The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Michael Shapiro

FRANKENSTEIN-THE MOVIE SCORE Comes to the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center March 22

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FRANKENSTEIN-THE MOVIE SCORE is a Production of Friends of Chappaqua Performing Arts Center

Grammy-nominated composer Michael Shapiro’s FRANKENSTEIN-THE MOVIE SCORE with live orchestra will be performed by the New Chappaqua Orchestra under the direction of the composer at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, 480 Bedford Road, Chappaqua, New York 10514 (info@chappaquapac.org) on Saturday night, March 22, 2025 at 8 p.m.  Doors open at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are available at https://chappaquapac.org/

The classic early sound horror film Frankenstein starred Colin Clive and Boris Karloff (in his breakout role as the Monster) and was directed by James Whale.  The hit movie Frankenstein is largely credited with saving Universal Pictures from bankruptcy, breaking all box office records during the Depression era. However, the film was produced prior to through composed film scores being typically used (indeed King Kong in 1933 was the first film to have a full film score).

In 2002, Michael Shapiro composed an orchestral film score for the classic film Frankenstein and was premiered by The Chappaqua Orchestra at the Jacob Burns Film Center played simultaneously with the movie.  Since its premiere in Pleasantville, the score has been performed in one of its four versions (chamber orchestra, full orchestra, wind ensemble, and opera) worldwide over 65 times from St. Petersburg, Russia, Milan, Italy, Bergen, Norway, Trier, Germany, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester, UK, to performances all over the United States and Canada, including the opera version premieres at the Los Angeles Opera and Atlanta Opera and the wind ensemble version by the Dallas Winds at the Meyersohn Symphony Center. 

The Chappaqua performance, under the direction of composer Michael Shapiro, will be the first time the score has been played in Westchester in over ten years.

Michael Shapiro’s VOICES Premieres, a Requiem Honoring Victims of the Holocaust

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More than 20 years ago, longtime Chappaqua resident Michael Shapiro found himself thumbing through a poetry compilation about the Holocaust written from the perspective of Jews in countries such as Greece, Italy and France at at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. The compilation, And The World Stood Silent: Sephardic Poetry of the Holocaust, chronicles the life of nearly 160,000 Sephardic Jews exiled from Spain in 1492 and who ultimately perished in the Holocaust.

At the time, Shapiro’s work focused primarily on curating concerts featuring music of Jews who had fled the Holocaust and emigrated to Hollywood such as Erich Wolfgang Korngold who scored several films most notably The Adventures of Robin Hood. Shapiro also organized concerts featuring music from composers who had lived in Teresienstadt, a ghetto in Czechoslovakia–a hotbed of musical creativity with composers such as Gideon Klein, Pavel Haas, Hans Krása and Viktor Ullmann residing there.

Shapiro lost about 75 members of his own family among the six million Eastern European Jews massacred during the Holocaust. He yearned for the chance to immerse himself in how the Holocaust impacted Jews in the countries included in the poetry compilation and to share his own family history. Shapiro was immediately moved by the literature. “The poetry hit me completely. It was so powerful,” recalls Shapiro. A few years ago, conductor Deborah Simpkin King of Ember Choral Arts, inspired him to write the 60-minute plus work and is conducting Shapiro’s piece, which took him just seven months to write. “It flew out of me,” explains Shapiro. Shapiro was intentional in having the piece be a requiem. “Nothing gets to people like the sound of a chorus with an orchestra,” he noted.

Shapiro has written more than 100 works for orchestral, theatrical, film, chamber, choral and vocal forces throughout his career. His works have been performed by many of the greatest orchestras and performers in North America and Europe and for years he served as the conductor of the Chappaqua Orchestra. His music has been played on BBC, National Public Radio, SiriusXM and is available on major platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Shapiro has always been interested in exploring themes such as prejudice and racial divisiveness in his music. In fact, one of Shapiro’s most well-known pieces is the score from Frankenstein which has been performed more than 50 times internationally. “I think I was attracted to Frankenstein because I was interested in the way the monster was depicted and treated as the other.”

Shapiro hopes his “Voices of the Holocaust” concerts “give a voice to people who no longer have a voice.” While the Nazis murdered six million Jews, they also targeted other groups such as Roma (gypsies), homosexuals and people with disabilities. This same hatred is happening today, Shapiro is quick to point out. He felt he had to write the piece now, especially with the number of Holocaust survivors dwindling each year to 300,000-350,000 survivors in 2022 according to the nonprofit Holocaust group, Claims Conference.

