FOX23 Community

BOLTON LANDING – “The Year of Sembrich” celebration continues when acclaimed pianist Simon Mulligan performs in concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday July 12 at the museum, 4800 Lake Shore Drive. Tickets are $25.

As a musician, Mulligan’s repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary to improvisational jazz, but on July 12, he’ll perform works by Beethoven, Czerny, Chopin, and Gershwin, among others.

“The Year of Sembrich” began February 15 on the 150th anniversary of renowned coloratura soprano Marcella Sembrich’s birthday and continues through Feb. 6, 2009, the centennial of Madame Sembrich’s farewell performance at The Metropolitan Opera.

Mulligan was 19 when he made his debut at London’s Barbican Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; a month later, he recorded his first album under the direction of Yehudi Menuhin.

As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists such as Lynn Harrell, Liza Minnelli, Dame Shirley Bassey, Joshua Bell, and Michael Collins. Mulligan has performed around the world at venues such as Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall and Hamburg’s Musikhalle. He was also invited to perform for Queen Elizabeth’s "Remembrance Day" concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

As a composer, he also writes for film and television, having collaborated with the late film composer and conductor Michael Kamen on the Steven Spielberg-produced HBO series "Band of Brothers,” where he was the featured soloist for the soundtrack.

Mulligan is also an accomplished arranger, whose commissions have included the rescoring of Aaron Copeland’s "Old American Songs" and several film scores.

“I enjoy all shapes and sizes of concert venues, but particularly salon concerts that are steeped in such musical history,” said Mulligan. “And I’ve put together a varied program of works that all had their first performances in such a salon atmosphere.”

Also this year, the museum will hold a Chopin Festival from July 23-27 that celebrates the life and works of Frederic Chopin through concerts, film, lecture, and a play. Highlights of the week will include the July 26 Gala Concert with acclaimed pianist Christopher Johnson; an all-Chopin concert at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls with pianist Diana Fanning and cellist Dieuwke Davydov; and the play “Chopin and The Nightingale.”

Still to come this season are performances by top-notch musicians and singers from around the world, including soprano Jacqueline Noparstak and tenor Eric Fennell who will perform in the Aug. 1 “Opera Showstoppers” at the Charles R. Wood Theater in Glens Falls; and the distinguished Liebesfreud Quartet featuring Samuel Caviezel, associate clarinetist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, performs a program of Puccini, Rachmaninoff and Brahms on Sunday, Aug. 17 at the museum.

An array of other concerts and studio talks are scheduled throughout the summer, including singers from the Bel Canto Institute at SUNY New Paltz; and “The Fascination of Form,” a three-part music enrichment course conducted by Hugh Allen Wilson.

The museum is open daily June 15th through September 15. Hours are 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Admission is by donation.

The Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association, Inc., a not-for-profit organization founded in 1940, dedicates its existence and purpose to honor the life and career of internationally renowned soprano, Marcella Sembrich. The MSMA maintains Sembrich’s former teaching studio as a museum displaying Sembrich’s personal effects that reflect on her daily life of teaching and her career. The MSMA also carries on the fine tradition of music through a summer concert series presenting renowned international musicians in concert at the studio. 

Media Sponsor for the museum’s 2008 season is The Lake George Mirror. “The 2008 Year of Sembrich Summer Series” is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program and Warren County, administered locally by the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council, the New York Council for the Humanities, the Warren County Occupancy Tax, and the Town of Bolton.”   
 
To purchase tickets, please call the Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association at (518) 644-9839. For more information about the Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association, the Opera Museum or for a calendar of the MSMA's 2008 summer program please go to www.operamuseum.org or contact the MSMA at (518) 644-2431 (office) or (518) 644-9839 (museum).