The Future of Classical Music: Spotlight on Young Artists Series

Join us for
The Future of Classical Music:
Spotlight on Young Artists Series

Live, interactive & online via Zoom
Sundays at 1pm EDT, July 26-August 16, 2020

co-sponsored by

Join us  for an intimate live online series where you will meet the stars of tomorrow via Zoom. Enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the music and lives of celebrated young musicians, hosted by classical music aficionado Carl Shuster, famous for his sold out home concerts introducing up-and-coming musicians.

You may purchase a ticket for the entire series or buy them a la carte by clicking here or calling 413.236.2190 during office hours. Single session tickets are $15 for OLLI at BCC members, and $20 for the general public.

Sunday, August 16, 1pm
Spotlight: Cellist Ashley Bathgate

Presentation ~ In addition to her extraordinary virtuosity and adventuresome and creative musical mind, Ashley Bathgate is an unusually thoughtful observer and commentator on our times. Ashley intends to “walk everyone through my life for the past couple of months, what it was before the virus to what it is now, professionally, artistically, personally, etc.” She will touch on what new skill sets are required, how artists are coming together as both artists and presenters, what tools are at their disposal, and what challenges there are to overcome. She will tell us why she thinks that the pandemic “will change music-making in ways we have not really come to grasp…”

Biography ~ Cellist Ashley Bathgate is one of the leading performers of and advocates for contemporary music in America. Described by reviewers as an “eloquent new music interpreter” known for her “impish ferocity,” “rich tone,” and “imaginative phrasing,” new music in the hands of Ashley Bathgate is a wondrous experience. As a member of Bang on a Can for ten years, this Saratoga, New York artist traveled the world and participated in numerous radio and television performances on WMHT, WQXR’s Meet the Composer, and NPR’s Performance Today. Her latest CD, ASH, features eight new pieces for solo cello written for her by outstanding new music composers of our time. She has been much in demand in recent months as she has energetically committed herself to exploring online platforms for music performance.

Past Sessions (Available on Demand)

Sunday, July 26th, 1pm
Spotlight: Mezzo soprano Fleur Barron

Presentation ~ Mezzo soprano Fleur Barron will share her personal journey from her birthplace in Northern Ireland through her early years in Singapore and China as the child of a BBC war correspondent, and her formal and musical education in America. Using clips from her recitals and performances, Fleur will share her remarkable experiences over the last few years singing in some of the most beautiful and prestigious opera houses and recital halls across the continent. Fleur will also describe the effects of the pandemic on her career and the challenges they pose for her and other young artists.

Biography ~ Mezzo soprano Fleur Barron captured the hearts of all who heard her sing the role of Anna II in Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins in Ozawa Hall in 2016.  At the end of that summer she was awarded the Tanglewood Music Center's highest honor, the prestigious Jackson Prize. The following year Fleur was a featured artist with the Sarasota Opera where she performed several roles including Zulma in L'Italiana in Algeri. Hailed by the Boston Globe as a "charismatic star" and by Opera News as a "striking looking young woman with an intriguingly dark and complex mezzo", Fleur has since been singing in the leading houses of Europe and performing recitals in the major cities on the continent. She has also performed widely in the States including in recital at Carnegie Hall. In 2018 Fleur was named the HSBC Laureate of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.

Sunday, August 2nd, 1pm
Spotlight: Violinist Samantha Bennett

Presentation ~ Violinist Samantha Bennett will discuss the vital role her experience as a Tanglewood Music Center fellow several summers ago has played in her musical life and how it continues to influence her musical career. Samantha has carved out a prominent position as principal second violinist with the Sarasota Orchestra and will describe to us how she and her husband, George Nickson, have built their careers both as leading orchestral players and as the founders of a highly respected contemporary music series in Sarasota, Florida. Samantha will tell us about how she continues to value the relationships she formed at Tanglewood with both the BSO and the Fromm players with whom she performed while a TMC fellow. Samantha will also relate to us what she has learned about the entrepreneurial side of music performance, and how recent world events have impacted her career in music.

Biography ~ Principal second violinist of the Sarasota Orchestra, Samantha Bennett, is well known to Ozawa Hall patrons for her summers as a performing fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and as a member of the prestigious New Fromm Players. In recent summers she he has returned to perform in the Shed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Recitals have brought Samantha to Boston's Jordan Hall, London's Wigmore Hall, and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. She has won numerous prizes and competitions and has performed at major festivals at Lucerne, Spoleto, and the Music Academy of the West. Samantha and her husband, George Nickson, a percussionist with the Dallas Symphony and also a former TMC fellow, are the founders of EnsembleNewSRQ, a highly regarded contemporary music series in Sarasota, Florida.

Sunday, August 9, 1pm
Spotlight: Pianist & "From the Top" host Peter Dugan

Presentation ~ Peter Dugan will describe for us his post-genre approach to music-making that serves him so well as the new host of NPR’s program From the Top. From his home studio in New York ,Peter will discuss the pitfalls of “classical crossover” music with live piano selections ranging from Mozart to Grieg to the Beatles. He will explore the very real fusion of styles that has emerged organically in music across the centuries and in many musical traditions. Be prepared to be dazzled!

Biography ~ Pianist Peter Dugan has amassed extraordinary credits in his brief career as a concert pianist. A product of the Perlman Music Program and the Juilliard School of Music, Peter has been bringing his brand of classical, jazz and pop music to concert halls across the country. Most recently he completed a multi-year national tour with baritone John Brancy in which they performed the stirring music of World War I to wide acclaim. Peter also can be heard as the new host of NPR’s program From the Top featuring talented young musicians from across the country. After his performance last year with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, The Los Angeles Times described his playing as “stunning.” Peter is equally known for his mid-recital jazz riffs and his amazing ability to bring the worlds of classical and popular music together in concert both as an arranger and a pianist.

You may purchase a ticket for the entire series or buy them a la carte by clicking here or calling 413.236.2190 during office hours.

Single session tickets are $15 for OLLI at BCC members, and $20 for the general public. A series ticket to all four sessions is $50 for OLLI members, and $70 for the general public.