- Westchester Philharmonic
The Westchester Philharmonic is a professional symphony
orchestra based inWestchester County, NY . It performs in the concert hall of the Performing Arts Center atPurchase College .The orchestra was founded in
1983 by a group of music lovers, led byflutist Paul Lustig Dunkel , who serves as the orchestra's music director and conductor. The orchestra originally was known as the New Orchestra of Westchester. In the early 1990s, the name Westchester Philharmonic was adopted.The orchestra has developed a reputation for presenting new compositions and upcoming artists. A piece commissioned by the Philharmonic from composer
Melinda Wagner , "Concerto for Flute, Strings, and Percussion", was awarded aPulitzer Prize in1999 . The orchestra was also among the first to presentviolinist Midori Goto in concert.In 2006, Dunkel announced he would retire as music director and conductor after the Philharmonic's 25th anniversary season. In November, 2007, the orchestra announced the appointment of
violin virtuosoItzhak Perlman as artistic director and principal conductor, starting in October, 2008.References
* [http://www.westchesterphil.org Westchester Philharmonic Web Site]
* [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=ar2TOoKrIuOs&refer=muse Bloomberg News article on Perlman appointment]
* [http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071112/NEWS02/711120334 "Itzhak Perlman Named Artistic Director of Westchester Philharmonic," "The Journal News"]
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