Episode 26: Independence Day

An international cast of outstanding students all come together to honor the Stars and Stripes, both in Staunton and in the Charlottesville presidential home of founding father James Monroe.  Heifetz musicians investigate and celebrate the roots and branches of American music, from Bill Monroe to spirituals to Leonard Bernstein…and even leave a little room for John Philip Sousa!  This Episode’s Playlist William Kroll: Banjo & Fiddle Madison Vest, violin | Anton Smirnoff, piano Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA  Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2018 Key, arr. Heifetz: Star-Spangled Banner  Noelle Naito, violin | Clara Kim, violin Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA  Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2022 Bill Monroe, arr. Mark O’Connor: Gold Rush  Passacaglia Mason, violin |  Clay Hancock, violin Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA  Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2022 Alasdair Fraser: Valley of the Moon Reel Isabella Gorman, violin | Alex Fowler, cello  Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA  Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2018 Gershwin, arr. J. Heifetz:: Summertime/Someone To Watch Over Me Angela Sin Ying Chan, violin | Beilin Han, piano Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA  Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2022 Gershwin, arr. J. Heifetz:: It Ain’t Necessarily So Ji-Won Song, violin | Carlos Avila, piano Sunspots Pavilion, Staunton, VA Heifetz Institute Recording | 06.27.2015 Traditional: Shenandoah [excerpt] Isabella Gorman, violin | Mairead Flory, cello  Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA  Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2022 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Deep River, Op. 59, No. 10 from 24 Negro Spirituals Wynton Grant, violin | Stefan Petrov, piano  Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2016 Florence Price: Piano Sonata in E minor (1932) Andante Andrew Rosenblum, piano Heifetz Institute recording First Presbyterian Church, Staunton, VA | 07.21.2021 Copland / Traditional, arr. Nate Sabat: At The River / Shenandoah Angel Azzarra, soprano | The Heifetz Band Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA Heifetz Institute recording | 08.04.2017 Jessie Montgomery: Strum [excerpt] Borromeo String Quartet: Nicholas Kitchen, violin | Kristopher Tong, violin | Mai Motobuchi, viola | Yeesun Kim, cello First Presbyterian Church, Staunton, VA Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.16.2021  Bernstein, arr. Raimundo Penaforte: West Side Story Suite Rachell Ellen Wong, violin | Carlos Avila, piano  Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Stuanton, VA Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.17.2016 Sousa, arr. Bruce Dukov: Stars & Stripes Forever Madison Vest, violin | Geneva Lewis, violin Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Stuanton, VA Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2015 Go Deeper Every year, the Heifetz Institute brings its cohort of outstanding young musicians from around the globe to celebrate Indpendence Day with a free concert at Monroe’s Highland, the Charlottesville, VA presidential home of Founding Father James Monroe. Check out a full-length video program on our Rubato Digital Concert Hall channel featuring some of our Highland performances through the years. And join us in person for the 2023 celebration! We are delighted to welcome soprano Angel Azzarra back to the Heifetz Institute for 2023, where she serves both on our Performance & Communication Training faculty, as well as a guest soloist for both our Indpendence Day concert in Charlottesville, as well as our Friday, July 7 Celebrity Series concert that will feature works by Sergei Rachmaninoff.  Tickets & Info. Learn why Alasdair Fraser has been called The Michael Jordan of Scottish Fiddling, and how the Scottish fiddler came to team up with the California cellist Natalie Haas. Alasdair and Natalie’s Gaelic-flavored tunes have been part of Heifetz Hootenannies from the jump, and we’re thrilled to announce that the groundbreaking duo will be in residence at the 2023 Heifetz Summer Institute! More info at www.heifetzinstitute.org