Riverside Symphony is a New York-based professional orchestra founded in 1981 by conductor George Rothman and composer Anthony Korf. The orchestra performs an annual three-concert series at

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

and is recognized for programs which emphasize lesser known repertoire. The orchestra provides an ongoing forum for emerging soloists of exceptional promise and has showcased numerous instrumental and vocal talents over its history.

History

Directors George Rothman and Anthony Korf met as students at the Manhattan School of Music during the mid 1970s and formed Riverside Symphony after a 1980 concert at

Riverside Church Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on the block bounded by Riverside Drive, Claremont Avenue, 120th Street and 122nd Street near Columbia University's Mornin ...

.Steve Smith, "Group Dynamics: Riverside Symphony celebrates a quarter-century of musical community building," ''Time Out New York'', November 3–9, 2005 Issue 527. Numbering some 40 musicians in its core roster, the orchestra draws upon New York City's freelance community for its talent, at times expanding in size to meet the demands of larger works. Since the Symphony's inception, directors George Rothman and Anthony Korf have served as Conductor and Composer-in-Residence respectively. The orchestra's concerts regularly feature guest soloists from around the world. These have included early career appearances by

Carter Brey Carter Brey (born 1954) is an American cello virtuoso. He had a prolific solo career from 1981 until 1996 when he became the principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic, a position he still holds today. Biography Carter Brey was born in Montc ...

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Marc-André Hamelin Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...

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, and

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. The Symphony has also collaborated with guest narrators

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, and

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. Riverside Symphony's curatorial focus has been mainly directed to overlooked corners of the repertory, with a special emphasis on contemporary music. The orchestra has championed such American composers as

Andrew Imbrie Andrew Welsh Imbrie (April 6, 1921 – December 5, 2007) was an American contemporary classical music composer and pianist. Career Imbrie was born in New York City and began his musical training as a pianist when he was 4. In 1937, he went to Par ...

, Stephen Hartke, George Tsontakis,

Mario Davidovsky Mario Davidovsky (March 4, 1934 – August 23, 2019) was an Argentine-American composer. Born in Argentina, he emigrated in 1960 to the United States, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He is best known for his series of compositions ca ...

, and Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, and European composers

Marius Constant Marius Constant (7 February 192515 May 2004) was a Romanian-born French composer and conductor. Although known in the classical world primarily for his ballet scores, his most widely known music was the iconic guitar theme for ''The Twilight Zon ...

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, and Robert Suter, among others. Furthermore, Riverside Symphony's ''International Composer Reading Program'' has sought to expand the field of opportunity for living composers worldwide. While several of the readings have been devoted solely to American works chosen from an open competition process, several installations of this project have also focused on works by composers from a designated country, such as France, Norway, or Switzerland.

Recordings

Riverside Symphony appears on seven recordings, one of which was

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

Nominee in 2000. All seven recordings consist of 20th- and 21st-century music, namely works by

, Stephen Hartke,

, Anthony Korf, Poul Ruders, and

Maurice Wright Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor * Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and L ...

Educational programs

In 1999, Riverside Symphony launched the year-long classroom learning program ''Music Memory'' in New York City public schools, and has since grown from a handful of schools to serve thousands of school children annually in all five boroughs. Based on a curriculum from Mighty Music Memory, this nationally recognized program is "designed to promote the love and knowledge of classical music through an in-depth study of sixteen great composers, their lives and their music each year." The program concludes every year with the Music Memory Citywide Finals, held at NYU's

Skirball Center for the Performing Arts The Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, generally known as NYU Skirball, is an 850-seat theater at 566 LaGuardia Place in Manhattan, New York, owned by New York University. It was named after philanthropist Jack H. Skirball. The th ...

, in which students "must identify the composition and composer of a piece of classical or jazz music they studied after listening to only a short melodic fragment." Music Memory has been endorsed by the New York City Department of Education's Director of Music Barbara Murray. Riverside Symphony also coordinates music education programs for adults in conjunction with its concert season. The orchestra's ''Salon Series'' provides "behind-the-scenes concert previews" with commentary from Riverside Symphony's directors and musical excerpts from guest musicians and/or orchestra members. ''Hear Hear!'', on the other hand, provides a pre-concert preview performance of the evening's featured contemporary work, borne out of the conviction that "nothing beats repeated listening" when it comes to understanding new music.

References

External links

Riverside Symphony, official web site"Marius Constant: Behind The Scenes," video from Riverside Symphony's 2014 release ''Marius Constant''"2013 Winter Salon," video"Music Memory Citywide Finals, 2012," videoArtistic Director Anthony Korf, official web site
{{authority control Musical groups established in 1981 Orchestras based in New York City 1981 establishments in New York City