Incarnation Episcopal Church 1750 29Th Avenue, San Francisco Sunsetarts.Wordpress.Com | 415-564-2324

Incarnation Episcopal Church 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco sunsetarts.wordpress.com | 415-564-2324

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Sunset Music & Arts 2019 season. We are very excited to announce our fifth season with many new and returning artists. The season continues out tradition of strong offerings in solo instrumental performances, vocal recitals, choral music, opera, and jazz/world music concerts.

Our season opener will feature a chamber concert on Friday January 11, 2019 with New York based cellist, Ben Capps, and Russian pianist, Vassily Primakov. The Holland Times hailed Ben Capps as a “young cello phenomenon from New York.” Ben Capps is the recipient of many awards, including the the Lillian Fuchs Award, the Francis Goelet Scholarship (Juilliard 2008-2009), the Irving Mulde Scholarship (Juilliard, 2009-10), and the Piatigorsky Scholarship (New England Conservatory 2012- 13). Gramophone wrote that “Primakov’s empathy with Chopin’s spirit could hardly be more complete.” Vassily Primakov is a prize winner at the Cleveland Piano Competition and was a semi-finalist at the Van Cliburn Competition.

Solo piano artists include Laura Klein, Clare Longendyke, Robyn Carmichael, Amy Stephens, Mark Valenti, and Susan Ellinger, as well as concerts for piano 4-hands with the Duo Papillion and A&R Duo. Also featured are organ recitals with Angela Kraft Cross and David Jaronowski and a Grammy award guitarist Cristobal Selamé.

Our chamber music concerts features return engagements with the Circadian String Quartet, Trio 180, as well as new artists, such as the Ensemble Illume, Trio Terme, Trio Foss, and Curium Piano Trio. Our choral music concerts features our artists-in-residence, the San Francisco Renaissance Voices, the San Francisco Boys Chorus, and the San Francisco Girls Chorus. We are continuing our partnership with the Bay Shore Lyric Opera company to bring a staged performance of Bellini’s tragic opera, Norma.

To round of the season, we feature vocal recitals with baritone John Smalley, mezzo-soprano Nicole Takesono, and a recital with Ramana Vieira—introducing us to the world of Fado.

Please join us and we look forward to sharing the joy of these unique performances with you.

With best wishes,

Mathew Chacko and Sally Porter Munro Directors, Sunset Music & Arts An initiative of Incarnation Episcopal Church, San Francisco

Sunset Music & Arts 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122 415.564.2324 http://sunsetarts.wordpress.com [email protected]

SUNSET MUSIC & ARTS — 2019 Season

Sunset Music & Arts is dedicated to Table of Contents providing high-quality, affordable music and arts programs to people of all ages, in Monthly Calendar…………………………………….. Page 4 the Sunset district of San Francisco and Recital Instrumental Series…………………….……... Page 14—22 beyond. In addition, we occasionally conduct a variety of workshops focusing Recital—Vocal Series………………………………… Page 27—28 on the arts. Chamber Music/Ensemble……………………………. Page 5—13 Jazz/World Series…………………………………….. Page 23—26 The initiative is a community offering Choral Series…………………………………………. Page 29—33 generously provided by the Episcopal Opera ………… …………………………………….. Page 34 Church of the Incarnation, San Opera/Broadway Gala ……………………………….. Page 35 Francisco, where we have the use of the Community Events/Workshops……………………… Page 36—38 beautiful space, wonderful acoustics, and Calendar by Series ……….…………….….……….… Page 39—40 the use of a grand piano and pipe organ.

We also sponsor our, “Sunset Community Music & Arts,” where you can enjoy mostly free (occasionally, donations or a small fee may be Special Events requested) concerts and programs, produced and performed by Opening Night—Ben Capps & Vassily Primakov…………. Page 5 members of the local community. If you are interested in performing as part of this program, please contact us at 415.564.2324 or e-mail us at [email protected].

Support Us!

Please consider supporting us financially to help continue to bring quality music to the Sunset District of San Francisco.

You can write a check made payable to “Incarnation Episcopal Church”. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and your donations are 100% deductible. You can also donate online via PayPal. Check Anniversary Gala & Reception …………………….……. Page 35 our website for details.

Thank you for your consideration and support.

Please mail your check to: Episcopal Church of the Incarnation 1750 29th Avenue San Francisco CA 94122

3 JANUARY FEBRUARY

 Fri. Jan 11—Capps & Primakov (Page 5)  Sat. Feb 9—Ramana Vieira (Page 26)  Sat. Jan 19—Liaison Ensemble (Page 6)  Sat. Feb 16—Nicole Takesono (Page 28)  Sat. Jan 26—John Smalley (Page 27)  Sat. Feb 23—SF-Munich Trio (Page 7)

MARCH APRIL

 Sat. March 2—Angela Cross (Page 14)  Sat. April 6—Circadian String Quartet  Sun. March 3—Trio 180 (Page 8) (Page 9)  Sat. March 16—Duo Papillon (Page 21)  Sat. April 13—Ensemble Illume (Page 10)  Sat. March 23—Laura Klein (Page 23)  Fri. April 26—SF Girls Chorus (Page 29)  Sat. March 30—Clare Longendyke (Page 15)  Sat. April 27—Cristobal Selamé (Page 16)  Sun. April 28—SF Renaissance Voices (Page 30)

MAY JUNE

 Sat. May 4—Cuarteto Puentes (Page 25)  Sat. June 8—Trio Foss (Page 12)  Sat. May 11—Trio Terme (Page 11)  Fri. June 14—David Jaronowski (Page 18)  Sat. May 18—Robyn Carmichael (Page 17)  Sat. June 15—Ajay Mallya (Page 38)

JULY AUGUST  Sat. Aug 10 —SF Renaissance Voices  Sat. July 13—Amy Stephens (Page 25) (Page 31)  Sat. Aug 17—Bellini’s Norma (Page 34)  Sat. Aug 24—A&R Duo (Page 22)

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER

 TBD—Annual Gala & Reception (Page 35)  Sat. Oct 5—Curium Trio (Page 13)  Sat. Sept. 28—Mark Valenti (Page 19)  Sat. Oct 19—Susan Ellinger (Page 20)

NOVEMBER DECEMBER  To be announced  TBD —SF Boys Chorus (Page 32)  TBD —Lessons and Carols (Page 33)

4 Ben Capps and Vassily Primakov Chamber Music Date & Time: Friday January 11, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Exciting young American cellist In recent years, Vassily Ben Capps enjoys a versatile Primakov has been hailed as a performing career as a soloist and pianist of world class importance. chamber musician. His artistry has Gramophone wrote that been praised as “most appealing” “Primakov’s empathy with by the New York Times, “virtuosic Chopin’s spirit could hardly be and impassioned” by the Barre more complete,” and the Montpelier Times, the Holland American Record Guide stated: Times hailed Capps as a “young cello phenomenon from New “Since Gilels, how many pianists York” with “dazzling technique and a fearsomely meaty tone”, and have the right touch? In Chopin, the Epoch Times proclaimed that “Capps has it all . . . cello no one currently playing sounds as good as this! This is a great playing of the very highest standard.” He has performed in Chopin pianist.” Music Web-International called Primakov’s varying capacities at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Weill and Chopin concertos CD “one of the great Chopin recordings of Zankel Halls, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, recent times. These are performances of extraordinary power the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and beauty.” In 1999, as a teen-aged prizewinner of the Cleveland Mann Hall in Tel Aviv, Meyerson Hall in Dallas, and the Auditorio International Piano Competition, Primakov was praised by Donald Nacional, the Palace of Fine Arts and Sala Nezahualcoytl in Rosenberg of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “How many pianists can Mexico City. Capps has appeared as soloist with the make a line sing as the Moscow native did on this occasion? Every Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, the New York Concerti poignant phrase took ethereal wing. Elsewhere the music soared Sinfonietta, the Manchester Music Festival Orchestra, Juilliard Pre- with all of the turbulence and poetic vibrancy it possesses. We College Symphony, and the Manhattan School of Music will be hearing much from this remarkable musician.” Composer’s Orchestra. Recent performance highlights include an unaccompanied recital tour in the Midwest , a recital tour of His first piano studies were with his mother, Marina Primakova. China (Xiamin, Fouzhou and Gulangyu), and recital appearances in He entered Moscow’s Central Special Music School at the age of New York, Greece and Spain as well as a performance of all five eleven as a pupil of Vera Gornostaeva, and at 17 came to New Beethoven sonatas and more in Vermont. York to pursue studies at the Juilliard School with the noted pianist, Jerome Lowenthal. At Juilliard Mr. Primakov won the In September 2014 LP Classics released Ben Capps’ newest disc: William Petschek Piano Recital Award, which presented his debut Ossia, music of Bach, Schumann & Fitzenhagen for solo cello & recital at Alice Tully Hall, and while at Juilliard, aided by a Susan company. Ben Capps can also be heard on Innova Records with W. Rose Career Grant, he won both the Silver Medal and the two discs of music for solo cello by contemporary composer Audience Prize in the 2002 Gina Bachauer International Artists Andrew Violette & on Tzadik Records with a collaborative cello & Piano Competition. Later that year Primakov won First Prize in electronics piece by Anna Clyne called Fits & Starts which was the 2002 Young Concert Artists (YCA) International Auditions. In featured for a week on WQXR in New York. 2007 he was named the Classical Recording Foundation’s “Young Artist of the Year.” In 2009, Primakov’s Chopin Mazurkas At age 21, Capps was appointed principal cellist of Philharmonic recording was named “Best of the Year” by National Public Radio Orchestra of the Americas, a dynamic New York based and that same year he began recording the 27 Mozart piano symphony orchestra founded by conductor Alondra de la Parra, concertos in Denmark. BBC Music Magazine (November, 2010) whose highly regarded premier Sony Classics recording Mi Alma praised the first volume of Primakov’s Mozart concertos: “The Mexicana attained high international status. piano playing is of exceptional quality: refined, multi-coloured, elegant of phrase and immaculately balanced, both in itself and in A native of New York City, Ben Capps began playing the cello at relation to the effortlessly stylish orchestra. The rhythm is both age four with Nellis DeLay at New York’s School for Strings. He shapely and dynamic, the articulation a model of subtlety. By is the recipient of many awards, including the New York State almost every objective criterion, Vassily Primakov is a Mozartian Association of Music Teachers Scholarship Competition 1999; to the manner born, fit to stand as a role model to a new Juilliard Pre-College Symphony, Concerto Competition, 2001, the generation.” Lillian Fuchs Award, 2004, the Francis Goelet Scholarship (Juilliard 2008-2009), the Irving Mulde Scholarship (Juilliard, 2009-10), and In 1999 Primakov won second prize at the Cleveland International the Piatigorsky Scholarship (New England Conservatory 2012- Piano Competition, and in 2001 he was a semi-finalist in the Van 13). He has coached with numerous cellists, including Bernard Cliburn Competition. Greenhouse, Ko Iwasaki, Paul Katz, and Nathanial Rosen, and has performed in master class for Steven Isserlis, Alexander Rudin, Mischa Maisky, Natalia Gutman, Peter Wylie, and Timothy Eddy. Ben Capps plays a William Forester cello built in 1782 in England.

