April 5, 2005 – The C.W. Post Orchestra, under the direction of music director and conductor Susan Deaver, will present a concert at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on the C.W. Post Campus on Monday, April 18 at 8 p.m. The concert will focus on "Orchestra Music from Four Centuries" and will feature solo performances by C.W. Post music faculty, selected music students and the C.W. Post Percussion Ensemble.

Special faculty guest artist Veronica Salas will perform Bela Bartok’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1945). Soprano Victoria Rinaldi, first prize winner of the 2004 C.W. Post Concerto Competition, will perform selections by Mozart and Puccini with the C.W. Post Chamber Orchestra conducted by Susan Deaver and graduate assistant conductor Brian Siemers. Recent orchestral music will include "La Procession du Rocio" by Joaquin Turina (1882-1949) and guest composer Thomas Oboe Lee from Boston will have his "Utopia Parkway" performed. The guest ensemble for the evening, The C.W. Post Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Frank Cassara, will feature graduate student Dylan Benson as marimba soloist in a performance of "Persona" by Toshimitsu Tanaka. Also included in the evening’s program will be two orchestra favorites — Saint-Saens: Danse Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila and Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slav.

The C.W. Post Orchestra is comprised of 70 undergraduate and graduate students along with select high school students.

There is a suggested contribution of $5 for admission to the April 18 concert. For additional information about the concert or the C.W. Post Orchestra contact Susan Deaver, music director and conductor, by phone at 516-299-4093 or email susan.deaver@liu.edu; call the C.W. Post Music Department at 516-299-2474 or the C.W. Post Orchestra’s concert and information line at 516-299-3007; or visit www.liu.edu/svpa/music.

Attached are bios of the performing artists.

MEET THE PERFORMERS

Susan Deaver, conductor, has been the Music Director and Conductor of the C. W. Post Orchestra since l981. Through her efforts the C.W. Post Orchestra has been expanded from a chamber ensemble of 15 to over 70 undergraduate and graduate students. For the ten years she has assisted Tilles Center in coordinating a residency with the New York Philharmonic that involved both the C.W. Post Orchestra and selected youth orchestras in a series of sectionals, panel discussions and open rehearsals with members of the Philharmonic.

Experienced at working with young musicians, Dr. Deaver is currently Long Island Youth Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor and has conducted LIYO in performances in Scotland, England, Spain and at Tilles Center. She was a conductor for the Manhattan School of Music’s Contemporary Ensemble from l987 to l989 and has been a guest conductor at numerous district and county festivals in Nassau and Suffolk counties. She has guest conducted both Brookhaven and Gemini Youth Orchestras and has been a frequent clinician for high orchestra clinics on Long Island. Twice she has been a conducting clinician for NYSCAME and she currently teaches orchestral conducting to graduate students at C.W. Post. In May 2004 she guest conducted in Korea the Pusan Festival Orchestra and the Masan City Symphony Orchestra.

In 1990, Dr. Deaver was appointed to become the North Shore Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director and Conductor. As a guest conductor, she has conducted the Washington Chamber Symphony, the Island Chamber Symphony, the Bronx Opera Chamber Orchestra, the Gemini Orchestra, the C.W. Post Percussion Ensemble, The Seoul Symphony of New York and at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Dr. Deaver was selected to participate in Tanglewood’s Conducting Seminar Classes, the conducting seminars of the American Symphony Orchestral League, the Conductor’s Guild and at Manhattan School of Music with Kurt Masur, Julius Rudel and Sixten Ehrling.

As a flutist, Dr. Deaver performed with conductors Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa at Tanglewood. As a free-lance flutist in New York she has performed with Philharmonia Virtuosi, Long Island Philharmonic, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Queens Symphony, the ballet orchestras of the Australian Ballet and the Royal Ballet, and on Broadway with the "Phantom of the Opera" and "My Fair Lady." On numerous occasions she has performed as a flute soloist at the Kennedy Center with The Washington Chamber Symphony of which she was Principal Flute from l981 to 2002. As a chamber musician, she is the flutist with The Pierrot Consort.

Dr. Deaver is on the Music Faculty of C.W. Post Campus/Long Island University, Stony Brook University and the Manhattan School of Music’s Preparatory Division. At C.W. Post she is the Director of Woodwind Studies and also the 2005 Director of C.W. Post’s Annual Chamber Music Festival. Her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees are from Manhattan School of Music where she received her Doctorate in Musical Arts.

