North South Artists March 24 2026
The program features enchanting revivals of three brilliant works by composers Daniel Kessner, Max Lifchitz, and Robert Martin, written for the ensemble.
Tuesday night, Lifchitz conducted his North/South Chamber Orchestra in a matter-of-factly transcendent program of contemporary compositions.”
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, March 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The North/South Chamber Orchestra performs a free-admission concert marking the arrival of spring on Tuesday evening, March 24. — Lucid Culture
The program features enchanting revivals of three brilliant works written especially for the ensemble by talented composers Daniel Kessner, Max Lifchitz, and Robert Martin.
The composers will be in attendance to introduce their work and meet with the audience.
The event will be held at the cozy and acoustically brilliant St. John's in The Village, located at 218 W 11th St, New York, NY 10014.
The concert will kick off at 7 PM and wrap up around 8:20 PM. Admission is free—no tickets or registration needed.
The performance will be livestreamed on YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/live/VHUDT7IAaAQ?si=auzMj-kuYRizFpRG
ABOUT THE COMPOSERS AND THEIR MUSIC
Daniel Kessner attended the University of California, Los Angeles, before joining the faculty of the Department of Music at California State University, Northridge. There, he taught composition and directed the highly regarded New Music Ensemble. His works have been performed throughout the United States and internationally by notable organizations, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony, New York's St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, the Utrecht Symphony, and the El Salvador National Symphony. Kessner's creative efforts have earned him prestigious national and international awards, such as the Queen Marie-José International Composition Prize in Geneva, two BMI Awards, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts International.
Kessner's Chamber Concerto No. 4, scored for a wind quartet and string quintet, was written to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the North/South Chamber Orchestra. The piece premiered in October 1989 in New York, conducted by the composer himself. This virtuoso showpiece is structured as a single movement and offers individual players outstanding opportunities to showcase their talents as soloists.
Max Lifchitz is a prominent figure in America’s musical scene. Born in Mexico City, he has been living in New York since 1966. As a composer, pianist, and conductor, he gained recognition when he won first prize in the 1976 International Gaudeamus Competition for Performers of Twentieth-Century Music, held in Holland. The San Francisco Chronicle described him as "a stunning, ultra-sensitive pianist," while The New York Times commended his "clean, measured, and sensitive performances." Additionally, the American Record Guide noted, “Mr. Lifchitz is as good on the podium as he is behind the piano.”
His series of compositions titled *Yellow Ribbons* celebrates the artistic and personal freedoms that are often taken for granted in the West. Performing *Yellow Ribbons No. 42* during this concert is especially poignant given the ongoing conflicts around the world and the political polarization currently experienced both domestically and internationally.
After completing his studies at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Robert Martin was awarded the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1976. With the support of a Fulbright Scholarship, he traveled throughout Eastern Europe and studied composition in Vienna before returning to New York in 1980.
Upon his return, Martin shifted his focus to Wall Street, where he advanced to the position of Senior Vice President in investment banking at a prominent firm. He also served as a financial advisor to the City of New York. In 1999, he received the Japan-U.S. Creative Artist Fellowship in music composition, which allowed him to spend several months traveling throughout Asia. His music is published by The Theodore Presser Company.
Martin's They Will Take My Island is a single-movement composition written during the spring months of 2009. The work’s title refers to a painting by Arshile Gorky (1904- 1948), the Armenian-American artist who was a pivotal influence on Abstract Expressionism. It exemplifies an idea that runs through much of Martin's music, namely, the human reaction to the faint and fading glimpse of reality that all things will evanesce. As New York Times music critic Paul Griffiths observed: “Martin’s interest in Gorky's art is apparently not so much in the subject matter of a particular picture as in the general notion of what gives an abstract image wholeness and presence.” The work offers the adventurous listener a most stimulating and moving listening experience while providing the performers with ample opportunity for technical display.
The event is made possible with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Additional support from the Zethus Fund, the Music Performance Trust Fund, and many generous individual donors is gratefully acknowledged
North South Consonance
North/South Consonance, Inc
nsinfo@northsouthmusic.org
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