5 Liaison Ensemble + Helia Collective Chamber Music Date & Time: Saturday January 19 , 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Liaison Ensemble Melinda Becker, mezzo-soprano Susie Fong, harpsichord Hallie Pridham, baroque cello Tatiana Senderowicz, theorbo

Liaison is a dynamic and vibrant early-music ensemble based in San Francisco, California. In addition to playing in concert halls, Liaison hopes to bring historically-informed performances to a wider range of audiences in non-traditional venues while maintaining the highest musical standards. Liaison’s group name was inspired by the members’ pursuit of a collaborative, cooperative approach to ensemble music-making as well the importance of the relationship between performer and audience.

Co-founded by musician/composers, Emma Logan and Julie Barwick, Helia Music Collective supports the creative endeavors of women in music throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Helia Music seeks to enrich the community and expand the engagement of women artists through educational outreach and collaborations, with performances and workshops taking place in unique and diverse spaces.

Through charitable activities and events, Helia supports the education and development of women in the Bay Area and beyond.

Program

Barbara Strozzi – L’Eraclito amoroso Francesca Caccini – Chi Desia Di Saper Francesca Caccini – Ch’amor sio nudo Emily Koh – am burning, have burned, will burn Lily Chen – Fragmented Lament Julie Barwick – Songs of Ice and Fire Emma Logan – In the Evening

6 San Francisco-Munich Trio Chamber Music Date & Time: Sunday February 23, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Friedrich Edelmann grew up in Kaiserslautern, Germany. He studied with Alfred Rinderspacher (Prof. in Mannheim), Klaus Thunemann (Prof. in Hamburg-Hannover -Berlin), and Milan Turkovic (Prof. in Salzburg-Vienna). After his diploma in mathematics in Heidelberg, he joined the orchestra of the Pfalztheater in Kaiserslautern for three years. In 1977 he became the Principal Bassoonist of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Maestro Sergiu Celibidache from 1979 until 1996, and under Maestro James Levine from 1999 until 2004. During that time he also played under Karl Böhm, Günther Wand, Kurt Masur, Carlo Maria Giulini, Karl Richter, Carlos Kleiber, Georg Solti, Erich Leinsdorf, Herbert Blomstedt, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Lorin Maazel, Rafael Kubelik, Zubin Mehta among others. He has won several first prizes in German national competitions and was a member of the World-Orchestra of Jeunesses Musicales under Karel Ancerl, when he met the American cellist Rebecca Rust.

In February 1998 he was a member of the “Nagano Winter Orchestra” under Seiji Ozawa with opening concerts of the Winter-Olympics in Nagano, Japan. In July-August 1998 he was the coach of the woodwinds of the World-Orchestra of Jeunesses Musicales in Taipei.

Praised by Carlo Maria Giulini for her “exceptional musicality”, the American cellist Rebecca Rust, a native of California, U.S.A. received her first piano lessons with her mother at the age of five and began cello lessons with Margaret Rowell, Cello Professor at the San Francisco Conservatory and the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford, at the age of nine. At age thirteen she was a prizewinner of the Mendelssohn Competition; at fourteen a prizewinner in the California Cello Club Competition; first prize in the “Mu Phi Epsilon” Competition and the Berkeley Piano Club made it possible for her to begin studies in New York with Bernard Greenhouse (Casals’ pupil and cellist of the Beaux-Arts-Trio).

She became a member of the Christmas String Orchestra under the direction of Alexander Schneider, and received a scholarship to study with the Lenox Quartet. After graduating “cum laude” in New York, she continued her studies with Paul Szabo (Casals’ pupil and cellist of the Vegh Quartet) at the Cologne College of Music, earning there a soloist diploma “with honors”. During this time she was also solo cellist of the “Orchestre Mondiale des Jeunesses Musicales” under Karel Ancerl. Master classes with Mstislav Rostropovich followed in the USA (as one of five participants from over one hundred applicants) and in Basel, Switzerland, where in the final concerts she appeared as soloist, playing the Lalo Concerto, with the Basel Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mstislav Rostropovich. This was followed by solo concerts and radio productions in Europe, the USA, Israel, China and in Japan with concerts in Tokyo, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kobe, Sendai, Mito, Hiroshima among others, and in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, including appearances as soloist with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (Sergiu Celibidache was the patron of her debut in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall in October 1992).

Rebecca Rust plays a Master-Cello by William Forster (1791), formerly owned by Prince Charles.

7 Trio 180 Chamber Music Date & Time: Sunday March 3, 7 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Trio 180, the faculty piano trio-in-residence at the University of the Pacific’s Conservatory of Music, is dedicated to its roles as performer, proponent of new music, and educator. In addition to giving concerts and master classes throughout the United States, the trio has been featured on concert series in Mexico and Canada. This talented ensemble includes celebrated concert violinist Ann Miller, renowned cellist Vicky Wang, and award-winning pianist Sonia Leong. Trio 180 performs a wide range of music from the Classical era to the present and is an active advocate of new music. The trio was awarded a Barlow Grant in 2006 to commission eminent composer Chen Yi’s first piano trio, Tibetan Tunes (Theodore Presser). Continuing its tradition of commissioning new works, the trio premiered composer Robert Greenberg’s 180 Shift in 2013 and Reinaldo Moya’s Gothic Sea in 2011 in honor of Trio 180’s tenth anniversary. The trio has premiered works by Allan Crossman (Icarus), Jorge Liderman (Suite del Sur; Sidewalk recorded on Albany Records), Derek Jacoby (Trio No. 2), Francois Rose (Gently, Wild Rose Petals) and Cindy Cox (Wave, recorded in summer, 2010 and winter of 2014). The trio mentors young musicians and chamber music groups at the University of the Pacific’s Conservatory of Music, where all three members are on faculty. In addition, Trio 180 frequently performs at elementary and high schools throughout California, presenting varied and interactive programs designed to challenge and engage young students.

The trio’s current season features appearances in North Carolina and California, including performances and master classes at the Music Teachers’ Associa- tion of California’s annual conference. In past seasons, the trio has presented numerous performances for Composers Inc., in San Francisco and Berkeley, a concert tour to Vancouver, Canada, and performances across California, including concerts at the Crocker Museum in Sacramento and the Sundays Live series at the Los Angeles County Museum. The trio has performed numerous times on the Old First Concert series in San Francisco, including a year-long residency featuring the works of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Robert Schumann. The trio is thrilled to have completed its first CD of works by Dvorak, Suk, and Schumann.

Ann Miller, violin Celebrated violinist Ann Miller has appeared in concert halls throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. At home performing music spanning the Ba- roque era to the present day, Ms. Miller enjoys a varied career as a chamber musician, soloist, and educator. A proponent of new music, Ms. Miller made her New York debut as a soloist with the New Juilliard Ensemble in Alice Tully Hall in the North American premiere of David Matthews’ Concerto No. 2. She has performed with the ensemble Continuum in venues in Mongolia and Ukraine as well as New York City. In addition, Ms. Miller participated in an exchange program between the Juilliard School and the Lucerne Festival Academy that culminated in performances in Switzerland and New York under the direction of Pierre Boulez.

Recent solo appearances include performances of Tartini’s Devil’s Trill with the Zion Chamber Orchestra, the Brahms Violin Concerto with the University of the Pacific’s Symphony Orchestra, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with the St. John’s Chamber Orchestra, and Brahms’s Double Concerto with cellist Ira Lehn and the Mariposa Symphony in Yosemite National Park. As a recitalist, Ms. Miller frequently collaborates with pianist Sonia Leong and has appeared on Old First Concerts in San Francisco and the University of the Pacific’s Resident Artist Series. Their debut album of music by Beaser, Ysaÿe, and Bartók will be released in the fall of 2015.

Vicky Wang, cello Winner of the Young Artist International Competition, cellist Vicky Wang made her New York debut in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in 2001. As an avid chamber musician, Ms. Wang was a member of the award-winning ensemble Aristos String Quartet. This ensemble has been invited to participate in the focus! New Music Festival in New York, Hampden-Sydney Chamber Music Festival in Virginia as well as frequent collaborations with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in its lecture-concert series. Ms. Wang’s concert highlights also include collaborations with legendary performers Ray Charles at the Belleayer Music Festival and Liza Minelli at Avery Fisher Hall.

Prior to relocating to California, Ms. Wang served on the faculty of Mannes College of Music and the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. She currently maintains an active private studio in Palo Alto. Her students have been featured as concerto soloists with the El Camino Youth Symphony, California Youth Symphony, and Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra.

Sonia Leong, piano Pianist Sonia Leong has performed in Canada, the United States, England, Romania, Switzerland, and Hong Kong. She has appeared with the Filarmonica de Stat Dinu Lipatti in Satu Mare, Romania, the Banff Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Stockton Symphony, the St. John Chamber Orchestra, and has performed live on Radio Suisse Romande in Geneva. She was a prizewinner at the Concours Piano 80, in Switzerland, and a finalist at the Concorso Pianistico Nazionale “Città de Cesenatico” in Italy. From 2001–03, she played with Music Now, a new music ensemble based in Sacramento. She appears regularly on the Sierra Chamber Society concert series, both with her trio and in other chamber music combinations.Ms. Leong studied at the University of British Columbia, the Peabody Conservatory, and the Université de Montréal, as well as at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) on a Commonwealth Scholarship. Her principal teachers include Robert Silverman, Julian Martin, and Marc Durand. She has participated in festivals at the Banff Centre; Orford, Quebec; Scotia Festival; Ladevie, France; and Ernen, Switzerland (with György Sebök).

8 Circadian String Quartet Chamber Music Date & Time: Saturday August 18, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Bay Area based Circadian String Quartet was founded in 2013 to promote the classical and contemporary string quartet repertoire, in particular music of cultural and folkloric significance. Since then, the group has been featured through Mt. Shasta’s Music By the Mountain, Sunset Music and Arts Chamber Music Series in San Francisco, and the Merced Symphony Association. In 2014, the CSQ were invited to collaborate with the St. Petersburg-based Rimsky Korsakov String Quartet during their North American tour. They have also given U.S. premieres of pieces by world- renowned British composer Ian Venables in collaboration with mezzo- soprano Sally Munro of the San Francisco Opera and Natalie Parker, Principal Clarinetist of the San Francisco Ballet.

David Ryther (violin) has brought his interpretive powers as a Sarah Wood (violin) leads a versatile career as a soloist, chamber soloist to such festivals as the Darmstadt Summer Festival of and orchestral musician. She has soloed with the Music in the New Music, the Banff center, and the Green Umbrella Series at Mountains Summer Festival Orchestra and the Panache, Villa the Bing theater in Los Angeles. He has been featured playing Sinfonia, and Icicle Creek Chamber Orchestras. She has performed new music with adventurous ensembles sfSoundGroup, chamber music concerts across the Northwestern and Western Earplay, San Francisco Contemporary Players, the Berkeley United States. Sarah is currently a member of the California New Music Ensemble, Sonor, and Octagon. He is a founding Symphony and the Music in the Mountains Summer Festival member of the Presidio String Quartet, a group that specializes Orchestras. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in violin in contemporary music. David graduated with highest honors in performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder and also music from UC Santa Cruz and recently received his doctorate holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in violin performance from the in contemporary violin performance from UC San Diego. David Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of Paul Kantor and William can also be found playing in the Berkeley Symphony, the San Preucil. Francisco Ballet orchestra and teaching violin at the Crowden School for Music.

