Lower Merion Symphony Orchestra Schedule



		2009-2010 Concert Schedule
		Performing at: McShain Auditorium, Rosemont College Music Director/Conductor, Mark Gigliotti President, Sherman Leis
			John Koen has been a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1990. He appears regularly on the Orchestra’s Chamber Music series, and performed during Wolfgang Sawallisch’s 1993 Opening Week Festival and the subsequent National Public Radio broadcast of Schumann’s Piano Quintet with Maestro Sawallisch as pianist. Mr. Koen has been a frequent guest on the Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble series since 1993 and is also a member of the Mondrian Ensemble and the Network for New Music. He performed with the ensemble 1807 & Friends Chamber Music Society from 1990 to 1993. Mr. Koen has appeared as a soloist with the New Symphony Orchestra of Sofia, Bulgaria, under the direction of Rossen Milanov. Mr. Koen also appears regularly as a soloist with the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra (P.A.), of which he has been principal cello since 1992. He was a nominee for the 1998 Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards (GLAMA) for his performance of Winter Toccata for solo cello, by Robert Maggio, which Mr. Koen commissioned, and is featured on a recording of works by Robert Maggio entitled Seven Mad Gods (Composers’ Recordings, Inc.). Mr. Koen studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with David Soyer and Peter Wiley, the original and current cellist (respectively) of the Guarneri Quartet, from 1985 to 1990, graduating with a Bachelor of Music Performance degree; he also studied at the New School of Music with Orlando Cole (1984-85). In 1988 Mr. Koen performed in the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra as solo cellist on European tours with Christoph Eschenbach, Leonard Bernstein, and Sergiu Celibidache, including a television broadcast throughout Eastern Europe from Gorky Park in Moscow with Maestro Bernstein, and as a member of the Salzau Quartet in a performance for President Richard von Weizsäcker of Germany. Mr. Koen taught at the College of New Jersey (Trenton) from 1996 to 2001. In 2004, Mr. Koen received The Philadelphia Orchestra’s C. Hartman Kuhn Award, given to “a musician who has shown both musical ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the musical standards and reputation of The Philadelphia Orchestra.”
			Udi Bar-David began his cello studies at the age of seven with Uzi Wiesel in Tel-Aviv, through funding of the American Israel Cultural foundation. He continued his studies at The Juilliard School with Leonard Rose, and later studied conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music with Max Rudolph. Mr. Bar-David is an acclaimed soloist in Israel having performed with Israel's leading orchestras, recorded at the Jerusalem Music center founded by Pablo Casals, and toured the country as a member of the Israeli Army Quartet. In 1976, he won the International Villa Lobos Competition in Brazil. He has been Principal Cellist in the International Youth Orchestra, at Juilliard, in the National Orchestra of New York, and with the American Ballet Theatre. In addition, he has served on the faculty of the Eastern Music Festival. Winner of the 1984 WFLN Young Instrumentalist Competition, he has appeared as soloist with the Philly Pops under Peter Nero. Mr. Bar-David was a member of the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, and became a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1987. He has been affiliated with Astral Artistic Services and the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity. He was featured in solo recitals of Spain and California, in a string quartet appearance on the TODAY show, and radio broadcasts with Network For New Music. Mr. Bar-David is a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra Board of Directors, and was the Artistic Coordinator for the Hear O Israel concert at the Core States Center. He has recently developed the Arab Jewish Musical Dialogue which brings artists of both cultures together on the same stage. He is also the founder of "Intercultural Journeys", a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia which is committed to producing performances, master classes, lectures, and other interactions that provide opportunities for musical dialogue and understanding among a variety of cultural traditions. Mr. Bar-David conducted Intercultural Journeys’ Arab Jewish presentations with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2007. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with Christoph Eschenbach, Leon Fleisher, Jaime Lardo and Rudolph Buchbinder. He has recently released the first of its kind Native American Middle Eastern recording collaboration, VOYAGERS, with R. Carlos Nakai.