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Manage your event registrations
Need special accomodations?
Other activities in our meeting rooms
Enjoy the music of composers like Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Respighi at this concert.
This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Bridgewater Library.
Limited space available - first come, first served. Doors will open at 6:45 pm.
Performers: Dutch pianist Sharon Niessen, born and raised in the Netherlands, is being praised for her lyrical and emotional playing and intelligent musicianship both as a soloist and chamber musician.
“Sharon knows exactly how to get to the heart of the music and engages the audience by telling a musical story” – Joop Celis, pianist and former teacher.
“She surprised us all with her delicate play, her self-assured performance and the pleasure of her personality” – Jurjen Hempel, conductor.
Sharon started her musical journey at the age of 9. She was prizewinner of national and international competitions such as Princess Christina Competition, IMKA, International Music Competition and Charleston International Music Competition.
From a young age, Sharon has been giving concerts in the Netherlands and abroad, solo as well as in chamber music formations. She played in major venues in the Netherlands such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, TivoliVredenburg Utrecht and Muziekgebouw Eindhoven. She also had the honor to play in the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York, which was another milestone in her career. She had her TV debut in 2004 and was heard on the radio.
As an accomplished and passionate chamber musician she often performs with her violin-piano duo with violinist Martine Wijers, first violinist in world-famous Johann Strauss Orchestra of André Rieu. She was also member of the Maggiore Piano Trio with award-winning violinist Anna Britala, first violinist of the Noord Nederlands Orkest and cellist Camillo Cabassi.
She played as a soloist with prominent Dutch orchestras such as Philips Symphony Orchestra, YouthOrchestra of the Netherlands, Dutch Promenade Orchestra, Helikon Orchestra, and worked with renowned conductors such as Sander Teepen, Jurjen Hempel and Jules van Hessen, who is known of his show “Maestro Jules”.
These conductors work with a number of other international renowned orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra,Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC National Orchestra.
One of the highlights in Sharon’s career was her tour of five concerts with the Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands and Liszt’s 1st Piano Concerto.
In addition to her orchestral and chamber work, Sharon has collaborated with other renowned artists, including world champion whistler Geert Chatrou and soprano Miranda van Kralingen.
Sharon studied with Ton Demmers, Jan Wijn and Joop Celis at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and Fontys Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Tilburg (Netherlands).
Originally from New York City, Robert Radliff was raised in South Florida, where he began his musical studies on both violin and piano. Robert went on to study violin performance at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, MD with Violaine Melancon of the Peabody Trio.
After receiving his Bachelor’s, he attained his Master of Arts and Graduate Artist Diploma in Performance at Montclair State University where he studied with Weigang Li of the Shanghai Quartet. While at Montclair, Robert was the Graduate Assistant of the Orchestra.
Robert has been featured as guest soloist with numerous orchestras in Florida, California, New York, New Jersey, and along the East Coast, and has collaborated with some of the world’s most iconic musical figures such as Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Jamie Laredo, and many others. Internationally, Robert has performed in several chamber music settings including at the East China Normal University, Western District
Chamber Music of Hong Kong, and the ‘Konzert im Kirchgarten’ series in Hanover, Germany. He performs as section violin with the New England Symphonic Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, Binghamton Philharmonic, and section violinist in the Berkshire Opera Festival in Great Barrington, MA. Robert is the founder of the chamber music series known as “Music in the Library” at the New Jersey Institute of Technology where he
performs with the Littman Quartet.
On the pedagogical side, Robert is also the Violin Faculty at the Cazadero Performing Arts Camp in Cazadero, CA, and currently runs the violin program at the Robert Treat Academy Charter School in Newark, while also accompanying the RTA chorus on piano.
Beginning in January of 2022, Robert was appointed to the position of Violin and Viola Faculty at the Raritan Valley Community College Music Department. Robert also teaches several private students in the North Jersey area, who have participated in New Jersey Region and All-State orchestras, and some who have gone on to study music atthe collegiate level.
