09/2014 Featured Band, September

“Celebrating its 25th Anniversary in Schuylkill County, the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble is about to present a concert series full of exciting music, and performed by highly professional musicians from Philadelphia, New Jersey, Lehigh Valley and more. With an audience that keeps on increasing (a record for chamber music: an average of 130 to 175 people – coming from as far as Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and of course from most parts of Schuylkill County), the Ensemble is proud of its achievements.

 The Ensemble formed in 1990, when five professional classically trained musicians got together to sight-read chamber music for fun (most freelancers are involved in orchestra playing). The five friends (from Honey Brook, Hershey, Carlisle and Orwigsburg) quickly realized that they had something special to share with others: their music making was not only of high quality but created chemistry between the players that is rare at a first meeting.  This first session led to many more in order to present a first public concert in… Pottsville, under the name of C&B Chamber Players. Met by an enthusiastic audience, it was not long before the Ensemble scheduled other concerts.

 Changing its name to Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, the non-profit organization created the first chamber music series in Schuylkill County, playing first in churches in Pottsville and Tamaqua, then at Penn State Schuylkill Campus, and now at Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Schuylkill Haven.  The repertoire goes from music for strings and piano to music with wind or brass instruments, voice and also music for small chamber orchestra. For its special silver anniversary, the Ensemble will have music with organ, with Rebecca Owens from Central Moravian Church, music with Tony Cecere, French Horn, music for string orchestra with the collaboration of the Madison String Quartet, NJ and artists from Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley, and West Chester.

 But the Ensemble does not only put on concerts in the area. It also sponsors education programs. It presents school assemblies to elementary students – most of the time a first introduction to violin, viola, cello and bass to the children – sponsors string instruction to beginners (Pottsville, New Ringgold and Kempton) – distributes scholarships to High School Graduate students and to younger string players who wish to attend the summer music camps at Bear Crossing Music Studios in New Ringgold.

 In 2010 the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble took on yet another project: the Youth Symphony. This orchestra was under the management of Schuylkill Symphony Orchestra. After the orchestra folded, the Schuylkill Youth Symphony looked for another organization that could help them out – leading to the new Gabriel Youth Orchestra. Under the direction of John F. Potlunas, former band director of the Tamaqua High School, the orchestra is open to all 7th to 12th graders who wish to experience orchestra playing. An audition is held in September of each year, and about 50 students then meet weekly to present two public concerts in Pottsville (D.H.H. Lengel Auditorium, Pottsville Middle School) and one concert for the 4th graders of Schuylkill County (held at the Pottsville High School Auditorium).

 The Ensemble relies on grants, foundations and individual contributions. One of its most famous fundraising events is the Coffeehouse, held in New Ringgold in October. A “from artist to artist” event, the afternoon is filled with music, food and fun. Recent musicians featured included the Shellshocked Churchhills, Maggie Pierce and EJ, Down to Earth Band, Jordan Rast (now member of the Second Hand Suits), Jay Smar, Lester Hirsh, Maury Rutch, Mark Leeson, Ray Rushforth and many others.

The core members of the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble are: Simon Maurer, violinist and a founder of GCE , also its artistic director – Agnès Maurer, violist, and a founder of GCE, also its executive director – Gerall Hieser, cellist.

 Simon Maurer, Violinist, Violist, Conductor                                                            

Simon Maurer grew up in Switzerland in a family of six children, all of whom became professional musicians. He studied music at the Conservatory in Biel, and continued his violin studies in the U.S. with Geoffrey Michaels at Swarthmore College and Joyce Robbins at the State University of New York at Stoney Brook.

Mr. Maurer has conducted district Festival Orchestras on numerous occasions in Pennsylvania. He currently is the artistic director and conductor of the Sunday Sinfonia, an amateur adult String Orchestra in existence since 2010 in Lancaster Pa.

Mr. Maurer is an accomplished musician performing chamber music and solo concerts throughout the eastern United States, Europe and China. He is currently Concertmaster of the Anthracite Philharmonic and Assistant Concertmaster of the Pennsylvania Sinfonia. He has performed as featured soloist in France and Switzerland with the St. Jean Orchestra of Geneva Switzerland, receiving rave reviews. Solo performances in the US include Schuylkill Symphony Orchestra, Bloomsburg Chamber Orchestra, Louden Symphony in Maryland, Pennsylvania Sinfonia and Valley Vivaldi.

A founding member of Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, he is artistic director at their concert series at Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Schuylkill Haven.

