Alexander Korsantia, piano

Alexander Korsantia is one of the leading pianists of our time. A “major artist” (Miami Herald) and a “quiet maverick” (Daily Telegraph), Alexander Korsantia has been praised for a “piano technique where difficulties simply do not exist” (Calgary Sun).

In recent seasons Mr. Korsantia performed with the Stuttgart Philharmonic, Boston Philharmonic and Xiamen Philharmonic, Israel Symphony and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. With The Far Cry Chamber Group he played Galina Ustvolskaya's Piano Concerto in Boston und Tblisi.

Ever since winning the First Prize and Gold Medal at the Artur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition and the First Prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition, Korsantia’s career has taken him to many of the world’s major concert halls, collaborating with renowned conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Gianandrea Noseda, Valery Gergiev, and Paavo Järvi, with such orchestras as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in Turin, Cincinnati Symphony, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Alexander Korsantia is a frequent guest in many of the world's leading concert series including in Warsaw, Boston, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Vancouver, Calgary, San Francisco, Lodz, St. Petersburg, and Blaibach and at major international festivals in Tanglewood and Verbier. A passionate chamber musician, he has collaborated with other leading soloists such as Vadim Repin, Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, Sergei Nakariakov and the Stradivari Quartet.

His award-winning recordings include works by Beethoven, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, and Copland. In 2020 his recording of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 was released to great critical acclaim (with Stuttgart Philharmonic under Dan Ettinger, at German label Hänssler). His solo piano transcription of Ravel’s La valse was published by Sikorski.

Born in Tbilisi, Alexander Korsantia began his musical studies at an early age with his mother, and later became a pupil of Tengiz Amiredjibi, Georgia’s foremost piano instructor. In 1992, he joined the famed piano studio of Alexander Toradze at Indiana University in South Bend, USA. In 1999, then-President Eduard Shevardnadze awarded him the Order of Honor. Mr. Korsantia is a recipient of the Golden Wing award (2015) and Georgia’s National State Prize (1997). Korsantia resides in Boston where he is a Professor of Piano at the New England Conservatory.

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Website: http://alexanderkorsantia.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KorsantiaAlexander

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexanderkorsantia/

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Upcoming Performances

Akiko Fujimoto, conductor

Akiko Fujimoto was named Music Director of the Mid-Texas Symphony in May 2019. Fujimoto has electrified audiences throughout North America and has guest conducted the National Symphony Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Houston Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Lexington Philharmonic, and the Corpus Christi Symphony.

Upcoming highlights include debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, Vermont Symphony and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, return engagements with the Virginia Symphony and the Florida Orchestra, and world premieres by Suad Bushnaq and Tania León.

At the Minnesota Orchestra, Fujimoto was appointed as Assistant Conductor for the 2017–18 season under Music Director Osmo Vänska and promoted to Associate Conductor for the following two seasons. During 2017–2020, Fujimoto also served as cover conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Esa-Pekka Salonen, Zubin Mehta, and Susanna Mälkki. Prior to arriving in Minnesota, she was Assistant then Associate Conductor of the San Antonio Symphony and Conducting Associate for the Virginia Symphony.

A passionate advocate for young musicians, Fujimoto has held conducting appointments at Harvard University, Stanford University, and the College of William & Mary. While in Virginia, she also served as Music Director of the Williamsburg Youth Orchestras. Born in Japan, Fujimoto holds a bachelor’s degree in music and psychology from Stanford University and Master of Music degrees in conducting from Boston University and the Eastman School of Music.

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Website: https://akikofujimoto.com/

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Upcoming Performances

Ali Ewoldt, vocalist

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Ali Ewoldt has appeared as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Cosette in Les Miserables (Broadway, National Tour), The King and I (Broadway, Lyric Opera of Chicago), Maria in West Side Story (National Tour, International Tour) and Luisa in The Fantasticks (Off-Broadway). She has also played Philia in A Funny Thing… (The Muny), Fan in A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theatre), Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls (Sacramento Music Circus) and Martha Jefferson in 1776 (The Muny).

Ali’s concert/symphony work includes: Feinstein's 54 Below, Tokyo's Theatre Orb, Canyon Ranch, Alice Tully Hall, The Town Hall, NY Pops at Carnegie Hall, American Pops Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Kaohsiung Symphony and The Boston Pops with Maestro Keith Lockhart. Her TV/Film credits include The Michael J. Fox Show, Yield, Mia and The Cactus. Ali has a BA in psychology from Yale University and is a proud Filipina-American.

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Website: https://aliewoldt.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aliewoldt

Instagram: https://instagram.com/aliewoldt

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxXWDHS-73tJEFIMIiLTh2g

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Upcoming Performances

Roy Stevens, narrator

Roy Stevens is a Modesto native and graduate of both Paradise Elementary School and Modesto High School. He has been the General Director of Opera Modesto since 2018. Since his professional debut in Italy in 1987, his career as an international opera singer has taken him around the world for starring engagements with leading opera companies and symphonies in over 20 countries, on 5 continents, and singing in 14 languages; from the national theaters of Albania, Guatemala, Colombia and Taiwan, to the Dallas Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Dresden Semperoper, Oper Frankfurt, Barcelona’s Liceu, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon and Milano’s famed Teatro Alla Scala. 

