New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra

Midwinter Majesties

The New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra welcomes Guest Conductor Claire Lewis for the second concert in its 50th-anniversary season. The program opens with Sibelius' rousing Finlandia, followed by Rachmaninoff's captivating Second Piano Concerto featuring soloist William Wolfram. The concert concludes with Dvorak's stirring Seventh Symphony, considered by many critics to be his best.

Claire Lewis is a conductor and pianist based in New York City. Claire is the recipient of the Harmony Fellowship for Underrepresented Conductors, assisting and conducting performances with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. She previously served as the Richmond Symphony’s inaugural Conducting Apprentice, working closely with the Richmond Symphony, Virginia Opera, and the Richmond Ballet. Claire was also selected for the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship Mentoring Program, where she worked with the world’s leading women conductors.Claire made her conducting debut at 19 at Carnegie Hall with the Chamber Orchestra of New York, as winner of the Respighi Prize. She has conducted orchestras worldwide, including the Orchestre Métropolitain, Baltimore Symphony, National Symphony, and National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra. She has served as assistant conductor for performances with the Colorado Symphony, Washington Choral Arts, and the Chamber Orchestra of New York. Claire was the co-founder and Vice President of the non-profit San Marcos Youth Strings from 2017-2019.

William Wolfram was a silver medalist at both the William Kapell and the Naumburg International Piano Competitions and a bronze medalist at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow. He has appeared with many of the greatest orchestras of the world and has developed a special reputation as the rare concerto soloist who is also equally versatile and adept as a recitalist, accompanist and chamber musician. In all of these genres, he is highly sought after for his special focus on the music of Franz Liszt and Beethoven and is a special champion for the music of modernist 20th century American composers. Wolfram serves as a member of the piano faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, where he also coaches chamber music.