Stringendo Annual Gala Concert

This performance will feature the premiere of “The Hudson Valley Suite” by renowned composer Conni Ellisor and represents the culmination of a four-year commissioned-work project with Stringendo. Ms. Ellisor has been commissioned by or premiered works with the Camelli Quartet, Chicago Sinfonietta, Colorado Symphony, Denver Brass, Hamburg Radio Orchestra, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, New York Treble Singers, Nexus Chamber Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

“A passionate and engaging educator as well,” Ellisor has written multiple works for the Arlington High School Philharmonia and Sinfonia Orchestras, and now for the 6 string orchestras of Stringendo in addition to the Strawberry Hill Fiddlers.

 “The Hudson Valley Suite” is a collection of 7 pieces based on various aspects of the Hudson Valley. Titles include “Air For The Dutchess,” “Bell Witch Dances,” “Rousing Rip Van Winkle,” “Rowing Under A Hudson Moon,” and “River That Runs Two Ways.”

“She can take materials out of diverse non-classical traditions and marry them with classical ideas and methods so that each tradition retains its distinctiveness within a whole greater than the sum of its parts.” –Marcel Smith, The Nashville Scene

Stringendo is honored that not only will Conni Ellisor be present at this premiere of “The Hudson Valley Suite,” but will also perform solo violin in her composition “Conversations in Silence,” performed by the Vivace orchestra.

This concert is a fundraiser for Stringendo’s financial aid program and the Poughkeepsie Initiative, providing transportation for City of Poughkeepsie students to Stringendo programs and an after-school program at two elementary schools.

Stringendo music school nurtures young string players to become passionate musicians and accomplished performers. Through orchestra concerts and fiddle gigs, in private lessons and summer music camps, students cultivate life skills:
the ability to listen, to lead and, above all, to work together to achieve the extraordinary.