Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra Presents Summer Celebration Concert

Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra (CCCO), the region’s newest professional orchestra, presents Summer Celebration, an afternoon of music fit for a Cape Cod summer, on Sunday, July 29, 3 pm, at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Main Street, Rt. 28, Harwich Port. The orchestra is conducted by Music Director Matthew Scinto, featuring violinist Gabriel Lefkowitz, concertmaster of the Louisville Orchestra and former concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony, and Harpist Charles Overton, recognized for his performances with New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and Pacific Music Festival Orchestra, and his Jazz quartet the Charles Overton Group.

Fresh from multiple standing ovations at CCCO’s debut concert in April, Music Director Scinto is inspired. “Our debut concert exceeded all of my own expectations. To receive such a genuine, supportive, and enthusiastic response from our new audience was absolutely remarkable to myself and the orchestra.”

CCCO’s Summer Celebration program showcases the depth and beauty of orchestral strings and harp through diverse English, German, French, and Russian repertoire. Vaughan Williams’ “Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus”, a work that originates from an English folk tune of the same name, speaks of the biblical story of a rich man and a beggar. The resulting distinct sound is created by splitting the strings into multiple sections, featuring solos, a composition that emphasizes the lush sound of the entire string section. Mozart’s spirited “Violin Concerto in D”, performed by Lefkowitz, highlights the virtuosity and diversity of the violin; its ability to play lyrically, quickly, and sometimes humorously. Ravel’s “Introduction and Allegro”, originally composed to showcase the latest double-action pedal harp by the Érard company, was finished in a flourish in 1905, is performed by Overton. Finally, Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings”, flavored with hints of Russian waltzes and folk songs, displays the incredible virtuosity and power of the string section, originally written with inspiration from his greatest inspiration in Mozart’s works.

“I hope to further educate our Cape community further on how classical music can influence all of our lives,” shares Scinto. “We plan to keep emphasizing the work of young artists, soloists, and composers, serving as the inspiration for the future of this art form. We’re all looking forward to furthering our mission at this Summer Celebration!”

Committed to artistic integrity and excellence, Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra’s mission is to connect the diverse arts communities and individuals of Cape Cod inclusively. By collaborating with other disciplines of art and culture, the Orchestra aims to create unique concert experiences while providing exciting, enriching and memorable orchestral music. Featuring living composers is at the forefront of the orchestra’s mission; bringing audiences closer to the music of modern time, positioned as an essential and educational element to each performance program. Other repertoire will have an emphasis on championing the works of living composers, as well as the music of the classical canon.

Tickets to Summer Celebration are $25 general admission, $30 for special reserved seating; $15 for students ages 12 through college age, children under 12 are admitted for free. Tickets are available at www.capecodchamberorchestra.org, by calling 508-432-1668, or at the door by cash or credit card.

For more information visit www.capecodchamberorchestra.org, email info@capecodchamberorchestra.org, or follow Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra on Facebook and Instagram.

Program and Artist Background:

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Five Variants from ‘Dives and Lazarus’

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Violin Concerto No. 4 in D, Gabriel Lefkowitz violin

MAURICE RAVEL: Introduction and Allegro, Charles Overton harp

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade for Strings in C
Dr. Matthew Scinto, Conductor
Matthew Scinto is an emerging conductor based in Cape Cod, where he currently serves as the Assistant Conductor of the Boston Civic Symphony under Music Director Francisco Noya. Mr. Scinto received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from Boston University, where he was a student of Stefan Asbury and David Hoose and twice received the Conducting Department Award for Excellence in Conducting. Mr. Scinto has studied conducting at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center, and was invited back again in July 2018. While at Boston University, Mr. Scinto served as the Assistant Conductor of the Boston University Symphony, Chamber, and Opera Orchestras where he covered and conducted in numerous concerts and opera productions, including Boston University’s recent production of Le Nozze di Figaro in 2017. Matthew Scinto has worked with conductors Bramwell Tovey, Ken-David Masur, Stefan Asbury, Diane Wittry, Daniel Hege, Marin Alsop, David Effron, and Markand Thakar. He has conducted such orchestras as the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Symphoria, the New Haven Civic Orchestra, the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra, the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestras, the Indian Hill Sinfonia, the Miami Music Festival Orchestra, the Syracuse University Symphony, and the Boston University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras.

Gabriel Lefkowitz, violin
A native of the Boston area, violinist Gabriel Lefkowitz is the newly appointed Concertmaster of the Louisville Orchestra as of fall 2016. A versatile musician of the 21st century, he is also a conductor and a composer for films and video games.

During the 2018-2019 season, Gabriel makes his podium debut with the Louisville Orchestra, leading an all-Italian program as both conductor and violin soloist. Recent solo engagements include concerto performances with the orchestras of Louisville, Knoxville, Ocala, and Oak Ridge. Prior to his time in Louisville, Gabriel served as Concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony, where he founded a highly successful recital series at the Knoxville Museum of Art called Gabriel Lefkowitz & Friends.

Gabriel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music from Columbia University, as well as a Masters in Violin Performance from The Juilliard School where he studied with Joel Smirnoff and Masao Kawasaki.

An active symphonic conductor, Gabriel was a guest conductor of the Knoxville Symphony on numerous occasions, served as Music Director of the Oak Ridge Community Orchestra, and has worked extensively with youth ensembles including the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra, and the Boston Youth Symphony.

In addition to his activities as a violinist and conductor, Gabriel is a composer for films and media. His current compositional focus is scoring video games, including the upcoming release Pop-Up Dungeon. His orchestral music has been performed by the Knoxville and Owensboro Symphony Orchestras as well as the Dubuque Festival Orchestra.:
Charles Overton, harp
A Boston-based harpist and performer of classical, jazz and contemporary music, Charles Overton began his harp studies at the age of ten under the direction of Lynelle Ediger, and attended high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy where he studied with Joan Raeburn Holland. In 2012 Charles moved to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music, where he continued his studies with BSO principal harpist, Jessica Zhou.

During his time at Berklee, he competed in the 2013 American Harp Society National Competition where he was a finalist, attended summer festivals like the Castleton Festival, and Bowdoin International Music Festival, and appeared as a soloist with local ensembles Symphony Pro Musica and Benjamin Zander’s Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. In addition to his classical music pursuits, while at Berklee Charles also began to explore the world of jazz and other improvised music more seriously. In 2014 he became the first harp student to be admitted to the Berklee Global Jazz Institute – a specialized program at the school in which students are given the opportunity to work intimately with master jazz artists such as Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, and Terri-Lynn Carrington.

Over the course of his musical career, Charles has performed under the batons of Andris Nelsons, Alan Gilbert, Stephane Deneve, the late Lorin Mazel, Stefan Asbury, among others in orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, Pacific Music Festival Orchestra, and the Virginia Opera Orchestra. Additionally, with these ensembles and various others he has had the opportunity to perform around the world in concert halls including Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, the Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the KKL Luzern Concert Hall.

Currently, Charles resides in Boston where he maintains an active performance schedule. Engagements during his 2017-2018 season include include regular performances with the Boston Symphony and Boston Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as performances with New England based ensembles Collage New Music, the Cantata Singers, and the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra. With his jazz quartet he is slated to appear at festivals in Lyon, France and Washington D.C., as well as local concerts at Scullers Jazz Club, the Lilypad Inman, and a monthly series at the Outpost 186 in Cambridge promoting his recent commercial album release entitled “Convergence”.