The North Shore Symphony Orchestra is proud to announce the appointment of Harry Marenstein as its new music director and conductor. After a year-long search process in which candidates for the position each led one concert and associated rehearsals, Marenstein was chosen by the board of directors and members of the orchestra.
Having strong ties to the Long Island music scene, Harry Marenstein is Associate Professor of music at Nassau Community College and he is the conductor of the Youth Symphony of Gemini Youth Orchestras. His experience as a teacher and administrator impressed the orchestra and the board.
“Since the North Shore Symphony Orchestra population is made up of a mix of music majors and non-music majors, professional and amateur musicians, the orchestra really needed a teacher who is used to nurturing a varied group of musicians to play to their best abilities; Harry has shown that he has the conducting and management skills, as well as the temperament to lead our orchestra,” said board member Janice Chen.
The orchestra was already familiar with Marenstein’s skills when he served as Principal Guest Conductor during the 2016-17 season.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Harry again. His musicality is so easily expressed through his baton,” said violist and vice president of the Friends of North Shore Symphony Orchestra Vicki Field in response to the choice of Marenstein. “It’s a joyful experience from first rehearsal to concert.”
“We are excited to embark on the next chapter of the NSSO’s history and I’m sure Mr. Marenstein’s imaginative programming will be a wonderful experience for audience and musicians alike,” added Kay Bromberg, violinist with the orchestra and president of the Friends of the North Shore Symphony Orchestra.
As an outspoken advocate for contemporary music, Marenstein’s innovative programming for the 2018-19 season will include new and recent American contemporary music such as Peter Schickele’s “Unbegun Symphony” (paired with Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony”), and Deborah Henson-Conant’s “Baroque Flamenco” with harpist, and Long Island native, Brandee Younger. Marenstein will also feature a work by the winner of the NSSO’s New Horizons Composer Competition, Hilary Purrington.
Marenstein grew up in New York City and earned his Bachelor of Arts in violin performance from State University of New York at Geneseo. Later, he earned his masters in Orchestral Conducting at Cleveland Institute of Music and continued to hone his conducting skills at the Eastman Summer Institute.
North Shore Symphony Orchestra has also named Anthony LaGruth as its Principal Guest Conductor for the 2018-19 season. As the director of the North Shore Music Festival for several years, LaGruth is no stranger to the north shore of Long Island. He has led superb opera productions at Sands Point Preserve in Port Washington.
The orchestra will perform on Nov. 2, 2018, March 9 and June 8, 2019, at the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center in Garden City and on March 30, 2019, in conjunction with the North Shore Community Chorus at North Shore High School in Glen Head, NY.
