June
Alex Conde – Jazz Flamenco
Friday June 9, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Flamenco music, with its passionate flourishes and virtuosic improvisation, has long captivated jazz musicians. Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Chick Corea have all been obsessed with flamenco. Pianist Alex Conde has emerged as one of the most versatile contemporary performers of jazz-flamenco fusion, dazzling audiences and earning rave reviews across the world.
Conde delivered these performances on the heels of recording his fourth album, “Origins” (2018, Ropeadope) with Marcus Gilmore on drums, Luques Curtis on bass, Dayna Stephens on saxophone, Brian Lynch on trumpet, Conrad Herwig on trombone, John Benitez on electric bass, and gypsy singer Ismael Fernandez.
These performances are a mere handful among hundreds in a career that began in Conde’s childhood in Valencia, Spain. A recognized prodigy, Conde demonstrated perfect pitch at the age of four. His parents gave him his first keyboard, and encouraged him as he began taking formal piano instruction. Conde practiced everything he heard from his father, Alejandro Conde, an acclaimed singer with more than 20 albums to his name, and one of the foremost performers of Copla, the flamenco-infused song book of popular works. Conde earned his first bachelor’s degree in Classical from the Jose Iturbi Conservatory of Music in 2001. From there, he went on to study at L’aula de Musica de Barcelona and earned a Diploma of Excellence in 2006.
In 2006, Conde was offered scholarships to pursue a second bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music. During his tenure at Berklee, his playing matured in his melding of musicality and increasing technical proficiency. He began playing professionally alongside jazz musicians and studied with trumpeter Mike Mossman, alto saxophonist Antonio Hart and pianist Jeb Patton.
In 2009, Conde met producer Fernando Brunet, with whom he released Jazz and Claps, an album featuring Alex original compositions. The album was released with Contraseña Records and opened the path of jazz and flamenco and stamped the music of Alex Conde as a center and as a mature composer and arranger for small ensemble.
In 2013, Conde self-produced and released his second album, Barrio del Carmen, a collection of music composed and arranged for the flamenco companies for which he has composed music over the years. The album features flamenco stars including gypsy singer Kina Mendez, nephew of the great Paquera de Jerez, and guitarist Jose Luis Rodriguez, long-time musical director for Cristina Hoyos. The album became a classic on TV programs such as Television Castilla la Mancha, presented by Rocío Sañudo, and in flamenco dance classes, where it is prized for its musicality and structure.
In 2015, Conde recorded an Iberian-inflected tribute to Thelonious Monk, Descarga for Monk (ZOHO), accompanied by seven-time Grammy-nominated percussionist John Santos and bassist Jeff Chambers, earning international recognition.
Today, Conde has become one of his generation’s pivotal figures in flamenco piano. With a fluid technique, an innovative tonal palette, and an extensive repertoire, he plays with the passion of a young artist and the command of a seasoned veteran, and remains in constant demand as both a studio artist and a performer.
Happy Dog Piano Duo!
Saturday June 10, 2023 at 4 p.m.
The notorious “Happy Dog” piano duo consists of longtime friends and piano partners, Nathan Cheung and Eric Tran. They won the 1st prize and Abild American Music Award at the Ellis Duo-Piano Competition, hosted by the National Federation of Music Clubs; 1st prize at the inaugural MTNA-Stecher and Horowitz Two Piano Competition; and 1st prize at the Ohio International Duet and Duo Piano Competition. For over a decade, they have performed four-hands originals, transcriptions, and classics alike with a focus on bringing humor and joy to the classical music world.
Named a Gilmore Festival Fellow, pianist-composer Eric Tran has performed in Italy, Korea, China, Canada, and in over 20 states in the United States. He has appeared in music festivals such as PianoTexas, Aspen, Art of the Piano, Gilmore, and Chautauqua. His principal studies were with pianists Sharon Mann, Thomas Schultz, and Christopher Taylor; and with composers Jaroslaw Kapuscinski and Laura Schwendinger.
Eric is a graduate of Stanford University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Mead Witter School of Music. During his studies, he was the winner of the concerto competitions of all three institutions, and he was awarded the prestigious Robert M. Golden Medal for outstanding contributions to the arts. He has won awards from the Wideman Piano Competition and the American Prize, and has been invited to compete at the US Chopin National and Virginia Waring International Competitions. As a composer, he won the Pacific Musical Society Composition Prize, and his sets of children’s music have been programmed for eight years on the syllabus of the US Open Music Competition. His music has been performed by the St. Lawrence String Quartet and the Friction Quartet, and his debut album, Water, was supported by Stanford University’s Young Alumni Arts Grant.
Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, Dr. Nathan Cheung is known for his versatility as a soloist, collaborator, composer, and improviser. These roles are fueled by a life-long passion to discover artistry and accessibility—to understand the power of great music and tap into its potential to resonate with people from all walks of life. His education has aided him significantly in strengthening these endeavors, culminating in degrees from Stanford University (BA Music with honors, concentrations in Piano Performance and Composition) and the Eastman School of Music (DMA, MM, Piano Performance and Literature; MM, Accompanying and Chamber Music). His primary instructors during his studies were Natalya Antonova, Nelita True, Jean Barr, and Thomas Schultz, to each of whom he owes immensely in shaping his core pianism and values.
Dr. Cheung has claimed the 1st prize in the 2019 Los Angeles International Piano Competition and has won top prizes in other international competitions including the Seattle International Piano Competition, Wideman International Piano Competition, Lewisville Lake Symphony International Competition, and Thousand Islands International Piano Competition. He is also a winner of the Aspen Concerto Competition, the American Prize concerto division, the Music Teacher’s Association of California Solo Competition, and the concerto competitions at both the Eastman School and Stanford University. His performances have taken him to established venues such as Bing Concert Hall, the Mondavi Center, and the Schoenberg Center in Vienna. In the realm of the solo recital, Nathan enjoys producing themed concerts as a means to draw musical comparisons. Prior concerts have featured the theme of Water and Fire, the similarity of Schubert’s attacca Wanderer Fantasy and Szymanowski’s attacca Third Piano Sonata, and the underperformed works by George Walker and Joseph Achron.
Phillip Dyson, piano
Saturday June 17, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Phillip Dyson is recognised as one of Britain’s most sought after and innovative concert pianists. He has gained enormous popularity for his unique abilities in both the classical and light music repertoire. His rapport with audiences, brilliant technique and innate sensitivity constantly win him the highest of praise. He often broadcasts on the BBC and Classic FM, performs regularly with leading orchestras and has a great international reputation in Europe and America.
Born in Lancashire, Phillip Dyson began musical studies at an early stage and by the age of twelve had given a performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall, which launched a busy and successful performing career. He studied at the Royal College of Music with Colin Horsley and John Lill, and also with William Lloyd Webber. At the age of 27 he was appointed Professor of Piano at the London College of Music. He has appeared at major festivals throughout Britain and most frequently appears in London, including the South Bank Centre and St John’s, Smith Square. He tours overseas every year, particularly in the United States and Europe. He is often invited to the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival and was the first British pianist to appear at the West Coast Ragtime Festival. In addition, he tours California each year, particularly in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles. In addition, he has toured in Canada as soloist with the Palm Court Orchestra of Vancouver.
As a leading exponent of British music, in the concert hall, on CD and for the BBC, Phillip Dyson has long had the music of Sir Malcolm Arnold in his repertoire. He gave the Irish première and first performance outside the United Kingdom of Arnold’s Fantasy on a theme of John Field, broadcast live from the National Concert Hall, Dublin, in celebration of the composer’s eightieth birthday. His performances of the Fantasy were warmly praised by the composer, who described his interpretation of the work as so sympathetic and so exactly what he had in mind when he wrote the piece that it was quite uncanny: ‘of all the distinguished pianists who have performed the composition over the years I cannot think of any who have added so much to my work as has Phillip Dyson on each occasion it has been my privilege to hear him perform the Fantasy’.
