Program

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About the Artists

Rachel Arcega Orth

An active soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral member, violinist Rachel Arcega Orth is noted for her passionate musical interpretations and exceptional singing tone. Since beginning violin lessons at the age of six, Mrs. Orth has performed across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina. She regularly plays violin with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Benjamin Zander.

Mrs. Orth recently graduated from Boston University with a Master’s of Music in Violin Performance. She holds a Bachelor’s of Music in Violin Performance from Texas Christian University, where she graduated Magna cum laude. In addition to appearing as concertmaster of the BU Symphony and as a violinist with Symphony Nova, Mrs. Orth has played in Boston’s Symphony Hall on numerous occasions with the Boston Philharmonic and the BU Symphony. During her undergraduate studies, she served as concertmaster of the TCU Symphony Orchestra and led the symphony’s 2012 performance in Bass Hall. In May of 2013, Mrs. Orth toured Argentina with the TCU Symphony, appearing in concerts in Buenos Aires and Rosario. A student of Bayla Keyes, Dr. Curt Thompson, Dr. Misha Galaganov, and Michael Shih, Mrs. Orth participated in master classes with James Buswell, David Kim, Cho-Liang Lin, Ronald Copes, and Yoheved Kaplinsky. Other past teachers include Elisa Barston, Ronald Patterson, and Harold Byers.

An avid chamber musician and soloist, Mrs. Orth has participated in summer festivals including the Bowdoin International Music Festival and the Prades International Music Academie in France. In 2018 she was selected as a member of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra and performed in Charleston, South Carolina. As a chamber musician, Mrs. Orth was a Young Artist at Mimir Chamber Music Festival during the summers of 2006, 2009, and 2010 under the instruction of Stephen Rose, Nathan Cole, Brant Taylor, Erin Keefe, and Dr. Curt Thompson. Her most recent chamber performance was a recital with the Arlington String Quartet at DePaul University. Other chamber music experience includes two summers with the Detroit Symphony Summer Arts Festival performing and working with members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and one year as first violinist in the Detroit Symphony Civic Honors Chamber program.

Mrs. Orth has worked in her home town as Assistant Concertmaster with the Cascade Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Concertmaster with the Everett Symphony in Everett, Washington. Prior to these engagements, Mrs. Orth was Concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra during their 2005-2006 season with guest conductor Itzhak Perlman and guest artist Midori Goto. She also served as first violinist and concertmaster for the Dearborn Youth Symphony from 1998 until 2005. At the age of 12, Mrs. Orth made her solo debut with the Dearborn Youth Symphony as the winner of their Young Artist Concerto Competition.

During the summer of 2007, Mrs. Orth was an Emerson Scholar at Interlochen Arts Academy. She served as principal second, Assistant Concertmaster, and Concertmaster of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra. She has worked with artists such as Brandon and Branford Marsalis, Joshua Bell, and William Preucil.

Apart from her musical studies, Mrs. Orth enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, teaching, and running. She currently resides in the Boston, MA with her husband (pianist Kyle Orth) and their cats Nana and Seb.

Kyle Orth

Hailed as “spine-tingling” (Fort Worth Star Telegram) and “breathtaking” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), Kyle Orth is a pianist of unusual virtuosity and artistic sensitivity. Having concertized across the United States, Israel, and Mexico, Mr. Orth is widely recognized as a captivating soloist and chamber musician. The Dallas Morning News praised his playing as “thoughtfully proportioned and detailed, with plenty of virtuosity when called for.”

Since Mr. Orth’s orchestral debut at the age of fifteen, he has appeared as soloist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Israel Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Oaxaca (Mexico), Dallas Chamber Symphony, Missouri Symphony Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Richardson Symphony Orchestra, and on several occasions with the Plano Symphony Orchestra, performing under the batons of Jaap van Zweden, Vahagn Papian, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Hugh Wolff, Anshel Brusilow, Hector Guzman, and others. Mr. Orth has also appeared with the symphony orchestras of Lewisville, Brazos Valley, Midland-Odessa, and San Angelo. In January, he performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra on their subscription series, a performance which the Star Tribune described as being “thrillingly visceral.”

A distinguished competitor, Mr. Orth holds over twenty first-place wins in local, national, and international music competitions. Triumphs include Grand Prize in the Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, as well as First-Place in the Dallas International Piano Competition, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Yamaha Senior Piano Competition, Lennox International Young Artist’s Competition, Midland-Odessa National Young Artist Competition, and Hellam Young Artists Competition. He also received top prizes in the Kingsville International Young Performers Competitions, Corpus Christi International Piano Competition, and Wideman International Piano Competition.

In addition to attending the Perlman Music Program as a young artist, he participated in the Pablo Casals Festival-Academie in France, PianoTexas International Festival, and the Tel Hai International Master Classes in Israel, where he won first place in their concerto competition. Mr. Orth’s recordings have been broadcasted on WGBH-WCRB classical 99.5 in Boston and New Hampshire, as well as WRR radio, classical 101.1 in Dallas. He has presented solo recitals in Cabo San Lucas and Oaxaca, Mexico, as well as performances at the MFA Boston, Dallas Museum of Art, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and Meadows Museum (at SMU). As an advocate for promoting music education in public schools, he was invited to perform on numerous occasions for the Van Cliburn Foundation’s Musical Awakenings® Program.

Born in Fountain Valley, California and raised in Richardson, Texas, Mr. Orth studied through high school with Marcy and Alex McDonald. He completed his undergraduate degree at Texas Christian University (TCU) as a full-tuition scholarship student of John Owings. At TCU he was a recipient of several music and academic awards, including the School of Music’s Nordan Young Artist Award. He completed his graduate degree at the New England Conservatory, where he is continuing his studies with Wha Kyung Byun in the highly selective DMA program.

Apart from his classical music studies, Mr. Orth enjoys reading, writing, and music composition. He is active in the Jewish community, and served for three years as President of Hillel at TCU. He lives in Boston with his wife, violinist Rachel Arcega Orth.