Sunday, January 24th, 2021 4:00 p.m. premiere "watch-party"
Recorded in the St. Alban's Parish Hall
$15 youth, $20 Senior/Student, $25 general admission
Tickets available through Eventbrite
You can sample some of their work here and here.
Rising young stars perform duets by Handel, Gliere, Massenet and more…
Cellist Evan Kahn and Violinist Alyssa Wang are exceptional young musicians who have already achieved an extraordinary level of mastery and acclaim.
Evan holds principal seats in five different orchestras - Symphony Silicon Valley, Opera San Jose, West Bay Opera, acting principal in the Fresno Philharmonic, and associate principal in San Jose Chamber Orchestra. He has been praised as “a cellist deserved of serious listening” for bringing his “electrifying … nuanced and colorful” style. He received a Master's degree in Chamber Music from San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Alyssa holds two Master's degrees from New England Conservatory, one in violin and one in conducting. A performer, conductor, and composer, she is co-founder, Artistic Director, and Principal Conductor of the Boston Festival Orchestra, which is soon to have its inaugural season. She is also the violinist of Hub New Music, a Boston-based mixed-quartet that performs 21st century music.
On Friday, January 8th of 2021, both Evan and Alyssa performed Alyssa's newly commissioned work from the Palo Alto Philharmonic, "Volt".
The concert will be recorded in advance and broadcast as a watch-party on January 24th at 4:00 p.m.
THIS CONCERT WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE "ON-DEMAND" THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF JANUARY. After the initial broadcast, you may watch it as often as you like, whenever you like.
For this concert, they will be performing:
Handel/Halvorsen: Passacaglia
Gliere: Huit Mourceax 1-4
Viotti: Sonata in E Major, Op. 4 No. 1, I. Allegro Moderato
Jorg Widmann: Duo #24 (James Bond)
Gliere: Huit Morceaux 5-7
Boccherini: Sonata for Violin and Cello in D major
Massenet: "Meditation" from Thais
Artist Biographies:
Alyssa Wang is a passionate and versatile violinist, conductor, and composer. In 2016, she earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Carnegie Mellon University under the tutelage of Andrés Cárdenes. She was the winner of the Carnegie Mellon School of Music Concerto Competition and the Silbermann Chamber Music Competition, and is the recipient of the Pittsburgh Female College Association Prize, the Carnegie Mellon Women’s Award, the Senior Leadership Award, and the Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award. During her senior year at Carnegie Mellon she helped to run the Heritage Scholarship Campaign, which raised over $180,000 to start a substantial undergraduate merit scholarship for future School of Music students. Alyssa is also an Andrew Carnegie Scholar. Alyssa completed two Master’s Degrees in violin performance and conducting at the New England Conservatory. During the summers she has been assistant conductor for the Colorado College Summer Music Festival with Scott Yoo and the New Hampshire Music Festival with Paul Polivnick. Currently, Alyssa is the violinist of Hub New Music, a Boston-based mixed-quartet that performs 21st century music. She also looks forward to the inaugural season of the Boston Festival Orchestra, of which she is co-founder, Artistic Director, and Principal Conductor. Most recently, she was commissioned as a composer by the Palo Alto Philharmonic. For more information please visit alyssa-wang.com.
Evan Kahn has been praised as “a cellist deserved of serious listening” for bringing his “electrifying … nuanced and colorful” style to all of his collaborations, from concerti to chamber music to contemporary performances. Intensely passionate about new music and music of non-Western cultures, he has commissioned and premiered a variety of works by composers from around the world, including his father’s Cello Concerto.
Evan holds principal positions in five orchestras — principal cello in Symphony Silicon Valley, principal cello in Opera San Jose, acting principal in the Fresno Philharmonic, and associate principal cello in San Jose Chamber Orchestra and West Bay Opera. He has performed as a soloist in orchestras and ensembles across the San Francisco Bay Area. In April/May 2018, he served as Artist-in-Residence with Performance Today at NPR, sharing some of his favorite works for cello and his philosophies on music and life, and in February 2019, he was named Musical America’s New Artist of the Month.
A proud Aspen Music Festival alum, Evan attended AMFS on various fellowships: co-principal in Aspen Academy of Conducting Orchestra, co-principal in Aspen Philharmonic as an Orchestral Leadership Fellow, and resident cellist in Aspen’s Contemporary Ensemble. He received a Master’s in Chamber Music at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Jennifer Culp, and his teachers include David Premo, John Walz, Darrett Adkins, Timothy Loo, Wolfgang Emmanuel Schmidt, Paul Hersh, Thomas Loewenheim, and Bonnie Hampton.
In addition to performing and teaching, Evan enjoys playing pen-and-paper games, reading postmodern fiction, and watching The Great British Bake Off. He plays on a cello by Italian luthier Carlo Carletti, c. 1900, and a bow made for cellist Lynn Harrell by Paul Martin Siefried.
Part of the Third Sunday Concert Series, curated by noted flutist Jane Lenoir, now in its fourth season
Evan Kahn and Alyssa Wang