Native of Iran, Omid Assadi (viola) holds a B.M. and M.M. David Wishnia (cello) performs regularly with many orchestras and from San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied chamber ensembles throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a with Jodie Levitz and Bettina Mussumeli. Mr. Assadi is an active member of the Villa Piano Trio and the Circadian String Quartet. He ensemble player and soloist; he has concertized with many of holds a Masters of Music in cello from the Yale School of Music. the Bay Area’s orchestras and has appeared numerous times as soloist with Golden Gate Philharmonic, City College of San Francisco String Orchestra, Kensington Symphony Orchestra, and Villa Sinfonia. Omid’s love for chamber music has led him to study chamber music with the members of the Kronos String Quartet as well as the San Francisco Conservatory of Music faculty members. In addition, he has collaborated with Jennifer Culp, Jodi Levitz, Jorja Fleezanis, and with the Shams Ensemble.

9 Ensemble Illume Chamber Music Date & Time: Saturday April 13, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Known for their powerful sound and profound unity of Taiwanese-American violist Jessica ensemble, Ensemble Illume is dedicated to sharing the rich Chang is dedicated to sharing her character of the viola, cello, and piano trio with audiences of all love for music through presenting ages. With its unconventional instrumentation, Illume’s mission chamber music in accessible ways. As is to nurture and expand the repertoire for the ensemble by the founder and director of identifying rarely-heard work and working with contemporary composers, while also pursuing collaborations with fellow Chamber Music by the Bay, Jessica musicians to perform quartets, quintets, and larger chamber brings interactive concerts and ensembles. The ensemble was formed with an inaugural concert programs to over 2,000 youth in San Francisco in 2018, which featured works by Kaija throughout the San Francisco Bay Saariaho and Johannes Brahms. Area annually. She has also served as violist of the Afiara Quartet, with Program whom she toured North America, including a visiting faculty residency at The Banff Centre in Alberta and residency as the  Johannes Brahms: Trio Op. 114 in A minor, for viola, cello Glenn Gould School Fellowship Quartet-in-Residence at the and piano (originally for clarinet, cello, piano) Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada. She has  Kaija Saariaho: Je sens un deuxième coeur been broadcast on NPR’s “Performance Today”; performed at festivals including Festival Mozaic, Juneau Jazz & Classics, Bard Music West, Perlman Chamber Music Workshop, Aspen, Tanglewood, Verbier, and Taos. Jessica is a graduate of Yale, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors and distinction, holds an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. Her teachers have included Misha Amory, Michael Tree, Roberto Díaz, Steven Tenenbom, Heidi Castleman, Daniel Panner, Jenny Rudin, Jesse Levine, and Jodi Levitz.

As a frequent performer, Described as “brilliant” by the San educator, and presenter of cello Francisco Classical Voice, San and chamber music, cellist Laura Francisco-based pianist Allegra Gaynon has performed in Chapman is dedicated to engaging concert halls across the United with new audiences as performer, States, Europe, Canada, and presenter, and educator. Allegra China. Currently based in the Bay has performed at prestigious Area, Laura performs with the venues throughout the United American Bach Soloists, the States, Europe, and China, including Pacific Crest Chamber Players, Alice Tully Hall, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert the Magik*Magik Orchestra, and Series, the Bard Music Festival, the Liszt Ferenc Memorial the baroque chamber ensemble Musa. As a chamber Museum in Budapest, and Xi’an Concert Hall in Xi’an, China. musician, she has collaborated with luminaries including An avid chamber musician and passionate advocate for Kim Kashkashian, Geoff Nuttall, Bonnie Hampton, Paul contemporary music, Allegra performs regularly with San Hersh, and Ian Swensen. Laura is cofounder and coartistic Francisco Contemporary Music Players and UC Berkeley’s director of Bard Music West in San Francisco. She is Eco Ensemble, and has collaborated with members of dedicated to promoting the music of today, and International Contemporary Ensemble and the Eusebius, spearheaded Musa’s “Art Inspiring Art” commissioning Orion, and Telegraph String Quartets. Allegra has also project, now in its third year. Laura holds degrees from worked with many renowned living composers, including Joan Yale University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Tower and Charles Wuorinen, and regularly premiers works Music, where she graduated with a master of music in of young composers. Allegra studied with Jeremy Denk and cello performance, an artist certificate in chamber music, Peter Serkin at the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and an emphasis in historical performance practice as a graduating in the inaugural class with degrees in piano student of Jennifer Culp and Elisabeth Reed. performance and history. 10 Trio Terme Chamber Music Date & Time: Saturday May 11, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Trio Terme was formed last summer at the Interharmony In- Stacey McColley is instructor of ternational Music Festival in Italy. The three performers, all with clarinet at Florida Southern College extensive solo and ensemble experience, were so delighted play- and Southeastern University. She is a ing together at Interharmony, that they decided to continue to frequent faculty member at the explore the rich clarinet, cello, piano repertoire. InterHarmony International Music Festival in Arcidosso, Italy. Stacey serves as Principal Clarinet with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Clarinet, Eb clarinet and Bass clarinet with the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Bass Clarinet with the Sarasota Opera, Principal Clarinet with Opera Naples, is the Solo Clarinetist with the Reflections Chamber Equally active as a recitalist, Ensemble, an ensemble dedicated to the performance of concerto soloist, chamber musician, contemporary chamber music, and served as Principal Clarinet for and jazz performer, Geoffrey many years with the Opera Tampa Orchestra under Maestro Anton Burleson, pianist, has performed to Coppola. In recent years Stacey has been guest soloist with wide acclaim throughout Europe ensembles in Florida and California, including an appearance as a and North America. Current soloist at the FMEA convention in Tampa, Florida performing Scott recording projects include Camille Mcnllister’s Concerto X She appeared as a guest artist at the Saint-Saëns: Complete Piano International Clarinet Association’s Clarinet- Fest in Austin, Tx., and Works, on 5 CDs, for the new was a featured performer at the ICA Festival in Madrid, Spain this Naxos Grand Piano label. Volumes summer. Stacey has her Master’s Degree in Clarinet Performance 1 (Complete Piano Études), 2, 3 and from the University of California. 4 have been released to high acclaim from Gramophone, International Record Review, Diapason (France) Nina Flyer has toured, and elsewhere. Other noteworthy recorded and taught recordings by Burleson include Vincent Persichetti: Complete throughout Europe, Piano Sonatas (New World Records), which received a BBC Scandinavia and America. Music Choice award from the BBC Music Magazine, and She has been Principal AKOKA (Oxingale Records), featuring Messiaen’s Quartet for Cellist with the the End of Time, as well as companion works, for which symphonies of Jerusalem, Burleson was nominated for a 2015 JUNO Award for Classical Bergen (Norway) and Album of the Year. Mr. Burleson’s concerto appearances Iceland, the Women’s include the Buffalo Philharmonic, New England Philharmonic, Philharmonic, and the Boston Musica Viva, and the Holland Symfonia in the Bear Valley Orchestra Netherlands. He has also appeared as featured soloist at the and has held the post of acting Principal Cellist with the San Diego Bard Music Festival, International Keyboard Institute and Symphony. She records frequently for the TV and Motion Picture Festival (New York), Monadnock Music Festival, Santander Industry and is presently Principal Cellist of the Pacific Chamber Festival (Spain) and the Talloires International Festival (France). Symphony. Nina was the cello and chamber music professor and He is a core member of the American Modern Ensemble and founding member of the acclaimed in-residence piano trio, Trio Boston Musica Viva. Mr. Burleson teaches piano at Princeton 180, at the University of the Pacific, Conservatory of Music, for 20 University and is Professor of Music and Director of Piano years. Ms. Flyer has now started another trio, Trio Foss, and noted Studies at Hunter College-City University of New York. He is composer Robert Greenberg has written them a new piece. also on the piano faculties of the CUNY Graduate Center, the International Keyboard Institute & Festival (New York), and the As a proponent of contemporary music, Ms. Flyer plays regularly Interharmony International Music Festival (Italy). with Composers Inc. and with other new music groups and has had many pieces written for her. Ms. Flyer is a featured soloist on two CDs; a concerto by Shulamit Ran, performed with the English Chamber Orchestra and solo and chamber works by Lou Harrison, both out on KOCH International. These two CDs have met with great critical acclaim and have both been nominated for Grammys. The following quote is from Strings Magazine in 2001:...hauntingly beautiful performance...... (Lou Harrison CD review)