GUEST FACULTY PERFORMERS

Veronica Salas, violist, has won acclaim for her artistry in the U.S. and abroad. The New York Times described her playing as "astringently lyrical," The Los Angeles Times praised her for "presenting a strong case for the viola as a solo instrument with formidable control and singing tone," and Stradivarius Magazine found her performance of a solo work performed at the Lillian Fuchs memorial concert to be "deeply moving." Ms. Salas has given five New York recitals including her highly successful debut at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. She has traveled to Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan, where she gave recitals and master classes under the auspices of the State Department. Additional international venues include touring Athens and the Greek Isles as violist of the Elysium String Quartet, Italy as principal violist at the Spoleto Festival, and touring Japan with The Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra.

Veronica Salas, a native of Chile, has performed as soloist with the Aspen Music Festival orchestra, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of New York, as duo soloist with Heifitz protege Eric Friedman, University of Southern California Symphony, the Colonial Symphony Orchestra and The Queens Chamber Band. In 1999 Ms. Salas performed at the White House for President and Mrs. Clinton as acting principal violist with the Eos orchestra of New York.

An active chamber musician Ms. Salas has collaborated in performances with great artists such as Paul Neubauer, Stanley Drucker, Yoyo Ma, Eric Friedman, Lukas Foss, Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson Quartet, Charles Castleman and Joseph Fuchs. Ms. Salas is a member of The Lyrica Chamber Players, The Elysium Ensemble, The Pierrot Consort, The Modern Works String Quartet, The Bronx Arts Ensemble and The Queens Chamber Band in which she plays concertos on viola and viola d’amore. Presently Ms. Salas is principal violist of the Colonial Symphony, Opera Orchestra of New York, and Manhattan Philharmonic.

Ms. Salas has recorded with The New Music Consort and New York Virtuosi ensembles under The Musical Heritage and Vanguard labels, and can be heard on two CDs released in 1999 under the Elysium label; an all-Mozart CD with clarinetist Stanley Drucker, and a Bach Brandenburgh concerti featuring Lukas Foss. Ms. Salas is also one of the featured artists on a Virgil Thompson CD released in 2002.

Ms. Salas’ love of the viola and teaching stems from her beloved teacher Lillian Fuchs who supported her in many ways while working towards the B.M.A., M.M.A. and D.M.A. degrees that she received from The Juilliard School. Dr. Salas is presently on the faculty of Long Island University, The Bennington Chamber Music Conference, Brooklyn College and on the board of The New York Viola Society.

Frank Cassara, percussionist and director of the C.W. Post Percussion Ensemble is a proponent of new and classic, western and world percussion music. Frank Cassara has premiered many works with as many diverse groups. As percussionist for the Philip Glass Ensemble, he has performed around the globe, as well as recording Glass’ music and film scores, most recently the new Glass/Reggio film "Naqoyquatsi." He also performs around the world with Steve Reich and Musicians, with an upcoming recording of his work "Dance Patterns." As a member of the New Music Consort/PULSE Percussion Ensemble he has appeared at major festivals as well as in the movie about John Cage "I Have Nothing To Say And I Am Saying It." Mr. Cassara has toured extensively with the Newband/Harry Patch Ensemble, performing and recording with Partch’s instruments. He has also performed or toured with groups as Music From China, Manhattan Marimba Quartet, Talujon Percussion Quartet, North/South Consonance and Parnassus. Principal percussion of the Connecticut Grand Opera and member of the Riverside Symphony and Hudson Valley Philharmonic, he has also performed with many area orchestras such as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, Long Island Philharmonic, and the Westchester Philharmonic. Mr. Cassara plays for Broadway shows "Lion King" and "42nd Street," and heads the percussion departments at Long Island University and Vassar College. He can be heard on recordings such as Philip Glass’ "Hydrogen Jukebox," Gavin Bryars’ "Jesus’ Blood" (Grammy nominated), Chou Wen-Chung’s "Echoes From The Gorge," and many others. Mr. Cassara is the Director of Percussion Studies at C.W. Post Campus and has been on the LIU faculty since 1983.

GUEST COMPOSER

Thomas Oboe Lee, composer, was born in China in 1945. He lived in São Paulo, Brazil, for six years before coming to the United States in 1966. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, he studied composition at the New England Conservatory and Harvard University. He has been a member of the music faculty at Boston College since 1990.

Mr. Lee has received many awards for his work, among them the Rome Prize Fellowship, the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, two Guggenheim Fellowships, two National Endowment for the Arts Composers Fellowships, two Massachusetts Artists Fellowships, and First Prize at the Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards for his String Quartet No. 3 ... "child of Uranus, father of Zeus." He has received commissions from Amnesty International USA, the Thoreau Society, the Fromm Music Foundation, the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, the American Jazz Philharmonic, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, the Boston Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the Brockton Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Symphony Orchestra of Boston, the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

His music is published by G. Schirmer/Associated Music Publishers, inc. and is recorded on MCA Classics, Northeastern, Koch International, Arsis, Nonesuch and GM Recordings.

