Showing posts with label Balcony Sessions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Balcony Sessions. Show all posts

Friday, 18 September 2020

Monterey Symphony Balcony Sessions Continue; New Board President of The Symphony is Named

 The Monterey Symphony continues its Balcony Sessions on Friday, September 18th with a duo featuring Genie Wie, violin and Adelle Akiko-Kearns, cello.

Carmel, CA, September 18, 2020 – The Monterey Symphony continues its Balcony Sessions on Friday, September 18th with a duo featuring Genie Wie, violin and Adelle Akiko-Kearns, cello. The two women, both members of the Symphony, have put together a delightful 30-minute program which can be streamed online. Sponsors and donors are invited to sit in in the outside tasting room at Manzoni Vineyards through a pre-arrangement with the Symphony. The music can also be heard from both the Scheid and Silvestri Tasting rooms, also located in the 7th and San Carlos quadrangle. 

The performance can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/452722219 

 Artist bios:

 ADELLE-AKIKO KEARNS, cello

 Hailed by critics as an "impressive" cellist exhibiting "beautifully sensuous cello playing," Adelle-Akiko Kearns currently serves as the Assistant Principal cellist of the Monterey Symphony. The recipient of the prestigious Artists International Award, Adelle made her New York recital debut at Carnegie's Weill Hall in November of 2008. Since then she has appeared on the the world's most important stages including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Suntory Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, and many others.

 In 2006 she gave the Japanese premiere of the Korngold Cello Concerto with the Tokyo Philharmonic, and was immediately engaged to return the following season to perform the Dvorak Concerto. Other previous solo appearances include concerto collaborations with the Santa Rosa Symphony, Cambrian Symphony, Auburn Symphony, Juilliard Conductors' Orchestra, the West Valley Symphony (Arizona), the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra, the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra, and the Pacific Chamber Symphony.

 As a chamber musician Ms. Kearns has performed at the world's leading music festivals including the Saito Kinen, Aspen, Tanglewood, Yellow Barn and Spoleto Festivals. She has collaborated with members of the legendary Juilliard String Quartet as well as renowned musicians Zuill Bailey, Jorja Fleezanis, Axel Strauss, Ian Swensen, Paul Hersh, Jodi Levitz, Daisuke Suzuki, and the Da Capo Chamber Players. In 2003 she was the only cellist from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music chosen to play for the late Mstislav Rostropovich, and in addition she has undertaken masterclasses with some of the most revered cellists such as Bernard Greenhouse, Raphael Wallfisch, Paul Katz, David Finckel, Norman Fischer and Mark Kosower.

 Before returning to the Bay Area in 2011, Adelle served as the Assistant Principal Cello of the Louisiana Philharmonic and as a member of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her position with the Monterey Symphony, she also performs as Principal Cellist with the Santa Rosa and Merced Symphonies, Assistant Principal Cellist of Symphony Silicon Valley and the Music in the Mountains Festival, as a member of the Marin Symphony and as a substitute cellist with the San Francisco Symphony. Ms. Kearns holds degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School. Her principal teachers include Bonnie Hampton, Joel Krosnick, Sadao Harada, and Irene Sharp. A native of San Francisco, Adelle currently resides in San Jose, where she maintains an active teaching studio.

 EUGENIA WIE, violin

 A native of Chicago, Eugenia Wie made her radio debut on Chicago Public Radio at the age of nine. During her formative years, she was a recipient of a Nicolas Amati violin on generous loan from the Mary B. Galvin Foundation and Stradivarius Society. She has performed in solo and chamber music across North and South America, Asia and Europe and appeared at world renowned music festivals including Round Top Music Festival, where she also performed Chausson Poeme with the Texas Festival Orchestra, Val-de-Charante, Banff Music Center for the Arts, Kneisel Hall, Schleswig-Holstein, Duo Masterclasses at Lausanne, and the International Music Seminar at Prussia Cove. In 2000, she won the Frank Huntington Beebe Grant allowing her to continue her studies abroad to Cologne, Germany.

 Upon her return to the states, she has served on the violin and chamber music faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago where she also acted as Program Director of Chamber Music. She has performed on the Dame Myra Hess and Sunday Salon Series, NEIU's Mostly Music and Jewel Box Series, and Music in the Loft which was also broadcast live on WFMT radio. Before relocating to San Francisco in 2010, she previously was a member of Camerata Chicago, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra where she collaborated in a performance of Mendelssohn's Octet with Vadim Gluzman.

 In addition to her position with the Monterey Symphony, she's also a member of Santa Rosa Symphony, Symphony Silicon Valley, Monterey Symphony, and substitute violinist with San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Ballet, and Opera San Jose. An active freelancer and chamber musician, she is a member of Divisa Ensemble and guest artist with Music at the Mission in Fremont. She has also performed in the Broadway shows "Soft Power" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Ms. Wie holds degrees from Rice University and The New School's Mannes College of Music. Her principal teachers include Sergiu Luca, Daniel Phillips and Josef Gingold.

 New Board President:

 On July 1, 2020, the Symphony Board elected Bruce Lindsey to a one-year term as Board President. Lindsey is a Chicago native, a graduate of Chicago Public Schools, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.  He was a US Army Infantry officer at Ft. Ord, and is retired as a Colonel in the US Army Reserve.  Bruce is a former Monterey County Deputy District Attorney and was a Board member of the Washington Union School District for 16 years.  He is retired from many years of bankruptcy and reorganization practice in Monterey County and the Bay Area, a State Bar Certified Bankruptcy Specialist, during which time he also was a lecturer and author on bankruptcy topics.  He is married to Elizabeth “Whiz” Lindsey, and they have three grown children, Ellen, Jim, and Chris.  He has been a Monterey Symphony subscriber since 1972 and a Board member since 2006.

