
SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT THE MARCH 20 JOHNNY GANDELSMAN CONCERT:
The March 20th Johnny Gandelsman Concert - A Violinist Explores the Bach Cello Suites - has been postponed in response to the need for everyone to practice social distancing in response to the COVID-19 virus.
Once the new concert date has been finalized, we will announce it here and to contact ticket holders directly.
Note: All tickets already purchased or set at Will Call will be honored on the new date.
Please join in an exclusive performance event
On Thursday, December 3, 2020, at 5:30 pm, following his celebrated debut recording of J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas which was nominated for a Grammy award, Johnny Gandelsman (Brooklyn Rider, Silkroad Ensemble) will perform a transcendent solo program exploring the depths of three of Bach’s Cello Suites on the violin. The Cello Suites are hailed as some of the most magnificent and profound of Bach’s creations – indeed of all Baroque music. The Boston Globe raved about Mr. Gandelsman’s recent performance of Bach’s Cello Suites at Kresge Auditorium: “As Gandelsman journeyed down his path, movement by movement, more deeply in Bach’s world, any doubts [about a violinist performing the Cello Suites] were scattered by sheer dint of the fantasy and poetry of his playing. He did not attempt to perform the works cellistically, and neither did he try to claim them with a flashy violinist’s imprimatur. Instead, with the help of his astonishingly fluid technique, he set the music free as music… the music re-discovered its own origins in dance. And it seemed to speak with the naturalness of a folk song. This was an exquisitely personal vision of Bach, all radical sincerity and glinting light.”
Grammy award-winning violinist and producer Johnny Gandelsman brings his new project to the Santa Ynez Valley, presenting three of Bach’s cello suites on the violin. Gandelsman’s musical voice reflects the artistic collaborations he has been a part of since moving to the United States. As a founding member of Brooklyn Rider and a member of the Silkroad Ensemble, Johnny has worked closely with such luminaries as Béla Fleck, Martin Hayes, Kayhan Kalhor, Yo-Yo Ma, Mark Morris, Anne Sofie Van Otter, Suzanne Vega, Abigail Washburn and Damian Woetzel. Join in for an evening not to be missed.
Following up on his celebrated debut recording of J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, Grammy award-winning violinist and producer Johnny Gandelsman (Brooklyn Rider, Silkroad Ensemble) will perform a transcendent solo program exploring the depths of Bach’s Cello Suites on the violin. The Boston Globe reviewed his recording of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas as a “..sparklingly personal Bach, shorn of grandeur, lofted by a spirit of dance and as predictable as the flight of a sparrow”. He has appeared with Bono, David Byrne, Renée Fleming, Rhiannon Giddens, I'm With Her, Christian McBride, and many others.
The March 20th Johnny Gandelsman Concert - A Violinist Explores the Bach Cello Suites - has been postponed in response to the need for everyone to practice social distancing in response to the COVID-19 virus.
Once the new concert date has been finalized, we will announce it here and to contact ticket holders directly.
Note: All tickets already purchased or set at Will Call will be honored on the new date.
Please join in an exclusive performance event
On Thursday, December 3, 2020, at 5:30 pm, following his celebrated debut recording of J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas which was nominated for a Grammy award, Johnny Gandelsman (Brooklyn Rider, Silkroad Ensemble) will perform a transcendent solo program exploring the depths of three of Bach’s Cello Suites on the violin. The Cello Suites are hailed as some of the most magnificent and profound of Bach’s creations – indeed of all Baroque music. The Boston Globe raved about Mr. Gandelsman’s recent performance of Bach’s Cello Suites at Kresge Auditorium: “As Gandelsman journeyed down his path, movement by movement, more deeply in Bach’s world, any doubts [about a violinist performing the Cello Suites] were scattered by sheer dint of the fantasy and poetry of his playing. He did not attempt to perform the works cellistically, and neither did he try to claim them with a flashy violinist’s imprimatur. Instead, with the help of his astonishingly fluid technique, he set the music free as music… the music re-discovered its own origins in dance. And it seemed to speak with the naturalness of a folk song. This was an exquisitely personal vision of Bach, all radical sincerity and glinting light.”
Grammy award-winning violinist and producer Johnny Gandelsman brings his new project to the Santa Ynez Valley, presenting three of Bach’s cello suites on the violin. Gandelsman’s musical voice reflects the artistic collaborations he has been a part of since moving to the United States. As a founding member of Brooklyn Rider and a member of the Silkroad Ensemble, Johnny has worked closely with such luminaries as Béla Fleck, Martin Hayes, Kayhan Kalhor, Yo-Yo Ma, Mark Morris, Anne Sofie Van Otter, Suzanne Vega, Abigail Washburn and Damian Woetzel. Join in for an evening not to be missed.
