PEGASUS GALA CONCERT* – Pegasus at Mana: Orchestra Series

Reception: 6:30pm, Concert: 7:00pm

Pegasus: The Orchestra presents Sergei Prokofiev’s endearing, enduring, and unique Peter and the Wolf for full orchestra conducted by Karén Hakobyan and narrated by Eli Amdur. The evening will include a pre-concert talk and up-close demonstration of the instruments imitating the characters in this beloved. The second half will feature soprano Kristina Bachrach premiering Karén’s Vocalise for voice and orchestra and Karén’s own arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue  – a bold and exuberant jewel of the classical-jazz intersection.
* Part of Pegasus’s Educational and Youth Programs

PROGRAM

PROKOFIEV Peter and the Wolf
HAKOBYAN Vocalise for Voice Op. 9
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue (arr. by Karén Hakobyan)

PERFORMERS

Kristina Bachrach, soprano
In recent seasons emerging soprano Kristina Bachrach has made debuts at Carnegie Hall and St. Patrick’s Cathedral and performed over fifty recitals across the United States. Earlier this season she made her Off-Broadway debut, co-starring in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” with the Ensemble for the Romantic Century. She also made debuts with Philosonia and Music for Food. Ms. Bachrach has fulfilled many prestigious artist residencies, including the Marlboro Music Festival, Tanglewood, Yellow Barn, and the Banff Centre. On the operatic stage, Ms. Bachrach has appeared as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Musetta in La Bohème, La Princesse in L’enfant et les sortilèges, and Clorinda in La Cenerentola with such companies as Gotham Chamber Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Naples, and Nashville Opera. She created the role of Lucinda in the world premiere of Dark Sisters by Nico Muhly. She is the grand prize winner of the American Prize in Vocal Performance and the inaugural Ziering Conlon International Art Song Competiton for Recovered Voices.

Karén Hakobyan, conductor/piano
Described as “a musician of abundant gifts and bountiful ideas” by New York Concert Review, and “an immensely talented and dynamic performer” by Deseret Morning News, Armenian-American pianist, composer and conductor Karén Hakobyan has emerged as a versatile force on the international musical scene. Since his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of seventeen, he has performed in major concert halls in Armenia, Argentina, Mexico, Germany, France, Japan, and the United States. He is a top prizewinner of multiple international piano and composition competitions and holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, and the University of Utah. Hakobyan has appeared as a soloist with many orchestras across several continents. His performances have been broadcasted on WQXR (New York’s classical radio atation), WMFT (Chicago’s classical radio station), Argentine National Radio, Monterrey’s (Mexico) Op. 102 radio station, and Armenian National Radio. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Pegasus: the Orchestra, based in New York.

Pegasus: The Orchestra is a nonprofit professional orchestra-in-residence at Mana Contemporary with a mission to empower rising musicians with artistic freedom and promote innovative repertoire in an environment of creative thought and expression, led by founder, artistic director, and conductor Karén Hakobyan.