By Kathleen Suss

Dec. 31, 2024: Concordia Conservatory presents its Gala “SHINING STAR,” as part of the Hoch Chamber Music Series on Saturday, February 1 at 6:00 pm at The Reformed Church of Bronxville, 180 Pondfield Road.

This gala concert features TV and Broadway actor/singer Colin Donnell with Grammy-nominated James Lowe in a cabaret program and a chamber music performance of Mendelssohn's String Quintet No. 2 in B flat Major, Op. 87 by violinists Elizabeth Lim-Dutton and Emanouil Manolov, violists Lawrence Dutton and Junah Chung, and cellist Andrew Janss.

Concert tickets are $49 adult and $24.50 child/senior; combined tickets for the concert and dinner-dance are $250.

To purchase tickets, visit www.concordiaconservatory.org or call 914-395-4507.

Honorary Chairs

The Conservatory is thrilled to have as honorary committee chairs a group of individuals who are true supporters of Concordia Conservatory and its mission. Mayors of Bronxville and Tuckahoe, Mary Marvin and Omayra Andino, along with longtime Bronxville residents, and Conservatory friends Margie Ball & Peter Stace, and Anne & Sean Coffey lend their leadership to the Gala Committee.

Mary Marvin has served the Village of Bronxville for 25 years, as Mayor since 2005 and before that as a Trustee and a member of the zoning board. She is also a

Conservatory parent, as her son, Brad, studied piano at the Conservatory in his youth.

Mayor Omayra Andino was elected Mayor of Tuckahoe, just as Concordia Conservatory was going independent, after the closing of Concordia College. Both she and Mayor Marvin offer invaluable assistance currently and in the transition of establishing the Conservatory as an independent community music school. As the CEO of IAHD, Andino sees firsthand the value of the music and art therapy services the Conservatory provides.

Former Conservatory Board member and parent of Eliza, Peter Stace was instrumental in establishing a scholarship program in 1999. Over the years, more than 1,000 students benefited from Conservatory scholarships.

Margie Ball has been a steadfast mentor & adviser since 1997 and was a Conservatory piano student.

Anne & Sean Coffey have been a part of the Conservatory community for 28 years through their children, Kate, Cameron and Connor and Anne’s involvement as a parent, especially through the holiday community musical. Now, their son Cameron, after performing in a dozen holiday community musicals, has returned to direct the productions. Sean provided legal counsel and invaluable guidance through our path to becoming an independent community music school in 2020.

The "Shining Star" Gala supports the Conservatory’s ongoing effort to make music available to all. Money raised will fund scholarship and outreach as well as the Conservatory’s music and art therapy programs.

Gala Committee

The 2025 Conservatory Gala Committee includes Meghan Allen, Anne & Peter Angevine, Nelcida Armand, Rati Bagai, Linda Cioffi, Elizabeth B. Crowley, Eveline Feldmann, Julia Golier, Stella Guarnieri, Sonia Huerta, Julie Latham, Alexis Lemon, Mary Mackintosh, Maureen McAllister, Rizza McCormack, Linda Pan, Anne Prost & Robert Olivier, Jennifer Ralph, Stephanie Raneri, Erin Seuffert, Abigail & Holland Sullivan, Maria Tsennykh, Monica Thurmond, Teresa & Fahrad Williams-Ameen, Nancy Yohannan Al-Omoush.

Junior Gala Committee

The Junior Gala Committee includes Conservatory students Ciara Andrews, Jack Angevine, Shay Armand, Sabrina Belke, Roscoe Browne, Alex Cebenoyan, Catherine Dorr, Caris Erman-Thurmond, Benjamin Gleason, Valeria Huerta, Emiliano Huerta, Kit Knapp, Athina Lekovic, Julia Litman, Julia Ralph, Porter Rao, Ada Rein, Laura Sanchez, Alexandra Seuffert, Anna Speth, Sean Spillane, Matan Vamos, Lily Williams-Ameen, Alexander Zachinyaev.

