Laura Sacks, viola; Nuno Antunes, clarinet; and Steve Beck, piano offer Robert Schumann’s delightful Märchenerzählungen, Op. 132 and Carl Reinecke’s Trio Op. 264 for piano, clarinet, and viola, a deeply moving late Romantic work by one of the great concert pianists of the nineteenth century.
A Downtown Music debut.
This concert is made possible, in part, with a generous gift from Barbara Schwarz in celebration of Brian Kenney, Director of the White Plains Public Library, and his contributions to the White Plains community,
Laura Sacks is a New York City-based violist who enjoys a multifaceted career. She has recently performed with the Sarasota Opera, New York City Ballet, June in Buffalo, NOVUS, Albany Symphony, and the Chamber Orchestra of New York. Her chamber music series, Crystalline Chamber Collective is in its second season.
Comfortable in many genres, Laura joined the Eagles on their North American tour in 2018 and was the violist on the Broadway National Tour of Miss Saigon- she has also subbed on Broadway in NYC. Highlights of this year include performances with Barry Manilow and Halsey. She regularly records with the Grammy-winning 8 Bit Big Band and has performed in the house band on Saturday Night Live. Laura holds degrees from New York University, the Manhattan School of Music, and most recently completed her doctorate at Stony Brook University.
Born in Portugal, clarinetist Nuno Antunes performs extensively with a variety of ensembles in and around New York City. Nuno is currently a member of Sylvan Winds, Trio Cabrini, IRIS Orchestra, and Principal Clarinetist with Opera Saratoga. He is a frequent collaborator with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St Luke’s, American Ballet Theatre, The Knights, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra and Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with the MET Opera Orchestra, America Symphony Orchestra, Westchester Philharmonic, Miami Symphony Orchestra, New York City Opera and Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa. He played clarinet and bass clarinet for the Broadway productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Into the Woods and Camelot, and has been a substitute clarinetist for the productions of My Fair Lady, The King and I, Sunset Boulevard and Sweeney Todd.
Nuno has appeared as a soloist with the Miami Symphony Orchestra, performing Strauss’s Duett Concertino for Clarinet, Bassoon and Orchestra. Other solo performances include Mozart’s Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra and Lutoslawski’s Dance Preludes. He has performed as a guest artist with various chamber music groups, including the Parker Quartet, Da Capo Chamber Players, NOW Ensemble, Lisbon Clarinet Quartet, and the Jasper String Quartet. Nuno has held faculty positions at various schools and festivals, including Killington Music Festival, New York Summer Music Festival, and Professional School of Arts of Beira Interior. Nuno holds degrees from Manhattan School of Music, with David Krakauer, and Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra, with Nuno Silva and Ettienne Lamaison.
A recent New York concert by pianist Steven Beck was described as “exemplary” and “deeply satisfying” by Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School. Mr. Beck made his concerto debut with the National Symphony Orchestra. His annual Christmas Eve performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at Bargemusic has become a New York institution. As an orchestral musician he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic and Orpheus.
Mr. Beck is an experienced performer of new music, having worked with Elliott Carter,
Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, Charles Wuorinen, George Crumb, George Perle, and Fred Lerdahl. He is a member of the Knights, the Talea Ensemble, Quattro Mani, and the Da Capo Chamber Players. His discography includes George Walker’s piano sonatas, for Bridge Records, and Elliott Carter’s “Double Concerto” on Albany Records. He is a Steinway Artist, and is on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.