This weekend’s chamber recital as part of the School of Music Faculty Spotlight Series will feature the graceful pairing of flute and harp, presented in honor of a cherished member of Chautauqua’s classical music community.
At 4:15 p.m. Saturday in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra Principal Flute Richard Sherman will be joined by guest harpist Juan Riveros for “20th Century Masterworks for Flute and Harp” — a program of pieces from Vincent Persichetti, Jean-Michel Damase and William Alwyn — in a performance in memory of Beth Robinson, who spent 52 years as principal harpist of the CSO until her passing last year.
The works presented Saturday afternoon take unique advantage of the sound worlds the harp and the flute can create; the program begins with Persichetti’s Serenade No. 10 for Flute and Harp, Op. 79, and continues with Damase’s Sonate pour Flute et Harpe. A piece for solo harp — Nino Rota’s Sarabanda for solo Harp — follows, and the performance closes with Alywn’s “Naiades – Fantasy Sonata for Flute and Harp.”
This summer, the School of Music Faculty Spotlight Series is designed to showcase the talents of acclaimed musicians in residence at Chautauqua. On Saturday, resident flute faculty Sherman is joined by guest harpist Riveros — one of a new generation of harpists bridging a variety of styles and artistic avenues, building audiences and fostering fresh appreciation for an instrument with ancient and diverse traditions.
Already, Riveros has numerous accolades to his name: award winner in the 2022 Lyon & Healy Awards, Outstanding Instrumentalist in Harp at the 2022 and 2023 Sphinx SOPA Competitions, award winner in the 2020 Anne Adams Awards Competition, third prize in the Young Professional Division of the 2019 American Harp Society National Competition, and the Grand Prize in the Lewisville Lake International Concerto Competition.
Riveros is a member of the String Area faculty and the Instructor of Harp at Michigan State University, where Sherman also serves as professor of flute.
Active as a soloist, orchestral musician, and recitalist, Sherman is a dynamic performer of outstanding dramatic power. He is principal flute with the CSO, the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, and the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, and former principal flute with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sherman was the recipient of an ITT International Fellowship for study at the Royal College of Music in London and received the Henri Cohn Memorial Prize at Tanglewood for most outstanding fellowship student. As an educator, he oversees a vibrant flute studio at Michigan State University while also giving master classes throughout the country. In 2020, he was presented with the William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award, honored for a comprehensive and sustained record of excellence in creative activities, instruction and outreach. He previously received, as voted by his peers, the Excellence in Teaching Award, funded by the Dortha J. and John D. Withrow Endowed Fund for Excellence in Teaching.