Sing Out Strong! – Hearts Filled With Song
Saturday June 24, 2023 at 4 p.m.
Free Admission. Register online. Donations accepted
Members of “Sing Out Strong” are delighted to return for our group’s 5th Season at Sunset Music and Arts! on Saturday June 24, 2023. Formed in 2017 by Director Ellaine Jerome and Pianist Betty Fujimoto, the 12 member ensemble has continued safely rehearsing – indoors and outdoors — in anticipation of once more sharing our love of singing with people of all ages.
Program: This season’s program features songs of beauty, love, and inspiration. Music which is compelling, supportive, and even silly. Songs created by some of the most amazing song writers in our country’s history: Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern, Louis Prima, Neil Diamond, and more.
We sincerely hope that everyone who attends our program on 6/24/23 will leave with a Song in Your Heart!
July
Lyle Sheffler, guitar
Saturday July 15, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
International guitar soloist Lyle Sheffler began playing classical guitar at the age of seven and made his first public appearance at the age of eight. Acclaimed for his artistry, warm tone, and captivating programs, he has played at such esteemed venues as Carnegie Hall, Freight & Salvage Stadium, the Tilles Center, and the Hanoi Opera House, as well as numerous other concert halls around the globe. In addition to solo recitals, Lyle has performed as a concerto soloist with orchestras with Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Fantasia para un Gentilhombre” and Antonio Vivaldi’s Guitar Concerto in D Major.
In the fall of 2012, Lyle was invited to tour the Middle East and Asia with Celebrity Cruises as a solo classical guitarist. He was also selected to participate in the prestigious Ile de Ré International Guitar Festival in France, led by guitar virtuoso Philippe Villa in 2010. While in France, Lyle was hand picked to perform in a solo concert held open to the public, as well as to play first guitar in several different chamber ensembles. During the summer of 2009, Lyle was awarded the opportunity to participate in both the Iserlohn Classical Guitar Festival in Germany and the Polish Guitar Academy in Poznan, Poland. There, he performed both in ensembles and as a soloist. He has participated in master classes with many world-renowned artists including Manuel Barrueco, David Russell, and many others.
William Beatty and Brooke Aird in concert
Violinist Brooke Aird studied at the Manhattan School of Music, and got his first professional work playing in Off-Broadway shows. He is a member of The Marin Symphony, and has performed with most of the orchestras in SF Bay Area, including the SF Opera, the SF Ballet, and the Oakland and Sacramento Symphonies. An accomplished chamber musician, Brooke was a member of the new music group Sounds New, and is the violinist of The Carol String Trio.
Brooke also got an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts, and for a few years he and his wife ran a small catering company called “For the Love of Food.”
Composer/ pianist William Beatty resides in Berkeley, California, where he teaches piano, guitar and drums. He studied classical piano with Jeanne Stark Iochmans, jazz piano and theory with Don Haas, Bill Bell, and Dick Whittington, and latin jazz and salsa with Rebeca Mauleon. A love of chamber music from early on continues to the present, and he is delighted to be performing works from this rich musical genre.
August
Duo Art
Sasha Sound, DMA.
Sasha Sound is a concert and jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and music educator. He received DMA from the University of Iowa. In 2014 as a member of Ephawk Quartet he performed Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps. The concert tour in western Iowa has gained a considerable resonance, the performance was regarded in media as “miraculous.” The same year Mr. Burdin accepted fellowship at Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, MA. In 2015 Sasha and his colleagues Thiago Ancelmo, clarinet, and Andrew Uhe, violin have formed Nashat Trio. They performed works By Bartok, Milhaud, Khachaturian and Schostakovich, and appeared as featured ensemble at Laredo Music Festival 2016. In 2015 -2016 season Sasha Burdin participated in Johnson County Landmark jazz band as a principal pianist, performing with guest artists – Carmen Bradford (former singer at Count Basie’s Jazz Band) and Melvin Butler (Brian Blade Fellowship Band). In 2016 Sasha Burdin has founded The Sasha Burdin Quartet, performing original compositions and pieces from standard jazz repertoire. In 2016 he started a collaboration with Rachel Joselson, soprano, and Scott Conklin, violin on Medtner’s music. The collaboration soon resulted in a series of concerts, and CD Ich denke dein: Songs and Chamber Works of Nikolai Medtner.
CD of Medtner’s solo works. As a part of his doctoral project, Sasha Burdin recorded a number of Medtner’s piano solo works, including rarely performed Second Improvisation, op.47. A new CD with these recordings is getting ready to be released in 2019.
Leo Iogansen, DMA.
Born in Russia, Leonid started his violin studies at 7. He has premiered many new chamber and solo works, including his own Violin Concerto. He has won several competitions, such as the Young Virtuosos International Competition in 1999, which resulted in his performance in Carnegie Hall the same year. As a composer, Leonid has written many solo, chamber, and orchestral pieces, much of which were performed by notable ensembles, such as JACK Quartet. In the Summer of 2006, Shuang Yin International Music Festival commissioned Leonid for a number of humorous pieces for various chamber ensembles. The performances were broadcast on Taiwan’s National Television. Leonid is also a visual artist and has won many competitions, including Gold Key Award for at the Boston Globe competition in 1997.
Leonid graduated with BM from Boston University, MM Masters degree with the same majors from Peabody Conservatory, and a PhD in composition from the University of Iowa. He studied violin with Dana Mazurkevich and Keng-Yuen Tseng, and composition with David Gompper, Samuel Headrick, Richard Cornell, Martin Amlin, Charles Fussell, and Bruno Amato. Leonid is also a software developer and inventor and has published several innovative apps on the iTunes app store. One of the apps Tollsmart Toll Calculator, has hundreds of thousands of downloads. This led to Leonid’s co-founding the company Tollsmart – as a CTO. His latest project focuses on solving the issues of street parking.
Andrew Harrison (saxophone) and Jason Lo (piano)
Acclaimed for his unique approach, virtuosic performances, and as a champion for both new and forgotten works, Indian-American Saxophonist Andrew Harrison has captured the hearts of audiences across the globe with “electric performances of stunning expression (Classical Sonoma)”, while introducing the world to important voices, and showcasing the beauty and brilliance of the saxophone. Described as a “magician showing off his tricks” (Austin American Statesman), Andrew uses his distinctive style to create a new environment for classical music, to reflect our lived experience and mixed culture, blending the known and the not yet explored. He has commissioned and premiered works by a diverse group of emerging and celebrated composers, including Jules Pegram, Giovanni Santos, Viet Cuong, Nina Shekhar, and Derrick Skye, among numerous others.
Andrew’s playing, which has been described as “spectacular” (LA Opus) with a sound that is “broad and rich” (The Instrumentalist), has garnered him numerous awards in prestigious competitions, including the U.S. “Pershing’s Own” Collegiate Concerto Competition, the LMC Frances Walton Competition, and most recently the American Prize in Music. He has been featured with several symphonic groups, including the Downey Symphony Orchestra, Music Academy of the West Orchestra, Cal Poly Pomona and La Sierra University Wind Ensembles, Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble, with upcoming performances with the Chandler Symphony, Orchestra Santa Monica, the Sonoma County Philharmonic, and the Santa Rosa Symphony.
