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Press Releases
The New Century Chamber Orchestra Announces Mark Salkind as New President of the Board of Directors
A nationally respected leader in education and a musician
himself, Mark Salkind is currently in his 26th year as Head of
The Urban School of San Francisco. Under his tenure, the
school has established a national reputation for educational
excellence and innovation. Urban has pioneered forward-
looking programs and practices in the areas of block
scheduling, collaborative learning, public purpose
partnerships, community service, and the integration of
technology into the curriculum.
Music has always been a pervasive part of Mr. Salkind’s life.
He first studied piano with his parents beginning at age six and
then transitioned to oboe in the sixth grade. As a young
performer, he appeared with Leonard Bernstein and the New
York Philharmonic in a nationally televised Young People’s
Concert in 1966. In 1967, he appeared as soloist with Seiji
Ozawa and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and in the
summer of the same year, he soloed with Arthur Fiedler and
the San Francisco Symphony in a summer “Pops Concert.”
While he was in college, he began teaching music to junior
high and high school students in a summer program in the San
Francisco public schools.
“Although I no longer perform, music has always been central to me and I believe deeply in its ability to transform all of us – young and old – and make society richer and more fulfilling,” said Mark Salkind. “I look forward to working with Music Director Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the members of the Orchestra as we continue to make the New Century Chamber Orchestra a vital, exciting presence on the musical scene, both here in the Bay Area and around the country.” “This is wonderful news for everyone at New Century,” said Executive Director Parker Monroe. “Mark brings deep experience as a non-profit leader as well as a strong musical performance background and a discerning ear to the Orchestra. Mark Salkind was the clear and overwhelming choice of the Board to be the next President.”
As a member of the Board of Directors of the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Salkind’s distinguished service has included the multi-year leadership of the Committee on Directors, which has been responsible for expanding the Board and significantly upgrading the governance functions of the Board. An alumnus of Marin Country Day School and The Urban School, Mark graduated from Yale University in 1974 and pursued graduate studies in English literature at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Mark has served on the Board of Directors of the California Association of Independent Schools, and has been a trustee of Aim High, Marin Country Day School, Oxbow School, and Town School for Boys. In addition to working with Board of Trustees of local independent schools, he has been a frequent presenter at the CAIS Trustee/Head conference on a wide range of topics.
Paula Gambs, who has led the organization with great distinction for twenty years as President, was recently feted onstage at the Herbst Theatre during the final program of the season, and at honorary events in the Green Room and the home of Honorary Chair Gordon Getty. She will remain a member of the Board of Directors. “I couldn’t be happier in turning over the reins to Mark in September,” said Paula Gambs. “He has been a leader on the Board from the beginning, and he has done great work. I look forward to being on the team with him in the coming years as the orchestra continues its ascendancy.” For further information on New Century, please visit NCCO.org.
About the New Century Chamber Orchestra: The New Century Chamber Orchestra, one of only a handful of conductorless ensembles in the world, was founded in 1992 by cellist, Miriam Perkoff, and violist, Wieslaw Pogorzelski. Musical decisions are made collaboratively by the 19-member string ensemble, including San Francisco Bay Area musicians and those who travel from across the U.S. and Europe to perform together. World-renowned violin soloist, chamber musician and recording artist Nadja Salerno- Sonnenberg leads from the concertmaster chair. She joined the ensemble as music director and concertmaster in January 2008, bringing “a new sense of vitality and determination, as well as an audacious swagger that is an unmistakable fingerprint of its leader,” according to Gramophone magazine. In 2011, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg and New Century embarked on the Orchestra's two most extensive tours to date. The performances in the Midwest, East Coast, and Southern California garnered record-breaking audiences and national critical acclaim. In addition to performing classic pieces of chamber orchestra repertoire, New Century commissions important new works, breathes life into rarely heard jewels of the past and performs world premieres. The New Century Chamber Orchestra Featured Composer program commissions composers to write new works, with the goals of expanding chamber orchestra repertoire and providing audiences with a deeper understanding of today’s living composers. The orchestra provides insight into the breadth of the Featured Composer’s work by performing a variety of pieces by the composer throughout the season. As part of its dedication to the future of music, New Century provides musical education to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students in an intensive program at schools in Marin City and San Rafael’s Canal District.
