Jens Nygaard Some of my most profound moments on stage and in the audience were experienced in a little church on Manhattan´s upper west side in New York City. In 1996 for the first time I shook hands with Jens Nygaard, the Music Director, the founder, the heart and soul of the Jupiter Symphony that performed at the Good Shepherd Church on West 66th Street. Sitting in a restaurant that first time, three minutes into the conversation he held my hand and said: ``You know, I am a great accompanist and I absolutely love accompanying´´. Had it been anybody else but him sitting in front of me I would probably not have taken that statement seriously, but looking into his eyes I knew right away he was telling the truth. We agreed to perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Little did I know that it was the beginning of a great human and musical friendship. After that we went on to play together Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Brahms, Wieniawski and we were planning the Glazunov Violin Concerto as well as my ``debut´´ as a narrator when Jens tragically lost his year-long battle with cancer. Jens Nygaard While he is not with us anymore, the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players - a chamber music series to acknowledge and perpetuate Jens Nygaard´s legacy - was started by his wife Mei Ying. Michael Volpert, to whom I will always be grateful for introducing me to Jens, continues his work as the Music Advisor. Jens Nygaard´s life story is best told by himself in the wonderful EMMY Award-winning documentary ``Life on Jupiter´´ by Martin Spinelli. Hailing from a rural Arkansas, a child prodigy Jens went from living on the street and being a patient at a mental institution to performing to sold-out crowds at Carnegie Hall, from playing for New York´s poorest communities to performing for the victims of Kobe earthquake, from boxing to playing every orchestral instrument. ...from the movie "Life on Jupiter". Low (mpeg)       High (mov) It is difficult to write about Jens Nygaard - the words can hardly express my feelings, but yet I feel the strong need to tell you about this extraordinary musician and human being. The energy that Jens projected to his audience was tremendous and overwhelming, no matter what he was performing at the given moment: Sousa´s Marches, Beethoven´s Symphonies or Gershwin´s Rhapsody in Blue that he played and conducted like no one else. He was able to transport his audiences into the world beyond reality - a place where music comes alive. What separated Jens Nygaard from many other musicians was his unique talent to transmit composer´s message without a barrier of his own ego. He loved music in him instead of loving himself in music. His love for music was the most sincere and selfless. For me sharing the stage with Jens was the happiness itself. The trust was complete - he had the extraordinary ability to become one with the ...with Michael Volpert, Jens Nygaard, Angela and Mei Ying. soloist. Jens was never just an accompanist - he was an inspirational force! Every concert with him is a memory I will treasure forever. As if it were yesterday, I see him smiling on stage, his eyes full of light, as if saying: ``It does not get any better than that!´´ I will never forget sitting together with Jens after a concert in the first row of the empty church, sharing a pizza and him repeating over and over: ``Oh, boy. Big deal. Beeeeeeeg Deal!´´. . . He would then turn to Angela and me with tears in his eyes and say: ``You know, I love you!´´ For me Jens Nygaard was, is and always will be a Maestro - more than a conductor: a musician, a Teacher - with a capital `T´. Life was crystal clear when we were around Jens. We were all fulfilling our ``sacred duty of bringing the music to Mr. and Mrs. Jones´´ - that´s how Jens lovingly used to call his audience. I want to finish this by saying: ``Jens, I love you!´´ and something else: ``I miss you . . . a lot.´´

Life on Jupiter

Jupiter Symphony