TENAFLY, N.J.—The Presbyterian Church at Tenafly will present two free September concerts featuring internationally recognized musicians Elli Choi and Daniel Ficarri.
Choi, a 2020 graduate of Tenafly High School and an award-winning violinist, will perform at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, in the church’s Old Stone Chapel. She will play sonatas by Paul Hindemith, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, among other works.
Ficarri, associate director of music and organist at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City, will perform at 3 p.m. Sept. 19 as part of the church’s continuing Organ Recital Series.
Both concerts will be held at the Presbyterian Church at Tenafly, 55 Magnolia Ave.
Choi, 23, has performed throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Her appearances have included Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall and the David H. Koch Theater in New York; the Berliner Philharmonie; the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall in Philadelphia; Maison Symphonique de Montreal; Tonhalle Zurich; Rudolfinum’s Dvořák Hall in Prague; BOZAR in Brussels; the Abu Dhabi Palace; and Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts.
She has appeared with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Belgian National Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Musica, Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and The Juilliard Orchestra.
Choi has performed for French President Emmanuel Macron, former Vice President Mike Pence at the U.S. Department of State, and the Duchess of Gloucester at Buckingham Palace.
Her other appearances include the 2019 Lincoln Center Fall Gala honoring John E. Waldron; the 2022 Kids in Need of Defense gala, “Coming Together for Children Alone,” at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City; the annual American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union gala in Brussels; and the World Children’s Day Concert at Expo 2020 Dubai, where she appeared as a UNICEF ambassador.
Choi won the Monaco World Music Masters competition in 2016. She later received top prizes at the Qingdao International Violin Competition, Classic Strings International Competition in Dubai and China International Music Competition. Most recently, she was awarded third prize at the Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition.
She completed her undergraduate work at Columbia University while enrolled at The Juilliard School, where she had studied since 2009. She recently completed her master’s degree as a Kovner Fellow.
Choi has since begun professional studies at Kronberg Academy with professor Antje Weithaas under the patronage of the Gingko Foundation. She plays a circa-1840 J.B. Vuillaume violin on loan.
Six days after Choi’s concert, Ficarri will take the console for the latest installment of the church’s Organ Recital Series.
Ficarri was named one of The Diapason magazine’s “20 Under 30” organists. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall under the batons of Marin Alsop, Itzhak Perlman, David Robertson, James Gaffigan and Bernard Labadie.
He has performed in concert halls and houses of worship around the country, including Symphony Hall in Boston and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. The New York Times featured Ficarri in its “Week’s Eight Best Classical Music Moments,” and classical radio station WQXR presented him as part of its 2014 Bach Organ Marathon.
Ficarri studied organ with Paul Jacobs at The Juilliard School, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He studied composition privately with Rachel Laurin.
His compositions include inaugural organ works for the Miller-Scott Organ at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue and the restored Hazel Wright Organ at Christ Cathedral, formerly known as Crystal Cathedral.
His chamber works include music written for a collaboration with violinist Stella Chen and for the organ-and-cello duo of Greg Zelek and Thomas Mesa.
Ficarri’s sacred choral works range from “Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in D,” premiered by Kent Tritle with the Cathedral Choir and Cathedral Brass of St. John the Divine, to “Ah, Holy Jesus,” written for the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City during Ficarri’s tenure there. Much of his music is published by E.C. Schirmer and MorningStar Music Publishers.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Ritchie, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Tenafly, said “We’re thrilled that Daniel has agreed to give this recital in Tenafly. Our corner of the town used to be an organist hotspot, with famous and flamboyant recitalist Clare Cocci and star organist of Riverside Church, Virgil Fox, both living within a stone’s throw of our church. Dan will be rekindling memories of those days and bringing his incredible skills across a very wide range of exciting and beautiful organ music. Having heard his playing in St John the Divine on many occasions I know that this will be an unmissable treat and a “red letter day” in the Tenafly and Bergen County calendar.”
Ficarri’s program will include:
- Philip Glass: “Mad Rush”
- Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543
- Daniel Ficarri: Prelude and Fugue on “Thaxted”
- Daniel Ficarri: Suite No. 2, “Homage to H.T. Burleigh,” comprising “Deep River,” “There Is a Balm in Gilead” and “Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit”
- Virgil Fox: “Simple Gifts”
- Johann Sebastian Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565
The Ficarri concert is made possible through the generosity of the families of the late Beatrice Van Poznak and Margaret and Bob Cooper. For more information call the Presbyterian Church at Tenafly at 201-567-0111.