NEW YEAR’S DAY CELEBRATION
Wednesday, January 1 at 4 p.m.
Central Presbyterian Church,
This concert was part of Bach in Baltimore’s 2018-2019 Season. View the full season in our Archives.
Greet the dawn of 2020 with old and new friends at our annual New Year’s Day Celebration, featuring Baroque instrumental favorites selected by our beloved first chair musicians on flute, oboe, cello, and harpsichord. Maestro T. Herbert Dimmock will also join the celebration on the organ. There is no better way to welcome the new year!
Tickets: $25 Regular / $27 Door
FULL PROGRAM:
Various Baroque Instrumental Favorites
FEATURED MUSICIANS:
Kim Valerio, flute
Sandra Lisicky, oboe
Ronald Mutchnik, violin
Gretchen Gettes, cello
Bozena Jedrzejczak Brown, harpsichord
T. Herbert Dimmock, organ
Mel Wilhoit, trumpet
Terry B. Ewell, bassoon
Terry B. Ewell, bassoon, has been a musician with Bach in Baltimore for over twenty years. For seven years he served as Principal Bassoon of the Hong Kong Philharmonic and later he was Principal Bassoon of the Wheeling Symphony and Acting Principal Bassoon of the West Virginia Symphony. He has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and is currently Principal Bassoon of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony. As a soloist he has performed with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the IDRS 2004 Conference Orchestra (Melbourne, Australia), and with several regional orchestras in the USA. His performances as a chamber musician have been heard in Germany, Hong Kong, Portugal, Hungary, and throughout the United States. He has recorded for Musical Heritage Society, Hong Kong Records, Pickwick Records, Cambria Records and with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra for Naxos. In the summer of 2022, he taught at music festivals in North Carolina (Masterworks Festival) and Hungary (Crescendo Summer Institute).
Dr. Ewell is a professor of digital instruction and bassoon at Towson University. Throughout the world he is recognized as a leading pedagogue for the bassoon. His 400+ “Bassoon Digital Professor” videos have well over one million viewings on YouTube and 2reed.net and are available in six languages. His articles on various aspects of bassoon pedagogy have received international attention with publications in American, Dutch, British, and Spanish journals.
Ronald Mutchnik, violin
Violinist Ronald Mutchnik graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County summa cum laude, where he studied with Robert Gerle. While there, he won the Baltimore Music Club and Baltimore Musicians’ competitions. He earned his Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory, studying with Joseph Gingold and continued post-graduate studies at Tel Aviv University in Israel. with Yair Kless.
He is active as an orchestral violinist, chamber musician, recitalist, and soloist and has served as Concertmaster of the Columbia Pro Cantare for over 30 years and with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra for 36 years. He has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras in Maryland, including the Columbia Orchestra and the Frederick Symphony and appeared in the film Washington Square, performing his own composition, and in concerts with Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick, and was the concertmaster at Pat Sajack’s wedding in Annapolis. As a chamber musician he has appeared on many local series including Music in the Great Hall and An Die Musik.
As a teacher he has taught privately in Howard County for 40 years and taught at Towson University. He was a past president of the American String Teachers associations MD/DC Chapter, produced a music education video, “Posture and Balance: The Dynamic Duo” toured Korea coaching and performing chamber music, and is a founder of and performer with the Sundays At Three” Chamber Music Series and the founder and music director of the HCCO, the professional chamber orchestra of Howard County, Maryland. He is the 2009 winner of the MD/DC Chapter of ASTA’s String Teacher of the Year award and the Outstanding Artist Award, the “Howie” for Howard County, Maryland. Recent performances with the Bach In Baltimore Orchestra have included the Bach Double Violin Concerto with Tamara Seymour and the Violin & Oboe Concerto with Sandra Lisicky.
“Bach in Baltimore is a perfect organization to feature the music of what is arguably history’s most important composer. Without Bach, there is no Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms or so many other wonderful composers who studied and played his music and benefited immeasurably from this great master’s unique ability to communicate humanity’s deepest and most personal thoughts into sound. Bach was able to create music that unfolds logically and that creates interest in every voice in the musical texture, but at the same time, is suffused with emotion and humility in his honest and sincere search to express the perfection of the Divine. Few can equal this level of inspiration, and none have surpassed it.”
Ronald Mutchnik, Violin
Kimberly Valerio, flute
Flutist Kimberly Valerio’s sound has been described as having “sparkle and verve” by the Baltimore Sun, “gorgeous sound”, “sweet purity” by the Capital Gazette, and “graceful elegance” by the Severna Park Voice. She hold a bachelors in flute performance from the Peabody Institute where she studied with Mark Sparks. Her principal teachers have included Mary Louise Poor, Bonnie Lake, Donald Peck, and Walfrid Kujala. In addition, she has performed in master classes with Carol Wincenc, Robert Willoughby, Donald Peck and was a featured performer in the James Galway Masterclass at the National Flute Association‘s 1997 Chicago convention.
