Naples Community Orchestra features Isabelle Durrenberger in season opener

Naples Community Orchestra will host its season opener on Saturday, January 29, 3:00 p.m. at Moorings Presbyterian Church, 791 Harbour Drive in Naples. The concert will feature the return of NCO’s former artistic director Max Rabinovitsj to conduct the full orchestra. In addition, Isabelle Durrenberger, an accomplished violinist returns to Naples to perform. She first played with NCO in 2014 -2015, Rabinovitsj’ first season as NCO artistic director, when she was just 16 years old. Rabinovitsj served as artistic director for NCO for eight seasons. The program includes performances of Felix Mendelssohn, Hebrides Overture, (Fingal’s Cave) and Ludvig van Beethoven, Symphony #7. Durrenberger will perform the Max Bruch Violin Concerto No.1.

Ticket reservations can be made online at naplescommunityorchestra.org for both individual concert tickets and the four concert subscription. Complimentary tickets are available for students with valid student identification. Electronic tickets will be sent by email. Ticket holders may print them out or have them available on a smartphone to scan at the door. The concerts will also be live streamed. Contact tkingnco@gmail.com for more information.

Durrenberger is currently pursuing her M.M. degree with Donald Weilerstein and Soovin Kim at the New England Conservatory. Durrenberger completed her B.M. at the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with Jaime Laredo. In 2020, Durrenberger was chosen as Featured Young Artist and performed a recital at Music from the Western Reserve. Durrenberger was awarded the Milton Preves Memorial 3rd Prize at the 2018 Irving M. Klein International String Competition, and won the 2019 Tuesday Musical Scholarship and Performance Prize. Durrenberger performed at Carnegie Hall as a member of the New York String Orchestra Seminar in 2018 and 2015. Durrenberger is of Taiwanese-Japanese-American descent and performs on a Terry Borman violin.

Rabinovitsj remarkable professional background includes his time in Europe, where he founded the Trio da Vinci and toured extensively on that continent. He was Director of Festivals in Entrecasteaux, France, and in Sintra and Evora in Portugal. Max debuted as a solo recitalist in New York City at Alice Tully Hall, in Lincoln Center, and performed the Bach Double concerto in Carnegie Hall with Isaac Stern. As a conductor, he became well known for his interpretations of the classical repertoire and his work with Youth Orchestras.

NCO’s 2022 concert series is inspired by the community partnerships the orchestra has forged with Artis—Naples, Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) and Collier County Public Schools (CCPS). The orchestra welcomes the participation of student musicians from both FGCU and CCPS high schools. NCO’s partnership with Artis—Naples provides musicians for conducting, sectional rehearsals, soloists, and rehearsal and event space.

Several safety measures are in place to protect concert goers, performers and volunteers. Masks are required to be worn in the sanctuary. For everyone’s safety, we hope that you have been vaccinated or are COVID negative. We will limit capacity in our concert venue to 300 in order to provide sufficient social distancing. As you enter the sanctuary, please space yourself appropriately. Our ushers will assist you to available seats.

Naples Community Orchestra’s 2022 performance schedule also includes concerts on March 5 and April 9 and April 29-30. On Saturday, March 5, the second concert will feature Radu Paponiu as guest conductor along with Naples’ own Alexandra Carlson, a world renowned piano soloist. Paponiu is Artis Naples associate conductor. The orchestra will perform music composed by Chopin, Mozart and more.

Then, the show on Saturday, April 9 will be conducted by Kyle Szabo, Florida Gulf Coast University’s director of orchestral studies. The featured soloist will be Ryan Little, the principal horn at Artis Naples.The program will include performances of music composed by Mozart, Strauss and more.

Finally, on Friday, April 29 at 7 p.m. and Saturday April 30 a pops concert will conclude the season series. Jodie DeSalvo from Naples will be the guest conductor and Broadway star tenor soloist Jonathan Zeng will perform several of America’s favorites including music composed by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, John Williams and more.