Monday, June 30, 2025
12 PM
Comprised of Georgian-born Anna Grigorian and Ukranian-born Natasha Gubenko, the award winning Grigorian Gubenko Piano Duo was formed in 2016. Prior to joining their talents as duet artists, both pianists have performed as soloists in the United States and internationally. Since then, the duo has been featured numerous times at the MTAC conventions, and continues to perform extensively at various professional and community functions. Their repertoire spans from Bach to Brahms, Debussy and Piazzola, performed on one or two pianos. Their most recent performances include Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, the Athenaeum in La Jolla, and McKinney Theater in Orange County. In addition to performing, both pianists lead busy piano teaching careers, conduct masterclasses, serve as adjudicators, and have leadership positions in the state and national professional music teachers associations.
Anna Grigorian was born in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, USSR. She was exposed to classical music from a very young age. After graduating from the State Music Gymnasium for Gifted Children, she moved to Armenia, were she earned her Masters Degree (Summa Cum Laude) in Musicology and Piano Pedagogy at the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan.
In 1995, she won the Immigration Lottery and moved to the US. For fifteen years she lived in Massachusetts where she taught at various educational institutions, including Anna Maria College and Performing Arts School of Worcester, and collaborated with chamber musicians and ensembles.
After moving to California in 2009, Anna became actively involved in the MTAC and CAPMT music teachers organizations. Anna was President and now serves on the Board of Directors of CAPMT San Diego North Chapter and is a coordinator for MTNA competitions. She maintains a private studio in Carlsbad and frequently publishes articles and gives presentations on the benefits of piano duet playing.
Natalia “Natasha” Gubenko was born in Ukraine into a family of musicians. At the age of 6 Natasha started her musical training at Kharkov Special Music School for Gifted children. She continued her education at Kharkov National University of Arts. In 1990, Natasha’s family made the decision to immigrate to Israel. There, she successfully completed her studies graduating with a Bachelor’s and Master's Degrees in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Tel-Aviv University, The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music.
While in Israel Natasha worked as a principal accompanist with Youth Symphony Orchestra students in Haifa. Natasha coordinated and taught a chamber music class at Carmel Zvulun Regional High School, working with students majoring in music.
Since 2000, Natasha has been living in California. She maintains a successful private studio in Irvine where she teaches piano. Natasha is an active member of the MTAC Orange Coast Cities branch. Natasha is one of the founders and organizers of Russian School of Orange County. There she teaches music classes for young students. Besides teaching, Natasha enjoys collaborating with and accompanying aspiring students at music competitions.
Program: “Moods, Dances and Games”
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
Slavonic Dance, Op. 46, No. 8 in G Minor
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Hungarian Dance, Vol.1, No. 2 in D Minor
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Fantasy in F Minor
Georges Bizet (1838–1875)
Jeaux d’Enfants (Children’s Games) Op. 22
The Swing ( Reverie)
The Top ( Impromptu)
The Doll ( Berceuse)
Merry-Go-Round ( Scherzo)
Badminton ( Fantasie)
Trumpet and Drums ( March)
Soap Bubbles ( Rondino)
Puss in the Corner ( Esquisse)
Blindman’s Bluff ( Nocturne)
Leapfrog ( Caprice)
Little Husband, Little Wife ( Duo)
The Ball ( Galop)
Anna Grigorian
Folkloresque, Op. 2
Free concerts at noon every Monday year-round . . . no wonder the Mini-Concerts are the longest-running and one of the most popular classical music series at the library! This series was founded by Glenna Hazleton in 1970 at the Athenaeum, and has been going strong ever since. The concerts feature both local and touring musicians, prize-winning students, university music faculty members, local chamber ensembles. . . and the repertoire also includes jazz, folk, and world music. There are no reservations, no tickets . . . just line up at the side door of the Athenaeum before noon. (Donations are always welcome!) Mini-Concerts take place every Monday at noon and last about an hour.
The concerts will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for these events. Doors open at 11:40 a.m. Last entry is at 12:10 p.m. or once capacity is reached. Seating is first-come; first-served. Reservations are not necessary, but seating is limited.