The orchestra has released six compact discs. The two latest albums, Together (released August 2009) and LIVE: Barber, Strauss, Mahler (released November 2010), were recorded with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg on the NSS Music label. Other recordings include a 1996 collaborative project with Kent Nagano and the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra featuring the work of 20th century Swiss composer Frank Martin, and Written With the Heart’s Blood, a 1997 Grammy Award finalist, both on the New Albion label. In 1998 the orchestra recorded and released works of Argentine composers Alberto Williams and Alberto Ginastera on the d’Note label, and in 2004 they recorded and released Oculus, a CD of Kurt Rohde’s compositions on the Mondovibe label. All of the recordings have been distributed both internationally and in the United States. The Orchestra's first concert DVD, filmed by Paola di Florio, director of the 1999 Academy Award- nominated film Speaking in Strings, was released in May 2012. The DVD weaves together documentary footage and a live tour concert from a February 2011 performance at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.
About Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg: Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, an internationally- acclaimed soloist and chamber musician best known for her exhilarating performances and passionate interpretations, joined the New Century Chamber Orchestra in January 2008 as Music Director. Nadja’s first four seasons were hailed as a tremendous success by audiences and critics alike – “a marriage that works,” in her words, and renewing enthusiasm for “one of the most burnished and exciting ensembles in the Bay Area,” according to Rich Scheinin of the San Jose Mercury News.
A powerful and innovative presence on the recording scene, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg continues to enrich the collection of her record label NSS Music, which she started in 2005. The label’s roster of artists includes Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg, pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, horn player John Cerminaro, pianist/composer Clarice Assad, conductor Marin Alsop, the American String Quartet, the Colorado Symphony, Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo and New Century Chamber Orchestra. Together, the first CD with New Century, features Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. The second CD, a live recording featuring Strauss’s Metamorphosen, Barber’s Adagio for Strings and Mahler’s Adagietto from Symphony No. 5, has been praised as “brilliant” (Oregon Music News), and All Music online advised, “For those who like orchestral music for strings that takes nothing less than revelation as its goal, this is a must-have.” Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg's professional career began in 1981 when she won the Walter W. Naumburg International Violin Competition. In 1983 she was recognized with an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and in 1999, she was honored with the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize. Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg was born in Rome and immigrated to the United States at the age of eight to study at The Curtis Institute of Music. She later studied with Dorothy DeLay at The Juilliard School. For more information on Nadja, please visit http://www.nadjasalernosonnenberg.com and http://www.nssmusic.com as well as Facebook and Myspace.
Press and Media Relations Contact: Karen Ames Communications Karen Ames and Brenden Guy (415) 641-7474 karen@karenames.com brenden@karenames.com Sarah Riddle, Director of Marketing and Institutional Giving sriddle@ncco.org or (415) 357-1111, ext. 305
“Although I no longer perform, music has always been central to me and I believe deeply in its ability to transform all of us – young and old – and make society richer and more fulfilling,” said Mark Salkind. “I look forward to working with Music Director Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the members of the Orchestra as we continue to make the New Century Chamber Orchestra a vital, exciting presence on the musical scene, both here in the Bay Area and around the country.” “This is wonderful news for everyone at New Century,” said Executive Director Parker Monroe. “Mark brings deep experience as a non-profit leader as well as a strong musical performance background and a discerning ear to the Orchestra. Mark Salkind was the clear and overwhelming choice of the Board to be the next President.”
As a member of the Board of Directors of the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Salkind’s distinguished service has included the multi-year leadership of the Committee on Directors, which has been responsible for expanding the Board and significantly upgrading the governance functions of the Board. An alumnus of Marin Country Day School and The Urban School, Mark graduated from Yale University in 1974 and pursued graduate studies in English literature at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Mark has served on the Board of Directors of the California Association of Independent Schools, and has been a trustee of Aim High, Marin Country Day School, Oxbow School, and Town School for Boys. In addition to working with Board of Trustees of local independent schools, he has been a frequent presenter at the CAIS Trustee/Head conference on a wide range of topics.
Paula Gambs, who has led the organization with great distinction for twenty years as President, was recently feted onstage at the Herbst Theatre during the final program of the season, and at honorary events in the Green Room and the home of Honorary Chair Gordon Getty. She will remain a member of the Board of Directors. “I couldn’t be happier in turning over the reins to Mark in September,” said Paula Gambs. “He has been a leader on the Board from the beginning, and he has done great work. I look forward to being on the team with him in the coming years as the orchestra continues its ascendancy.” For further information on New Century, please visit NCCO.org.
