Local Violin Virtuoso Begins Whirlwind Summer of Performances06/30/2005 | ||
|
Fourteen-year-old Jeremy Stein Cushman of Little Neck has been performing as a violin soloist since the age of eight, appearing before audiences on four continents and in venues ranging from Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall to Seattle's Safeco Field to the Louisiana Superdome. He has been the first place winner of the New York City talent competition; was named the "Most Talented Boy of 2003" at the Knicks Kids Talent Search, resulting in three performances at center court in Madison Square Garden; was selected as Microsoft's "Symbol of Potential", which led to a series of major performances around the country; and won the FAO/CBS International Talent Search, earning him a $1500 shopping spree and an appearance on the CBS Early Show with Bryant Gumbel. He has performed with a variety of professional ensembles and for celebrities and dignitaries throughout the world. And Jeremy is one of the few violinists to be paid for performances at such a young age. Last year, for example, he earned $4000 for a performance in Zurich, Switzerland. However, Jeremy also performs regularly at benefits and other charity and community events without accepting pay. |
This summer offers a number of opportunities to hear Jeremy perform locally. Jeremy's summer performance schedule kicked off this past Sunday, June 18, with a performance at Westbury Gardens for 3000 people at North Shore University Hospital's Annual Fundraising Outing. And this Sunday, June 25 at 7 p.m., Jeremy will be giving a solo recital at Steinway Hall at a performance sponsored by the Variety Children's Charity. All proceeds will benefit the charity. This recital will include the unusual mix of genres that have made Jeremy's performance appeal to such a wide audience. He includes classical masterpieces along with jazz, show tunes and fiddle hoedowns. Jeremy will soon also begin performances at a series of free outdoor parks concerts as the soloist for the Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra. Those performances will take place in Memorial Park, Mineola on July 8, in Greis Park, Lynbrook on July 15, and at the Lakeside Theater of Eisenhower Park on July 18. For those who prefer a more formal setting, Jeremy will again solo with the Nassau Pops on October 16 in the Tilles Center at C.W. Post in a benefit for United Cerebral Palsy. In between these solo performances, Jeremy will join college students, other advanced performers and young professionals as a chamber musician, receiving a merit scholarship, in the CW Post Summer Festival, and will also travel with the Young Symphonic Ensemble of the Children's Orchestra Society on a concert tour of London and Scotland. Plans are also being made for additional solo performances in France and Switzerland. |
In addition to music, Jeremy loves computers, tennis and fantasy baseball. He is an A+ student in Cardozo High School's DaVinci Math and Science Program. This year he represented his school at the Greater Metropolitan Math Fair, presenting original math research, and brought back a gold medal. He also studies piano with Irina Starr of Little Neck and composition with Michael Dadap, the conductor of the Young Symphonic Ensemble. Since the age of five, Jeremy has been a violin student of Yukako Tarumi, who he describes as inspirational, and, since last year, has studied in the private studio of renowned Julliard professor Shirley Givens. More information and directions to the events, can be found at www.jscushman.info. ©Times Ledger 2005 |