Philadelphia International Music Festival Faculty Recital
Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, English Horn
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Marvin Moon, Viola
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Mark Livshits, Piano Curtis Institute of Music
Thursday, July 23, 2026
Mitchell Newman, Violin Temple University
Gloria dePasquale, Cello
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Colin Dill, Narrator
Chapel of St. Cornelius the Centurion 7:00 PM Valley Forge Military College
Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, solo English hornist of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1995, has toured the globe with the Orchestra to wide critical acclaim with many of the world’s finest conductors. A passionate advocate for the English horn, she has premiered many pieces written expressly for her, including concertos by Behzad Ranjbaran and Nicholas Maw, and chamber music by David Ludwig and Stephen Cohn. She recently released a solo album, English Horn Expressions, which features several new commissions for the instrument.
A Philadelphia native, Ms. Masoudnia graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with John de Lancie, former principal oboe of The Philadelphia Orchestra and former president of Curtis. Prior to that, she studied with the acclaimed oboist and English hornist Louis Rosenblatt, her predecessor in The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Ms. Masoudnia was a participant in the Marlboro Music Festival and played oboe concertos with the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia (now the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia) and the New York Symphonic Ensemble. In addition, she was the solo English hornist of the Minnesota Orchestra for seven years and is a featured artist on an album of Beethoven and Triebensee trios along with her Curtis oboe colleagues Marilyn Zupnick and Kathryn Greenbank.
Ms. Masoudnia is on the faculty of Temple University and the Philadelphia International Music Festival, where she teaches oboe and English horn and coaches chamber music. In addition, she has given English horn master classes and private English horn lessons at the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory.
Violinist Mitchell Newman retired from the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2020. During his 34-year career, he worked with many of the world’s great conductors including music directors Andre Previn, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel and guest conductors Simon Rattle, Kurt Sanderling, Herbert Blomstedt, Thomas Wilkins, Eric Leinsdorf, Zubin Mehta, Emmanuelle Haim, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Simone Young and Valery Gergiev.
A passionate advocate for bringing music to underserved communities, Newman founded “Harmony: Music for Mental Health,” a chamber music/fundraising concert for Mental Health America Long Beach. In 2010 he was named a mental health hero by the California State Senate. In 2015 he started “Coming Home to Music” which brings concerts of classical chamber music and jazz concerts to people who were experiencing homelessness, now living in apartment complexes built by People Assisting the Homeless (PATH). Through his close friendship with MacArthur Grant Awardee and Street Symphony founder Vijay Gupta, Newman has played many concerts for people living in Los Angeles’ Skid Row and those in incarcerated communities.
Also a dedicated teacher, Newman was deeply involved in the LA Phil’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) program providing its students private lessons, master classes, and conducting string sectionals. For more than a decade he planned, curated, conducted, and hosted, in English and Spanish, an annual concert featuring YOLA students and LA Philharmonic members playing side-byside. Newman occasionally travels to Mexico to give master classes and perform fundraising concerts for the Benning Academy. The Academy builds outstanding music conservatories and provides free
Reminder: Please silence cell phones and other electronic devices for all performances. PIMF is a program of Sandy Marcucci International Camps, Inc.
lessons and instruments to Mexico’s most needy children in their neighborhoods. Newman has also taught at the Colburn School and conducted the string ensemble at the Pascale Music Institute, leading the ensemble in a concert at Carnegie Hall in 2017.
Newman is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, studying violin with Aaron Rosand, David Cerone and Yumi Ninomiya. He studied chamber music with Karen Tuttle, Felix Galamir and Mischa Schneider. At the Meadowmount School for Strings, he studied violin with Ivan Galamian and chamber music with Josef Gingold.
Currently, Newman resides in Philadelphia. He teaches an orchestra repertoire class for violinists at the Curtis Institute of Music, directs the Center for Gifted Young Musicians Chamber Players Orchestra at Temple Music Prep, and is working for Play On Philly and the Settlement Music School. He looks forward to playing chamber music and teaching in the diverse communities of the city.
A native of Philadelphia, violist Marvin Moon came to The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2007 from the Boston Symphony, which he joined at the start of the 2005-06 season. Mr. Moon previously performed for several years as a substitute player with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. From 2000 to 2003 he was principal viola of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. He was also previously a member of the Haddonfield Symphony (now Symphony in C), the New York String Seminar Chamber Orchestra, and the Curtis Symphony, serving as principal viola in 2000.