11 Trio Foss Chamber Music Date & Time: Saturday June 8, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Cited by the Rochester Democrat Icelandic violinist Hrabba Atladottir and Chronicle as a “local prodigy,” studied in Berlin, Germany with professor American born pianist Joseph Axel Gerhardt and professor Tomasz Irrera has concertized across the Tomaszewski. After finishing her studies, globe with appearances at Carnegie Hrabba worked as a freelancing violinist in Hall, The Kennedy Center, Spivey Berlin for five years, regularly playing with Hall, and Eastman’s Kodak and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Kilbourn Halls. At the age of 18 he Deutsche Oper, and Deutsche made his debut with the Rochester Symphonieorchester. Hrabba also Philharmonic Orchestra performing participated in a world tour with the Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Icelandic pop artist Björk, and a Germany Concerto. Additional concerto tour with violinist Nigel Kennedy. Joshua performances include appearances Kosman, music critic of San Francisco with the Rochester Philharmonic Chronicle, praised her performance of Youth Orchestra, the Penfield Symphony, the Genesee Vivaldi’s “Spring”, and called her violin playing “delicate but fervent”. Symphony Orchestra, and the Georgia Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with conductors Christopher Seaman, In 2004, Hrabba moved to New York, playing on a regular basis Leonard Slatkin, Delta David Gier, and Raffaele Ponti. with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Orchestra of Internationally he has performed throughout Germany, Bulgaria, St. Luke’s and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra among other Italy, France, and Costa Rica. orchestras. She also played with the Either/Or ensemble in NY in close collaboration with Helmut Lachenmann. Since August 2008, In addition to his solo piano concert engagements, Joseph is Hrabba is based in Berkeley, California, where she has been also very active as a chamber musician appearing with his performing as a soloist and with various ensembles such as The Left brother, violinist John. The internationally acclaimed Irrera Coast Chamber Ensemble, Since 2009, Hrabba is a lecturer in Violin Brothers Piano & Violin Duo has appeared throughout the at UC Berkeley. United States, Europe, and Central America. They made their Carnegie Hall Debut in 2009, and were invited back in 2012 and again in 2013. As a recording artist Joseph can be heard on two Nina Flyer has toured, albums with the Irrera Brothers Duo including “Beethoven & recorded and taught Prokofiev” (2012), and “Vitali” (2014) and has also recorded throughout Europe, solo piano works of Scarlatti, Schumann, and Chopin with Scandinavia and America. Steinway & Sons (2015). Joseph’s third album with the Irrera She has been Principal Brothers, currently in production, will feature the complete Cellist with the works for violin and piano by composer Robert Morris, symphonies of Jerusalem, Professor at the Eastman School of Music. Bergen (Norway) and Iceland, the Women’s Joseph is laureate of many national and international piano Philharmonic, and the competitions including the Guthman International Piano Bear Valley Orchestra and has held the post of acting Principal Competition in Atlanta, Georgia, the Young Artists Cellist with the San Diego Symphony. She records frequently for International Piano Competition in Washington, D.C., the the TV and Motion Picture Industry and is presently Principal Cellist Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition, and the of the Pacific Chamber Symphony. Nina was the cello and chamber American Protégé International Piano Competition in New music professor and founding member of the acclaimed in- York City. His principal teachers include Alla Kuznetsov, residence piano trio, Trio 180, at the University of the Pacific, Alexander Shtarkman, and Barry Snyder. Joseph has also Conservatory of Music, for 20 years. Ms. Flyer has now started received additional training from renowned pedagogues Natalya another trio, Trio Foss, and noted composer Robert Greenberg has Antonova, Martin Canin, Philip Kawin, Lev Natochenny, Marina written them a new piece. Lomazov, Irina Edelstein, Victor Rosenbaum, and concert pianist Jon Nakamatsu. As a proponent of contemporary music, Ms. Flyer plays regularly with Composers Inc. and with other new music groups and has had Joseph received his Bachelor’s Degree in Performance with many pieces written for her. Ms. Flyer is a featured soloist on two Distinction in 2005 from the Eastman School of Music. After CDs; a concerto by Shulamit Ran, performed with the English oseph was accepted to the Peabody Conservatory where he Chamber Orchestra and solo and chamber works by Lou Harrison, earned his Masters Degree in Piano Performance in 2007. He both out on KOCH International. These two CDs have met with went on to complete the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in great critical acclaim and have both been nominated for Grammys. 2014, at the Eastman School of Music in Piano Performance and The following quote is from Strings Magazine in 2001:...hauntingly Literature, with a minor in Pedagogy. beautiful performance...... (Lou Harrison CD review) 12 Curium Piano Trio Chamber Music Date & Time: Saturday October 5, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Curium: the 96th element in the periodic table. Discovered in the Rachel Kim enjoys a prolific career as a Bay Area in 1944 and named after the pioneering female scientist, concert pianist, educator, and mentor in the Marie Curie, the element is a symbol of the innovations of female Bay Area. She was born in Seoul, South minds, past and present. Korea and began learning music theory and improvisation with her mother, a jazz and Founded in the summer of 2017, the women of Curium piano rock pianist based in Seoul. She began trio have gained reputations as performers that radiate studying piano in the United States with dynamism and presence. Specializing in performing the music of Helen Smith Tarchalski at the age of 11. female composers, they are committed to bringing creative and During this time, she gained a reputation as diverse musical programming to their audiences. The Curium a standout performer and consistently won trio highlights the works of women composers and performers first and second prizes in the annual solo alongside traditional piano trio repertoire, and have brought and piano ensemble competitions held by together a community of people with their representation of Maryland State Music Teachers Association. diversity and women. Rachel holds a Bachelor of Music degree with honors from the Curium was chosen as the 2017 winners of the Barbara Fritz Catholic University of America, where she studied with Marilyn Chamber Music Award. Neeley and Jose Ramos Santana, and a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she continues her studies with Paul Hersh. She has performed in various summer Polish-born violinist Agnieszka festivals around the US and in Europe, including Aspen, Brevard, and Peszko has been praised for her the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Italy, and has performed in the “warm and glowing tone,” and master classes of world-class musicians including Leon Fleisher, Jean- “logical yet captivating Yves Thibaudet, Bonnie Hampton, and Abby Simon. During her phrasing.” (Weigang Li, Shanghai studies at SF Conservatory, she had the opportunity to collaborate Quartet). She is the founding and be coached by musicians such as Bonnie Hampton, Ian Swenson, violinist of the San Francisco – Mack McCray, and Jennifer Culp. serves as Music Director for the based piano trio annual musical productions and directs the Honors Chamber Singers Curium, dedicated to performing and Chamber Music classes. works of women composers A prizewinner of national and regional string competitions, she Natalie Raney fell in love with the cello has given many solo recitals when she was nine years old after her throughout Europe and the United coolest, childhood role model began States. She has also served as a playing it in the house next door. She has leading violinist of chamber had the opportunity to perform chamber ensembles and orchestras, performing in some of the most music with such musicians as Kim renowned concert halls in the USA, Europe and China. Kashkashian, Menahem Pressler, Norman Fischer, Geoff Nuttall, Bonnie Hampton, As a laureate of various awards and competitions, she has won Roberto Diaz, Ian Swensen, Jodi Levitz, 2nd prizes at the Concerto Competition at Montclair State Paul Hersh, and the Arianna String University in New Jersey and the J. Garscia National Quartet. While in her graduate studies, Competition in Stalowa Wola, 4th prize at the G. Ph. Telemann her quartet was invited by the Muir String Competition in Poznan, 1st distinction at the G. Bacewicz Quartet to participate in the Emerging Quartets and Composers Competition in Wroclaw and at the National Irena Dubiska Program, where she worked closely with composer Joan Competition of Violin Music Interpretations in Lodz. Some of Tower. After moving to San Francisco, while in school her quartet her other notable achievements include joining the Shanghai was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center, and later that year International Youth Orchestra for the concert tour in China in was a finalist for the Coleman Chamber Music Competition. She 2016, and being appointed concertmaster of the Cali Camerata, has studied chamber music under members of the Tokyo, Pacifica, a conductor-less string chamber orchestra, to lead the Brentano, Vermeer, Muir, Arianna, and Alexander String Quartets. ensemble in performance at the prestigious Weil Recital Hall in Natalie recently graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory Carnegie Hall in 2013. She received her Master of Music degree receiving an Artist Certificate in Chamber Music studying with Jean- in Violin Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Michel Fonteneau. She received her Master of Music degree at Music, an Artist Diploma and Performance Certificate at John J. Boston University under Marc Johnson, former cellist of the Cali School of Music at Montclair State University as well as a Vermeer Quartet and received a Bachelor of Music under Kurt Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and a Bachelor of Arts Baldwin and the Arianna Quartet at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. 13

Angela Kraft Cross, organ Recital: Solo Date & Time: Saturday March 2, 7:30 pm Instrumental Series Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

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, and Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Southwark Cathedral in London.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.

In October 2017, Viva la Musica performed her composition Exsultate Deo on their international tour to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and St. Petersburg, Russia. In July 2011, she was a featured recitalist at the San Francisco AGO Region IX Convention. She has released eight solo CD albums, recorded locally in California as well as in Paris, Lyon and London. Three of her organ albums have received critical acclaim in The American Organist magazine. Her most recent releases include a 2013 CD of her organ compositions entitled Sharing the Journey, recorded at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles and in December 2016, her new WIDOR chez Widor album, featuring Symphonies 4,5,6 and 7 on Widor’s hometown Cavaillé-Coll organ at St. François-de-Sales in Lyon, France.

Her organ recordings can be heard on Pipedreams with Michael Barone on American Public Media. She has served as the organist of the Congregational Church of San Mateo since 1993, and is currently the Artist in Residence. She is also a regular organ recitalist at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.

In addition to her musical career, Dr. Kraft Cross retired in 2011 having worked for 22 years as an ophthalmic surgeon at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Redwood City, and now volunteers as an ophthalmologist at Samaritan House in Redwood City. She is committed to the musical education of young people, and since 1997 has been instrumental in organizing an annual Organ Camp for young pianists headquartered at her church. Her student, Dominic Pang, won the western regional AGO/ Quimby competition and will perform at the national convention in Kansas City.

Dr. Kraft Cross is the founding director of the San Francisco Peninsula Organ Academy, a nonprofit organization formed in 2014 to support young concert organists with scholarships on short intensive overseas study trips. She also served as faculty and/or performed in Pipe Organ Encounters in San Francisco 2005, San Diego 2012, and Stanford 2013 and 2016. She is the Regional Coordinator for Education for the Western Region AGO and the President of the Junior Bach Festival in Berkeley. She is also a member of the Concert Artist Cooperative.

Clare Longendyke, piano Recital: Solo

Date & Time: Saturday March 30, 7:30 pm Instrumental Series Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Clare Longendyke is a passionate soloist and chamber musician recognized for her colorful musicality, technical fluency, and ability to interpret repertoires across the musical spectrum. She has performed solo and chamber music recitals across Europe and North America and has won 1st place prizes in the Philharmonic Society of Arlington’s Young Artist Competition, the Schubert Club of Minnesota’s Scholarship Competition, the National Society of Arts & Letters Instrumental Competition, and 2nd place in the SIYAO Instrumental Competition. She made her orchestral debut in 2012 performing Bartók’s 3rd Piano Concerto as the winner of the Indiana University Piano Concerto Competition and in 2017, she performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto in E minor with the Arlington Philharmonic Orchestra (Massachusetts) and Orlando Cela, conductor.

Clare has been a featured soloist in the Fazioli Piano Series (Los Angeles) and the Silvermine Artist Series (Connecticut), as well as in performances on American Public Media’s Performance Today. An active performer of new music, she has premiered over 50 new works since 2012. Clare is a founding member of the CT:2 Clarinet and Piano Duo, the Uproar Duo, the Longendyke/Wollman Viola and Piano Duo, and she is the pianist and Administrative Director of Calliope’s Call, a Boston- based art song performance group. Through her solo and ensemble work, she has worked with and performed the music of living composers Joan Tower, Frederic Rzewski, Tom Cipullo, and Joseph Schwantner, among others.

Clare has degrees from the Boston University College of Fine Arts, the École Normale de Musique (Paris, France), and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She teaches as a Lecturer of Music in Piano at Franklin College.

15 Cristobal Selamé, guitar Recital: Instrumental

Date & Time: Saturday April 27, 7:30 pm Piano Series Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Described as “inspired… every note comes straight from his heart” by Grammy-Award winning artist Sérgio Assad, Chilean guitarist Cristobal Selamé is the only undergraduate to ever win the prestigious Guitar Concerto Competition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Since then, Selamé has been invited to perform in prestigious guitar festivals, including the Mauro Biasini International Festival and Competition, where he performed the Giuliani Concerto op.30.

Of this performance, Classical Guitar Magazine said: “…Selamé appeared to have no trouble negotiating the speedy passages in the first and third movements, and handled the middle Andantino with great feeling and delicacy…”

A native of Santiago, Chile, Selamé first came to United States in 2012 on a short summer trip. During this trip he met Dr. Corey Whitehead, the guitar teacher at Cal Fresno, who described Salamé as “… the most talented 17-year-old classical guitarist I have met in 20 years.” He returned to the United States to pursue studies with legendary guitarist Sérgio Assad at the San Fransisco Conservatory of Music, where earned his Bachelor of Music Degree.

Selamé has participated in masterclasses with world-renowned guitarists such as David Russell, Marcin Dylla, Alvaro Pierri, Richard Savino, and Manuel Barrueco. Selamé has previously studied in his hometown, Santiago Chile, with Jaime Calisto at the Modern Music Institute, and with Luis Orlandini at the University of Chile. Selamé was recently accepted into the master’s program at the prestigious Academy of Music in Darmstadt, Germany under the instruction of the world-renowned musician and pedagogue Tilman Hoppstock.

When not playing guitar, Selamé enjoys backpacking through his native Chilé with friends, and exploring new places.

Robyn Carmichael, piano Recital: Solo

Date & Time: Saturday May 18, 7:30 pm Instrumental Series Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Carmichael’s distinctive style has defined her concerts in the U.S. and Europe. Her past season included West Coast concerts in Seattle, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, a radio interview on Berkeley’s KPFA-FM “Piano” program, and a CD release with music of Scarlatti, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, de Falla, Tchaikovsky, Bach-Alkan, and Rachmaninoff.

Her new 2018 season features East Coast and West Coast tours with all-Russian and all-Romantic recitals, including the virtuosic Tchaikovsky-Pletnev Nutcracker Suite, educational concerts with commentary for libraries and grassroots organizations, a unique Chopin project and a program honoring the 200th anniversary of the legendary choreographer Marius Petipa.

