Rob Thorsen will play bass and flute and Holly Hofmann will play flute and alto flute.
The Stanton Street Duo is a chromatic harmonica and 7-string guitar ensemble based in San Francisco. Since their participation as finalists in the CAG Elmaleh Competition in NYC, the duo has performed across the US and Mexico. Praised for their virtuosity, intensity, and musicality, the Stanton Street Duo continues to attract a diverse range of audiences through their dynamic and electrifying live performances. Beyond their focus on elevating and reimagining traditional Latin American music styles, the Stanton Street Duo demonstrates their versatility and range in their performance of classical and film composers as well as their own original compositions.
Jazz bassist Rob Thorsen maintains a diverse and busy schedule in Southern California as a performer, educator, clinician and composer. He has found his true voice in the upright bass and performs regularly as a leader with artists including the Mike Wofford/Holly Hofmann Quartet, Gilbert Castellanos, Charles McPherson, Steph Johnson and a host of others.
Known for her expressivity, virtuosity, and versatility, Indonesian-born pianist Ines Irawati is in demand both as a solo recitalist and a collaborative pianist. Ms. Irawati is currently serving as the music and artistic director of San Diego Opera's Young Artist Training Program, as well as its community outreach concert series, Opera Exposed! Concerts. She has served as a vocal coach and pianist at the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, and she was the head vocal coach and collaborative piano faculty at Point Loma Nazarene University from 2004–2017.
As members of the San Diego Symphony, long time friends Jing and Julia were thrilled when kismet sent the matched set of long time friends Abraham and Nathan to join the orchestra at the same time. Through the pandemic the four discovered a remarkable shared musical chemistry, and recently have performed for a wide range of San Diego audiences—from thousands of migrant children housed at the convention center to symphony donors onstage at The Rady Shell.
There will be no mini-concert on Monday, November 11 in observance of Veteran’s Day. Thank you for understanding, and see you next Monday!
A versatile recitalist and chamber musician, violinist/violist Päivikki Nykter, is equally at home with standard repertoire as well as contemporary music. Cathy Blickenstaff holds a Master’s Degree in Flute Performance from the University of Colorado where she studied with Maralyn Prestia. Laura Vaughan began her study of music on the piano at age five with her mother, harpist and pianist, Donna Vaughan. She excelled on the harp at an early age and started studying with Sheila Sterling, former principal of the San Diego Symphony, at age nine.
Robert Zelickman, clarinetist, has been teaching and performing in San Diego since 1982. A versatile recitalist and chamber musician, violinist/violist Päivikki Nykter, is equally at home with standard repertoire as well as contemporary music. Lyricism, complexity, and dissonance characterize the musical interests of pianist Kyle Blair.
Chiara Capobianco was born in Milano, Italy in 1980. She is a music graduate in harp (10 year course) from Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi of Milano and a university graduate in musicology (3 year course) from Scuola di Paleografia e Filologia Musicale di Cremona (Università degli Studi di Pavia-Italy). When she was fifteen years old, she started playing with many different operatic and symphonic orchestras touring all over Europe.
There will be no Mini-concert on Monday, October 14 in observance of Columbus Day. Thank you for understanding, and see you next Monday!
Jeff Berkley is a native San Diegan who has made music his life. He has been called a San Diego legend, and it’s easy to understand why. Berkley’s musical contributions include his work in current bands Berkley Hart and Jeff Berkley & The Banned, as well as his solo performances. His previous bands include The Cry, The Redwoods, and Citizen Band. He is also known for his work with the many musicians he has produced in studios around the world, including his own.
Tenor banjo player Nick Montemarano and fiddle player David Mehalko will perform Irish folk music. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in music history, Montemarano explored Ireland. There Irish traditional music piqued his interest and led to years of learning the traditional style. Mehalko was the frontman for Irish/folk band Flashpoint and in 2014 was awarded first place in the senior fiddle competition at the Midwest Fleadh Cheoil.
