VC LIVE | 2021 “Fortissima” Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Closing Concert [WATCH NOW]

’Fortissima’ (meaning “very strong” in Italian) is a new six-month developmental initiative by the Colburn School to aid, inspire, equip and empower ten high school-aged young women of color to pursue professional training and careers in classical music

 

We’re coming to you from the Colburn School this evening for the closing celebration of the inaugural 2021 ‘Fortissima’ Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Program.

Led by Music Director Jannina Norpoth and Program Director Jazmín Morales, each of this year’s participants received rigorous artistic and leadership training, mentorship, and one-on-one personal and professional development — culminating in this week's weeklong intensive residential at the school.

Tonight’s program features works by female and BIPOC composers including Jesse Montgomery, Florence Price, and Joseph Bologne, Chevalier De Saint Georges.

 

 

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 6 | 10:00 (ET)

“FORTISSIMA” IN CONCERT

THAYER HALL, COLBURN SCHOOL, LOS ANGELES

 

 

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier De Saint Georges (1745-1799) | Sonata No. 3 for Two Violins in A Major - 1st Mvt

• Esme Arias-Kim (Violin)

• Leena Hocutt-Duarte (Violin)

 

Florence Price (1887-1953) | Adoration

• Genesis Garay (Trumpet)

• Leah Marcelle (Piano)

 

Inti Figgis-Vizueta (b.1993) | Talamh (land)

• Esme Arias-Kim (Violin)

• Anagha Kapsi (Violin)

• Lauren Edwards (Violin)

• Leena Hocutt-Duarte (Violin)

• Gabriela Salvador-Riera (Violin)

 

Monthati Masebe | Nomadic Nirvana (2018)

• Leena Hocutt-Duarte (Violin)

• Anagha Kapsi (Violin)

• Valeria Serrano  (Viola)

• Suubi Laurent (Cello)

 

Jessie Montgomery (b.1981) | Peace (2020)

• Leah Marcelle (Piano)

• Bianca Quddus (Clarinet)

 

Teresa Carreño (1853-1917) | Quartet for Two Violins, Viola, and Cello in B Minor - 1st Mvt

• Gabriela Salvador-Riera (Violin)

• Lauren Edwards (Violin)

• Valeria Serrano (Viola)

• Suubi Laurent (Cello)

 

The US-national “Fortissima” program is made possible through the generous assistance of several foundations and private donors in pro-active support of equity, diversity, and inclusion at the Colburn School and beyond.

The 2022 “Fortissima” applications will open next month, with the program provided to all musicians accepted completely free-of-charge.

 

The 2021 Fortissima Fellows are:

Gabriela Salvador Riera | 14-year-old Latina violinist from Wilmington, Delaware. She has previously been a member of the Delaware Youth Orchestra, the Settlement Music School Ensembles, and the Sphinx Performance Academy.

Suubi Laurent | 14-year-old Haitian cellist from Attleboro, Massachusetts. She currently studies as a member of the New England Conservatory Pre-College Program.

Anagha Kapsi | 15-year-old Indianv violinist from Exton, Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and an alumna of ‘From the Top’.

Leena Hocutt Duarte | 17-year-old Hispanic/Colombian violinist from Cary, North Carolina. She is an alum of the NYO-USA, the North Carolina Chamber Music Institute, and the Sphinx Performance Academy.

Genesis Garay | 16-year-old Latina trumpet player from Los Angeles, California. She is currently a student in Colburn School’s Jumpstart program and an alum of Colburn’s Summer Encounter program.

Valeria Serrano | 17-year-old Hispanic/Venezuelan violist from Arlington, Virginia. She is a member of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the NSO Youth Fellowship Program and previously was a member of the El Sistema program. 

Leah Marcelle | 16-year-old Black pianist from Los Angeles, California. She is a student in the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA).

Bianca Quddus | 14-year-old Indian/South Asian clarinetist from Richmond Hill, New York. She is a student in Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program.

Lauren Edwards | 16-year-old African American violinist from Owings Mills, Maryland. She is a student at the Baltimore School for the Arts and the Peabody Preparatory.

Esme Arias Kim | 15-year-old Latinx/Asian violinist from Hoffman Estates, Illinois | She is a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Academy at the Music Institute of Chicago and was the Sphinx Junior Division Grand Prize winner in 2020.