New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra

• Mia Kim Bernard, cello
• Julius Akira Mauldin, conductor

For its mid-winter concert, the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra welcomes conductor Julius Akira Mauldin. Mauldin is currently an undergraduate student at the Mannes School of Music in New York City, studying orchestral conducting under David Hayes. He was a finalist in the LA Conducting Competition, and in 2022, he founded the Westside Chamber Players, a orchestral ensemble made up of conservatory students based in New York. The performance will open with cellist Mia Kim Bernard as the soloist in a performance of Dvorák's Cello Concerto in B minor, one of the most popular concertos in the orchestral canon and one of the composer's most enduring works. Bernard is a versatile 19-year-old cellist currently pursuing her bachelor's degree at The Juilliard School as a scholarship student under the tutelage of Astrid Schween. The concert will conclude with the Symphony No. 1 in E minor by Sibelius. Music critic Roger Dettmer said of the symphony, "Melodic substance and sonorities are voluptuous in the First." 

About New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra

https://nasorch.org/

About Mia Kim Bernard, cello

Mia Kim Bernard is a versatile cellist currently pursuing her bachelor's degree at The Juilliard School as a scholarship student under the tutelage of Astrid Schween. Mia began her cello studies at the Thurnauer School of Music and continued at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division under Madeleine Golz.She is equally comfortable performing various styles of music as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra member. As a soloist, she has performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as the winner of national and international competitions. She has been a featured artist with numerous orchestras, including the Vermont Philharmonic, New York Chamber Players Orchestra, New Jersey City University Orchestra, Thurnauer Symphony Orchestra, and Manhattan School of Music Precollege Symphony Orchestra as a concerto competition winner. She is an experienced chamber musician who has performed in ensembles of various instrument combinations and styles. She participated in Juilliard's Spring ChamberFest along with the FOCUS Festival. As an orchestral musician, she performed under the batons of Manfred Honeck, Xian Zhang, Bertrand de Billy, Joel Sachs, and Kevin John Edusei, among others. She is on the Young Artist roster of the Si-Yo Music Society Foundation, now Classically Connected, and has a strong interest in community outreach using music. She has performed in masterclasses taught by Phillippe Muller, Bonnie Hampton, Eric Bartlett, Colin Carr, Julia Bruskin, Paul Katz, David Ying, Julian Schwartz, and Paul Watkins. She has participated in summer music festivals at Bowdoin International Music Festival, Domaine Forget International Music Festival, and Vivace! Matera International Music Festival.

About Julius Akira Mauldin, conductor

A resident of Jersey City, Julius Akira Mauldin is currently a student at the Mannes School of Music in New York City, studying Orchestral Conducting under David Hayes. He is an assistant conductor for the Mannes Orchestra and a cover conductor for the Buffalo Philharmonic, and has led performances with the Mannes Orchestra, Mannes Opera, Mannes American Composers Ensemble and Valerie Coleman's Mannes Flute Ensemble. Julius was also a finalist in the LA Conducting Competition, and in 2022 founded the Westside Chamber Players, a orchestral ensemble made up of conservatory students based in New York.

Passionate about new music and particularly works by Asian American composers, Julius has conducted many premier performances of pieces, including Martinu Prizewinning piece A Truce Within by Jiaying Li, and recently commissioned a new piece for his graduation recital in 2024. An accomplished choral musician, Julius participated in many productions of major works, including performances with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, and as a featured soloist in a Lincoln Center production of Berg's Wozzeck with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the London Philharmonia Orchestra. As a pianist, Julius has studied with Cecilia Cho, and is now accompanist for the Mannes Prep Choruses, and the Glass Menagerie. Outside of music, you can find Julius playing with his cats, Hime and Goemon, or thinking about tiramisu.