Wednesday 12 May 2010, Strovolos Municipal Theatre, Lefkosia, 20:30
Thursday 13 May 2010, Markideion Theatre, Pafos, 20:30
Friday 14 May 2010, Rialto Theatre, Lemesos, 20:30
Soloist: Sarah Williamson (clarinet)
Conductor: Carlo Ponti Jr.
Programme:
A. Moustoukis: Asylon
W. A. Mozart: Concerto for Clarinet in A major, K. 622
P. I. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, TH 27
€12 and pensioners €7
Free entrance for students, soldiers and EURO<26 card holders
Tickets available at the Theatres’ box office
Carlo Ponti’s critically praised debut with the Russian National Orchestra in Moscow led to his appointment in 2000 as the Orchestra’s Associate Conductor. In 2001, Ponti was named Music Director and Principal Conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra in the United States, a position recently extended through the 2014/2015 season. As a guest conductor, Ponti has appeared with, among others, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, Orquesta de Valencia, Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Pro Arte Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Ural Philharmonic, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Budapest Concert Orchestra, and Napa Valley Symphony. He has conducted at numerous international music festivals, including the Festival d’ Echternach, Festival Vancouver, Taichung Music Festival, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bratislava Spring Music Festival, St. Petersburg Palaces Music Festival, Festival Internacional de Musica de Villena, Napa Valley Festival del Sole, Tuscan Sun Festival, Lake Tahoe Music Festival, and the Köln Musik Triennale. Committed to encouraging and educating young talent, Ponti holds regular master classes in orchestral conducting and has led the American Youth Symphony Orchestra. Ponti was awarded Italy’s prestigious Premio Galileo Award in 2006 for exceptional musical achievement. In the United States, he was the recipient of the 2008 Artistic Achievement Award from the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition and the 2009 Spirit of Hope Award from the Childhelp Foundation for his contributions to the development and advancement of young musical talent throughout the world.
Concerto finalist in the BBC Young Musician competition in 2002, Sarah Williamson gave a highly individual performance of the Copland Clarinet Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Davis. She then went on to win second prize in the Eurovision Competition for Young Musicians in Berlin, again playing the Copland Concerto, this time with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marek Janowsky. At the age of 15 Sarah won a scholarship to the Purcell School of Music to study with David Fuest, simultaneously attending the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music. In 2001, Sarah won the Shell LSO Gerald McDonald Award and was awarded the Arthur Frederick Bulgin Medal by The Worshipful Company of Musicians. Sarah continued her studies at Le Conservatoire Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris with Pascal Moraguès, principal clarinettist of the Orchestre de Paris, Jean-Francois Verdier and Olivier Derbesse, graduating with the Premier Prix and a “Laureate”, the highest honour. She has toured the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia (British Council), USA, Ireland, the Channel Islands and Spain. She has performed at festivals across the UK, including her debut with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in the Stratford upon Avon Spring Sounds Festival 2008. She has made highly successful debuts at Wigmore Hall (2009) and South Bank Centre. Currently based in Britain, Sarah continues to play regularly in France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland, with a debut performance at the Tonhalle, Zurich. Sarah is currently the recipient of the Tillett Trust and Kirkman Concert Society Awards.
