A vocal-piano duo with an international reputation, a percussion ensemble pushing the boundaries and everything in between will be featured in the 2016-2017 Pacific Artist Series.

The 15th season of Fresno Pacific University’s signature concert program opens with soprano Janai Brugger and pianist Douglas Sumi at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, September 1, in University Presbyterian Church, 1776 E. Roberts, Fresno. Admission is $20 for general audiences and $15 for senior citizens and $5 for members of the FPU community and alumni card holders, payable at the door.

Brugger was named a “brilliant young artist” by Opera News, has sung in the Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars concert series and won the Marian Anderson Vocal Award from the Washington National Opera and The Kennedy Center. Her UK debut was at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and recent roles include Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Liu (Turandot) and Helena (The Enchanted Island) at the Met and the High Priestess (Aida) at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Sumi is a pianist, coach, conductor and prompter who has assisted conductors James Conlon, Plácido Domingo, Patrick Summers, William Lacy, Michele Mariotti, Stephen Lord, Valery Ryvkin, Grant Gershon and Emmanuel Villaume as well as serving as répétiteur and vocal coach at LA Opera. The 2005 FPU graduate and Tulare native is an alumnus of the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program. He splits his time between UCLA and Azusa Pacific University while spending most summers on faculty at OperaWorks. 

Other concerts in the series are:

Colors of Truth: A Collaboration
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Christa Scott, flute
Benjamin Certain, piano
7:30 p.m. | McDonald Hall Atrium, FPU main campus, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno
$15 general admission, $10 seniors, $5 FPU community and alumni card holders, payable at the door

This flute and piano duo derives its name from John 8:32: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The concert will feature works ranging from a Handel Flute Sonata to pieces by Jules Moquet, Claude Bolling and Gary Schocker.

Christa Scott received a B.A. in Music from FPU in 2009, and a teaching credential from California State University Fresno in 2011. She teaches band, choir and guitar in the Central Unified District and maintains a private flute studio in Reedley. Benjamin Certain earned his B.A. in Music from FPU in 2013. He has accompanied and performed with choirs in several local school districts, the Bach Children’s Choir and community churches. Certain currently accompanies for Central Unified and Fresno Christian schools and works on commissions and scoring/arranging projects.

 

Rong-Huey Liu, oboe
Vivian I-Mao Liu, piano
Saturday, January 21, 2017

7:30 p.m. | McDonald Hall Atrium, FPU main campus, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno
$15 general admission, $10 seniors, $5 FPU community and alumni card holders, payable at the door

Rong-Huey Liu, D.M.A., and Vivian I-Miao Liu, D.M.A., present a recital of works by Matteo Bissoli, Hamilton Harty and Malcolm Arnold as well as the world premiere of Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra, by Walter Saul, D.M.A.

In addition to being principal oboist of the Fresno Philharmonic, Long Beach Symphony, Reno Chamber Orchestra and Riverside County Philharmonic, Liu is an award-winning soloist who has performed oboe concertos by Bach, Corigliano, F. Ferran, Handel, Kalliwoda, Marcello and Mozart. She is professor of oboe at CSU Fullerton, La Sierra University and Riverside Community College. I-Miao Liu has collaborated with members of the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, San Diego Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Shanghai Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic. She is principal rehearsal pianist for the National Children's Chorus, performs with the LA Opera’s Education Program and teaches at the Azusa Pacific University.

Composer/pianist Walter Saul presents Quiltings
Friday, February 24, 2017
7:30 p.m. | McDonald Hall Ashley Auditorium, FPU main campus, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno
$15 general admission, $10 seniors, $5 FPU community and alumni card holders, payable at the door

Walter Saul, D.M.A., professor of music at Fresno Pacific University, has been named Composer of the Year in North Carolina and Oregon. His compositions have been performed globally and are recorded on seven CDs and a DVD. Naxos issued an “American Classics” CD of Saul’s orchestral music, Kiev 2014, which was celebrated by the world premiere of Kiev 2014: Rhapsody for Oboe and Orchestra by the Fresno Philharmonic, Theodore Kuchar, director. Saul teaches music composition, theory, piano, appreciation, scoring and arranging, and late music history at FPU, where he has served since 2003. Saul will perform his Quiltings, a suite of 47 piano pieces celebrating 118 pieces of fabric art by his sister-in-law, Ann Harwell, which will be on display in an accompanying video by his wife, Daphne Saul. More about Saul at waltersaul.com/

Impetus Percussion Quartet
Sarah Basiletti, Michael Downing, Adam Pietz & Robert Strong
Thursday, March 23, 2017
7:30 p.m. | McDonald Hall Atrium, FPU main campus, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno=
$15 general admission, $10 seniors, $5 FPU community and alumni card holders, payable at the door

The Impetus Percussion Quartet was founded by a group of friends from Fresno in 2015. The group—Adam Pietz, Michael Downing, Robert Strong, Sarah Basiletti—seeks to pursue and expand the percussion quartet repertoire. The word "impetus" describes the force, frequently intangible, which sets something into motion, providing dual context towards the group’s mission: to seek great composers and commission new works for percussion quartet, and to present stellar performances where the audience not only listens, but participates in a unique experience. Learn more at impetuspercussion.com

For more information on any Pacific Artist Series concert, call 559-453-2267, email music@fresno.edu or go online at fresno.edu/programs-majors/arts/pacific-artist-series

Author

Wayne Steffen
Associate Director of Publications and Media Relations

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