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2021 Founder’s Concert

In tribute to Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams, Founder of Four Seasons Arts

PROGRAM

Brahms: Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
Florence Price: Adoration
Florence Price: Elfentanz
William Grant Still: Suite for Violin and Piano

Dr. Williams was the first African-American presenter of a major classical music concert series in the United States and it is to him that we offer this special tribute. His love of classical music began as a child when he attended concerts by legendary artists such as tenor Roland Hayes and contralto Marian Anderson, In 1958, at a time when the classical music world, and much of the rest of society, was racially segregated, he began presenting artists of all races and organizing racially diverse audiences. Over 40-plus years in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, he introduced to the world some of the finest musicians of our time.

Four Seasons Arts continues this legacy by presenting annual concerts in Oakland, California, providing artists’ seminars and master classes for Oakland public school students, organizing concerts at the Alameda County Jail, and featuring online concerts and programs.

This annual “Founder’s Concert” reaffirms Dr. Williams’ belief that Art creates images of beauty that enrich and ennoble as they inspire us to achieve the highest and best in the human experience. He felt that race, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and language were artificial barriers and he used music as his vehicle for celebrating the enduring commonality of the human family.

New Century Saxophone Quartet

Program
J.S. Bach: “Presto” from Italian Concerto, BWV 971
Guillermo Lago: Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) from Ciudades
Guillermo Lago: Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) from Ciudades
Barbara Kolb: Franciscan Chant
Jose Rioja: Veracruz!
Arr. Glen Haynes: My Lord What A Mornin’ Five Miles from Town
Russell Peck: Drastic Measures

“A smoothness of sound, blend of ensemble and range of nuance that often astonishes. … No mere technicians but artists who entered into the spirit of the music with wit and fantasy.”
— GREENWICH TIME (CONN.)

For over 30 years, the New Century Saxophone Quartet has entertained audiences with a combination of skillful artistry and down-home fun. Founded in Winston-Salem, NC, the ensemble was the first of its kind to win the prestigious Concert Artist Guild competition in New York City in 1992. The Quartet has toured throughout the United States and the world.

The New Century Saxophone Quartet has dedicated its career to growing and developing the repertoire of the saxophone quartet, and to that end has commissioned numerous composers including Peter Schickele, Michael Torke, Sherwood Shaffer, Saturday Night Live band leader Lenny Pickett and many others.

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Stewart Goodyear

Program:
Haydn: Sonata in E minor, No. 53, Hob. XVI/34 Bach: French Suite No. 5 in G Major Brahms: Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118 Mendelssohn/Rachmaninoff: Scherzo from “Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Goodyear: Callaloo (world premiere of solo piano arrangement written by the composer)

Proclaimed “a phenomenon” by the Los Angeles Times and “one of the best pianists of his generation” by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stewart Goodyear is an accomplished young pianist as a concerto soloist, chamber musician, recitalist and composer. Mr. Goodyear has performed with major orchestras of the world , including the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Bournemouth Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, MDR Symphony Orchestra (Leipzig),  Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony , Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and NHK Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Goodyear began his training at The Royal Conservatory in Toronto, received his bachelor’s degree from Curtis Institute of Music, and completed his master’s at The Juilliard School. Known as an improviser and composer, he has been commissioned by orchestras and chamber music organizations, and performs his own solo works.  Last year, Mr. Goodyear premiered his suite for piano and orchestra, “Callaloo”, with Kristjan Jarvi and MDR Symphony Orchestra in Leipzig, and last summer, the Clarosa Quartet premiered his Piano Quartet commissioned by the Kingston Chamber Music Festival. Mr. Goodyear performed all 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas in one day at Koerner Hall, McCarter Theatre, the Mondavi Center, and the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas.

