Itzhak Perlman and The Perlman Music Program Premiere “The Mendelssohn Project”
Itzhak Perlman and The Perlman Music Program premiere “The Mendelssohn Project” on Friday, March 26, 2021 (Photo Credit: The Perlman Music Program)
THE PERLMAN MUSIC PROGRAM PREMIERES “THE MENDELSSOHN PROJECT”
The Perlman Music Program (PMP), a nonprofit musical education program led by Toby and Itzhak Perlman for young string musicians of rare and special talent, premieres its latest virtual collaborative performance: The Mendelssohn Project.
The Mendelssohn Project premieres on Friday, March 26 at 12:30 PM (Eastern), and will be available on demand following the premiere. The video can be viewed and shared via the following links:
The Perlman Music Program website: perlmanmusicprogram.org/pmp-from-home
The Perlman Music Program YouTube channel: Youtube.com/PerlmanMusicProgram
Instagram: @theperlmanmusicprogram / instagram.com/ThePerlmanMusicProgram
Facebook: @perlmanmusicprogram / facebook.com/PerlmanMusicProgram
More than 140 students, alumni, and faculty came together from around the world, spanning countries and time zones and representing all 26 years of PMP’s history, to record an excerpt from the “Presto” movement from Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20.
The Mendelssohn Project was directed by Merry Peckham, Associate Director of The Perlman Music Program and Chair of Chamber Music at The New England Conservatory of Music. Merry envisioned a virtual tribute to PMP’s cherished annual tradition of performing the Octet for welcoming audiences on the program’s Shelter Island campus and beyond.
Performers met on Zoom in December for a rehearsal before recording and submitting their individual parts from home. Several editing sessions followed, overseen by producers Emma Boshi, Anna Kaplan, Merry Peckham, and Eric Silberger. Violinist and alumna Mariella Haubs created video sequences compiled through the years at PMP, providing unique behind-the-scenes glimpses of an extraordinary artistic community. The audio editor was Sean Yoo at NV Factory, and the video editor was Seth Babin.
Merry Peckham commented, “These virtual projects are the greatest silver lining of all that we’ve experienced during this pandemic. For this project, we put out the call to our PMP community, and we thought we might have 50 people take part. We ended up getting an enthusiastic yes from more than 140 people, representing every year of our 26-year history, from around the world.”
Merry continued, “We’ve been hosting virtual reunions and recording projects, and we are collaborating with our students and alumni all over the world. We share glimpses of family life with each other. These moments have ultimately brought our amazing community even closer.”
Toby Perlman, Founder and President of The Perlman Music Program, commented: “I’m not sure we knew, when we conceived of this project, how challenging it would be, but we got a terrific result. It’s amazing how connected our students feel to one another, and how beautifully our alumni have grown up, into wonderful people. It’s my dream come true”.
Founded by Toby Perlman in 1994, The Perlman Music Program (PMP) offers unparalleled musical training to young string players of rare and special talent. With a world-class faculty led by Itzhak Perlman and a signature summer program on Shelter Island, PMP is developing the future leaders of classical music within a nurturing and supportive community. The Perlman Music Program seeks to ensure that the very best musicians can take advantage of this opportunity, regardless of their financial means. To learn more about PMP, please visit https://www.perlmanmusicprogram.org/