With such a warm welcome and embrace by the community for our Fall Litchfield Chamber Concert, and a steady clamor for more... WSO is thrilled to offer up a novel strings concert inspired by our hands down fan favorite guest artist from our '23 March Mozart concert.
Entitled ‘Bak to the Future’, at Litchfield Community Center on Sunday, April 21st at 4pm. will present the dynamic viola duo (and married couple!), Jordan and Rubina Bak, who will showcase a diverse repertoire and take us on an exciting musical journey from classical masterpieces to contemporary works!
Calendar Listing:
Sunday, April 21st 4pm
WSO Chamber Concert:
BAK TO THE FUTURE - Viola Duets Then and Now: Featuring Jordan and Rubina Bak
Litchfield Community Center, Litchfield, CT
Doors Open 3:00 p.m. Free accessible parking on site Tickets $30; $10 for students with ID, by calling the box office
For tickets online, visit: waterburysymphony.org [Tickets will go on sale this week! ] For ticketing by phone: 203-346-2000* *Via box office partner, Palace Theater Ticketing Office
Waterbury Symphony Orchestra Telephone: 203-574-4283
PROGRAM:
Karl Stamitz Duo No. 1 in C Major for Two Violas
I. AllegroII. AndanteIII. Rondo
Johannes Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 5, arr. Delorto
Harold Arlen Over the Rainbow, arr. Shelley Weiss
W.F. Bach Duet No. 1 in G Major for Two Violas
I. AllegroII. LamentoIII. Presto
Astor Piazzolla Libertango, arr. Duhlstine
Garth Knox Viola Spaces
III. Glissando
IV. Pizzicato
V. Harmonics
VI. Up, Down, Sideways, Round
Jeffrey Mumford wending
Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti ko'u inoa
Frank Bridge Lament for Two Violas
Handel/Halvorsen Passacaglia for Two Violas
MUSICIANS:
Jordan Bak, Viola
Rubina Bak, Viola
ABOUT VIOLIST JORDAN BAK!
Award-winning Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak has achieved international acclaim as a trailblazing artist, praised for his radiant stage presence, dynamic interpretations, and fearless power. Critics have described him as “an exciting new voice in Classical performance” (I Care If You Listen), “a powerhouse musician, with a strong voice and compelling sound” (The Whole Note) and lauded his “haunting lyrical grace” (Gramophone). A top prizewinner in many competitions such as the Sphinx Competition, Tertis International Viola Competition, and Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, Bak was recently named one of ClassicFM’s “30 Under 30” Rising Stars, Musical America’s New Artist of the Month, and was a featured artist for WQXR’s inaugural Artist Propulsion Lab. Bak’s enthusiastically-received debut album IMPULSE has garnered over two million streams on major digital media platforms, featuring new compositions by Tyson Gholston Davis, Toshio Hosokawa, Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, Quinn Mason, Jeffrey Mumford, and Joan Tower.
Bak has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, New York Classical Players, London Mozart Players, and Juilliard Orchestra among others, and as a chamber musician, has performed at numerous festivals such as Marlboro Music Festival, Tippet Rise, Chamber Music Northwest, and Newport Classical. Recent recital debuts include Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Concertgebouw, and at the Schleswig-Holstein and Lichfield music festivals. Bak currently serves as Assistant Professor of Viola at University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) and has given masterclasses at Peabody Institute, Oberlin Conservatory, NYU Steinhardt, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and Conservatorio del Tolima.
ABOUT VIOLIST RUBINA BAK
Violist Rubina Bak has forged her path as a sought-after music educator, having taught violin and viola privately and in school classrooms for over fifteen years. She is very passionate about helping students take the first step in starting their musical journey. Bak was recently awarded The Malcolm L. Mitchell and Donald M. Roberts Class of 1957 Prize from the Yale School of Music, for her work as an outstanding graduating teaching artist in the Music in Schools Initiative.
Bak’s recent performance highlights include chamber music and orchestral performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Tivoli Vredenburg Utrecht, De Doelen Rotterdam, Rose Studio at The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and solo performances of the Bartok Viola Concerto with the LAKMA Orchestra and Hindemith Trauermusik with the HKU Utrechts Chamber Orchestra.
Bak holds a Bachelor of Music degree from New England Conservatory, a Master of Music from Hogeschool voor de Kunsten (HKU) Utrechts Conservatorium, and a Master of Musical Arts from Yale School of Music. Her principal teachers were Ettore Causa, Dimitri Murrath, and Richard Wolfe. She currently lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with her husband, violist Jordan Bak, and their two cats, Bartok and Walton. In her spare time, she loves to cook Korean food, garden, and explore nature.
ABOUT WATERBURY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Creating music since 1938, the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra’s core belief is that music, music education and shared cultural experiences are essential for humanity.
Three primary strands of the WSO include its MasterWorks Classical Concerts including its annual Symphony & Cinema Concert, its prodigious satellite performances including its Music in Great Spaces series of innovative concerts and smaller ensembles, and finally their celebrated educational programs for libraries, schools, and underserved communities.
Led by Leif Bjaland for the past twenty-eight seasons, WSO draws over one hundred talented professional musicians from across New England.
As orchestra in residence of the Fine Arts Center, Naugatuck Valley Community College, the Waterbury Symphony wishes to acknowledge the partnership of NVCC and the enduring legacy of the generosity and vision of Ruth Ann Leever.
For more information by telephone, call 203-574-4283 For tickets online, visit: waterburysymphony.org For ticketing by phone: 203-346-2000*
*Via box office partner, Palace Theater Ticketing Office