News
February 23, 2006 Winners of Concerto Competition to Give Lyceum Recital on March 4th
Fifteen year old violinist Jasmine Bernhardt won the Junior Division competition playing Courante from the Sonata in G minor by Eccles.; Seventeen year old Kathryn Wells received an honorable mention in the Senior Division for her performance of Glazonov’s Reverie. The winners were given cash awards and the opportunity to perform in a recital at the Lyceum in Old Town Alexandria on Saturday, March 4 th at 7:00 p.m. The concerto competition, held on February 19 th at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria , is open to members of the McLean Youth Orchestra. It is named for the mother of the orchestra’s director, Pauline (Tina) Anderson. Eunjin Kim performed the 1st movement of the Lalo Concerto in D minor. Ms. Kim studies cello with Glen Garlick. She is the daughter of Miyoung and Doweon Kim of Ashburn , VA and a 10th grader at Broad Run High School. This is Ms. Kim’s first year with MYO. Andrew (Drew) Lisowski performed Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1. Mr. Lisowski studies with Tina Anderson. He is the son of Susan and Andrew Lisowski of Springfield , VA and a junior at West Springfield High School. He serves as MYO’s concertmaster, and he conducted a short piece in the orchestra’s holiday concert last December. Jasmine Bernhardt is the daughter of Beth and Jim Bernhardt. She is a freshman at H-B Woodlawn High School in Arlington. She studies with Ernesto Farago. Kathryn Wells is the daughter of Barbara Wyland and John Wells and a junior at West Springfield High School. Ms. Wells studies with John Peiffer. January 30, 2006 MEET THE CONCERTMASTER - A BENEFIT RECITAL AND RECEPTION McLean Orchestra’s new Concertmaster, Regino Madrid, wowed the audience at a benefit recital on Sunday, January 29th introducing him to orchestra patrons. His passionate performance of works by Massenet, Piazzola, and Brahms and the crystal clarity with which he articulated his performance of Mozart were matched by two outstanding accompanists. Giovanna Cinelli, wife of MO President Kenneth Nunnenkamp and chair of this year’s Patrons’ Gala, accompanied Madrid admirably on the first two selections. Lisa Emenheiser, adjunct pianist with the National Symphony Orchestra, lent her extraordinary skill as a keyboard artist to the Mozart and the Brahms. Maestra Alimena organized the program and introduced the artists and the works. A mouth-watering dinner followed thanks to the culinary skill of caterer Ezra Crawford. The setting was a magnificent new home on Spring Hill Road made available by event sponsor Artisan Builders. Additional underwriting for the event was provided by Jordan Kitts and First Service Bank.
December 2005 Orchestra Inherits Sheet Music Collection This fall McLean Orchestra received a unique gift, an extensive collection of sheet music valued at nearly $6,000 that belonged to the late Lucius Kingman. The gift comes from his widow, Mary Kingman, a current trustee and long time supporter of the McLean Orchestra whose generosity and community involvement are known to many in the area. McLean residents remember Lucius Kingman as a passionate violinist and founder of the Dead Run Quartet. He performed in the homes of many people prominent in government, and he often organized musical get-togethers in the couple’s McLean home for musicians visiting from out-of-town. He owned a Vione concert violin and also played the viola. Kingman worked as Senior Counsel at the National Labor Relations Board, but according to his wife Mary, “he was a musician at heart.” He grew up in a musical family. His mother played the organ in churches in Providence, Rhode Island, and the family spent Saturday nights at home making music. Kingman continued the tradition after moving to McLean. As a young woman Mary learned there was a concert to be held at Kingman’s house. She mixed up the date and arrived a week early, but as luck would have it, she met Kingman in the driveway. He stayed in touch and the rest is history. “He would have liked to become a professional musician,” said Mrs. Kingman, “but his father insisted he go into law. He went to Yale and earned top honors, but he wasn’t a lawyer at heart. He would get tears in his eyes when he listened to music.” Mrs. Kingman’s gift has been dubbed the Lucius and Mary Kingman Chamber Music Library. McLean Orchestra’s Music Director and Conductor, Maestra Sylvia Alimena, plans to use the collection to encourage the formation of new chamber groups within the orchestra and the expand the repertoires of existing small ensembles. The orchestra hopes the ability of these chamber groups to reach into the community will increase the organization’s visibility and its impact on local culture.
October 3, 2005 FREE FAMILY CONCERT Despite Sunday’s gorgeous weather, an audience of over three hundred turned out for McLean Orchestra’s free family concert and rewarded the musicians with a standing ovation. The program began with John Williams’ music to Harry Potter, and Maestra Sylvia Alimena worked her musical magic. She used the familiar strains of Williams’ popular score to introduce the audience to the “wizards of McLean Orchestra” and their instrumental families—string, brass, woodwind and percussion. Students of McLean’s Kintz-Mejia Academy of Ballet entered the concert hall next. As the orchestra performed two movements from Ravel’s lush Mother Goose Suite, the dancers graced the aisles with their elegant movements while two students performed an elegant pas-de-deux center stage. The audience had a chance to shake it up during the next piece, Stravinsky’s spirited "Infernal Dance” from Firebird. Veteran performer and Creative Cauldron teaching artist Oran Sandel invited everyone to move to the melody as the hero battles a demonic king in the composer’s breathtaking interpretation of a classic Russian folktale. The music then shifted gears, as the orchestra launched into John Alden Carpenter’s children’s classic “Adventures in a Perambulator.” Written in 1914, the work invites its listeners to imagine life’s simple, old-fashioned pleasures as seen through the eyes of a baby. Oran Sandel narrated the piece and orchestrated some dramatic action in the aisles. The audience got to see a genuine perambulator ambling by, and an eclectic pack of stuffed dogs sniffed and barked at each other, much to the audience’s delight. The concert concluded after “magic wands” in the form of shiny pencils were distributed to the children in the audience. Many of them joined in conducting “Harry’s Wondrous World” from the John William’s film score. A “Petting Zoo” in the lobby organized by McLean Youth Orchestra allowed concert-goers to get acquainted with the instruments of the orchestra. Scores of children stayed after the show to make their own instruments with Creative Cauldron, which partnered with the orchestra to incorporate other art forms in the event. Creative Cauldron is a not-for-profit educational arts organization based in Northern Virginia. One of Creative Cauldron's teaching artists, Oran Sandel is also the former Artistic Director of Arena Stage's improvisational company Living Stage and a regular performer with The Washington Revels. The Kintz-Mejia Academy of Ballet, founded by Linda Kintz and Mark Mejia, is one of the foremost schools of classical ballet in the Greater Washington area. Partial funding for the event was provided by Target.
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Sixteen year old cellist Eunjin Kim and seventeen year old violinist Andrew Lisowski took first and second place respectively in the Senior Division of this year’s 20th Annual Henrietta Anderson Concerto Competition. The pair went on to win the Ensemble Division with their performance of the second movement of Haydn's Duet in D major. 
