Discovering the Music of Brahms (ABQ)

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Three for the price of one! You get to explore the music of Johannes Brahms, AND you get to experience the piano artistry of Judith Gordon, AND you get to hear one of the finest young bass players to come along in years - Albuquerque native Toby Vigneau, recent winner of the Associate Principal Bass Audition of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal at the age of 21!

Join Toby, Judith, and conductor and arts educator Oliver Prezant as we plunge into the brooding depths of Brahms' Cello Sonata in E Minor, first movement. During the program, you'll have a chance to share your thoughts and impressions as we experience the flowing emotion and rich detail of this intensely introspective, superbly constructed music. 

"Toby comes from a musical family," said conductor Oliver Prezant, "so it's no surprise that he's an excellent musician. That said, to win an international audition for a leadership position in one of the world's top orchestras at such a young age is really an accomplishment! And Judith Gordon is a wonderful, artistic pianist - she'll be a great partner in this adventure."

"We're looking forward to digging into the first movement of the Brahms," Prezant continued. "The music is so full of emotion that it's easy to miss the incredible attention to detail that is so characteristic of Brahms as a composer - that's what makes the whole thing flow so naturally from one moment to the next. It's a rare treat to be able to share that combination of expression and inspired craft with an audience. And to have a young artist like Toby and a fine pianist like Judith playing for us, that just puts it over the top!"

The program in ALBUQUERQUE takes place on Friday, March 22, from 7-8:30 at Robertson & Sons Violin Shop, 3201 Carlisle Blvd. NE. 

For tickets to Discovering the Music of Brahms, click on BUY TICKETS at the top of this page. 

Thanks to our generous sponsors: Ruth Burstrom and Niels Chapman, Martha Ritchie. Susan and Steven J. Goldstein; Louisa Stude Sarofim; Martha Ritchie; Sherry Parker; Barbara Servis; Bernhard Holzapfel, in memory of Barbara Holzapfel; KHFM; KUNM; and Allegra Printing.

Special thanks to Robertson & Sons Violin Shop for supporting this event. 

Program and artists subject to change. 

This program is presented by Opus OP Arts and Education Projects.

Photo credits:

Conductor and arts educator Oliver Prezant: Ruthanne Greeley

Toby Vigneau, double bass: Nichole MCH Photography

Judith Gordon, pianist: Crystal Tompkins

Artist Biographies:

As a soloist, orchestral musician, and collaborator, Toby Vigneau strives to bring positive change to the hearts of audiences and highlight the importance of community in music. He began music at age 5 on the violin, and at 10 started the double bass. In 2020-21, Toby and his parents, Kevin Vigneau and Kim Fredenburgh, formed tRio Grande, an ensemble which commissioned several new works for the combination of oboe, viola, and bass, featuring compositions from Sérgio Azevedo, Miguel del Aguila, Mariano Morales, David Dean Mendoza, and Durwynne Hsieh. In this time, Toby also organized COVID-safe jazz trio performances in Albuquerque with pianist Evan Fort and drummer Jonah Minkus. The three of them helped bring live music to community members in the height of the pandemic, when all musical organizations struggled to find a safe way to keep the music going. In 2022 and 2023, Toby attended the Tanglewood Music Center, where he performed works in chamber and orchestral settings. At Tanglewood, he took part in the Festival of Contemporary Music, giving the North American premier of George Benjamin’s opera Lessons in Love and Violence. Toby won the 2023 international audition for the Associate Principal Bass of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. He has performed with the Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony, Symphony in C, and New Mexico Philharmonic. He also performs with Chatter Chamber Series in Albuquerque, playing works from a wide variety of periods and genres for instrumentations common and unusual. In 2019 and 2021, he attended the Aspen Music Festival and School as an orchestral fellow. Toby has appeared several times as concerto soloist with the New Mexico Philharmonic, including as first-prize winner in the 2018 Jackie McGehee Young Artist’s Competition. He also performed in a solo capacity for the Placitas Artists’ series and Chatter Chamber Series. Toby was named the Senior Division Winner of the inaugural Santa Fe Symphony Concerto Competition in 2023, granting him the opportunity to perform Bottesini’s B minor Concerto with the orchestra. He is passionate about raising awareness to the unique musical voice of the double bass. Toby currently studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. His major teachers include Harold Robinson, Edgar Meyer, and Albert Laszlo. 

Conductor and educator Oliver Prezant is the executive and artistic director of Opus OP Arts and Education Projects, which provides unique programs for listeners, musicians, and teachers in northern New Mexico. A popular lecturer for The Santa Fe Opera for many years, he has also presented lectures and education programs for arts organizations including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Performance Santa Fe, the Tanglewood Association of Volunteers, Road Scholar, the Guilds of the Santa Fe and San Francisco Opera companies. In addition, he has presented programs on the relationship of art and music for the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, the Albuquerque Museum of Art, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art. As the music director and conductor of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra for twenty years, he worked with community musicians and choristers, professional soloists, public school music students, composers, creative artists, and community partners from Santa Fe and northern New Mexico to present a wide variety of innovative performances, unique education programs, and community collaborations. His notable compositions include The Butterfly (La Mariposa) for storyteller and orchestra, songs in a variety of genres, and educational pieces for student ensembles. Oliver was one of the founding teaching artists in Partners in Education’s ArtWorks Program, a Lincoln Center-inspired arts education program which provides workshops for Santa Fe Public Schools students and teachers in the areas of music, poetry, visual art, theater, and dance. As the artistic advisor to the program, he trained teaching artists and classroom teachers, and coordinated with area poets, museums, and other arts organizations. He studied at the Mannes College of Music in New York City and the Pierre Monteux School for conductors in Hancock, Maine, and was an Assistant Professor in the Contemporary Music Program at the College of Santa Fe and an instructor at Santa Fe University of Art and Design.