Clarion Music Society Announces Its 2008-09 Season

A SOIREE AT THE COURT OF CATHERINE THE GREAT - Presented by the Aston Magna Festival -- July 25, 8:00 pm, Olin Auditorium, Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, NY and July 26, 5:00 pm, The Daniel Center, Great Barrington, MA --- Led by Steven Fox, Clarion performs a musical soirée fit for Catherine the Great with vocal and instrumental works by Russian and Italian 18th-century composers, Galuppi (Sonata for Cembalo in C minor), Bortniansky (arias from the opera Le fils rival), Sarti (Psalm 51 for strings and four voices), Berezovsky (Sonata for Violin in C) and Fomin (arias from Yamchiki na Podstave). Soloists will be Lauren Bradley, soprano; Kirsten Sollek, alto; Marc Molomot, tenor; Craig Philips, bass-baritone; Ilya Poletaev, harpsichord; and Daniel Stepner, violin. This program was performed by Clarion in May of 2007 at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall. Tickets for the performance at Bard can be purchased by calling 845.758.7425. Tickets for the Great Barrington performance are available online at www.astonmagna.org or by calling 413.528.3595/800.875.7156.

BACH CHRISTMAS CANTATAS - Presented by the Miller Theatre of Columbia University -- December 10, 2008, 8:00 pm, Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 145 West 46th Street --- In a month full of Messiahs, Clarion will be presented this December by the Miller Theatre of Columbia University in a Bach Christmas program including two cantatas from the Christmas Oratorio as well as his cantata, Ich freue mich in dir, BWV 133, with soloists Jolle Greenleaf, soprano; Oliver Mercer, tenor; and Douglas Williams, baritone, conducted by Steven Fox. For tickets, please call 212.854.7799 or visit the Miller Theatre Web site, www.millertheatre.com.

CLARION-COLLEGIUM WEEK - Co-presented by the New York Collegium -- February 18-26, 2009 --- For the second year in a row, Clarion teams up with Andrew Parrott and the New York Collegium for a week-long series of concerts, master classes, and lectures on Baroque performance practice. This year, we expand our welcome to students from colleges and conservatories from New England and the mid-Atlantic states. Master classes will once again be given in voice by Andrew Parrott, violin by Robert Mealy, cello by Myron Lutzke, oboe by Stephen Hammer, keyboard continuo by Dongsok Shin, and chamber music by Cynthia Roberts. This year has an Italian Baroque theme for the master classes, concerts and lectures: Italians Abroad: Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Geminiani, and Caldara. Additional details on the week will be posted regularly on the Clarion Web site, www.clarionsociety.org.

ORCHESTRAL MUSIC FOR CATHERINE THE GREAT - May 6, 2009, 8:00 pm - St. Michael's Church, Amsterdam and 99th Street --- Clarion continues its exploration of the musical riches of the court of Catherine the Great. This concert features discoveries from this period by Steven Fox, including the first Russian symphony, Sinfonia in C by Maxim Berezovsky (1745-1777), and the Harpsichord Concerto by Dmitri Bortniansky (1751-1825) with soloist Ilya Poletaev. Following the concert, this program is to be recorded for release in fall of 2009. For tickets please email info@clarionsociety.org or call 212.580.5700.

Please visit www.clarionsociety.org for information on additional concerts, including a benefit performance with tenor Rufus Müller at the University Club on October 18th to support brain cancer research.

PRESS CONTACT: Barbara Mouk 212.580.5700/bmouk@clarionsociety.org