Thomas Oboe Lee Awards, Fellowships, & Grants

Koussevitzky Tanglewood Composition Prize, 1976

Massachusetts Artists Foundation Fellowship, 1977 & 1983

MacDowell Colony Fellowship, 1981 & 1983

Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music Recording Grant, 1982

First Prize, Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards, 1983

Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, 1983 & 1986

National Endowment for the Arts Composers Fellowship, 1983 & 1987

Charles Ives Fellowship, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, 1985

Rome Prize Fellowship, American Academy in Rome, 1986-87

Aaron Copland Fund for Music Recording Grant, 1995

Boston College Research Incentive Grants, 1996 & 1999

Visiting Artist, American Academy in Rome, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 & 2003

Renée B. Fisher Foundation Composer Award, 2002

Commissions include:

American Composers Forum: Continental Harmony I & II

American Jazz Philharmonic

Amnesty International USA

Apple Hill Chamber Players

Bangor Symphony Orchestra

Boston Landmarks Orchestra

Brockton Symphony Orchestra

Civic Symphony Orchestra of Boston

GRADUATE SOLOISTS

Victoria Rinaldi, soprano, is the 1^st Prize Winner of the 2004 C.W. Post Concerto Competition. Ms. Rinaldi received her bachelor of music degree in music education with a concentration in vocal performance from C.W.Post this May. As a teenager attending Bellport High School, she appeared in an Off-Broadway AIDS Benefit performance of "Tony and Tina’s Wedding." During her time as a student at C.W. Post, she was a member of the C.W.Post Chamber Singers and Madrigal Singers for four years and toured with the group through Canada 2002 and The British Isles 2004. In 2003, she also received the award for the most outstanding vocal performance. Ms. Rinaldi was accepted in the Summer Institute for the Dalcroze method at the Julliard School of Performing Arts, where she was invited to perform in numerous master classes with Dr. Robert Abramson. This past summer, she appeared at the "Songfest" Voice Festival in Icicle Creek, Washington as Illia in Idomeneo and was invited to perform in master classes with Dr.Ollie Watts Davis, Dr.Gayle Shay, and Julliana Gondek. For the past eight years, she has entertained senior citizens in the Village of Bellport.

Brian Siemers, graduate assistant conductor, received his Bachelor’s of Music in Music Education at C.W. Post Campus/Long Island University where he studied classical saxophone with Tim Ruedeman. While earning his undergraduate degree he was a performing member of the Symphonic Band, the Wind Ensemble and the Jazz Ensemble. As a chamber musician, he was a member of the undergraduate saxophone quartet that performed in master classes, student recitals and participated in chamber music coachings with the Shanghai Quartet. He was also selected to perform with the C.W. Post Orchestra as a soloist in Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. In addition to assisting with the C.W. Post Orchestra, he will be assisting with the C.W. Post Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. James McRoy. As a freelance musician, he has played in several pit orchestras across the island including shows such as Guys and Dolls, Bye Bye Birdie and State Fair. Currently living in Long Beach, New York, Brian recently completed his student teaching at the Massapequa School District and plans to be a music teacher in New York after completion of his Masters of Arts degree in Music.

Percussionist-Composer Dylan W. Benson completed his Bachelor of Music Degree at Brandon University, where he studied with American National marimba Competition winner Sylvia Pimentel. He furthered his musical studies by attending the University of Toronto, where his teachers included NEXUS members Russell Hartenberger and Robin Engelman, marimba soloist Beverley Johnston, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra principal percussionist John Rudolph. An active orchestral musician, Dylan was principal timpanist with the Scarborough Philharmonic, and performed with many of the major orchestras in Southern Ontario, including the Toronto Sinfonia, Toronto Chinese Choir, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. He has also performed with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, as well as the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, where he appeared as a marimba soloist.

Dylan has performed in festivals across Canada and the United States, and has worked closely with such composers as George Crumb, Phillip Glass, Eric Salzman, and Dana Richardson. He has also been a featured guest performer, lecturer and instructor at several universities in Ontario and Manitoba, and has given recitals across much of Canada. This May he will premiere a piece written for him by French composer Francis Kayali, that entails marimba, percussion, and several recorded and electronic tracks.

Under the tutelage of T. Pat Carrabré and Gary Kulesha, Dylan studied composition. Subsequently, his works have been featured in festivals in Manitoba and Ontario, and have been performed by such notable groups as the University of Toronto Percussion Ensemble and the Canadian Brass. A recipient of the prestigious Chalmers Award, Dylan is currently working on his M.S. in Music Education at C. W. Post, where he studies with Frank Cassara. Concurrently, Dylan is also adjunct professor of percussion at the Ross School in Easthampton, New York, and teaches general music, jazz band, and African drumming at the Morriss Center in Brideghampton. He can be heard on the CBC and SoundSpells recording labels.