She has been awarded first place honors in many competitions including the Chicago Flute Society, the Liberty Freemont Concert Society, the Society of American Musicians, Chicago’s Musical Arts, and the Elmhurst Symphony Young Artist Competition. Ms. Valerio’s past teaching appointments include St. Mary’s College, Salisbury State University, Anne Arundel Community College, and Peabody Preparatory.
She has been playing principal flute with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra since 2004 and the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra since 1998. She has performed with the Saint Louis Symphony throughout 2002-2004, Baltimore Symphony, Washington National Opera, National Philharmonic, National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, Spoleto Festival Orchestra U.S.A., Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, South Florida Symphony Orchestra, and Chesapeake Chamber Orchestra.
Sandra Lisicky, oboe
Sandra (Gerster) Lisicky, oboe, has played with the Bach in Baltimore Orchestra since 2006. She recalls her first concert with Bach in Baltimore performing Bach’s Cantata 1, along with her husband Michael on the English horn.
Additionally, she is the Principal Oboist of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival (Harrisonburg, VA) since 1994, performs regularly with the Baltimore and Maryland Symphonies. Formerly Principal Oboist of the Hartford Symphony, Connecticut Opera, Berkshire Opera, New Sousa Band and Opera New England, Ms. Lisicky was also a member of the Richmond and Virginia (Norfolk) Symphonies, Virginia Opera and Williamsburg Symphonia.
She has collaborated with the New World, Franciscan and Cavani String Quartets on numerous occasions and was a founding member of Soni Fidelis Quintet, a resident ensemble of the Hartt School of Music. In 1998 she participated in a special chamber music concert in London for Prime Minister Tony Blair and members of his Cabinet.
As an oboist there is nothing more rewarding, uplifting, exciting and challenging than playing Bach! What a gift to perform his wonderful repertoire every month with my superlative and supportive Bach in Baltimore colleagues!
Sandra Lisicky, Oboe
Ms. Lisicky has held teaching appointments at more than twenty educational institutions, including James Madison and Virginia Commonwealth Universities, and the Universities of Richmond and Connecticut. She is currently a faculty member of the Baltimore School for the Arts and Peabody Institute and serves as the music coordinator for BSA’s TWIGS program.
Gretchen Gettes, Cello
Cellist Gretchen Gettes earned an undergraduate degree from Duke and a M.M. degree in cello performance from USC where she studied with Lynn Harrell. She was a member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra for six years, and in addition to performing The Nutcracker over 150 times, she has played on numerous film soundtracks and commercials. Ms. Gettes is a member of the Gliss ensemble and the band, Maycat. She teaches privately and is on the faculty at Goucher College, Peabody Preparatory, and Baltimore School for the Arts.
Bozena Brown, harpsichord
Bozena Jedrzejczak Brown holds a master’s degree from The Peabody Institute and earned an individualized master’s degree at Northern Illinois University. She received a bachelor’s in music theory from The Frederic Chopin Music University in Poland. She teaches harpsichord and rudiments of figured bass at The Baltimore School for the Arts and is a faculty member at Garrison Forest School. Ms. Brown freelances as a continuo player on harpsichord and chamber organ and has performed with many groups in the Mid-Atlantic region including Richmond Symphony Orchestra and Washington’s Camerata among others.
T. Herbert Dimmock, Organ
T. Herbert Dimmock is considered one of the foremost Baroque experts in the country, and his conducting credits include nearly all the oratorios and anthems of Handel, all the major Bach works, and 160 Bach Cantatas. He has conducted the music of Bach in the U.S., Germany, Canada, and England, working with many of the world’s most accomplished singers and instrumentalists. Maestro Dimmock is also an accomplished organist, having played recitals at many of the world’s most prestigious sites. In addition to his work as founder and music director of Bach in Baltimore, Dimmock has served as music director of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cathedral in Harrisburg, PA for five years, retiring in the fall of 2018, as well as the choir director at Chizuk Amuno Synagogue in Pikesville, MD. Other past church posts include The Cathedral of the Incarnation (Episcopal) and First English Lutheran Church—both in Baltimore—and The Handel Choir of Baltimore, where he was music director for 25 years and is now honored with the title of Music Director Emeritus. Maestro Dimmock has a BA from Davidson College, a MM from the Peabody Institute, and extensive continuing educational credits at universities in the U.S. and Germany. He has served as part-time faculty at Johns Hopkins University and the College of Notre Dame. Honors include commendations from the State of Maryland, a “Baltimore’s Best” award, and serving on task forces in the arts for the Governor of Maryland and the Pew Trust in Philadelphia
Mel Wilhoit, trumpet
Mel R. Wilhoit, DMA, taught music and fine arts for 35 years at Bryan College in Dayton, TN, where he was Chair of the Music Department. He has traveled widely, performing in venues such as Methodist Central Hall in London. He currently plays and sings in numerous local ensembles (including Bach in Baltimore) and directs the Chancel Choir at Central Presbyterian Church in Towson.