Western States Honor Orchestra Festival
26th Annual Weekend for Strings
November 5-7, 2009
Union Colony Civic Center * Greeley, Colorado
Matthew Sidney Hazelwood has established, over two decades of distinguished conducting in both the professional and educational fields, a unique reputation in the USA as well as overseas, for his individual professional skill, passionate advocacy for young musicians, and visionary arts leadership.
In June of 2008 Maestro Matthew Sidney Hazelwood was named Music Adviser and Principal Conductor of the Batuta National Youth Orchestra Program of Colombia (www.fundacionbatuta.com), an arts education program of the past 16 years, similar to the “El Sistema” in neighboring Venezuela. With Batuta, Mr. Hazelwood is responsible for working with the conducting and teaching staffs in one hundred music centers throughout Colombia, as well as providing overall artistic guidance to the many programs that serve more than 40,000 young student musicians.
In addition to his work with youth orchestras, Maestro Hazelwood has devoted much of his career to the development of community orchestra ensembles, creating unique opportunities for local musicians of varied backgrounds the experience of professional music-making. He currently serves as Music Director of the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, a regional professional ensemble based in Northern Michigan, and has an ongoing position as Principal Guest Conductor for the Heart of England Orchestra based in Leicester, England. For his previous distinguished work over thirteen years as Music Director of the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Hazelwood recently was named Music Director Emeritus. Mr. Hazelwood has led major concerto performances with many distinguished artists including Misha Dichter, Sarah Chang, Russell Sherman, Jerome Lowenthal, Ida Kavafian, Leon Bates, Janos Starker, Miles Hoffman, Hilary Hahn, Orli Shaham, Eugene Fodor, Awadagin Pratt, Christopher Taylor, Ralph Votapek, Steve Doane and Dudley Moore.
After completion of his college studies in 1977, Mr. Hazelwood was invited to join the National Symphony of Colombia as timpanist, a position he held for nine seasons in addition to a variety of professional conducting activities. Upon his return to residence in the United States, he was named associate Music Director of the Michigan State University Opera Theater, Music Director of the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra and subsequently, Conductor of the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra. He established a widely recognized reputation for engaging and thoughtful pre-concert talks, energized rehearsals, and an unusual dedication to compelling programming as well as a passionate commitment to the music of our time through numerous commissions and premieres. He has been Music Director/Conductor of more than 25 different professional opera productions as well as more than 100 ballet performances.
One of the outstanding cellists of his generation, Mark Kosower is hailed by musicians and critics alike for his instrumental mastery and deep musical integrity. In the summer of 2008, Mark Kosower saw two albums released to widespread critical acclaim: Ginastera’s complete works for cello and piano, and an album of Hungarian music with works by Popper, Dohnanyi, Bartok and others, both on Naxos International. Both albums feature his recital partner and wife, pianist Jee-Won Oh. Kosower also performed the Monn Concerto with the St. George Strings in Belgrade, appeared at the Hungarian Cello Festival, and returned to North America for the Mammoth Lakes Music Festival and a recital in Coral Gables. He opened the Springfield Symphony’s season and joined the Riverside Symphonia for Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. This spring he joins the Bamberger Symphoniker on tour for performances of the Ginastera Cello Concerto No. 2; a continuation of his extensive work with that composer’s catalogue.
An eloquent orchestral soloist, Mr. Kosower has appeared with the Buffalo, Dayton, Florida, and Long Island philharmonics, and the Symphony orchestras of Detroit, Florida, Grand Rapids, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Phoenix, Santa Barbara, Toledo, and with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others. International appearances include the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the China National Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, the Kansai Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris, the Kwa-Zulu Natal Philharmonic, and the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra.
The recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mr. Kosower was recently awarded a SONY Grant through the Salon de Virtuosi in New York. Other notable honors include Grand Prize of the 7th Irving Klein International String Competition, first-prize at the Aspen Music Festival and the Juilliard Cello Concerto competitions, and top prizes in the Rostropovich and Pablo Casals International Cello competitions. Mr. Kosower was associated with ASTRAL Artistic Services from 2002-07.
Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 2005-07, Mr. Kosower has given master classes around the world. In addition to his performing and teaching activities, Mr. Kosower is currently Solo Cellist of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany under Music Director Jonathan Nott. Mr. Kosower studied with Janos Starker at Indiana University and Joel Krosnick at the Juilliard School.