In celebration of the 98th birthday of William H. Scheide

William H. Scheide

Bill Scheide is a musician, philanthropist and humanitarian. His life-long support of the arts, education, civil rights, health and anti-poverty programs all express Bill’s belief that each member of the human family deserves a free and enlightened life.

The son and grandson of avid bibliophiles, Bill Scheide has been passionate about books and reading since childhood. He has not only enlarged and expanded the scope and the holdings of one of the greatest rare book libraries in the world, but also, by housing the Scheide Library in Firestone Library on the Princeton University campus, he has made it accessible to scholars and lay enthusiasts alike.

Bill’s bibliophilic contributions are not limited to the Scheide Library. Besides the gift of the Mendel Music Library at Princeton University, he has made generous gifts to the libraries at the Princeton Theological Seminary, the Westminster Choir College, and the Seed School in DC, as well as to the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford and to our own Public Library here in Princeton.

Mark Laycock

Since Mark Laycock’s debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age 21, and where he subsequently conducted on many occasions, international invitations have come from a wide array of orchestras and companies in Asia and Europe as well as North and South America. Recent performances have included an orchestral concert of Mendelssohn’s rarely performed Symphony No. 2 (“Lobgesang”) with the combined forces of Opera New Jersey and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, which excited an enthusiastic review in the New York Times, as well as a return to Opera New Jersey where performances of The Barber of Seville received a sparkling response from audiences and critics alike. Currently based in Berlin, Mark Laycock has a close working relationship with the Wiener KammerOrchester as well as working regularly with the Bochumer Symphoniker in Germany and the Georges Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest. This international focus is matched by an interest and enthusiasm for repertoire ranging from Beethoven to Lutoslawski by way of Wagner, Strauss, Ravel, Verdi and Stravinsky amongst others. A published composer with works performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra among others, Mark Laycock was Music Director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra for more than 20 years, transforming that orchestra from a small chamber orchestra into a full and critically acclaimed professional symphony orchestra awarded Citations of Excellence for two consecutive years from the State Arts Council of New Jersey for "exhibiting the highest standards of artistic excellence.” He was also Associate Conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra from 2000–20003. From the start of the 2011–2012 season Mark Laycock joins Sir Roger Norrington and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra with the new title of Permanent Guest Conductor.

Jaime Laredo

Performing for over five decades before audiences across the globe, Jaime Laredo has excelled in the multiple roles of soloist, conductor, recitalist, pedagogue, and chamber musician. Mr. Laredo made his stunning orchestral debut at the age of eleven with the San Francisco Symphony, and at the age of seventeen won the prestigious Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Competition, launching his rise to international prominence. Since then, he has performed with and conducted prominent orchestras worldwide.

During the 2011–2012 season, Mr. Laredo celebrates his 70th birthday with engagements at the 92nd Street and the world premiere of a commission by Richard Danielpour dedicated to him and Sharon Robinson. The season also marks his 35th year as the violinist of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, Musical America’s Ensemble of the Year 2002, which celebrates the anniversary with a national tour and three new commissions by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, André Previn, and Stanley Silverman. For fifteen years, Mr. Laredo was violist of a Piano Quartet with renowned musicians Emanuel Ax Isaac Stern, and Yo-Yo Ma, and won a Grammy for a recording with that group. Mr. Laredo has recorded nearly one hundred discs, receiving the Deutsche Schallplatten Prize as well as seven Grammy nominations. Recently, Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio released the complete Schubert trios, and Mr. Laredo released an album with Sharon Robinson entitled “Triple Doubles,” with three double concertos dedicated to the Duo by Daron Hagen, Richard Danielpour, and David Ludwig. An upcoming recording with his former student Jennifer Koh, Two x Four features Double Concerti by J.S. Bach, Philip Glass, and new commissions by Anna Clyne and David Ludwig.