The premiere of the piece took place at Temple Shaaray Tefila on November 9th and at Manhattan’s famed Central Synagogue on November 10th. The timing was purposely chosen to coincide with the 84th anniversary of Kristallnacht, ‘The Night of Broken Glass’, when Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues and homes were destroyed by the Nazis in Germany and in Nazi occupied territories in Austria and Czechoslovakia. In the two-day spree of massive violence against the Jews, 30,000 Jewish males were arrested and sent to prisons or concentration camps.

The premiere at Central Synagogue also included a Q & A session with Paul Shaffer, the former musical director and band leader of Late Night with David Letterman. It also featured tenor soloist Daniel Mutlu, the Senior Cantor of Central Synagogue and the American Modern Ensemble. “Mutlu has a phenomenal voice. He really is one of the greatest cantors in the country,” exclaims Shapiro.

On the Horizon

The concert will also debut at the Reagan Library in California performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and conducted by Grant Gershon. The LA performance will coincide with the Auschwitz exhibition at the library for ten months starting this spring. The moving exhibition originally was showcased at the Museum of Jewish Heritage–A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in downtown New York City. Visit MichaelShapiro.com.

The Recovering and the Recovered

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Our author brings us up to date on her own gradual return to good health after falling ill with coronavirus–and shares the harrowing but similarly miraculous journeys to recovery experienced by, as it happens, two well-known, Chappaqua-based musicians.

During this terrible time in American history, we brace ourselves to digest the latest news each day as to how many fellow New Yorkers are suffering and dying; this week, public officials announced well over 10,000 had died in New York City alone. It’s a tragic, frightening statistic, and as Governor Andrew Cuomo regularly reminds us, there are real faces behind the numbers and devastated families who cannot properly care for those hospitalized or later deceased or adequately address their own grief.

But every day, there are also more than twice as many people recovering from COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.

Le Jardin du Roi
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As dire as the situation certainly is, it’s important to remember, too, that many New York residents are also getting better, and many experts predict at least a year of subsequent immunity follows, although inadequate widespread testing remains an ongoing challenge.

A few weeks past my own last symptoms, solidly recovered from COVID-19, Mount Sinai Hospital  scheduled myself and my 18-and-up family members to donate plasma.

I feel very lucky.

I can walk into the pharmacy without fear and get takeout coffee without fearing invisible germs on the cup. And when I line up outside the grocery store. I’m meticulous about social distancing–but that’s because I don’t want to worry anyone else, not because I worry about myself.

There are more and more of us every day–the recovering and the recovered. (Editor’s Note: The jury is still out on the degree of  immunity to coronavirus infection, post recovery too. Please speak with your doctor.)

We’re not all young, either. I’m 50, and the Chappaqua residents I interviewed for this article– by phone, because both were not totally well yet–are a bit older. I also have a minor heart condition and asthma.

People always want to know more about my asthma so here’s a description that, under normal circumstances, would be oversharing and plus would bore you to tears: I’ve had asthma since I was seven.

My asthma is idiopathic, meaning that there’s no known cause. I’m on the highest dose of Symbicort, twice daily, and use my albuterol rescue inhaler more than I’m supposed to. Not a day goes by that I don’t think, several times, about my difficult breathing.

Yes, my heart condition was exacerbated by the virus–that’s why I was hospitalized and tested. But my lungs remained clear while hospitalized, and when I developed more significant shortness of breath a few days later at home, I wasn’t worried.

As a lifelong asthmatic, I know when to worry, and it just didn’t get that bad.

The editor asked me to share my recovery story as a follow up to my ‘being sick’ story https://www.theinsidepress.com/area-journalist-diagnosed-covid-19-positive-and-quarantined-with-family/  but also to speak with two members of the Chappaqua community, both of whom happen to be accomplished musicians who had contracted coronavirus. Each had become seriously ill, but each also appears to have fortunately recovered as well. She asked if I’d check in with them:

Jon Cobert: “My Wife Tried to Revive Me… then she Called 911”

Jon Cobert

I personally never lost my sense of taste and smell, which has become one of the telltale signs of coronavirus, but my husband and two of my sons did.

So did this Chappaqua resident, music legend Jon Cobert. His wife and son caught the virus as well, and they too lost their senses of taste and smell.

Cobert, 65, a five-time Grammy nominated musician who has played with John Lennon, Tom Chapin, Harry Chapin, Laura Branigan and many others, first called his doctor in mid-March. “I had a headache and a fever on March 16 after dinner, and I kind of knew,” he said, adding that he doesn’t usually get headaches or fevers, and his doctor said to keep an eye on things.

