Armor Hall Concert

Artistic Director and Conductor
Mark Mandarano

Violins
Emilie-Anne Gendron
Anna Elashvili
Krzystof Kuznik
Stani Dimitrova

Violas
Robert Meyer
Maurycy Banaszek

Cellos
Sophie Shao
Michael Hall

Bass
Pawel Knapik

Flute
Anna Urrey

Oboe
Kathy Halvorson

Clarinet
Benjamin Fingland

Bassoon
Atao Liu

Horns
Meredith Moore
Blair Hamrick

Trumpet
Brad Siroky

Trombone
Andrea Neumann

Timpani
Sae Hashimoto

Percussion
Josh Perry

Serenade for 11 Instruments Op. 14 — Bernhard Sekles (1872 - 1934)
- Theme and Variations. Andante
- Scherzino. Presto ma non troppo
- Intermezzo. Andante
- Finale. Allegro comodo

Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods): An Orchestral Fantasy — Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)
(arr. Farrington)

The Sinfonietta of Riverdale is a distinctive ensemble—large enough to perform chamber symphonies and small enough that each of its world class musicians is a featured soloist. Its performances have been deemed “Off-the-hook fabulous” by Time Out New York, while The New Yorker declared that “High culture has flowed northward into the Bronx.” The ensemble has performed the music of world-renowned composers, notably Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Corigliano and Ellen Zwilich, who have attended its concerts. The Sinfonietta has released two recordings on Albany Records. About its most recent release, a program of music for string orchestra, The American Record Guide has written, "The playing and conducting here would be hard to match, never mind better. If you’d like over an hour of great string music beautifully played and interpreted in fine sound, look no further." The Sinfonietta has also released two recordings on the Arabesque label.

Hailed for conducting that "excels in transparency, detail, and incisiveness, liveliness and verve, with a singing line and unimpeded forward movement” (Fanfare Magazine), Mark Mandarano enjoys an international career as a conductor that has included performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and other important venues in the U. S. and abroad. He has premiered new works with New York City Opera, served as principal guest conductor of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and has twice been invited by the U.S. State Department to act as a cultural ambassador to Russia performing the music of Gershwin and Bernstein, with concerts in numerous cities including the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. An advocate of the music of living composers, he has conducted performances of works by Karel Husa, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Steven Stucky, John Corigliano, Ellen Zwilich, Melinda Wagner, David Bruce, Nico Muhly, and others. Mandarano is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Sinfonietta of Riverdale, which he founded in 2008, and has been the Director of the Macalester Symphony Orchestra since 2012. He was named Artistic Director of the Minnesota Youth Symphonies in 2022.

Don’t miss our upcoming outdoor summer concerts, starting with a free performance on Thursday, June 23, by Juilliard-trained vocalist and drag artist Jasmine Rice LaBeija, presented in partnership with Carnegie Hall Citywide. Learn more here.

Then on July 10, our Sunset Wednesdays concert series starts with Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Nicole Zuraitis. Learn more about our entire 2024 Sunset Wednesdays season and buy tickets here.