Our 2025-26 season starts off with a brand new work, highlights COP Principals Jennifer and Jeff Mangone, and a masterpiece by Mozart.
Matt Browne -I Have Seen the FutureDitters von Dittersdorf - Concerto for Viola and BassMozart - Symphony No. 40 in G Minor
Jennifer Gerhard is Principal Violist for the orchestras of the Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, as well as Principal Viola of the Wheeling Symphony and Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh. She also substitutes with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
A member of TJL Productions “My Music Orchestra”, Ms. Gerhard can be seen on PBS with a variety of Doo Wop artists, Davey Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and more.
An active chamber music performer, Ms. Gerhard is the violist and music coordinator of the Wheeling Symphony String Quintet, an ensemble that performs “WSO On the Go” educational programs and recitals throughout the region.
In addition to maintaining an active private teaching studio, she is a recent addition to the string faculty of Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University.
From 1982-87 Jennifer held the position of Principal Viola with the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra. Prior to that, she performed with the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra and on Broadway.
Ms. Gerhard’s primary viola teachers were Paul Doktor, Sol Greitzer, Leonard Davis and Heidi Castleman. Originally from Long Island, New York, she received the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts with Highest Honors from SUNY College at Purchase Conservatory of Music in 1981.
Ms. Gerhard performs on a viola made in 1977 by James Radford Coggin.
Jennifer is proudly married to double bassist Jeff Mangone. The couple resides in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, in the company of their cats, Hershey and Holly.
Jeff Mangone, full time professional player and teacher of double bass and electric bass guitar, has played virtually every style of music in local, national, and international venues in a career that began in 1972. He is currently the principal bassist of the orchestras of the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, Wheeling Symphony, Civic Light Opera, Pittsburgh Broadway Series, and the PBS “My Music” Series. He has been a substitute bassist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He has performed and/or lectured at every Pittsburgh Double Bass Symposium and is the only freelance bassist to be so honored. His active jazz career has included concerts, touring, and recording with artists that include Ken Karsh, Joe Negri, Opie Bellas, Bo Wagner, Donna Groom, Julia Eglar, Richard Stoltzman, Vic Damone, Rosemary Clooney, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Pops, and countless others. Since 1979, he has served on the faculty of the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University and the University of Pittsburgh Department of Music. He has also served on the faculties of the Slippery Rock University Department of Music-1997 to 2009, the Indiana University of PA Department of Music-1990-1997, and the West Virginia University Department of Music-1978 to 1987. Many of his former students have gone on to careers in orchestras, jazz groups, touring Broadway musicals, and recording studios throughout the United States and the world. Jeff is the musical contractor for several arts organizations including the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. He is married to violist/violinist, Jennifer Gerhard, who serves as principal violist of all of the same musical ensembles!
Colorado-based composer Matt Browne (b. 1988) strives to create music that meets Sergei Diaghilev’s famous challenge to Jean Cocteau: “Astonish me!”, through incorporating such eclectic influences as the timbral imagination and playfulness of György Ligeti, the shocking and humorous polystylism of Alfred Schnittke, and the relentless rhythmic energy of Igor Stravinsky. His music has been praised for its “unbridled humor” (New Music Box) and described as “witty” (The Strad) and “beautifully crafted and considered” (What’s On London).
Dr. Browne has had the privilege to collaborate with such ensembles as the Minnesota Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, PRISM Quartet, Albany Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Eastman Wind Ensemble, PUBLIQuartet, New York Virtuoso Singers, New Jersey Symphony, New England Philharmonic, and the Villiers Quartet. Recent projects include his Symphony no. 1 ‘The Course of Empire’ commissioned the Santa Rosa and Eugene Symphonies, States of Mind for percussion quartet, and a collaboration with Opera Omaha’s Poetry and Music.
Recently, Dr. Browne’s music has received honors such as winner of the ASCAP Foundation Rudolf Nissim Prize (2017), first prize in the 2020 New Classics International Competition of the Moscow Conservatory (out of 2,000 submissions in 84 countries), a BMI Student Composer award (2015), a residency at the Mizzou International Composers Festival, fellow at CULTIVATE Copland House (2017), winner of the New England Philharmonic Call for Scores (2014), a residency at the Minnesota Orchestra Composers Institute (2016), winner of the American Viola Society’s Maurice Gardner Composition award (2014), and a residency at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s First Annual Composers Institute (2013). Dr. Browne holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Music Composition from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Previous teachers include Michael Daugherty, Kristin Kuster, Carter Pann, and Daniel Kellogg
Edward Leonard has established an outstanding reputation for his versatility and
interpretation of an extensive repertoire. As founder and Music Director of The
Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, he has led the organization to substantial artistic
growth since its creation in 2014. His comfort in diverse repertoire results in a
conducting prowess and artistic command that spans the centuries.
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