Following up on his celebrated debut recording of J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, Grammy award-winning violinist and producer Johnny Gandelsman (Brooklyn Rider, Silkroad Ensemble) will perform a transcendent solo program exploring the depths of Bach’s Cello Suites on the violin. The Boston Globe reviewed his recording of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas as a “..sparklingly personal Bach, shorn of grandeur, lofted by a spirit of dance and as predictable as the flight of a sparrow”. He has appeared with Bono, David Byrne, Renée Fleming, Rhiannon Giddens, I'm With Her, Christian McBride, and many others.
Tickets
Season tickets - all five incredible concerts - Patrons $175, General Admission $100.
Individual tickets - Patrons $35, General Admission $20, Students admitted free, courtesy of a generous grant from St. Mark's Women's Guild. Tickets are available for purchase at the door before the concert or may be purchased here online.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS.
A free reception with the artists follows each concert.
Interested in being a Series Sponsor or a Season Subscriber with reserved seating?
Contact Music Series Coordinator Linda Stafford Burrows at 805-688-7423 or Lsbethechange@mac.com
Season tickets - all five incredible concerts - Patrons $175, General Admission $100.
Individual tickets - Patrons $35, General Admission $20, Students admitted free, courtesy of a generous grant from St. Mark's Women's Guild. Tickets are available for purchase at the door before the concert or may be purchased here online.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS.
A free reception with the artists follows each concert.
Interested in being a Series Sponsor or a Season Subscriber with reserved seating?
Contact Music Series Coordinator Linda Stafford Burrows at 805-688-7423 or Lsbethechange@mac.com
The Radian String Quartet with pianist, Robert Thies
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020, 7 PM
Journey from Classicism to Impressionism - POSTPONED
The Radian String Quartet with Mary Beth Woodruff, violin, Jane Chung, violin, Basil Vendryes, viola, and Andrew Smith, cello
Come hear the Radian String Quartet play two exquisite works from the string quartet repertoire by Mozart and Ravel masterfully representing the classical and French Impressionist periods. The Radians will then be joined by American first-prize winner of the Prokofiev Competition and well-known Los Angeles concert pianist, Robert Thies for the Franck Piano Quintet.
The concert program:
Mary Beth Woodruff studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and received her masters at Carnegie- Mellon. Ms. Woodruff has been on faculty at Interlochen, Biola University Conservatory and festivals, performed as a soloist around the world, and served as concert master for many orchestras. Ms. Woodruff is the Founding Artistic Director of Santa Barbara Strings.
Jane Chung performs as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician across the United Staes, Europe and Asia and is the resident musicians and composer for Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance.
Basil Vendryes, is Principal Violist for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician., He is a renowned teacher at festivals throughout the world and is on faculty at the Lamont School of Music at University of Denver.
Andrew Smith is a member of the Cerberus Trio, Camerata Deia and a founding member of The Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in Italy. He is the Principal Cellist with the Las Vegas Philharmonic and is associate professor of music at the University of Nevada
Robert Thies is a pianist of “unerring, warm-toned refinement, revealing judicious glimmers of power,” an artist renowned for his consummate musicianship and poetic temperament. He first captured worldwide attention in 1995 when he won the Gold Medal at the Second International Prokofiev Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia. With this victory, Thies became the only American pianist to win a Russian piano competition since Van Cliburn's triumph in Moscow in 1958.
Robert enjoys a diverse career as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and recording artist. He has already performed 40 different concerti with orchestras all over the world, including the Saint Petersburg (RUSSIA) Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonia, Louisville Orchestra, and the Mexico City Philharmonic.
As a Steinway Artist and frequent recitalist in the United States and abroad, Robert has developed a reputation as a “genuine” and “sincere” artist, creating delicately balanced programs and performing in a manner to draw focus to the composer rather than to himself. In 2001, under the auspices of Community Concerts, he completed a forty-city tour of the United States. In May 1999, he performed in the Hermitage Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia. Two years earlier he worked with the late Henryk Gorecki in the U.S. premiere of his Piano Sonata.
Robert is highly sought after as a recital partner and collaborator in both instrumental and vocal chamber music. Offstage he is in high demand for special recording projects by contemporary composers, and he sometimes appears on soundtracks for film and television.
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020, 7 PM
Journey from Classicism to Impressionism - POSTPONED
The Radian String Quartet with Mary Beth Woodruff, violin, Jane Chung, violin, Basil Vendryes, viola, and Andrew Smith, cello
Come hear the Radian String Quartet play two exquisite works from the string quartet repertoire by Mozart and Ravel masterfully representing the classical and French Impressionist periods. The Radians will then be joined by American first-prize winner of the Prokofiev Competition and well-known Los Angeles concert pianist, Robert Thies for the Franck Piano Quintet.