When Cobert developed a cough, though, his doctor arranged for him to have his lungs looked at on March 20, and he was tested. He got the call that the test was positive on March 23.

Cobert said he had been hoping he didn’t have it, although he recalled having worked with two musicians who later tested positive as well. His doctor said he should take his temperature and call to come in if he became very short of breath. At first, he was tired with a productive cough; but then he developed gastrointestinal symptoms.

A few days later, he passed out while sitting at the kitchen table.

“I just felt all the energy drain out of my body,” he said. “My wife tried to revive me, and then she called 911.”

Cobert said the Chappaqua Ambulance Corps was there in less than five minutes. He was taken to Northern Westchester Hospital and treated for atrial fibrillation. “They were fantastic,” he said.

Unfortunately, that overnight stay wasn’t the last Cobert saw of the hospital. On March 28, he developed chest pains and shortness of breath, and had to return.

But he was once more cleared to return home, and now his heart rate is, according to his Apple Watch, normal.

While Tylenol was hard to find, Cobert’s family was able to find generic acetaminophen. His sister-in-law gave him an oxygen meter, and he had an inhaler left over from a bout of bronchitis in the fall that he used a few times.

As of early this week, Cobert was feeling back to his normal self. “I went for a walk yesterday and it was quite therapeutic,” he said. “It was nice to get outside for an extended period and get some exercise. I highly recommend it.”

He even did his first Facebook live performance to the delight of his fans. He plans to do it weekly every Thursday.

Michael Shapiro Thought About “the Love I Feel for the People in my Life”

Michael Shapiro conducting the Chappaqua Orchestra.
PHOTO by Randy Matusow

Composer and conductor Michael Shapiro, 69, also spent time at Northern Westchester Hospital, five days, he shared, due to COVID-19-caused pneumonia, which he described as “feeling like having broken-up concrete in the bottom of my lungs.”

“They took wonderful care of me,” he said of the hospital staff. “They could not have been better. My long time doctor, Marvin Chinitz, was particularly insightful and I think saved my life.”

Shapiro, the former music director of the Chappaqua Orchestra, said he had fever as well. “I’d feel better, then it would spike, I’d feel better again, and the same thing happened. It would spike up again,” he said.

“I was constantly thinking about the things I believe in… the love I feel for the people in my life, all my family members, the things I still need to do,” Shapiro said, describing his time battling the virus.

This year’s Passover Seder, Shapiro said, was particularly meaningful as the fight between good and evil and against tyranny became less abstract for him, the Biblical made real as families hunkered down in their homes, the Angel of Death in the form of coronavirus raging across the world.

On a local level, Shapiro said he and his longtime partner Marge Perlin, her two sons and their girlfriends, most of whom tested positive but with relatively mild symptoms, depended on treasured friends and community members, who helped them in many ways.

Shapiro is on the mend now, gathering strength. Public music making is now restricted to commercial and public radio where Shapiro’s works, particularly his new Archangel Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (recorded last May by Steven Beck, pianist, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales) is being broadcast internationally, on BBC3, CBC, and radio stations across America. SiriusXM is featuring Shapiro’s music on its program Living American to be broadcast six times and downloadable the next three months.

Shapiro is starting to get back to work on a new violin concerto for virtuoso Tim Fain which they hope to record when the lights go on again.

He credits his return to good health with the support he received within the community, especially. He mentioned: “Richard Leroy, dynamically leading social action at Temple Shaaray Tefila, who arranged for two weeks of meal delivery during the household’s quarantine; Vinny Milazzo of the Village Market, who energetically provides curbside service; and Erin Teter, manager of the Quaker Hill Tavern, whose loving example is an inspiration.”

“They are special, special people and community members,” Shapiro said of Leroy, Milazzo, and Teter. “We love them, they are curing the world every day, and we hope the community supports and cares for what they do.”

