Sounds of Beethoven, Dvorak to Fill Brewster Studio

About a dozen talented, young musicians—who come from a range of places, including middle America and parts of China—will step off the train in Brewster Saturday evening and make their way down Main Street to the Studio Around the Corner.

All students in Manhattan School of Music's (MSM) Graduate Program in Orchestral Performance, an elite ensemble chaired by Glenn Dicterow, Concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, the musicians will play a number of pieces by Beethoven and Dvorak. The space at the Studio will act as a sort of intimate concert hall for the 7 p.m. event, acommodating just over 60 people for the performance.

"We've planned the program to be user-friendly," Heidi Stubner, an assistant dean at MSM, said. "It's a really good combination of music and instrumentation, with a wind octet and a string trio. It's a little bit of everything."

Bob Zubrycki, president of the Town of Southeast Cultural Arts Coalition, said the same, adding that the music is "all very accessible."

"I'm sure it will be performed beautifully," he said. 

For Zubrycki, the show will be rewarding on two levels, as this is the first cultural arts collaboration with a nearby college or university—the type of event coalition members are hoping to host more often—and it's featuring the school from which he received his master's degree.

"I’m definitely proud that MSM can be up here," he told Patch. "It certainly is one of the finest art institutions, I think, in the world. They really work to train first-class musicians; they’re constantly placing people in top ensembles."

The 20-year-old program prepares students through master classes, mock auditions, repertoire classes, orchestra concerts, and private lessons, organizers said. 

The caliber of the talent has taken the group all over the world—with past performances in places like France—while students have landed positions in top orchestras in major cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and New York, according to Stubner. Other prestigious placements have included spots with the United States Air Force Band and the New York City Ballet.

"They're already at a professional level," she said, adding that Saturday's show would feature about a third of the program's students, not the entire chamber orchestra. 

On top of the music, the performers will provide historical information about the pieces. They and audience members will be surrounded by sparkling trees, which will be officially unveiled Dec. 15 during the Second Annual Festival of Trees. They'll enjoy refreshments, too.

If all goes as planned, this will be the first of many shows, with MSM and other schools, at the Studio. Stubner, a Danbury, CT native who said Brewster "sort of feels like home," loved the space, and is looking forward to potential future performances at the Main Street location.

"We’re really lucky to have the Village that is right on the train line, and has so much to offer," Zubrycki said, adding that thousands of people have attended a host of events at the Studio in the past year or so. The turnout makes the hours he and other volunteers contribute "worthwhile." "There are a lot of people who know that already about the Village, and for those who don’t, I encourage them to come down and see what is already happening here."

The Studio is located at 67 Main Street in Brewster, at the rear of Old Town Hall. Admission is $10, and organizers encourage folks to show up early, as space is limited. For more information, and for reservations, visit www.oththeater.org, email toscac2010@gmail.com or call 845-279-7424.