Award-winning Israeli violinist and recording artist Boris Abramov comes to NEPACMS to dazzle audiences with his “outstanding technical accomplishment and exceptional musical talent” (Fanfare Magazine). His exceptional sound paired with his electrifying presence and technical ease will not disappoint!
Date: SATURDAY, March 9, 2019
Time: 8:00 PM
Place: St. Stephen’s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral, 35 S Franklin St, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
ststephenswb.org
Program:
- W.A. Mozart String Duo No. 1 in G Major for Violin and Viola, K. 423
- Alessandro Rolla Little Duos for Violin and Viola, Op. 13, No. 3
- Sergei Prokofiev Sonata for Two Violins in C Major, Op. 56
- Sergei Taneyev Trio in D Major for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 21
- Eugène Ysaÿe Trio for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 35, Le Londres
- Friedrich Hermann Capriccio No. 1 for Three Violins, Op. 2
Performers:
Boris Abramov, violin; John Michael Vaida, violin/viola; Amy Iwazumi, violin/viola
“Full of Herculean power” (Time Out), cellist Miho Weber continues to excite audiences with her thought-provoking performances throughout the USA, Europe, and Asia. In New York, she regularly performs at Bargemusic, Carnegie’s Stern Auditorium, Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, and the UN. Miho’s recent projects have included the Glass Farm Ensemble, InterPlay duo, and collaborations with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in the Memling Ensemble. She has performed with the New England Symphonic Ensemble, Paragon Orchestra, and String Orchestra of New York City throughout the USA as principal cello. Her popular engagements have included a performance with Imagine Dragons on Saturday Night Live and Josh Groban at the US Open.
“This is true talent, a genuine diamond that you so rarely see.”–St. Petersburg Times
Hailed by John Williams as “an outstanding cellist and truly dedicated artist”, Emmanuel Feldman has emerged as one of the most innovative and expressive cellists of his generation. Of his recent CD release on Delos, Our American Roots, Gramophone called Feldman, “an artist who combines communicative urgency with tonal splendor.” Known for intense and soulful playing that explores a broad range of repertoire and styles, he enjoys a multifaceted career as soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and educator.
Dr. Eun-Joo Kwak is an internationally admired concert artist and educator, whose professional engagements have taken her across Europe, Asia, and North America. A native of South Korea, her career was launched with top prizes in the Samick National Piano Competition (South Korea), Tokyo International Piano Duo Competition (Japan), International Beethoven Sonata Competition (Memphis, TN), and others. Her diverse concert life has included concerto appearances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra (Seoul), Sun-Hwa Philharmonic Orchestra (Seoul), Racine Symphony Orchestra, Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra, and numerous university orchestras. She has given recitals in significant venues, such the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts (Chicago), World Piano Conference (Novi Sad, Serbia), American Landmark Festival (New York), Taipei National Recital Hall (Taiwan), with several broadcast internationally (WFMT-Chicago, KBS-Seoul, Christian Radio-Taiwan, Wisconsin Public Radio-Madison). An avid chamber musician, she was a member of the international prize-winning Cheng and Kwak Piano Duo, the Clarus Piano Trio, and has performed with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra. Her professional recordings are available from Northwestern University Press, Vienna Modern Masters label, and the Naxos Music Library.
“Clearly knowing the power of sonority” (Philadelphia Inquirer), the music of Baljinder Sekhon has been presented in over 500 concerts in twenty countries. From works for large ensemble to solo works to electronic music, Sekhon’s demonstrate a wide range of interests and styles. Sekhon’s compositions for saxophone and percussion instruments are widely recognized as pioneering work in those genres with numerous presentations, CD recordings, and guest lecture appearances.