The life and works of the great Polish composer Chopin have always had a special significance for Carmichael because of her Polish/Scottish ancestry. She had a remarkable opportunity to connect more closely to Chopin and his historical impact on three tours of Poland and one of Scotland. One particular day of those tours stands out: Warsaw, October 17, 2005. Carmichael describes it as “one of the greatest events of my life.” She organized an historic pilgrimage to bring her friend Matthew B. Sydow back to Warsaw. Exactly 60 years earlier, at the end of WWII on October 17, 1945, the great Chopin historian Bronislaw Edward Sydow and his son Matthew Bogdan Sydow helped to return the urn containing Chopin’s heart back to its rightful place in the pillar of the Church of the Holy Cross where it remains today. On October 17, 2005, the church was packed with devotees, simultaneously honoring the anniversary of the death of Chopin, the 60th anniversary of the return of Chopin’s heart, and the mid-point proceedings of the renowned XV International Chopin Piano Competition. Matthew stood once again in front of the cherished pillar, completing the circle. “I will never forget this extraordinary moment that honored Matthew, his father, Poland and Chopin’s memory,” said Carmichael.

In the fall of 2006, Carmichael began a collaboration with Polish narrator and nephew of Bronislaw E. Sydow, Witold Kolankowski, presenting the life and music of Fryderyk Chopin in recital with readings in Polish/English from Chopin’s correspondence. In 2008-09, they took their Chopin presentation, “In Search of Chopin,” across the U.S. and to Glasgow, Scotland. The Glasgow performance at the Grand Concert Hall at City Halls commemorated 160 years since Chopin’s visit to Scotland in 1848.

In 2003, The International Fryderyk Chopin Society invited Carmichael to play at Ostrogski Palace in Warsaw and Chopin’s birthplace home, Zelazowa Wola. Upon entering that home, she said “I immediately sensed the incredibly unmistakable presence of Chopin’s welcoming spirit, throughout my visit and while I played my concert. It was an affirming and extraordinary feeling.” Carmichael also played premieres of a rare Liszt work entitled “Salve Polonia,” in Poland and the U.S. under the auspices of the Liszt Society of Poland and the Polish Arts and Culture Foundation.

Carmichael was born in Los Angeles to a musical family where music was a natural part of everyday life. Recordings of symphonic repertoire emanated from her sister’s small record player, and the sounds of piano, ballet music, opera, and choral singing wafted through the home of her childhood. Her piano studies began at age 6, guided by the steady and caring hand of her Mother. Carmichael made her solo recital debut at age 14, and developed a keen interest in all the arts – especially in ballet. Then, in the midst of her piano studies, she left to pursue a career in ballet for the next ten years. The rich influence of her teachers, many of whom were great Russian émigré artists from the Imperial Ballet School of St. Petersburg, has stayed with her to this day. As her dance career came to a close, Carmichael returned again to the piano and began working with renowned Polish pianist and pedagogue Adolph Baller, ultimately graduating from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She later added independent studies with acclaimed teachers John Perry and Igor Schochetman. In the intervening years, Carmichael’s own survival from cancer, and the years of 2011-2014, when she cared for her dear Mother with the same disease, significantly altered her life’s direction. Now she says, “through those experiences, my understanding of music has deepened, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share great music once again with my audiences.”

Carmichael has appeared at the Aspen Music Festival, the Grand Concert Hall at City Halls (Glasgow, Scotland), Ostrogski Palace Concert Hall (Warsaw, Poland), CAMI Hall in New York City, Denver Municipal Auditorium, the Salk Institute, Portland’s “Art for the Ears,” Chicago’s PianoForte Series, New York’s Ridotto Series, the Idyllwild Summer Music Festival, Radziejowice Palace (Poland), and many well- known Bay Area music series such as San Francisco’s Old First Church, Berkeley’s Trinity Chamber Concerts, Stanford University, San Francisco State University, the University of California at San Diego, and the University of California at Santa Cruz, the Flood Mansion in San Francisco, Foster City’s Winter Classical Concert Series the “Arts in the City” series and Pacifica Performances’ “Concerts by the Sea”. Past collaborations include lecture/recitals with renowned Polish musicologist, music critic and journalist Stanislaw Dybowski, a piano-duo ensemble with Mark Holland, a flute-piano ensemble called Duo Bravo with David Jackson, and pianist for operatic tenor Monti Sauermann (Salzburg Landestheater.) Carmichael was honored to have a composition, entitled “Summer Idyll” written for her by the late New York composer Meyer Kupferman.

17 David Jaronowski, organ Recital: Solo Instrumental Series Date & Time: Friday June 14, 7 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

David Jaronowski, M.M., CAGO, has served as director of music at the parish of Mary Queen of Peace for six years and as director of music and liturgy for the Congregation of St. Joseph for five years. Prior to that time, he was the director of music and organist at several area churches; He also spent two years in Kansas City, MO as the director of music at St. Peter’s Parish in Kansas City and as staff organist at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Mr. Jaronowski holds the Bachelor of Arts degree from Cleveland State University, where he studied organ with Nicole Keller and Dr. Margaret Scharf, voice with William Dempsey, and voice and choral conducting with Dr. Brian Bailey. Further studies were undertaken at the Oberlin Conservatory, studying organ with James David Christie and Mme. Marie-Louise Langlais, and studying harpsichord with Webb Wiggins. Mr. Jaronowski holds the Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was a student of Todd Wilson. While at the Cleveland Institute of Music, he also studied early music at Case Western Reserve University, studying harpsichord with Dr. Peter Bennett, singing in the Early Music Singers choral ensemble, and receiving a certificate in Early Music from the university. In addition to his responsibilities at Mary Queen of Peace and the Congregation of St. Joseph, Mr. Jaronowski also teaches at Notre Dame College, South Euclid, OH, as an instructor of choral studies. There he directs the Notre Dame Concert Choir and serves as organist during performing arts concerts.

Mr. Jaronowski is a member of the American Guild of Organists, from which he holds the Colleague certificate. He is also a member of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, from which he was awarded the association’s Nancy Bannister Academic Scholarship in 2013 and the LeMoyne College Scholarship in 2014. Mr. Jaronowski will begin pursuing his Doctor of Theology degree in Catholic Studies, with an emphasis on liturgical studies and liturgical music this summer at La Salle University in Philadelphia., Parry, Wood, and Young .

18 Mark Valenti, piano Recital: Solo

Date & Time: Saturday September 28, 7:30 pm Instrumental Series Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Mark Valenti received his Master of Music from Northwestern University, Bachelor of Music from the Philadelphia Musical Academy and has studied with such notable teachers as Benjamin Whitten, Zoltan Kocsis and Mary Sauer. In addition to giving solo recitals in cities throughout the U.S., Mr. Valenti has performed in France, Belgium, Hungary and Luxembourg as well as for former First Lady Barbara Bush in Washington, D.C.

Mark Valenti has performed recitals live on WFMT classical radio. He has also done extensive work in the Jazz field including performances with Gregory Hines, Frank Foster and Al Grey and has appeared on television with Joe Sudler’s Swing Machine and singer/actor Christopher Durham.

Formerly Professor of Music at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Xavier University in Chicago and the Loire Valley Music Institute in France, Mr. Valenti currently teaches at his studio in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago.

19 Susan Ellinger, piano Recital: Solo Instrumental Series Date & Time: Saturday October 19, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Having learned to read music and the alphabet at about the same time, playing classical music was as natural for her as reading a book, riding a bike or swimming in a creek. As a native growing up in Vermont, she balanced her time outside the house playing in the woods and inside the house practicing her Steinway piano.

Praised for her “refined, poised and singular” vision, pianist Susan Ellinger has performed extensively as both a soloist and chamber musician, presenting recitals at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium, Caramoor Music Center, Harvard University, Oberlin Conservatory, Tanglewood Music Festival, the Taos School of Music and many more. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Peabody Conservatory Orchestra, in regular concerts with The Chelsea Chamber Players in New York City, and as a featured soloist in a series of concerts with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra with conductor Marin Alsop. Susan Ellinger has won top prizes both as a soloist and chamber musician at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Manhattan School of Music and at age 13 was awarded the National Baldwin Junior Keyboard Achievement Award presenting solo recitals in Washington DC for the Music Teachers Association of America.

During the 2016-17 season Susan will present concerts surveying the keyboard repertoire of classicism and romanticism presenting the late sonatas of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven as well as works by Schubert, Chopin and Brahms. This series of concerts will illustrate the evolution of pianistic and compositional style in the 19th century, the golden age of modern keyboard composition and performance. A series of recordings based on the programs are planned for 2017 & 2018.

Ellinger officially joined the Blue Sage Center for the Arts located in Paonia, Colorado as Artistic Director in 2012 to create and direct a comprehensive concert series program. Since its inception, Ellinger has collaborated with visiting artists such as Darrett Adkins (cello), Bill Kalinkos (clarinet), Rachel Priday (violin) and Christina Jennings (flute), who have noted the ‘remarkable community’, ‘incredible quality of life’ and ‘sheer beauty’ of the region where the center is located. The Blue Sage Concert Series runs year-round and consistently performs to sold-out audiences. Over the years it has grown to encompass both classical and world music concerts as well as outreach activities into local public schools and master class workshops provided by visiting artists. Ellinger is committed to making music accessible to all and bringing music performance and education to young audiences.

A protégé of Julian Martin at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Ellinger went on to study with Leon Fleisher at Peabody Institute and Veda Kaplinsky at The Juilliard School. Susan is an alumnus of the Taos Festival School of Music where she studied with Robert McDonald.

20 Duo Papillon Barbara Ruzicka and Kumi Uyeda Piano Duo

Date & Time: Saturday March 16, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Barbara Ruzicka and Kumi Uyeda are in love with four-hand music–the communication, conversation, and bringing the entire keyboard to life in all its sonority—they have found much comradery–sometimes it can be lonely just being a solo pianist! Their collaboration began in 2000 with concerts at such venues as UCSC, Ohlone College, Berkeley Piano Club, All Saints’ Carmel, Monterey Center for Spiritual Living, Carmel Presbyterian and soirees for the Carmel Music Society. They enjoy playing a range of styles and repertoire- from the profundity of the Schubert Fantasie to the emotional heart-on-the sleeve Brahms’ dances, discovering new gems and transcriptions and are in the process of having an original four- hand piece written for them.

Barbara Ruzicka Barbara Ruzicka, a Toronto, Canada native studied in the bay area with Francisco de Hoyos, Pablo Iturrioz, and most extensively and significantly with the esteemed Hungarian pianist, Sari Biro. As well as her solo performances in various venues, she joined forces with Kumiko Uyeda in their collaborative and joyful experiences with four-hand music and are known for their vivid and spirited performances. Barbara has maintained a private teaching studio in Carmel with a coterie of award winning students. She is very involved in Carmel’s vibrant music community, the Carmel Music Society, and the Young Artists Showcase of the Carmel Bach Festival.

Kumiko Uyeda Kumiko enjoys performing in various genres, including western art music, jazz-fusion, and collaborating with poets and musicians performing traditional world instruments. Kumiko is an adjunct faculty at the University of San Francisco, where she teaches world music courses and piano. She received her Ph.D. in cultural musicology from UCSC, and her M.M. degree in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City where she actively pursued contemporary music, and studied piano with Zenon Fishbein and Edna Golandsky. Kumiko performs with Duo Papillon (four-hand piano duo) and the Bridge Piano Quartet.

