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ABOUT PARLANCE CHAMBER CONCERTS MISSION STATEMENT The Mission of Parlance Chamber Concerts is to: Promote the appreciation and understanding of classical chamber music in Northern New Jersey by presenting the world’s finest singers and instrumentalists in affordable, innovatively programmed public concerts. Inspire and build tomorrow’s audience for classical music in Northern New Jersey by creating public educational events designed specifically for children and young adults. Make a contribution to the cultural life of the Northern New Jersey community by establishing it as a recognized center for high-quality classical music events. NARRATIVE STATEMENT Founded in the 2007-2008 season by Metropolitan Opera Orchestra principal flutist Michael Parloff, Parlance Chamber Concerts is dedicated to bringing world-class instrumentalists and singers to Northern New Jersey in affordable, innovatively programmed concerts and educational events. Two events were presented during the inaugural 2007/08 season, and subsequent seasons saw a steady increase in the number of events offered. Nine public events are being presented during the 2024-25 season. All events take place in the acoustically superb sanctuary of West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Parlance Chamber Concerts grew out of the success of more than a decade of benefit concerts organized and presented by Michael Parloff in his Ridgewood, New Jersey, home. These semiannual fundraising events supported various local nonprofit organizations. Michael Parloff’s reputation as one of America’s preeminent flutists and a leader in the chamber music world has enabled him to feature top-flight singers and instrumentalists from the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and New York City’s extraordinary chamber music community. A significant number of attendees came to these events initially as novice concertgoers and subsequently told Mr. Parloff that they learned to love and appreciate classical music through exposure to world class performers in the intimate, relaxed ambiance of his home. This gave rise to the idea of widening the audience for classical music in our community by presenting innovatively designed public concerts and educational events for listeners of all ages and levels of concert-going experience. The sense of connection between performers and audience members is strengthened by informal spoken introductions and program notes delivered during the course of the concerts and through post-concert receptions. The receptions provide audience members with opportunities to meet the performing artists and learn more about the music, the composers, and the performers themselves. Parlance Chamber Concerts are priced affordably to demonstrate our commitment to making chamber music available to as many people in our community as possible. In addition, sets of complimentary tickets are offered to local teachers and staff members of community organizations, including schools, hospitals, and mental health clinics. An important part of Parlance Chamber Concerts’ goals is to introduce children and newcomers to classical music. Parlance Chamber Concerts presents regular family concerts featuring leading members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Narrators have included well-known actors and New York City’s leading classical radio personalities. In addition, Parlance Chamber Concerts reaches out to underprivileged audiences in neighboring communities, offering free and discounted tickets to children and adults to many events over the course of each season. Parlance Chamber Concerts is also exploring the possibility of in-school fundraising concerts to benefit the music and arts programs in the public schools of Ridgewood, New Jersey. Past Parlance Chamber Concerts events have featured such world-renowned instrumentalists, singers, and chamber ensembles as The Emerson, Brentano, Jerusalem, Escher, Danish, Schumann, and Goldumund; pianists Jonathan Biss, Emanuel Ax, Richard Goode, Peter Serkin, Jeremy Denk, Garrick Ohlsson, Marc-André Hamelin, Paul Lewis, Orion Weiss, Anne-Marie McDermott, Lucille Chung, Simone Dinnerstein, Wu Han, Alessio Bax, Warren Jones, Conrad Tao, Jeewon Park, and Shai Wosner; flutists, Denis Bouriakov, James Galway; clarinetist Richard Stoltzman; violinists Chee-Yun, Pinchas Zukerman, Anne Akiko Meyers, Frank Huang, Benjamin Beilman, Elmar Oliveira and Stefan Jackiw; cellists Steven Isserlis, David Finckel and André Díaz; classical guitarists Sharon Isbin, Jason Vieaux, and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet; harpists Mariko Anraku and Emmanuel Ceysson; and Metropolitan Opera star singers including sopranos Angel Blue, Danielle de Niese, Susanna Phillips, and Ying Fang, mezzo-sopranos Stephanie Blythe, Isabel Leonard, and Kate Lindsey, tenor Matthew Polenzani, baritones Thomas Hampson and Nathan Gunn, and bass Morris Robinson. The early music special Jordi Savall and his ensemble Hespèrion XXI have appeared on Parlance Chamber Concerts, as have Jazz artists including The Paquito D’Rivera Quintet, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, The Bill Charlap Trio, and noted guitarists Bucky Pizzarielli, Frank Vignola, and Howard Alden. Leading instrumentalists from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society have been featured each season on Parlance Chamber Concerts.

