The Palisades Virtuosi is 5 years old! PV's gala 5th Anniversary celebration on June 7 – 8 PM at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood, 113 Cottage Place in Ridgewood will feature Trio for flute, clarinet & piano, a World Premiere by Matthew Halper, again commissioned by the Palisades Virtuosi. They will celebrate 5 years of survival with works related to "5" and a surprise guest artist! Other works on the program are by Aaron Grad, Richard Lane, Alban Berg, Scriabin and Bloch. In addition, guest artist and Euphonium virtuoso Jason D. Ham performs Harlequin by British composer Philip Sparke. Notes about the pieces and composers for this concert can be found at http://www.palisadesvirtuosi.org/programnotes.html.

This Gala concert evening will also feature:

A pre-concert talk with Virtuosi Artists - come at 7 PM and meet with our artists and hear interesting details about the works to be performed.

A silent auction. At press time items for auction include fine artwork (2 watercolours by renowned artist Ray Ellis), jewelry, compact disks and tickets.

A CD Release Party: The fifth anniversary has brought the Albany Records release of New American Masters, Volume 2. Notes about the pieces and composers here.

The Virtuosi will also do a signing and have champagne & dessert to celebrate this milestone event.

Other folks are celebrating the 5th Anniversary as well. WWFM Radio's David Osenberg will interview the Virtuosi on his June 7 Cadenza program at 12:30 PM. We'll be talking about how we started, our commissioning program and highlights of our season ahead in addition to discussing the June 7 concert. Listen in at http://www.wwfm.org/ or check your local radio listings.

Virtuosi Performs Special House Concert

The Palisades Virtuosi performed a Private Fund Raiser concert in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Ari Dougos in Saddle River NJ on May 4. Guests enjoyed a 1 hour performance by the Virtuosi that included such favorites as the Kummer Concertino and the Webster Carmen Fantasy as well as selections from their commissioned works. After the concert mimosas, hors d'oeuvres, dessert and coffee were served on the patio. We plan to schedule more House Concerts next season and hope to see many of our friends and patrons attending.

Left to right - PV Board president Fred Messner, trustee
John Palatucci, Don, Margaret, Ron and PV Board
Vice-President, David Messer.

Volunteer of the Year

Wachovia Bank has selected Palisades Virtuosi volunteer Jayantha (Jay) Fernando as its Northern New Jersey Volunteer of the Year 2008 Award Program. A special ceremony was held on Monday, April 28th in her honor. Ms. Fernando volunteers not only for Palisades Virtuosi but for six other organizations – The Center, Holy Name Hospital; Spectrum for Living; Volunteer Center of Bergen County; The Dackk's Group, and Shelter of Our Sisters. Jay was presented with a plaque from Wachovia Bank which she gratefully accepted. Jay spoke about the volunteer work she does for these 7 organizations. Vye Messner was at the reception to represent the Virtuosi and thank Jay for all her hard work.

Thanks, Jay!

For more about the Palisades Virtuosi, including group and individual bios of Margaret, Donald or Ron, performances, the first volume of New American Masters and more, visit http://www.palisadesvirtuosi.org/. You can also contact Jeffrey James Arts Consulting at 516-586-3433 or jamesarts@worldnet.att.net.

You can also visit their new guestbook (and send a Happy Birthday message to the group) at http://users3.smartgb.com/g/g.php?a=s&i=g35-10817-ef.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Acting President - Fred Messner Treasurer - Chris Masi Secretary - Margaret Swinchoski Bob McGrath, David Morrison, John Palatucci ADVISORY BOARD Seymour Barab, Dae Bennett, Margaret Cook Levy, Elaine Douvas, JoAnn Falletta, Matthew Halper, Trudy Kane, Ron Levy, David Messer, Donald Mokrynski, Paul Mack Somers, Sen. Loretta Weinberg