Winds Downtown - An all-star cast of Metropolitan Opera musicians play works of Mozart, Ravel, Ibert, Piazzola and Bernstein in celebration of the life of Bob Fischel. Maron Khoury, flute; Anton Rist, clarinet; Lucian Avalon, oboe; Josh Hodge, bassoon; Molly Nacross, french horn.
Umoja, Valerie Coleman (b. 1970)
Voi, Che Sapete (The Marriage of Figaro), W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) Arr. by David M.A.P. Palmquist (b. 1979)
Wind Quintet No.1 in B flat Major, Giuseppe Cambini (1746-1825)
I. Allegro Maestoso
3 Pièces Brèves, Jacques Ibert (1890-1962)
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Assez Lent; Allegro Scherzando; Vivo
Le Tombeau de Couperin, Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Arr. Mason Jones (1919-2009)
I. Prelude
II. Minuet
III. Rigaudon
Libertango, Astor Piazolla (1921-1992) Arr. Jeff Scott
Overture from Candide, Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) Arr. David Benoit (b. 1953)
This concert is made possible by a generous gift from the Fischel Family in memory of Bob Fischel, who loved Downtown Music.
Anton Rist was appointed principal clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 2016. He previously held principal positions with the Princeton and New Haven Symphony Orchestras. In addition, Mr. Rist has performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Grant Park Festival Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Louisiana Philharmonic, the American Ballet Theater, and on several Broadway productions. Mr. Rist toured Japan with the New York Symphonic Ensemble, and has performed as a chamber musician throughout Europe and Asia. As a soloist, Mr. Rist has performed with the Mainly Mozart Festival of Orchestras, the Cheyenne Symphony, the Knoxville Symphony, and the Sullivan County Chamber Orchestra.
A dedicated teacher, Mr. Rist has presented masterclasses across the country, and has taught at the Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music Precollege divisions. He has been a faculty member at the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, the Hidden Valley Festival of Winds, and the Interlochen Arts Camp. In addition, Mr. Rist has appeared at Festival Mozaic, the St. Barts Music Festival, Bravo!Vail, and is a founding member of the Montserrat Music Festival in the West Indies.
Born and raised in New York City, Mr. Rist received two degrees from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Jon Manasse. His other major teachers were Larry Guy and Jo-Ann Sternberg. While a student, Mr. Rist attended the Verbier, Pacific, and Aspen Music Festivals.
At age 20, virtuoso flutist Maron Khoury became the youngest musician to join the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Born in the village of Tarshiha, Galilee, to a musical family, Khoury started playing the flute at the age of 11. Three years later, he was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia to study with renowned flutist Jeffrey Khaner. Prior to his enrollment at Curtis, Khoury studied with Eyal Ein-Habar and Uri Shoham (Israel Philharmonic), Sara Andon (Idyllwild Arts Academy), and David Shostak (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.) Khoury is a recipient of several grants from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Charles M. Kanev Memorial Fellowship. In addition, he is a winner of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship and the Schoen Fellowship Grant in honor of Charlotte White. He performed under many notable conductors including James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Simon Rattle, Christoph Eschenbach, and Daniel Barenboim. Khoury has performed numerous concerts and recitals throughout the U.S. and Europe and has a long list of invitations to lead workshops. He has performed with The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under the direction of the renown conductor Daniel Barenboim. He has also participated in the New York Mostly Mozart festival, The Lake Tahoe summer festival, and has performed as soloist with iPalpiti Festival among others.
Bassoonist Joshua Hodge maintains a varied and active performance schedule in New York City and the tri-state area. He frequently performs with the New York City Ballet, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, American Ballet Theatre, NOVUS, Contemporaneous, and on Broadway.
Joshua attended the Interlochen Arts Academy, the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and the Mannes School of Music where he studied with Eric Stomberg, Patricia Rogers, and Marc Goldberg respectively.
When he's not making reeds or practicing, he is usually coaching kids and teens in rock climbing or hosting LGBTQ events at Central Rock Gym in an effort to help build and foster a supportive fitness community.
Oboist Lucian Avalon has enjoyed a varied and eclectic musical career. Raised in rural northern New Mexico, he began his classical music career as a singer with the Santa Fe Opera and Albuquerque Boy Choir. However, he also studied and performed Zimbabwean Marimba and Mbira for many years, and trained as a competitive figure skater.
He began playing the oboe at the age of nine and subsequently attended Interlochen Arts Academy his final two years of high school, where he studied with Daniel Stolper. He is currently completing his Doctorate at the Manhattan School of Music with James Austin Smith, and completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Elaine Douvas.
In 2023 he became the Principal Oboe of The Orchestra San Antonio and is an active New York freelancer, performing regularly with the Metropolitan Opera, ‘Ragtime’ on Broadway, NYC Ballet, NJ Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, Winnipeg Symphony, NAC Orchestra, and the Richmond Symphony among others. He is also a faculty member at Juilliard Pre-College, and was a fellow with the Spoleto and Aspen Music festivals.
In his spare time Lucian enjoys playing with his three cats, cooking, and exploring the city with his wife.
Hailed by Allan Kozinn in the New York times as giving “a magnificent performance: precise, passionate, and supple”, horn player Molly Norcross enjoys a varied career as an orchestral player, chamber musician, soloist, and educator.
She currently serves as Third Horn in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and during the summers appears as Principal Horn of the New Hampshire Music Festival and Co-Principal Horn of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Previously she held the positions of Associate Principal Horn with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Principal Horn with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and Third/Associate Principal Horn with the San Antonio Symphony.
Ms. Norcross received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, with additional studies at New England Conservatory, studying with William Purvis, Jennifer Montone and Richard Sebring, respectively.