Lhevinne Classical Concert on March 31

Violinist Steven Zynszajn 

Talents of the Lautreamount String Quartet Will be Showcased

The Friends of Maple Grove Cemetery have announced that on Saturday, March 31 at 8 p.m., The Lhevinne Classical Concert Series returns to The Center at Maple Grove, located at 127-15 Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, NY.
 
Free parking will be available on premises and a pre-concert wine and cheese reception is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. 

This year’s Lhevinne Classical Concert is a Supernova Production and features the  international ensemble The Lautreamont String Quintet, formed in 2005 by violinist Steven Zynszajn.

The musicians include some of  Zynszajn's closest colleagues from the Julliard School. They have performed over 40 programs, featuring the golden age of classical music, throughout the New York area.  

Seating is limited. Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors and $15 for members. Checks are payable to Friends of Maple Grove Cemetery (include name and number of tickets).  Online payment (PayPal) via: www.friendsofmaplegrove.org.

   

The hour-long performance, with a 10-minute intermission, features Francisco Salazar, violin; Steven Zynszajn, violin; Whitney La Grange, viola; Adrian Daurov, cello, performing Dvorak’sString Quartet No. 12, Op. 96, American, and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48, with double bass player Kristoffer Saebo for the Tchaikovsky Serenade.

The New York Sun praised Lautreamont Concerts for the “quality of its interpreters,” and Time Out NY selected one of its concerts as a Critics Pick in February 2010.

Steven Zynszajn, violinist and Artistic Director, was born in Evanston, Illinois, and grew up in France. He has performed throughout Europe and the U.S. as a soloist with orchestras in France and the U.S. in concertos by Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Wieniawski and Goldmark. 

As the founder and director of Lautreamont Concerts, he has appeared at the French Consulate, the New York Historical Society and on WNYC in New York, Radio Classique in France, and  Good Morning America on ABC.  

Francisco Eloy Salazar started performing as a concert violinist from an early age in his native Venezuela. He has toured North and South America and Europe with the Simon Bolivar Orchestra of Venezuela. 

Salazar has been guest concertmaster of the Harrisburg and Lancaster Symphonies as well as the Jupiter Symphony and the Juilliard Orchestra and has performed chamber music in many venues, including Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie’s Weill Hall and others in New York and Washington, D.C.  

Whitney La Grange, viola, is from Mission, Texas. She received her Bachelor’s of Music degree from the Julliard School. She also attended Yale University on full scholarship. 

La Grange recorded the Bartok and Beethoven String Quartets as first violinist of the St. Augustine String Quartet. Her latest recording is Panic by Drew Krause on the CD, Powder, by Innova Records. 

Adrian Daurov, cellist, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He made his orchestra debut in 1997 with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and has appeared as a soloist on the main concert stages of the U.S. 

In June 2007, Daurov was appointed the Principal Cellist of the Chamber Orchestra of New York. The following June, he was featured in a Gala concert in celebration of Russia’s Independence Day at Carnegie Hall.

Kristoffer Saebo, double bass, is a versatile soloist, chamber musician, bass guitarist and composer in the New York area. He performs regularly with Grammy Award winner Paul Halley and with the Alaskan Native BandPamyua and has toured Europe, North America and the Middle East. 

Saebo also performed at Chamberfest, the Annual Baroque Ensemble at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. 

Currently, he is a member of The Academy-A Program of Carnegie Hall and Weill Hall Music Institute. Saibo holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School.

The Lhevinne Classical Concert Series is named for world-class pianists Josef and Rosina Lhevinne, who are interred at Maple Grove Cemetery. 

After they immigrated to the U.S., they started their celebrated teaching careers in 1924 at the Juilliard School. Some famous pupils included Van Cliburn and Oscar-winning composer John Williams.

For more information, call the Friends of Maple Grove Cemetery at 718-523-1876.

Photo courtesy of http://www.stevenzynszajn.com/

'Spirits Alive!' 2011 at Maple Grove Cemetery

Volunteer actors Tim Dowd and Leanne Mercadante portraying the legendary 19th century Shakespearean actor Count Johannes and his devoted protégé and pupil Lydia Avonia Fairbanks at Spirits Alive, 2010. Count Johannes is buried at Maple Grove Cemetery.

(Click to enlarge image.)

An Educational and Exciting Pre-Halloween Event for the Entire Family

Queens, NY - Spirits Alive!, a unique and self-guided walking tour at Maple Grove Cemetery, will be held Saturday, October 15, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The annual event features a cast of over 20 volunteer actors dressed in period costumes, all of whom will portray some of Maple Grove’s most illustrious and historical figures from various walks of life. This year, the event will introduce a number of newly-discovered historical figures, which include:

William Nelson, a World War I soldier who fought at the Battle of the Argonne Forest in France.

Elma Stebbins, the wife of famed hymnist composer George Stebbins.

Francis Marsh, a young telegraph operator who survived the Great Blizzard of 1888 and the Great Johnstown Flood.