PAST SEASONS For more information on our past artists, please click on the dates below: 2024-2025 Season 2023-2024 Season 2022-2023 Season 2021-2022 Season 2020-2021 Season postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic 2019-2020 Season 2018-2019 Season 2017-2018 Season 2016-2017 Season 2015-2016 Season 2014-2015 Season 2013-2014 Season 2012-2013 Season 2011-2012 Season 2010-2011 Season 2009-2010 Season 2008-2009 Season 2007-2008 Season

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ZLATOMIR FUNG, CELLO The first American in four decades and youngest musician ever to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division, Zlatomir Fung is poised to become one of the preeminent cellists of our time. Astounding audiences with his boundless virtuosity and exquisite sensitivity, the 23-year-old has already proven himself to be a star among the next generation of world-class musicians. A recipient of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship 2022 and a 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Fung’s impeccable technique demonstrates mastery of the canon and exceptional insight into the depths of contemporary repertoire. In the 2022-2023 season, Fung performs with orchestras and gives recitals in all corners of the world. Orchestral engagements include the BBC and Rochester Philharmonics, Milwaukee, Reading, Lincoln, Ridgefield and Sante Fe Symphonies, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, and APEX Ensemble. He gives the world premiere of a new cello concerto by Katherine Balch with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He plays recitals throughout North America with pianists Benjamin Hochman, Dina Vainshtein, and Janice Carissa, including stops in New York City, Chicago, IL, San Diego and Berkeley, CA, Los Alamos, NM, Rockville, MD, Melbourne, FL, Vancouver and Sechelt, BC, Northampton, MA, Province, RI, Burlington, VT, and Waterford, VA. Tours of Europe and Asia include a recital at Wigmore Hall and two performances at Cello Biënnale Amsterdam. Recent summer festival appearances include Aspen Music Festival, Bravo! Vail with the New York Philharmonic and Leonard Slatkin, ChamberFest Cleveland, Chamber Music Northwest, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, and Verbier. As a soloist, Fung has appeared with the Detroit, Kansas City, Seattle, Utah, Greensboro, Ann Arbor, and Asheville Symphonies, among many others. Past recital highlights include his Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall debut with pianist Mishka Rushdie Momen and multiple tours throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. As a chamber musician, he has been presented by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Philharmonic Society of Orange County, IMS Prussia Cove, Syrinx Concerts in Toronto, The Embassy Series & The Phillips Collection in Washington DC, and Salon de Virtuosi and Bulgarian Concert Evenings in New York City. A winner of the 2017 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the 2017 Astral National Auditions, Fung has taken the top prizes at the 2018 Alice & Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition, 2016 George Enescu International Cello Competition, 2015 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players, 2014 Stulberg International String Competition, and 2014 Irving Klein International Competition. He was selected as a 2016 U.S. Presidential Scholar for the Arts and was awarded the 2016 Landgrave von Hesse Prize at the Kronberg Academy Cello Masterclasses. Of Bulgarian-Chinese heritage, Zlatomir Fung began playing cello at age three. Fung studied at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Richard Aaron and Timothy Eddy. Fung has been featured on NPR’s Performance Today and has appeared on From the Top six times. In addition to music, he enjoys cinema, reading, and blitz chess.

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JEANELLE BRIERLEY, VIOLIN Jeanelle Brierley, an Arizona native and current resident of Cleveland, Ohio, is a violinist with a passion for orchestral performance, chamber music, and pedagogy. Jeanelle completed her undergraduate degree in 2016 at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with William Preucil and was awarded the Dr. Jerome Gross prize in violin. She made her solo debut with the Phoenix Symphony and has served as the concertmaster of the Lexington Bach Festival, the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, the Youngstown Symphony, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and the orchestras of the Brevard Music Center. Jeanelle has performed as a substitute with the Minnesota Orchestra, as a guest artist at the Bermuda Piano Festival and as a member of the Canton Symphony, the Steamboat Springs’ Strings Festival, the Verbier Festival Orchestra and the Perlman Music Program’s Chamber Music Workshop. She runs a private violin studio and is on faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music where she coaches chamber ensembles in the preparatory department. Jeanelle has been a regular substitute violinist with The Cleveland Orchestra since 2017 and has performed regularly with the ensemble in Cleveland as well as on tours throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.

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