The Palisades Virtuosi is proud to announce the winner of its inaugural Young Artist Recognition Award. This award was established to recognize outstanding high school music students in the Bergen County area. Jiyuh Kim (second from the left in the above photo), Palisades Virtuosi's first honoree, is a senior at Pascack Hills High School, where she is first chair clarinet in the band. She has also held the first chair position in the Northern New Jersey Region and Bergen County bands. Additionally, she has participated in the Sr. Region Wind Ensemble, the Northern New Jersey Orchestra and the New Jersey All-State Symphonic Band. Last summer, Jiyuh traveled to Europe under the auspices of American Music Abroad, performing in five countries. She hopes to pursue her musical interests in college. Jiyuh was featured as a soloist on the recent Palisades Virtuosi concert, October 6, 2007 at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood where PV holds its Subscription Series concerts. Ms. Kim was also awarded a plaque by Acting President of the Palisades Virtuosi Board of Trustees, Fred Messner. The plaque was donated by the Trophy King in Teaneck, NJ.

At their October 6 concert, the Virtuosi presented the World Premiere of Brian Schober's "Wind-Space" (a 9-11 commemorative). This piece was commissioned by the group. Here's a photo from the concert, with the composer 2nd from the left.

The Palisades Virtuosi will be presenting three more 2007-2008 season series concerts at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood - 113 Cottage Place in Ridgewood, New Jersey. All three concerts are Saturday at 8 PM.

World Premiere of new work by Randall Faust, commissioned by Palisades Virtuosi, also New Jersey Premiere of Ondine Visions by Paul Mack Somers and works by Rameau, Bach, Saint Saëns, Bizet and Libby Larsen. This performance will feature ensembles from major dance studios in Bergen County.

World Premiere of new work by Gwyneth Walker, commissioned by Palisades Virtuosi, as well as works by Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn and Joan Tower. Paintings by Leslie Montana (www.lesliemontana.com) will also be featured.

PV's 5th Anniversary celebration, will feature 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 Brahms, Charles Koechlin, Samuel Barber and Gerhard Schwartz.

In addition to their series, this season the Virtuosi will also be appearing on October 19 at 8:00pm on the Rossmoor Music Association series in Monroe Twp, NJ, on November 17 at 7:30 on the Abendmusik at Morristown United Methodist Church and on November 18 at 5:30pm on the New York Flute Club Concert Series in NYC. Information on these concerts can be found at the PV website.

Funding for the concert series has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, through grant funds administered by the Bergen County Department of Parks, Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.

Of course, like all programs these are subject to change, so for the latest information, please visit http://www.palisadesvirtuosi.org.

In May the Virtuosi performed a story-writing program for children at elementary schools in NJ using one of their commissioned works - "The Spice of the Program" by film composer, Ben Model (http://silentfilmmusic.silentclowns.com). They had a great time, with the kids deciding how the different moods of the music might best describe story actions. The children created stories for their classrooms based on the music they heard the ensemble play.

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

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