by Debra Rubin
NJJN Bureau Chief/Middlesex

June 9, 2009

Even when she was playing in the school band, Jessica Sibelman knew she wanted to make music her career.

At age 23, the Old Bridge resident is well on her way to achieving her dream. On June 28 she’ll conduct the New York Chamber Virtuosi, the 40-member classical orchestra she founded, in its debut performance at Merkin Concert Hall in Manhattan.

The orchestra, which Sibelman also serves as president and executive director, is the culmination of years of study and her desire to educate others about music. The group performs a classical repertoire and music of emerging New York composers.

At the debut performance, she will share conducting duties with Israeli native Yaniv Segal; Sibelman will take the baton when the orchestra plays her own original pieces. She is particularly excited that the soloist for the performance of her violin concerto will be Tim Fain, winner of a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and named by Symphony Magazine as one of the nation’s “up and coming young musicians.”

“My friends call me the triple C threat because I’m a clarinetist, conductor, and composer,” said Sibelman, who holds a degree from Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music, where she majored in clarinet performance and minored in composition. She is now enrolled in the evening division of the Juilliard School, studying conducting.

“It started when I was a kid,” said Sibelman, a graduate of Old Bridge High School. “I just connected to music more than any of my other classes. I played in the high school band. I started youth orchestras in the area. I actually started conducting and composing in high school.”

Variety of styles

Sibelman’s musical tastes are varied. In addition to classical and chamber music, she has an interest in Jewish music and has composed pieces in the style of klezmer and Jewish folk tunes.

The new orchestra’s members are mostly Russian Jews, “with some Bulgarians and a couple of Israelis” whom Sibelman met through musical circles.

“It’s a small musical world so we all just know each other,” said Sibelman, who has already performed as a clarinetist at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and has had her compositions performed by various orchestras. And there was a reading of her music with the American Composers’ Orchestra in May 2008.

Part of Sibelman’s goal is introduce classical music to seniors, children’s groups, and others. She appeared May 31 in the second of a two-part program exploring symphonies and concertos sponsored by the men’s club of Congregation Beth Ohr in Old Bridge. Two youngsters from the congregation, Sara Atzbi on violin and Joshua Zussman on keyboard, accompanied her.

Sibelman also conducted a program for the religious school at Beth Ohr, the congregation in which she grew up and where her mother, Lisa, is administrator. Her father, Richard, serves as her orchestra’s treasurer and finance director.

“I include various elements in my style, Broadway to pop — different musical styles to connect with my audience,” said Sibelman. “And I use different things from my own Jewish heritage.”

For more information about Sibelman’s orchestra, the June 28 performance, and other upcoming appearances, visit www.thenewyorkchambervirtuosi.com. Sibelman can be reached at jlsibelman@gmail.com.

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