College of Creative Arts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS
Ariane Bicho, Publicist
College of Creative Arts
San Francisco State University
(415) 338-1442
(415) 338-0520 fax
abicho@sfsu.edu
Press Release published by the Office of Public Affairs
|
SAN
FRANCISCO, May 9, 2006 -- Combining gala
concerts, riveting master classes and the fertile interaction of international
artists with the next generation of chamber musicians, the Fourth
Annual Yehudi Menuhin Chamber Music Seminar presents three days of exceptional
musicianship, Friday, June 2 through Sunday, June 4 at San
Francisco State University. Hosted by SFSU's School of Music and Dance and
presented by the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, 19 outstanding
emerging professional and young chamber ensembles receive day-long coaching
culminating with evening performances featuring the program's world
class roster: Alexander String Quartet, Turtle Island String Quartet,
Cypress String Quartet, Jupiter Trio, pianist Emile Naoumoff, tenor Victor
Floyd, pianist Aglika Angelova, and violist Toby Appel.
Primarily
for the artistic edification of emerging and young professionals and
college students, as
well as high school and middle school students, participating ensembles
include players from San Francisco State University, San Francisco
Conservatory of Music, Peabody Institute, the University
of Arizona, San Jose State
University, Nueva School, Crowden School, Golden
Gate Philharmonic and
the Young People's Ensemble.
"Chamber music is a great metaphor for human interaction at its
best. The communication that it fosters resounds in so many ways," says
Paul Yarbrough, Menuhin Seminar Artistic Director and member of the Alexander
String Quartet. "We're thrilled to create an opportunity for young
players to learn and grow under the mentoring of major artists, to see
the ideal of chamber music actually brought to life."
Concerts
As in years past, the seminar opens with a Friday night concert featuring
the entire faculty. Toby Appel and Emile Naoumoff present Robert Schumann's
Märchenbilder for Viola & Piano, Op. 113 followed by Ernest
Bloch's Five Short Pieces with the Cypress String Quartet. The
Alexander String Quartet presents On Wenlock Edge by Ralph Vaughan
Williams with tenor Victor Floyd and pianist Aglika Angelova, and the
concert concludes with the Jupiter Trio performing Beethoven's
Piano Trio in G Major, Op. 70, No.1, "Ghost." [Concert
One: Menuhin Chamber Music Seminar, Friday, June 2, 7:30 pm at Knuth
Hall, Creative Arts bldg, San Francisco State University. Single tickets:
$20 general admission and $10 for students and seniors.]
The second concert
opens with Mozart's Piano Quartet in g minor,
KV 478 performed by the Jupiter Trio and violist Toby Appel. A selection
of works performed by the Menuhin Fellowship Ensembles (the three most
advanced groups) follows, and the Cypress String Quartet with Emile Naoumoff
on piano conclude the concert with Brahms' Piano Quartet in g minor,
Op. 25. [Concert Two: Menuhin Chamber Music Seminar, Saturday, June 3,
7:30 pm, Knuth Hall, Creative Arts bldg, San Francisco State University.
Single tickets: $20 general admission and $10 for students and seniors.]
A selection of works
performed by the Menuhin Fellowship Ensembles opens the final concert.
The Yehudi Menuhin String Orchestra, with Menuhin
Seminar faculty and participants, concludes the series with a performance
of Mozart's Adagio and Fugue in c minor, K.546 for String Orchestra and Shostakovich's String
Quartet No. 10 in A flat Major, Op. 118- Allegretto Furioso. [Concert Three: Menuhin Chamber Music Seminar, Sunday,
June 4, 7:00 pm, Knuth Hall, Creative Arts bldg, San Francisco State
University. Single tickets: $20 general admission and $10 for students
and seniors.]
