Bartow Series

Nevitt Bartow taught at Blair from 1961 until his death in l973 from leukemia at the age of 39. He was a dedicated music teacher and talented composer who helped shape Blair’s arts program. The Bartow Series is a program endowed with the mission to expand the artistic experiences of Blair students by bringing professional performers from far and wide to the Blair stage. For more information about the Bartow Series or if you are interested in bringing a group to the Blair stage, please contact Jennifer Pagotto at (908) 362-6121 ext. 5678 or pagotj@blair.edu.

2010-2011 Bartow Series

Violinist Mikhail Simonyan Performs for School

On Wednesday, October 6, violinist Mikhail Simonyan, sponsored by Blair Trustee Joel Kolbert, performed in Blair Academy’s DuBois Theatre as part of the 2010-2011 Bartow Concert Series. Mr. Simonyan, who hails from Novosibirsk (the same city that Vadim Repin and Maxim Vengerov call home), began to study the violin at the age of five. As part of the first generation of artists to forge careers in an era with substantially decreased government support, he has blazed a trail for young musicians in Russia. In 1999, at age 13, Mr. Simonyan made his acclaimed New York debut at Lincoln Center with the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra (ARYO) and his debut in St. Petersburg, Russia at the Mariinsky (Kirov) Theatre in ARYO’s joint concert with the Mariinsky Youth Orchestra, performing the Szymanowski Violin Concerto No. 1 (which he had just learned for the occasion).

Since beginning his career at such a young age, Mr. Simonyan has earned numerous accolades as a soloist, including first prize awards at the All-Russia Competition in St. Petersburg and the Salon di Virtuosi in New York. He is a recipient of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation Award. Recent career highlights include his debut performances with the New Jersey Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra, and his recital debut at Lincoln Center in December of 2009. In spring 2010, Mr. Simonyan debuted as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, performing Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto” with Bramwell Tovey conducting.

During his visit to Blair, in addition to his school-wide performance, Mr. Simonyan conducted an open rehearsal with Blair’s Orchestra and taught a master class on violin technique. More information about Mr. Simonyan is available at http://www.mikhailsimonyan.com/.

2009-2010 Bartow Series

Bartow Series Performance on April 16
Cincinnati Boychoir Directed by Former Faculty

On April 15 and 16, the Cincinnati Boychoir, under the direction of Christopher Eanes (a past director of the Blair Academy Singers), were the special guests of Blair Academy. The choir performed with the Blair Academy Singers and Blair Academy Strings on Thursday, then presented a Bartow Series performance at 10 a.m. on Friday for the entire Blair community. Performing Arts Chair Jennifer Pagotto notes that these talented young boys offer something quite unique to their audience – a performance that is “ethereal” in quality.

Founded in 1965, the Cincinnati Boychoir seeks to enhance the social, emotional, and musical development of boys by instilling in them a sense of dedication, self-discipline and respect. By striving for artistic excellence and learning a diverse repertory of choral literature, the boys are prepared for a lifelong love of music and ensemble singing. For more information, check out the choir’s Web site at http://cincinnatiboychoir.org/

Christopher Eanes, a former director of the Blair Academy Singers, began as artistic director of the Cincinnati Boychoir on June 1, 2009, a week after moving to the Queen City from Los Angeles. Born and raised in Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills, Chris studied conducting, voice and piano at Occidental College, the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, and with several teachers in Milan, Italy. Chris holds a master’s degree in choral music from USC, and is continuing his doctoral work on the same campus. In October of 2006, Chris produced and conducted a University-funded production of Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas; as a result of this project, he was appointed artistic director of the Chamber Opera of USC, in which capacity he oversaw and conducted several productions annually. As a performer, he has sung in Los Angeles with the USC Thornton Choral Artists under the direction of Christoph von Dohnányi, Carl St. Clair, and William Dehning, and in the USC Chamber Choir with Paul Salamunovich. Chris spends June and July of each summer coaching gifted high school musicians at the Hotchkiss Summer Portals program in Lakeville, Conn., where he has also been working on a project to edit and perform the sacred works of Baldassare Galuppi.

2008-2009 Bartow Series

Blair Academy’s Bartow Mainstage Series presented Cyrus Art Production on Thursday, April 9. 2009 in the DuBois Theatre of Armstrong-Hipkins Center for the Arts.

Cyrus Art Production presents dance and theater through unique and thought-provoking cultural events. With high production standards and an interdisciplinary approach to performance and presentation, the organization develops projects, performances and art works designed to stimulate the mind with beauty and intelligence. Born from the founder’s vision to test the boundaries of dance presentation, Cyrus Art Production has evolved into an organization that brings together various artistic disciplines including dance, music, drama, video, photography and graphic art to create an experience that is accessible, intellectually engaging and entertaining.

Duane Cyrus is the artistic director of Cyrus Art Productions and an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Cyrus holds an MFA from the University of Illinois where he was a Dewson Fellow and a BFA from the Juilliard School, which he attended on scholarship from the Aaron Diamond Foundation. He has traveled around the world as a director, choreographer, performer and teacher. He is also the author and editor of the book Vital Grace, a photographic essay published by Edition Stemmle featuring male dancers of color and interviews with Gregory Hines, Bill T. Jones and Evander Holyfield. This work has also been published as a poster and 1999 calendar by Pomegranate entitled Dancing a Dream. As an independent artist, Cyrus directs, teaches and choreographs extensively in the United States, Europe and Asia. He has also produced and performed in his own solo concerts (The Black Male and Dancing a Dream) performing at the Studio Moliere (Vienna), E-Werk (Frieberg), Aster Plaza (Hiroshima) and Carl Orff Saal (Munich) among others cities.

return to top