Lorella Brocklesby, Eugene Moye, Roberta Cooper, Maureen Hynes, Sarah Carter, Lanny Paykin, Eliana Mendoza , cellos. With Jeanne Ireland, mezzo-soprano.
When we first presented our all-cello ensemble in the Spring of '23, the plan was to have some off-the-beaten-track fun. After delighting and enthralling two sold-out audiences, we brought it to our main stage later that year and it became one of our most popular programs. We knew then that Clash “II” had to come about. Now with an all-new program showcasing the cello's rich and inspiring sound, in music of Satie, De Falla, Bizet, Gershwin and more, and again featuring the mesmerizing mezzo-soprano Jeanne Ireland for some all-time operatic favorites.
Learn more about the Phil’s season at westchesterphil.org
This concert is made possible, in part, with the generous support of the Brian Wallach Agency, White Plains, New York. Personal and Commercial Insurance since 1949.
Eugene Moye Jr. has been ranked as "one of the foremost cellists of his generation" by the New York Times. He is the premiere cellist on the New York classical music scene. Principal cellist of Westchester Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra and Opera Orchestra of New York, he has soloed with all those groups. He also is sought after to play numerous chamber music concerts. In addition to this Mr. Moye has recorded with or backed up nearly every popular music star including Michael Jackson, Brittany Spears, Ricky Martin, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Kiss, and countless others.
Cellist Eliana Mendoza has been a member of the Westchester Philharmonic for more than 15 years. She has performed extensively as soloist, chamber musician and as an orchestral player. Ms. Mendoza debuted at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall as a prizewinner of the Artists International competition in 1991. She appeared as soloist in approximately 50 concerts performing the Paganini - Lloyd Weber variations in venues such as the Universal Studios Amphitheater, the Blossom Music Center and Radio City Music Hall. In addition, from Boston, she gave a solo recital broadcast live on WGBH, National Public Radio. Her reviews have read "Fire and flash...rich pathos and refreshing singularity," The Washington Post. "She is a total artist ...with fluid touch, an impassioned mood and a notable bearing," The Enterprise, Brockton, MA. She has been a long time member of the American Symphony Orchestra and the American Composers Orchestra. She has also recorded for movie soundtracks and commercials and is a member of "The Lion King" orchestra on Broadway. Born in Chile into a family of professional musicians, Eliana Mendoza started her musical training at the piano, at age 3, and began studying cello at age 8. She later moved to the United States to attend college and study with the late principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Samuel Mayes. She also studied with cello pedagogue, Alan Harris at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Ms. Mendoza has recorded chamber music under labels such as New World Records, Sound Spell Productions and the Centaur Records.
Cellist Lanny Paykin maintains a diverse career in the New York City area, performing with many New York orchestras, on Broadway, in recording studios, and in solo and chamber music concerts. A graduate of The Juilliard School and Wesleyan University, Mr. Paykin plays with the American Composers Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the Westchester Philharmonic. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the New York City Ballet and Opera Orchestras. In 2014, Mr. Paykin served as Acting Assistant Principal Cello with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in Australia. Mr. Paykin lives in Oakland, NJ, and performs and teaches throughout the greater New York City area.
Roberta Cooper, cellist, won the Artists International Competition which sponsored her Carnegie Hall debut. She is a member of the Walsh-Drucker-Cooper Trio, which has performed extensively on major series in Washington, D.C., New Orleans and New York City and in Europe. Ms. Cooper is the assistant principal cellist of the American Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the American Composers Orchestra and the Westchester Philharmonic. She has performed in the Berlin Philharmonic, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the New York City Opera and the ballet orchestras of both the NYC Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. She has been a guest cellist with the Emerson Quartet in concerts in the US and Europe. Ms. Cooper has been the continuo player with the Berkshire Bach Society since 1993. She has been a regular participant at many music festivals, most recently at Classical Tahoe, Festival Napa, and the St Bart’s Music Festival (in the Caribbean). A favorite project was as featured soloist on pop singer Linda Ronstadt’s recording of jazz standards, titled “Hummin’ to Myself”. This group, filled with jazz legends performed for a A&E TV special and at Jazz@ Lincoln Center.
Ms. Cooper was a scholarship student of Lorne Munroe and Harvey Shapiro at the Juilliard School, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and the William Henderson Prize for outstanding achievement.
Cellist Sarah Carter enjoys tremendous versatility in her career. Her orchestral affiliations include American Symphony Orchestra, Westchester Philharmonic, American Composer's Orchestra, Stamford Symphony, Opera Orchestra of New York, Little Orchestra Society, Riverside Symphony, and Oratorio Society. She has been the principal cellist of the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra for several years. Broadway shows include "Damn Yankees," "The King and I," "Parade," "The Music Man," "Oklahoma," "Never Gonna Dance" and "South Pacific." She is currently subbing on "Wicked," "Spiderman," "Ghost" and "Newsies." She has recorded with artists such as Audra McDonald, Mandy Patinkin, Kelli O'Hara and was a featured guest artist on Chuck Mangione's CD, "The Feeling's Back." Her class of private cello students is a great source of joy.
Sarah's three children are Emily Olcott who is attending Northwestern University, Ben Olcott, who is at Boston College, and Anna Olcott who will be a senior in High School in Cresskill, NJ.
Jeanne Ireland, mezzo soprano, recently finished her tenure at the Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris. Ms. Ireland returned to Paris for four productions, including the title role in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges in January, 2020 at the Palais Garnier. As a member of the Académie, she sang in galas at the Palais Garnier, performed as Prince Orlofksy in the Académie’s productions of Die Fledermaus and the role of Stubenmädchen in Philippe Boesmans’s Reigen, and participated in masterclasses with Philippe Jordan and Sondra Radvanovsky. In the Fall of 2018, Ms. Ireland sang Brahms’s Liebeslieder Waltzer and Op. 91 Zwei Gesänger at the Festival Le Grange au Lac in Évian, France. With the Orchestre national de France, Ms. Ireland sang in Bernstein’s Songfest at the esteemed Maison de Radio France in November 2018. In January of 2019, Ms. Ireland made her main-stage debut in Paris, singing the Kitchen Boy in l’Opéra de Paris’s Rusalka. Ms. Ireland recently made her Canadian debut at the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, in which she sang Respighi’s Il Tramonto with the Quator Danel.
Ms. Ireland is a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant, through the Shoshana Foundation, as well as the 2018 winner of the Prix du Cercle Carpeaux. She is a graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, the University of Denver in Denver, CO, with further studies at the Wolf Trap Opera Studio in Vienna, VA, and the Aspen Music Festival and School in Aspen, CO.