Recognized internationally as a teacher, Mr. Laredo has fostered the education of many prominent young violinists. After 35 years of teaching at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Mr. Laredo is now a professor at Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and holds several prestigious artistic directorships. A principal figure at the Marlboro Music Festival, he has featured in numerous festivals worldwide. This season he will open La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, with Cho-Liang Lin, and returns to the Orchestre National de Lyon as conductor/soloist.

Sharon Robinson

Winner of the Avery Fisher Recital Award, the Piatigorsky Memorial Award, the Pro Musicis Award, and a GRAMMY Nominee, cellist Sharon Robinson is recognized worldwide as a consummate artist and one of the most outstanding musicians of our time. Whether as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, or member of the world-famous Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, critics, audiences and fellow musicians respond to what the Indianapolis Star has called "A cellist who has simply been given the soul of Caruso.”

Appointed to the renowned cello faculty of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music in 2005, Sharon Robinson divides her time between teaching, solo engagements, performing with her husband, violinist and conductor Jaime Laredo, and touring with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. She is committed to the music of our time, and works closely with many of today’s leading composers, amongst whom she is much admired for her consortium building efforts. Ms. Robinson has performed in numerous festivals worldwide, played with many of the world’s finest orchestras, and even made some noteworthy television appearances. As winner of the Avery Fisher Recital Award, she appeared on Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series to premiere Ned Rorem’s “After Reading Shakespeare.”

Sharon Robinson co-founded the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio thirty-five years ago and collaborated with Rudolf Serkin and Alexander Schneider at the Marlboro Music Festival. She has appeared with some of the musical giants of our time, from Yo-Yo Ma to Itzhak Perlman, along with many prominent quartets. Sharon Robinson’s CDs include the Vivaldi Cello Sonatas on Vox and a Grenadilla disc of solo cello works by Debussy, Fauré, and Rorem. Ms. Robinson received a Grammy nomination for the Two Brahms Sextets CD with Isaac Stern, Cho-Liang Lin, Jaime Laredo, Michael Tree and Yo-Yo Ma.

Sharon Robinson and Jaime Laredo have just released a new album entitled “Triple Doubles,” consisting of three double concertos dedicated to the Duo: Daron Hagen’s Masquerade, a new, fully orchestrated version of Richard Danielpour’s A Child’s Reliquary, (originally written for the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio); and David Ludwig’s Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra. Accompanying this, the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio recently released their recording of the complete Schubert piano trios.

Vienna Chamber Orchestra

Founded in 1946, the Wiener KammerOrchester (Vienna Chamber Orchestra) has had especially important partners in principal conductor Carlo Zecchi as well as guest conductors Yehudi Menuhin and Sándor Végh. More recently, artistic directors have included Philippe Entremont, Ernst Kovacic and Christoph Eberle. Joji Hattori has been Associate Guest Conductor of the WKO since 2004.

Heinrich Schiff was artistic director from 2005–2008. Some of the highlights with Heinrich Schiff were cycles of the complete Beethoven Symphonies in 2006 and Schubert Symphonies in 2008–2009 given at the Vienna Konzerthaus and, in 2009, at the George Enescu Festival Bukarest.

In May 2008, Stefan Vladar was appointed Artistic Director. A series of Mendelssohn/Beethoven concerts at the Vienna Konzerthaus, a cycle of Mozart Piano Concerti in Vienna's Opera House "The Theater an der Wien", a tour of Germany in 2010 and a tour of Russia in 2011 are but a few highlights of this collaboration.