Pianist, teacher, and chamber musician, Dr. Jason Lo is an in-demand performer whose diverse talents bring him around the globe. Audiences enjoy his performances in Strasbourg, London, Chicago, Honolulu, New York, and throughout Southern California, where he is based. He is proud to have performed at Westminster Hall, the 2012 London Olympic Games, and on multiple occasions, Carnegie Hall. Dr. Lo often collaborates and travels for competitions, conferences, and concerts for various organizations, such as the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT), Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), and the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA). He also presents guest lectures and recitals at Santa Monica College – Emeritus College, Los Angeles Harbor College, Mount San Antonio College, California Lutheran University, California State University Long Beach, the University of the Pacific, San Diego State University, Columbus State University Fullerton, Wright State University, Ohio University, University of Northern Kentucky, University of Central Arkansas, and Sonoma State University.
Dr. Lo is proud to have shared the stage with John Thiessen (Baroque Trumpet, the Juilliard School), Megumi Kanda (Principal Trombone, Milwaukee Symphony), Alex López Velarde (Principal Trombone, la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México), Aralee Dorough (Principal Flute, Houston Symphony), and Maki Mae (America’s Got Talent). He has also played under the batons of Sharon Lavery, H. Robert Reynolds, Carl St. Clair, and Bruce Broughton.
September
Sasah Sound and Mari Kawamura: piano 4-hands concert
Saturday September 16, 7:30 p.m.
Sasha Sound is a concert and jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and music educator. He received DMA from the University of Iowa. In 2014 as a member of Ephawk Quartet he performed Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps. The concert tour in western Iowa has gained a considerable resonance, the performance was regarded in media as “miraculous.” The same year Mr. Burdin accepted fellowship at Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, MA. In 2015 Sasha and his colleagues Thiago Ancelmo, clarinet, and Andrew Uhe, violin have formed Nashat Trio. They performed works By Bartok, Milhaud, Khachaturian and Schostakovich, and appeared as featured ensemble at Laredo Music Festival 2016. In 2015 -2016 season Sasha Burdin participated in Johnson County Landmark jazz band as a principal pianist, performing with guest artists – Carmen Bradford (former singer at Count Basie’s Jazz Band) and Melvin Butler (Brian Blade Fellowship Band). In 2016 Sasha Burdin has founded The Sasha Burdin Quartet, performing original compositions and pieces from standard jazz repertoire. In 2016 he started a collaboration with Rachel Joselson, soprano, and Scott Conklin, violin on Medtner’s music. The collaboration soon resulted in a series of concerts, and CD Ich denke dein: Songs and Chamber Works of Nikolai Medtner. As a part of his doctoral project, Sasha Burdin recorded a number of Medtner’s piano solo works, including rarely performed Second Improvisation, op.47. A new CD with these recordings is getting ready to be released in 2019.
Mari Kawamura is a concert pianist whose curiosity has taken her in a variety of directions ranging from improvisation and dance to biology and physics. Kawamura is drawn to music, which utilizes the entirety of the piano as an expressive device. She is as equally fascinated by works that showcase the tremendous agility of the instrument, as by compositions that explore its ability to produce cavernous resonances, complex spectral sounds, and unpitched noise. Her repertoire includes music by William Byrd, Scriabin, Xenakis, and Japanese composers such as Toru Takemitsu and Michio Mamiya. Kawamura has also collaborated with a number of living composers, premiering new works by Joseph Bourdeau, Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh, Lil Lacy, and Anthony Vine, among many others.
Kawamura has presented solo recitals on concert series hosted by Carnegie Mellon University, University of Northern Colorado, Piano Spheres, MONK Space in Los Angeles, and Center for New Music in San Francisco. She has appeared in major festivals, such as Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, Darmstadt International Summer Course, and SICPP in Boston, at which her 2013 performance of Xenakis’ Dikthas was described as “an unrelenting volcanic eruption” by NEWMUSICBOX. In 2019, Kawamura was featured on Jeffrey Holmes’ album, “May the Bridges I Burn Light My Way,” and in the Fall of 2020, she toured Denmark with Anna Jalving and Morten Lohmann Soenders, to premiere Lil Lacy’s piano trio, “Plant Native.
Angela Kraft Cross, organist
Saturday September 23, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Angela Kraft Cross, San Francisco Bay Area organist, pianist and composer, graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music in 1980 with bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Organ Performance. She then earned her Doctor of Medicine degree at Loma Linda University, where she subsequently completed her residency in ophthalmology. In 1993, she completed her Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the College of Notre Dame with Thomas LaRatta. Her organ teachers have included Louis Robilliard, Marie-Louise Langlais, Sandra Soderlund, S. Leslie Grow, William Porter and Garth Peacock. In 2001, she was awarded the Associateship credential of the American Guild of Organists (AAGO) after passing rigorous playing and written examinations. She has studied composition with Pamela Decker. Dr. Kraft Cross has performed extensively on both organ and piano, having given over five hundred concerts across the United States, in Canada, England, Holland, France, Hungary, Korea, Lesotho and Guam, including such venues as Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Sulpice and the Madeleine in Paris, Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. Thomas Church in New York City, Methuen Memorial Music Hall and Trinity Church in Boston, E. Power Biggs’ organ at Harvard, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Southwark Cathedral in London, and the Mormon Tabernacle. She has been featured soloist with local Bay Area ensembles; Master Sinfonia Orchestra, Soli Deo Gloria, Sine Nomine, Masterworks Chorale, Viva la Musica, The Choral Project, and the San Jose Symphonic Choir as well as Seattle’s Philharmonia Northwest Chamber Orchestra and the Skagit Symphony in northern Washington.
20th Century Trilogy: Adam Flowers, tenor accompanied by Sharon Wayne (guitar)
Saturday September 30, 2023 at 4 p.m.
Program:
- Viva Di Stefano! – A musical tribute to Giuseppe Di Stefano (1921-2008)
- Chansons Pour Deux Vagabonds: A Parisian Tribute to Stuart Thomas (1969-2019). French Popular Songs of the 20th Century.
Adam has performed principal tenor roles in opera houses throughout North America, Hawaii, and Japan. In July 2006 he completed a five-year artist-in-residency for Opera San Jose, performing over 32 roles. He has performed with the San Francisco Opera Chorus, San Francisco Symphony Chorus, and was the tenor section leader at San Francisco’s St. Ignatius Church Choir from 2014 to 2020. Adam is a member of the Skywalker Singers for Skywalker Sound Studios. Upcoming performances include the role of Gherardo in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi for Hawaii Opera Theatre in April of 2023.
Adam recently performed the role of King Kaspar in a remote digital version of Amahl and the Night Visitors for Hawaii Opera Theatre that will premiere on their digital streaming service in November of 2020. Recent performances include Abdallo in Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi in October 2019, the role of Achilles in La Belle Helene by Jacques Offenbach for Pocket Opera in February of 2018, the tenor solo in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony under the baton of Maestro Jindong Cai with the El Camino Youth Symphony in Cupertino, CA in April of 2017. In March of 2017 he performed the tenor solo in Rossini’s Stabat Mater for Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church’s Concert Series. In January of 2017 he created the role of Inger in a workshop performance of David Gardner’s new opera Mary Pleasant at Land’s End. Adam made his professional Musical Theater debut as Vittorio Vidal in Hillbarn Theatre’s production of Sweet Charity in May of 2016. In March of 2016 he performed the role of Lionel in von Flotow’s Martha for Pocket Opera. He performed the role of De Grieux in Pocket Opera’s 2011 production of Massenet’s Manon. He has performed for Oakland Symphony as Dick McGann/Abe Kaplan in their 2011 concert production of Kurt Weill’s Street Scene and as the tenor soloist in their 2010 performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Comprehensive performance credits are available at adamflowerstenor.com.
