Overview
On the cusp of Valentine’s Day, join WQXR for an evening of love, laughter, dance and great music! Featuring performances from violinist Stefan Jackiw and clarinetist Yoonah Kim, works from Ariel Rivka Dance and beautiful love songs performed by tenor Nicholas Phan, plus beer tastings from Sixpoint Brewery! Drag performance artist and violinist Thorgy Thor will be our guide through matters of the heart on this Queen of the Night Valentines show!
*Premium ticket gets you a reserved seat in the first two rows
Credit: Photo provided by Artist
Guest host Thorgy Thor is an NYC based drag performance artist, professional musician and TV host. She was a contestant on the Emmy Award-winning show RuPaul’s Drag Race and has appeared in Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, VICE, WWHL with Andy Cohen, and is a cast member of Dragnificent! on TLC/Hulu. She is a multi instrumentalist, playing violin, viola and cello in Thorgy and the Thorchestra! She’s done shows with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
Credit: Photo by Whitney Browne
Ariel Rivka Dance (ARD) is an all-female contemporary dance company based in New Jersey led by Artistic/Executive Director Ariel Grossman. ARD’s mission is to champion female creatives through original choreography, commissioned music, and curated family and educational programming.
Through movement, ARD creates a community of vulnerability and acceptance, providing opportunities for hope and connection.
Credit: Photo provided by Artist
Stefan Jackiw is one of America’s foremost violinists, captivating audiences with playing that combines poetry and purity with impeccable technique. Hailed for playing of “uncommon musical substance” that is “striking for its intelligence and sensitivity” (Boston Globe), Jackiw has appeared as a soloist with the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, among others.
Following his summer performance with the New York Philharmonic, Jackiw opens the 2023-24 season returning to the orchestra to perform the Barber Concerto with Jaap van Zweden. His season also includes a quadruple World Premiere of new works at Roulette, and his return to Asia with the Taiwan Philharmonic and the China National Symphony. In the spring, the Junction Trio will make their Carnegie Hall debut with the New York premiere of John Zorn’s Philosophical Investigations. He was also recently invited to perform and curate a series of programs at the Edinburgh Festival (‘Stefan Jackiw and Friends’).
Credit: Photo provided by Artist
Hailed by The New York Times for her “inexhaustible virtuosity,” clarinetist Yoonah Kim is an artist of uncommon musical depth and versatility. She enjoys a diverse career as solo clarinetist, chamber musician, orchestral musician, and educator.
Yoonah launched her career when she won the 2016 Concert Artists Guild International Competition – the first solo clarinetist to win CAG in nearly 30 years, she joined the ranks of prominent solo clarinetists discovered by CAG, including David Shifrin, Michael Collins, and David Krakauer. Yoonah is also the first woman to win first prize at the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition and she is a first prize winner of the George Gershwin International Competition and the Vienna International Competition.
Credit: Photo provided by Artist
Described by the Boston Globe as “one of the world’s most remarkable singers,” American tenor Nicholas Phan is increasingly recognized as an artist of distinction. Praised for his keen intelligence, captivating stage presence and natural musicianship, he performs regularly with the world’s leading orchestras and opera companies. Also an avid recitalist, in 2010 he co-founded the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (CAIC) to promote art song and vocal chamber music, where he serves as artistic director.A celebrated recording artist, Phan’s most recent album, Stranger: Works for Tenor by Nico Muhly, was nominated for the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
His previous albums, Clairières and Gods and Monsters, were nominated for the same award in 2020 and 2017. He is the first singer of Asian descent to be nominated in the history of the category, which has been awarded by the Recording Academy since 1959.