As a chamber musician Mr. Moon has been a member of the Koryo String Quartet since 2001. He has participated in such festivals as Music from Angel Fire (NM), Summerfest at La Jolla (CA), the Fourth International Chamber Music Encounters in Jerusalem, the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival (ME), and the Sarasota Chamber Music Festival.
As a soloist Mr. Moon gave the world premiere of James Ra’s Concertino with the Curtis Chamber Ensemble, played Bartók’s Viola Concerto with the Temple University Symphony, and was viola soloist in Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola with both the New Jersey Symphony, under Vladimir Spivakov, and the Kennett Square (PA) Symphony.
Mr. Moon attended the Temple University Music Preparatory Division and the Curtis Institute of Music. He studied with Joseph dePasquale, former principal viola of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and with Choong-Jin Chang, currently principal viola of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Gloria dePasquale, Cellist for The Philadelphia Orchestra (1977–2022) was hired by Eugene Ormandy and served four and a half decades under ensuing artistic leadership, including Riccardo Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Christoph Eschenbach, Charles Dutoit, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
The public-school music system in Evansville, Indiana, provided Mrs. dePasquale’s early introduction to the cello and classical music, with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra providing her entry into the professional world when she won her first orchestral position with the EPO at age 15.
Reminder: Please silence cell phones and other electronic devices for all performances. PIMF is a program of Sandy Marcucci International Camps, Inc.
Attending New England Conservatory of Music on a full scholarship, Mrs. DePasquale earned her BM and MM degrees (both with honors distinction) in cello performance in 1971 and 1973, as a cello student of Stephen Geber. While in Boston, Mrs. dePasquale also performed as a substitute cellist for the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops.
From 1974-77, Mrs. dePasquale was Associate Principal Cellist of the Buffalo Philharmonic, under the music directorship of Michael Tilson Thomas.
After joining The Philadelphia Orchestra cello section in 1977, Ms. dePasquale became a tireless advocate for music education and community engagement. Along with The Philadelphia Orchestra cello section, she helped to design, spearhead, and popularize The Philadelphia Orchestra PlayINs, convening hundreds of student, amateur, and professional musicians on the stage of Verizon Hall for casual performances with Philadelphia Orchestra musicians. Mrs. dePasquale and her late husband, Philadelphia Orchestra Co-Concertmaster, William dePasquale, were instrumental in forging the PYOMI Philadelphia Orchestra Side-by-Side events. The dePasquales also initiated the relationship between Philadelphia Orchestra Musicians (many who are PYOMI alums) and PYOMI for the sectional masterclasses for PYO and PYAO.
As a soloist, Mrs. dePasquale has appeared with PYO in Verizon Hall performing Haydn’s C Major ‘Cello Concerto and Elgar’s ‘Cello Concerto. Mr. and Mrs. dePasquale appeared as soloists, performing the Brahms Double Concerto with many community and regional orchestras in the Philadelphia area, as well as a performance in Verizon Hall with PYO. The dePasquales also appeared with PYO in Verizon Hall performing Saint-Saëns’ La Muse et le Poète. And Mrs. dePasquale appeared as soloist in Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante with PYO, along with violinist, Francesca dePasquale; oboist, Peter Smith; and bassoonist, Angela Anderson Smith.
For a decade, Mrs. dePasquale was cellist in the New Philadelphia Quartet, and for more than two decades, the cellist in the dePasquale Quartet. In residence for more than two decades at Villanova University, the dePasquale Quartet featured guest collaborations with well-known artists including, Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, Andre Watts, Yefim Bronfam, Christoph Eschenbach, and Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Mrs. dePasquale continues to maintain a large private cello studio. Her students consistently gain admission to the nation’s most highly regarded academic institutions and music conservatories.
GRAMMY Award winning pianist Mark Livshits is one of the most highly sought after soloists and chamber musicians in Philadelphia. He appears frequently in concert with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as with the orchestra as a substitute in the keyboard section.
In addition to performances at the Salzburg Festival, solo recitals at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, and Bilbao Philharmonic Society, Dr. Livshits has also worked closely with musicians such as Yannick Nezet Denève, Michael Tilson Thomas, Nikolaj Znaider, Nathalie Stutzman, Leonidas Kovakos, Gil Shaham, Lynn Harrell, Midori, Christoph Eschenbach, Alisa Weilerstein, Measha Brueggergosman, Daniel Lozakovich, Dave Brubeck, Nick Canellakis and
Reminder: Please silence cell phones and other electronic devices for all performances. PIMF is a program of Sandy Marcucci International Camps, Inc.
Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, YeEun Choi under the auspices of IMG Artists and the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation.
In 2015, he was called to replace Yannick NezetSeguin in a chamber music performance of Brahms Third Quartet for Piano and Strings with members from the Philadelphia Orchestra and has been invited to perform in chamber programs with members of the orchestra since then. He is often called to play orchestral piano in the orchestra as well. Dr. Livshits has received invitations to perform for dignitaries such as Secretary of State Colin Powell and President Joe Biden.
Dr. Livshits currently serves on faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music and is on faculty as the head of collaborative piano at the University of Delaware. He also serves on the faculty at the Philadelphia International Music Festival.
Mark Livshits is a Steinway Artist
Colin Dill is a longtime Philadelphia-based artist. As a choral and chamber musician, he has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival, the Laughing Bird quartet, the Philadelphia Singers, and has been a longtime member of The Crossing, the four-time Grammy Award-winning Philadelphia new music choir. His work also includes spoken word, both in live performance and in the studio, often in collaboration with other musicians.
John Conahan is a composer, performer, conductor, and educator. His compositions have been premiered at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, the Kimmel Center, and the Kennedy Center by artists including Lorin Maazel, Marin Alsop, Denyce Graves, Deborah Voigt, and James Galway. John has released a number of albums of varying genres, performs frequently as a part of different ensembles and under his own name, performs piano concerts of wholly spontaneous music, and conducts annually at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.
The music of Kile Smith has received three Grammy nominations and is hailed nationally and internationally for its strong voice, sheer beauty, and “profoundly direct emotional appeal.” Leading choral conductor Craig Hella Johnson has called Kile “one of our most important composers … his voice is unlike any other. Utterly unique.” He has been commissioned by The Crossing, Conspirare, Piffaro, Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Chor Leoni, William Ferris Chorale, Helena Symphony, Lyric Fest, Westminster Choir College, Orchestra 2001, Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania and iSing Girlchoirs, Choral Arts Washington (DC), Choral Arts Philadelphia, Relâche, Newburyport Chamber Music Festival, Gaudete Brass, Church of the Holy Trinity (Philadelphia), Church of the Blessed Sacrament (Seattle), Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, and many others. Kile’s first opera, The Book of Job, was co-commissioned by Conspirare and The Crossing.
Reminder: Please silence cell phones and other electronic devices for all performances. PIMF is a program of Sandy Marcucci International Camps, Inc.
Major choral works of Kile’s are heard throughout the US and internationally. He has been performed by Seraphic Fire, The 24, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Sofia Philharmonic, the Grand Rapids and Delaware symphonies, Orchestra 2001, Relâche, and Network for New Music. His Bremen Town Musicians was recorded by the English Symphony Orchestra with actor and comedian Gemma Whelan as narrator. He’s written works for Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim, principal clarinet Ricardo Morales, English horn Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, and principal horn Jennifer Montone. Gramophone called Vespers “spectacular,” American Record Guide, “a major new work,” and Audiophile Audition, “a masterpiece of the deepest kind … easily one of the best releases of the year of any type … a crime to pass up.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called Canticle “Achingly beautiful,” TheaterJones, Dallas listed The Consolation of Apollo in its Top Ten, and about The Arc in the Sky Jonah Pearl in The Classic Review wrote, “Smith has set a new standard for himself. Strongly recommended.” More than a dozen CDs with Kile’s music have been released in the last few years.
He’s been Composer in Residence for the Helena Symphony, the Jupiter Symphony, Lyric Fest, and the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia. Kile hosted Fleisher Discoveries on radio and podcast from 2002 to 2024 and is a contributor to the arts and culture magazine Broad Street Review. Sought out as a narrator, he has brought Peter and the Wolf, ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, Casey at the Bat, Hansel and Gretel, and his own Bremen Town Musicians to the concert stage. Kile’s website is kilesmith.com, and he is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and SoundCloud.
PROGRAM NOTES
“The Five Stages of Rodolfo” is a multi-movement suite with a brief prologue and epilogue that follows an original fictional narrative. This story follows the character of Rodolfo from the opera Le Bohème and begins sometime after the death of Mimi at the conclusion of the opera. Once Rodolfo has experienced the death of his love Mimi, I have envisioned a time following her funeral where Rodolfo is begins to experience of the five stages of grief. Each stage of the Kübler-Ross model is demonstrated in this work as a short dance duet between English Horn and Violoncello.
