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Press Releases
Palestinian Israeli Duo - Duo Amal Perform at Longy
September 10, 2014 Cambridge, Mass. Longy School of Music of Bard College will feature the critically acclaimed Palestinian and Israeli duet Duo Amal at the 20th annual Gessner-Schocken concert on October 19 at 8 p.m. at the Edward M. Pickman Concert Hall on its Cambridge Massachusetts campus. Admission to the performance is free, but reservations are required. Click here for ticket info.
The series, now in its 20th year, is funded by the Gessner family and honors the legacy of Ruth Gessner-Schocken, a musician, educator, philanthropist and long-time supporter and faculty member at Longy. According to David Gessner, Mrs. Gessner-Schocken’s son, this concert would have been particularly meaningful to her. “My mother cared deeply about achieving peace in the Middle East, and saw music as a way of uniting people through artistry. Given current events, this concert could not be timelier.” The series was co-founded by Wolfgang Schocken, Mr. Gessner’s stepfather, who was a faculty member at Longy.
Protégés of Maestro Zubin Mehta, pianists Palestinian Bishara Haroni and Israeli Yaron Kohlberg decided to join forces for a peace concert at the Oslo Opera House in 2011. The concert’s tremendous success resulted in a permanent partnership, aptly titled Duo Amal — a musical collaboration that transcends political and national differences. Amal — the Arabic word for “hope,” reflects the meaningful message behind this duo's work. Together, they are not only a unique collaboration, but they also aim to spread the urgent message for peace, within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Duo Amal have performed before enthusiastic audiences in many significant venues worldwide. Among these are the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Beethovenfest Bonn, Melbourne Arts Festival, Beijing Concert Hall, Tokyo’s Musashino Center, and Korea’s Goyang Center of the Arts. They have also performed with some of the world’s leading orchestras, such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO).
The program for their Longy performance will feature: Schubert: Fantasie in F minor for piano four hands Avner Dorman: Karsilama Prokofiev, arr. Terashima: Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 “Classical” Shostakovich: Concertino for two pianos, Op. 94 Rachmaninov: Suite No. 1 for piano four hands, Op. 5
For more information visit: Longy.edu
About Ruth Gessner-Schocken: A concert pianist in her youth, Mrs. Gessner-Schocken studied with Rudolf Ganz, Julius Prüwer, and other important musicians, first in Berlin, then in this country, and she continued to play into her nineties. Her musical discernment was a great asset to students, and she became a pillar of the Longy community. She was a staunch advocate of education and learning and a passionate supporter of and mentor to students. Says Conservatory Dean Wayman Chin, “With Ruth, age was meaningless; she was ever young in spirit and young at heart. She loved young people, and over the years, many of our students were her beneficiaries — enjoying opportunities to perform at her home, to share her love of song literature, and above all, to experience her passion for music.” About Longy School of Music of Bard College Longy School of Music of Bard College, founded as Longy School of Music almost 100 years ago in 1915 by renowned oboist Georges Longy, is a degree-granting conservatory located in Cambridge, Mass. The school serves 250 undergraduate and graduate students from 37 states and 20 countries at its central Cambridge campus and recently opened a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program in Los Angeles, Calif., on the campus of Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), with YOLA at HOLA serving as its anchoring learning lab for Sistema-inspired programs. Longy’s mission is to prepare musicians to make a difference in the world. It is rapidly gaining international recognition for its efforts to meet a changing musical landscape head-on, giving its classically trained graduates the skills to perform, the ambition to teach and the ability to reach new audiences and new communities beyond those traditionally associated with classical music.
Contact: Dayla Arabella Santurri Dayla@DaylaArabella.com 781-479-6951
The series, now in its 20th year, is funded by the Gessner family and honors the legacy of Ruth Gessner-Schocken, a musician, educator, philanthropist and long-time supporter and faculty member at Longy. According to David Gessner, Mrs. Gessner-Schocken’s son, this concert would have been particularly meaningful to her. “My mother cared deeply about achieving peace in the Middle East, and saw music as a way of uniting people through artistry. Given current events, this concert could not be timelier.” The series was co-founded by Wolfgang Schocken, Mr. Gessner’s stepfather, who was a faculty member at Longy.
Protégés of Maestro Zubin Mehta, pianists Palestinian Bishara Haroni and Israeli Yaron Kohlberg decided to join forces for a peace concert at the Oslo Opera House in 2011. The concert’s tremendous success resulted in a permanent partnership, aptly titled Duo Amal — a musical collaboration that transcends political and national differences. Amal — the Arabic word for “hope,” reflects the meaningful message behind this duo's work. Together, they are not only a unique collaboration, but they also aim to spread the urgent message for peace, within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Duo Amal have performed before enthusiastic audiences in many significant venues worldwide. Among these are the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Beethovenfest Bonn, Melbourne Arts Festival, Beijing Concert Hall, Tokyo’s Musashino Center, and Korea’s Goyang Center of the Arts. They have also performed with some of the world’s leading orchestras, such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO).
The program for their Longy performance will feature: Schubert: Fantasie in F minor for piano four hands Avner Dorman: Karsilama Prokofiev, arr. Terashima: Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 “Classical” Shostakovich: Concertino for two pianos, Op. 94 Rachmaninov: Suite No. 1 for piano four hands, Op. 5
For more information visit: Longy.edu
About Ruth Gessner-Schocken: A concert pianist in her youth, Mrs. Gessner-Schocken studied with Rudolf Ganz, Julius Prüwer, and other important musicians, first in Berlin, then in this country, and she continued to play into her nineties. Her musical discernment was a great asset to students, and she became a pillar of the Longy community. She was a staunch advocate of education and learning and a passionate supporter of and mentor to students. Says Conservatory Dean Wayman Chin, “With Ruth, age was meaningless; she was ever young in spirit and young at heart. She loved young people, and over the years, many of our students were her beneficiaries — enjoying opportunities to perform at her home, to share her love of song literature, and above all, to experience her passion for music.” About Longy School of Music of Bard College Longy School of Music of Bard College, founded as Longy School of Music almost 100 years ago in 1915 by renowned oboist Georges Longy, is a degree-granting conservatory located in Cambridge, Mass. The school serves 250 undergraduate and graduate students from 37 states and 20 countries at its central Cambridge campus and recently opened a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program in Los Angeles, Calif., on the campus of Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), with YOLA at HOLA serving as its anchoring learning lab for Sistema-inspired programs. Longy’s mission is to prepare musicians to make a difference in the world. It is rapidly gaining international recognition for its efforts to meet a changing musical landscape head-on, giving its classically trained graduates the skills to perform, the ambition to teach and the ability to reach new audiences and new communities beyond those traditionally associated with classical music.
Contact: Dayla Arabella Santurri Dayla@DaylaArabella.com 781-479-6951
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