NYC’s Merkin Hall, Series Debuts, and “Live from Hochstein” all part of the Ekstasis Duo’s 2019-20 Season

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 NYC’s Merkin Hall, Series Debuts, and “Live from Hochstein”
all part of the Ekstasis Duo’s 2019-20 Season
Works by celebrated female composers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries take center stage in cellist Natasha Farny and pianist Eliran Avni’s second season as the Ekstasis Duo.  Beginning with the opening concert of Music at Fellowships, the chamber music series they launched in Western New York last season, the duo will perform works by Clara Schumann, Ethel Smyth, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Lera Auerbach, Louise Farrenc, and Nina Simone in cities throughout New York State.
Of note this season are the duo’s debuts at Saugerties Pro Musica Chamber Music Series, and at New York City’s Merkin Hall in concert with several musician friends, as well as a return engagement on WXXI radio’s acclaimed performance series, “Live  from Hochstein,” broadcast live from Hochstein Hall in Rochester. Farny and Avni also introduce a new initiative to bring music to the Western New York community. Titled Ekstasis 2.0,  the duo host a curated salon series that will take place at three inviting and intimate venues in Cassadaga, Westfield, and (soon to be announced) Silver Creek, New York. Featuring some of their SUNY Fredonia music students, the series will present gems from both solo and chamber repertoire.
Music at Fellowships
September 12, 2019 7:00 PM
Fellowships of the Spirit Lakeside Learn,
282 Dale Drive, Cassadaga, NY 14718
“Women’s Voices”
Stunning works by acclaimed female composers from the 19th and 20th centuries, coupled with selected readings from their letters, provide insight into their thoughts about music.
Louise FARRENC Allegro Moderato
Clara SCHUMANN Three Romances
Lera AUERBACH Preludes nos. 7, 23 & 24
Ellen Taaffe ZWILICH Lament
Ethel SMYTH Sonata in A minor, op. a5
                                                                  Hommage a Nina Simone (original arr.)
Friends of Vienna Chamber Music Series
September 15, 2019 3:30 PM
Unity Church of Practical Christianity
1243 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209
“Women’s Voices”
September 17, 2019  6 PM
Patterson Library

40 S. Portage St., Westfield, NY 14787
 
SUNY Fredonia, Rosch Recital Hall
September 20, 2019 8:00 PM
280 Central Avenue, Fredonia, NY 14063

“Women’s Voices”

Masterclass at Hochstein
October 4, 2019 11:00 AM
The Hochstein School
50 Plymouth Ave., Rochester, NY 14614
 
Eastman School of Music, Hatch Hall October 5, 2019 11:00 AM
26 Gibbs Street, Rochester, NY 14604
“Women’s Voices”
Ekstasis 2.0 at Fellowships
October 15, 2019 6:00 PM
282 Dale Drive, Cassadaga, NY 14718
Ekstasis 2.0 at Patterson
October 17, 2019 6:00 PM
40 S. Portage St., Westfield, NY 14787
Ekstasis 2.0 at Patterson
November 12, 2019 6:00 PM
40 S. Portage St., Westfield, NY 14718
Ekstasis 2.0 at Fellowships
November 14, 2019 6:00 PM
282 Dale Drive, Cassadaga, NY 14718
Music at Patterson
Ekstasis Duo & Friends: Rêves Extatiques
November 21, 2019 6:00 PM
Patterson Library

40 S. Portage St., Westfield, NY 14787
Recital at Rosch
Ekstasis Duo & Friends: Rêves Extatiques
December 5, 2019 at 8:00 PM
Rosch Recital Hall, 280 Central Avenue
Fredonia, NY 14063
with violinist Jessica Tong, violist David
Rose, flutist Barry Crawford, and contralto
Lynne McMurtry
Ekstasis 2.0 at Patterson
December 10, 2019 6:00 PM
40 S. Portage St., Westfield, NY 14718
Merkin Concert Hall
January 11, 2020 at 6:00 PM
Ekstasis Duo & Friends: Rêves Extatiques
129 W 67th Street, New York, NY 10036
With friends violinist Jessica Tong, violist David Rose, flutist Barry Crawford, and contralto Lynne McMurtry
Saugerties Pro Musica Chamber Music Series
March 15, 2020  3:00 PM

