Program
Steve Lin, guitar; Kris Palmer, flute and Issac Pastor-Chermak, cello
Trio Sonata in C Minor from Musical Offering by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Largo
Allegro
Terzetto in D Major, M. S. 69 by Nicolò Paganini (1782-1840)
Allegro con brio
Minuetto
Andante larghetto
Rondo
Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), arranged by Steven Lin
Tres Colores (2018) by Javier Contreras, commissioned by The Black Cedar Trio
Johann Sebastian Bach was not widely known throughout Europe during his lifetime. He considered himself to be a conscientious craftsman merely doing his job to the best of his ability towards the service of his superiors, for the enjoyment of his fellow man, and most importantly to Bach, to the glory of God. Yet, two hundred years after his death, his music holds the highest position in the canon of European art music, and his name is venerated more than that of any other composer.
Nicolò Paganini used the title Terzetto as in the Romantic Terz Guitar, a small guitar tuned a minor third higher than a regular guitar and used for chamber ensembles as opposed to solo performances. Its higher range and brighter timbre projected more strongly in ensemble settings. Throughout the nineteenth century, the classical guitar in Europe played a significant role in small chamber ensembles, with at least a third of all surviving guitar scores from the Romantic era featuring the guitar as an ensemble member rather than a soloist.
Astor Piazzolla is best known for being the father and inventor of Tango Nuevo, a revolutionary new genre in which jazz rhythms and classical music were infused into tango. Tango Nuevo, at first, was strongly rejected in his home country Argentina, but eventually was appreciated and celebrated for the genius it was throughout the world.
Chilean composer Javier Contreras is the winner of the Black Cedar Trio’s 2018 Commission Competition. He received his initial musical training from his father, Manuela Contreras, crafted his skills as a performer with the legendary Chilean guitarist, Jose Antonio Escobar, yet comes largely self-taught as a composer. His compositions have earned first prize in the Boston Guitar Fest Composition Competition, first prize in Chicago’s Lisker Music Foundation Composition Competition, first prize in the Liliana Perez Coroy National Classical Guitar Competition in Chile, plus top awards in Barcelona’s Miguel Llovet Classical Guitar Competition and Austria’s International Guitar Festival Rust.
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
“Black Cedar forges a new repertoire with flair.” says San Francisco Classical Voice. The Black Cedar Trio’s accolades include multiple grants from the Zellerbach Family Foundation and InterMusic SF, an invite to the National Flute Association Convention, and a critically acclaimed 2016 debut album, A Path Less Trod. “While the instrumentation is unconventional, it is surprisingly effective,”writes Stephen Smoliar of The Rehearsal Studio. The trio’s commissions include Javier Contreras’ Tres Colores (2018), Andre Gueziec’sIn the Spring (2018), Ursula Kwong-Brown’s In Transit (2017), Mark Fish’ The Devil Inside (2016), Miscellaneous Music (2015) by Durwynne Hsieh and Of Emblems (2014) by Garrett Shatzer. Their annual Local Composers in Public Libraries is in its fourth year of bringing contemporary music to new audiences in San Francisco and Berkeley, and their Chamber Music Outreach at the Arc of the East Bay has brought classical music to persons with developmental disabilities since 2013.
Kris Palmer is a winner of the Carmel Chamber Music Society Competition, a second prize winner in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, and a Carnegie Hall Recital Debut winner with Artists International. She is a former member of the New Mexico Symphony, and she holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Rice University. The New York Concert Review calls her “clearly among the few current performers on any instrument to fully understand the nature of French Baroque music.”
Steven Lin is a winner of both the Boston GuitarFest Competition and the East Carolina University Guitar Competition. A recording artist for VGo Recordings, Steve has released two albums, Eliot Fisk Series Vol. 1, and Imagen. Classical Guitar magazine calls Lin “a confident player with a powerful sound, quick hands, and a solid musical memory.” Steve holds a Master of Music from the Yale School of Music and is the Professor of Guitar at San Jose State University.
Isaac Pastor-Chermak is Principal Cellist of Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony and Lake Tahoe Music Festival; Associate Principal Cellist of Stockton Symphony; Assistant Principal Cellist of Opera San Jose and Eisenstadt Classical Music Festival; and a member of Santa Barbara Symphony, Monterey Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Black Cedar Trio, and Ensemble 1828. Isaac earned a Bachelor of Arts, with honors, from U.C. Berkeley, and a Master of Music, with honors, from San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
WEDNESDAY NOON CONCERT SERIES INFORMATION
For the past 6 years we have offered complimentary classical concerts every Wednesday featuring renowned musicians from around the world. Thank you so much to all who joined us and performed for us over these past seasons. You have helped make this concert series a special place where community and friends can gather for the love of live music and discover something new and beautiful each and every week.
Throckmorton Theatre is determined to offer the inspiration of live music to every community member, regardless of financial ability. Thus we offer these concerts free of charge to the public, however we pay all performers and incur costs to produce these events. We are incredibly grateful for any and all donations and we also welcome sponsorships of any level.
