The Bard College Conservatory Orchestra will tour Cuba from June 4th through 9th, including the performance of awarded American pianist Peter Serkin in its last concert.

Conducted by maestro Leon Botstein, the youth orchestra is scheduled to perform at Terry Theater in the south central city of Cienfuegos on Saturday, June 4th, then it will travel on to Santa Clara to perform at La Caridad Theater on Monday, June 6th, on Wednesday it will share the stage with the Cuban chamber orchestra Camerata Romeu at the National Theater’s Covorrubias Hall, and on Thursday it will be at the theater’s Avellaneda Hall.

For the Cuba tour, Botstein has chosen a repertoire that includes the William Tell overture by Italy’s Gioachino Rossini; the symphony Matías, the Painter, by German Paul Hindemith; Symphony Number 2 by Johannes Brahms, while in the last concert on Thursday, awarded pianist Peter Serkin will play Concert no. 2 by Hungary’s Bela Bartok.

A naturalized American, Botstein has run the Bard College since 1975, while Peter Serkin has won a Grammy Award, been a soloist in concerts conducted by directors, Claudio Abbado, Simon Rattle, James Levine and Pierre Boulez and has collaborated with cellist Yo Yo Ma, violinist Panela Frank and the Budapest Quartet. Ninety young musicians from 16 countries who study at the prestigious conservatory make up the visiting symphony.

During their stay on the island, the musicians will exchange experiences with Cuban professionals and music students. The tour is coordinated by the Cuban Music Institute and Classical Movements, an entity that has promoted the performance of US artists in Cuba long before the reestablishment of relations between Cuba and the United States.