by Sarah Beling

The Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra (WFCO) presents Fauré and Friends on November 29 at the Orpheum Performing Arts Center, featuring Mozart, Fauré, Bach, Verdi, and Robert Manno’s works. Led by new conductor Alexander Platt, the live music performance brings together talented New York musicians, pianist Henry Kramer, and the Ars Choralis ensemble for a rich evening of classical music.

Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra, from the 2024 Concert at the Orpheum Performing Arts Center

About the Concert

Looking for a way to entertain family in town over Thanksgiving? Enjoy a rich evening of classical music together at Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra (WFCO)’s Fauré and Friends playing November 29 at the Orpheum Performing Arts Center. Presented by the Catskill Mountain Foundation, the concert will join the talents of musicians from across New York, pianist Henry Kramer, and the Ars Choralis choral ensemble to perform a program of works featuring composers beloved by the evening’s honoree, Dr. John Farber, including: Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus, Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine (arranged by John Rutter), Bach’s Piano Concerto in D Major, BWV 1054, Verdi’s String Quartet in E Minor (arranged by Arturo Toscanini) as well as former WFCO founder and conductor Robert Manno’s own Adagio for Strings.

Meet the Conductor and Performers

Who is Alexander Platt?

The concert will be the first led by Manno’s successor, conductor Alexander Platt — and while Platt may be a newcomer to WFCO, he’s certainly no stranger to the classical music community. Currently the Music Director of the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Philharmonic (when he isn’t spending his summers as Music Director of America’s oldest summer chamber music festival, the Maverick Concerts of Woodstock), Platt studied at both Yale College and as a British Marshall Scholar at King’s College Cambridge before taking on conducting fellowships at both Aspen Music School and Tanglewood Music Center. He began his career as the Apprentice Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Minnesota Opera before serving as chief conductor of Wisconsin’s Racine Symphony, the Boca Raton Symphonia, and Indiana’s Marion Philharmonic — eventually spending twelve seasons as Resident Conductor and Music Advisor at Chicago Opera Theater, where he led the Chicago premieres of Britten’s Death In Venice, John Adams’ Nixon in China, Shostakovich’s Moscow Paradise, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peter Brook’s The Tragedy of Carmen, Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak’s Brundibar, Schoenberg’s Erwartung, and the world-premiere recording of Kurka’s The Good Soldier Schweik. In addition to appearing at Chicago’s renowned Ravinia Festival, Platt has guest-conducted everywhere from the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Illinois Philharmonic, the Freiburg Philharmonic in Germany, the Aalborg Symphony in Denmark, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, Camerata Chicago, the Banff Festival, the Aldeburgh Festival to the Houston, Charlotte, Columbus, and Indianapolis Symphonies as well as recorded pieces for Minnesota Public Radio, National Public Radio, the South-West German Radio and the BBC.

Alexander Platt stands at the entrance to Maverick Concert Hall in Woodstock

How is Alexander Platt Connected to the Catskills?

Having served as Music Director of Maverick Concerts since 2003 — “a job that happened as utter serendipity,” he says — Platt has built his own long musical history in the Catskills. For many years he’s been “friends and fans of Robert and [WFCO co-founder and violinist] Magdalena,” says Platt, adding that he’s “looked up to them as treasured senior colleagues, with a lifetime’s experience from what was really the golden age of the Metropolitan Opera in New York.” In between Maverick engagements, “my brother and I always made a point of journeying up to Windham for an evening in the mountains with fine music and some of the finest New York musicians,” he adds. “When last year Robert conveyed to me the news that they had spoken to Peter and Sarah and had decided to offer me the opportunity to carry on the Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra … I can’t say how honored I was,” says Platt. “We’ve been having annual chamber-orchestra performances at the Maverick since I arrived, but this opportunity allows me to further put down roots as a maestro in the Catskills and Hudson Valley area, which over the years has truly become, as Edith Wharton would have said, ‘my Europe’ — and frankly where I want to be for the rest of my days,” he adds.

Who Else Will Perform?

Pickhardt, currently serving as artistic director of Ars Choralis, says the ensemble is “thrilled” to have the opportunity to perform with the WFCO. “We hope that performing with the WFCO under the masterful baton of Maestro Platt that we will bring the transcendent beauty of Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus, and Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine to those listening,” she says, adding that “both pieces are treasured by the chorus: Mozart’s work for its perfection of musical depth and beauty conveyed in a simple, understated manner and Fauré’s piece, for reasons similar to Mozart’s, expressed simply and gracefully with musical elements creating a serene setting of peace and tranquility.”

And while WFCO’s Fauré and Friends will feature both new faces and longtime collaborators, one longtime collaborator will be enjoying his view from the audience. “I’m really looking forward to being in the audience on November 29,” says Robert Manno, “to enjoy a fabulous performance by my dear friends and colleagues in the WFCO, all led by the wonderful Alexander Platt.”

Concert Details

Fauré and Friends will be performed on November 29 at 7:00 pm at the Orpheum Performing Arts Center, 6050 Main Street, Tannersville. You can buy tickets online or call 518 263 2060. This concert is sponsored by the Mapleside Fund in honor of Dr. John Farber.

Explore More Live Music and Performances

Love Fauré and Friends at the Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra? Explore more live music and performances hosted by the Catskill Mountain Foundation.