Concert Will Feature Mendelssohn, Haydn, Fernandez & Schubert

Tickets now on sale for performances on June 11 in New Britain and June 13 in Hartford

NEW BRITAIN, CT - The Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra will present a new live concert mini series in June. Music for the Spring will include works from Felix Mendelssohn, Joseph Haydn, Charles Fernandez, and Franz Schubert. Tickets are now on sale for performances to be held Friday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Trinity-On-Main Arts Center in New Britain and Sunday, June 13, at 6:30 p.m. at Cyril & Methodius Church in Hartford. Each concert features original programming.

“This concert includes pieces with ‘spring-like’ character but with larger instrumentation. The sonority of The Virtuosi would not be complete if we had not brought back our fabulous wind section,” said Adrian Sylveen, Artistic Director of the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. “This is our second recent presentation focusing on the pure spirit of the music. Spring is a universal symbol of rebirth and new energy. We need to feel alive again and pursue happiness as we emerge from the pandemic. Our program consists of music with these things in mind, and we hope it will bring our audiences moments of sheer joy.”

The June 11 program includes Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in D minor - featuring Virtuosi Concertmaster Brunilda Myftaraj on violin - and Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 44 in E minor.

Brunilda-MyftarajAlbanian-American violinist Brunilda Myftaraj has drawn enthusiastic accolades from audiences and critical acclaim for her masterful musicianship in her native Albania, as well as Italy, Greece, France, Morocco, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Israel, and the United States. The New London Day has praised Ms. Myftaraj as an “especially fine and beautiful player.” She graduated with the highest honors from the renowned Conservatory of Fine Arts in Tirana and has studied throughout Europe and the United States. Her teachers include some of the world’s finest: Proletare Skenderi, Piero Faulli, Alberto Lissy, Phil Setzer, Eugene Drucker, Rafael Druian, and Renato Bonacini. Ms. Myftaraj has been featured as a soloist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. A frequent recitalist, she has performed at Piano and Friends Chamber Music in Tucson, Arizona; Mostly Mozart in Napa Valley; the Schubert Club in Minneapolis; the Westchester Chamber Music Series; and Music & Friends of Manchester.

Ms. Myftaraj has been featured on New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts radio stations. She received first prize in the Van Rooy competition, Emerson Quartet competition, and Trinity Auditions in New York. Ms. Myftaraj was a semifinalist and participant in a number of prestigious competitions, including the Young Artist Guild in New York, Indianapolis International Violin Competition, and the Lipizer Competition in Gorizia, Italy. Ms. Myftaraj has released two solo recordings - “Naked Violin” and “The American Pie,” both of which received the highest reviews from Fanfare, the leading American classical music magazine. In 2018, Ms. Myftaraj performed and released a recording of Leonard Bernstein’s “Serenade, after Plato’s Symposium” with the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra.

Ms. Myftaraj serves as a Concertmaster for Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Connecticut Lyric Opera, and the Greve-In-Chianti Opera Festival in Italy. She is also the Director of the Virtuosi Music Academy and the Connecticut Virtuosi Summer Music Festival in Farmington. Ms. Myftaraj is currently collaborating with pianist Blake Hansen, with whom she is recording all of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano and violin sonatas.

The June 11 performance will be held at the Trinity-On-Main Arts Center, 69 Main Street, New Britain, Connecticut. Social distance protocols will be in place, and all guests are asked to wear masks. Tickets are available through TicketLeap at a suggested donation of $25.

The June 13 program includes Charles Fernandez’s Oboe Concerto, featuring soloist Johanna Lamb, and Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 in B♭ major, D. 485.

Principal Oboist Johanna Lamb received her Bachelor’s of Arts degree Cum Laude from UCLA and her Masters of Music in Oboe Performance from The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. She performs as the principal oboist of the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. In addition, Ms. Lamb has performed around the state with the Nutmeg Symphony Orchestra, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, The Blackledge Woodwind Quintet and the Con Brio Choral Society. As a teacher, Ms. Lamb enjoys taking the oboe, what many people consider to be a difficult instrument, and making it accessible to all her students. She also finds joy in watching them develop as performers. Her students regularly perform in regional honor ensembles and All-State.

The June 13 performance will be held at SS Cyril & Methodius Church, Popieluszko Court, Hartford, Connecticut. Social distance protocols will be in place, and all guests are asked to wear masks. Tickets are available through TicketLeap at a suggested donation of $25.

For more information on Music for the Spring and other upcoming performances, visit http://thevirtuosi.org/. Dates and details are subject to change or cancellation. Both performances will be broadcast live on The Virtuosi’s YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/ctvirtuosiorchestra.