January
Misuzu Tanaka, piano
Saturday January 20, 4 p.m.
Venue: Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Hailed by international press as a pianist “who dispatched everything with both dizzying speed and sensitivity” Today’s Zaman (Turkey) and for her “exceptionally high technical level” General-Anzeiger Bonn (Germany), Misuzu Tanaka has established herself as an artist of remarkable individuality with a rare combination of poetic sensitivity and breathtaking virtuosity.
She has performed in prestigious concert venues throughout the world, from the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and Mozart’s Museum at Villa Bertramka in Prague to Alice Tully Hall in New York. Misuzu Tanaka is also a respected regular performer for Music from the Frederick Collection, a leading North-American venue for performance on historical instruments. Enjoying an active solo career in the U.S., she is among the country’s brightest emerging stars.
February
Monica Chew, piano
Saturday February 3, 4 p.m.
Venue: Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Monica Chew is a Bay Area pianist who previously worked as a software engineer at Mozilla and Google. She is is a founding member of the Minsky Duo and Duo Moderna. Educated at UC Berkeley (PhD, computer science) and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (MM, piano performance), she prefers chamber music to concerti, Haydn to Mozart, and lately Bartok above all things.
March
Joana Gonzalez
Saturday March 17, 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Joana Gonzalez is a South Florida native of Hispanic descent. Joana’s strong desire to connect with others through music has motivated her to strive for musical excellence since she began her studies at the age of nine. Throughout her high school career, Joana studied under Ciro Fodere at the New World School of the Arts. In 2014, she was accepted into the University of Miami Frost School of Music under a full scholarship to study with renowned pianist Santiago Rodriguez.
Joana was awarded first place at the New World Symphony’s Side by Side competition, which allowed her the opportunity to perform the Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto in g minor No. 2 with the New World Symphony and to play for its distinguished founder, Michael Tilson Thomas. Besides the New World Symphony, Joana has performed solos with various orchestras in Florida including the Alhambra Orchestra and the Imperial Symphony Orchestra. In 2013, Joana was awarded second place in the American Protege International Competition, which gave her the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.
Most recently, Ms. Gonzalez has enjoyed giving lecture recitals both locally and abroad.
May
Anne Rainwater (piano) in concert
Saturday May 5, 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Oakland-based pianist Anne Rainwater is a dexterous musician known for her vibrant interpretations of works from J.S. Bach to John Zorn. Recognized for her “boldly assertive rhetoric” (San Francisco Examiner) and “bright golden honeycomb for a brain” (Roy Doughty, poet), she appears as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. Anne has collaborated with and premiered works by Ken Thomson, Stuart Saunders Smith, Nils Vigeland, Brett Dietz, Jude Traxler, Matthew Hough, and Danny Clay, with whom she works with regularly. She also performs with the contemporary piano ensemble New Keys.
June
Eric Tran, pianist-composer
Date & Time: June 16, 4 p.m.
Venue: Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco, CA
San Francisco based pianist-composer Eric Tran is known for his friendly stage manner, thoughtful programming, and bold risk-taking. He has appeared in music festivals such as PianoTexas, Aspen, as well as festivals in Europe. His principal studies were with pianists Sharon Mann, Thomas Schultz, and composer Jaroslaw Kapuscinski. Eric is a graduate of Stanford University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. During his studies, he was the winner of the concerto competitions of both institutions, and he was awarded the prestigious Robert M. Golden Medal for outstanding contributions to the arts. As a composer, he won the Pacific Musical Society Composition Prize, and his sets of children’s music have been programmed for over six years on the syllabus of the US Open Music Competition. His music has been performed by the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Friction Quartet, his generous friends, and his charming piano students
October
Othello Jefferson, organ
Saturday October 27, 4 p.m.
Venue: Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Othello Jefferson is a native of San Francisco. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree in Voice from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Single Subject Music Credential from San Francisco State University. As Choir Director at his alma mater, Lowell High School, he worked with Michael Morgan (Oakland Symphony), The King’s Singers, and Chanticleer and won performance awards in the International Children’s Culture and Art Festival in Shenzhen, China. Othello is the recipient of a Gospel Music Award from San Francisco’s Academy of Gospel and a Negro Spirituals Heritage Keepers Award from the Friends Of Negro Spirituals in Oakland. He also recently completed the first level of the American Guild Of Organist’s examinations for professional certification (Service Playing Certificate). His organ teacher is Jerome Lenk, Director of Music and Organist for Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco.
Othello is the Choir Director at Sequoia High School and Organist/ Accompanist for Ragazzi Boys Chorus (both in Redwood City). He is also Minister Of Music at First African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (San Francisco).
Sunset Music and Arts 
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