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Alexis Pia Gerlach
, cello 
Ara Gregorian, violin
Zvi Plesser, cello 
Ittai Shapira, violin
Rachel Shapiro, viola
Xiao-Dong Wang, violin



www.concertante.org



Instrumentation for the Schubert Octet includes three winds and the following performers:


Xiao-Dong Wang, Ittai Shapira,
violin
Rachel Shapiro,
viola
Zvi Plesser, cello
Kurt Muroki, bass
Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet
Shinyee Na, bassoon
Chezy Nir, French horn

Concertante has acquired a sheen, warmth, and polish that are the hallmark of superb chamber music groups. Comprised of a core of six virtuoso string players, the group performs in varied combinations of instrumentalists. As solo performers who have won major national and international music competitions, they have graced the premier stages of the world from New York's Carnegie Hall to London's Royal Festival Hall to Shanghai's Grand Theatre. Concertante has performed a wide array of repertoire ranging from works by established masters to less commonly performed composers. The ensemble has an interest in furthering the cause of new music and last season launched a new series entitled One Plus Five, a series of six world premieres by Lowell Liebermann, Tigran Mansurian, Gabriela Frank, Shulamit Ran, Richard Danielpour, and Kevin Puts. In addition to the 06-07 season premieres of Liebermann’s Chamber Concerto No. 2 for Violin and String Quintet, and Mansurian’s Con Anima for String Sextet, Concertante has premiered the works of Jonathan Leshnoff, Josef Bardanashvili, Justine Chen, Tina Davison, Steven R. Gerber, David Ludwig, Jan Radzynski, Sheila Silver, and Oded Zehavi. It has also offered infrequently performed chamber works by such celebrated composers as Enesco, John Adams, Schoenberg, Martinu and Schulhoff. As an ensemble, Concertante has performed across America, gathering rave reviews from such publications as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post, and appearing on Minnesota Public Radio's St. Paul Sunday. Concertante performs regularly at Merkin Hall in New York City and at Rose Lehrman Arts Center in Harrisburg, PA.



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