|
|
|
The American Chamber Ensemble, founded by pianist Blanche Abram and clarinetist Naomi Drucker, has presented concerts for 50 years. In residence at Hofstra University, ACE, now directed by pianist Marilyn Lehman, is a consortium of distinguished musicians whose concerts explore the music for clarinet and/or piano with strings, woodwinds and/or voice. ACE is dedicated to presenting the music of living American composers and has commissioned and presented World Premieres by Jonathan Russ, Andres Maldonado, Elie Siegmeister, Meyer Kupferman, Benjamin Lees, Leo Kraft, Julie Mandel, Vally Weigl, Max Lifchitz, David Hollister, , Albert Tepper, Marga Richter, Dana Richardson, Edward Smaldone, Jerry Rizzi, Katherine Hoover, Josef Alexander and Herbert Deutsch. They have performed music by American composers Andre Previn, Peter Schickele, Morton Gould, Judith Lang Zaimont, Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson, Leonard Bernstein, Vally Weigl, Haskell Small, Robert Muczynski, Philip James, Angelo Musolino, Miriam Gideon, Daniel Gregory Mason, Charles Ives, George Kleinsinger, Douglas Moore, Amy Beach, George Gershwin, Alan Hovhaness, Robert Starer and many others. They have recorded for Elysium, Leonarda, Gasparo, Soundspells, Cala, Dionysus & 4Tay, including complete disks of the music of Peter Schickele, Albert Tepper, Meyer Kufperman and Herbert Deutsch, as well as individual works by Judith Lang Zaimont, George Kleinsinger, Elliott Carter, Virgil Thomson, Gary Schocker and Douglas Moore. Because ACE is Long Island based, it has, since 1980, included a work celebrating the Festival of Long Island Composers at each concert. The purpose is to help our audience realize that today's composer is their neighbor whose contribution to our culture, although relatively unrecognized, is very important. Core members of the American Chamber Ensemble are Blanche Abram, piano, Naomi Drucker, clarinet, Marilyn Lehman, piano, Eriko Sato, violin, Deborah Wong, violin, Lois Martin, viola, Chris Finckel, cello, and Karen Lehman DiMartino, soprano. Board of Directors Joshua Hecht |
