Click here to purchase tickets and learn more about this concert.
Music Director William Boughton will conduct the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in masterworks by two symphonic titans, Beethoven & Brahms, on Thursday, February 25 at 7:30pm at Woolsey Hall in downtown New Haven. The program, which includes Brahms’ Second Symphony and Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto, will feature pianist Nick van Bloss, the international sensation who has inspired audiences with his refined artistry and touched hearts through his battle with Tourette Syndrome.
English pianist Nick van Bloss began his musical training as a chorister at Westminster Abbey and entered the Royal College of Music at the age of 15. In 1994, aged 26, he played his last public appearance before retiring from playing completely for 15 years. During these years van Bloss rarely touched a piano, but he did write his autobiographical memoir Busy Body: My Life with Tourette’s Syndrome, which was published to much acclaim in 2006. The following year he was the subject of a BBC ‘Horizon’ documentary inspired by his book, which explored his struggle with Tourette’s Syndrome and the remarkable disappearance of his symptoms when playing piano.
In April 2009, van Bloss made a ‘comeback’ concert at London’s Cadogan Hall, and since then, he has performed across the United States, Japan, Sweden, UK, Germany, and Austria. His latest recording, Schumann’s ‘Kreisleriana’ and the Etudes Symphoniques, was released in November 2015.
Inspired by van Bloss’ personal story, the NHSO and Yale Department of Psychiatry will present Music Meets Medicine: Tourette Syndrome on Friday, February 26 at Davenport College at Yale University. This special seminar, which is free and open to the public, will explore the link between Tourette Syndrome and the exceptional creativity that can come from the extraordinary minds of those diagnosed with it.
Guest speakers from Yale University Department of Psychiatry will include: Christopher Pittenger, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and in the Child Study Center; Director, Yale OCD Research Clinic; Associate Director, Neuroscience Research Training Program); Robert A. King, MD (Medical Director, Tourette’s/OCD Clinic at Yale Child Study Center); and James Frederick Leckman, MD, PhD (Neison Harris Professor at Yale Child Study Center and Professor of Pediatrics). Musical guests will include three musicians with Tourette Syndrome whose symptoms disappear when they are making music: Nick van Bloss, piano; Tobias Picker, composer; and Jason Duika, baritone.
About the NHSO
In 2015 – 2016, its 122nd season, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra continues to fulfill its mission of increasing the impact and value of orchestral music for its audiences through high quality, affordable performances and educational programming. The NHSO presents 55 concerts per season throughout the region and reaches more than 30,000 students through its award-winning educational and community programming. For more information, visit NewHavenSymphony.org.
About the Yale Department of Psychiatry
The Yale Department of Psychiatry is dedicated to providing the highest quality education in the field of Psychiatry; to providing leaders and leadership for the field; acquiring and disseminating new scientific knowledge pertinent to the causes and treatments of severe neuropsychiatric disorders and to serving as a model of exemplary mental health care for students and society. To learn more, visit medicine.yale.edu/psychiatry.
BEETHOVEN & BRAHMS
Thursday, February 25, 2016
7:30pm – Woolsey Hall (500 College Street, New Haven)
Tickets: Adult tickets are $15 – $74. College student tickets are $10 and KidTix (children ages 7-17) are free with the purchase of an adult ticket. Blue Star tickets for active military personnel and their immediate families are free. For tickets and information call 203.865.0831 x20 or visit www.NewHavenSymphony.org.
Special Ticket Offer from Willoughby’s Coffee & Tea: Patrons with tickets to “Beethoven & Brahms” may present their ticket stubs at either New Haven location for a complimentary beverage February 26 – March 6, 2016. Additionally, patrons who present their Willoughby’s Coffee & Tea receipt at the box office the night of the performance of “Beethoven & Brahms” may redeem it for a $10 concert ticket. Offer cannot be combined with any other discount or offer.
Pre-Concert Activities:
Symphony Supper: Indulge in a delicious Symphony Supper with other music lovers at the Graduate Club prior to the performance; visit NewHavenSymphony.org or call 203.865.0831 x18 for details.
Prelude: Join the NHSO for an intriguing free pre-concert discussion with Michael Yaffe, Associate Dean, Yale School of Music from 6:30-7:00pm at Yale’s Sudler Hall.
MUSIC MEETS MEDICINE: TOURETTE’S SYNDROME
Friday, February 26, 2016 | 8:45am – 12:30pm
Davenport College, Yale University (248 York St, New Haven)
Admission Information: Free and open to the public. Suggested donation: $20 General; $10 Students. No prior registration required.
The Classics Series media sponsor is the New Haven Register. Symphony Suppers are sponsored by ARIA, a subsidiary of Guilford Savings Bank. KidTix and Blue Star Tix are sponsored by Frontier Communications.