As the violinist in the Ravel Trio, a piano trio in existence since 2003, he has done extensive work in the mid-atlantic region and Europe with concerts, residencies, collaborations with dancers, jazz events, wine concerts and much more. For more information of this exciting group, check the website: www.raveltrio.com. In 2007 the group commissioned three new pieces, two by Swiss composers Daniel Andres and Christoph Henking, and one by African American Composer Dotti Anita Taylor.

In 2009 a new group, Trio Clavino, was formed. Simon Maurer, violin/viola and his long time colleagues Xun Pan, piano and Doris Hall Gulati, clarinet,  explored the wonderful repertoire for that formation, and had such fun, that they decided to organize concerts. The Trio returned from a successful five week concert tour in China the summer of 2010, and were invited to return again in 2012 and in 2013, performing Chinese and western Classical Music.

Mr. Maurer has studied baroque violin with Elizabeth Fields, and enjoys performing music from that period on his restored baroque violin. He has performed with Hedi Salanki, Steven Silverman, harpsichordists, Nina Falk, Linda Kistler baroque violinists, Rainer Beckman, recorder, Donna Fournier, viol and many others.

Mr. Maurer also ventures in the practice of jazz and free style improvisation. He has been a featured soloist in Philadelphia area jazz clubs, has performed at “Jazzfest” in Schuylkill County. He has recorded numerous projects with folk singers and rock groups: Maggie Pierce and EJ; Zen for Primates, and others.

Mr. Maurer teaches violin, viola and cello in his private studios in New Ringgold, Kempton and in Lancaster.

AGNÈS MAURER, violist, is a native of France, where she studied the violin privately.  At the age of sixteen, she joined the Ensemble Instrumental Andrée Colson, a professional chamber orchestra. In the United States she studied with Karen Tuttle, Kim Kashkashian and Geoffrey Michaels.

She teaches violin and viola at her home studio and also directs two summer music camps (Bear Crossing Music Camps, New Ringgold, PA).

Mrs. Maurer is principal violist with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra and with the Shippensburg Festival Orchestra. She is a very active chamber musician, and a member of the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, of which she is also co-founder and executive director. She is a freelancer, primarily in the Lehigh Valley.

Her solo appearances have included performances of Stamitz, Handel-Casadesus, and Telemann Viola Concerti, “Harold in Italy” by Berlioz, and Mozart Symphonie Concertante for violin, viola and orchestra with Valley Vivaldi, Schuylkill Symphony Orchestra, Musica Sacra Atlanta , Bloomsburg Chamber Orchestra and others.

Mrs. Maurer enjoys cooking, reading, gardening, knitting, learning foreign languages and practicing Tai-Chi.

Cellist Gerall Hieser began her musical adventure in Virginia singing harmony with her mother, also a cellist. After moving to Pennsylvania she continued piano but fell in love with the cello.

She studied with Orlando Cole at the New School of Music and at Temple University. She received her Master of Music at Rutgers as a student of Paul Tobias. During and after college, she pursued further studies with Raya Garbousova and George Ricci, as well as chamber music  coaching from Arnold Steinhardt and Sasha Schneider.

In the 80's she began playing Southern Appalachian style fiddle, traveling down south to study with some old fiddlers. She plays for fun at square dances and competitions.

Teaching has always been part of her life and she maintains an active studio at home in Bernardsville, NJ and at Drew University where she performs as well.

Ms. Hieser began to play with Gabriel in 1991. She also plays with the Madison String Quartet, specializing in Latin and Spanish music. As assistant principal cellist, she plays in the Festival Orchestra of New Jersey, a touring group in the Garden State.

Ms. Hieser is married to french hornist, Anthony Cecere, loves a good bottle of wine and gardening.”

Unlike any other band in the area GCE has their board of directors (currently a board of 17 members) meets monthly in Orwigsburg, and even have a mission statement.

“The mission of the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble is to nurture our diverse community with music that:

Enlivens

Enriches

and

Educates”

“We are proud that we could achieve so much in Schuylkill County, reaching so many people from our community, from children to seniors, from classical music to jazz and rock, from musicians to dancers to poets, from amateurs to professional – and we are still growing – here to stay! Thank you Schuylkill County!”

For videos and more information of the Ensemble, go to www.gabrielensemble.org

Email them at gce@gabrielensemble.org ,call at 570-943-2558 or follow them on Facebook: Gabriel Chamber Ensemble.