Joshua White is one of the music scene’s most creative and technically accomplished pianists. Praised by legendary musicians like Herbie Hancock as having “immense talent” and lauded for his “daring and courageous approach to improvisation … on the cutting edge of innovation,” Joshua has distinguished himself as a formidable leader of distinct voice among his peers.
Naomi Hobbs was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. She earned her music degree at the Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo, where she also taught for 10 years. In 1998, the year before she moved to San Diego, she performed Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto with the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra. She was a music and piano instructor at San Diego Community College district for 10 years. Hobbs won first prize at the Seventh Annual International Piano Competition in Mexico in 2012 and was the gold medalist of the Sixth Annual Seattle International Piano Competition in 2015.
Taiwanese violinist Pei-Chun Tsai received her Doctorate in Musical Arts from City University of New York with the publication of her dissertation on the violin writing of Richard Strauss. She also holds bachelor and master degrees in violin performance from The Juilliard School.
Alejandro Brittes is an Argentine composer, accordionist and researcher of the music of the littoral region of Argentina. He has been residing in Porto Alegre, Brazil since 2010. He has more than 30 years of performing chamamé around the world. He researches the musical origins of the Chamamé rhythm, and the identity of that musical genre. He has toured with artists such as: Chango Spasiuk, Raúl Barboza, Os Fagundes, Elton Saldanha and done performances with Brazilian artists such as Luiza Possi.
Pianist Loie Flood and flutist Rosalind Richards play regularly at many venues throughout San Diego. Rosalind is a member of a flute ensemble in Sorrento Valley and was a principal flutist at the La Jolla Civic Orchestra. Loie is an accompanist at UCSD for Phil Larson’s choir, and she plays violin with the La Jolla Civic Orchestra. Both are also members of a classical trio and play at weddings, parties, receptions, and libraries.
Lesi Mei has been involved in many fields—such as bioengineering and kinesiology—but piano and classical music have molded her into the person she is. In front of the keys, her background and personality manifest in dazzling virtuosity and stunning musicality.
Fred Benedetti was born in Sasebo, Japan, and began playing the guitar at the age of 9. He has played locally with the San Diego Symphony, the San Diego Opera, the Starlight Opera, the American Ballet Company, the Old Globe Theatre, Luciano Pavarotti, and jazz artist Dave Brubeck. He is a full-time professor of music at Grossmont College where he is the head of the guitar studies program; he is part of the SDSU guitar program with colleagues Robert Wetzel and Sean Bassett. Fred is listed in the prestigious "Who's Who Among America's Teachers-2002" and received a "Most Influential Professor " in 2001 from SDSU, the "NISOD" Excellence in Teaching award from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992 and an "Outstanding Chair" award in 1990 from Grossmont College.
With a voice as smooth as Kentucky bourbon and a heart worn on both sleeves, Tim Flannery’s performances ebb and flow with brilliant melodies and soaring harmonies. A talented and prolific singer-songwriter, Flan’s music enjoys radio support across the planet, from the shores of Ireland to beach towns up and down the California coast.
The San Diego based Gypsy Swing Cats perform an energetic, innovated blend of swing, jazz, and blues. Their music merges gypsy melodies and rhythms, with the influences of American jazz reminiscent of Paris in the 1930s: cool, charming, and classy. The music of The Gypsy Swing Cats is thoroughly modern infused with the wild, mysteriously free and exciting gypsy flavors.
Julia Umarova received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, and she is currently pursuing a Master's in Music Performance at San Diego State University. Her musical journey has included notable achievements, such as winning the Grand Prix at the Glazunov International Competition in Paris. With her foundational studies at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Umarova has performed solo concerts in several countries, including Russia, Finland, Austria, Malta, Portugal, China, France, USA. She brings a diverse international experience to her music, increasing her passion for performance and music education. Umarova’s extensive teaching experience at the Harbin Conservatory of Music in China, in addition to her continuing professional and artistic development, makes her enthusiastic to share her holistic skill set and dedication to music education with her students.