TCO Family Concert! Saturday April 29th

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The Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival
Story Concert
PRESENTED BY The Chappaqua Orchestra
Michael Shapiro, Music Director and Conductor
Saturday • April 29th • 4pm
Chappaqua Performing Arts Center
480 BEDFORD RD • CHAPPAQUA, NY
“Peter and the Wolf”
 
& the Premiere of:
“The Babbling Orchestra”
An original work:
Words by Elliott Forrest(WQXR),
Music by Michael Shapiro
Family Concert
Advance Purchase $20
Concert Day $25
Children Under 4 Free

 

A Conversation with Chappaqua’s Conductor Extraordinaire, Michael Shapiro

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Michael Shapiro Photo by Carolyn Simpson
Photo by Carolyn Simpson

By Matt Smith

“The qualities that make a good conductor are, of course, a good ear, knowledge of the score, technical ability (hands, baton), a deep knowledge of all the instruments in the orchestra, and an ability to lead,” explains David Leibowitz, Conductor and Music Director of the New York Repertory Orchestra. “A great conductor has all these, but also that extra ingredient–a strong vision of how a piece of music should sound and how to convey that vision to the players.”

“That is what Michael has,” he continues. “He knows what he wants and he gets it. More important, he doesn’t stop until he gets it.” The “Michael” to which he refers is, of course, Michael Shapiro, world-renowned composer and conductor–and current music director and conductor of New Castle’s very own Chappaqua Orchestra.

Born and bred in Brooklyn, New York, Shapiro prides himself on his strong connection to music, and a strong passion for all types of the art form–something he presumably inherited from his father, a Klezmer band clarinetist who himself was “involved in all different forms of music.” In particular, “he loved swing jazz,” says Shapiro. “And through him [and his connections], I was able to hear some of the greats–like Louis Armstrong–live in concert, when I was a child. [I was] very lucky to grow up [in the business] and go to concerts continually, which has been a tremendous influence on me.”

Enjoying “the greats” set off a spark in little, seven-year-old Shapiro, who soon after developed his own interest in music. And he has since “done music all my life.” And indeed, throughout his career, Shapiro has conducted “literally all over the country,” working with such orchestras as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the UK, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, West Point Band’s The Jazz Knights, Traverse Symphony Orchestra, Garden State Philharmonic, Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia, and the Dallas Winds Symphony, to name a few.

He has also worked at a worldwide level, serving as vocal coach and assistant conductor at the Zurich Opera Studio in Zurich, Switzerland; as music consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D. C., and as composer-in-residence at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, where his original orchestral composition, Roller Coaster, received its West Coast premiere. Furthermore, he has also composed incidental music for Dateline NBC.

Of course, since 2002, Shapiro has served as music director and conductor of The Chappaqua Orchestra. Since beginning with the organization, which he notes “brought [him] back to conducting really fiercely,” he prides himself on taking the group “from one point to the other and making it a [more vibrant] presence in the culture of our town” He notes that under his tutelage, the orchestra has performed “all kinds of different literature…[and] is now very close to being an all-professional orchestra of the highest quality.”

And he’s not just tooting his own horn–or rather, waving his own baton; others think so, too. In fact, it’s well documented that under Shapiro’s leadership, the Chappaqua Orchestra has successfully “reached new artistic heights” in the last 14 years. Additionally, to his credit, the April 2006 performance of the Verdi Requiem,
conducted by Shapiro and performed in collaboration with the Taconic Opera, was even deemed the “musical event of the decade” in Westchester.

And if all that wasn’t enough, when he’s not conducting an orchestra, you’ll find him conducting business: “I’ve been involved in real estate for many years,” he shares. He’s also a bestselling author; one of his books, The Jewish 100, was, in fact, a New York Times bestseller and has since been translated into eight languages, include Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Russian, since its release in 1994 (Note: An updated edition was released more recently, in 2012). “And I love sports,” he says. “Particularly golf…I’m a golfer. And I love basketball [and] being tortured by the New York Knicks.”

He also enjoys spending time with his kids, and learning about music from them too. “My daughter loves rock music of the 60’s and early ’70’s,” he shares, with a laugh, “and she’s remarked how I know so little about it…because back then, in those days, I was listening to Brahms.”

Above all, however, he thanks partner Marjorie Perlin, for her insurmountable love and support. “[She’s] the most supportive person in my life,” he says. “She’s the best listener and the best critic. Her support has been completely total and has been a tremendous help in getting me to even higher levels, not only [in terms] of performance, but [in terms of] my own musical standards.”

So, given all of his present success, where does Shapiro see himself professionally in the next five years? He answers first, quite simply, “Doing the same, but in more prominent venues.”

“I’m always pushing the envelope as much as I can, and trying to get bigger and better performances,” he continues. “I’m really looking forward to writing more pieces for the theatre, either incidental music or ballet, and certainly [more] opera.”