Master Classes
Master classes are open for audit to the public. All classes are located
in the Creative Arts building
on the SFSU campus. The schedule is as follows: Saturday, June 3, 1:30
pm to 5:30 pm and Sunday, June 4, 11:00 am to 2:45 pm. Single tickets
are $10 general admission and $5 for students and seniors. Tickets can
be purchased at the door or by calling 415/710-0551.
Tickets
Single concert tickets are $20 general admission and $10 for students
and seniors. Single
master class tickets (to audit) are $10 general admission and $5 for
students and seniors.
One-day pass $25, two-day pass $40, three-day pass $60. All events/all
weekend benefactor passes are $150 and include all concerts and classes,
and a special benefactor reception. For tickets, call 415/710-0551 or
online at www.sffcm.org/tickets (subject to a convenience fee). All major
credit cards are accepted. All tickets will be held at Will Call. Tickets
are also available at the door.
Special Event
As part of the Morrison Artists Series, the Alexander String Quartet
with Turtle Island String Quartet performs Sunday, June 4 at 3 pm in
McKenna Theatre on the San Francisco State University campus. Admission
is free. Program: Ravel/Quartet in F Major; Milhaud/La Création
du Monde; Mark Summer/Julie-O (cello duo); David Balakrishnan/Mara's
Garden of False Delights; Evan Price/Variations on an Unoriginal Theme
Yehudi Menuhin
Legend has it that at age 13, Menuhin inspired Albert Einstein to declare
at a Berlin concert, "Now
I know there is a God in heaven!" Years earlier, Menuhin made
his debut in San Francisco. By the
tender age of seven, he impressed international audiences with his technical
mastery and emotionally charged playing, beginning with his performance
of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, which
propelled him to instant fame. Over the course of his life, Menuhin performed
thousands of concerts,
made recordings from the great works of the classical canon, and collaborated
with Bela Bartok in
what is considered one of the greatest compositions of twentieth-century
classical music. In 1963,
Menuhin opened the Yehudi Menuhin School for musically gifted children.
On March 12, 1999 he
died in Berlin ending one of the longest and most prestigious careers
of any American violinist.
Guest Artists
Distinguished performers and educators involved in the Menuhin Seminar
include SFSU's and San Francisco Performances' quartet-in-residence,
the Alexander String Quartet, known to local and international audiences
as the premier quartet of its generation; the award-winning Cypress
String Quartet, featured in Chamber Music Magazine as a "Generation
X Ensemble to Watch;" Jupiter Trio, the first American chamber
music ensemble to win the prestigious Osaka International Chamber Music
Competition, in 2002; the Turtle Island String Quartet, a group that
fuses the classical quartet ethic with contemporary music styles, including
folk, bluegrass, swing, bebop, funk, R&B, hip-hop, Latin American
and Indian music; Toby Appel, a renowned violist who has appeared in
recital and concerto performances throughout North and South America,
Europe, and the Far East; tenor Victor Floyd, dubbed "a nightingale" by
Maya Angelou, has performed throughout the United States; accomplished
pianist Emile Naoumoff who collaborated with Menuhin himself, and who
currently performs with various renowned chamber music groups; and
Aglika Angelova, a gifted pianist now serving on the faculty at the
San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
The Fourth
Annual Yehudi Menuhin Chamber Music Seminar is sponsored in part by
the Ross
McKee Foundation, The L.J. Skaggs and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation and hosted
by the School of Music and Dance, College of Creative Arts at San Francisco
State University. Special thanks to The May Treat Morrison Chamber Music
Center.
Directions and Parking
McKenna Theatre is located in the Creative Arts building on the SFSU
campus, 1600 Holloway Avenue at 19th Avenue, San Francisco. Public
parking is available in Lot 20 on the SFSU campus, accessed from Lake
Merced Boulevard between Winston Drive and Font Boulevard. Parking
is $1 per hour with a $5 daily maximum. Nearby on-street parking is
readily available on weekends. For more information, please visit www.sfsu.edu/~parking.
-###-
|
|