21 A & R Duo Arianna Körting and Robin Giesbrecht Piano Duo

Date & Time: Saturday August 24, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Arianna Körting, has performed throughout the world in solo recital and with orchestra, in radio and television. She was one of eighteen recipients nationwide under the age of 18 to have been selected as a 2011 Davidson Fellow by the Davidson Institute for Talent Development. Recognized by the United States Senate, her achievements were entered into the Congressional Record on October 6, 2011. Premier awards include: First Prizes in the Fifth Julia Crane International Piano Competition, the 2007 Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition, the CIPC Young Artists Competition, the David D. Dubois Piano Competition and in the Duquesne Young Artists National Piano Competition. Arianna’s numerous performances include: The National Anthem for the Cleveland Indians Home Opener at Progressive Field, The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Christopher Wilkins, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall in NYC, broadcasts of NPR’s From the Top in Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory in Boston and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Pianofest in the Hamptons, King’s College School in Cambridge, England, the Canadian Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic, St. Cecilia’s Hall in Manila, Philippines the Beijing Music Festival and Academy in Beijing, China and the Fontainebleau Schools in Fontainebleau, France.

Ms. Körting, a Young Steinway Artist, is currently in the highly selective Accelerated B.M./M.M. Program at The Juilliard School under the guidance of Jerome Lowenthal and Hung-Kuan Chen. Arianna began piano studies at the age of three with Tanya Groys-Kapinos and was the Valedictorian for the 2012 graduating class of the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Preparatory Division, where she studied with Gerardo Teissonniere. She has performed in master class for Imogen Cooper, Pavlina Dokovska, Richard Goode, Bao Huiqiao, Joela Jones, David Owen-Norris, Roberto Plano, Peter Takacs, Paul Wirth, and in Paul Schenly’s Pianofest, as one of the youngest pianists to appear in the series’ history. She was a member of the Junior Jury in the 2009 and 2011 editions of The Cleveland International Piano Competition. An award-winning and avid chamber musician, she was named one of the 2009-2010 Rembrandt Young Artists at the Rembrandt Chamber Players High School Chamber Music Competition in Chicago, semi-finalist at the 2012 Fischoff National Chamber Competition and received the Live From Lincoln Center “Outstanding Student Performance Award”.

Praised for his “stunning bravura and seemingly unlimited virtuosity” (Epoch Times) and “nimbleness at the keys” (Cologne- City News), pianist Robin Giesbrecht has been celebrated internationally with a career reaching mature artistry. Since winning the International Grotrian-Steinweg Competition at age seven and the NDR Arts Prize subsequently, Mr. Giesbrecht has enjoyed performances with in recitals and as a soloist with orchestras throughout Europe, North America and Asia, including debuts with the NDR Radio Philharmonic and the Southwest German Philharmonic.

Robin Giesbrecht’s recital performances include critically-acclaimed debuts at the Hamburg Philharmonic Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weil Recital Hall, and in 2015, he gave a performance of his own piano concerto at Lincoln Center. His chamber music collaborations include performances with the famed Szymanowski Quartet. He has performed at music festivals such as the Music Academy of the West, Oxford Philharmonic Piano Festival, Piano Texas, Menuhin Festival in Gstaad and Sommerakademie Mozarteum Salzburg.

An internationally renowned pianist from a young age as a prizewinner at the Rotary International Competition in Essen and National Junior Competition of Germany, Mr. Giesbrecht became a student of famed pedagogue Karl-Heinz Kämmerling at the age of 8. In 2006, the Austrian TV channel ORF filmed in honor of Mozart’s anniversary a movie in which Mr. Giesbrecht, dressed as Mozart, performed on Mozart’s original pianoforte in Salzburg, an event that was broadcasted worldwide. In 2008, the German TV channel WDR made a documentary about the life of the young pianist. Robin Giesbrecht was awarded the Vladimir Horowitz scholarship at the Juilliard School as a student of Jerome Lowenthal and Joseph Kalichstein, where he received his undergraduate degree. He is currently a student at the Yale School of Music, where he studies with Peter Frankl.

22 Laura Klein, jazz pianist & composer Recital: Jazz Solo

Date & Time: Saturday March 23, 7:30 pm Instrumental Series Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Laura Klein was born in New York City and started attending the Manhattan School of Music’s preparatory school at age seven. She majored in music at SUNY Buffalo, studying with master pianists Ruslana Antonowicz, Leo Smit, and Yvar Mikashoff. After receiving her degree, she attended Berklee School of Music where she studied jazz performance, composition and arranging with Mick Goodrick, John La Porta, Phil Wilson, and others. She was hired by the great drummer Joe Hunt to be in his trio, and while living in Boston, played with Bob Mover, Ron Horton, Jamie Baum, Frank London, George Schuller, Ken Filliano, Ira Cole-man, and many of the other musicians on the Boston scene at that time. While at Berklee she met her future husband and musical partner, guitarist/composer/ arranger Tony Corman, and two other musicians that she would perform and record with over the next three decades: reeds player Dave Tidball, and drummer Alan Hall. She also began a long musical collaboration with vibra-phonist Ted Wolff, whose mentor, the great Gary Burton, brought him onto the Berklee faculty.

Upon relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1984, Laura performed with John Dankworth and the SF Symphony, with the Rudi Salvini Big Band (with luminaries Allen Smith and Johnny Coles), and in the Benny Barth trio. She and her husband formed the group Tricer-atops, which appeared at Yoshi’s, Kimball’s, Jazz on the Hill, SF Performances, and numer-ous festivals. Band members included Jim Zimmerman, Dean Reilly, Jeff Cressman, Dave Eshelman, Clark Gayton, Jules Rowell, and other top Bay Area musicians.

Since then, Laura has led a busy free-lance performing life, sharing the stage with many Bay Area musicians including Clairdee, Jason Lewis, Jackie Ryan, Nicolas Bearde, Ed Reed, Noel Jewkes, Alan Hall, Bob Kenmotsu, Leon Joyce, Jr., John Santos, Mary Fettig, Marcus Shelby, and countless others. She has performed with big bands including the Morchestra, the CSM Band, and the Montclair Women’s Big Band. She has appeared at SF Jazz with her own trio, as well as with Steve McQuarry’s Tribute to Carla Bley, and the Destiny Muhammad Project.

She and Tony Corman are co-leaders of FivePlay Jazz Quintet, for which they compose original music. FivePlay’s members include Dave Tidball and bassist Paul Smith. FivePlay has three CDs, all of which have received national and international airplay. Guest artists with FivePlay include the late Eddie Marshall, Ron Horton, and Celia Malheiros. The group has performed widely in the Bay Area, including Yoshi’s, the California Jazz Conservatory, Vallejo Jazz, Piedmont Piano, Red Poppy Art House, and the Sound Room, done two live concert broad-casts on KPFA-FM, and been featured twice on Jim Bennett’s “In The Moment” on KCSM-FM. FivePlay’s performance of Laura’s composition, “Glow In the Dark”, was featured on the soundtrack of the documentary, “The Grant Green Story”. Laura’s recordings include: FivePlay Jazz Quintet, Five of Hearts, Five and More, Cerulean Blue (with Ted Wolff), Triceratops, and Jenny Ferris’ Day In, Day Out.

Jim Bennett produced and recorded a concert of Laura’s compositions, performed by Laura Klein, Jason Lewis and Jeff Neighbor, which was broadcast on KCSM-FM’s “In the Moment” series. Laura is an Associate Professor of the Alexander Technique at the California Jazz Conservatory.

23 Cuarteto Puentes Jazz / Tagno Date & Time: Saturday May 4, 7:30 p.m. Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Formed in 2015 by four Bay Area dancers/musicians, Cuarteto Puentes is dedicated to performing Argentine Tango music for dancers and audiences of all kinds. They have studied at Reed Tango Music Institute, Stowe Tango Music Festival, and with top tango musicians including Ignacio Varchausky, Ramiro Gallo, Hernan Posetti, Hector del Curto, Pablo Estigarribia, Emilio Solla, Adam Tully, and Ville Hiltula. The quartet appreciates the opportunities they have had for outstanding collaborations with exceptional artists at a number of unique venues. Their enthusiasm for playing danceable tango standards as well as more modern arrangements keeps them inspired with practicing, studying, and arranging. Cuarteto Puentes has appeared at many milongas (Argentine Tango dance parties) throughout the Bay Area and were featured in “live music only” tango festivals in Albuquerque, NM, and Green Valley, AZ.

24 Amy Stephens, piano Recital: Jazz Solo Instrumental Series Date & Time: Saturday July 13, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Pianist, composer and bandleader Amy Stephens loves jazz and classical piano and is well- versed in both realms, performing and recording extensively for the past 18 years. She is particularly fond of Third Stream music, the fusion of classical form with jazz style and sensibilities. Her newest album, Becoming (2018), showcases Amy performing new Third Stream works for solo piano written by herself and others.

Amy has fronted her own jazz quartet, the Amy Stephens Group (ASG), since 1998. The three quartet’s albums of Amy’s original jazz compositions—My Many Moods (2005), Gold Through Fire (2001), and Amy Stephens Group (1998)–have earned acclaim and steady airplay on jazz radio around the U.S. and internet jazz radio around the world.

Amy has been privileged to study under renowned jazz educator and composer David N. Baker and pianists Lynne Arriale, Marius ‘Butch’ Nordal, Luke Gillespie and Evelyne Brancart. A graduate of Indiana University’s world-renowned School of Music, Amy earned two Bachelor degrees and a Master degree in classical and jazz piano, as well as the coveted Performer’s Certificate.

She enjoys playing contemporary worship music and has served as music director and pianist for many churches in the Midwest, Northwest, and the Bay Area. She currently lives in coastal California with her husband and three sons, writing music, performing, and teaching in her piano studio. She is also an avid swimmer and has fun growing and photographing orchids.

25 Ramana Vieira A Journey to the World of Portuguese Fado World Music

Date & Time: Saturday February 9, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Journey to the world of Portuguese Fado as interpreted by Ramana Vieira, a northern California native of Portuguese descent. Vieira’s parents immigrated to the United States from Portugal, where her grandfather was a well-known musician and composer from Madeira Island.

Vieira’s work captures traditional Fado and influences from the Portuguese diaspora in a musical tapestry that ranges from the whispering, haunting ballads of Fado, to American classics and jazzy blues. She also is a proficient pianist and a gifted songwriter having penned and composed her own original Fados, of which several have been nominated at the International Portuguese Music Awards.

The New York Times has recognized Vieira as an American at the forefront of the Fado resurgence. “The conservatory-trained singer Ramana Vieira adds a New Age sensibility and instrumentation of the music…” – New York Times

Vieira has been described by Mundo Portugues newspaper as the “New Voice of Portuguese World Music.” Her original composition, “Unido Para Amar,” was played at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Recently, United States Congressman Jim Costa expressly invited Vieira to perform for the President of the Regional Government of the Azores, Portugal. Vieira has also headlined the largest Portuguese festivals in the world. She has received multiple International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA) nominations for her original compositions.