Madame Helen Bakhmeteff, the wife of the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. in 1917, who was witness to the fall of Czar Nicholas and his wife, Alexandra.

Jane Heath, who was a direct descendant of the founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams.

Elisabeth Japp, whose husband was the engineer who built the subway tunnels under the East River in the early 1900s.

A nurse from Ellis Island Hospital, who will tell the story of a woman in search of the resting place of her uncle who had died at the Ellis Island Hospital at age 4 in 1921 and was missing for decades.

John McKenney, a Civil War soldier who fought with the Massachusetts Heavy Artillery

LaVergne Bronk, whose ancestors where the first European settlers of the Bronx, which still bears their family name.

Alonzo Adams, a sea captain who became king of an island in the Caribbean; and many more.

The most sensational discovery of 2011 -- at the cemetery -- was the African-American burial ground of the historic Shiloh First Presbyterian Church, whose interred members were removed from the vaults of their church and brought to Maple Grove in 1877.

The vibrant church was on the Underground Railroad and had a huge impact on the anti- slavery movement for decades. Many of the most influential figures during the Civil War period spoke at the church, including Frederick Douglass. Actors will appear as members of the congregation and convey the poignant and powerful story of this landmark.

"Without question, this will be one of the highlights of Spirits Alive this year," said Carl Ballenas, a Maple Grove Cemetery historian and member of the Friends of Maple Grove committee.

Visitors will receive easy-to-follow maps and programs. The ticket cost is $5 for adults, but Friends of Maple Grove Cemetery members and children under 12 are free.

Spirits Alive 2011 is the highlight event at Maple Grove during the Open House NY Weekend. On Sunday, October 16, two walking tours will be conducted at Maple Grove by historian Carl Ballenas at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The starting point will be the old entrance at 83-15 Kew Gardens Road (off Lefferts Boulevard), in Kew Gardens.

Call (718) 523-1876, or send email to cetus@mindspring.com, for Sunday walking tour reservations.

Photo courtesy of Carl Ballenas.

'Spirits Alive!' 2011 at Maple Grove Cemetery

Volunteer actors Tim Dowd and Leanne Mercadante portraying the legendary 19th century Shakespearean actor Count Johannes and his devoted protégé and pupil Lydia Avonia Fairbanks at Spirits Alive, 2010. Count Johannes is buried at Maple Grove Cemetery.

(Click to enlarge image.)

An Educational and Exciting Pre-Halloween Event for the Entire Family

Queens, NY - Spirits Alive!, a unique and self-guided walking tour at Maple Grove Cemetery, will be held Saturday, October 15, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The annual event features a cast of over 20 volunteer actors dressed in period costumes, all of whom will portray some of Maple Grove’s most illustrious and historical figures from various walks of life. This year, the event will introduce a number of newly-discovered historical figures, which include:

William Nelson, a World War I soldier who fought at the Battle of the Argonne Forest in France.

Elma Stebbins, the wife of famed hymnist composer George Stebbins.

Francis Marsh, a young telegraph operator who survived the Great Blizzard of 1888 and the Great Johnstown Flood.

Madame Helen Bakhmeteff, the wife of the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. in 1917, who was witness to the fall of Czar Nicholas and his wife, Alexandra.

Jane Heath, who was a direct descendant of the founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams.

Elisabeth Japp, whose husband was the engineer who built the subway tunnels under the East River in the early 1900s.

A nurse from Ellis Island Hospital, who will tell the story of a woman in search of the resting place of her uncle who had died at the Ellis Island Hospital at age 4 in 1921 and was missing for decades.

John McKenney, a Civil War soldier who fought with the Massachusetts Heavy Artillery

LaVergne Bronk, whose ancestors where the first European settlers of the Bronx, which still bears their family name.

Alonzo Adams, a sea captain who became king of an island in the Caribbean; and many more.

The most sensational discovery of 2011 -- at the cemetery -- was the African-American burial ground of the historic Shiloh First Presbyterian Church, whose interred members were removed from the vaults of their church and brought to Maple Grove in 1877.

The vibrant church was on the Underground Railroad and had a huge impact on the anti- slavery movement for decades. Many of the most influential figures during the Civil War period spoke at the church, including Frederick Douglass. Actors will appear as members of the congregation and convey the poignant and powerful story of this landmark.

"Without question, this will be one of the highlights of Spirits Alive this year," said Carl Ballenas, a Maple Grove Cemetery historian and member of the Friends of Maple Grove committee.

Visitors will receive easy-to-follow maps and programs. The ticket cost is $5 for adults, but Friends of Maple Grove Cemetery members and children under 12 are free.

Spirits Alive 2011 is the highlight event at Maple Grove during the Open House NY Weekend. On Sunday, October 16, two walking tours will be conducted at Maple Grove by historian Carl Ballenas at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The starting point will be the old entrance at 83-15 Kew Gardens Road (off Lefferts Boulevard), in Kew Gardens.

Call (718) 523-1876, or send email to cetus@mindspring.com, for Sunday walking tour reservations.

Photo courtesy of Carl Ballenas.