Sharon Wayne has worked for over thirty years as a solo performer, recording artist, music educator, and chamber musician. A founding member of the San Francisco Guitar Quartet, she has also performed regularly around Boston and New York with the crossover group Back Bay Guitar Trio. Formerly on the faculties of Santa Clara University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Preparatory Division, and several community music schools on both coasts, Sharon has also served as Artistic Director of the San Francisco Classical Guitar Society and the Boston Classical Guitar Society. She currently serves on the faculty at the San Francisco Community Music Center.
Her passion for bringing new music to wider audiences has led to close collaborations with local composers, commissioning, performing, and recording their works, and premiering pieces for guitar in local venues, including the Green Room, Center for New Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Community Music Center. Sharon’s 2022-23 artistic collaborative partners include mezzo-soprano Nicole Takesono, tenor Adam Flowers, flutist Martha Rodríguez-Salazar, singer and theater-maker Beth Wilmurt, and San Francisco composers Erik Pearson and Davide Verotta.
October
Leah Kang, piano
Pianist Leah Kang is a musician of diverse interests who received degrees in biology and public health at University of California, Los Angeles prior to pursuing professional studies in music. She has performed in the United States, Germany, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, and has been featured as a soloist with the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra, Tehachapi Symphony Orchestra, and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra in concertos by Beethoven and Chopin. She has been awarded prizes in the American Prize Competition for Piano Performance (professional division), International Siegfried Weishaupt Piano Competition, and the American Protégé International Piano Competition, among others. Her performance as a winner of the 2013 International Siegfried Weishaupt Piano Competition was broadcast on SWR2 of Germany.
Leah is equally passionate about teaching and has served as music faculty at Antelope Valley College and Citrus College, as Associate Instructor of Music Theory at Indiana University Bloomington, and as a piano instructor for the School of Music and Division of Continuing Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also frequently invited as an adjudicator for competitions and auditions throughout California and Wisconsin.
As a two-time recipient of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) research fellowship, Leah spent her dissertation years as a visiting scholar at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn. Her research explores arrangements of Beethoven’s works as created by his close contemporaries. In May 2019, she premiered rare chamber music arrangements of Beethoven’s overtures Egmont, Leonore No. 3, and Prometheus in the US, and in 2020, aspects of her research were presented across Europe at international conferences commemorating Beethoven’s 250th anniversary. Current performance projects, supported in part by an artist grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, include the recording of rare works by forgotten women composers from the early twentieth century.
Leah earned her Master of Music and Performer Diploma in Piano Performance from Indiana University and her Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her primary mentors include pianists Arnaldo Cohen and Christopher Taylor. Additional studies and masterclasses have been with artists such as Bernd Goetzke, Leif Ove Andsnes, Richard Goode, Daniel Pollack, and Jerome Lowenthal.
November
Basma Edrees (violin) and Ava Nazar (piano)
Saturday November 4, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Basma and Ava met at The Juilliard School while pursuing their Masters degree. They have been friends ever since collaborating on a multiple of performances including a highlight performance at the United Nations in New York. Trained in the Western Classical musical tradition and growing up in their respective Eastern musical traditions, Basma Edrees and Ava Nazar feature the rich aesthetics of both musical worlds and are passionate about expanding musical access across various communities.
National Association of Composers, USA – SF
Saturday November 11, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Nacusa is a non-profit organization founded in 1933 by Henry Hadley, originally as the National Association of Composers and Conductors. It is one of the oldest organizations devoted to the promotion and performance of music by Americans. Many of the most distinguished composers of the 20th Century have been NACUSA members. Each NACUSA chapter typically sponsors several concerts each year which feature music by its members. NACUSA has chapters in Cascadia, East Coast, Great Plains, Los Angeles, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-South, San Francisco Bay Area, the South East, Southern Oregon, and Texas.
San Francisco Bay Chapter
Started by Nancy Bloomer Deussen and John Webber more than twenty years ago the San Francisco Bay Chapter has evolved into an active organization with a peak membership of seventy five composers. It produces four to six concerts a year in the San Francisco Bay Area
Past 2023 Events
January
Violinist Nato and pianist Jerry Kuderna – The Violin Sonatas of Johannes Brahms
Saturday January 14, 2023 at 4 p.m.
Program: Violin Sonatas 1, 2, and 3
Pianist Jerry Kuderna and violinist Nato are pleased to present the glorious violin sonatas of Johannes Brahms around the Bay Area in the 2023 season.
As a solo recitalist and founding member of the Maybeck Trio, California-based pianist Jerry Kuderna embraces traditional repertoire and new music with boundless virtuosity and fierce commitment. He has been presented by Group for Contemporary Music, The American Society of University Composers, The New Jersey Composer’s Guild, The Los Angeles SCREAM Festival, Earplay and Cal Performances.
Nato hails from Canada originally, but spent most of his formative years in the USA studying and performing. Now in California, he spends his days engaged with his fiddle. In concert, and in the recording studio, he’s always pushing to express himself fully. When not playing music, Nato can be found climbing rocks around the Bay Area.
Christopher Richardson, piano
Saturday January 21, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Program: Works by Liszt, Chopin, Scriabin, Stravinksy, and Lyapunov.
Christopher Richardson has received top prizes in numerous national and international piano competitions, including First Prize at the 2021 LA International Liszt Competition Budapest Division as well as First Prize and Best Chopin Prize at the 2016 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Competition. He most recently has won Second Prize at the 2022 Virginia Waring International Piano Competition Concerto Division and Third Prize at the 2022 Young Artist MTNA Competition. Throughout his career, he has performed in several notable venues across the United States, including the Liszt Museum in Budapest, the Coachella Valley Repertory, the 2000-seat Music Tent in Aspen, Carnegie Hall, Finney Chapel, McCallum Theater, and Benaroya Hall. He has also performed with numerous orchestras, including the Minnesota Orchestra twice. Additionally, he has appeared on NPR’s “From the Top,” TV program PIE on KCTS 9, and King FM 98.1. In 2015, he presented at the TEDYouth@Redmond Conference in Washington, and in 2019 he released his debut album, titled Wizard of Oz.
An active music educator, Christopher has served as faculty at the Golden Key Piano School in Berkeley since 2019. His students have received top marks at Royal Conservatory of Music examinations. They describe him as a very patient and encouraging teacher with great attention to technique and musicality.
Christopher graduated with honors at the University of California Berkeley, earning Bachelor’s degrees in Molecular/Cell Biology, Economics, and Music. During this time, he also served as the blog writer of the Steinway Society of the Bay Area, where he gave his thoughts on various aspects of classical music and performance. Christopher earned his Masters in Music at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music under renowned pianist and conductor Jeffrey Kahane. His previous major teachers include Mack McCray, Duane Hulbert, and Frederick Weldy.
Rosetta Trio
Saturday January 28, 2023 at 4 p.m.
Program: Works by Beethoven, Schumann, Stravinsky, and Luigi Bassi
Connor Buckley is currently a graduate student (M.M.) at the San Francisco Conservatory of Musicwhere he studies collaborative piano with Dr. Timothy Bach and opera with Curt Pajer. Prior to this, he graduated from Ithaca College with a B.M. in piano performance. An active performer, Connor has collaborated with various instrumental ensembles, choirs, and soloists in the Central New York and Western Maryland regions. Most recently he was a fellow at SongFest 2022 held in San Francisco and an apprentice repetiteur for multiple productions at the Berlin Opera Academy/OpernFest Berlin. He serves as a pianist for SFCM’s opera department and has been featured on numerous voice department recitals. Previously, he has worked as a music director with Apollo Civic Theatre (Martinsburg, WV), IC Second Stage (Ithaca, NY), and freelance student productions in the Central New York Region. Since 2017, he has spent his summers as an apprentice coach/pianist at opera programs such as Bel Canto in Tuscany (Greve in Chianti, Italy) and the International Performing Arts Institute (Kiefersfelden, Germany). Growing up with a background in Anglican Church Music, he has worked as a conductor and choral scholar for parishes in the Western Maryland Region and Ithaca, NY. Recently he has appeared in masterclasses with esteemed professionals such as Martin Katz, Graham Johnson, Kayo Iwama, Javier Arrebola, and Margaret Brooks.