Roy and his wife, Annalisa Winberg (Opera Modesto Artistic Director & international opera singer), are also very proud of their work as inspirational performing arts/opera-based educators through their AmazingVox School Residencies. They have had the privilege to touch the educational lives of 500,000+ young Americans in California and across the country. These experiences have profoundly impacted the way they work with Central Valley youth and young artists through the training, educational and nationally unique literacy programs of Opera Modesto. 

Roy’s international operatic career has been very unusual, performing roles in nearly every male vocal category (except true Bass and Counter Tenor); Basso Buffo, Bass-Baritone, Heldenbaritone, Verdi Baritone, Heldentenor, Lyric Tenor, and Musical Theater/Pop Style Baritone & Tenor. He considers this to be fun! 

In 1995, Annalisa and Roy were the featured soloists in a wonderful Modesto Symphony Orchestra & Chorus concert of opera highlights. Roy is delighted to return to MSO as Narrator, just a few years later. This occasion should also mark, for the public, the genuine atmosphere of friendly collaboration that currently exists between Central Valley arts organizations…something to be truly treasured! 

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Website: https://www.operamodesto.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OperaModesto/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/OperaModesto/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNoTT-xKMFNrfpSQypWEcvA

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Upcoming Performances

Francisco Vila-Haas, cello

“Vila brought out the fervor and vitality…consummate projection.”

— The Strad Magazine (April 2012)

Francisco Vila began playing the cello at age 8 and had his solo debut with orchestra at 14. Concert activities have taken him throughout Europe, North and South America. Performing collaborations have included those with artists such as Nobuko Imai, Cho-Liang Lin, Gary Hoffman, Wolfram Christ, Toby Hoffman, Sunwook Kim, Martin Chalifour, and members of the Juilliard String Quartet.

Vila has appeared as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Aalborg Symfoniorkester, Liege Royal Philharmonic, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Santander Festival Orchestra, Indiana University Philharmonic, and all principal orchestras of his native Ecuador.

He has been a participant at the Ravinia Steans Institute and guest artist at the Beaumaris, Santander, and Stavelot music festivals among others. As a member of the iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates he performed in such venues as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Los Angeles’ Disney Hall, Mozarteum Salzburg, and on international tours.

Mr. Vila views teaching as an important aspect in music-making. In March of 2015, he founded and directs the International Music Festival of Esmeraldas (Ecuador) in his hometown. This is a social project that awards full-tuition scholarships to numerous gifted young talents from Central and South America for two weeks of masterclasses with some of the world’s great artists. For his work with this platform, Mr. Vila has received coveted grants from the US State Department, Tarisio Trust, and the Sphinx MPower Grant.

Vila was granted a Presidential Scholarship to the Boston Conservatory for his Bachelor studies, after which he received a Performance Diploma from Indiana University where he was a student of Janos Starker, Sharon Robinson and Menahem Pressler.

In 2012, he was selected to the inaugural cello class at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where he earned an Artist Diploma under the famed cellist Gary Hoffman. In the same year he became the second-prize laureate of the Sphinx Competition in Detroit Michigan.

Mr. Vila serves on the faculty at the Longy School of Music of Bard College and performs on a fine cello crafted by Vincenzo Panormo in 1790 on generous life-term loan from the “Karl McNutt Family Trust” as well as the “ex-Janos Starker” Edward Tubbs bow.

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Website: https://www.franciscovila.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/franciscovilahaas/?hl=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjwzMCQswJuO1AQDbF_hGuQ

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Upcoming Performances

Stuart Chafetz, conductor

Stuart Chafetz is the Principal Pops Conductor of the Columbus Symphony and the newly appointed Principal Pops Conductor of the Chautauqua and Marin Symphonies. Chafetz, a conductor celebrated for his dynamic and engaging podium presence, is increasingly in demand with orchestras across the continent and this season Chafetz will be on the podium in Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Naples, Philly Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Pittsburgh, San Diego,  and Winnipeg.  He enjoys a special relationship with The Phoenix Symphony where he leads multiple programs annually.

He’s had the privilege to work with renowned artists including Chris Botti, 2 Cellos, Hanson, Rick Springfield, Michael Bolton, Kool & The Gang, Jefferson Starship, America, Little River Band, Brian McKnight, Roberta Flack, George Benson, Richard Chamberlain, The Chieftains, Jennifer Holliday, John Denver, Marvin Hamlisch, Thomas Hampson, Wynonna Judd, Jim Nabors, Randy Newman, Jon Kimura Parker and Bernadette Peters. 

He previously held posts as resident conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and associate conductor of the Louisville Orchestra. As principal timpanist of the Honolulu Symphony for twenty years, Chafetz would also conduct the annual Nutcracker performances with Ballet Hawaii and principals from the American Ballet Theatre. It was during that time that Chafetz led numerous concerts with the Maui Symphony and Pops. He's led  numerous Spring Ballet productions at the world-renowned Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

In the summers, Chafetz spends his time at the Chautauqua Institution, where he conducts the annual Fourth of July and Opera Pops concerts with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in addition to his role as that orchestra’s timpanist.

