Maverick Musician in Weekend of Concerts
World-renowned for his daring virtuosity, superb artistry and moving performances, cellist Matt Haimovitz will be the featured performer in a weekend of concerts, outreach programs and master classes on Nantucket Friday and Saturday, September 26 and 27. The events are being sponsored by the Nantucket Arts Council’s Young People’s Concert Series with support from the Nantucket Golf Club.
Matt Haimovitz began studying the cello at the age of seven; when he was twelve-years-old, his mentor Itzhak Perlman introduced him to his next teacher, Leonard Rose. Rose described his student as possessing "ravishingly beautiful tone" and "unusual sense of style and musical sensitivity." It was after graduating from Harvard University in 1996 that Haimovitz began exploring non-standard classical and non-classical repertoire and began to perform in unusual venues across the U.S.
The first performance of the weekend is a chamber concert from 5 to 6:30 pm on Friday, September 26 at the Coffin School, 4 Winter Street. Joining cellist Haimovitz in performing works by Beethoven, Carter, Schumann and Barber will be pianist Geoff Burleson, who has performed to wide acclaim throughout Europe and North America, and is active as a recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician, and jazz performer. The New York Times has praised Burleson’s playing as “vibrant and compelling.” Haimovitz and Burleson have recently collaborated on an album entitled Odd Couple on which the perform music by modern composers David Sanford, Augusta Read Thomas, and others.
Admission is $25 for adults and $20 for Arts Council members. Students are admitted free. Tickets are available at the door or in advance at Mitchell’s Book Corner and Nantucket Bookworks. All proceeds will support the NAC Young People’s Concert Series.
“Cellos Rock at the Box” is the second performance in the weekend series, and this exciting and unconventional performance will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 pm on Saturday, September 27 at The Chicken Box, 14 Dave Street. This time, maverick cellist Haimovitz will be joined by well-known Nantucket cellists Mollie Glazer and Ethan Philbrick in an innovative concert showcasing Haimovitz’s adventurous musical style.
Glazer, director of the NCMC/Nantucket School of Music, studied cello and viola da gamba at New England Conservatory and The Royal Conservatory of The Netherlands and performs frequently on Nantucket. Philbrick, a Nantucket native and former student of Glazer’s, performs and is active in the arts community in Cincinnati, where he serves as director of music education at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center.
Admission at the door for The Chicken Box concert is $20. Students are admitted free. All proceeds from this event will also support the NAC’s Young People’s Concert Series.
In addition to the concerts, three educational programs will be held during the weekend. On Friday, September 26 at 11 a.m., Haimovitz will perform for students at the New School. On Saturday, September 27, Haimovitz will conduct a master class for cellists of all ages at 10 am followed by a master class for pianists at 11 am by Burleson. Both master classes will be held at the Preservation Institute: Nantucket at 11 Centre Street and are open to the public at no charge, thanks to support from the Nantucket Golf Club.
The NAC’s Young People's Concert Series, which this weekend of concerts is benefitting, introduces great music and theatre to entertain, inspire, and educate by providing off-island field trips. More than three thousand children have attended these events since December 2004. For details about the upcoming events, contact the Nantucket Arts Council at 508-325-8588 or info@nantucketartscouncil.org.
