Symphony remembers its famous guest performers
Red Violin returns to Susanville
Violin virtuoso Elizabeth Pitcairn, owner of the 1720 Red Mendelssohn Stradivarius violin, graced the Susanville Symphony with her presence and her famous instrument in 2012 and again in 2015. Pitcairn will again appear with the Susanville Symphony at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28 and at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29 at the Susanville Assembly of God Church.
But she’s not the only musical superstar to have appeared with our local orchestra. Here’s an update on some of the other folks who have appeared here in Susanville.
Ben Goldberg
Ben Goldberg is a New York-based composer who has received awards for his concert music, film music, and academic achievements.
Goldberg won the First Composition Competition for the Susanville Symphony a few years back. He was flown out by the symphony in 2013 to personally conduct the premiere of his piece “Deception.”
His most recent piece, “Walk of Champions,” which the Susanville Symphony will perform in its 2020 Pops Concert, was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony and is currently being played at the opening of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on national television.
Goldberg is the Composer-in-Residence for the Garden State Philharmonic and Baltimore Chamber Orchestra Symphony Number One. Goldberg has won composition competitions held by the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Joliet Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic and Susanville Symphony.
He’s enjoyed a special partnership with the Central Ohio Symphony. They have premiered five of his works including, “Reconnecting,” scored for drum circle and orchestra.
“Reconnecting” has been featured in symphony magazine and at presentations for The League of American Orchestras and Percussive Arts Society national conferences. The piece received an Honorable Mention for the 2016 American Prize in Composition (Orchestra division). He has given presentations of his works at the Juilliard School and U.C. Davis.
Goldberg’s music has been featured internationally in films, television programs, podcasts, video game apps and advertisements. His four feature-length film scores include “Broadway’s Finest,” which earned him best original score honors at the 2012 Long Island International Film Expo. His music has been broadcast in more than 30 countries and heard on Animal Planet, CBS, FOX, NBC, HBO, The History Channel, Tokyo Broadcasting System, and children’s home videos.
Shareleen Joynt
Sharleen Joynt’s exciting 2019/2020 season begins with both a role and company debut as Gilda in “Rigoletto” with the Edmonton Opera, followed by her debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic for New Year’s Gala concerts.
The silvery-voiced coloratura soprano (an octave higher than soprano) has been enchanting audiences around the world with her technical command, a vocal range that is second to none and her scintillating stage presence. She appeared with the Susanville Symphony Orchestra in 2016.
She also has appeared in the television reality series “The Bachelor.”
Joynt recently performed as Zerbinetta (“Ariadne auf Naxos”) in Beijing at the Chinese premiere of that production, as Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) in Augsburg, Germany, and as Zerlina (Don Giovanni) with the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival.
She will perform her first Controller in Flight with Pacific Opera Victoria, and reprise her signature role of Zerbinetta in “Ariadne auf Naxos” with Calgary Opera.
For the 2018/2019 Season Joynt made her Opera Philadelphia debut as Winnie in “Sky on Swings” (Beecher), a new opera about Alzheimers starring Frederica von Stade. She makes her Vancouver Opera debut as Musetta in “La Bohème” and debuts with the Guelph Symphony, singing Glière’s “Concerto for Coloratura, Op. 82.” She debuts with the Charleston Symphony, singing the soprano solo in Handel’s “Messiah,” and makes her Ravinia Music Festival debut as Cunegonde in “Candide.”
Joynt performed with the Susanville Symphony singing the “Queen of the Night” aria, “O mio Babbino Carro” and more during the 2016 season.
“Sharleen Joynt is a gorgeous Zerlina, with a voice full of power and control that is by turns seductive and serene.” —Robert Harris, The Globe and Mail. “Zerlina is subtly portrayed by a singer new to me; New York-based Ottawa native Sharleen Joynt….”
sharleenjoynt.com
Mark Leonard Anderson
Mark Anderson has collaborated with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Nicholas McCegan, William Boughton, George Cleve and Adam Fischer. In recital, Mark has appeared at New York’s Alice Tully Hall and Weill Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Phillips Gallery in Washington D.C., London’s Wigmore Hall and Zurich’s Tonhalle and elsewhere throughout Europe and North America. His solo and concerto performances are complemented by chamber music work, most recently with the newly formed Röntgen Piano Trio. The trio has an international performing schedule for the 2018/19 season. Anderson performed the “Emperor Concerto” by Beethoven in 2017 with the Susanville Symphony.
