Haydn Cello Concerto No. 2 - Annie Jacobs-Perkins, NEC Chamber Orchestra

Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major, Hob. VIIb:2, op. 101 was composed in 1783 while Haydn was employed by Prince Nikolaus at Esterházy. The concerto was written for and premiered by Antonin Kraft, a cellist in the Esterházy Orchestra. For many years the work was believed to have been written by Kraft, but the 1951 discovery of the autograph score in the composer's hand finally affirmed that the concerto is indeed by Haydn.

The winner of the NEC Chamber Orchestra Soloist Competition, cellist Annie Jacobs-Perkins has been praised for "hypnotic lyricism" and performances "causing listeners to forget where they were for a moment" (Alex Ross, The New Yorker). Jacobs-Perkins was named a 2018 Outstanding Graduate of USC's Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, where she was a Trustee Scholar and a student of Ralph Kirshbaum. She now holds the Laurence Lesser Presidential Scholarship at New England Conservatory where she is pursuing her Master of Music degree under the tutelage of Laurence Lesser.

The NEC Chamber Orchestra, under the guidance of artistic director Donald Palma, was created to provide students with an opportunity to apply the principals of chamber music in a small orchestral setting. Participants are chosen by audition at the beginning of the academic year and remain together throughout. As the ensemble rehearses and performs without a conductor, leadership responsibilities are rotated for every work performed. This affords students an opportunity to develop communication skills, take responsibility for musical decisions, and broaden their aural and score-reading capabilities. Modeled on the seminal Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, of which Donald Palma was a founding member, the program also allows students to experience a wide range of the incredibly rich chamber orchestra literature.

About New England Conservatory
New England Conservatory (NEC) is recognized internationally as a leader among music schools, educating and training musicians of all ages from around the world for over 150 years. With music students representing more than 40 countries, NEC cultivates a diverse, dynamic community for students, providing them with performance opportunities and high-caliber training by 225 internationally-esteemed artist-teachers and scholars.

NEC pushes the boundaries of making and teaching music through college-level musical training in classical, jazz and Contemporary Improvisation. It offers unique interdisciplinary programs such as Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Community Performances & Partnerships that empower students to create their own musical opportunities. As part of NEC's mission to make lifelong music education available to everyone, the Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education delivers training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students and adults.

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