Clarinetist Clayton Luckadoo is currently a Masters of Music student at SFCM after completing the double degree program at the Oberlin College and Conservatory where he studied Clarinet Performance, Comparative Literature, and German. Though born into a family of non-musicians, he found himself irresistibly drawn to the world of music. Equally comfortable performing contemporary works alongside traditional classical music, his repertoire includes composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart, as well as Adès, Denisov, Ran, and Saariaho. A strong proponent of contemporary music, he is working to increase appreciation of this polarizing genre through a focus on the diversity of its sound worlds as well as its creators. Also keen on cultivating cross-cultural connections, he has performed internationally in Panamá in collaboration with the Associación Nacional de Conciertos de Panamá and in Germany with the Studenten-Sinfonie Orchester Marburg. Dedicated to connecting with members of the community, he has performed for and worked alongside middle school students in Texas, young adults in Panama, and residents of an Ohio nursing home. A student of Jeff Anderle and a former student of Richard Hawkins and Anna Carney, he has also participated in masterclasses with Ricardo Morales, Boris Allakhverdyan, Dan McKelway, and Michele Zukovsky. When not performing, he can be found in a library working and/or exercising his love of words.
German-American violinist Annemarie Schubert began her musical studies at the Musikschule “Johann Sebastian Bach” at the age of 6 in Leipzig, Germany. After moving to the United States in 2006, she continued studying the violin and made her debut at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts at age 12. She appeared as a soloist with the Lincoln Youth Symphony both in the US and abroad as a winner of the Concerto Competition in 2016. Annemarie graduated from the Oberlin College and Conservatory in 2021 and holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Violin Performance and Neuroscience. She is currently pursuing a Master’s of Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Prof. Simon James and studies the baroque violin with Prof. Elizabeth Blumenstock and Carla Moore. Annemarie has served as the concertmaster of the Oberlin Orchestra, Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, Oberlin Contemporary Ensemble, and the San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra. Most recently, she performed Bach’s Concerto No. 1 in A Minor with the San Francisco Conservatory Baroque Ensemble as a winner of the Historical Performance Competition. Annemarie served as a Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School and is an Academy member in the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra. Upcoming engagements include a debut with the Berwick Academy in Oregon, a Fellowship at the Haydn Academy at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., and a debut with Ars Minerva in San Francisco.
Februrary
Ricardo Martinez and Hayato Ikegaya
Saturday February 4, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Program: Works by works by Nina Shekhar, David Baker, Ronaldo Budini, Lucie Robert, and Takashi Yoshimatsu
Hayato Ikegaya, saxophonist and pianist
Born in Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture in 1985, Hayato Ikegaya is a graduate of Shizuoka University. He began attending Yamaha music classes at age 5, where he studied piano performance, music nomenclature, and other elements of music theory and composition, and later took up the saxophone at age 12.
Ikegaya has built an impressive record as a performing saxophonist. He participated in the 16th Hamamatsu International Wind Instrument Academy and Festival seminar and was honored for excellent performance at the Premium Concert highlighting that event. In addition to the Eighth Virtuoso Concert, he has also performed at the New Faces Concert (Japan Saxophone Association).
To date, Ikegaya has studied saxophone under Shintaro Yabe and Atsuyasu Kitayama and piano under Noriko Sugiyama and Mariko Nemoto. He has participated in saxophone master classes and lessons given by Hiroshi Hara, Yasuto Tanaka, Jean-Yves Fourmeau, Nobuya Sugawa, Otis Murphy, Claude Delangle, and Fabrice Morietti and in piano master classes and lessons given by
Mitsutaka Shiraishi. Currently, Ikegaya is active as a performer and instructor on saxophone, a piano accompanist, and composer and arranger.
Ricardo Martinez, saxophonist
Ricardo Martinez is Assistant Professor of Practice in Saxophone at Conservatory of Music at University of the Pacific. He was selected as Grand Prize Winner of the 9th Plowman Chamber Music Competition and First Prize Winner in the 2017 Chicago Woodwind Ensemble Competition and has played concerts internationally in France, Scotland, and Japan. Martinez has been a featured soloist with the Mission Chamber Orchestra of San José, Stanford Summer Symphony, University of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Indiana University Guitar Ensemble, and the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Cergy-Pontoise Wind Ensemble. In addition, he has performed with Classical Tahoe, California Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, and has recorded at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County.
Martinez began his saxophone studies in the Bay Area under David Henderson of Stanford University and William Trimble, and earned degrees at the University of Minnesota, studying with saxophone virtuoso Eugene Rousseau, and in France at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Cergy-Pontoise, where he studied with Jean-Yves Fourmeau, receiving the Médaille d’Or in saxophone and graduating with honors in chamber music. Martinez later completed graduate work at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the guidance of Otis Murphy and studied with the esteemed Japanese saxophonist Nobuya Sugawa at the Hamamatsu International Wind Academy and Festival. As an educator, Martinez has served as Associate Instructor in saxophone at Indiana University and been invited to teach and perform at the Indiana University Summer Saxophone Academy, Stanford University, and CSU (California State University) Summer Arts. He serves as a clinician in Northern California and actively adjudicates solo and ensemble festivals with CMEA (California Music Educators Association) Bay Section. Martinez is an endorsing artist for Legere Reeds and BG France.
Ricardo Martinez Hayato Ikegaya
Aaron Haas, guitar
Friday February 17, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Program: Bach, Schubert, Agustin Barrios Mangore, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Aaron Haas is a classical guitarist based in Los Angeles and co-founder of Duo Apollon with soprano Anastasia Malliaras. A skilled communicator and expressive performer, both his teaching and music serve the purpose of connecting us to what it feels like to be alive and human. From a family of singer-songwriters he understands the power of a musical narrative, and with extensive background in meditation he strives to create music from a place of silence and aliveness.
Aaron’s path has unfolded in unique ways. He began playing electric guitar and writing songs at age 16 and only picked up classical guitar as a sophomore at Skidmore College at age 19. He graduated Summa Cum Laude, having been nominated for the coveted Periclean Scholar’s Award for his senior recital, and moved to Italy the following year to study with the Italian virtuoso, Lorenzo Micheli. After two years of study at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, having honed his skills, he moved back to the states to pursue his master’s degree with a pupil of Micheli’s at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Nicolò Spera. Here his interest in chamber music developed, reconnecting him with his love for songs while studying Lieder with Schubert scholar Yonatan Malin, and performing Britten’s “Songs from the Chinese” with a singer in the graduate program. He also collaborated with woodwind and string players, including the award-winning Altius Quartet, performing Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Quintet Op. 143.
Having completed his master’s degree, Aaron attended the prestigious Accademia Chigiana in Siena with Oscar Ghiglia in the summer of 2015, and then accepted a scholarship to study for his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Southern California. As a student of pedagogue and LAGQ co-founder William Kanengiser at USC, Aaron found encouragement to combine his two great passions, meditation and music, one byproduct of which was an article published in the Journal of Singing in 2018 entitled “Creativity Through Silence: Exploring the Use of Meditation in Musical Performance.” Furthering his exploration of chamber music, he met soprano Anastasia Malliaras, later adopting the name Duo Apollon. In 2018 they won the Beverly Hills National Auditions and performed concerts around the Los Angeles area, and are just finishing their debut album, “Folk Songs,” a collection of 20th century folksong arrangements from around the world, which includes Aaron’s own transcription for guitar and voice of Ravel’s “Cinq mélodies populaires grecques.” He was awarded a Teaching Assistant in his final year at USC, and completed his degree in 2019.
