Altamura Legacy Concerts at Princeton UMC throws a unique musical marathon birthday bash for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!
More than 20 esteemed pianists and musical colleagues of Artistic Director Cristina Altamura will come together at Princeton United Methodist Church to perform Mozart’s glorious music and raise funds for Legacy Arts International’s All-Abilities Music Creation Program. “Among these performers are celebrated musicians and teachers such as Phyllis Lehrer, Ena Barton Bronstein and Ingrid Clarfield who have for decades consistently contributed to the excellent standard of music making in Princeton’s extraordinary piano teaching scene” says Altamura.
The festive three-hour program features short works, movements and arias from Mozart’s spectacular body of work as well as composers who were influenced by him. At the top of each hour, students from LAI’s All-Abilities Program will perform to give the audience a taste of the music being written for their special abilities by world class composers.
Hosts ALC Artistic Director Cristina Altamura with Adam Sliwinski (Sō Percussion) will emcee the concert, introducing the artists and bits of information about each work. A Coffee/Tea bar organized by Illy At Earth’s End opens at 3:30, the musical festivities start at 3:45pm. Birthday cake will be served at the reception.
Audience members are encouraged to stay for all or any amount of the three-hour event. Ticket holders can duck out and return during intermission breaks. Admission is $30, $10 for students, “cash at the door” or reserved seating by Eventbrite link.
PIANISTS INCLUDE: Cristina Altamura, Ena Bronstein Barton, Carl Patrick Bolleia, Stephen Buck Kristin Cahill,Karen Dalley, Kairy Koshoeva, Phyllis Alpert Lehrer, Esma Pasic-Filipovic, Vanessa Perez, and selected students of the All-Abilities Music Creation Project and Youth Ambassadors of Excellence
GUEST ARTISTS: Gudrun Buhler, soprano, Katherine Lerner Lee, mezzo soprano, Beth Meyers, viola, Courtney Orlando, violin, Adam Sliwinski, percussion and host
ABOUT LAI’s ALL-ABILITIES Music Creation Project
This two-year program is designed for gifted music students whose educational needs are not being met due to factors which could include a disability, lack of representation in the field, or other unmet needs.
LAI pairs world-class composers with music students to create new musical compositions that will emphasize their unique strengths, interests, and/or cultural heritage. Students work one-on-one with their “mentor composer” and are given multiple community performance opportunities. Upon completion of the program, students record their pieces at a professional recording studio.
ABOUT ALTAMURA LEGACY CONCERTS
Altamura Legacy Concerts is a new concert series developed in 2023 by pianist and artistic director Cristina Altamura, featuring herself and a roster of guest artists performing on a newly restored 1924 Steinway B grand at Princeton United Methodist Church, home of the majestic Tiffany stained-glass window depicting St. George that graces its façade. Concerts are on selected Sundays at 4pm in the Sanford Davis Room of Princeton UMC, adjacent to the church’s sanctuary. Guest artists range from some of Italy’s and Russia’s most illustrious piano masters, to New York’s current avant-garde, to Princeton’s own community of distinguished pianists. Altamura will be joined by her husband, Sō Percussion’s Adam Sliwinski, for an informal talk at the beginning of each program.
SPONSORS
In recognition of the cultural impact and enrichment the series brings to the Princeton area community, Altamura Legacy Concerts is proudly supported by Jacobs Music Company, one of the nation’s most respected piano merchants and the Tri-State region’s exclusive Steinway dealer representative for new,
Steinway Factory restored, and certified pre-owned Steinway & Sons pianos, and Steinway’s Boston and Essex pianos.