May 3, 2023

“Cellissimo” Quintet Play At Chamber Concert

CELLO AND MORE: Katrina Marie Kormanski, one of the performers at the May 7 concert, took this photo of her cello, which she calls “Luigi.”

A quintet of three cellos, piano, and clarinet will perform music of Bach, Shostakovich, Joplin, and other composers on Sunday, May 7 at the 1867 Sanctuary, 101 Scotch Road, Ewing. The concert is part of the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey’s chamber music series.

Cellists are Katrina Marie Kormanski, Elina Lang, and Tomasz Rzeczychi. John Kormanski plays clarinet, and Don Tenenblatt is the pianist.

Kormanski comes from a musical family. From 1987 until its closing, she was the principal cellist of the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra. She currently holds this position in the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey, Boheme Opera, and Newtown Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Collegium of Musicum of Princeton, the Rutgers University Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra.

Snellman-Lang began her musical studies in Finland She continued at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv and received her MM Degree from the Mannes College of Music in New York City. She is an active chamber musician, orchestral player, teacher, and member of the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey. Lang has performed extensively around the world with the Helsinki Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, American Symphony Orchestra, Scandia Symphony, Boheme Opera NJ, and on Broadway.

Rzeczycki has extensive experience as a chamber musician and orchestra player including with the Bach Academy with Helmuth Rilling (Arthuas Musik recordings); Pavarotti Orchestra (South American tour); Warsaw Mozart Festival (period instrument); Austin Symphony, Abilene Philharmonic, Lehigh University Choral Arts, Capital Philharmonic; Riverside Sinfonia. He has collaborated with numerous artists including Martin Ostertag, Thomas Brandis, Claus Kanngiesser, Krysztof Pendercki, Van Cliburn, Lynn Harrell, Boris Pergamenschikow, and Tabea Zimmerman. His most recent performances include Carnegie Hall and the White House. He teaches orchestra and music theory at Princeton Day School.

Kormanski graduated from the Naval School of Music in 1971. During his time in the Navy Band he made two deployments with the Sixth Fleet and toured from Iceland to Florida. He then attended the University of the Arts and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Music. In 1979, he became a band director in the Philadelphia Parochial School System. He has performed for three American presidents and performed alongside such jazz greats as Lionel Hampton and for composer Richard Rodgers. He has performed as a soloist for over 50 years in Europe and across the U.S., notably on tours in Austria in 2006, Russia in 2008, and Ireland in 2016.

Tenenblatt has played piano and celeste with the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey since 2015. He holds degrees in music from Yale University and Rutgers University. He has participated in productions by Pennsylvania Ballet; American Repertory Ballet; Opera Theater of The College of New Jersey; Plays-in-the-Park Edison; and Delaware Valley University. Currently he plays in Bucks County Symphony, Southeaster PA Symphony Orchestra, and Riverside Symphonia. He teaches private piano and voice lessons in Bucks County, Pa.

For tickets, visit capitalphilharmonic.org.