Shapiro also seems to have a good sense of what is really important in terms of the art form. “The great performances and standing ovations and all the rest of those things are wonderful,” he explains, “but….working with fantastic, high-quality performers and producing works that you’re proud of [no matter what the result]… that’s what counts.” Shapiro recalls one such “massive” standing ovation at a concert this past January at Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas. “That [standing ovation] doesn’t often happen,” he states, with a smile, “so, when it does, it’s just amazing.”

With his ”best critic,” Marjorie Perlin
With his ”best critic,” Marjorie Perlin (Photo by Carolyn Simpson)

So, considering such successes, when was the first time he knew he had “made it” as a musician? Ever so humble, he chuckled as he responded: “I’m still trying to make it.”

However, he does recall the “first major big performance” he gave–“when I knew I had something good,” he notes–at Westchester County Center in front of 2,000 people. “It was a commission by the now-defunct Philharmonic Symphony of Westchester” to compose music for narrator and orchestra to accompany a recitation of the signing of the Declaration of Independence–when he was just 25 years old.

“[The] piece premiered during the Bicentennial, so it was a big [deal],” Shapiro explains. “And [it] was narrated by José Ferrer, who won the Academy Award for Cyrano de Bergerac. The great pianist Van Cliburn was also on the program…so [these were] famous people [I was dealing with]. It was a great thrill for me to be around them and have that [experience].”

And as to how he has arrived to his current stature, Shapiro credits rigorous training. The first of his music teachers was Consuelo Elsa Clark, with whom he studied in Rockville Centre. “Miss Clark was an amazingly great teacher,” he shares. “And she came from a very strong tradition. It was great learning from her.”

From there, he went on to study conducting with Carl Bamberger at the Mannes College of Music (“and much later at Bard College with Harold Farberman,” he notes). “I also studied with other composers–Vincent Persichetti was a major influence. Sir Malcolm Arnold, too, [I studied with] briefly.”

Shapiro’s “most influential” composition teacher, however, was famed American composer Elie Siegmeister, with whom he studied privately “and rigorously,” for four years, while attending classes at Columbia and Juilliard, the latter where he eventually earned his master’s degree.

And of course, there was his score reading and ear training teacher, Mme. Renée Longy, known to generations of Julliard students, due to her rigorous demands, as “the infamous madame of dictation.” “She was extraordinarily difficult,” Shapiro confesses, honestly, “but ultimately, [a] very loving teacher.” In fact, Longy’s techniques proved to be so beneficial in the long run that Shapiro admits, “I still use [them] to this day when I conduct an orchestra.”

To that end, on the subject of teaching and further developing upon what one learns in school, Shapiro notes that once he discovered he had the musical talent, and enjoyed playing instruments, there was no question he’d pursue it full time:

“It’s like eating. When you’re hungry, you need to eat,” he says. “It’s the same way with music…It’s just a feeling… something you respond to… like anything else. You have a talent in it, you [pursue it].” “And then,” he adds, with a wink, “if you’re smart, you get the right teachers.”

Furthermore, to aspiring musicians, he advises: “keep your head down and just go to work,” he says, emphasizing that one should not compare him or herself to anyone else or their path. “And never stop reading. Or listening,” he advises. “Even at my stage, having [conducted] as long as I have, I’m always teaching myself by watching and listening to what others have done.”

His colleagues echo Shapiro’s advice, as many have continued to hone their skills through watching him work. “Michael cares deeply and fully about the art of music,” comments David Leibowitz, of the aforementioned New York Repertory Orchestra. “He is never anything less than 100% committed to [his] music–whether in performance or composing, or in just discussing what he likes and doesn’t like about a [particular] piece of music or performer. [Additionally], he has a very definite point of view [about what music should or shouldn’t be] and [he] argues his case well.”

Shapiro explains his art further: “Conducting is really listening [and] hearing to an extremely high level. [It’s about] manipulating the sound orally and not necessarily in words or in thoughts. To be a true composer, you need to compose every day [and] that means every day. To be a true conductor, you need to know your scores better than the individual players in the orchestra or band know their parts. The depth of knowledge has to be total, in the fullest sense of the word.”

Chappaqua Orchestra members performing during a Winter fundraiser
Chappaqua Orchestra members performing during a Winter fundraiser

But while he’s indeed adamant about one putting their nose to the grindstone, he also stresses the importance of letting loose and thinking creatively. “Without the creative [element] at the highest possible level, you can’t really do a fine job from a professional standpoint,” he says. “It all has to–and should–work together. You can’t really have one without the other.”

