the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Piano prodigy Drew Petersen will be featured with the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra on Friday November 16th at 8:00 p.m., at the West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood. An Oradell native, Drew most recently won the American Pianists Award following a rigorous 13-month competition. He is also a prizewinner in the Leeds International Piano Competition and has performed solo and concerto recitals in both Europe and the United States.
The orchestra and piano soloist Drew Petersen will perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor for piano and orchestra. With its glorious dialogue between orchestra and piano soloist, this piece is often described as the greatest piano concerto ever written. It is one of Rachmaninoff’s most enduringly popular pieces, and it established his fame as a concerto composer.
In celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday, the program will also present the NJ premiere of American composer Dan Locklair’s Thanksgiving Day from Symphony No. 2 “America.” The movement, scored for a triple-wind symphony orchestra, is a melodic reflection of the essence of this holiday at the heart of America. Locklair is Composer-in-Residence at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, where he is also a Professor of Music.
The Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra (RSO), with Artistic Director and Conductor Stephen Culbertson will also perform the ever-popular, American-themed Appalachian Spring for which composer Aaron Copland was awarded the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Music. This piece is particularly special for Maestro Culbertson because he personally met Aaron Copland.
Stephen Culbertson has conducted orchestras, opera productions, and ballet companies in Europe and the U.S. and is recognized by performers and concert goers for his inspirational and creative approach to making music fresh and exciting. He serves as the Music Director and Conductor of the Society of Musical Arts (SOMA) in Maplewood NJ. A strong advocate of American music as both a conductor and a publisher, Culbertson is the founder and president of Subito Music Corporation, located in Verona, NJ.
True to its slogan “Great Music Close to Home,” the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra presents exceptional, professional-level music and provides a platform for developing local and international talent under the direction of world-class artistic leadership. It is committed to enriching the lives of future musical performers and listeners through educational outreach programs, scholarships, Festival Strings Youth Orchestra, composer competitions and special treatment for patrons from senior living communities.
The performance will be held at the majestic, state-of-the-art concert hall of the West Side Presbyterian Church, located at 6 Monroe Street in Ridgewood. It is handicap accessible with ample parking.
For more information or to purchase subscriptions and advance tickets, please visit https://www.ridgewoodsymphony.org or call the RSO office at 201-612-0118.