March
Violinist Patrick Galvin and pianist Connor Buckley in concert
Saturday March 4, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Program:
- Amy Beach – Romance for Violin and Piano Op. 23
- Pablo de Sarasate – Romanza Andaluza Op. 22 No 1
- Sergei Prokofiev – Violin Sonata No 1 in F minor Op. 80
- Grażyna Bacewicz – Polish Caprice
- Chopin/August Wilhelmj Nocturne in D-flat
Patrick Galvin, a San Francisco native, is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Camilla Wicks, Wei He, and Simon James. He also spent two years studying violin with Barbara Gorzynska at the Prayner Konservatorium in Vienna, Austria. Currently, Patrick teaches in the Coleman Violin Studio in Seattle, WA and is a teaching assistant to Simon James at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He also gives master classes regularly to talented young players across the country. As the Liberated Performer® coach for the Bay Area, Patrick helps performers of all ages on overcome performance anxiety and stage fright. Patrick performs regularly throughout North America with engagements in Europe as well. This season he is presenting two programs: In his solo program, Patrick plays selections from his recent album Violin Alone and discusses the connections between the pieces, composers, and his own experiences learning the violin. His most recent duo program, Dear Camilla, explores loss and legacy and follows his relationship with his former teacher, Camilla Wicks, whose violin he now plays.
Connor Buckley is currently a graduate student (M.M.) at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studies collaborative piano with Dr. Timothy Bach and opera with Curt Pajer. Prior to this, he graduated from Ithaca College with a B.M. in piano performance. An active performer, Connor has collaborated with various instrumental ensembles, choirs, and soloists in the Bay Area, Central New York, and Western Maryland regions. This past summer he was a fellow at SongFest 2022 held in San Francisco and an apprentice répétiteur for multiple productions at the Berlin Opera Academy/OpernFest Berlin. As a staff pianist for SFCM’s opera department, he has been featured on numerous voice department recitals and operatic performances. Previously, he worked as a music director with Apollo Civic Theatre (Martinsburg, WV), IC Second Stage (Ithaca, NY), and freelance student productions in the Central New York Region. Since 2017, he has spent his summers as an apprentice coach/pianist at opera programs such as Bel Canto in Tuscany (Greve in Chianti, Italy) and the International Performing Arts Institute (Kiefersfelden, Germany). Growing up with a background in Anglican Church Music, he has worked as a conductor and choral scholar for parishes in the Western Maryland Region and Ithaca, NY. Recently he has appeared in masterclasses with esteemed professionals such as Martin Katz, Graham Johnson, Kayo Iwama, Javier Arrebola, and Margaret Brooks.
Buena Onda Tango Ensemble
Program: Music by Astor Piazzolla and contemporary tango composers
Sumi Lee is a classically trained pianist with a master’s degree in music, in piano performance, from the SF Conservatory of Music. She worked with bay area opera companies and schools until she auditioned to grab a life-changing opportunity at “La Orquesta Escuela de Tango Emilio Balcarce”, the prestigious tango orchestra school in Argentina. While getting trained in Tango in Buenos Aires, she studied & performed with living maestros and musical directors such as Víctor Lavallén, Colangelo, Piro, R Alvarez, Pablo Estigarribia, etc. Since returning to SF in 2019, she has performed numerous concerts in SF – Bay Area, NYC, Philadelphia, Portland, South Korea, and Toronto. Currently, she leads the group “Las Almas” and performs east & west coast such as SF International Arts Festival & Sebastopol Arts. She recorded the “Gobbi Inedíto” album, and currently working on a new album for the Bandoneón & Piano duo of new compositions. http://www.sumilee.com
Fabrizio Colombo is a bandoneón player, composer, and arranger born in 1994 in the city of Mendoza, Argentina. He currently lives in Paris, France, and has performed as a soloist and group interpreter on various stages in Europe, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, and the United States. He has shared the stage with musicians of the stature of Néstor Marconi, who was also his teacher; Venezuelan trumpeter Francisco “Pacho” Flores; pianist and composer Diego Schissi and Leo Sujatovich. In 2019 he won first prize at the “Che Bandoneón” International Competition in Vermont, USA. In the year 2022, he released Fabrizio Colombo 7teto his first recording material entitled “Celedonio”, a group that he leads, directs, and in which his work as an arranger, composer, and interpreter stands out. In 2022, Fabrizio Colombo’s music became part of the official catalog of the record label “Shagrada Medra”, led by the renowned Argentine pianist and composer Carlos Aguirre. His latest recording works include a soundtrack for the Award-winning Amazon series Argentina 1985. http://www.fabriziocolombo.com
Basma Edrees is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she received her Master in Violin Performance and Mannes School of Music where she received her Bachelor’s degree. She studied with Joseph Lin, Laurie Smukler, Sally Thomas, and Catherine Van Hoesen. Basma has performed under the batons of many great conductors including Alan Gilbert and Daniel Barenboim. Basma has served as Associate Concert Master of the Oakland Symphony during their 2015-2016 season. Through the music of Astor Piazzolla, Basma was introduced to the world of Argentine Tango music where she encountered some of the most beautiful lyrical melodies she had ever heard. Playing Tango, Basma found a medium where her Western classical training and her Arab musical heritage sentiments could unite. Basma studied Tango violin with Guillermo Rubino, the director of strings at the Orquesta Escuela de Tango Emilio Balcarce. http://www.basmaedreesviolin.com
San Francisco Youth Chorus Farewell Concert
Online Ticketing: Tickets are donation based with a suggested amount of $15-35.00 dollars per family. They can be bought in advance via PayPal at: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/GATESFYC or you can pay via cash, QR Code, or check, at the door.
Program: Join SFYC in this musical sendoff, as they embark upon their Spring tour to the Anaheim Heritage Choral Festival and Disneyland Performing Arts in March! From Handel to the Beatles, this concert features an eclectic program of Jazz, Musical Theater, Classical and World Music. This concert is fun for the whole family, so don’t miss out on sending SFYC off in style!
SFYC, founded in 2015 by Artistic Director Katherine Gerber, advances the musicianship of children ages 4 and up, in grades PreK-9, in San Francisco, California. Sponsored by Great Adventures Through Education, the after-school chorus of nearly 150 youngsters, across several ensembles, rehearses weekly, August-May, and performs several times throughout the season across California.
April
Olson/De Cari Duo
Friday April 14, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
The Olson/De Cari Duo, a husband-and-wife ensemble, is dedicated to expanding the repertoire for classical guitar and voice. Their innovative repertoire includes many pieces written for them, including compositions from their Science/Music Commissioning Project, which seeks to celebrate the science-informed worldview and illuminate the human side of science through song, with the most recent commission being Archimedes by Andrew York. “The Olson/De Cari Duo straddle science and art gloriously” (Science Friday). Their latest album, Eve’s Diary, features new compositions and arrangements commissioned by the Duo, including a song cycle by David Leisner, arrangements of Jobim songs by João Luiz, and arrangements of theatre songs by Clarice Assad, together with a science-themed commission by the late Frank Wallace on texts by Nobel Laureate scientist and poet Roald Hoffmann. Sparked by the challenges to live performance posed by the pandemic, the Duo has recently forged new paths in classical music videography, creating an inventive music video series in narrative style. OlsonDeCariDuo.com
The Duo’s unique approach draws on the hybrid nature of Gioia and John’s backgrounds and expertise. Gioia De Cari is an award-winning writer, actor and singer and a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, Actors’ Equity, and the Dramatists Guild of America. She holds a Master of Science degree in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gioia’s critically-acclaimed play Truth Values, on themes of belonging for women in the male-dominated world of mathematics and science, has been presented at more than 50 venues across the United States, including the La Jolla Playhouse, the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and Ensemble Studio Theatre. GioiaDeCari.com.
