Saturday, October 2, 2010

James DePreist & Imre Palló Lead Combined Juilliard & Sydney Orchestras in New York Oct. 18

[James DePreist, seen here with the Juilliard Orchestra in Carnegie Hall in February, is collaborating with Imre Palló of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in a concert on October 18. (Photo by Nan Melville)]

Juilliard.edu
The Juilliard Journal Online
Vol. XXVI No. 2
October 2010
By EVAN FEIN
“The Sydney Conservatorium of Music Chamber Orchestra begins its North American tour with a collaborative concert at Juilliard on October 18, featuring a combined orchestra of students from both institutions. The 34 visiting musicians will sit side-by-side with their local counterparts to present a program of Australian and American music, with both S.C.M.O.’s music director, Imre Palló, and Juilliard’s resident conductor, James DePreist, conducting portions of the concert in Alice Tully Hall.

“According to DePreist and Palló, the collaboration began as a conversation between two fellow bassoonists: Kim Walker, dean of the Sydney Conservatorium, and Juilliard President Joseph W. Polisi. DePreist and Palló each proposed one native work for the other ensemble to learn and decided together on two pieces appropriate to the spirit of the project to be performed jointly. Thus, the combined orchestras will perform William Schuman’s American Festival Overture with Palló conducting and Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra with DePreist conducting. In addition, Palló will lead the Juilliard musicians in a performance of Australian composer Richard Mills’s Sequenzas and DePreist will conduct Norman Dello Joio’s Meditations on Ecclesiastes with the Sydney ensemble.”

“After a taste of the teacher’s life at Indiana in the early ’90s, Palló said, 'I truly fell in love with the whole situation. I realized it’s time to give back what the profession gave me. Now, I have gotten to the point that the greatest satisfaction for me comes through the success of my students.' DePreist echoed these sentiments. 'Teaching is a natural evolution of being an artist,' he said. 'There is a time in a performer’s life when it seems absolutely logical to share [knowledge] in an environment where it can be of great use.' He also remarked that not all teachers are so lucky as he. 'It is the uniqueness of Juilliard and the freedom I have in working here that makes it such an absolutely glorious experience.'





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