Saturday, August 23rd
Beethoven Symphony No. 7
Heritage Fellowship Church
3:00 to 5:00pm
Join us for an evocative evening of orchestral storytelling featuring Barber’s nostalgic Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Beethoven’s electrifying Symphony No. 7 in A major. Barber’s lyrical setting captures the innocence and wonder of childhood on a summer evening, while Beethoven’s rhythmic masterpiece pulses with dance-like energy from start to finish. Experience these two powerful works up close—and hear them like never before!
Program :
John Corigliano: Elegy for Orchestra
Samuel Barber: Knoxville, Summer of 1915
Erin Ridge, soprano
Intermission
Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major
Tickets Available Here
Watch us in action!
The Great Falls Philharmonic performed Dvořák’s marvelous Eighth Symphony on August 25, 2024. Click below to see an excerpt from the first movement.
Meet the Artists
Derek Maseloff is a rising force in the Washington, D.C. music scene, known for his dynamic artistry and boundary-crossing creativity. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the Great Falls Philharmonic and serves as Principal Conductor of the Greenbelt Community Orchestra. His conducting has captivated audiences across the D.C. metro region with performances praised for their energy, clarity, and emotional depth.
Maseloff’s musical journey began at the organ bench at age eight, and has since evolved into a multifaceted career as a conductor, horn player, and composer. A graduate of Cornell University, he holds a degree in China and Asian-Pacific Studies, with a thesis focused on classical music’s role in U.S.–China cultural relations. He earned his Master of Music in Horn Performance from the University of Maryland, where he was a fellow in the prestigious graduate woodwind quintet fellowship ensemble Wavelength Winds, studying with Gregory Miller and Phil Munds.
He is a core member and composer of Classically Dope, an acclaimed ensemble fusing classical music with hip-hop, featuring Konshens theMC. Maseloff’s compositions have been performed at venues including The Anthem with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, and broadcast live on Texas Public Radio. His commissioned work Dreams for rapper and wind orchestra premiered in 2022 with the University of Maryland Wind Orchestra.
Maseloff is currently the music director at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Great Falls, VA. He lives in Greenbelt, Maryland with his wife Katie and their cats Lily and Liza.
Lauded by the Washington Post as having a “smooth and charismatic lyric soprano”, Erin Ridge is a D.C. based multidisciplinary artist making a name for herself as both a lyric soprano and stage director. On stage, Ridge has applied her versatile artistry to roles including Laura in Verdi’s Luisa Miller and Cleone in Rossini’s Ermione (Washington Concert Opera), Mrs. Coyle in Britten’s Owen Wingrave (National Orchestra Institute), and Sandrina in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera and Vixen in Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen (Maryland Opera Studio). An avid competitor, Ridge has won awards with competitions including the American International Czech & Slovak, NSAL Martorella Scholarship, Pittsburgh Opera’s Mildred Miller as well as competing in many additional prestigious competitions as a semi-finalist this season. Ridge performs regularly across the DMV area as a recitalist, concert soloist, and chorus member with groups including Washington National Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Annapolis Opera, Trinity Chamber Orchestra and Great Falls Philharmonic.
Japanese-American violinist Ryo Usami is a member of "The President's Own" US Marine Band in Washington DC where he performs regularly at the White House, and is also the principal second violin of the Santa Barbara Symphony in California. Ryo has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Studio Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, Charleston Symphony, and Harrisburg Symphony.
As a violinist and violist, Ryo has performed alongside members of the Brentano Quartet, Meliora Quartet, Orion Quartet, National Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic, and has appeared in masterclasses led by the Gil Shaham, Johnny Gandelsman, Rainer Kuchl, Gordon Nikolic, Stephan Picard, and the Dover, Juilliard, Borromeo, and Ying Quartets.
During the summers, Ryo has participated as a violinist in the Colorado Music Festival, Orchestra of the Americas, Dali Quartet International Music Festival, Festival Napa Valley, Pacific Music Festival, and Aurora Chamber Music Festival in Sweden. As an instructor, he taught at the Chamber Music Institute in Maine from 2008 to 2016 and joined their Japan Tour in 2018. In 2022, Ryo will join the faculty of "Quartet Intensive" in Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as the Varna International Music Academy in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Ryo received a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory where he was a member of the honors string quartet. Notable instructors and mentors include Ayano Ninomiya, Violaine Melancon, Simeon Simeonov, and Akiko Hirose Silver. Ryo is an avid supporter of contemporary instrument making and proudly performs on a violin made by Gabrielle Kundert and a bow made by Benoit Rolland.