Episode 26: Independence Day

An international cast of outstanding students all come together to honor the Stars and Stripes, both in Staunton and in the Charlottesville presidential home of founding father James Monroe.  Heifetz musicians investigate and celebrate the roots and branches of American music, from Bill Monroe to spirituals to Leonard Bernstein…and even leave a little room for John Philip Sousa! 

This Episode’s Playlist

William Kroll: Banjo & Fiddle
Madison Vest, violin | Anton Smirnoff, piano
Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA 
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2018

Key, arr. Heifetz: Star-Spangled Banner 
Noelle Naito, violin | Clara Kim, violin
Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA 
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2022

Bill Monroe, arr. Mark O’Connor: Gold Rush 
Passacaglia Mason, violin | 
Clay Hancock, violin
Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA 
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2022

Alasdair Fraser: Valley of the Moon Reel
Isabella Gorman, violin | Alex Fowler, cello 
Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA 
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2018

Gershwin, arr. J. Heifetz:: Summertime/Someone To Watch Over Me
Angela Sin Ying Chan, violin | Beilin Han, piano
Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA 
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2022

Gershwin, arr. J. Heifetz:: It Ain’t Necessarily So
Ji-Won Song, violin | Carlos Avila, piano
Sunspots Pavilion, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 06.27.2015

Traditional: Shenandoah [excerpt]
Isabella Gorman, violin | Mairead Flory, cello 
Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA 
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2022

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Deep River, Op. 59, No. 10 from 24 Negro Spirituals
Wynton Grant, violin | Stefan Petrov, piano 
Monroe’s Highland, Charlottesville, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2016

Florence Price: Piano Sonata in E minor (1932)
Andante
Andrew Rosenblum, piano
Heifetz Institute recording
First Presbyterian Church, Staunton, VA | 07.21.2021

Copland / Traditional, arr. Nate Sabat: At The River / Shenandoah
Angel Azzarra, soprano | The Heifetz Band
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute recording | 08.04.2017

Jessie Montgomery: Strum [excerpt]
Borromeo String Quartet: Nicholas Kitchen, violin | Kristopher Tong, violin | Mai Motobuchi, viola | Yeesun Kim, cello
First Presbyterian Church, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.16.2021 

Bernstein, arr. Raimundo Penaforte: West Side Story Suite
Rachell Ellen Wong, violin | Carlos Avila, piano 
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Stuanton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.17.2016

Sousa, arr. Bruce Dukov: Stars & Stripes Forever
Madison Vest, violin | Geneva Lewis, violin
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Stuanton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.04.2015

Go Deeper

• Every year, the Heifetz Institute brings its cohort of outstanding young musicians from around the globe to celebrate Indpendence Day with a free concert at Monroe’s Highland, the Charlottesville, VA presidential home of Founding Father James Monroe. Check out a full-length video program on our Rubato Digital Concert Hall channel featuring some of our Highland performances through the years. And join us in person for the 2023 celebration!
• We are delighted to welcome soprano Angel Azzarra back to the Heifetz Institute for 2023, where she serves both on our Performance & Communication Training faculty, as well as a guest soloist for both our Indpendence Day concert in Charlottesville, as well as our Friday, July 7 Celebrity Series concert that will feature works by Sergei Rachmaninoff.  Tickets & Info.
• Learn why Alasdair Fraser has been called The Michael Jordan of Scottish Fiddling, and how the Scottish fiddler came to team up with the California cellist Natalie Haas. Alasdair and Natalie’s Gaelic-flavored tunes have been part of Heifetz Hootenannies from the jump, and we’re thrilled to announce that the groundbreaking duo will be in residence at the 2023 Heifetz Summer Institute!

More info at www.heifetzinstitute.org