Midori & Friends Connects with Franz Shubert Filharmonia

November 1, 2023

The Concert Experience of a Lifetime

On Tuesday, October 10th, 2023, the Franz Schubert Filharmonia made their United States debut at Carnegie Hall. The musicians offered complimentary tickets to the Midori & Friends community to share this once in a lifetime experience with students, teachers, board members, donors, staff and family. It was very meaningful to see the seats of Carnegie Hall filled with new members of the Midori & Friends Young Professionals Board, alumni of the NEXTGen Musician program, Play to Learn students, generous past donors, representatives from the program and development teams, and our founder, Midori. Under the leadership of Conductor Tomás Grau, the orchestra gave a performance that few will ever forget.

 

“I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. I always love when I get the chance to attend events and performances like this. The calm and respectful atmosphere where everyone is anticipating the moment the show begins is always so comforting to be apart of. A highlight I found was when the guitarist, Rafael Aguirre, had a special surprise for the audience and started performing the 20th Century Fox theme and turned it into a whole piece incorporating snippets of media that we may have recognized like star wars. I left the performance feeling gratified and cheery because I had just enjoyed such a wonderful performance with many talented musicians. I will always be appreciative of opportunities like these when they come by because it always me to experience the work musicians put into their craft.” 

– Francese Delimeta, NEXTGen Musician Alumnus

 

 

Masterclass at Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music

A day after their Carnegie Hall debut, the Franz Schubert Filharmonia brought their talents into the classroom at Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music for a special masterclass. Franz Shubert Filharmonia CEO, Lali Grau, and Conductor, Tomás Grau, led six musicians from the orchestra into the Celia Cruz band room to administer a masterclass for the students. The six musicians included Oleh Kuroshkin (Concertmaster), Albert Barbeta (2nd Violins Leader), Miquel Jordà (Viola Leader), Sabrina Chauris (Viola Assistant) Bruno Hurtado (Cello Leader), and Yamila Pedrosa (Double Bass Leader).

 

 

“What I liked about the masterclass today was the fact that I got to play with the concertmaster, sitting right next to him, and he was such a great leader.”

– Lance, Orchestra Student

“I thought the masterclass was really great. I was in the violin 2 section and the violin 2 leader was so nice. He was very kind. I just really enjoyed it. Especially at the end when they were talking more about themselves, I really enjoyed that.”

– Katherine, Orchestra Student

 

The musicians left the students with a powerful, inspiring and motivating experience that will stay with them through their musical careers and beyond. After an insightful Q&A with members of the orchestra, Conductor Tomás Grau left the students with this bit of truthful humor:

“There was once a tourist walking around the city trying to find Carnegie Hall, but he was lost. He stopped and asked a New Yorker, “Please, how do you get to Carnegie Hall?” And do you know what the answer was? Practice.”

– Tomás Grau, Conductor