Chamber Orchestra to Celebrate Founding of State of Israel with Concert

February 22, 2023 – Sarasota

The Chamber Orchestra of Sarasota will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel with a special concert of music by five Jewish composers. This final concert of the orchestra’s 2022-23 season will be presented at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 23, at First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota, 2050 Oak St. 

            “We are delighted to return to First Presbyterian Church in downtown Sarasota for this concert,” said Chamber Orchestra Music Director Robert Vodnoy. “We opened our season there last December. It is a truly wonderful place in which to perform, with its elegant Mission Revival architecture and wonderful acoustics.”

            The program will feature works by Felix Mendelssohn, George Gershwin and Ernest Bloch; and the U.S. premiere of music by two living Israeli composers, Boris Levenberg and Noubar Aslanyan. 

“Throughout history, Jewish composers have contributed some amazing works to classical and popular music,” Vodnoy said. “Music by Jewish composers reflects the historical, cultural and religious experiences of the composers themselves. The program spans two centuries of music and reflects the composers’ lives in Europe, Russia, the United States and modern Israel. It is a terrific way to celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary. The repertoire is enormous, but I’ve chosen some composers and works the audience will know and love and some new works which I’m sure will thrill them.”

The program opens with Felix Mendelssohn’s youthful Symphony No. 10, composed when he was only 14 years old. George Gershwin’s “Lullaby” adds a jazzy feel to the program.

Three talented soloists will be showcased: Chamber Orchestra concertmaster Christina Adams will play “Hasidic Scene (Kaddish and Dance) for Violin and Strings” by Russian/Israeli composer Levenberg, who wrote this touching piece in memory of his father. 

Robert Smith, principal trumpet of The Florida Orchestra, will be the guest soloist for “Trumpet Concertino” by Armenian/Israeli composer Aslanyan, who penned this virtuoso work for his son Armen, the principal trumpet of the Haifa Symphony. 

The program concludes with Ernest Bloch’s brilliant “Concerto Grosso No. 1 for Strings with Piano Obbligato,” featuring pianist Ann Stephenson-Moe as soloist.

            “Because I was born in 1948, the year of the founding of the State of Israel, and have visited there twice, I feel a special affinity to this moment,” Vodnoy explained. “When I was in Israel last November on a tour with fellow members of the Jewish Congregation of Venice, I had the opportunity to meet and interview Boris Levenberg and Noubar Aslanyan. It’s always a treat for a musician to meet the composers of works he will perform, and this was no exception. My video interviews with them can be found on the Chamber Orchestra’s website.”

            The concert is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, Leigh and Harvey Cohen, Nancy Gold and Bruce Lehman, with additional support from Barbara Bankoff and Robert Crandall.

Tickets for the concert are $35 and can be ordered online or purchased at the door. A post-concert reception for the whole audience will follow the performance. To purchase tickets and learn more, visit chamberorchestrasarasota.org or call 219-928-8665.