The Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York
A Rising Star in New York’s Classical Music Constellation

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VISION:

• Providing a forum to the world's finest performers to explore and expand the repertoire of chamber music in the intimate setting for which it was written.
• Discovering, nurturing and introducing to a wide audience up-and-coming young virtuosos from around the world.
• Creating music education programs for children and ensuring tomorrow's audience for classical music.

BACKGROUND
Since its debut in 1998, the Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York (the Lyric) performs chamber music and unusual repertoire in an intimate salon setting — as it was intended to be heard.With eight public concerts each season, we service 1500 on-site affluent and highly educated music lovers in the tri-state area.

The unique Lyric experience offers our audience up-close and intimate access to Concert Masters and Principal Players from the leading international orchestras interpreting masterpieces of chamber music. The Lyric’s programming combines classic chamber works and rarely performed compositions mixed with contemporary pieces. “CHAMZZ: Classics for the 21st Century” is a recent Lyric innovation with programs combining classical music and jazz. The Lyric gives young talent the opportunity to perform with eminent musicians in front of a New York audience, to be reviewed by the national press and to be broadcast on National Public Radio.

PROGRAMS

Lyric in the Schools - The Lyric has brought chamber music to more than 5,000 elementary school students since 1998 in a variety of formats. Our educational outreach in the New York City public schools is part of our commitment to introduce children to classical music. Concert Masters and younger performers have performed from P.S. 1 in Chinatown to the Frederick Douglass Academy and the Harlem Day Charter School in Harlem. Among the many musicians who have participated include Glenn Dicterow, Concert Master and Carter Brey, Principal Cello, NY Philharmonic; Mark Gould, Principal Trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera; the Moscow String Quartet; and MaD Fusion.

The current Artist and Composer-in-Residence is pianist Matt Herskowitz, Oscar- and Grammy -nominated performer and composer and winner of the French César for best soundtrack. Other showcased performers include Pianist Tatiana Goncharova, who regularly performs with violinist Pinchas Zukerman; Daniel Boico, Assistant Conductor, New York Philharmonic; clarinetist Igor Begelman, winner of the 2000 Avery Fisher Career Grant; and Salzburg Camarata Concert Master Roman Simovic.

Lyric on the Radio: The Lyric has been offered a weekly music program by WQXR – the most listened-to station amongst affluent and highly educated New Yorkers. Excerpts from our “vault” of 11 seasons of concert recordings are mixed with interviews with performers and composers.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND ARTISTIC ADVISORY BOARD
(see complete list here)

- The 7-member Board of Directors includes representatives from Credit Suisse, Lenox Hill Hospital, Corcoran Group Real Estate, and the New York Supreme Court.

- The 14-member Artistic Advisory Board includes some of the world’s most famous conductors, musicians and performers:
Maestro Daniel Barenboim
Mezzo-Soprano Marilyn Horne
Maestro Zubin Mehta
Composer Ned Rorem
Maestro Gerard Schwarz
Guarneri String Quartet Violinist Arnold Steinhardt and Violist Michael Tree
Pianist André Watts
Roberto Minczuk, the first Associate Conductor of the New York Philharmonic since Leonard Bernstein
Most recently, the Lyric added three highly respected jazz musicians: Daniel Schnyder, Lew Soloff, and David Taylor

RECENT PRESS

The New York Times:
- “A Christmas Present From Mendelssohn, Delivered At His Birthday Celebration”, Allan Kozinn 2/5/2009
- “Leaping Borders, Stylistic And Global”, Allan Kozinn 12/14/2009

The New Yorker:
“The Youngest Master”, Alex Ross 2/23/2009

The Chicago Sun-Times:
“Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York Presents A Tribute To Judy Collins” – 06/01/2009

TESTIMONIALS

“Adventurous … hauntingly beautiful”
– Allan Kozin, THE NEW YORK TIMES

“The Lyric Chamber Music Society offered an absorbing evening of vocal and piano rarities ... which featured finely expressive singing by Ying Huang.”
– Alex Ross, THE NEW YORKER

“The Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York is presenting some of the finest musicians in the world playing some of the greatest music ever written. I am delighted to be involved. Since your first concert … you have earned a reputation for artistic excellence.”
—Daniel Barenboim (Conductor, CHICAGO SYMPHONY 1991-2006)

