Scott Jackson Wiley, conductor

Rimsky-Korsakov: Polonaise from Christmas Eve

Tchaikovsky: March and Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker

Glazunov: Violin Concerto
Jorge Avila, violin

Strauss: Overture to Die Fledermaus
Blue Danube Waltz

Deutscher: Waltz of the Sirens

Anderson: The Belle of the Ball

$20 Suggested donation

Violinist Jorge Ávila won attention as an outstanding young violinist and has performed as a soloist, recitalist, concertmaster, and chamber musician throughout the world. A recipient of numerous awards and honors, Jorge received his resident status in the United States under the “Extraordinary Talent” category, and was awarded first prize in the Mu Phi Epsilon International Music Competition in 2001.

Hailed as “a strong violinist” by The New York Times after his performance as soloist and concertmaster in The Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Haydn Symphonia Concertante; Jorge has also performed as a soloist with orchestras in Europe, the U.S., Central and South America. In the New York City area, he has appeared as a soloist with the Ridgefield Symphony, Colonial Symphony, Riverside Orchestra, Hofstra Symphony, New Amsterdam Symphony, City Island Chamber Orchestra, and The Bronx Arts Ensemble.

Jorge has appeared as concertmaster with numerous groups in the tri-state area, including the Stamford Symphony, Greenwich Symphony, Colonial Symphony Orchestra, Westfield Symphony, Oratorio Society, Musica Sacra, Philharmonia Virtuosi, St., Grace Church Orchestra, Gotham Opera, National Chorale, Verismo Opera, José Limón Dance Company, Sonos Chamber Orchestra, Bachanalia, the New Amsterdam Symphony, Tanglewood Music Center, and the Mannes College of Music Orchestra. He is also the Concertmaster of The Ridgefield Symphony (CT), Long Island Masterworks, Distinguished Concerts International New York, Manhattan Concerts Productions, and The Patrick’s Cathedral Orchestra among many other choral groups in New York City.

Jorge is a founding member of the Chalfonte Quartet and has also performed chamber music with the Bronx Arts Ensemble, Simon String Quartet, Abaca String Band, Willow Ensemble, Prism Ensemble, Musicians’ Accord, and St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble. On Broadway, he has performed with numerous orchestras, including most recently South Pacific, West Side Story and Wicked.

Born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Jorge began his violin studies at age 14. During his studies in Honduras, he received first prize in the “La Botonia” competition. In 1987, Jorge moved to the U.S. to study at the University of Georgia as a full scholarship student, where he served as concertmaster of the orchestra and member of the Pre-College faculty. In 1988, Jorge won the Atlanta Music Club Concerto Competition. That same year, Jorge moved to New York City where he began his studies as a scholarship student at the Mannes College of Music; from Mannes he received both his Bachelor of Music and Professional Studies diplomas.

Jorge has recorded for the Naxos, Nonesuch Records, Centaur and other labels. He has also performed live on both television and radio. Previous season highlights include recitals in NYC, Minneapolis, and Costa Rica; performances of the Brahms Violin Concerto and Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3; and a memorable performance of The Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with David Finckel, Wu Han and the Salem Chamber Orchestra. On April 20, 2008, Jorge appeared as Concertmaster for His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, at a televised Mass held at Yankee Stadium.

Alma Deutscher is a composer, violinist, pianist and conductor. Born in 2005, she started playing the piano when she was two years old and the violin when she was three. At six, she composed her first piano sonata, and at nine a concerto for violin and orchestra. Conductor Zubin Mehta called her “one of the greatest musical talents today”. Sir Simon Rattle told the BBC: “Alma is a force of nature. I don’t know that I’ve come across anyone of that age with quite such an astonishing range of gifts. I haven’t really seen anything like it.” Composer Jörg Widmann said he had never met a talent like hers before. And violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter declared it was "absolutely extraordinary what this young girl has managed to achieve."

Alma Deutscher received the European Culture Prize in a ceremony at the Vienna State Opera (2019), and has been elected by the German Magazine Stern in 2019 as one of twelve ‘Heroes of Tomorrow’. In December 2019, Alma Deutscher made her debut in the sold out Carnegie Hall in New York, to repeated standing ovations. Her opera, Cinderella, has been performed on three continents to sold-out houses, and was described as “a once-in-a-lifetime opera-going event that had audiences standing and cheering”. Two of the productions have been released on DVD: by Sony Classical and by the Vienna State Opera. In 2019, she gave her sold-out Carnegie Hall debut, in an concert dedicated to her own compositions.  Her first piano solo album, From My Book of Melodies, was released by Sony Classical and is published by G. Schirmer.