Artistic Director

Nine-Time Grammy Award winner Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson String Quartet is the artistic director of the Hoch Chamber Music Series.

Link For Tickets

Concert tickets are $49 adult and $24.50 child/senior; combined tickets for the concert and dinner-dance are $250.

To purchase tickets, visit www.concordiaconservatory.org or call 914-395-4507.

About Colin Donnell

Colin Donnell recently appeared as the all-out lead of Peacock's "Irreverent” and is well known for his work as Dr. Connor Rhodes in NBC’s drama “Chicago Med" and as Tommy Merlyn in CW’s “Arrow.” Other TV appearances include Scott Lockhart in Showtime’s hit series “The Affair”, "Pan Am,” “Person of Interest” and “The Mysteries of Laura.”

Colin has appeared in the films “Every Secret Thing,” with Diane Lane and Elizabeth Banks, and “Almost Love” opposite Michelle Buteau. Most recently, Colin has recurring roles in “FBI: International” and in “Zero Day” on Netflix, opposite Robert De Niro.

Onstage, Colin Donnell recently played the role of Father in “Ragtime” at New York's City Center. He also starred opposite Alex Brightman and Ian Shaw in “The Shark Is Broken” on Broadway.

Other Broadway work includes “Violet,” “Anything Goes” and “Jersey Boys.” Among his other notable stage appearances are Russell Hammond in the musical adaptation of Cameron Crowe’s acclaimed show Almost Famous at The Old Globe, “Follies,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Lady Be Good”, “Meet Me in St. Louis”, and the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of “Loves Labours Lost”. Additionally, he's toured with productions of “Wicked” and “Mamma Mia.”

Born in St. Louis, Donnell is a resident of New York.

About James Lowe

Grammy-nominated conductor, arranger, orchestrator and composer James Lowe continues to garner praise for "beautifully sculpted" (Opera News) performances. He appears regularly with major opera houses in the US and abroad, as well as on Broadway.

This season he will make debuts at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and Atlanta Opera and will return to Lyric Opera of Chicago and Arizona Opera. He recently conducted the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie’s The Garden of the Finzi-Continis with New York City Opera at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.

He arranged, orchestrated and conducted Songbird, a new adaptation of Offenbach’s La Périchole in the style of 1920’s New Orleans jazz for the Glimmerglass Festival.

He has appeared at San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse and Opéra National de Bordeaux.

On Broadway, James Lowe was the Music Director and Conductor of the recent revival of Les Misérables, as well as the Tony Award-winning revival of Cole Porter's Anything Goes. He also served as the Music Supervisor for the First National Tour of this production.

Mr. Lowe made his Broadway debut conducting performances of Gypsy, starring Patti LuPone. Mr. Lowe was nominated for a Grammy Award for his work on the Anything Goes cast album released on Ghostlight Records, which he conducted and co-produced.

With members of the cast, he has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, the CBS Early Show and A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. He toured North America as Music Director and Conductor of the acclaimed Cameron Mackintosh/National Theatre production of My Fair Lady and conducted the First National Tour of Adam Guettel’s The Light in the Piazza.

Mr. Lowe has appeared in concert with Sir Elton John, singer-songwriter Randy Newman and the legendary Booker T. Jones. His arrangements have been performed by Joyce DiDonato, Isabel Leonard, Ailyn Pérez and Nadine Sierra, Glimmerglass Festival and Utah Opera, among others.

As a pianist, Mr. Lowe performed as soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and has given recitals, including several world premieres, at such venues as the Aspen Music Festival, the Chautauqua Institute, the University of Texas San Antonio New Music Festival, and the University of Colorado Artsweek Festival in Boulder.

He has served on the faculties of Syracuse University, and the Hochstein Music School in Rochester. He holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan, with additional studies at the Aspen Music School and the Aspen Opera Theater Center.