Jazz singer Coral MacFarland Thuet sings fluently in Spanish, English, and Portuguese with a repertoire that combines jazz and Latin American music.
Irving Flores is an accomplished pianist, composer, arranger and music producer. He has performed with Bill Watrous, Charles McPherson, Abraham Laboriel, Poncho Sanchez, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Alex Acuna, Akira Jimbo, Rene Camacho, Cuba’s “El Negro” Hernandez, Gilbert Castellanos, Peter Sprague.
Caprice Strings is a freelance string trio which has an extensive repertoire that embraces baroque, classical, and contemporary works.
Wendy Greene holds a Master’s in Voice from New England Conservatory. In San Diego she has worked in the San Diego Opera Chorus, at St. James by the Sea, and at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Cathe Sobke takes the term multi-instrumentalist to a new level! Ms. Sobke holds degrees in composition and music theory from SDSU. Born and raised in Germany, Ulla Sinz began recorder studies at the age of seven with Renate Stollenberg at the Institute of Music Leverkusen (near Cologne).
Due to a private event, there will be no Mini-concert today. We hope to see you next Monday!
Guitarist Jimmy Patton and percussionist Enrique Platas have combined their talents to form this award-winning duo. Their music can be described as having an international flair as they incorporate flamenco, Middle-Eastern, salsa, calypso, Brazilian, and other world rhythms into their compositions and arrangements. Jimmy and Enrique's musical collaboration has given creation to their unique, fiery world-music style that has captivated audiences from all over. Listeners will experience virtuosic guitar passages accompanied by exotic percussive rhythms, which together produce a sound that will grab your soul.
Raised in the Golden Triangle, on the border of Texas and Louisiana, Billy Lee and the Swamp Critters presents Gulf Coast Music—a gumbo of Cajun/Zydeco, Mardi Gras, and Texas Swing. They get folks up and dancing to bring in good times.
Since 1963, La Jolla Renaissance Singers (LJRS) has presented the finest of early choral music to the San Diego area. The LJRS performs music written during the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, with occasional forays into the Romantic and Modern periods. In period costume, the ensemble performs throughout San Diego County.
Naomi Hobbs was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. She earned her music degree at the Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo, where she also taught for 10 years. She was a music and piano instructor at San Diego Community College district for 10 years. Yumiko Oya grew up in Tokyo, Japan. She began playing piano at age three. After moving to the U.S. in 1990, she began studying music theory at Orange Coast College. Further study earned Oya her Master’s degree in Piano Performance at the California Institute of the Arts.
Colin McAllister is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, where he is a 2021-2022 Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellow. His performances as a guitarist and conductor have been hailed as ‘sparkling….delivered superbly’ (San Francisco Chronicle), ‘ravishing’ (San Diego Union Tribune) and ‘an amazing tour de force’ (San Diego Story), and he has recorded on the Summit, Innova, Centaur, Naxos, Albany, Old King Cole, Vienna Modern Masters, Carrier and Tzadik labels. His research interests include contemporary music performance and pedagogy, musical modernism, and the apocalyptic paradigm as manifested in varying phenomena—literature, music, and art.
Cellist Margaret Tait joined the San Francisco Symphony directed by Seiji Ozawa in 1974. Although engaged throughout her career as an orchestral musician, she has a deep and abiding love for chamber music. She is a founding member of the Aurora String Quartet, performing worldwide for twenty-two years. Margaret recently relocated to San Diego and focuses on performing works for solo cello and chamber ensembles.
Long ago four people used to meet every year under a tree on top of Mount Palomar to sing madrigals. In 2003, it suddenly occurred to them that they could meet more frequently outside the context of the San Diego Early Music Society Workshop, and so they arranged to get together "down the mountain". They were joined by two more friends, and Courtly Noyse was born. This lively mix of personalities soon developed the blend of humor, imagination and versatility in the performance of Renaissance music that has become their trademark.