Each instrument represents a character from the opera. The English Horn is Rodolfo, winding his way through the streets of Paris following Mimi’s death, experiencing a range of emotional landscapes. The Cello represents the memory of Mimi in Rodolfo’s mind, and perhaps an apparition who interacts with him at times throughout this journey.
Franz Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata in A minor, D. 821, written in 1824, was originally composed for the arpeggione (a rare, extinct bowed guitar). Because the instrument faded into obscurity, the piece is widely and brilliantly performed today in transcriptions for viola and piano or cello and piano.
Reminder: Please silence cell phones and other electronic devices for all performances. PIMF is a program of Sandy Marcucci International Camps, Inc.
The Five Stages of Rodolfo (2026) John Conahan
I. Denial
II. Anger
III. Bargaining
IV. Depression
V. Acceptance Epilogue
Arpeggione Sonata, D.821
First Performance
Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, English horn
Gloria dePasquale, cello
Colin Dill, narrator
Franz Schubert
I. Allegro moderato (1797–1828)
II. Adagio
III. Allegretto
Marvin Moon, viola
Mark Livshits, piano
In the Shelter of Most High (2026) Kile Smith
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (b. 1956)
First Performance
Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, English horn
Mitchell Newman, violin
Gloria dePasquale, cello
Blue Skies
Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, English horn
Mitchell Newman, violin
Gloria dePasquale, cello
Irving Berlin (arr. Kile Smith) (1888–1989)
Reminder: Please silence cell phones and other electronic devices for all performances. PIMF is a program of Sandy Marcucci International Camps, Inc.
PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL ITALY
August 4 – August 14, 2026 | Cremona, Italy
FACULTY
Kimberly Fisher
Principal Second Violin
The Philadelphia Orchestra
John Koen Cello
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Mark Livshits
Faculty Pianist
Curtis Institute of Music
Philadelphia International Music Festival – Italy (August 4–August 14, 2026) is designed for string musicians and pianists 13-19 years of age preparing for upcoming solo performances and competitions. This exciting new program will include: three private lessons, daily 30-minute workout sessions with an assigned faculty accompanist, daily hour-long solo performance classes, five hours of required daily private practice, and a week-ending Grand Finale Recital in one of the stunning performance halls in Cremona.
Students and families will both reside in Cremona, Italy, enjoying authentic Italian-style meals throughout the week-long program. While students are in training, guests attending the “Family & Friends” program will tour the surrounding towns via Luxury Motorcoach. Destinations include Milan, Verona, Brescia, Florence, Genoa, and Sirmione! Students will join the traveling adventures at the conclusion of the Grand Finale performance on August 11th, 2026
Milan Verona Brescia
Florence
Cremona Genoa
PIMF "Music in the Mansion"
Winter Solo Performance Intensive
December 28, 2026 – January 2, 2027
MIAMI, FL (DECEMBER 28, 2026–JANUARY 2, 2027) ― One of PIMF’s most popular programs EVER is the winter break intensive for strings at Miami’s beautiful Casa Tranquilla estate. Designed for advanced string players 13-19 years of age preparing for upcoming solo performances and competitions, this unique mini-camp gathers twenty-five talented young musicians to rev up their skills and start the new year on a high note.
Days are packed with a laser focus on skill building and technique refinement, while the evenings are opportunities to perform and be challenged in Master Classes. This program includes: four private lessons, daily 30-minute workout sessions with assigned faculty accompanists, daily hourlong solo performance classes, five hours of required daily private practice, and a week-ending Grand Finale Recital.
The mansion offers indoor and outdoor spaces for private lessons and studio classes with faculty that include Kimberly Fisher (Principal Second Violin, The Philadelphia Orchestra), Richard Amoroso (violin, The Philadelphia Orchestra), and John Koen (cello, The Philadelphia Orchestra), as well as daily workouts and coaching sessions with piano accompanists.
And throughout, a spectacular gourmet menu, complete with daily High Tea prepared by a gourmet chef, in a world of elegance and pampering to elevate young musicians’ entire educational experience. In an entirely new way to study their craft, Music in Mansion surrounds them with beauty and excellence so the only thing they need to focus on is performance.
String players are invited to start 2027 with fresh insights and inspiration, new connections, and glowing memories. Music in the Mansion fills to capacity each season, so early auditions are advised.