Music across 3 centuries, and a special celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
The Massapequa Philharmonic announces its 39th season of exciting concerts to Long Island audiences under the direction of music director David Bernard. The programs include music by Barber, Beethoven, Brahms, Copland, Gershwin, Mozart and Rachmaninoff.
“We are thrilled to share some of the most beautiful and exciting music ever written,” says Music Director David Bernard. “These concerts will be a shared experience between the audience and the musicians, where we will explore how composers achieve music’s potential for expression. Each event will be an unforgettable experience,” says Bernard.
The 2023-2024 Massapequa Philharmonic Season includes:
Classic Romantics on Sunday October 15, 2023, at 3 p.m., featuring the works of Barber, Mozart, and Brahms, with soloists Dexter Doris, violin and Janice Leung, viola.
Sounds of the Season on Sunday December 10, 2023, at 3 p.m., the orchestra’s beloved holiday tradition featuring holiday classics and a sing along, followed by a Holiday Reception.
Beethoven’s Fifth from the INSIDE OUT™ on Sunday March 10, 2024, at 3 p.m., a special concert at Temple Emanuel in Great Neck, 150 Hicks Lane, Great Neck, featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in the patented InsideOut™ Concert format, where audience members sit alongside the musicians.
Sublime Beauty on Sunday March 24, 2024, at 3 p.m., featuring the works of Beethoven and Copland.
Centenary in Blue, on Sunday May 5, 2024, at 3 p.m., an all Gershwin Program celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Rhapsody in Blue featuring Jazz Pianist Sensation Ted Rosenthal.
Grand Season Finale: Ravishing Romantics on Sunday June 2, 2024, at 3 p.m., featuring the works of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.
All concerts will take place at Berner Auditorium, 50 Carman Mill Rd, Massapequa, with the exception of the March 10th InsideOut™ concert, which will take place at Temple Emanuel of Great Neck. The concerts at Berner Middle School include a post-concert reception with refreshments where the audience members can meet the performers!
Tickets to the Berner Auditorium concerts are available online through Eventbrite for $20 via this link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/massapequa-philharmonic-2023-2024-season-concerts-2254929
Tickets are also available at the door. Seniors and students have a suggested donation of $20 at the door.
Tickets to the Beethoven’s Fifth from the InsideOut™ event will be available through Temple Emanuel.
For additional information, please visit www.massphil.com
About David Bernard, Music Director & Conductor
David Bernard serves as Music Director of the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, Massapequa Philharmonic and the Eglevsky Ballet. He is an active guest conductor, appearing with the Brooklyn Symphony, the Dubuque (IA) Symphony, the Greenwich (CT) Symphony, Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Island Symphony, the Litha Symphony, the South Shore Symphony and ensembles from the Manhattan School of Music. Called “the Johnny Appleseed of Classical Music” by Long Island Weekly, Maestro Bernard has helped the arts thrive through his innovative approaches to audience and orchestra building as music director and guest conductor.
David Bernard is the founder and director of InsideOut Concerts, Inc., a pioneer and innovator in the design, development and production of immersive classical music events, and is inventor of US Patent No. 11,673,070 entitled “Methods and Systems for Arranging Seats for Audience Members and Musicians.” Bernard’s work using these methods in concerts and events resulted in not only increased tickets sales, but also increased organic new audience acquisition.
Bernard is the First Prize winner of The American Prize Orchestral Conducting Competition (professional division) 2019. In presenting this award, the panel of judges commented:
“Conducting from memory, David Bernard exhibits remarkable skill and considerable elan in a vibrant reading of Stravinsky “Rite of Spring.” Not content with a cool, furrowed-brow approach to this music, his interpretation is alive to the nuances of color and, indeed, the dramatic arc, of this legendary masterwork. His is a considerable achievement by any standard.” —The American Prize Competition Panel
David Bernard’s critically acclaimed performances and recordings include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at Carnegie Hall (“ taut and dramatic” —Superconductor) , Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” at Lincoln Center (“transcendent…vivid…expertly choreographed” —LucidCulture), a complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies praised for its “intensity, spontaneity, propulsive rhythm, textural clarity, dynamic control, and well-judged phrasing” by Fanfare magazine, Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony (“parts emerge like newly scrubbed details in a restored painting. Bernard and his musicians frequently shed new and valuable light on a thrice-familiar standard” —Gramophone) and an album of Dvorák’s Late Symphonies (“David Bernard treats each of the symphonies with alert and respectful acuity. He trusts Dvorák’s metronome markings, often to surprising and exciting effect, and makes sure the narratives unfold with seamless assurance. Bernard shapes the score with fine control, savouring its tender and invigorating material minus mannerism or bluster.” —Gramophone)
Devoted to the music of our own time, he has presented world premières of scores by Bruce Adolphe, Chris Caswell, John Mackey, Ted Rosenthal and Jake Runestad, and distinguished concert collaborators have included Anna Lee, Jeffrey Biegel, Carter Brey, David Chan, Catherine Cho, Adrian Daurov, Pedro Díaz, Edith Dowd, Stanley Drucker, Bart Feller, Zlatomir Fung, Ryu Goto, Whoopi Goldberg, Sirena Huang, Judith Ingolfsson, Yevgeny Kutik, Anna Lee, Jessica Lee, Kristin Lee, Maxim Lando, Daniela Liebman, Jon Manasse, Christopher Martin, Anthony McGill, Spencer Myer, Todd Phillips and Inbal Segev.
—Submitted by David Bernard