Saugerties United Methodist Church

59 Post St, Saugerties, NY 12477
“Women’s Voices”
Bard College
March 16 Time TBA
Masterclass & short presentation on
“Women’s Voices” 
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Ekstasis on GetClassical
March 17, 2020 7:00 PM
Revelation Gallery at St. John in the Village
224 Waverly Place, NY, NY 10014
“Live from Hochstein”
Mar 25, 2020 12:00 PM
The Hochstein School, 50 Plymouth Ave.,
Rochester, NY 14614
Hosted by Classical 91.5’s
Mona Seghatoleslami,

 “Live from Hochstein”
is the longest running live broadcast concert
series in Western New York.

Program To Be Announced On Air
I was absolutely entranced by the sensitivity and poetry of the way they shaped the music – lovely ideas, with the exacting technique to carry out these musical visions. …Natasha Farny and Eliran Avni are two very skilled musicians…”
-Mona Seghatoleslami,  Radio Host, WXXI
Ekstasis Duo
Acclaimed soloists in their own right, Natasha Farny and Eliran Avni met as students years ago at Juilliard. Reconnected over a year ago, the two realized that their musical approaches suited each other, and they decided to collaborate as a professional duo. As Ekstasis Duo, they perform chamber music juxtaposing celebrated masterpieces against lesser-known works to tell stories or create an atmosphere through sound.
American cellist Natasha Farny has distinguished herself as a talented artist of significant versatility, sensitivity, and experience. An accomplished soloist, Ms. Farny has performed with such orchestras as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and several local orchestras throughout the Western New York region. She has performed solo and chamber music tours across Germany, the Czech Republic, and Brazil, and has played at distinguished national venues throughout the United States, including Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, Brooklyn’s Bargemusic “Here and Now” Series, Florida’s BIG ARTS Sanibel series, Maryland’s Resonance series, and the Camerata Musica series in Washington State. Among the festivals at which she has participated are the Czech Republic’s Dvorak Society American Spring Festival, Germany’s Kronberg Cello Festival, Piobbico, Italy’s Brancaleoni International Music Festival, Tennessee’s Sewanee Summer Music Festival, National Music Festival (MD), Colorado Music Festival, Michigan’s Bay View Music Festival, and the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival.
Ms. Farny can be heard on recordings of chamber music with the Centaur label. She will release her debut solo CD of French cello music in 2020. Nationally, Ms. Farny has performed live on radio programs including WFMT’s “Live from WFMT” in Chicago, Illinois, and WXXI’s “Live from Hochstein” series in Rochester, New York.
Praised as possessing both “ironclad technique” and “ample suppleness” by The New York Times, Eliran Avni is an emerging force in the contemporary classical music scene. Having made his debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta at age 17, he has since appeared as a soloist and chamber music collaborator throughout Europe, North and South America, as well as in his native Israel, and has played for live broadcasts for the Israeli and German broadcasting systems.
As a soloist, Eliran is known as a preeminent interpreter of the music of composer Avner Dorman. Solo performance highlights include Dorman’s Azerbaijani Dance with the Israel Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta at Carnegie Hall, Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto with the Alabama Symphony, and the Grieg Concerto with the Oakland East Bay Symphony.
Having developed a strong affinity for chamber music after studying with world-renowned musicians Yo-Yo Ma and Isaac Stern, Mr. Avni has collaborated with numerous artists such as Yehonatan Berick, Daniel Muller-Schott, Sharon Kam, Terrence Wilson, Jennifer Aylmer, William Sharp, and the Chicago Chamber Music Players, as well as actors Sigourney Weaver and Richard Chamberlain. In 2010, Eliran co-founded SHUFFLE Concert, a mixed chamber ensemble. He served as Artistic Director of the ensemble from 2010-2018, performing throughout the US, Canada, and Israel.
On the recording front, Eliran Avni has recorded for the Naxos, Tzadik and SHUFFLE Concert labels. Of note are two CDs of composer Avner Dorman’s music: “The Piano Works of Avner Dorman,” recorded at Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall and produced by Grammy winner David Frost, and a recording of Dorman’s Chamber Concerti with the Metropolis Ensemble and Maestro Andrew Cyr, both for Naxos.
More details can be found on the Duo’s website: www.ekstasisduo.com
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