Salon 58 Features Concerts in Motion

Get ready for a musical treat with Derek Louie (cello) and Noreen Cassidy-Polera (piano) as part of an evening promoting Concerts in Motion - bringing music, conversation, and kindness to people who may feel isolated.

While New York City is home to thousands of talented musicians, it’s also home to thousands of isolated people. Founder envisioned the bridge between them, and Concerts in Motion was born. Since 2009, CiM have brought personalized live music and engagement to older adults, veterans, Holocaust Survivors, individuals with disabilities, individuals with mental illness, individuals experiencing housing and food insecurity, and hospitalized patients of all ages. Concerts in Motion engage a diverse community of talented professional and student musicians who travel across the New York metro area to perform our concerts. Concerts in Motion is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

Join us on Sunday, March 2 2025 at 6:30pm in Midtown (exact address will be sent by email to ticket-holders a day before the event).

Grab your tickets now

Derek Louie, cello - a concert artist and teacher at Juilliard performed with icons like Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell and taught dozens of students, developing my abilities to perform in high stress environments, work with ultra-high net worth individuals and find creative solutions to meet the unique needs of each student. Derek holds both Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where I was a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship, a merit-based full-scholarship program awarded to those who demonstrate the highest artistic, academic and leadership abilities.

Noreen Cassidy-Polera, piano - ranks among the most highly regarded and diverse chamber artists performing today. She maintains a career that has taken her to every major American music center and abroad to Europe, Russia, and Asia. Recent performances include those at Alice Tully Hall, Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Jordan Hall, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Kennedy Center, and Salle Cortot. She has appeared at the Caramoor, Bard, Grand Teton, and Cape Cod music festivals, and has performed with the chamber music societies of Philadelphia and La Jolla. She has recorded for Sony, EMI, Audiophon, and Centaur Records.

Ms. Cassidy-Polera has collaborated with leading soloists, including David Shifrin, Matt Haimovitz, Carter Brey, Antonio Meneses, Aurora-Natalie Ginastera, Yo-Yo Ma, and Leonard Rose. Winner of the accompanying prize at the VIII International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, she regularly collaborates with laureates of the Queen Elisabeth, Tchaikovsky, and Naumburg international competitions.

Ms. Cassidy-Polera's mastery and affection for the complete standard cello-piano repertory is well-known, as is her attention and dedication to the works of contemporary composers. In recent seasons, she performed Elliott Carter's venerable Sonata for Cello and Piano on tour in Paris, New York, and Philadelphia, along with new works by Lowell Liebermann, Benjamin C. S. Boyle, and Kenji Bunch to critical acclaim. Her CD recording Sound Vessels (with cellist Scott Kluksdahl) features the recording premiere of Richard Wernick's Duo, as well as works by Robert Helps, Augusta Read Thomas, and Elliott Carter.

Ms. Cassidy-Polera holds bachelor's and master's degrees in music from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Martin Canin.

Host or Publisher Lora Aroyo & Chris Welty