When not on the podium, Chafetz makes his home near San Francisco, CA, with his wife Ann Krinitsky. Chafetz holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and a master’s from the Eastman School of Music.

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Website: https://www.peterthrom.com/artist.php?id=stuartchafetz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stuart.chafetz

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stuartchafetz?lang=en

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Upcoming Performances

Charles Yang, violin

Recipient of the 2018 Leonard Bernstein Award and described by the Boston Globe as one who "plays classical violin with the charisma of a rock star", Juilliard graduate Charles Yang began his violin studies with his mother in Austin, Texas, and has since studied with world-renowned pedagogues Kurt Sassmanshaus, Paul Kantor, Brian Lewis and Glenn Dicterow. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras and in concert in the United States, Europe, Brazil, Russia, China, and Taiwan, and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. On June 9th of 2005, the Mayor of Austin presented Mr. Yang with his own "Charles Yang Day".  In 2016 Mr. Yang joined the crossover string-band, Time for Three.

Not only confined to classical violin, Mr. Yang's improvisational crossover abilities as a violinist, electric violinist, and vocalist have led him to featured performances with a variety of artists in such festivals as The Aspen Music Festival, The Schleswig- Holstein Music Festival, The Ravinia Festival, The Crested Butte Music Festival, The Cayman Arts Festival, The YouTube Music Awards, The Moab Music Festival, TED, Caramoor, The EG Conference, Google Zeitgeist, Interlochen, and onstage at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House, David H. Koch Theater, Dizzy’s and David Rubinstein Atrium; The Long Center, Rudolfinum, The Royal Danish Theatre, Le Poisson Rouge, Highline Ballroom, Ars Nova, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Forbidden City in Beijing among many others. He has performed in the presence of two former US Presidents, the Queen of Denmark and has shared the stage in collaborations with artists including Peter Dugan, CDZA, Steve Miller, Jesse Colin Young, Jake Shimabukuro, Ray Benson, Michael Gordon, Marcelo Gomes, Savion Glover, Twyla Tharp, Misty Copeland, and Jon Batiste. Mr. Yang recently made his solo debut with Marin Alsop and The Chicago Symphony at The Ravinia Festival. His career has been followed by various news media including The New York Times, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, The Financial Times, The Austin-American Statesman, The Austin Chronicle and The Strad. Mr. Yang is featured in Nick Romeo's book, Driven as well as Discovery Channel's Curiosity.

“Mr. Yang is a true crossover artist, a pioneer who can hop between classical and popular music and bring fresh ideas to fans of both genres.”

— The Texas Observer

Regarding Mr. Yang, The Texas Observer has noted, “Mr. Yang is a true crossover artist, a pioneer who can hop between classical and popular music and bring fresh ideas to fans of both genres. Rather than maintaining an insular focus and simply assuming that an audience for classical music will always exist, he wants to actively create that audience, to persuade and seduce others into enjoying a type of music as passionately as he does.”

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Website: https://www.charlesyangmusic.com/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/chazzviolin

Facebook: http://facebook.com/charlesyangmusic

Twitter: http://twitter.com/chazzviolin

Youtube: http://youtube.com/charlesyangmusic

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Upcoming Performances

Sandeep Das, tabla

A Guggenheim Fellow and Grammy-winning musician, Sandeep Das is one of the leading Tabla virtuosos in the world today. Since his debut concert at the age of 17 with legendary Sitar player Ravi Shankar, Das has established himself as one of India’s leading Tabla maestros, building a prolific international reputation spanning over three decades. Das has collaborated with top musicians and ensembles from across the world such as Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, with whom he has performed for the past 21 years, as well as Paquito D’Rivera, Bobby McFarin, and iconic orchestras like the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, and Chicago Symphony, among others. His original compositions have been performed in over 50 countries, including events at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Sydney Opera House; for the 150th anniversary of the United Nations; and by university and children’s ensembles across the globe. 

Das is the founder of Harmony and Universality through Music (HUM), a nonprofit organization in India that has promoted global understanding through music performance and provided learning opportunities and scholarships for visually-impaired children with artistic potential since 2009. Passionate about sharing his ideas and experiences, Das has presented at The New York Encounter, The EG Conference, TEDx events, and multiple university residencies. In 2015, he established Das Tabla School, where he currently trains musicians from 6+ countries both online and in-person in Boston, MA. To learn more about him, please visit www.sandeepdas.com.

“Sandeep transcends his instrument– when he plays the Tabla he is a creator of myths, a master communicator and an orchestra, all in one. In my decades of collaboration around the world, he is easily one of the greatest artists I have ever met. Not only is he one of the best artists I have met, but he is also one of the best teachers I have met. I believe there is no one he cannot engage!”

— Yo-Yo Ma, cello

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Official Website: http://www.sandeepdas.com

Facebook: Official: Sandeep Das

Instagram: @sandeepdas.official

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Upcoming Performances