Happy 148th Birthday Claude Debussy!

The sweet sounds of the French masters lives on!  Classical Revolution celebrated a composer who influenced changes in the landscape of music around the beginning of the 20th century.

Some events popped up just prior to this, so I’m sorry I didn’t get to posting this beforehand.  Anyway, we had a blast playing all Debussy, all night long.  The following is a partial list of works presented:  Cello Sonate, String Quartet, Arabesque No. 1, Clair de Lune, Rhapsodie for Clarinet and Piano.  I got to play the Violin Sonate and the Piano Trio, what a treat!

Also got to check out the Impressionist Paris:  City of Light exhibit at the Legion of Honor Museum the same day.  Getting to see Seurat’s Eiffel Tower up close and personal was unbelievable!  The clarity of each brushstroke and the complexity of the multi-tone colors helped transport the viewer into the painting.  Being so close was like looking at it through a microscope, noticing all the details.  Then upon departing, looking back over one’s shoulder at a slight distance, suddenly everything came together as a unit.  This shift and the three-dimensional quality of the whole painting kept the viewer lingering just a bit longer…

and that was just one artist/work in the  exhibit!

Chamber Music Concert!

Joyce Lee, violin
Samsun Van Loon, cello
Ed Goldfarb, piano

We are very excited to have the opportunity to present an evening of French chamber music (yes, my third one this summer and je suis dans le ciel!).  This concert is sponsored in part by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Summer Programs.

We are working up the Faure Piano Trio, a beautiful not unknown but not so well-known piece.  Also, we couldn’t put away the Ravel Piano Trio just yet, so if you missed the performance in June, come to this one to experience this master(‘s)piece!  Ed will dazzle us with Debussy’s Children’s Corner, Sam will delight us with Faure’s Sicilienne, and I will dance (well, sort of) with Debussy’s Valse- La Plus Que Lente (arr. for violin and piano).

Hope to see you there!

*On a side note, I just visited the De Young Museum here in SF.  They are currently exhibiting Birth of Impressionism:  Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay.  What a special treat it was to be present with the amazing paintings and learn more about not only Renoir, Manet, Degas, and Monet, but also Bazille, Moreau, (I really liked Galatea), Sisley, Bouguereau and many others!

San Francisco Choral Society Concert
www.sfchoral.org

Calvary Presbyterian Church
2515 Fillmore Street at Jackson
San Francisco, CA 94115

Britten: Rejoice in the Lamb
Beethoven: Choral Fantasie
Beethoven: Mass in C major

Summer Music West Session I- Students’ Concert
Free and open to the public!
http://www.sfcm.edu/summer/index.aspx

The students of SMW String and Piano Academy (ages 9-12) are working very hard and intensively in their chamber ensembles and are progressing rapidly.  They are learning new skills such as effective non-verbal communication while playing, expressive verbal communication to convey ideas and concepts, problem solving through analysis and experimentation and much more.  For some of them, it’s their first time playing chamber music!  Come experience the fruits of their labor (and the faculty’s as well!)  in this one-time concert on the last day of the camp.  String players will all perform together in orchestra too.

Summer Music West- Session I Faculty Recital
http://www.sfcm.edu/summer/index.aspx

Faculty members of SMW will be collaborating with each other in various chamber ensemble combinations to perform for the students.  This is always a great opportunity for the kids (ages 8-12) to see up close how we approach learning a piece, utilize rehearsal techniques and perform on a minimum of available rehearsal times.

*Note to my students not enrolled in SMW-
Let me know if you’d like to attend and I will contact you with more info.

Community United Methodist Church of Fairfield Concert Series

Ed Goldfarb, music director/pianist has invited Samsun Van Loon and me to join him in this exciting concert exploring French Impressionists and a little jazz too.

In addition to the Ravel Trio we are working up , here’s a run-down of the program (subject to change):

Children’s Corner Suite (Debussy)
Gymnopedie #1 (Satie)
Sonata for Cello and Piano (Debussy)
Three Piano Preludes (Gershwin)
Sonata for Violin and Piano (Ravel) (2nd movement)
Duo for Violin and Cello (Ravel) (3rd movement)

The Prelude In-Home Concert Series
presents guest artists performing in some of Marin County’s most luxurious homes

Bay Area musicians in recital, featuring:

Dan Levitan, harp; Joyce Lee, violin; Oscar Hasbun, violin;
Steve Machtinger, viola; Louella Hasbun, cello;
Jane Lenoir, flute; and Larry London, clarinet

Sunday, June 20, 2010
5:30pm-7:30pm

Cocktail Reception – 5:30pm
Recital – 6:30pm
To celebrate the legacy of Jacques-Yves Cousteau on the centennial of his birth, a concert of French music will be performed including works by Debussy and Ravel.

$100 per person, limited seating
Proceeds to benefit the Marin Symphony

Order tickets by calling the Marin Symphony at 415.479.8100
www.marinsymphony.org/prelude.htm

Nova Vista Symphony Concert

Join us in this special concert which will be Ann Krinitsky’s last performance as music director of the Nova Vista Symphony.  Ann has been a tremendously influential leader for the group beginning nine years ago. She has brought the orchestra to new levels by challenging the musicians with large scale works requiring a continuing development of technique, ensemble skills and sensitivity.  I am honored to serve as concertmaster under Ann’s direction and it has been so wonderful knowing and working with her for many years.

Also featured is Edward Abrams, a dynamic conductor as well, soloing on Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with grace, passion and intelligence.

Other pieces on this program include Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream- Overture and Nocturne, and Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 “Rhenish.”

Raise Your Spirit, Raise the Roof!

Michael Matson, music director, has graciously invited me to join him and the choir in this special concert to benefit Calvary Lutheran Church.  There will be some broadway, some standards, some sacred and some classical selections represented, including a few songs from Fiddler on the Roof and an arrangement of You Raise Me Up.

SLAVIC CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT
Hillside Club, Berkeley
2286 Cedar Street
Berkeley, CA 94709

As part of a series of events hosted by Antika Bulgaria International Cultural Club, we will perform on this concert the beautiful Dvorak Serenade for Strings.  Led by wonderful violinist and colleague Emanuela Nikiforova.  Also in the ensemble are Kathy Marshall, Mariya Borozina, Stephanie Ng, Alex Volonts, Mike Graham, Paul Rhodes, Andrei Gorbatenko and me!