The acclaimed Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo perform at The Dancing Elephant Art Gallery in New Hope, Pennsylvania on Saturday, December 6, at 7:30 p.m. Michael Newman and Laura Oltman perform “A Christmas Pastorale” featuring music by Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn, Pachelbel, Brahms, Corelli, Luther among others. In total, the duo performs 30 selections celebrating the Advent and Christmas season.
Hailed as a “revelation to hear” by The Washington Post, the Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo is renowned for its musicianship, innovative programming, and commitment to expanding the repertoire for guitar duo.
Their concert tours have taken them to world cultural capitals and premiere venues across five continents, the Caribbean, and South Pacific. In addition to their international engagements, they have performed at Carnegie Hall, Caramoor and the Grand Canyon Music Festival. The duo has collaborated with such diverse artists as the late composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch and the Pittsburgh Symphony, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, fiddler Eileen Ivers, pianist Clarice Assad, violinist Tim Fain, and the ETHEL, Daedalus, Calder, and Turtle Island string quartets.
Highlights of recent performances include the world premiere of Concierto Buenos Aires composed for the Duo by Nuevo Tango Master Daniel Binelli with l’Orchestre de l’Opéra de Reims in France. Following on the success of the concerto’s French debut, the Duo “charmed the Ferguson audience with phenomenal musicianship” (Gazette Journal) when they performed it with the Virginia Symphony.
Newman and Oltman continue to teach and perform at the Lanciano International Guitar Seminar in Abruzzo, Italy where they are co-artistic directors. They have also performed as guest artists and master class presenters at the Camino Artes Guitar Workshop in Palencia, Spain and at the Festival de Violäo in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Through their new music-commissioning program, Newman & Oltman have built a unique repertoire of works for two guitars by composers such as Paul Moravec, Augusta Read Thomas, Lowell Liebermann, Dušan Bogdanovic, Arthur Kampela and Roberto Sierra.
Fanfare Magazine hailed the Duo’s latest CD, “Music from Raritan River” as “top notch” and “a winner all around.” The recording features a collection of world premieres commissioned by the duo. Their artistry has also been captured on nearly a dozen other acclaimed recordings including their best-selling CD, “A Christmas Pastorale” for Musical Heritage Society.
The Newman & Oltman duo has been recognized by grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, and ASCAP.
Michael Newman and Laura Oltman are the founders and artistic Directors of the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes and will celebrate their 33rd year as ensemble-in-residence at Mannes College of Music this season. They are also founders and artistic directors of the Raritan River Music Festival marking its 35th season this year.
A Christmas Pastorale, The Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo, The Dancing Elephant Art Gallery, 15 West Ferry Street, New Hope, Pennsylvania. Saturday, December 6, 7:30 p.m. $50 general admission. www.dancingelephantfineart.com/event-details/newman-oltman-christmas-concert.
