2.25.10 Congratulations to our newest Astral artists! Here are the 2010 National Auditions Winners: flutist Julietta Curenton, pianist Sara Daneshpour, flutist Angel Hsiao, The Jasper String Quartet, pianist Andrea Lam, and violinist Kristin Lee.
Jan/Feb ‘10 Violinist Benjamin Beilman and baritone Jonathan Beyer talk about the importance of community engagement with Symphony magazine.
12.17.09 Astral graduate Simone Dinnerstein’s recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations was named one of the decade’s
10 best by the music critic for The Washington Post!
11.16.09 “A joyous one-day festival” says The Philadelphia Inqurier. Read what David Patrick Stearns wrote about our first-ever Philadelphia Brahms Festival.
10.6.09 The Philadelphia Inquirer thinks that pianist Di Wu “shines with Schumann” - read the review from Astral’s 2009-2010 Season Opener on Sunday, October 4, 2009.
6.7.09 Pianist Di Wu was a finalist at the XIII Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
5.11.09 Saxophonist Doug O’Connor and his Red Line Saxophone Quartet won the Gold Medal in the Senior Wind Division of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Listen to RLSQ play Back Burner, by Frank Ticheli.
2.19.09 Astral is proud to announce its 2009 National Auditions Winners: Violinist BENJAMIN BEILMAN, Baritone JONATHAN BEYER, BIAVA QUARTET, Bassoonist HARRISON HOLLINGSWORTH, Pianist ALEXANDRE MOUTOUZKINE, Pianist ILYA POLETAEV, and Soprano YULIA VAN DOREN.
4.19.08 Astral sopranos Angela Meade and Dísella Làrusdóttir are both featured in “The Audition,” the feature-length documentary that takes you behind the scenes at the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions. “The Audition” appears nationwide in movie theaters on April 19 only!
10.14.08 Two Astral graduates recently made their Metropolitan Opera debuts in the same production. Read Anthony Tommasini’s review of John Adams’s Dr. Atomic, featuring bass Eric Owens and contralto Meredith Arwady.
7.27.08 Spencer Myer, piano recently took First Prize at the New Orleans International Piano Competition. As the winner, Spencer will be featured as soloist in upcoming performances with the Louisiana Philharmonic, Baton Rouge Symphony, and Acadiana Symphony (Louisiana), as well as in a solo recital in London’s Wigmore Hall. Read The Times-Picayune’s review of Spencer’s win.
3.21.08 Angela Meade, soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the role of Elvira in Ernani on Friday, March 21st to great acclaim. Angela was covering the role and went on for an ailing Sondra Radvanovsky. Angela also recently won the 2008 George London Foundation Competition.