John Olson has performed with a variety of New York–based ensembles, including the Brooklyn Guitar Quartet and the Contemporanea Guitar Duo. Since 2007 he has served as President of the New York City Classical Guitar Society, revitalizing the organization and making it a thriving and central part of the city’s guitar community. He served as a member of the Guitar Foundation of America Board of Directors for six years, and has directed the Ben Verdery Maui Master Class since 2013. He received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. JohnOlsonGuitar.com.
An evening with pianist Julieta Iglesias
Saturday April 15, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Julieta Iglesias was born in 1985 in Buenos Aires. She started her piano studies in 1995 at the “Alberto Williams” Conservatoire. In 2001 she received the ‘Lía Cimaglia Espinosa’ scholarship and the Santa Cecilia Medal. Since then, she has been performing in important halls in Argentina, Spain, Germany, France, Holland, U.K., Poland, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Ireland and Hungary. Julieta graduated from the ‘Instituto Universitario Nacional del Arte’ where she studied under the guidance of Professor Aldo Antognazzi. She also taught Piano for two years at the same institution. In 2017 she got a Bachelor of Musical Education from ‘Conservatorio Superior de Musica de la Ciudad de Bs. As. Astor Piazzolla’.
Julieta has been working with many contemporary composers. In 2010, she gave the Première of the piano works by Mauro de María and also released Volume 1 of de María’s music, to critical acclaim, and in 2012 she gave the Premiere of Vol. II. In 2014 Julieta embarked on a tour around Europe, supported by the Argentine Government, releasing her first album with classical musical and tango. After that, she was invited to participate in the ’15 th Festival Por los caminos del vino’ in Mendoza, Argentina. In her last tour, in 2016, Julieta pomoted her new album: ‘Obras para piano: Bach, Chopin, Ravel, Guastavino, Golijov, Ginastera’.
During 2020 she recorded two EP’s: ‘Piano in Quarantine’ and ‘My Homages’, and one album, ‘Londoner’. In 2021 she released ‘Simply Classical’ and her first classical fusion work, ‘Londres suena a Serú’, which contains piano arrangements on songs by a very popular Argentine band of the 80’s.
April
San Francisco Girls Chorus Level III – Terry Alvord, Director
Friday April 28, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Praised by Gramophone Magazine as a “remarkable tapestry of teenage voices,” the five-time GRAMMY Award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC) is recognized as one of the world’s leading youth vocal ensembles. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Valérie Sainte-Agathe, SFGC presents subscription performances throughout the Bay Area and regularly performs both nationally and internationally as a cultural ambassador for San Francisco. SFGC is a frequent collaborator with leading arts organizations such as Kronos Quartet, San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Opera, as well as numerous world-renowned guest artists.
In addition to its Premier Ensemble, the San Francisco Chorus School is renowned as a regional center for choral music education and performance for girls and young women ages 4-18. Through its innovative Online Learning Program, SFGC has utilized technology to keep its hundreds of choristers engaged and advancing in their musical activities and performing live together from their own homes.
Level III of the San Francisco Girls Chorus School is an ensemble of singers generally between the ages of 10-13. Throughout each season, they learn and perform a varied repertoire of classical, contemporary, and multilingual folk songs from multiple musical eras. In recent years, Level III has performed with other local organizations such as the SF Opera and Opera Parallèle, as well as in the community at schools across San Francisco and the East Bay.
The Soloist Intensive program is a select cohort of soloists that are part of SFGC’s GRAMMY Award Winning Premier Ensemble. Singers strengthen their performance experience, vocal technique, stage presence, diction and language skills through an individualized program of private voice lessons; projects that build organization, communication, and professionalism; masterclasses; auditions; and performances, often in collaboration with world class professional singers. Many Soloists go on to pursue vocal performance in universities and conservatories, and all receive college prep and advising as a part of the program.
Terry Alvord, Level III Director
Terry Alvord, a mezzo soprano and conductor, has conducted the San Francisco Symphony Chorus in rehearsals of Brahms’ Requiem and Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, and has conducted the San Francisco Conservatory’s chamber vocal ensemble, assisting Maestro Ragnar Bohlin. She has also been one of four assistant conductors for the San Francisco Symphony’s Community of Music Makers “Sing Out Davies” program since its inception in 2011.
For the 2015-2016 season, Ms. Alvord was the interim artistic director for Resound Ensemble, a 50 member mixed voice choir based in San Francisco. Last summer, Ms. Alvord was a featured conductor in a program of sacred music in Sarteano, Italy. She is currently music director at Trinity United Methodist Church in Berkeley.
In addition to conducting, Ms. Alvord is an active soloist and choral singer. She has appeared as soloist in James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross with the Berkeley Symphony and with many other groups in performances of Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and Bach’s Magnificat. Ms. Alvord has sung with many Bay Area opera companies in roles such as Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Siebel in Faust, and Hansel in Hansel and Gretel. She has been a professional member of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus since 2000, and has also sung with San Francisco Opera Chorus and Philharmonia Baroque Chorale.
Eric Tran in recital
Saturday April 29, 2023 at 4 p.m.
Named a Gilmore Festival Fellow, pianist-composer Eric Tran has performed in Italy, Korea, China, Canada, and in over 20 states in the United States. He has appeared in music festivals such as PianoTexas, Aspen, Art of the Piano, Gilmore, and Chautauqua. His principal studies were with pianists Sharon Mann, Thomas Schultz, and Christopher Taylor; and with composers Jaroslaw Kapuscinski and Laura Schwendinger.
Eric is a graduate of Stanford University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Mead Witter School of Music. During his studies, he was the winner of the concerto competitions of all three institutions, and he was awarded the prestigious Robert M. Golden Medal for outstanding contributions to the arts. He has won awards from the Wideman Piano Competition and the American Prize, and has been invited to compete at the US Chopin National and Virginia Waring International Competitions. As a composer, he won the Pacific Musical Society Composition Prize, and his sets of children’s music have been programmed for eight years on the syllabus of the US Open Music Competition. His music has been performed by the St. Lawrence String Quartet and the Friction Quartet, and his debut album, Water, was supported by Stanford University’s Young Alumni Arts Grant.
May
An Evening of New Music with Composer Davide Verotta
Saturday May 6, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Classical Music is alive! Join composer Davide Verotta and some of the finest players in the Bay Area in a multi-faceted evening dedicated to new music. On the program: Tsure, based on an ancient Noh theater tale (The Haruka Fujii Trio: Haruka Fujii, marimba, Beni Shinohara, violin, Ray Furuta, flute), and Tsure Goes to the Beach, its light-hearted companion (Haruka Fujii, marimba); Summoning in Vain, an invocation (Sharon Wayne, guitar, Martha Rodriguez-Salazar, flute); Deep Blue, Vermillion, and Ivy Gold, where a slightly mad faun has a vision, reconsiders, and dances (Monika Gruber, violin, Davide Verotta, piano); Sulle Aridi Pendici, inspired by “La Ginestra,” a poem written by Giacomo Leopardi in 1836 (Martha Rodriguez-Salazar, flute, Jennifer Peringer, piano); and String Quartet No. 10 (The Cecilia Ensemble: Maki Ishii Sowash, violin, Michael Long, violin, Paul Ehrlich, viola, Victoria Ehrlich, cello). All works are San Francisco premieres composed by Davide Verotta
Davide Verotta was born in an Italian town close to Milano and moved to San Francisco as an eager twenty-six-year-old. A professor at UCSF in biomathematics and statistics (gasp) for thirty years, he has been actively involved in the SF new music scene for a good twenty, and eventually left math behind to concentrate exclusively on composing. He studied piano at the Milano conservatory ages ago. Composition is more recent, with studies at SFSU, where he earned an MA, and UC Davis. Davide teaches piano and composition privately and at the Community Music Center in SF. He has received numerous local commissions, international competition prizes, and composition grants. For more information, please visit his web site at http://www.davideverotta.com
San Francisco Youth Chorus Concert
Online Ticketing: Tickets are donation based with a suggested amount of $15-35.00 dollars per family. They can be bought in advance via PayPal at: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/GATESFYC or you can pay via cash, QR Code, or check, at the door.
