The West Covina Symphony Orchestra presents: Artists Series ~ Sonic Tapestries January 10th at 4pm

PRLog (Press Release) - Jan 08, 2010 -
"Dazzling virtuosity…Live entertainment at its most engaging and palpable best"

The West Covina Symphony Orchestra presents the second concert of it's "Artist Series ~ Sonic Tapestries" Chamber Music concerts, featuring cellist Ruslan Biryukov and friends.

International Competition Winners Cellist Ruslan Biryukov and pianist Mary Au, are joined by cellists Maksim Velichkin, Hope Easton, August Lee, and Patricia Ryan. They will be performing works of George Frideric Handel, Jean Barriere , Luigi Boccherini, Alfredo Piatti, and David Popper. Also featured on the program is Carol Worthey’s – Suite for Two Cellos “Russian Scenes” (World Premier).

The concert will take place at the West Covina United Methodist Church on January 10, 2010 at 4:00 pm. These artists are known for their “virtuosity, artistry, passion and individuality” and are recognized by awards and worldwide audience.

Cellist Ruslan Biryukov, winner of Mu Phi Epsilon's 17th International Competition, is a charismatic performer with “stunning technique, superb artistry, passion and individuality” whose artistic level is recognized not only by awards but also by a worldwide audience in countries in the former USSR, Europe and the United States. He has collaborated with Midori, Kirill Rodin, Mstislav Rostropovich and Seiji Ozawa. Biryukov has been a master teacher in music festivals in Europe, Russia and the USA. He has held teaching positions at the Ippolitov-Ivanov State Institute of Music in Moscow, Russia and the Music Academy in Lovran, Croatia. Graduate of Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory in Russia, USC Thornton School of Music in the US and the Baku Music Academy in Azerbaijan, Ruslan develops new ideas based upon the tradition he learned from Mstislav Rostropovich, Janos Starker, Natalia Gutman, Kirill Rodin, Eleonore Schoenfeld and Midori.

Maksim Velichkin enjoys a broad musical life of a cellist, collaborative pianist, and harpsichordist both locally  and throughout the world. He has appeared as a soloist with Uzbekistan National Symphony, Duquesne Contemporary Ensemble, Verbier Festival Symphony Orchestra among many others. He has extensively toured Europe, Asia, both Americas and Australia with the prestigious Verbier Chamber and Symphony Orchestras as a principal cellist. He has collaborated with a number of prominent conductors and instrumentalists: James Levine, Kurt Masur, Charles Dutoit, Yuri Temirkanov, Wolfgang Sawallish, Herbert Blomstedt, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Neemi and Paavo Yarvi, Sarah Chang, Maxim Vengerov (EMI recording project), Yuri Bashmet, Joshua Bell and others. Mr. Maksim Velichkin is the music director of the Classical Underground concert series where he regularly performs.

Hope Easton attended The Cleveland Institute of Music as a preparatory student. She went on to New England Conservatory and received her Bachelors of Music. Further continuing her education by being awarded the Fulbright Scholarship, she went to England studying at the Royal Northern College of Music with Ralph Kirshbaum, performing at various festivals in America and England. Since then she decided to make a turn from classical music and branch out. Finding her own voice while touring with a Hollywood artist, Hope started to develop a style of writing and singing expressing her emotional life and the perceptions of those lives around her. She has performed at the Gibson Amphitheatre and Walt Disney Hall with the band Bittersweet, and performed and recorded with the famous English rocker Al Stewart.

August Lee ( 어거스트 이) was born into a family of prominent Korean musicians. For over a hundred years, his ancestors played a major role in influencing the music of South Korea. Mr. Lee graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 2008 and received a Master of Music degree with the qualification as cello soloist and teacher. Among his teachers in Moscow were legendary musicians Tatiana Gaidamovich, Dimitri Shebalin and Alexander Bonduriansky. His primary cello teacher has been Professor Kirill Rodin.  Currently he is a student in the studio of Ruslan Biryukov. Winner of multiple first prizes in national music competitions and the International Sergei Taneyev Chamber Music Competition (2008), August Lee has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in Asia, Europe and North America. Highlights of his performance career include concerts for Ambassadors and diplomatic missions of nearly three-dozen countries, appearances in all concert halls at the Moscow Conservatory, and major venues in South Korea. His luscious tone, profound musicality and impeccable virtuosity, combined with his charming personality gain him immense appreciation from audiences worldwide.

Patricia Ryan won First Prize in both the MTAC-San Diego Branch Concerto Competition and the MTAC-San Diego Branch VOCE Competition.  She was also chosen to study chamber music with the internationally celebrated violin and cello duo Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld under the Young Musicians' Foundation Chamber Music Program on full scholarship. Her teachers include world renowned Tchaikovsky Competition Laureate Nathanial Rosen, Ruslan Biryukov, Alexander Suleiman, Thomas Stauffer (San Diego State University), Viola Brown, and Catherine Godden. Patricia has performed chamber music on Sundays Live, the longest running live classical music radio program in Los Angeles, broadcast live on K-Mozart and streamed live worldwide. She has also performed internationally in Portugal and has also attended the Viana de Castello International Music Festival in the summer of 2008.

Pianist Mary Au received critical acclaim from the legendary Brooks Smith and Mme. Rosina Lhevinne for her "clean clear touch, sensitivity and superb artistry". Known for her "sensitive, seamless transition between chamber music collaboration and piano accompaniment", Mary is a much sought after collaborative artist and pianist whose artistry embodies her worldwide experience. She has appeared in recital and master classes with esteemed artists Christine Brewer, Nathaniel Rosen, Natalia Gutman, Steven Isserlis, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Ralph Kirshbaum. A former executive of the GRAMMY Awards, Ms. Au’s mentors include Kevin Fitz-Gerald, Daniel Pollack, Gordon Green, Brooks Smith, Alice Schoenfeld and Eleonore Schoenfeld. Her recital work included appearances in the Community Concert Series, sponsored by Columbia Artists Management Inc. Mary has also been collaborative artist at the international Gregor Piatigorsky Seminar for Cellists, The Quartet Program, The National Cello Institute, the Colburn School of Performing Arts, the University of Southern California, the Ambassador College, and the John F. Kennedy Center/Rockefeller Foundation International Competition for Excellence in the performance of American Music. To read more about Mary Au, please visit www.aumary.com.

For ticket information, contact the West Covina Symphony Orchestra at 626-771-0462
email: info@westcovinasymphony.com

Tickets are also available for purchase directly on the symphony website at http://www.westcovinasymphony.com/calendar.html

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