Vieira grew up listening to American pop, alongside Portuguese folk music and Fado. “During my childhood, I sang with my mother to Amália Rodrigues and other famous Fadistas (or Fado musicians) that were part of mom’s special record collection,” says Vieira. It was apparent at an early age that Vieira possessed exceptional musical talent. She studied at the prestigious American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco under the influence of Faith Winthrop. But a spontaneous trip to Portugal shifted her professional vision and catalyzed an exploration deep into the world of Fado.

In Portugal, Vieira connected with her roots and found that Fado ignited her spirit and set her soul aflame. She began to study intensively with local Fadistas and began to perform at venues singing Fado during her stay in Portugal. She was loved by her fans in her homeland; her authentic and individual style was refreshing and well-received.

What is Fado? Fado is the most widely recognized genre of Portuguese music, dating back to 19th century. The word Fado literally means destiny or fate. Musically, Fado is characterized by poetic lyrics related to the darker elements of love, loss, redemption, and occasionally humor–as heard on her original composition “A Fadista” from her Fado da Vida album. Fado contains Moorish musical roots and must follow a specific musical structure. Its eruptive ballads evoke the emotion of saudade–a yearning for something lost. During a grievous time and turbulent era in Portuguese history, Fado was popularized as it served as a means of cathartic lamentation for the mourning and sorrowful.

26 John Smalley (baritone) Janis Mercer (piano) Recital: Vocal Music A concert of music by Czech and Russian composers

Date & Time: Saturday January 26, 7:30 p.m. Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

John Smalley, baritone, is a native of San Francisco. He received his B.A. in Classics from Santa Clara University and holds an M.A. and M.Phil. in Historical Musicology from Columbia University in New York, where he taught for six years. He has lectured and performed as soloist throughout the Bay Area, including Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, numerous Bach cantatas, and Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together. He was awarded a prestigious 2009 Shenson Performing Arts Fellowship.

In 2009 and 2015 he premiered Fred Adler’s Lorca Songs, Celan Trilogy, and Joyce Songs. In 2014-2016 he starred in David Cox’s three-part Rocket Opera. With Janis Mercer, John Smalley has given recitals featuring the music of Russian and Armenian composers, as well as the music of 20th-century composers Hanns Eisler, John Cage, and György Kurtág.

Janis Mercer is an American composer/pianist living in San Francisco. Her musical activities as composer, and pianist are closely interwoven. Her compositions range in size from 8-piece chamber ensemble to digitally realized fixed electronics; utilize timbres from voice to drum set; and employ styles from 12-tone technique to structured improvisation, microtonality to field recordings. Ms. Mercer holds artist residencies at Villa Montalvo Center for the Arts, Ragdale, Centrum, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, and Hypatia-in-the-Woods.

As a pianist, Ms. Mercer has a keen interest in the music of the Second Viennese School but also performs music by living composers and commissions solo and chamber works. She has performed music by such diverse composers as Anthony Braxton, Anton Webern, Bela Bartók, Brian Belét, Pablo Furman, Paul Rudy and Sever Tipei, and has commissioned works from Zack Browning, Erik Lund, and Jim McManus, among others.

27 Nicole Takesono, mezzo-soprano Kevin Korth, piano Recital: Vocal Music

Date & Time: Saturday February 16, 4 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Originally from Hawaii, mezzo-soprano Nicole Takesono has been praised for her sweet, warm voice and dedication to character. Ms. Takesono has performed principal roles with San Francisco Opera, Opera San Jose, West Edge Opera, Festival Opera, West Bay Opera, among others. Roles performed include Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Dido in Dido and Æneas, The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Second Shining One and Madam Wanton in A Pilgrim’s Progress, Mercedes in Carmen, Flora and Annina in La Traviata, Siébel in Faust, and Hansel in Hansel and Gretel. Ms. Takesono sings with the San Francisco Opera Chorus, San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Cappella SF and studies with Deborah Benedict.

As an in-demand recitalist and coach, pianist Kevin Korth has collaborated with such legendary and esteemed artists as Robert Mann, Axel Strauss, Joel Krosnick, Frederica von Stade, Suzanne Mentzer, Nadine Sierra, Lise Lindstrom, Kristen Clayton, and Brian Asawa. Last fall brought the release of his debut album, Out of the Shadows, a recording of American art song with soprano Lisa Delan and cellist Matt Haimovitz on the Pentatone Classics label. Very warmly received, Gramophone praised Mr. Korth’s work as “superb,” and “full of color and character.” Reflecting his demand as an interpreter of contemporary work, the album features premieres by Jack Perla, Gordon Getty, and David Garner, in addition to previously unrecorded works by Norman Dello Joio, Paul Nardoff, and John Kander. Since graduating from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s renowned Chamber Music program, he has held a position at the Conservatory as both collaborative pianist and vocal coach.

Program

Hector Berlioz Les nuits d’ete Enrique Granados La maja dolorosa Leonard Bernstein I hate music!

28 San Francisco Girls Chorus Choral Music

Date & Time: Friday April 26, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

Founded in 1978, the San Francisco Girls Chorus is a leading voice in music in the Bay Area and across the nation. Led by Artistic Director Lisa Bielawa and Music Director and Principal Conductor Valérie Sainte-Agathe, the Girls Chorus produces and collab•orates in concerts, recordings and tours that empower young women, expand the field of music for treble voice, and set the standard for the highest level of performance and education. Hundreds of singers ages 5-18 from over 45 Bay Area cities participate in this program, which has won honors including 3 ASCAP awards for Adventurous Programming and five Grammy awards.

The Chorus School offers a program of unparalleled excellence, designed to take young girls from their first introduction to the art of choral singing through advanced choral/vocal instruction. This comprehensive music education includes the study and development of choral artistry, vocal technique, music theory, music history, and performing style. The discipline, teamwork, and concentration young girls learn in the Chorus School rehearsals and performances instill in them the values necessary for high achievement in music and in life.

The Chorus School Level III is an ensemble of approximately 50 girls ages 8-13, which performs music for holiday events, festivals, dinners, luncheons, auctions, and other events.

Luçik Aprahämian, Level III Director Luçik Aprahämian’s versatility as a conductor places her equally at home in front of an orchestra, vocal ensemble, and the opera stage. With roots in the San Francisco Bay Area and Arizona, she has worked with groups of all ages and skill levels. Aprahämian is an avid exponent of new music and has commissioned and premiered works for a variety of performing forces. She also has a great passion for opera and was the co-artistic director of Southern Arizona Opera as well as assistant conductor and chorus-master for various professional opera companies in the Bay Area, including Opera Parallèle and Bayshore Lyric Opera. Aprahämian has held various faculty positions in California and Arizona, and currently serves as the music director at First Lutheran Church of Palo Alto. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and her doctorate in conducting from The University of Arizona.

29 Passions and Lamentations Choral Music San Francisco Renaissance Voices

Date & Time: Sunday April 28, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: TBD

Program Fr. Manuel Cardoso’s Requiem Allegri’s Miserere

San Francisco Renaissance Voices made their debut in 2004 with a “standing room only” performance of Victoria’s Requiem and quickly became a favorite of San Francisco Bay Area Early Music audiences. SFRV has consistently earned praise for their “gossamer sound … a sound something akin to spiritual levitation” as well as recognition for their imaginative programming and christened the Bay Area’s “hipper than thou” Early Music ensemble by San Francisco Classical Voice and in 2010 SFWeekly chose SFRV as the “Best Classical Music” for their Best of San Francisco edition. SFRV is the San Francisco Bay Area’s professional mixed-voice ensemble dedicated to performing and exploring the a cappella choral music of the Renaissance particularly lesser-known and rarely-performed works, as well as exploring music from this period outside of the traditional European canon.

SFRV’s Opera Early & Ancient San Francisco mini-series seeks to present to audiences operatic and related works from the Medieval through Baroque periods and has included such works as the “technicolor” production of Hildegard von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum (“Hildegard’s little-performed musical mantra rang out anew” – Los Angeles Times) and the west coast premiere of William Boyce’s Solomon (“The performance was often exciting and even eye-opening … a performance other groups struggle to achieve on record” – San Francisco Classical Voice).

30 Manila Galleon Music Choral Music Florante Aguilar, classical guitar San Francisco Renaissance Voices

Date & Time: Saturday August 10, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: TBD

Program The Renaissance in the Philippines and outside of Europe.

What a delight to be joined once again by Florante Aguilar, internationally-renowned guitarist, composer and documentary film-maker! Mr. Aguilar performed frequently with us during our first year of our original Polyphony Project and we can’t wait to have him back. He is a recognized expert on the music of Harana, Philippine music inspired by the music of the Spanish Renaissance and produced the critically-acclaimed documentary, “Harana, the Movie.” San Francisco Renaissance Dancers will perform dances of the period and our singers will perform Mexican Polyphony and music of the Aztecs and Incas.

Florante Aguilar, guitar Florante Aguilar is one the leading figures championing Philippine music art forms in the US and international markets today. He advances and popularizes Philippine music through the medium of film, recordings and live performances. His arrangements and compositions successfully craft the right balance between respect and redefinition of a tradition.

Born in Manila, Aguilar grew up in Cavite province where he learned to play the octavina in a rondalla group. By 16 he was enrolled at the University of the Philippines College of Music where he was trained as a classical musician. He later moved to New York under scholarship to study at the Manhattan School of Music. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree at the San Francisco Conservatory for Music. As a composer, Aguilar uses strong Philippine motifs in a modern context. His constant search for a tradition-based contemporary Filipino sound led him to champion harana music – songs used in the now-vanished Filipino courtship ritual of serenading, and the subject of the award-winning 2012 documentary, Harana: The Search for the Lost Art of Serenade, which he wrote and produced with his wife and partner, Fides Enriquez. Aguilar has released several CD albums under the private label New Art Media.

Aguilar is a recipient of Gerbode Composition Awards (2016), National Endowment for the Arts (2014), San Francisco Arts Commission (2009), and San Francisco Foundation (2010). Florante currently performs with and composes for his ensemble Fandangueros with Chus Alonso (flute & laud), Sage Baggott (percussion) and Greg Kehret (double bass).

31 Holiday Concert Choral Music San Francisco Boys Chorus

Date & Time: December TBD Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students

The San Francisco Boys Chorus (SFBC) is comprised of the Grammy award-winning Concert Chorus, the Graduate Chorale, the Hand Bell Program and the four-level Chorus School, which includes the Preparatory Chorus.

The CONCERT CHORUS is the SFBC’s premiere performing ensemble and is comprised of choristers who exhibit vocal excellence, performance flair, and exceptional musicianship skills. Led by Artistic Director, Ian Robertson, the committed Concert Chorus members, ages 10 to 13, present a full concert series in the San Francisco Bay Area, tour nationally and internationally, record often and appear annually with renowned artistic partners, such as the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet, the Robert Moses Kin Dance Company and other Bay Area arts organizations such as George Cleve's Midsummer Mozart Festival and Stanford Live.

The Concert Chorus is the level to which Chorus School singers aspire. Under the guidance of our Associate Artistic Director, the San Francisco Boys Chorus faculty team train youngsters through four CHORUS SCHOOL levels, beginning as early as kindergarten in the Preparatory Chorus (Level I) and up through the Junior (Level II), Apprentice (Level III), and in time to the Intermediate Choruses. (Level IV).

32 Festival of Lessons and Carols Choral Music San Francisco Renaissance Voices

Date & Time: December TBD Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: Free. Reception follows.

