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About the Guest Artists 2011-2012 Concert Season Jeffrey Jacob "The American Youth Philharmonic is the equal of any comparable youth orchestra of its size anywhere in the world. The technical brilliance of the orchestra is astonishing but even more impressive is the musical sensitivity and maturity of its players. AYPO is a national treasure.” -- Jeffrey Jacob  Described by the Warsaw Music Journal as “unquestionably one of the greatest performers of 20th-century music,” and the New York Times as “an artist of intense concentration and conviction,” Jeffrey Jacob received his education from the Juilliard School (Master of Music) and the Peabody Conservatory (Doctorate), and counts as his principal teachers, Mieczyslaw Munz, Carlo Zecchi, and Leon Fleisher. Since his debut with the London Philharmonic in Royal Festival Hall, London, he has appeared with over 20 orchestras internationally including the London, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Indianapolis, Seattle, Portland, Charleston, Sao Paulo, and Brazil National Symphonies, the Silesian, Moravian, North Czech, and Royal Queenstown Philharmonics. A noted proponent of contemporary music, he has performed the world premieres of works written for him by George Crumb, Vincent Persichetti, Gunther Schuller, Samuel Adler, Roger Briggs, Francis Routh, and many others. As a composer, he has written three symphonies, three piano concertos, and numerous works for piano and chamber ensemble. Raymond Leppard and the Indianapolis Symphony premiered his Symphony: Winter Lightning. The Piano Concertos 1 and 2 were premiered respectively by the Moscow and St. Petersburg Symphonies with the composer as soloist. The London Symphony recorded his Symphony No. 3 on the Vienna Modern Masters label. The Cleveland Chamber Symphony conducted by Edwin London premiered and recorded his Persistence of Memory which was chosen by the Charles Ives Center for American Music for a performance by the Charleston Symphony at the 2002 Spoleto Festival. The Chamber Orchestra of the Rhein premiered and recorded Mr. Jacob’s De Profundis, and the Orquesta de Baja California premiered his Symphony No. 2. Other premiere performances have featured the Gregg Smith Singers, the North Czech Philharmonic, the Cavani Quartet, and sopranos Mary Nessinger, and Laurel Thomas, as well as major works for the Portland Symphony, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber orchestra. Mr. Jacob has recorded over 100 works for solo piano and piano and orchestra by over 70 composers including his critically acclaimed series of CD’s of the complete piano music of George Crumb and Samuel Barber and major works of Bela Bartok. Fanfare Magazine recently devoted a feature article to his series of ten CD’s for New Ariel Recordings entitled, “Contemporary American Eclectic Music for the Piano.” He was recently named Artist of the Year by the International New Music Consortium at New York University for his work as composer, pianist, and educator. He is currently Artist-in-Residence and Professor of Music at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana. Dotian Levalier  Dotian Levalier, principal harpist of the National Symphony Orchestra, is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Carlos Salzedo and Marilyn Costello. Before joining the National Symphony in 1969, she was the principal harpist of the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Philadelphia Grand Opera and the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company. Ms. Levalier has made numerous recital and radio appearances as well as guest artist appearances with orchestras other than her own. Ms. Levalier has been a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Emerson String Quartet, Theater Chamber Payers of New York and with the National Symphony at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy center, and at Wolf Trap. Ms. Levalier plays with several chamber groups and duos. With violinist Marissa Regni in recital and in concerts designed for children, with Flutist Sara Stern in the duo "Stern and Levalier" have been heard in recital from D.C to California. In June of 2008 Ms. Levalier premiered "Four Angels" by Mark Adamo. The concerto was commissioned by Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony, and was received with rave reviews from the press and audiences alike. The movement, "Regina Coelli", was recorded by the Eclipse Orchestra and is now often played as a solo work for strings and harp. Ms. Levalier is active in the National Symphony education department performing with "The Unlikely Trio" from Alaska to Maine during the orchestra's American Residencies. The trio also performs in the Kennedy Center and in area schools. In 1994, in conjunction with the then named Northern Virginia Youth Orchestras (now the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras), Ms. levalier began a program to train young harpists in orchestral skills. This program has become the model for training young harpists in youth orchestra programs across the country, namely in the Maryland Classic, Seattle, and Portland (Maine) youth orchestra programs. Ms, Levalier has travelled to Brazil where she was on the faculty of the "Youth Orchestra of the Americas" to coach and teach gifted young harpists. She also participated in chamber music performances with students and faculty members. Ms. Levlier has performed concertos with conductors Andre Kostelanetz, Antal Dorati, Mstislav Rostropovich, Andrew Litton, Leonard Slatkin, and others. She records on the Erato, Sony, MSR, and Pro-Arte labels. |
