Sound & Spirit
Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 8 pm
~ featuring ~
Owen Young, cello
Beethoven
Charles Floyd |
Overture to Fidelio
Cello Concerto (world premiere) |
| |
Owen Young, cello |
Dvorak |
Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" |
Dvorak’s much-loved New World Symphony was
inspired by his visit to the United States and interest in Native American music and African American spirituals. Over 100 years later, still inspired by
America’s “musical roots,” critically acclaimed composer Charles Floyd shares his inspiration from spirituals in this world premiere performance featuring cellist Owen Young.
Soloist
Owen Young (cello) joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in August 1991. A frequent collaborator in chamber music concerts and festivals, he has appeared at Tanglewood, the Banff Centre for the Arts, Brevard Music Center, and the Aspen, Davos, Sunflower, Gateway, and St. Barth’s music festivals. As a concert soloist, he has appeared with numerous orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Salisbury Symphony Orchestra, Racine Symphony Orchestra, and San Antonio Chamber Orchestra. He is a founding member of the innovative chamber ensemble Innuendo and performs chamber music and recitals in the United States and abroad. His performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio, WQED in Pittsburgh, WITF in Harrisburg, and WGBH in Boston. He has performed frequently with singer/songwriter James Taylor, including the nationally televised recorded concert “James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theatre” in New York City. Mr. Young has been on the faculties of the Boston Conservatory, New England Conservatory’s Extension Division, and the Longy School of Music, and is currently active in Project STEP (String Training and Educational Program for Students of Color) and the BSO’s Boston Music Education Collaborative. A cum laude graduate of Yale University, where he received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees, he served as principal cello of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and was soloist for its 1986 European tour. In 1986 and 1987, he was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. Mr. Young won an Orchestra Fellowship in 1987; he played with the Atlanta Symphony in 1988 and with the Boston Symphony in the 1988-89 season. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra from 1986 to 1987 and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1989 until he joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
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Composer
Charles Floyd, conductor, pianist, and composer, began studying piano at age four, gave his first solo recital at age nine, and by age twenty had been heard in solo recital, chamber music and concerto performances throughout the United States and Spain. As a conductor, his appearances include performances with the symphony orchestras of Detroit, Oregon, Saint Louis, Philadelphia, Buffalo, San Francisco, Chicago, San Francisco, and Baltimore. He has also appeared with the Scottish National Radio Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Aukland Symphony, Wellington Sinfonia (New Zealand), Honolulu Symphony, London Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony (Alberta, Canada), and the Holland Symfonia (Haarlem and Amsterdam, The Netherlands). A regular guest conductor of the Boston Pops for sixteen years, he leads the annual “Gospel Night at Pops” at Symphony Hall, a program that features orchestral classics as well as a 120-voice gospel chorus.