As a master composer at both the creative and professional level, Shapiro recognizes the value of music within a given community. He states, “Music [says] something [in a way] that words can’t. It’s ethereal, and that’s what makes it special. Music can lift us up to a different place. It can really move the spirit like nothing else.” And, having spent 40 years in the business, Shapiro obviously knows, and has witnessed, the power of music firsthand. Given this, when he composes, he draws inspirations from the great musicians of the past–musicians whose music moved his spirit in the same way as he describes. Stephen Foster, John Philip Sousa, Charles Ives, and George Gershwin are among those who influence Shapiro and his work. “As a kid, too,” he continues, “I was very influenced by [pianist] Arthur Rubinstein [and] by [conductor] Leopold Stokowski, whom you may remember from Fantasia.”

But while it’s nice to reminisce and draw inspiration from the past, Shapiro acknowledges the importance of advancing the art form and composing new work. And his colleague is the first to say that Shapiro himself is indeed doing just that. “Composers of our time keep the art form alive,” Leibowitz explains. “We cannot sustain a musical world that relies only on the music of the past. As a composer, [Shapiro] does the immeasurably important work of creating new and wonderful music.”

To that end, if he could leave a lasting mark on the New Castle community, Shapiro, who described himself in three words as “giving, loving, and inquisitive,” would like to be remembered for his contributions to the town through his work with the orchestra.

On a personal level, and in a similar vein, he’d like to be remembered as a composer for his score of Frankenstein, which, incidentally, made its world premiere at our very own Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville. Since its premiere, says Shapiro, the score has enjoyed over two dozen performances nationwide “and continues to be asked for from Europe to Australia.”

But, he says, upon reflection, at the end of the day, “I don’t know any composer who doesn’t want to be remembered as a great composer. So [ultimately], I’d love my music to survive me.”

No doubt it will, but in the meantime, The Chappaqua Orchestra isn’t going anywhere anytime soon; in fact, the Town Board recently approved a lease issued last July to utilize Wallace Auditorium at Chappaqua Crossing as a full-time arts and cultural center–and a permanent location for the group. “I’m very happy about the development of the Wallace Auditorium,” says Shapiro, on the subject. “The orchestra now has a home.”

Their “home” will hopefully allow them to play and entertain audiences for years to come–it’s a good thing, too, as Shapiro makes note that these types of groups are unfortunately, not around much anymore. “When I was a kid in the ’50’s, there were 20 orchestras in Westchester,” he shares. “Now, it’s just Yonkers Philharmonic and The Chappaqua Orchestra. Some communities [today] don’t know how to support them.” Also, “Not as many people go to concerts of that kind…. and [because of that] many of us question the future of large ensembles such as symphony orchestras.”

With that in mind, Shapiro “welcome[s] everyone to come to our events and take some time to listen to new music.” And in that same vein of supporting music within our town, he states, “I hope that the work that I’ve done will reach more and more people within the community.” For more information on Shapiro and his work, please visit michaelshapiro.com.

Lover of all things musical, Matt Smith — a proud graduate of Skidmore College — is a regular contributor to the Inside Press, Inc.

Festive CO Fundraiser in Historic Chappaqua Home

Chappaqua Orchestra’s David Restivo (left) with Frank Shiner and Shapiro.
Chappaqua Orchestra’s David Restivo (left) with Frank Shiner and Shapiro.

Earlier this year: a Chappaqua Orchestra fundraiser took place in a gorgeous music parlor inside the historic Chappaqua home of Frank and Suzanne Shiner.

The program’s “first set” featured:

• String Quartet #1 by Leona Liu

• Dissonance Quartet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Katsumi Ferguson and Dave Restivo, violins;
Nicole Peragine, viola; Seth Jacobs, cello

• Fantasie for Soprano Saxophone and Piano by J.B. Singelee: Christopher Brellochs, saxophone and Cynthia Peterson, piano

• Meadowlark by Stephen Schwartz: Elizabeth Gerbi, Christopher Brellochs, Cynthia Peterson

A “second set” featured:

• String Quartet in F Major by Maurice Ravel: Katsumi Ferguson, Dave Restivo, Nicole Peragine, Seth Jacobs

• Two songs by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock: Will He Like Me? and I Don’t Know His Name Erin Stewart, Cynthia Peterson

• Stormy Monday Frank Shiner, Christopher Brellochs, Cynthia Peterson

• Duet: That’s All I Ask of You from Phantom of The Opera: Erin Stewart and Frank Shiner

• Bring Him Home from Les Mis, arranged by Cynthia Peterson: Frank Shiner, Katsumi Ferguson, Dave Restivo, Seth Jacobs, Cynthia Peterson