“[The Lyric is] a wonderful new addition to the musical life of our time. . . . You are filling our need for an organization that effectively brings the great chamber music literature to the public’s attention and speaks out on behalf of music education for our young people.”
– Zubin Mehta (Conductor, NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC 1978-1991)

“The Lyric reminds us of the unique reward of well-chosen music played in an intimate environment by skilled musicians. Our City’s music lovers, a discriminating lot, have been quick to embrace the Lyric.”
– Michael. R Bloomberg (Mayor, City of New York)

“[The Lyric] is a rising star in the music world, brimming with talent, extraordinary music making, and innovative education programs. I encourage anyone who loves and cares about music to support and help you.”
– Jean-Pierre Rampal (Principal Flute, PARIS OPERA)



Jean- Pierre Rampal performing at the Lyric's “Double-Header” with Claudi Arimany, April 1998

Orchestral and Jazz Greats in an Intimate Chamber Setting
The Lyric has fast become a favorite with heralded orchestral players by giving them a forum to perform as soloists and as chamber ensemble players. Lyric audiences have been thrilled to experience up close, in the personal atmosphere of our intimate concert salon, Concertmasters and principal players from leading international orchestras interpreting masterpieces of the chamber music canon.


New York Philharmonic Concertmaster, Glen Dicterow with violist Karen Dreyfus

Artist-in-Residence Program
Artist-in-Residence pianist Matt Herskowitz, Grammy-winning composer and pianist, lends his creative counsel and virtuosity to the Lyric. Additional background about Matt is available here.

Discovering and Nurturing the Next Generation
The Lyric regularly gives New York audiences the opportunity to be a part of the early chapters of tomorrow's distinguished musical careers. Pianist Tatiana Goncharova, who regularly performs with legendary violinist Pinchas Zukerman; clarinetist Igor Begelman, winner of the 2000 Avery Fisher Career Grant; and Grammy nominee violinist Philip Quint are just three of tomorrow's stars we have showcased. As the Lyric gives young talent the opportunity to perform with eminent musicians in front of a New York audience, to be reviewed by the national press from The New York Times to The Washington Post, and be broadcast on National Public Radio, word is out in conservatories and music schools that the Lyric is a haven for rising virtuosos.

Programming that’s Adventurous yet Rigorous
"Adventurous," The New York Times has called the Lyric, for our repertoire spanning from the Renaissance to the present, a combination of classic canonical chamber works, rarely performed compositions, and contemporary pieces. Beethoven's "Kreutzer Sonata" may be followed by a sonata by Poulenc, Gershwin by Jobim, Bizet by bossa nova, or J.S. Bach transcribed for four marimbas in a world premiere composed for our artists.


Music Legend Paquito D’Rivera

Tributes to Contemporary Composers
We dedicate an evening, or a series of evenings, in special tribute to a composer. Maestro Kurt Masur of the New York Philharmonic joined us for our two-evening Schnittke Celebration in 2000. Sofia Gubaidulina was on hand in 2001 to speak about her work and hear it performed by the all-woman Moscow String Quartet, for whom she had written it. In 2002 at our Ror-a-thon, the Lyric's 79th Birthday Celebration for American composer Ned Rorem, Judy Collins, the composer, and other artists performed. In conjunction with the Ravinia Festival, we were proud to present the New York premiere of Mr. Rorem's "Aftermath," a song cycle composed to commemorate the terrorist attacks of September 11. In 2004, Jon Deak, composer and Co-principal Bass of the New York Philharmonic, performed his own compositions and Schubert's "Trout" Quintet with colleagues. In the spring of 2006, we celebrated Peter Schickele, Composer, Conductor, Humorist, and Discoverer of P.D.Q. Bach with a pre-concert interview, a program of his own music, and a post-concert reception.


Moscow String Quartet

Music from Around the Globe
From Stradivarius and Steinway to a marimba quartet, Lyric musicians bring unusual sounds and rare combinations to our elegant concert hall. Our international musicians, from South America, Europe, Russia, and around the globe, bring to the Lyric their instruments, talent, experience, and cultural heritage.

Lyric in the Schools - Introducing Music to New York City’s School Children
The Lyric has brought music into the lives of young children at Harlem Day Charter School through instrument lessons and a recent residency in which Matt Herskowitz, our new Artist-in-Residence, and his group MaD Fusion, collaborated, told stories, composed, arranged, and performed with students.