Last Updated October 6, 2011

Call for New and Returning Members.

It's never too early to assess interest in the NVFO for our 2012 summer concerts. We are looking for players who are adventurous, adaptable, inquisitive, and adept at taking on new instruments. Players should be reliable and able to honor their commitment to the group. We all depend on one another, so check your calendar closely before committing.

Purpose of the Ensemble.

The NVFO is an all-volunteer organization now in its fifth season. The purpose of the ensemble is to promote the New Violin Family through public performance and educational outreach, to provide players with experience performing in a unique orchestral string ensemble, and to foster a sense of community by performing benefit concerts for worthy organizations in Central New York. We also don't mind having a lot of fun in the process!

Open Seats for 2012.

At present, our needs are represented by the word "open" in the orchestra roster on the right side of this page. These positions are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Acceptance is based on recommendation of orchestra members in good standing or by invitation. There is no charge for the use of an instrument.

Requirements for Participation.

We will lend you a New Family instrument for the summer. We ask that you take good care of it, learn your music, and attend all rehearsals. You will become a de facto spokesperson for the New Violin Family, so we ask that you familiarize yourself with the history and goals of the organization. Much of this can be done simply by browsing this web site.

We will also ask you to sign a release for the use of your likeness and performance in the audio and video recordings we make each summer. This release is for non-commercial use only, such as advertising and promotion of the New Violin Family Orchestra (like the video clip on our home page).

Page last updated: October 6, 2011
Program notes are incomplete.

Oriental Festival March
from the Aladdin Suite

First performed on February 5, 1919, Aladdin was originally written to accompany a production of Oehlenschläger's fairy tale at The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen. It was Nielesn's 11th work of incidental music, commissioned by the Royal Copenhagen Theater where he played in the second violin section. The premiere of the work was drastically shortened, with many of the 31 musical numbers deleted, their order changed, and the orchestra moved from the pit to a location on the stage under a large staircase. Nielsen was so incensed he insisted that his name be withdrawn as the composer of the works; he never witnessed his music performed according to his conceptions.

The complete score, lasting over 80 minutes, is Nielsen's longest orchestral work, but it is now the much shorter suite, opus 34, arranged and published in 1940 after the composer's death, that is most often performed. The Oriental Festival March is the first of seven movements, among which are dances attributed to the Chinese, Hindus, and Africans. As far as we know, Nielsen never set foot in Africa or Asia, but his pieces are wonderfully evocative and create a sense of appropriateness that is rather amazing. The suite is scored for full orchestra; the march has been arranged for the New Violin Family orchestra.

Hymn for String Dectet in B minor
(Hymne pour Dixtuor a Cordes)

Arthur Honegger was born in 1892, and he was already a rising young composer at age 28 when he received an unusual commission from Leon Sir, father of Léo Sir, a violin maker from Marmande. The Sirs had developed a "double quintet" of ten new violins that were a little-known forerunner of the present eight-member New Violin Family. Unfortunately, Léo Sir had been killed early in the Great War. His elderly father was working to popularize the ensemble and offered Honegger a generous commission of 500 French francs to write in a most unusual form--a dectet-- for the new instruments. The piece was completed on October 9, 1920, and received its first and apparently its only performance on October 17, 1921 at the Concert Art et Action in Paris. It has not been played again since on original instruments, although an arrangement for a conventional string ensemble was published by Salabert in 1985 and a recording was made by the Quator Parisii (Parisian Quartet) in 2006 on the Saphir (Sapphire) label.

The piece is in the form of a varied lied (ABABA) with a coda. Honegger's love of polyphonic writing and dense harmony can be heard when the hymn first occurs in the first B section. The hymn returns in the form of a canon in the second B section, and finally appears a third time in the coda. Honegger was in an intensely creative period of accelerated writing during which he wrote some of his finest chamber works, and the Dectet was apparently well-received. Described as a serious and beautiful piece worthy of entering the standard repertoire, it faded from view not because it was deficient in any anyway, but only because the double quintet did not survive the Second World War.

This is the first time in 90 years that this piece will be heard on instruments close to the type for which it was first written. We are indebted to Pascale Honegger for her kind understanding and for her assistance in providing us with a copy of the original score.

Last Updated: February 2, 2012
Subject to change! Please check back frequently.

Proposed 2012 Rehearsal and Concert Schedule (subject to change). Unless otherwise noted, all rehearsals will be downstairs in the Fellowship Room of St. Luke Lutheran Church, 109 Oak Avenue, Ithaca.

Tuesday, June 12, 2011; 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, June 19, 2011; 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, June 26, 2011; 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 3, 2011; 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 10, 2011; 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 17, 2011; 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 24, 2011; 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 25, 2011; 8:00 p.m.

Concert Dates and Locations.

. . . . . . . . .Friday, July 27, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
. . . .Benefit Concert for the Community School of Music and Art
CSMA Third Floor Performance Hall
330 East State Street/Martin Luther King Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

. . . . . . . . .Saturday, July 28, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
. . . . To Be Announced