WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 16
Heather Powell, Violin
Ilana Blumberg Thomas, Violin
Ilana Matfis, Viola
Gabriel Beistline, Cello
PROGRAM
Mozart String Quartet no. 15 in D minor, K 421
Allegro moderato
Andante
Menuetto and Trio. Allegretto
Allegretto ma non troppo
Mendelssohn String Quartet no. in A minor, Op 13
Adagio – Allegro vivace
Adagio non lento
Intermezzo. Allegretto con moto – Allegro di molto
Presto – Adagio non lento
ABOUT THE MUSICIANS
Heather Powell: A native of Marin County, Heather began playing violin at the age of four. She now resides in San Francisco and is an active freelance violinist all over Northern California. Ms. Powell is currently Assistant Concertmaster of the Santa Rosa Symphony, Concertmaster of the Merced Symphony, and formerly Associate Concertmaster of the Stockton Symphony. She performs with the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Ballet, California Musical Theather, the Magik*Magik Orchestra, Symphony Napa Valley, the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, the Sacramento Philharmonic, the Fresno Philharmonic and the Reno Philharmonic and has recorded for film and on many non-classical albums. In addition to her busy concert schedule, she is committed to maintaining a sizeable private teaching studio, where she has taught violin and viola for the past 8 years. Heather has received awards from the Harvard Musical Association, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, the New England String Ensemble, the Gordon Symphony Orchestra and at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Ms. Powell began her early instruction at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Program with Zaven Melikian, and subsequently worked with Eva Gruesser and Marylou Speaker Churchill at the New England Conservatory of Music. In areas outside music, her studies and interests have been wide-ranging including Italian and Film History at the Universitá di Genova and Viticulture and Enology at U.C. Davis. In 2004, Heather received her B.A Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University in the Social Sciences. Ms. Powell feels fortunate to have as her primary instrument a beautiful Guarneri model violin made by J.B. Vuillaume in 1865.
Ilana Thomas: Following her debut at age fifteen with the San Francisco Symphony, Ilana Blumberg Thomas has appeared across the United States and internationally, including appearances at Tanglewood, the Marlboro Music Festival, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. She is currently in demand in the Bay Area and beyond as a chamber musician, appearing regularly with the Golden Gate String Quartet, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and UC Berkeley’s eco ensemble. As an orchestral musician, Ms. Thomas serves as Associate Concertmaster of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra and performs with Symphony Silicon Valley, the Berkeley Symphony, Marin Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, and the Sacramento Philharmonic, among others. Previously, she held the position of Associate Concertmaster with the Albany Symphony Orchestra in New York State for seven seasons, after which she performed in New York City with renowned chamber orchestras and on Broadway in many productions, including Aida and The Producers, before returning to her native Bay Area. She appears on a variety of recordings released by Deutsche Grammophon, Argo, and Albany Records, has recorded for film and television, including in Nickelodeon’s “The Backyardigans”, and performs and tours with rock bands on five-string electric violin. Her other passions are spending time with her two children, distance running and writing.
Ilana Matfis: Ilana Matfis holds a Master’s degree in viola performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a B.A. in music from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. She is a member of the Sacramento Philharmonic, the assistant principal violist of the Berkeley Symphony and the West Bay Opera Orchestra, principal violist of the Merced Symphony, and has served as guest principal violist of the Midsummer Mozart Festival for the past two summers. Ilana has a large private teaching studio and leads sectionals for many of the Bay Area youth orchestras.
Gabriel Beistline: Gabriel was introduced to the cello at the age of fifteen. However, he quickly found himself collaborating with some of the most prominent and influential musicians of our time, including Christoph Eschenbach, Yo-Yo Ma, Christopher Hogwood, Kent Nagano, Yakov Kreitzberg and Valery Gergiev. He has toured with orchestras throughout the United States, Germany, Lithuania, Armenia, Russia and Japan. Mr. Beistline holds a BM from the New England Conservatory; as well as an MM from Rice University’s prestigious Shepherd School of Music under the professorship of world-renowned soloist Lynn Harrell. Gabriel currently lives in downtown San Francisco where he maintains a private studio of cellists, and regularly concertizes with numerous ensembles and orchestras in the Bay Area.
WEDNESDAY NOON CONCERTS
The community is invited to our complimentary Fall Season of Wednesday Noon Concerts. As part of our ongoing mission to use the transformative power of the arts to inspire and enrich our community, we have opened our doors for the past two years, every Wednesday at Noon, and presented concerts performed by talented musicians that are free of charge to the public. These free noon performances offer listeners the opportunity to discover the beauty of music in an intimate accessible setting, while providing the community with cultural enrichment and exposure to talented performers.
Concerts are in a one-hour format and most performances take place in the intimate Tivoli where both audience and musicians can sit in vibrant, close proximity. Musicians often stay after the performance to informally speak about the program and their upcoming concerts.
