Starling Chamber Orchestra


ABOUT US
	The Starling Chamber Orchestra, hailed by the Munchner Merkur as “the world's youngest chamber orchestra,” is a major component of the Starling Preparatory String Project, the internationally renowned training center at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Comprised of twenty-five superbly talented young musicians, ages ten through eighteen, these outstanding young artists have been selected by audition from throughout the United States and abroad. The young artists meet every Saturday in Cincinnati for private lessons, orchestra rehearsals, chamber music coaching, and lessons in theory, ear training and composition. Members of the LaSalle and Tokyo string quartets offer master classes, and professional accompanists are available for lessons. Some students travel long distances by car or airplane to participate in this optimal educational program -- a program that offers performance opportunities as an integral part of the Starling philosophy. The Starling Preparatory String Project, founded and directed by Kurt Sassmannshaus, has become America's premier training ground for young soloists by providing its students with an unprecedented number of solo opportunities with orchestra. The Starling Chamber Orchestra maintains a busy national and international touring and recording schedule. Since 1992, the orchestra has performed on four major European tours, in Korea, at the Aspen Music Festival and on two extensive tours to the People's Republic of China. They recently returned from a 2003 Tour to Austria, Germany, and St. Petersburg, Russia where they received standing ovations and critical praise. The Starling Chamber Orchestra's discography includes two volumes of Giornovichi violin concerti on the Arte Nova Classics/BMG label, Aspen Serenade, which was recorded live at the 1997 Aspen Music Festival and hailed by American Record Guide as “a delight in every way”, and "Simply Brilliant!", which includes music of Grieg, Britten and Maurer. Recent recordings include the magnificient Vivaldi's Four Seasons recorded on rare violins and Song of Nostalgia, a new release by the Brilliant Chinese violinist Yang Liu. The Starling Chamber Orchestra is the subject of the educational video, "Classical Quest," which is being distributed to 611 Ohio public school districts free of charge. The video was produced and directed by Melissa Godoy of On Location Multi-Media in Cincinnati; the project team includes Kurt Sassmannshaus and Francesca Blasing of the Starling Project Foundation, Professor Donald Metz, Dr. Robert Monroe, Rosemary Koepfle and Bruce Petrie Sr., executive producer. Designed by music educators, "Classical Quest" is a 30-minute program featuring the Starling Chamber Orchestra ,which demonstrates the fun and timeless appeal of classical music. Fast-paced and colorful, "Quest" examines the interplay of the composers, conductor, players, instruments and audience, and reveals the enjoyment and satisfaction derived by young players practicing and perfecting their performance skills while also showing them engaged in sports, other kinds of music and the regular friendships that are part of growing up. The video has won several awards including a regional Emmy Award.
KURT SASSMANNSHAUS
	Kurt Sassmannshaus, violinist and conductor, is considered one of today's preeminent violin pedagogues. He received his Master's degree from the Juilliard School, where he was a scholarship student of Dorothy DeLay. He also studied with Miss DeLay as a scholarship student at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and won first prize in the International Chamber Music Competition in Colmar, France. Mr. Sassmannshaus is currently the Starling Chair of Classical Violin and Chairman of the String Department at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He is currently working on Violinmasterclass.org, a website to teach violin technique from beginner through advanced using innovative streaming media. The site will launch in the Fall of 2004. Mr. Sassmannshaus' multifaceted career as a violinist, pedagogue and conductor has taken him to many parts of the world to perform and hold master classes. He has conducted the Starling Chamber Orchestra in many major European concert halls and at Lincoln Center in New York. Mr. Sassmannshaus directs the renowned Starling Preparatory String Project and the Starling Chamber Orchestra at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. In 1987, he founded the Starling program as an integrated advanced pre-collegiate program for highly talented young string players. London's Strad Magazine called the program a “virtual laboratory for excellence.” Germany's Neue Musikzeitung called the program simply, “the first address for the best.”
THE STARLING PROJECT FOUNDATION, INC.

