Sunday, August 20, 2006
Remember the fallen in Nyack, September 17
Regular readers know that my stepfather's family lost one of its own on September 11, Welles Crowther, the "man in the red bandanna." Welles mother is publicizing a "concert for remembrance" of 9/11 in September; naturally, I was delighted to pass along her group's press release. If you live in the New York area, there are not many nicer ways to spend a September Sunday than visiting Nyack and listening to a live musical performance in remembrance of September 11.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5th Annual Concert for Remembrance, 9/11
Sunday, September 17 at 5 pm
Dedication of WTC sculpture at 4:30 pm
Grace Episcopal Church
130 First Avenue
Nyack, NY 10960
The fifth annual Concert for Remembrance, 9/11 will be held on Sunday, September 17, 5 pm at Grace Episcopal Church, 130 First Avenue, Nyack, NY. Sponsored by the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, the concert is given in memory of all of the victims and heroes of the attacks against our country on September 11, 2001. There is no charge for admission.
Professional musicians from the New York Philharmonic, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Metropolitan Opera, New Jersey Symphony, Long Island Philharmonic, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Rockland Symphony and Westchester Philharmonic volunteer their time and talents for this concert. Edward Simons, conductor of the Rockland Symphony Orchestra, is music director and conductor of the GraceMusic Chamber Orchestra.
Desiree Elsevier, violist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, will open the concert, performing G.F. Handel’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra in B minor, arranged by Henri Casadesus.
Barbara Allen, principal harpist with American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, and Joseph Alessi, principal trombonist with the New York Philharmonic, will perform “O Mio Babbino Caro”, composed by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) and arranged by Robert Elkjer. Ms. Allen and Mr. Alessi have recorded this piece for a CD which will be released in 2007.
The world premiere of Trilaterus, a three movement trio for violin, double bass and piano composed by Ron Wasserman, principal bassist of the New York City Ballet, will be performed by Shirien Taylor, violin; Lenore Fishman Davis, piano and Mr. Wasserman, double bass. Ms. Davis has been a guest soloist with The New Jersey Philharmonic and has enjoy an illustrious career as a performing artist with ArborMusic.
Violinists Avi Landy Nagin, student of Ann Setzer at the Preparatory Division of Mannes College of Music in NYC and at Meadowmount; Shelby Yamin, student of Grigory Kalinovsky at Manhattan School of Music and Tanglewood’s Young Artist Orchestra and Alison Crowther, mother of Welles and member of the Rockland Symphony and Adelphi Chamber Orchestra, will perform Sonata No. 1 for two violins composed by Jean-Marie LeClair (1697-1764), arranged by Edward Simons for three violins.
Patrick Milando, French hornist who is a frequent guest artist with the New York Philharmonic, will appear as soloist in W.A. Mozart’s Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major for Horn and Orchestra, concluding the program.
Just prior to concert, at 4:30 pm, the Rev. Richard Gressle will conduct a dedication ceremony of a paschal candle sculpture for the church, created from a section of steel beam from the World Trade Center. The sculpture, entitled “Phoenix Rising”, was created by Eznic Karakashian and is inscribed with the following words: “As the Phoenix, so Good shall rise from the Ashes to Triumph over Evil and Prevail on our Path toward the Pure Light of God.” The sculpture was commissioned by the Crowther family in memory of their late son, Welles Remy Crowther, known as “The Man in the Red Bandanna” for his heroic actions, saving many lives, during his final hour in the World Trade Center. 9/11 Family members and the general public are invited to attend the dedication.
Paul Chihara, world renowned composer, has composed a new work for harp and flute, entitled “Flights of Angels”, especially for Barbara Allen and her daughter, Holly Druckman, a student of Laura Gilbert’s at the Mannes Preparatory College of Music, to perform for the dedication. They will give the world premiere at the dedication of “Phoenix Rising”.
Mr. Chihara’s “…prize-winning concert works have been performed in most major cities and arts centers in the U.S. and Europe. His numerous commissions and awards include those from The Lili Boulanger Memorial Award, the Naumberg Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Fulbright Fellowship, the Aaron Copland Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts as well as from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Juilliard Ensemble and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Chihara was composer-in-residence for the San Francisco Ballet from 1973-1986. His works have been widely recorded and he has composed scores for over 90 motion pictures and television series. Mr. Chihara is Professor of Music at UCLA.
For more information about the concert, please call 845-358-2766.
For directions, please visit www.gracechurchnyack.org and click on "Welcome".
For information about the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, please visit www.crowthertrust.org. Tax-deductible contributions are always welcome and may be sent to:
The Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust
P.O. Box 780
Nyack, NY 10960-0780
Contact:
ALISON R. CROWTHER
alisoncrowther@aol.com
2 Comments:
By 
, at
Sun Aug 20, 03:22:00 PM:
Hope they have considered a DVD and CD of entire presentation.
By 
MTF, at
Mon Aug 21, 10:41:00 AM:
Is Princeton having any sort of similar remembrance?
