The Westminster Community Orchestra (WCO), conducted by Ruth Ochs, will present their first concert of the season on Sunday, November 2 at 3 p.m. at Hillman Hal, in the Cullen Center on the Westminster campus on Walnut Lane. There are no tickets required; a suggested admission of $10/person cash will be collected at the door.

Titled “Monumental,” the concert will feature soloist Farshad Zadeh performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major (Emperor), Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, and the world premiere of Westminster Conservatory faculty member Eric Houghton’s More Scenes from Childhood.

“We are delighted to have Dr. Farshad Zadeh return to perform again with the WCO, after soloing with us multiple times when he was a Westminster Conservatory Competition winner,” said Ochs. “It is also a pleasure to share Eric Houghton’s composition, which is a lovely ode to childhood, with our audience; it provides the perfect balance in our program which celebrates these monumental works of Beethoven and Schumann.”

Zadeh started piano at age 4, making his orchestral debut at 11. During his pre-college years, he studied piano with Larissa Korkina at the Westminster Conservatory and performed several times with the WCO, having won the Westminster Concerto Competition in 2005, 2009, and 2011. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and his master’s and doctorate at the University of Texas in Austin. The winner of Oberlin Conservatory’s Arthur Dann Competition and the Sid Wright Competition at the University of Texas, he has performed in concert halls throughout the US, including Carnegie Hall and the Kimmel Center. Zadeh maintains a private studio in the central New Jersey area.

Upon completing two advanced degrees in piano performance at Westminster Choir College and Manhattan School of Music, composer Houghton began teaching and performing at Westminster Conservatory of Music.  His compositions include over 50 songs, including large-scale historical works, Victory Songs and Songs from the Cross. He has composed songs cycles on the words of Victor Hugo, William Shakespeare and biblical Psalms, composed dozens of solo piano works and many widely performed church anthems. He was elected to and won the ASCAP “Meet the Composer” award in 1993 following the piano debut of his massive Pioneer Songs.

Now in her 21st season as the WCO’s music director, Ochs has led the group in performances of major orchestral and choral-orchestral works. Under her leadership, the orchestra continues to feature ensembles and soloists from the Westminster Conservatory and highlight works by local and under-represented composers. She is currently a senior lecturer in the Princeton University Department of Music, where she is in her 24th season as the conductor of the Princeton University Sinfonia.

Email conservatory@rider.edu for more information.