Celebrate the joys of Christmas at our annual Festival of Lessons and Carols with our artists-in-residence, the ‘San Francisco Renaissance Voices’. The service follows the traditional Festival of Lessons and Carols made famous by the Christmas Eve service held in annually at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, England. The Festival of Lessons and Carols is a service of Christian worship celebrating the birth of Jesus. The story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus is told in nine short Bible readings from Genesis, the prophetic books and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns and choir music.

San Francisco Renaissance Voices made their debut in 2004 with a "standing room only" performance of Victoria's Requiem and quickly became a favorite of San Francisco Bay Area Early Music audiences.

SFRV has consistently earned praise for their "gossamer sound ... a sound something akin to spiritual levitation" as well as recognition for their imaginative programming and christened the Bay Area's "hipper than thou" Early Music ensemble by San Francisco Classical Voice and in 2010 SFWeekly chose SFRV as the "Best Classical Music" for their Best of San Francisco edition. SFRV is the San Francisco Bay Area's professional mixed-voice ensemble dedicated to performing and exploring the a cappella choral music of the Renaissance particularly lesser-known and rarely-performed works, as well as exploring music from this period outside of the traditional European canon.

SFRV's Opera Early & Ancient San Francisco mini-series seeks to present to audiences operatic and related works from the Medieval through Baroque periods and has included such works as the "technicolor" production of Hildegard von Bingen's Ordo Virtutum ("Hildegard's little-performed musical mantra rang out anew" - Los Angeles Times) and the west coast premiere of William Boyce's Solomon ("The performance was often exciting and even eye-opening ... a performance other groups struggle to achieve on record" - San Francisco Classical Voice).

33 Bellini’s Norma Opera Bay Shore Lyric Opera

Date & Time: Saturday August 21, 7:30 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $25 General, $20 Seniors/Students

Bay Shore Lyric Opera present’s Bellini’s tragic opera, Norma. Written by Romantic-era Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini in the spring of 1831 and premiering at La Scala in Milan in December of that year, “Norma” is a tragedy in two acts that take place in 50 B.C. Gaul. The druid priestess, Norma, has had an illicit affair with Pollione, an officer in the forces occupying her land, and has had two children by him. Pollione has now tired of Norma and taken up with the younger priestess Adalgisa. Meanwhile, Norma’s people cry out for rebellion against the occupying forces. Will Norma take revenge on Pollione, and will her people discover her secret? The opera features Bellini’s signature long melodies and is considered a masterpiece of the bel canto genre, which is defined by a highly expressive style of singing.

Bay Shore Lyric Opera Company was founded in 1996 by a group of passionate musicians and singers who had the desire to bring opera to all ages and all communities, and to educate and entertain them with the strongest commitment to quality. It has produced over forty operas on a grand scale at the Villa Montalvo Carriage House, Fox Theater in Redwood City, San Mateo Performing Arts Center, the Capitola Theater, and the Mountain Winery.

Bay Shore Lyric Opera Company is unique in that it offers a wide variety of production venues for any event and educational tools as well. Its resident artists are available for hire for school outreach programs, company conventions, weddings, and other events.

34 Annual Opera Gala & Fundraiser Opera Gala

Date & Time: TBD August/September 2019 Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: $30 General, $25 Seniors, $20 Students Free Gala Reception after the concert

Sunset Music & Arts, invites you to celebrate its fifth anniversary in a gala concert featuring soloists from the San Francisco Opera Chorus, The program will include favorites from opera and Broadway shows. Please consider making a donation to celebrate this special occasion. All donations are fully tax deductible. Donations received by July 31, 2019 will be listed in our program booklet. Suggested donation levels:

Friend: $1 – $99 Supporter: $100 – $249 Benefactor: $250 – $499 Patron: $500 or above

All donations are fully tax deductible. Please make checks payable to Incarnation Episcopal Church and mail it to: Incarnation Episcopal Church 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122.

Please call 415-564-2324 or visit our website http://sunsetarts.wordpress.com for details as they are finalized and announced.

Community Music Recitals, Workshops, and Social Events

36 Phoenix Performance Symposium Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute Young Artists Series Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: Free admission

 Recital #1: January TBD, 7:30 p.m.

 Recital #2: April TBD, 7:30 p.m.

 Recital #3: April TBD, 7:30 p.m.

 Recital #4: May TBD, 7:30 p.m. Accompanists, Charles Calhoun, SFCM, Margaret Halbig, SFCM, Alex Katsman, SFCM, with Maestro Matthias Kuntzsch

PHOENIX RECITAL SYMPOSIUM of SAN FRANCISCO Presented by the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute YEAR – LONG PROGRAM for YOUNG SINGERS October 2018- June 2019 Professor Sylvia Anderson, General and Artistic Director

• Master Classes by Professors of the SF Conservatory Patricia Craig, Lyric Soprano, Sylvia Anderson, Mezzo and Dramatic Soprano • Dramatic Training by David Ostwald, International Stage Director Alexander Technique by – Robert Britton, SFCM • Lectures and practical aspects of singing with conductor and orchestra International Opera and Concert Conductor, Prof. Matthias Kuntzsch • Accompanists – Timothy Bach, SFCM, Charles Calhoun, SFCM, Margaret Halbig, SFCM, Alex Katsman, SFCM

For more information visit www.basoti.net.

37 Ajay Mallya, violin Dmitriy Cogan, piano Young Artists Series

Date & Time: Saturday June 15, 5 pm Venue: 1750 29th Avenue, San Francisco Tickets: Free. Donations Requested

Ajay Mallya started learning violin at age 3 and is currently a student of Zhao Wei of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has won local, state, and international violin competitions and awards, and made his Carnegie Hall debut at age 12 with the Carnegie Honors Orchestra of North America. Subsequently, he was chosen to perform a recital in Carnegie Hall at age 13. Ajay is currently a member of the California Youth Symphony. He also enjoys chamber music at the California Music Preparatory Academy and has performed at the California Summer Music festival and the Summit Music Festival. In 2017, Ajay will be traveling to India to perform a recital at the National Center for Performing Arts, and in 2018, he will be traveling with CYS orchestra to Russia and Eastern Europe to perform at such venues as the Shostakovich St. Petersburg Philharmonia.

Dmitriy Cogan began music studies at the age of six at the Central Music School before moving to the U.S. and settling in San Francisco in 1974. He studied conducting at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and continued piano studies with Vladimir Pleshakov and Maria Cysic. In 1979, he moved to New York to study with Martin Canin at the Juilliard School, where he received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. Mr. Cogan has performed publicly since age nine in Moscow. His American debut was in 1975 with the Peninsula Symphony in San Mateo, California. In 1981-1983, he was a prizewinner in competitions in New York, Cincinnati and Cleveland. In 1988, Mr. Cogan gave his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall to favorable reviews and has since appeared in recitals throughout the Northeast and California. He has also toured in France and in Russia twice and was a laureate of the 1990 Jose Iturbi International Piano competition in Valencia, Spain. Since 1985, he has performed throughout North America and Asia with violinist Alexander Markov; their first CD was released worldwide on the Erato label. In recent years, Mr. Cogan has often performed with violinist Philip Quint throughout California. His recordings with the Chamber Music Society of Sacramento and with clarinetist Patricia Shands have also been recently released. Mr. Cogan is a staff accompanist at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and teaches piano privately in the Bay Area.

RECITAL—INSTRUMENTAL SERIES Robyn Carmichael (piano) (Page 17)

Saturday May 18, 7:30 p.m. Angela Cross (organ) (Page 14) Saturday March 2, 7:30 p.m. David Jaronowski (organ) (Page 18) Friday June 14, 7 p.m. Duo Papillon (piano 4-hands) (Page 21) Saturday March 16, 7:30 p.m. A&R Duo (piano 4-hands) (Page 22) Saturday August 24, 7:30 p.m.

Clare Longendyke (piano) (Page 15)

Saturday March 30, 7:30 p.m. Mark Valenti (piano) (Page 19) Saturday September 28, 7:30 p.m. Cristobal Selamé (guitar) (Page 16) Saturday April 27, 7:30 p.m. Susan Ellinger (piano) (Page 20) Saturday October 19, 7:30 p.m.

CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES Ensemble Illume Saturday April 13, 7:30 p.m. (Page 10) Ben Capps & Vassily Primakov (Page 5) Brahms, Saariaho Friday January 11, 7:30 p.m. Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Cassadó , Shostakovich Trio Terme Saturday May 11, 7:30 p.m. (Page 11)

Liaison Ensemble (Page 6) Saturday January 19, 7:30 p.m. Trio Foss

Strozzi, Caccini, Koh, Chen, Barwick, Logan Saturday June 8, 7:30 p.m. (Page 12)

San Francisco—Munich Trio Curium Piano Trio Saturday February 23, 7:30 p.m. (Page 7) Saturday October 5, 7:30 p.m. (Page 13)

Trio 180 (Page 8) Ajay Mallya (violin) and Dmitriy Cogan (piano) Sunday March 3, 7 p.m. Saturday June 15, 5 p.m. (Page 38) Ysaÿe, Franck, Bach, Mozart, Saint-Saëns Circadian String Quartet Free Admission Saturday April 6, 7:30 p.m. (Page 9)

JAZZ/WORLD MUSIC SERIES Cuarteto Puentes (Page 24) Saturday May 4, 7:30 p.m. Ramana Vieira (Page 26) Saturday February 9, 7:30 p.m. Amy Stephens (Page 25) A Journey to the World of Portuguese Fado Saturday July 13, 7:30 p.m.

Laura Klein—Jazz pianist & composer (Page 25) Saturday March 23, 7:30 p.m.

39 VOCAL SERIES Phoenix Recital Symposium (Page 37) TBD, 7:30 p.m. John Smalley (baritone) (Page 27) Free Admission Janis Mercer (piano) Saturday January 26, 7:30 p.m. Phoenix Recital Symposium (Page 37) TBD, 7:30 p.m. Nicole Takesono (mezzo-soprano) (Page 28) Free Admission Saturday February 16, 4 p.m. Phoenix Recital Symposium (Page 37) Phoenix Recital Symposium (Page 37) TBD 7:30 p.m. TBD, 7:30 p.m. Free Admission Free Admission

CHORAL / OPERA SERIES Annual Gala & Reception Artists from the San Francisco Opera Chorus San Francisco Girls Chorus (Level III) August /September 2019 (Page 35) in concert (Page 29) $30 General, $25 Seniors, $20 Studetns Friday April 26, 7:30 p.m. Bellini’s Norma (Page 34) Passion and Lamentations (Page 30) Bay Shore Lyric Opera San Francisco Renaissance Voices Saturday August 21, 7:30 p.m. Saturday April 28, 7:30 p.m. $25 General, $20 Seniors/Students Fr. Manuel Cardoso’s Requiem and Allegri’s Miserere Ticket Costs: TBD Holiday Concert with (Page 32) San Francisco Boys Chorus Manila Galleon Music (Page 31) December 2018 San Francisco Renaissance Voices Saturday August 10, 7:30 p.m. The Renaissance in Festival of Lessons and Carols (Page 33) the Philippines and outside of Europe. San Francisco Renaissance Voices Ticket Costs: TBD December 2018

All Tickets $20 General, $15 Seniors/Students unless noted.

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INCARNATION EPISCOPAL CHURCH 1750 29TH AVENUE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122 WEB: www.incarnationsf.org EMAIL: [email protected]

SUNSET MUSIC & ARTS 1750 29TH AVENUE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122 WEB: sunsetarts.wordpress.com EMAIL: [email protected]

TELEPHONE: (415) 564-2324

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