The concert program:
- Mozart String Quartet in d minor, K. 421
- Ravel String Quartet in F major
- Franck Quintet for Piano and String Quartet in F minor
Mary Beth Woodruff studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and received her masters at Carnegie- Mellon. Ms. Woodruff has been on faculty at Interlochen, Biola University Conservatory and festivals, performed as a soloist around the world, and served as concert master for many orchestras. Ms. Woodruff is the Founding Artistic Director of Santa Barbara Strings.
Jane Chung performs as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician across the United Staes, Europe and Asia and is the resident musicians and composer for Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance.
Basil Vendryes, is Principal Violist for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician., He is a renowned teacher at festivals throughout the world and is on faculty at the Lamont School of Music at University of Denver.
Andrew Smith is a member of the Cerberus Trio, Camerata Deia and a founding member of The Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in Italy. He is the Principal Cellist with the Las Vegas Philharmonic and is associate professor of music at the University of Nevada
Robert Thies is a pianist of “unerring, warm-toned refinement, revealing judicious glimmers of power,” an artist renowned for his consummate musicianship and poetic temperament. He first captured worldwide attention in 1995 when he won the Gold Medal at the Second International Prokofiev Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia. With this victory, Thies became the only American pianist to win a Russian piano competition since Van Cliburn's triumph in Moscow in 1958.
Robert enjoys a diverse career as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and recording artist. He has already performed 40 different concerti with orchestras all over the world, including the Saint Petersburg (RUSSIA) Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonia, Louisville Orchestra, and the Mexico City Philharmonic.
As a Steinway Artist and frequent recitalist in the United States and abroad, Robert has developed a reputation as a “genuine” and “sincere” artist, creating delicately balanced programs and performing in a manner to draw focus to the composer rather than to himself. In 2001, under the auspices of Community Concerts, he completed a forty-city tour of the United States. In May 1999, he performed in the Hermitage Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia. Two years earlier he worked with the late Henryk Gorecki in the U.S. premiere of his Piano Sonata.
Robert is highly sought after as a recital partner and collaborator in both instrumental and vocal chamber music. Offstage he is in high demand for special recording projects by contemporary composers, and he sometimes appears on soundtracks for film and television.

Pianist Robert Thies

The Radian Quartet: Mary Beth Woodruff, violin Basil Vendryes, viola, Jane Chung, violin Andrew Smith, cello
Thomas Joyce, organ and Bill Williams, trumpet
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2020, 7 PM
Resonance, Song and Fanfare: Music for Trumpet and Organ
Organist Thomas Joyce and Trumpeter Bill Williams in concert featuring solos and duets from throughout the past 300 years.
Spanning both 20th century and traditional pieces, this concert will feature music by Petr Ebem, Naji Hakim, Alan Hovhaness, Hanri Tomasi, Giuseppe Torelli and Vincent Persichetti.
Thomas Joyce attended the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, received a masters degree in organ from Yale University Institute of Sacred Music and a doctoral degree in organ performance from the University of Washington. Thomas now serves as the minister of Keyboard Music at Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara and an adjunct instructor at Westmont College and accompanist at SBCC. He has previously served as organist and choral conductor at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle, and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.
Bill Williams has performed as principal trumpet and soloist with orchestras and festivals internationally. He has performed, recorded and toured with major orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony, the Berner Symphonieorchester, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestta. He has served as faculty at the Music Academy of the West. Bill is also a highly regarded teacher and educational advisor including work as the Dean of the New World Symphony, and an inaugural Artist/Faculty member of the Youth Music Culture Guangdong. He also serves as an in demand performance psychology coach.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2020, 7 PM
Resonance, Song and Fanfare: Music for Trumpet and Organ
Organist Thomas Joyce and Trumpeter Bill Williams in concert featuring solos and duets from throughout the past 300 years.
Spanning both 20th century and traditional pieces, this concert will feature music by Petr Ebem, Naji Hakim, Alan Hovhaness, Hanri Tomasi, Giuseppe Torelli and Vincent Persichetti.
Thomas Joyce attended the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, received a masters degree in organ from Yale University Institute of Sacred Music and a doctoral degree in organ performance from the University of Washington. Thomas now serves as the minister of Keyboard Music at Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara and an adjunct instructor at Westmont College and accompanist at SBCC. He has previously served as organist and choral conductor at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle, and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.