About the New Century Chamber Orchestra: The New Century Chamber Orchestra, one of only a handful of conductorless ensembles in the world, was founded in 1992 by cellist, Miriam Perkoff, and violist, Wieslaw Pogorzelski. Musical decisions are made collaboratively by the 19-member string ensemble, including San Francisco Bay Area musicians and those who travel from across the U.S. and Europe to perform together. World-renowned violin soloist, chamber musician and recording artist Nadja Salerno- Sonnenberg leads from the concertmaster chair. She joined the ensemble as music director and concertmaster in January 2008, bringing “a new sense of vitality and determination, as well as an audacious swagger that is an unmistakable fingerprint of its leader,” according to Gramophone magazine. In 2011, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg and New Century embarked on the Orchestra's two most extensive tours to date. The performances in the Midwest, East Coast, and Southern California garnered record-breaking audiences and national critical acclaim. In addition to performing classic pieces of chamber orchestra repertoire, New Century commissions important new works, breathes life into rarely heard jewels of the past and performs world premieres. The New Century Chamber Orchestra Featured Composer program commissions composers to write new works, with the goals of expanding chamber orchestra repertoire and providing audiences with a deeper understanding of today’s living composers. The orchestra provides insight into the breadth of the Featured Composer’s work by performing a variety of pieces by the composer throughout the season. As part of its dedication to the future of music, New Century provides musical education to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students in an intensive program at schools in Marin City and San Rafael’s Canal District.
The orchestra has released six compact discs. The two latest albums, Together (released August 2009) and LIVE: Barber, Strauss, Mahler (released November 2010), were recorded with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg on the NSS Music label. Other recordings include a 1996 collaborative project with Kent Nagano and the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra featuring the work of 20th century Swiss composer Frank Martin, and Written With the Heart’s Blood, a 1997 Grammy Award finalist, both on the New Albion label. In 1998 the orchestra recorded and released works of Argentine composers Alberto Williams and Alberto Ginastera on the d’Note label, and in 2004 they recorded and released Oculus, a CD of Kurt Rohde’s compositions on the Mondovibe label. All of the recordings have been distributed both internationally and in the United States. The Orchestra's first concert DVD, filmed by Paola di Florio, director of the 1999 Academy Award- nominated film Speaking in Strings, was released in May 2012. The DVD weaves together documentary footage and a live tour concert from a February 2011 performance at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.
About Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg: Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, an internationally- acclaimed soloist and chamber musician best known for her exhilarating performances and passionate interpretations, joined the New Century Chamber Orchestra in January 2008 as Music Director. Nadja’s first four seasons were hailed as a tremendous success by audiences and critics alike – “a marriage that works,” in her words, and renewing enthusiasm for “one of the most burnished and exciting ensembles in the Bay Area,” according to Rich Scheinin of the San Jose Mercury News.
A powerful and innovative presence on the recording scene, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg continues to enrich the collection of her record label NSS Music, which she started in 2005. The label’s roster of artists includes Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg, pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, horn player John Cerminaro, pianist/composer Clarice Assad, conductor Marin Alsop, the American String Quartet, the Colorado Symphony, Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo and New Century Chamber Orchestra. Together, the first CD with New Century, features Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. The second CD, a live recording featuring Strauss’s Metamorphosen, Barber’s Adagio for Strings and Mahler’s Adagietto from Symphony No. 5, has been praised as “brilliant” (Oregon Music News), and All Music online advised, “For those who like orchestral music for strings that takes nothing less than revelation as its goal, this is a must-have.” Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg's professional career began in 1981 when she won the Walter W. Naumburg International Violin Competition. In 1983 she was recognized with an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and in 1999, she was honored with the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize. Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg was born in Rome and immigrated to the United States at the age of eight to study at The Curtis Institute of Music. She later studied with Dorothy DeLay at The Juilliard School. For more information on Nadja, please visit http://www.nadjasalernosonnenberg.com and http://www.nssmusic.com as well as Facebook and Myspace.
Press and Media Relations Contact: Karen Ames Communications Karen Ames and Brenden Guy (415) 641-7474 karen@karenames.com brenden@karenames.com Sarah Riddle, Director of Marketing and Institutional Giving sriddle@ncco.org or (415) 357-1111, ext. 305
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