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The Previews Archives
From 2001 to 2013 in Manhattan Beach, The Previews has become Classical Crossroads' The Interludes concert series in Torrance CA

2010-2011 Previews Concert Series

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Beverly Hills Audition Winners

Talented rising artists from around the world are selected at the Beverly Hills Auditions and presented monthly in the South Bay on The Interludes concert series in Torrance (previously The Previews concert series in Manhattan Beach). The Interludes series is graciously hosted by First Lutheran Church & School – Torrance as a gift to the community. The concerts also are presented on the preceding Friday evenings on the Music By The Sea recital series in the beautiful Encinitas Library with its expansive view of the Pacific Ocean. From January through June, the concerts are presented the following Sundays on Beverly Hills' Music In The Mansion recital series in the Beverly Hills' historic Greystone Mansion.

"The series is a much-sought opportunity for young performers...the talent level is extremely high." ~ Los Angeles Times 

Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.

DIVAN CONSORT

  
  
top row - left to right
FÜREYA ÜNAL piano
MAIA JASPER violin
VIRGINIA COSTA FIGUEIREDO clarinet
bottom row - left to right
CHRISTINA LINHARDT soprano
SIMONE VITUCCI cello
JENNI OLSON flute

The Divan Consort is a chamber music ensemble founded by pianist Füreya Ünal (a faculty member of the California State University, Fullerton), with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century composers. The members of Divan Consort are award-winning musicians from the Turkey, US, and Portugal, and Germany.  

Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.

Due Violoncellisti

SUNNY YANG and LARS HOEFS
with
MARY AU piano

Born in Korea, cellist Sunny Yang studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and recently moved to the U.S. to continue her studies with Ralph Kirshbaum on the Masters program at the University of Southern California. In the UK, Sunny was a member of the Diamond Quartet, which won the Nossak Chamber Prize.

Cellist Lars Hoefs earned a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University and both Masters and Doctorate from the USC Thornton School, studying cello with Ronald Leonard. Honors include top prizes in the Fischoff and Coleman Chamber Music Competitions. Lars has performed and taught on four continents, and returns every August to Brazil for the Rio International Cello Encounters. Lars is cellist of the California Quartet and the Connections Chamber Music Series.

Well know and much loved by Southland aficionados, Mary Au received her music education at the Royal Academy of Music in England and USC. Mary is a collaborative artist in the master classes of world-renowned artists, which have included Janos Starker, Steven Isserlis, Lluis Claret, Lynn Harrell, Rugero Ricci, and Elly Ameling, to name just some.
 

Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.

ESTHER KEEL piano

Praised by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as "an artist of utmost taste, proportion and charm," pianist Esther Keel has captured audiences since making her debut with Esa Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the age of thirteen. Since then, she has performed concertos with many orchestras in the U.S. As a soloist, Ms. Keel has appeared in prestigious concert halls including Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in New York, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and abroad. Numerous competition honors include top prizes in the Moscow International Chopin Competition, Washington International Piano Competition, Kingsville International Piano Competition in Texas, and the Cleveland International Piano Competition.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ms. Keel earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School. She is currently studying with John Perry in the Artist Diploma program at the Colburn Conservatory.
 

Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

"Tim Fain has everything he needs for a spectacular career. What brought the audience to its feet demanding three encores was his sheer youthful exuberance and dazzling technical skill."
Washington Post

Violinist TIM FAIN
with
Pianist GIDEON RUBIN

Avery Fisher Career Grant-winning New York-based violinist Tim Fain was heard as the sound of Richard Gere's violin in Fox Searchlight's Bee Season. Most recently, Tim is the violinist, both onscreen and on the soundtrack, in Fox Searchlight's feature film Black Swan, which is in theaters now. Recipient of the Young Concert Artists International Award, he has appeared as soloist with the Baltimore Symphony with Marian Alsop, New York Chamber Symphony (Alice Tully Hall), iPalpiti Orchestra (Disney Hall) and appeared as soloist with the Philip Glass Ensemble at Carnegie Hall in a concert version of Einstein on the Beach. He has toured with Musicians from Marlboro, performed as a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and appeared at the Spoleto, Ravinia, Moab, and Santa Fe Festivals. A native of Santa Monica, Tim Fain is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and The Juilliard School.

Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

GEETA NOVOTNY mezzo soprano

SOO-YEON PARK CHANG piano

Mezzo-soprano Geeta Novotny is an award winning mezzo-soprano whose performance artistry has been reviewed as "undeniably confident and regal," "beautiful," and "seductive." Geeta has performed principal roles with esteemed opera companies and symphony orchestras from the hallowed stages of New York City's Carnegie Hall and The Metropolitan Opera House to the stage of the Los Angeles Opera and the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra. Geeta has also sung lead vocals on film soundtracks and has enjoyed a career as a principal stage and film actor. Geeta holds a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and pursued her graduate degree at the University of North Texas.

