Nate's World
The 2023–24 Curtis Presents season kicks off with the return of acclaimed alumnus Nathan Farrington (ʼ06), principal bassist for LA Opera Orchestra, as he takes listeners on an adventurous musical safari through Nate’s World. He is joined by composer, pianist, and clarinetist Teddy Abrams (Conducting ’08), music director of the Louisville Orchestra and the Britt Festival, and New York City-based percussionist, composer, and educator Gabriel Globus-Hoenich (ʼ08), for an evening of unexpected surprises. This genre-hopping concert features a diverse landscape of styles, with a program written, arranged, and performed according to the trio’s current musical passions, from classical to country and everything in between.
Program
| The evening’s program will be curated in collaboration with Curtis students in the weeks leading up to the performance. |
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Artists
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Nathan Farrington (Double Bass ’06) has been the principal bassist for LA Opera since 2016.
He regularly appears in the bass sections of many of America’s top orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony.
He also pursues chamber music and solo opportunities avidly. He has appeared at the Marlboro Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Olympic Music Festival, ChemberFest Cleveland, and at the Da Camera Society. Nathan also plays guitar and often sings and plays operatic arias and folk songs alongside his bass playing.
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Teddy Abrams (Conducting ’08) is the music director of the Louisville Orchestra and music director and conductor of the Britt Festival Orchestra. A tireless advocate for the power of music, Abrams has fostered interdisciplinary collaborations with organizations including the Louisville Ballet, the Center for Interfaith Relations, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Speed Art Museum, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. His rap-opera, The Greatest: Muhammad Ali, premiered in 2017, celebrating Louisville’s hometown hero with an all-star cast that included Rhiannon Giddens and Jubilant Sykes. Abrams’ work with the Louisville Orchestra has been profiled on CBS News Sunday Morning, NPR, and in The Wall Street Journal.
An accomplished pianist and clarinetist, Abrams has appeared as a soloist with a number of orchestras—including play-conducting the Ravel Piano Concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony in 2017 and the Jacksonville Symphony in 2013—and has performed chamber music with the St. Petersburg String Quartet, Menahem Pressler, Gilbert Kalish, Time for Three, and John Adams, in addition to annual appearances at the Olympic Music Festival. Dedicated to exploring new and engaging ways to communicate with a diverse range of audiences, Abrams co-founded the Sixth Floor Trio in 2008. Together, they founded and direct GardenMusic, the music festival of the world-renowned Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami; they continue to tour regularly throughout the U.S.
Abrams was a protégé of Michael Tilson Thomas from the age of eleven, and studied conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller and Ford Lallerstedt at the Curtis Institute of Music, and with David Zinman at the Aspen Music Festival; he was the youngest conducting student ever accepted at both institutions. Abrams is also an award-winning composer and a passionate educator. His 2009 Education Concerts with the New World Symphony (featuring the world premiere of one of Abrams’ own orchestral works) were webcast to hundreds of schools throughout South Florida.
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Curtis Presents
Past and future meet through Curtis Presents, which features a diverse collection of artists—alumni, faculty, students, and contemporary creators—whose musical foundations are rooted in the Curtis community. This series of intimate and innovative recitals offers a unique experience with exceptional artistry and one-of-a-kind programs.
Nathan Farrington Photo Credit: Seth Jacobson