Author Archive | BAE Editor

Pianist Judith Gordon gave her New York recital debut recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on their Introductions Series. She has been soloist in works by Mozart, Ravel and Saint-Saëns with the Boston Pops Orchestra, and played Bach, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Hindemith, Berg, Boulez and more with ensembles that include the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. She has premiered and recorded music by Martin Brody, Peter Child, Alan Fletcher, John Harbison, Lee Hyla, Libby Larsen, Peter Lieberson, Salvatore Macchia, James Matheson, James Primosch, Eric Sawyer and Donald Wheelock. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, where she received an Outstanding Alumni Award in 2009, Gordon appears regularly as guest artist at festivals such as Apple Hill, Bard, Bennington and Charlottesville. She is on the faculty at Smith College.

John Ferrillo, Principal Oboe, Boston Symphony Orchestra joined the BSO as principal oboe at the start of the 2001 Tanglewood season, having appeared with the orchestra several times as a guest performer in recent seasons. From 1986 to 2001 he was principal oboe of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Mr. Ferrillo grew up in Bedford, MA, and played in the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute, where he studied with John deLancie and received his diploma and artist’s certificate. Mr. Ferrillo has taught and performed at the Aspen and Waterloo festivals and at the Mannes Bach Institute, and currently serves on the faculty of the Juilliard School.

Saul Bitran is first violinist with the award-winning Cuarteto Latinoamericano, which was established in 1982 and is known worldwide as the main exponent of the string quartet literature by Latin American composers. Winner of the Latin Grammy in 2012, and nominated for two Grammys in 2002, the ensemble was Quartet in Residence at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh between 1987 and 2008, where he was Associate Professor and Artist in Residence at CMU’s School of Music. In addition to the quartet, Bitran is the violinist with the Boston based Trio Tremonti, as well as Artist-in-Residence at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. A graduate of the Rubin Academy of Tel Aviv, he played in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra during his stay, and was concertmaster and frequent soloist of several orchestras in that country. As first violinist of the Rubin Academy String Quartet, he performed throughout Israel and Europe.

Steven Ansell joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as its principal violist in September 1996. A native of Seattle, Mr. Ansell also remains a member of the acclaimed Muir String Quartet, which he co-founded eighteen years ago, and with which he has toured extensively throughout the world. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, he studied with Michael Tree and Karen Tuttle. Mr. Ansell was named professor of viola at the  University of Houston at twenty-one and became assistant principal viola of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under André Previn at twenty-three. As a recording artist he has received two Grand Prix du Disque awards and a Gramophone Magazine award for Best Chamber Music Recording of the Year. Mr. Ansell  currently teaches at the Boston University School for the Arts.

Randall Hodgkinson won the International American Music Competition in 1981 and his October 1986 formal New York recital debut at Alice Tully Hall under the competition’s auspices was greeted with critical acclaim. Mr. Hodgkinson has, in recent years, performed with orchestras including those of Philadelphia, Atlanta, Albany, Buffalo, Westchester, Oakland, and Caramoor and has collaborated with such conductors as Leonard Bernstein and Gunther Schuller. 1985 saw his European orchestral debut with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome. He is a featured artist on the Bosendorfer Concert Series aired over WNYC – FM in New York City and has recorded for the Nonesuch, CRI and New World labels. Mr Hodgkinson studied with Veronica Jochum and Russell Sherman at the New England Conservatory where he now serves on the faculty. He is a member of the Gramercy Trio.