Program: Celebrate music of spring, stage and screen! The advanced singers of the San Francisco Youth chorus present songs of nature, hope, and harmony from a myriad of musical genres and origins, while also visiting the glitz and glamor of Hollywood and Broadway. This marks the eighth season featuring these talented singers ranging from first grade through high school, performing songs in a variety of musical styles, including Classical, Folk, Broadway, Jazz and World Music. This special spring concert is fun for the whole family, and is not to be missed! Come make some musical memories with the San Francisco Youth Chorus!
SFYC, founded in 2015 by Artistic Director Katherine Gerber, advances the musicianship of children ages 4 and up, in grades PreK-9, in San Francisco, California. Sponsored by Gifted and Talented Education, the after-school chorus of nearly 150 youngsters, across several ensembles, rehearses weekly, August-May, and performs several times throughout the season across California.
To Be Scheduled
ZĒLOS QUARTET
David Cortez, Soprano
Johnny Selmer, Baritone
Robin Lacey, Tenor
David Baker, Alto
The Zēlos Quartet is dedicated to performing a wide array of repertoire ranging from underrepresented contemporary works to transcriptions from the baroque, classical, and romantic eras. Committed to performing on saxophones that fit the acoustical specifications of its inventor Adolphe Sax, the Zelos Quartet looks to connect with a variety of audiences to show the wide range of sounds and colors of the saxophone.
Zēlos has participated in summer music festivals such as Festival South (Hattiesburg, MS) and the National Music Festival (Chestertown, MD), where they connected with local audiences through public performances in retirement homes, farmers markets, and house concerts. They have also been extensively coached by Dr. Michael Hernandez of the critically acclaimed Mana Quartet and participated in masterclasses by the award winning Verona String Quartet and Amethyst Quartet.
José López and William Wellborn, piano 4-hands
Featuring works for solo piano and piano 4-hands!
William Wellborn enjoys an active career as a pianist, teacher and lecturer, and has performed and lectured widely over four continents. He received a MM (New England Conservatory) and DMA (University of Texas) in Performance, and a BM in Piano Pedagogy (University of Texas), where his teachers included Gregory Allen, Patricia Zander, and Nancy Garrett, and two leaders in the field of piano pedagogy- Amanda Vick Lethco and Martha Hilley. He has also received coaching from John Perry, Leon Fleisher, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Adam Wibrowski, Andrzej Jasinski, and Jerome Lowenthal. Guest artist appearances include the New Orleans Institute for the Performing Arts, the Paderewski Festival, the American Liszt Society, the Great Romantics Festival in Hamilton, Canada, the Chopin chez George Sand festival de piano in La Châtre, France, the Três Séculos de Piano series in Rio de Janeiro, and the Festival du Chablisien in Chablis, France. In 2004 he had the honor of presenting an all-Liszt program on Liszt’s piano at Hofgärtnerei Museum in Weimar, and in 2009 he presented a Haydn program at the composer’s birthplace in Rohrau, Austria. Orchestral appearances include the Austin Symphony, the Austin Chamber Ensemble, the Laredo Philharmonic, the San Antonio Symphony, the Redwoods Symphony, the Monterey Symphony, and the Sudeten Philharmonie in Walbrzych, Poland.
José López is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Keyboard Studies Program at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, President of the South Florida Chapter of the American Liszt Society, and Honorary Secretary of the United Kingdom’s Alkan Society. He has performed throughout the United States, Italy and Central and South America with orchestras, solo recitals, and chamber groups in concert halls, summer festivals such as the Music Festival of the Hamptons in New York and the Killington Music Festival in Vermont. Active throughout South Florida, he has been a featured performer in the Florida International University’s Music Festival; ISCM New Music Miami Festival, the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival, Coral Gables’ Mainly Mozart Series, University of Miami’s Miami Festival, and as founder and co-director of the Deering Estate at Cutler’s “Chamber Music Series.”
José López, piano: “The Judaic Muse”
Program: Mr. López presents “The Judaic Muse,” featuring the music of Judith Shatin, Fanny Mendelssohn, Ferdinand Hiller, and Charles Alkan.
José López is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Keyboard Studies Program at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, President of the South Florida Chapter of the American Liszt Society, and Honorary Secretary of the United Kingdom’s Alkan Society. He has performed throughout the United States, Italy and Central and South America with orchestras, solo recitals, and chamber groups in concert halls, summer festivals such as the Music Festival of the Hamptons in New York and the Killington Music Festival in Vermont. Active throughout South Florida, he has been a featured performer in the Florida International University’s Music Festival; ISCM New Music Miami Festival, the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival, Coral Gables’ Mainly Mozart Series, University of Miami’s Miami Festival, and as founder and co-director of the Deering Estate at Cutler’s “Chamber Music Series.”
Trio Teneramente
KISHAN CHOUHAN
Multi-instrumentalist, conductor, music director and music educator Kishan Chouhan received his B.Mus. in Clarinet Performance from the University of Toronto, and his MA in Music with research in multiple woodwind performance from York University. Notable and accomplished teachers he has studied with include: clarinet with Miles Jaques, David Bourque, Steve Pierre and Peter Stoll, flute with Peg Albrecht, Nina Martini-Dorey and Sara Hahn, oboe with Wendy Bornstein, Monica Fosnaugh and David Sussman.
JELENA CINGARA
Jelena Cingara is an active performer and artist in US, Canada, and European countries such as Italy, and Czhech Republic. She has performed in concert venues such as: Libby Gardner, Dumke, Abravanel hall, and Kenley amphitheatre in Utah, as well as Arts and Letters Club, Walter Hall, and Ettore Mazzoleni Halls in Toronto. She has played in masterclasses for Nicholas Angelich (Virginia Classics), Rebecca Penneys (Eastman School of Music), Dr. Joel Hastings (Florida State University), and Steven Doane (Eastman School of Music) just to name a few. As a collaborative and chamber musician she has played recitals in Italy, Serbia, US and Canada, and for masterclasses for famous quartets such as: The Bennewitz, Faure, Doric as well as Philip Seltzer from the Emerson Quartet.
STUART MUTCH
Stuart Mutch began cello studies in Calgary at the age of 13 with John Kadz. He received additional training in the Calgary Youth Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the AFM Congress of Strings at the University of Washington. He has been a member of the Calgary Philharmonic, the Windsor Symphony, the Toronto Philharmonia and the North York Concert Orchestra and continued his studies in Toronto with David Miller and Winona Zelenka. He was a member of the Sunrise String Quartet for 14 years and has had extensive chamber music experience in a variety of ensembles. Mr. Mutch is a lawyer and mediator and is presently is an adjudicator with the Immigration and Refugee Board.
Sunset Music and Arts 
You must be logged in to post a comment.