Saturday, March 25, 7:30 pm

Get swept off of your feet by waltzes, hoe-downs, and tangos! With Argentinian tango master Astor Piazzolla and a cowboy ballet by Aaron Copland, this concert is sure to have something to delight everyone. Joining us for a US premiere will be harpist Rosanna Moore and cellist Nicholas Finch for Canadian prize-winning composer Kelly-Marie Murphy’s, “En el secure es todo uno” (“In the darkness, all is one”).

Pre-Concert Chat - You're invited to arrive a little early to join Maestro Wheatley and guest artists, Rosanna Moore and Nicholas Finch, for an intimate pre-concert chat. Theater doors open at 6:40 pm for general seating, with the chat beginning at 6:45 pm. When the chat concludes, attendees will leave the theater and re-enter with their ticket to take their reserved seats for the concert.

Astor Piazzolla
Libertango
Fuga y Misterio

Kelly-Marie Murphy
*En el Escuro es Todo Uno (“In the dark, all is one)

George Walker
Lyric for Strings

Aaron Copland
Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo

*U.S. premiere performance

ARTIST BIOS

Rosanna Moore, Harp

Often described as a quirky and engaging performer, who is fully at home on stage both as a harpist, and as a storyteller and actor, Rosanna Moore, has made it her aim to combine theatre and music wherever possible. She has had success in multiple international competitions such as being first harpist to be a finalist at the Gold Medal Competition at RNCM (the highest accolade offered for solo performance), won the Stan Baker award for jazz improvisation, was a semifinalist in the Dutch Harp Competition and placed third at both the Welsh International Jazz and Pop Harp Competition, Tierra47’s International Pedal Harp Competition and the Marcel Tournier Competition.

In addition to performing as a tenured member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Rosanna can often be seen with ensembles such as Ensemble Signal, Slee Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Symphor!a, Binghamton Philharmonic and Buffalo Philharmonic. She was invited to give the opening solo recital at the Sentmentat International Harp Festival, Spain in 2018. In 2021, she will appear for the fifth year as principal harp with the Lake George Music Festival, NY.

As an actress, she has worked as a narrator for orchestras and ensembles in addition to doing voice over work. In a combination of both art forms, she has worked with trombonist/actor John Kenny, was awarded honorable mention in the Eastman Lecture Recital Prize for her research and performance into the choreography used in R. Murray Schafer’s Crown of Ariadne and created a Vaudeville harp show entitled ‘Roll Up, Roll Up’, presenting theatrical harp works and storytelling, which won her a spot in the Dutch Harp Competition’s semi final in 2018 . Her research into the relationship between music and theatrical performance practices was published in Contemporary Music Review in 2020 and will be presented at the rescheduled World Harp Congress in Cardiff, 2022. Rosanna also provides workshops to musicians on stage presence and etiquette and the use of acting techniques from theatre practitioners to further musical expression. 

As a self-described ‘professional composer collector’, Rosanna pesters composers until they write for her! This has led to two world premieres of concerti, the US premiere of David Horne’s Splintered Instruments and Amy Victoria Nam’s Somewhere to Elsewhere, a show entitled God Complex with percussion and harp duo Sticks & Strings, an upcoming recording project with flute, viola, harp trio, Trio Alexander, and new interdisciplinary commissions with Hats+Heels bassoon and harp duo. One upcoming project will be a new concerto for the Electric Delta Harp written by Grammy Award Winner DJ Sparr. Since 2017, she has served as a harpist consultant for the Future Blend Project, an innovative and collaborative composition competition. She also served in a number of roles on the executive board of OSSIA New Music collective, including as President in the lead up to the organization’s 20th anniversary season. 

In addition to performing, Rosanna is the new Instructor of Harp/ Artist in Residence at the University of Oregon where she will teach students at the collegiate level as well as developing a community harp division and also is the Harp Instructor at Opus Ithaca. She has been invited to present masterclasses for the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK, the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble in Atlanta, GA and appeared as the adjudicator for the American Harp Society’s Auditions and Evaluations. Formerly she was the Professor of Harp at Nazareth College and the Harp Instructor at the Eastman Community Music School. In these roles, she works to bring the harp to as many students as possible and teaches students of all ages and abilities. She served as President of the Rochester Chapter of the American Harp Society from 2019-2021. In addition to this, she is the co-founder and host of the Soundweavers Podcast with Dr. Adam Paul Cordle and Dr. Blaire Koerner. Soundweavers is a chamber music podcast that explores the trials and tribulations of being a chamber musician and composer in the gig economy.

Rosanna recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree with the Performer’s Certificate, an Arts Leadership Certificate and a minor in theatre at the Eastman School of Music, supported by the Eileen Malone Scholarship. She previously studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music. Her wonderful mentors throughout the years have been Kathleen Bride and Eira Lynn Jones.

This coming season will see the release of her debut albums with Hats+Heels Duo (‘Womxn are...’), performances of the Ginastera and Debussy concerti, along with the US premiere of Kelly Marie-Murphy’s En el Escuro, es Todo Uno for ‘cello, harp and orchestra and the world premiere and tour of DJ Sparr’s ‘Extraordinary Motion’ concerto for electric harp and orchestra. For more information, please see https://www.rosannaharp.com/

Nicholas Finch, Cello

Since performing as a concerto soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at age 18, cellist Nicholas Finch has established himself as an artist of great depth and diversity, both within and beyond the classical genre. Finch founded the Derby City Chamber Music Festival in May 2022, which featured performances with some of the best chamber musicians from around the country, including members of the Escher String Quartet, the Manhattan Chamber Players, pianist Joyce Yang, and many more. He performed as a cellist but also as a conductor, leading the festival's orchestra in Elgar's "Introduction and Allegro".  In recent seasons, Finch conducted the Louisville Orchestra and its members in works by Copland, Glinka, Saint-Saens, and more. As a cellist, he premiered three new cello concertos written for him by composers Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin, Alyssa Weinberg, and Dorian Wallace, and will record them during the 2022/2023 season for his debut recording. He also appeared as cello soloist in Richard Strauss's "Don Quixote".

Finch was appointed Principal Cellist of the Louisville Orchestra during the 2013-2014 season by music director Teddy Abrams.  He has appeared with the Boston-based chamber orchestra ‘A Far Cry’ on numerous concerts and recordings, one recording having been nominated for a Grammy Award. He has additionally appeared numerous times with the Jupiter Chamber Players in New York City.

Finch has collaborated with some of the most prominent artists of today, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Ensemble, members of the Dover and Escher String Quartets, and many more.

A native of Boston, Finch began his cello studies at the age of 12. He attended Harvard, Juilliard, the University of Michigan, and the Mannes College of Music. He has additionally studied conducting with Markand Thakar, Kenneth Kiesler, and with Michael Jinbo and Ludovic Morlot at the Pierre Monteux School.  Finch currently splits his residence between Louisville and New York City.