Common Ground

Brennen Sweet

Brennan Sweet joined the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in 1994 as Associate Concertmaster and subsequently led the orchestra for three seasons as acting concertmaster under the baton of Zdeněk Mácal. He also led the orchestra in the widely televised concert with Andrea Bocelli at New Jersey’s Liberty State Park as well as the 9/11 memorial concert featuring Verdi’s Requiem. Sweet served for four years as concertmaster of the Brooklyn Philharmonic and appeared on the David Letterman show during his term. He has also been invited to lead other orchestras as guest concertmaster including the New York Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Gerard Swartz, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, with whom he performed Ein Heldenleben to critical acclaim, and the Westfield Symphony among others. He has also played with the American Symphony, Bard Music Festival and the Merce Cunningham Ballet. Sweet has also performed in the Broadway productions of Crazy For You, High Society, and Candide.

Mira Kang

Soloist, chamber musician as well as strong educator, Mira Kang has been featured on many different stages. Her musical contribution includes solo featuring, chamber music, duty of principal cellist of orchestras, master classes, and workshops. She made her debut at the age of 16 as a soloist to Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the most prominent orchestras in her native country, Korea. She was also invited to perform in Seoul International Music Festival and has been featured on live radio and MBC television broadcasts in performances with Seoul Philharmonic orchestra. She has performed throughout South Korea, the Northeastern US, and Germany as a recitalist and chamber musician.

Maureen Hurd

Clarinetist Maureen Hurd Hause has appeared in concerts and masterclasses throughout Europe, Asia, and North America, performing at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and (le) poisson rouge, with the American Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the New York City Opera Orchestra, the Broadway production of The King and Iat Lincoln Center, as well as in South Korea, France, England, and Mexico. She performed at International Clarinet Association ClarinetFests® in Belgium, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the US and at the Norfolk, Skaneateles, Lancaster, and Zodiac Festivals. She has recorded for Naxos, MSR Classics and Marquis Classics. She has been recognized for her study and performances of classical works connected to Benny Goodman. She is Head of the Woodwind Program and Associate Professor of Clarinet at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. She is a Selmer Paris Artist and a D’Addario Artist, playing Selmer Paris Signature and Recital clarinets and D’Addario Reserve reeds.

Kaoru Hinata

Kaoru Hinata has performed with the New York City Opera Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Stamford Symphony, Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra, among many others, is a member of the New York Chamber Orchestra, and was in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She was the first prize winner of the Lawrence Beauregard Competition in Canada and the second prize winner in the Myrna Brown Competition in Texas and has been featured as concerto soloist with the Norfolk Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Symphony of Westchester, and the New York Choral Society Symphony. A dedicated chamber musician who has premiered works by Christopher Theofanidis, Dan Cooper, and Dan Sonenberg, she has also played for Broadway shows such as Sunset Boulevard, The King and I, and Phantom of the Opera. She holds a Master of Music degree and Artist Diploma from Yale University and a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University. Her teachers include Ransom Wilson, Walfrid Kujala, and Keith Underwood. She is on the faculty of the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

Robert Aldridge

Robert Livingston Aldridge (b. 1954) is a GRAMMY-winning composer who has written over sixty works for orchestra, opera, music-theater, voice, dance, string quartet, solo and chamber ensembles. His music has been performed throughout the United States, Europe and Japan and Australia. He has received fellowships and awards for his music including the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Guggenheim Foundation, American Academy of Arts and Letters, National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, American Symphony Orchestra League and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Allen Shawn

Composer and pianist Allen Shawn (b. 1948), grew up in New York City and moved to Vermont in 1985 to be on the music faculty of Bennington College. His musical works include much piano music; a Symphony; Two Concertos for Piano, and two for Cello; additional concertos for Violin, and for Oboe, and a Double Concerto for Clarinet and Cello; Music for string orchestra and other large ensembles; three Chamber Operas; Choral, Vocal and Chamber Music. Recordings of his work include four devoted to his piano music, including the CD Allen Shawn-Piano Music performed by pianist, Julia Bartha, and a double CD devoted to his five piano sonatas; several devoted to his chamber music; his Piano Concerto, performed by Ursula Oppens with the Albany Symphony, conducted by David Alan Miller; works performed by Palisades Virtuosi, the Chamber Music Conference and Composers Forum of the East, and the piano duo ZOFO; and his Chamber Opera The Music Teacher, composed to a libretto by his brother, playwright and actor, Wallace Shawn. Much of Shawn’s music is published by E.C.Schirmer.

Shawn is also the author of four books: Arnold Schoenberg’s Journey; Wish I Could Be There; Twin; and Leonard Bernstein-An American Musician.

David Noon

David Noon was born of Pennsylvania Dutch, Welsh, and American Indian heritage in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on July 23, 1946. His formal musical education began at the age of eight when he learned to play clarinet. Subsequently, he took bassoon, flute, piccolo, and piano lessons. Throughout his childhood, he frequently performed in choirs, bands, orchestras, and chamber music ensembles. During his collegiate years at Pomona College, he continued to sing and play bassoon and piano. He also began the systematic study of composition. His composition teachers have included Karl Kohn, Darius Milhaud, Charles Jones, Yehudi Wyner, Mario Davidovsky, and Wlodzimierz Kotonski. Following his undergraduate education, he attended New York University to study Medieval music with Gustave Reese. After receiving an MA in musicology at NYU, he attended Yale University, where he received an MMA and a DMA in composition.

Ben McPeek

Benjamin Dewey McPeek (August 28, 1934-January 14, 1981) was a Canadian composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist. He was born in Trail, British Columbia. In 1964 he established his own company, Ben McPeek Ltd., in which he produced and wrote music for radio and television. He quickly became the top jingle composer in Canada, and composed music of a more serious nature, including works for brass and woodwind quintet, the Paul Bunyan Suite (1977, recorded by the Canadian Brass), six piano sonatas, a piano concerto, several works for solo piano, and the orchestral works Northern 484, Fantasia, and Concert Suite among others.