	The Starling Project Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing pre-professional music education and performances to talented string players and to enriching Cincinnati audiences through classical music performances and recordings of a high caliber. Our mission is to pass on the rich tradition of classical music to the next generation of performers and audiences by training young string players with exceptional talent. We are devoted primarily to supporting the Starling Preparatory String Project and Starling Chamber Orchestra. The students in the SPSP and SCO receive musical training and mentorship in a challenging but nurturing environment. The Starling Preparatory String Project and Starling Chamber Orchestra are jointly supported by the Starling Project Foundation, Inc. and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Services provided by the Starling Project Foundation include all aspects of: concert production, management, publicity, outreach, fundraising, artist management, commission of new works, recording and video production, tour arrangements, website design and maintenance, and financial oversight. Services provided by CCM include donation of classroom space, rehearsal rooms and concert halls, and administrative management of student enrollment, tuition payments, and teacher salaries.
	The Starling Project Foundation currently organizes and funds the Starling Chamber Orchestra’s core programming of a concert subscription series at Robert J. Werner Recital Hall at CCM. Performances are open to the public. "Starling Showcase" concerto concerts at CCM are also part of our core programming. Showcase concerts are free and open to the public. Our venues are ADA compliant. For more information about our upcoming concerts, please see <<Calendar< < . In addition to supporting the orchestra’s core programming, the Starling Project Foundation has also initiated “Fairytale Project,” a program to commission new works for string orchestra, solo violin, and narrator, based on fairytales from around the world. The goal is to offer modern works in a format appropriate for young audiences in order to give them an appreciation for the living art of music. We use this as an opportunity for our young musicians and audiences to interact directly with the composers. By combining music with folk narrative, we hope to emphasize the connectedness of musical and literary arts while adding a distinct multicultural element to the production. The first work in this project, Chinese composer Ping Gao’s “The Emperor and the Nightingale” was given its world premiere at the Aspen Music Festival in 2002 with soloist Charles Yang, and Douglas Lowry’s “The Meadow Ground: An Iroquois Legend” received its world premiere by the SCO in 2003 with soloist Jonathan Miron. The third fairytale, “The People Could Fly” by Dr. Trevor Weston, received its world premiere on October 10, 2004 at CCM’s Corbett Auditorium. Based on a Gullah legend, the concert was part of the Festival of Freedom to celebrate the opening of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and includedrepeat performances of “The Emperor and the Nightingale” and “The Meadow Ground: An Iroquois Legend.” The Starling Project Foundation strives to enrich the cultural life of our community by sharing our young talent through concerts, recordings, videos, and the commission of new works. We are determined to bring positive national and international attention to Cincinnati by highlighting the strength of our program and acting as artistic and cultural diplomats on performance tours. The Starling Project Foundation, Inc. also works to connect the Starling Chamber Orchestra with the community through outreach programs. The Starling Project Foundation has organized appearances for and made donations to local charities including the Ronald McDonald House, Learning Through Art, Inc., the Sharonville Fine Arts Council, and the Peterloon Foundation. The Starling Project Foundation has also worked to involve our musicians in collaborative concerts, including participate in “Lollipop” concerts with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, a 2003 Cincinnati May Festival performance of Benjamin Britten’s Noah’s Flood, a local production of the radio show “From the Top,” and concerts with the Otto M. Budig Academy of Cincinnati Ballet, the Vocal Arts Ensemble, and the School for Creative and Performing Arts Chorale. The Starling Project Foundation also provides the funding and management of performance tours in the US and abroad. Currently we are working with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to design an educational program based on the Fairytale Project. The Starling Project Foundation office is located at 105 East Fourth Street Suite 725 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 (513) 421-4404 Fax (513) 421-4007 email Starling@fuse.net Starling Project Foundation, Inc. Staff and Board of Directors: Kurt Sassmannshaus (Artistic Director) Elizabeth J. Knuppel (Executive Director) William Tyndall (Chair) Brittany MacWilliams (Secretary) Elizabeth Na (Treasurer) Kristine Malkoski Steve Miron Dr. Nina Perlove Tina Narayan Nancy Sevieux FUNDING AND PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS Starling Chamber Orchestra group and individual photographs by Gary Kessler, Cincinnati, Ohio, Mark and Cathy Lyons, Cincinnati, Ohio, Alex Irvin, Aspen, Colorado, and Paul Blasing, Newport, Kentucky. The Starling Project Foundation receives generous support from the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation, the Ladislas & Vilma Segoe Family Foundation, The City of Cincinnati, the Fine Arts Fund Grants Program and from many generous private donors. Thank you one and all!