 The full schedule can be found below and on the Monterey Symphony website. People interested in learning more about sponsoring can contact Nicola Reilly directly, nreilly@montereysymphony.org

 2020 Line Up:

September 18th – Genie Wie, violin and Adele Kearns, cello @ Hampton Court

Sponsored by Russ and Jo-Ann Hatch and Gary and Carolyn Bjorklund

October 16th – Sarah Lee, violin @ Hampton Court

October 23rd  - Saul Richmond-Rakerd, cello @ Hampton Court

November 20th - Isaac Pastor-Chernak, cello @ Winfield Gallery

Sponsored by: Beverly and Lyman Hamilton

December 18th - Alicia Mastromonaco, horn + singers + poetry @ MyMuseum


Contact:

Marci Bracco Cain

Chatterbox PR

Salinas, CA 93901

(831) 747-7455

http://www.montereysymphony.org

Wednesday, 19 August 2020

Monterey Symphony Kicks Off Balcony Sessions on Friday, August 28th

The Monterey Symphony (MSO), after postponing its entire 2020-2021 season due to COVID-19, has scheduled a series of solo performances highlighting the talents of the orchestra.

Carmel, CA, August 19, 2020 – The Monterey Symphony (MSO), after postponing its entire 2020-2021 season due to COVID-19, has scheduled a series of solo performances highlighting the talents of the orchestra. These 30-minute performances will be live streamed and available to watch on the Symphony’s website and social media. E-news subscribers to the Symphony’s mailings will also have direct access.

The direct link can be found here: https://vimeo.com/448146767

The series kicks off Friday, August 28th at 4 PM with Principal Bass Trombone Will Baker and is sponsored by Monterey Private Wealth.

The first session will take place at Hampton Court (the Symphony’s new offices) at the corner of 7th and San Carlos in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Mr. Baker will perform from a balcony, following all social distancing protocol. Three other solo performances will occur at Hampton, along with three at different venues in Carmel, including Golden Bough Theatre and the Winfield Gallery on Dolores and one in Monterey at MyMuseum. A total of seven solo performances will take place before the end of the year.

“The idea of the solo performer is a pretty spot-on image of the time we’re living in,” said Executive Director Nicola Reilly. “And, we so seldom have an opportunity to showcase our individual players, since we focus on the big orchestra. We really had to adapt and try and bring some music to our community. It’s great to use our office space, and we’re so grateful to the city of Carmel for getting involved and excited about this project. We also wanted to showcase our partner organization venues.”

The Symphony has also partnered with Manzoni Vineyards, also in Hampton Court, so sponsors can attend these sessions. Although no tickets will be sold, sponsorship opportunities are available.

“We wanted to find a way to support our artists, as well as the creative people behind the cameras – videographers, graphic designers, backstage crew,” says Reilly.

About the Artist:

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Will Baker is one of the most sought after young Bass Trombonists working today. He is the Principal Bass Trombonist of the Monterey Symphony and his musicianship has taken him all over the world, including stints with the San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, and Burning Man 2018 with the ArtHaus Collective. Before moving to Northern California, Will was the premier bass trombonist in the state of Iowa, performing as the tenured member of Orchestra Iowa from 2013-17 and the Des Moines Symphony since 2014-18. In 2016, while artist in residence with the Southeast Iowa Symphony (SEISO), Will commissioned and premiered a new bass trombone concerto by composer Robert Tindle titled At Sixty Miles An Hour. In 2018, Will premiered the Wind Ensemble arrangement with Travis Cross and the UCLA Wind Ensemble. He is a faculty member of Las Positas College and the Fredericksburg Brass Institute, and is a founding member of the Des Moines Low Brass Triumvirate (DMLBT).

Will earned a Masters Degree in Bass Trombone performance at Northwestern University where he studied with Michael Mulcahy, Randall Hawes, Peter Ellefson, and Tim Higgins. He graduated Cum Laude from UCLA with a BA in music performance, studying Euphonium and Bass Trombone with Patrick Sheridan. It was Mr. Sheridan that inspired Will to forge a career in music, and for this Pat will always be one of his favorite people in the world.

The full schedule can be found below and on the Monterey Symphony website. People interested in learning more about sponsoring can contact Nicola Reilly directly, nreilly@montereysymphony.org

2020 Line Up:

August 28th - Will Baker, bass trombone @ Hampton Court

Sponsored by: Monterey Private Wealth


September 18th – Genie Wie, violin and Adele Kearns, cello @ Hampton Court

September 25th - Valerie Bengal and Vlad K., violas @ Golden Bough Theatre
Sponsored by: Gary and Carolyn Bjorklund

October 16th – Sarah Lee, violin @ Hampton Court

October 23rd - Saul Richmond-Rakerd, cello @ Hampton Court

November 20th - Isaac Pastor-Chernak, cello @ Winfield Gallery
Sponsored by: Beverly and Lyman Hamilton

December 18th - Alicia Mastromonaco, horn + singers + poetry @ MyMuseum

Contact:
Marci Bracco Cain
Chatterbox PR
Salinas, CA 93901
(831) 747-7455
https://www.montereysymphony.org/