Pianist Soo-Yeon Park Chang has given numerous concerts in Korea, England, and the United States. She received her Bachelor's Degree at the Seoul National University, her Master's Degree at the Peabody Conservatory, and her Doctorate in Keyboard Collaborative Arts at USC. She is currently a full-time faculty member at California State University, Bakersfield.
 

Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

Glamour magazine names USC undergraduate Pauline Yang among "Top 10 College Women in America"

PAULINE YANG piano

Pianist Pauline Yang won her first international piano competition in Washington D.C. at age 7. By age 11, she was training at the Juilliard School. Also at 11, she debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra with Chopin's Piano Concerto No.2 and soloed at Carnegie Hall. She has since performed as concerto soloist and recitalist worldwide. Other honors include Third Prize in the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition, and First Prizes in the 2002 Stravinsky Awards International Piano Competition, 2004 Lennox International Young Artists Competition, 2006 Klaviersommerfest Competition in Germany, among others. Ms. Yang is a scholarship student of John Perry at USC, where she is double-majoring in piano performance and political science.

Watch a USC-produced video with Pauline:

Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

AURIA TRIO

MICHAEL MORTON flute                                         
YOLANDA MITCHELL WEST soprano
                                     MARCIA DICKSTEINguest harpist

The Auria Trio brings together the talents and experiences of artists who've performed all over the globe. Auria, "gentle music," blends the lushness of a harp with the whimsy of the flute and the drama of a soprano and fuses them into artful interpretations of traditional chamber music and more modern treasures. Auria Trio unique sound combination brings their audiences a rare treat of serenity and inspiration in a busy, fast world.
 

Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

BRONWYN BANERDT cello
and
DAVID KAPLAN piano

Cellist Bronwyn Banerdt has appeared as a soloist with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, New West Symphony, Symphony in C, and the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra, where she premiered Michael Kamen's Poem. John Rutter personally invited her to play the solo from his Requiem in Carnegie Hall. Grand Prize winner of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Bronislaw Kaper Awards, Bronwyn has also captured top prizes at the Ima Hogg Competition, Kingsville Music Competition, and the Pasadena Showcase House Competition, as well as being a two-time prizewinner at the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Competition. A native of Los Angeles, Ms. Banerdt earned her Bachelor's Degree from the USC Thornton School of Music with Ronald Leonard. An Artists Diploma at the Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of David Soyer, and she is currently pursuing a Master's degree at The Juilliard School with Richard Aaron.

Pianist David Kaplan has been lauded by The New York Times for "striking imagination and creativity." He has made concerto, recital, and chamber music appearances at Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Banff, as well as at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival and Chamber Music Northwest. He has been featured by CMS of Lincoln Center, Barge Music, and at the Mostly Mozart Festival, performing in Avery Fisher Hall at the invitation of Itzhak Perlman. As a new member of Carnegie Hall's high-profile young-artist troupe, the Ensemble ACJW, David performs regularly in New York's leading venues from Carnegie's Zankel Hall to Le Poisson Rouge. Most recently a student of Claude Frank at the Yale School of Music, his previous mentors were Walter Ponce at UCLA and Miyoko Lotto at the Manhattan School of Music.

David is a past Beverly Hills Auditions winner and performed on the Previews series in September and April 2003.

Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

An Art Song Recital of 19th-Century American Music

click image for full concert information

Conceived and produced by Karen Benjamin and presented with projected images of the time with narration by KUSC host Alan Chapman

Soprano Karen Benjamin performs in musical theatre, opera, and cabaret. An original cast member of the Los Angeles production of Phantom of the Opera starring Michael Crawford. With her husband, KUSC classical radio host Alan Chapman, they produced cabaret evenings of Mr. Chapman's original songs and have performed across the United States from Carnegie Hall to the Los Angeles Music Center.

Renowned baritone Cedric Berry earned his music diploma from Interlochen Arts Academy and both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Southern California. A first-place winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions - Western Region, he has sung numerous lead operatic roles in Europe and America.

Pianist Victoria Kirsch curates and performs a wide variety of vocal and chamber music programs throughout Southern California. She tours internationally with renowned soprano Julia Migenes (Diva on the Verge, Schubert, Bernstein on Broadway), and she is the music director of Opera Arts, a Palm Springs-based performance organization.
 

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