Taiwanese-American Dr. Rong-Huey Liu is one of Southern California’s most active oboists, holding principal positions in Long Beach Symphony, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Fresno Philharmonic, and Riverside County Philharmonic. In high demand as a multi-faceted soloist, Liu has performed concertos of Bach, Corigliano, Daugherty, Ferran, Kalliwoda, Lebrun and Mozart, Navarro, to name a few. As the featured soloist in the world premiere of Saul’s “Kiev 2014: Rhapsody for Oboe and Orchestra”, she garnered critical acclaim for her “sublime playing and crisp performance, filled with quiet perseverance and passion.” Her Lebrun Oboe Concerto performance with Long Beach Symphony earned the review of “Her radiant tone easily filled the cavernous Terrace Theater, and she played with consummate grace and musicality. She put on an awesome technical display in the finale and played with assurance as Lebrun took the instrument way up high and way down low. And in the second movement, a lovely little song that is just cute as a bug’s ear, she was downright charming.” Her festival credits include performances at Ojai Summer Music Festival, Nevada Chamber Music Festival, Southwest International New Music Festival, International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico, and at the Cactus Pear Music Festival her playing was noted by San Antonio critics for “sweetness shaped by a sense of crisp articulation” and for leading a performance of a “razzle-dazzle piece…the audience was thrilled”. As a recording artist, she has recorded on the “Fireflies in the Garden”, “Star Wars VIII”, “Lady Bird”, “Ferdinand”, and on the recording of Chris Botti, the Isley Brothers, and Andrew Bocelli, to name a few.
Appointed Artistic Director of the Olympic Music Festival in 2014 and praised as a musician of “compelling artistry and power” by the Seattle Times, the gifted American pianist Julio Elizalde leads an active career as soloist, chamber musician, artistic administrator, curator, and educator.
Praised as “spectacular” and a “virtuosic tour-de-force” (New York Concert Review) cellist Patrick Jee has earned international acclaim for his bold musicality, rich sound, and passionate performances. He has made appearances at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Kennedy Center, and Wigmore Hall as well as special performances at the United Nations and on CNN, American Morning.
Andrew Wan was named concertmaster of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) in 2008. As soloist, he has performed worldwide under conductors such as Maxim Vengerov, Vasily Petrenko, Bernard Labadie, Carlo Rizzi, Peter Oundjian, Michael Stern and James DePreist and has appeared in recitals with artists such as the Juilliard Quartet, Vadim Repin, Marc-André Hamelin, Daniil Trifonov, Menahem Pressler, Jörg Widmann, Emanuel Ax, James Ehnes, and Gil Shaham.
Rapidly gaining recognition, the New Trio has been garnering enthusiastic reviews all over the country. The Washington Post describes them as “Ravishing,” with a “warm subjectivity, intensity, and consciousness,” and the Seattle Times adds, “Aside from individual virtuosity, there was a welcome flexibility and warmth of expression in everything they did.”
Born in Lisbon, Portugal, Nuno Antunes began his music studies at the C.N.R. of Leiria, at the age of 11, continued his education at ANSO (Lisbon), and earned a MM at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with David Krakauer. Mr. Antunes’ appearance in competitions has resulted in several prizes, including the R.D.P. Young Musicians Prize and the Portuguese Young Clarinetist Competition.
Prizewinner of the Aleksander Glazunov International Competition (Paris), Dr. Elena Chernova-Davis has enjoyed a career as soloist, chamber musician, and concertmaster in her native Uzbekistan and throughout the United States. After graduating with honors as a full-scholarship student from the Tashkent State Conservatory, she came to the United States to continue her studies with soloist Elmar Oliveira and first violinist of the Vermeer Quartet Shmuel Ashkenasi. She is a recipient of the Irene Alm Memorial Award for excellence in performance and scholarly research and has worked with conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Esa Pekka-Salonen, Gerard Schwarz, Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Jeffrey Tate to name but a few. Collaborating with various New York ensembles including musicians from the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, MET Opera Orchestra, and the New Jersey Symphony, her recent performing venues include Carnegie Hall – Isaac Stern Auditorium, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Le Poisson Rouge, and the New Jersey State Theatre among others. As a passionate and dedicated teacher her philosophy is to guide development and tailor an individual approach to each student that encourages growth, curiosity and motivation. She is currently on the faculty at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
Theodore Buchholz is the cello professor and head of strings at the University of Arizona. Described by newspaper critics as a “Virtuosic cellist,” he debuted in New York’s Merkin Hall, and this season he will perform as recitalist and chamber musician in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Tokyo, Idaho, Massachusetts, Montana, Utah, Vermont, and Michigan. Dr. Buchholz studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Manhattan School of Music. Theodore served as a professional orchestral musician for ten years, and has collaborated in chamber performances with leading ensembles. He is a member of True Concord whose CD recording is currently nominated for a Grammy Award. He is the Cello Forum Editor for the award-winning journal American String Teacher. As a leader in music education, Theodore Buchholz regularly appears as a guest artist, teacher, and clinician across the country. He currently serves as President of the American String Teachers Association of Arizona and is the Co-Director of the Tucson Cello Congress. During the summers Dr. Buchholz teaches and performs at the Killington Music Festival in Vermont and the Bay View Festival in Michigan.
