A Classical Rejuvenation: Exploring Europe's Treasures
Thank you for joining us at 2pm on Sunday, August 9th, for a recital by Bruce Xu on piano and David Rothenberg on flute. The program took place in the main church and was broadcast live on Facebook. It featured works by Bach, Mozart, Franck, and Liszt.
The same precautions we are taking during in-person worship applied. Masks and social distancing are required at all times when in church buildings. Your temperature will be taken upon arrival. Here are the detailed guidelines and procedures we are following to keep everyone safe.
Program
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major, K.313
I. Allegro Maestoso
César Franck
Violin Sonata in A Major (trans. for flute)
IV. Allegretto poco mosso
Johann Sebastian Bach
Flute Sonata in E Minor
I. Adagio ma non tanto
II. Allegro
Franz Liszt
Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S.514
Cécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade
Concertino Op. 107
Sergei Prokofiev
Flute Sonata in D Major Op. 94
II. Scherzo: Presto
Meet the Artists
David Rothenberg
David Rothenberg is a passionate, aspiring flutist. At the age of 17, David, as part of a flute and piano duo, was one of the winners of the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's Young Musican's Program Competition, which was to have culminated in a performance at Alice Tully Hall. In March, David was selected as a finalist for the New Jersey Wind Symphony Youth Soloist Competition. He was also selected to perform in New York All-County and Area All-State Bands, and perform in multiple chamber music ensembles through the New York University Summer Institute for Woodwind Studies. David also participates in the annual Bridgemusik Summer Festival. David has performed in masterclasses for world-renowned flutists such as Keith Underwood, Jasmine Choi, and Carol Wincenc. David Rothenberg studies privately under flutist and pedagogue Paula Bing who teaches students at Juilliard, the Music Conservatory of Westchester, and the Rockland Conservatory.
Bruce Xu
Bruce Xu, 17, from Sloatsburg, New York, is currently the Organ Scholar of St. Mary’s-in-Tuxedo Episcopal Church. He was introduced to the grand pipe organ and the Protestant Church in his local Sloatsburg United Methodist Church. Within a month, he started organ lessons with Jimrae Lenser at age 9, and then went on to study with Craig Williams.
Bruce continued his studies at University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ high school, where he studied organ performance with Timothy Olsen and sang with the Cantata Singers (of UNCSA). Bruce was also Music Intern at Augsburg Lutheran Church.
At age 14 alone, Bruce won First Prize in six organ competitions: UNCSA/Salem College High School Organ Festival & Competition (Winston-Salem, NC); Greater Columbia AGO Chapter Young Organist Competition (Columbia, SC); East Carolina University Young Artist Organ Competition (Greenville, NC); L. Cameron Johnson Memorial Organ Competition (Storrs, CT); AGO Quimby/RCYO Chapter Competition (Atlanta, GA); and AGO Quimby/RCYO Regional Competition (Jacksonville, FL). As the medalist of the regional, Bruce appeared in a “Rising Star” performance in the 2018 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists (Kansas City, MO). Bruce got Second Prize in the 2018 Poister Competition as well as the 2018 Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival. In 2020 he garnered the Ridgewood Choral’s 2020 Florence Reinauer Memorial Music Award, the 2020 Rockland County Music Educators Association Senior Scholarship, and the Grover Foster Memorial Scholarship.
A few of the concert venues Bruce has played in include Basilica Santa Maria in Mataro, Spain; Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine in FL; Balboa Park Spreckels Organ Pavilion in San Diego, CA; Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia, PA; Princeton University Chapel in NJ; West Point Cadet Chapel in NY; Community of Christ Auditorium in Kansas City, MO; Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, NYC; and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.
Bruce thoroughly enjoys playing classical piano; his four-octave-range vocal chords in many styles; flute; classical ukulele; and jazz in Suffern's Big Band. He also enjoys UAVs, soccer, tennis, and staying healthy.