Up-and-coming talent, established Valley musicians and internationally known performers come together in the 2017-2018 Pacific Artist Series sponsored by Fresno Pacific University.
The series, FPU’s signature music event, celebrates its 16th season with five concerts from September to March. Admission is $15 for general audiences, $10 for seniors and $5 members of the FPU community, payable at the door. More information is available online, at music@fresno.edu and (559) 453-2677.
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Pacific Artist Series I
Sunday, September 17, 2017
ALTA Quartet
Featuring pianists Aarne Kela, Linda Erlenheim, Tina Carter & Arlene Steffen
4:00 p.m. | Butler Church, 4884 E. Butler Avenue, Fresno
Four-pianist ALTA Quartet will perform duets, duos, trios and quartets by Dvorak, Rachmaninoff, Milhaud and others.
Aarne Kela is a pianist at Fresno City College and leads music at Christ Lutheran Church in Reedley. He has a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance from Fresno State and a Bachelor’s Degree from Columbia University. Kela has taught piano for more than 15 years.
A member of Clovis Community College’s music faculty, Linda Erlenheim attended Fresno City College, the University of the Pacific and Fresno State, obtaining bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance. She has served as a collaborative pianist, soloist and parish organist and is an active private piano teacher.
Tina Carter received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Fresno State. She has devoted most of her career to music education through her private piano studio and her participation with the Music Teachers’ Association of California at the state and local levels.
Arlene Steffen, M.M., teaches piano at FPU and in her private studio. She chairs the committee for Independent Music Teachers for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy and has published articles in Keyboard Companion and Clavier Companion.
Pacific Artist Series II
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Maestro Soler—“Poet of the Guitar”
7:30 p.m. | McDonald Hall Atrium, main FPU campus, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno
An internationally recognized performer, Francesc de Paula Soler has been hailed by critics as one of the most notable guitarists in the world. He has received numerous prizes and awards in recognition of his artistic merits and role as cultural ambassador. Soler began his musical and piano studies at the age of six. At 11, he received highest honors in the prestigious “Conservatorio Superior de Música” of Barcelona, Spain, later continuing his post-graduate work with Andrés Segovia and others. Composers have written guitar works specifically for Soler, and he has appeared on radio and television in Europe and the United States.
Pacific Artist Series III
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Ahyeon Yun, pianist—Releasing a new CD of works by Walter Saul
7:30 p.m. | McDonald Hall Atrium, main FPU campus, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno
This concert will celebrate the new CD, Ahyeon Yun Performs The Five Sonatinas and Other Piano Music of Walter Saul. Born and raised in South Korea, Yun earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance at Sookmyung Women’s University and both a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance Pedagogy and D.M.A. in Solo Performance at Arizona State University. Walter Saul, D.M.A., professor of music at FPU, has won 24 ASCAP awards. His “Kiev 2014: Rhapsody for Oboe and Orchestra,” was performed by the Fresno Philharmonic. Saul’s six original CDs include Kiev 2014, recorded on the Naxos label by the National Symphony of Ukraine, Theodore Kuchar conducting.
Pacific Artist Series IV
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Resound Duo—Soprano & Percussion
7:30 p.m. | McDonald Hall Ashley Auditorium, main FPU campus, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno
Highly dramatic and multimedia-centered, the soprano/percussion Resound Duo delivers a program of socially and spiritually geared original works commissioned from composers throughout the U.S. and abroad. Tyson Voigt is an avid orchestral, chamber and contemporary musician serving as principal percussionist for The Orchestra Now. Voigt designs his performances to creatively engage new audiences, seeking venues that draw the audience and performer together more intimately and break the “fourth wall.” Jennifer Voigt’s performances bridge the gap between the classic and the contemporary. Recent roles include featured vocalist in the Unbound Ensemble in Miami, FL., and opera performances in Ligeti’s Mysteries of the Macabre and scenes from Mozart’s Idomeneo.
Pacific Artist Series V
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
The Compassion—EJ Hinojosa, composer
7:30 p.m. | Community United Church of Christ, 5550 N. Fresno St., Fresno
The Compassion is a multi-movement musical narrative that teases out nuanced lessons about human suffering and the human nature of Jesus. Comprising various musical styles, the work features a chamber ensemble of strings, winds, piano, drums, electric bass, electric guitar and four vocalists. Composer EJ Hinojosa, a 2016 FPU graduate, is director of music at Community United Church of Christ, where he leads a band, a choir and composes music for worship. He also teaches classroom piano at Roosevelt School of the Arts and teaches privately in the Fresno area. Hinojosa has been commissioned as an arranger and composer by ensembles in California, Iowa, Illinois, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.