Jonathan Weber maintains a versatile musical career in multiple genres as a violinist, violist, conductor and composer. A graduate of the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College (CUNY) and classically trained under violinist Daniel Phillips, Mr. Weber has collaborated in the chamber music field with artists including Daniel Phillips and Timothy Eddy of the Orion String Quartet, Tara Helen O’Connor of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Windscape, oboe virtuosos Ronald Roseman and Randall Wolfgang, and the Bach Aria Group. Mr. Weber has also made solo and ensemble appearances with symphony orchestras both in the United States and abroad. Branching into alternate musical genres such as jazz, hip-hop, country, and rock, Mr. Weber has performed with artists including Billy Joel, Roger Daltrey, Peter Gabriel, Josh Groban, Taylor Swift, Idina Menzel, Sarah McLachlan, Barry Manilow, Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Elvis Costello, Herbie Hancock, Savion Glover, Jay-Z, Beyonce Knowles, Alicia Keys, The Roots, the Trans Siberian Orchestra, and fusion band DBR & The Mission (Opus 3 Artists) for which he has received critical acclaim. As an active New York freelancer, Mr. Weber performs regularly in the Broadway circuit and has also appeared on occasion with jazz band: Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. CD credits include Billy Joel: Live at Shea Stadium, Jay-Z: Kingdom Come, Albert Hammond Jr.: Como Te Llama, and Boardwalk Empire Volume 3: Music from the HBO series. Mr. Weber has also participated in television and film score collaborations with artists including Ryuichi Sakamoto and Steven Van Zandt. Journeying into the cinematic medium, Mr. Weber has appeared as an on-screen musician in films such as Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006), Sex and the City 2 (2010), Billy Joel: The Last Play at Shea (2010), the HBO Miniseries: “Mildred Pierce” (2011) and Annie (2014). He has also made performance appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Rachel Ray Show, The View, Christmas: Live at Rockefeller Center”, PBS programs: Great Performances and Soundstage, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he made his televised conducting debut in 2014, performing in collaboration with comedian Dana Carvey and The Roots. Mr. Weber currently serves as a faculty member at the Lawrence Eisman Center for Preparatory Studies in Music (CPSM) at Queens College (CUNY), the 92nd Street Y in New York City, and has served on the faculties of the University of Buffalo Summer Strings Workshop, the New York Summer Music Festival in Oneonta, NY, and the Odyssey Chamber Music Festival at the University of Missouri.
Zhi Yi (Emma) Dong, born in Beijing, China P.R.C., currently studies at Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School in Kingston, PA. Emma has been playing the violin since the age of four. She took part in the Performing Arts Institute at Wyoming Seminary in the summers of 2012, 2013 and 2014. In the summer 2015, she studied and performed for five weeks at the Killington Music Festival. Emma has studied music theory and composition at Wyoming Seminary, and has written a string quartet which was performed at the school last spring. The same quartet was programmed again at the Killlington Music Festival. Emma has studied with Mr. Xiong Da Jiang and Mr. Hai Yu. She currently studies with Mr. John Michael Vaida.
Christiane Appenheimer-Vaida, cello, completed her musical studies at the Hochschule fuer Musik in Frankfurt, Germany, under the tutelage of Professor Susanne Mueller-Hornbach and has undertaken additional studies with Gerhard Mantel, Siegfried Palm, Hubert Buchberger, Ulrich Voss, Menachem Pressler (Beaux Arts Trio), and Edna Golandsky.
Hailed as an “Exemplary Leader” by the New York Times for leading members of the New York Philharmonic and the Manhattan School of Music in Carnegie Hall, violinist Daniel Andai has shared his versatile artistry as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, concertmaster, conductor and recording artist in major concert venues in over 50 countries across five continents, the Middle East, the Caribbean and over 30 United States. He is a prizewinner of national and international competitions and has soloed with orchestras around the world.