Bill Williams has performed as principal trumpet and soloist with orchestras and festivals internationally. He has performed, recorded and toured with major orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony, the Berner Symphonieorchester, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestta. He has served as faculty at the Music Academy of the West. Bill is also a highly regarded teacher and educational advisor including work as the Dean of the New World Symphony, and an inaugural Artist/Faculty member of the Youth Music Culture Guangdong. He also serves as an in demand performance psychology coach.

Jackie Brand, violin, Trevor Handy, cello, Erik Rynearson, viola, and Robert Cassidy, piano
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2019, 7 PM
An Evening of Chamber Music
Jackie Brand, violin, Erik Rynearson, viola, and Trevor Handy, cello, all of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Robert Cassidy, piano.
This chamber music concert brings together members of the Los Angles Chamber Orchestra with Robert Cassidy to perform the Mozart Piano Quartets: Piano Quartet No 1 in G Minor, KV 478 and Piano Quartet No 2 in E Flat major, KV 493. “Mozart’s piano quartets do not make reference to any tradition as Mozart was among the first to explore the genre…Mozart saw piano quartets as a kind of sonata enriched with additional voices,” (notes from Marinsky Theatre).
This concert will also feature a performance of Bohuslav Martinu’s String Trio No. 2. This compelling piece written in 1934 is noted for the composer’s use of Czech fold idioms, modernism and neo-classicist motor-rhythms.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2019, 7 PM
An Evening of Chamber Music
Jackie Brand, violin, Erik Rynearson, viola, and Trevor Handy, cello, all of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Robert Cassidy, piano.
This chamber music concert brings together members of the Los Angles Chamber Orchestra with Robert Cassidy to perform the Mozart Piano Quartets: Piano Quartet No 1 in G Minor, KV 478 and Piano Quartet No 2 in E Flat major, KV 493. “Mozart’s piano quartets do not make reference to any tradition as Mozart was among the first to explore the genre…Mozart saw piano quartets as a kind of sonata enriched with additional voices,” (notes from Marinsky Theatre).
This concert will also feature a performance of Bohuslav Martinu’s String Trio No. 2. This compelling piece written in 1934 is noted for the composer’s use of Czech fold idioms, modernism and neo-classicist motor-rhythms.

Isabel Bayrakdarian, soprano
Ben Jacobson, violin, and Jonathan Moerschel, viola, Robert Cassidy, piano
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019, 7 PM
Gypsy Songs and Tangos
The gala opening concert of the 40th season features internationally acclaimed soprano, Isabel Bayrakdarian in a program of Gypsy songs and tangos. Joining her are Ben Jacobson, violin and Jonathan Moerschel, viola, both from the Calder String Quartet as well as Artistic Director, Robert Cassidy, piano.
Isabel Bayrakdarian, Soprano, has performed leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera Company and in opera houses in Italy, England, Austria and Japan. The operas of Mozart are a specialty. This winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Plácido Domingo Operalia competition also concertizes extensively including under the baton of iconic conductors including Seiji Ozawa, James Conlon, Michael Tilson Thomas, Alan Gilbert, and Nicholas McGegan
Robert Cassidy, Piano is a critically acclaimed pianist and pedagogue who performs throughout the world in concert as a soloist and chamber musician. In addition to his teaching studio at the Music Academy of the West, and his work as Director of Piano Chamber Music for Santa Barbara Strings, Dr. Cassidy is the Artistic Director of the Santa Ynez Valley Concert Series. For more information, please visit www.robertcassidypianist.com.
Ben Jacobson, violin, and Jonathan Moerschel, viola, Robert Cassidy, piano
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019, 7 PM
Gypsy Songs and Tangos
The gala opening concert of the 40th season features internationally acclaimed soprano, Isabel Bayrakdarian in a program of Gypsy songs and tangos. Joining her are Ben Jacobson, violin and Jonathan Moerschel, viola, both from the Calder String Quartet as well as Artistic Director, Robert Cassidy, piano.
Isabel Bayrakdarian, Soprano, has performed leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera Company and in opera houses in Italy, England, Austria and Japan. The operas of Mozart are a specialty. This winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Plácido Domingo Operalia competition also concertizes extensively including under the baton of iconic conductors including Seiji Ozawa, James Conlon, Michael Tilson Thomas, Alan Gilbert, and Nicholas McGegan
Robert Cassidy, Piano is a critically acclaimed pianist and pedagogue who performs throughout the world in concert as a soloist and chamber musician. In addition to his teaching studio at the Music Academy of the West, and his work as Director of Piano Chamber Music for Santa Barbara Strings, Dr. Cassidy is the Artistic Director of the Santa Ynez Valley Concert Series. For more information, please visit www.robertcassidypianist.com.
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