. In North America he has appeared with the Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Cleveland Orchestra, and in Europe with the BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Dresden Staatskapelle. He has worked with many leading conductors.
An enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music, Kurt Nikkanen has given numerous performances of the John Adams Violin Concerto, with orchestras such as the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Oregon Symphony, Hallé Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony (all under the composer’s direction).
Highlights of recent seasons have included a UK tour with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, performances with the Gothenburg Symphony and Neeme Jarvi at the BBC Proms, and concerts with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Prague Symphony and RTE Orchestra in Dublin; also with the Bayerischer Rundfunk and Suddeutscher Rundfunk orchestras, both with the late Yakov Kreizberg, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra with Junichi Hirokami. He has also appeared with the Belgian National Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony and the orchestra of RAI Turin, the Detroit Symphony and Orchestra of Galicia, the Bilbao Symphony, the Malaysian Philharmonic and performances of the Dvorak concerto with the Czech Philharmonic and Vladimir Ashkenazy, both in Prague and on tour in the USA, with concerts in New York and Chicago. In 2011, he was featured as soloist in a performance of the Barber Violin Concerto and Ravel Tzigane with the Turku Philharmonic in a live webcast that was streamed worldwide.
Mr. Nikkanen regularly receives invitations from the leading orchestras and presenters in the USA and Europe, and has toured Japan and the Far East. In North America he has appeared with the Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Cleveland Orchestra, and in Europe with the BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Dresden Staatskapelle. He has worked with many leading conductors.
An enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music, Kurt Nikkanen has given numerous performances of the John Adams Violin Concerto, with orchestras such as the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Oregon Symphony, Hallé Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony (all under the composer’s direction).
Highlights of recent seasons have included a UK tour with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, performances with the Gothenburg Symphony and Neeme Jarvi at the BBC Proms, and concerts with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Prague Symphony and RTE Orchestra in Dublin; also with the Bayerischer Rundfunk and Suddeutscher Rundfunk orchestras, both with the late Yakov Kreizberg, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra with Junichi Hirokami. He has also appeared with the Belgian National Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony and the orchestra of RAI Turin, the Detroit Symphony and Orchestra of Galicia, the Bilbao Symphony, the Malaysian Philharmonic and performances of the Dvorak concerto with the Czech Philharmonic and Vladimir Ashkenazy, both in Prague and on tour in the USA, with concerts in New York and Chicago. In 2011, he was featured as soloist in a performance of the Barber Violin Concerto and Ravel Tzigane with the Turku Philharmonic in a live webcast that was streamed worldwide.
Composer
Lalo Schifrin
Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-born American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, including the "Theme from Mission: Impossible" and Enter the Dragon. He has received five Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations. Associated with the jazz music genre, Schifrin is also noted for his collaborations with Clint Eastwood from the late 1960s to the 1980s, particularly the Dirty Harry films.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalo_Schifrin)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalo_Schifrin)
Director
Julien Benichou
“Julien Benichou is without doubt, one of the most exciting young conductors on the scene today. He deftly combines his elegant graceful gestures, a wonderful sense of both youthful verve and old world wisdom, with profound sincere musicianship.”
Jonathan Carney, Concertmaster Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Hailed as “one of the most interesting and accomplished conductors of his generation,” Julien Benichou is noted for his blend of flexibility and control, inspiring musicality and incredibly infectious energy. Benichou currently serves as Music Director for the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra (MSO), and was recently appointed Principal Conductor of the Washington Opera Society. He is also the Music Director of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) and the Southern Maryland Youth Symphony Orchestra (SMYOC). This past December, he made his debut with the New York City Ballet, in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, and returned to Carnegie Hall, in a concert that featured Robert Redford and Vice-President Al Gore.
As Music Director of the MSO for the last 12 seasons, Benichou has greatly raised the profile of the ensemble, attracting premier artists, as well as expanding the orchestra’s season. This year, he collaborates with Stefan Jackiw, Virgil Boutellis-Taft, Kurt Nikkanen, Brandie Sutton and Leon Fleisher. Previous seasons have included concerts with such noted artists as Kevin Short, Lester Lynch, Arnaud Sussmann and Tine Thing Helseth.
Served by a keen attention to detail and an ability to bring forth a wealth of expression from singers, Benichou has also found success conducting operatic productions. Most recently, as principal conductor of Washington Opera Society, he conducted La Cenerentola at the French Embassy, and L’elisir d’amore at the Residence of the Ambassador to Colombia. This June, he will conduct their production of Carmen with Jonathan Tetelman as Don José. He has conducted, to great critical acclaim, fully staged performances of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with the Morgan State University Choir and Opera Workshop. In September of 2016 he conducted the premiere performance of James Lee’s Mother’s Lament with the Morgan State University Choir.
Benichou has also garnered acclaim as guest conductor at the Annapolis Symphony, Newark Symphony, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Baltimore Concert Opera, Baltimore Symphony/Mobtown Modern Synchronicity projects, Orquestra Sinfonica do Parana in Curitaba, Brazil, the St. Petersburg State Symphony in Russia, the Maison Symphonique de Montreal in Canada, and the Siberian State Symphony in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, where he will return next season. Other return engagements will include a collaboration with Tim Janis at Carnegie Hall.
Jonathan Carney, Concertmaster Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Hailed as “one of the most interesting and accomplished conductors of his generation,” Julien Benichou is noted for his blend of flexibility and control, inspiring musicality and incredibly infectious energy. Benichou currently serves as Music Director for the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra (MSO), and was recently appointed Principal Conductor of the Washington Opera Society. He is also the Music Director of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) and the Southern Maryland Youth Symphony Orchestra (SMYOC). This past December, he made his debut with the New York City Ballet, in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, and returned to Carnegie Hall, in a concert that featured Robert Redford and Vice-President Al Gore.
As Music Director of the MSO for the last 12 seasons, Benichou has greatly raised the profile of the ensemble, attracting premier artists, as well as expanding the orchestra’s season. This year, he collaborates with Stefan Jackiw, Virgil Boutellis-Taft, Kurt Nikkanen, Brandie Sutton and Leon Fleisher. Previous seasons have included concerts with such noted artists as Kevin Short, Lester Lynch, Arnaud Sussmann and Tine Thing Helseth.
Served by a keen attention to detail and an ability to bring forth a wealth of expression from singers, Benichou has also found success conducting operatic productions. Most recently, as principal conductor of Washington Opera Society, he conducted La Cenerentola at the French Embassy, and L’elisir d’amore at the Residence of the Ambassador to Colombia. This June, he will conduct their production of Carmen with Jonathan Tetelman as Don José. He has conducted, to great critical acclaim, fully staged performances of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with the Morgan State University Choir and Opera Workshop. In September of 2016 he conducted the premiere performance of James Lee’s Mother’s Lament with the Morgan State University Choir.
Benichou has also garnered acclaim as guest conductor at the Annapolis Symphony, Newark Symphony, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Baltimore Concert Opera, Baltimore Symphony/Mobtown Modern Synchronicity projects, Orquestra Sinfonica do Parana in Curitaba, Brazil, the St. Petersburg State Symphony in Russia, the Maison Symphonique de Montreal in Canada, and the Siberian State Symphony in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, where he will return next season. Other return engagements will include a collaboration with Tim Janis at Carnegie Hall.