Northern Lights

Sir Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto was his final major work. Written in 1919 at the end of World War I, the Concerto was Elgar’s lament for a lost world following the devastation of the war. Julie Albers, principal cello of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, makes her New West Symphony debut with this most eloquent and passionate work. The 1st Symphony of Jean Sibelius was an immediate success following its premiere in 1900. Full of sweeping melodic invention, rhythmic vitality and imbued with the aura of his Finnish homeland, the symphony launched Sibelius’s career on the international stage.

Performances at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at 7:30pm and the Oxnard Performing Arts Center on Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 3pm. Buy tickets at www.newwestsymphony.org/cvg.

Andrew Constantine, guest conductor
Julie Albers, cello

Elgar | Sospiri
Elgar | Cello Concerto in E minor
Sibelius | Symphony No. 1

Julie Albers, cello

American cellist Julie Albers is recognized for her superlative artistry, her charismatic and radiant performing style, and her intense musicianship. She was born into a musical family in Longmont, Colorado and began violin studies at the age of two with her mother, switching to cello at four. She moved to Cleveland during her junior year of high school to pursue studies through the Young Artist Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Richard Aaron. Miss Albers soon was awarded the Grand Prize at the XIII International Competition for Young Musicians in Douai, France, and as a result toured France as soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Douai.

Andrew Constantine, guest conductor

Andrew Constantine serves as Music Director of both the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the Reading Symphony Orchestra.

Having gained a reputation in Europe and the UK as a conductor of great skill, charisma, energy and versatility, Andrew Constantine moved to the US in 2004 to become Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Within his first season there he was promoted to Associate Conductor.

In the US he has won great praise for his ability to communicate with audiences and his energetic and compelling advocacy for classical music have gained him many admirers. In May of 2007, following a two year search and a pool of over 280 applicants, he was appointed Music Director of the Reading Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania. In July of 2009, after a similar process, he was also appointed Music Director of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in Indiana.