NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Cellist Nelly Rocha and pianist Jessica Osborne will perform a concert featuring the classical works of remarkable women composers on Sunday, March 18, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm, in the Ossie Davis Theater of the New Rochelle Public Library. The program features works by female composers of diverse nationalities and backgrounds who challenged the status quo, as actress Victoria Pollack will relate in brief dramatic renderings between pieces. Although women were not allowed to study or pursue composition professionally during their lifetime, pioneers Maria Theresia von Paradis, Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger, Nadia Boulanger, Rebecca Clarke, Henriette Bosmans, Ethel Smyth, Amy Beach and Florence Price were fueled by their love of music and a collective determination to overcome prejudice. Their music has stood the test of time.
Nelly Rocha is a versatile cellist based in New York City who has performed in Europe, Asia, Mexico and the United States in venues such as Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall Lincoln Center, Konzerthaus Berlin, Kultur und Kongresszentrum Luzern, Teatro Arcimboldi and Teatro Calderon (Madrid), China Conservatory of Music (Beijing), Auditorio Nacional (Mexico) and Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico), BAM Opera House, Town Hall NY, El Teatro at Museo del Barrio, DiMenna Center, Le Poisson Rouge, and Symphony Space. She has performed with the Distinguished Concerts International New York Orchestra, Miami Symphony, Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, National Lyric Opera, Reading Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Manhattan Camerata, New York Virtuosi, Camerata Washington Heights, Unitas Ensemble and Tsenov Chamber Ensemble. Ms. Rocha began her musical studies in Monterrey, Mexico, where she was born and raised. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Houston and a Master of Music degree from Arizona State University. In addition to performing, she teaches cello at the Music Conservatory of Westchester.
Jessica Xylina Osborne has performed throughout the continental U.S., Europe, and Asia, and has appeared in recitals at many of the world’s most celebrated venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Musée du Louvre in Paris, and the Seoul Arts Center. Radio
broadcasts include performances on Minnesota Public Radio’s A Prairie Home Companion, Performance Today, WQXR’s McGraw Hill Young Artists’ Showcase in New York, and WGMS in Washington, D.C., among others. Dr. Osborne is a laureate of international piano competitions, including the Bartók-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev Piano Competition, the International Russian Music Piano Competition, and the Houston Symphony’s Ima Hogg Competition. She holds degrees in solo piano performance from Indiana University and Rice University, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in piano performance from Yale University. Dr. Osborne currently resides in New York City, where she is Artist Faculty at Third Street Music Settlement.
Victoria Pollack is a NY-based actor and producer. She has appeared in numerous play development workshops as an actor with the Metropolitan Opera, Primary Stages, Premiere Stages, New Works at Perry Mansfield, the Lark, Ma-Yi, Naked Angels, NYSAF, and New Georges. She originated “The Girl” in the English premiere of Minetti (Barbican, London & Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh) with the Edinburgh International Festival. As a producer, Ms. Pollack develops live works and films. Recent projects include a trio of short films, a site-specific Macbeth in Brooklyn, the 2nd annual Film Festival at Juilliard, and most recently a workshop of Sebastian, a new Forrest Malloy play. She is a recent graduate of Juilliard’s Drama Division, Group 46.
A donation of $2.00 is suggested at the door. This program is made possible by the Friends of the New Rochelle Public Library.
