FEATURED EVENTS 2008-2009

10-8	CHRISTINA JENNINGS Christina Jennings can be heard in works by Alec Wilder alongside jazz great Marian McPartland in a shared CD for Albany Records. Also on Albany Records is a disc featuring Ms. Jennings as soloist in Shulamit Ran’s flute concerto Voices with the Bowling Green Philharmonia. Of the recently released Jennings-Johnson Duo CD, the American Record Guild declared: “Jennings is an extraordinary musician, with facile technique, a soaring tone, and a natural sense of phrasing that is often absent from flute playing.”
10-6 10-7 10-8	NAJI HAKIM Naji Subhy Paul Irénée Hakim is among the few elite contemporary inheritors of the great tradition of composer--organist--improvisers established by, among others, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Bruckner and Messiaen. His charismatic improvisations and compositions combine influences ranging from Stravinsky and Gershwin to Gregorian chant and Lebanese folkloric music and are characterized by complex rhythms and brilliant harmonies.
10-5	STEPHANIE JUTT Stephanie Jutt has received major grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music. She has been a guest artist in the New York Philharmonic's "Prospective Encounters" new music series, performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and with the 92nd Street Y Orchestra. Appearances with American orchestras include the Boston Pops and the Brevard Festival Orchestra.
10-2	FISCHER DUO The critic from the The Toledo Blade summed up a concert experience with the Fischer Duo: “If there was a prize for Most Elegant Sound by a Chamber Group, the Fischer Duo would surely win it. The two together have a sort of slow-burning combustion on stage that makes for some really exciting and spon-taneous music. This is a pair that really knows their repertoire, and more importantly, knows how to absorb an audience into their own musical universe.”
9-30	MELVIN CULBERTSON, TUBA Mel became the tuba soloist of the Ventura County Symphony Orchestra at the age of 14 and still in middle school. He also performed under the baton of Lucas Foss in the Ojai Festival Orchestra. Mel’s high school years, under the direction of Larry Weiss, found him earning the first-chair positions in the All-Ventura County Honor bands all three years, and at 17 he was chosen again as the first chair tuba player in the All-State High School Honor Band. He was, at this young age, one of the founding members of both the Ventura County and Los Angeles County Brass Ensembles.
9-26 9-28	GUSTAVO ROMERO Mr. Romero, a native of San Diego, California with heritage in Guadalajara, Mexico, discovered his love and gift for music at age five, when being introduced to the piano of a neighbor. He started taking lessons, and gave his first public performances at the age of 10, while also winning his first piano competition. His early teachers included Ilana Mysior.
9-19	WEBSTER TRIO The Webster Trio was founded in 1988 by Michael Webster and Leone Buyse in order to expand and promote the repertoire for flute, clarinet, and piano through commissions, transcriptions, and research. The trio's pianist is Robert Moeling; other previous collaborative pianists have been the legendary Beveridge Webster, Michael's late father and a long-time member of the Juilliard School faculty, pianist-composer Martin Amlin of Boston University, and University of Michigan faculty member Katherine Collier. In Japan Buyse and Webster perform with pianist Chizuko Sawa as the Webster Trio Japan, touring throughout Japan and giving recitals at Tokyo's Suntory Hall and Bunka Kaikan.
9-18	TOKYO STRING QUARTET Founded in 1969, this remarkable ensemble of Eastern and Western musicians appears regularly in the major music centers of the world. Praised for their superb technical command and the commitment and intensity they bring to performances and recordings, the members of the Tokyo String Quartet have captivated an entire generation through their continuing musical achievements.