Collaborations with conductors Heinz Holliger, Sir Neville Marriner, Adam Fischer, and Rudolf Barshai have always held special significance to the orchestra. The list of prominent conductors, singers, and soloists proves once again the international standing of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra: Piotr Anderszewski, Martha Argerich, Lidia Baich, Cecilia Bartoli, Elena Bashkirova, Elisabeth Batiashvili, Teresa Berganza, Ian Bostridge, Rudolf Buchbinder, Thomas Carroll, Gianluca Cascioli, Frédéric Chaslin, Karel Mark Chichon, Richard Egarr, Adrian Eröd, Daniela Fally, Isabelle Faust, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Ingrid Fliter, Reinhold Friedrich, Hélène Grimaud, Edita Gruberova, Friedrich & Paul Gulda, Theodor Guschlbauer, Clemens & Veronika Hagen, Viviane Hagner, Lynn Harrell, Janine Jansen, Kiri Te Kanawa, Angelika Kirchschlager, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, François Leleux, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Oleg Maisenberg, Xavier de Maistre, Viktoria Mullova, Anna Netrebko, Gianandrea Noseda, Ernst Ottensamer, Emmanuel Pahud, Vasily Petrenko, Günter Pichler, Thomas Quasthoff, Julian Rachlin, John Relyea, Vadim Repin, Fazil Say, Benjamin Schmid, Peter Schmidl, David Stern, Richard Stoltzman, Antoine Tamestit, Uto Ughi, Maxim Vengerov, Stefan Vladar, Radovan Vlatkovic, Jörg Widmann, Hanna & Bruno Weinmeister and Thomas Zehetmair. The Orchestra often appears with The Arnold Schoernberg Choir, The Wiener Singakademie, the Vienna Chamber Choir, the Wiener Sängerknaben, as well as the Hamburg Ballet.

The Orchestra is a welcome guest at festivals and concert halls around the world. The international renown is reflected in its frequent tours of Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, India, the USA, and South America, among others, and its regular appearances in almost every major city in Europe.

Russian Chamber Chorus Of New York

The Russian Chamber Chorus Of New York was founded in 1984 by Artistic Director and Conductor Nikolai Kachanov. Over the course of twenty-seven years, the chorus has become America’s preeminent Russian vocal ensemble and one of the world’s greatest ambassadors of the Russian creative spirit. Known for its stylistic versatility, richness of sound and subtlety of expression, RCCNY commands a wide repertoire, from ancient liturgical chants to world premieres by leading contemporary composers.

RCCNY has performed at Carnegie Hall in the American premiere of Sergei Taneyev's opera Agamemnon with the Manhattan Philharmonic under Peter Tiboris, and The Aquila Theatre Company featuring Olympia Dukakis; with the Czech Philharmonic under Vladimir Ashkenazy; with the Moscow Virtuosi under Vladimir Spivakov; participated in the American premiere of Mikis Theodorakis' opera Electra and in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with the Kirov Orchestra under Valery Gergiev. In June 2008, RCCNY appeared in a performance of Prokofiev’s cantata Alexander Nevsky with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, under the direction of Yuri Temirkanov.

RCCNY was profiled in Moscow's prestigious Melodiya magazine and in a publication of Moscow's P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory. The group’s several CDs include Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy and Vespers. Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom was chosen by The New York Times among the top ten classical CDs of 2001.

The chorus has appeared on the nationally acclaimed NPR radio program “A Prairie Home Companion” with Garrison Keillor.  Russian Chamber Chorus performances of contemporary music have been hailed by critics: Mr. Oestreich (The New York Times) called the chorus's “superbly prepared cantata performances” of music by Yuri Yukechev “extraordinary; richly imagined and deftly realized.” Subsequently, First Art, a radio program devoted to choral music, aired Yukechev’s My Heart is Ready across the United States. Performances by RCCNY have been featured on “New Sounds” with John Schaefer and “Around New York” with Fred Child (WNYC-FM).

The Princeton Public Library Foundation

The Princeton Public Library Foundation was formed in 1996 by a group of local visionaries to provide funding for enhanced library services above and beyond the services supported through municipal funding. Its mission is to enhance the work of the Princeton Public Library.

The Foundation’s fundraising efforts enabled library planners to complete the new library building on time and on budget. The Foundation now provides annual funding for expanded services and collections. This support greatly assists the library’s ability to meet many of the challenges of the digital age by funding e-book collections and digital music downloads, a technology center and classes, a new web site and much, much more.

Hailed by the New York Times as “the model for the modern library”, Princeton Public Library is a vibrant and vital public institution at the heart of the community, the community’s living room. Significant donations by philanthropists like Judy and Bill Scheide and thousands of local residents have combined to create this special place.