Mr. Goodyear’s discography includes Beethoven’s Complete Piano Sonatas (which received a Juno nomination for Best Classical Solo Recording in 2014) and Diabelli Variations for the Marquis Classics label, Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto and Grieg’s Piano Concerto, and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concertos No. 2 and 3, both released to critical acclaim on the Steinway and Sons label. His Rachmaninov recording received a Juno nomination for Best Classical Album for Soloist and Large Ensemble Accompaniment. Also for Steinway and Sons is Mr. Goodyear’s recording of his own transcription of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker (Complete Ballet)”, which was released October 2015 and was chosen by the New York Times as one of the best classical music recordings of 2015. For Sono Luminus, he recorded an album, entitled “For Glenn Gould”, which combines repertoire from Mr. Gould’s US and Montreal debuts. Mr. Goodyear’s recordings for Orchid Classics include an album of Ravel piano works, and an album of Mr. Goodyear’s “Callaloo” Suite, his Piano Sonata, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. His newest recording are the complete Beethoven piano concertos, which was released on Orchid Classics in the spring 2020.

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Myriad Trio

Program:
Ottorino Respighi – La Primavera from “Trittico Botticelliano”
Benjamin Britten – Lachrymae, Op. 48
Ottorino Respighi – L’Adorazione Dei Magi from “Trittico Botticelliano”
Jacque Ibert – Piece pour flute seule 
Marcel Tournier – Vers la Source dans le Bois
Claude Debussy – Syrinx for solo flute
Ottorino Respighi – La Nascita Di Venere from “Trittico Botticelliano”

The Myriad Trio is made up of three award-winning classical musicians hailing from three prestigious organizations. Che-Yen “Brian” Chen, Demarre McGill and Julie Smith Phillips — met when they were members of the San Diego Symphony more than 10 years ago.

Since then, Phillips has continued with the symphony as principal harpist, Chen has recently become a professor of viola at the UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music and McGill is principal flutist of the Seattle Symphony. Their busy schedules have made their concerts together rare.

The Myriad Trio is continuing a musical tradition that started more than a century ago. The first known works for flute, viola and harp were composed by Debussy around 1915.

“It’s a sonorous combination of sounds and colors,” noted Phillip. “A lot of composers followed Debussy’s lead. We take standard repertoire and build on that to find music that is right for the trio.”

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Nathan Chan & Michael Casimir

Virtual Concert Premiering
Monday, December 28th, 2020, 7:00 PM PT

Program:
Eye of the Tiger by 2 Cellos
Shostakovich: Prelude from “Five Pieces Duo”
Lutosławski: Bucolics for Viola and Cello
Beethoven: Eyeglass Duo

Nathan Chan is a strong proponent of using technology and media to attract others into the classical world and is committed to his fast growing Internet presence; to date, he has over 7 million views on YouTube and Instagram. (@nathanchancello) He recently joined the Seattle Symphony as their new Assistant Principal Cello. In 2018, Mr. Chan performed the Elgar and Schumann Cello Concertos with the Bainbridge Symphony and the Cascade Symphony. Nathan’s 2019-2020 season includes a performance of Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D with the Everett Philharmonic and the Shostakovich Cello Concerto with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, as well as a summer at the Marlboro Music Festival. Nathan received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics at Columbia University and his Masters of Music with Richard Aaron at The Juilliard School.

Michael Casimir joined the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s viola section in 2019. He was awarded second place in the 2015 and 2011 International Sphinx Competitions, and winner of the grand prize at the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Competition in 2013. He has guested as Principal and Co-Principal of the London Philharmonic

Casimir acquired his undergraduate degree from The Juilliard School as a student of Heidi Castleman and Misha Amory, and his post-baccalaureate degree from The Curtis Institute of Music in May of 2018 under the tutelage of Roberto Diaz, Hsin-Yun Huang, and Ed Gazouleas. While a student at the Curtis Institute, Casimir performed regularly with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. In addition to classical music, Casimir likes to explore other genres. He is the newest member of The 442s; he recorded for the “Lion King” (2019) soundtrack; and has composed the music for a mobile game.

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Hanzhi Wang

Program
Chaconne – Johannes Sebastian Bach
Ave Maria – Bach/Gounod (Transcription by Hanzhi)
2 Pieces from the Dance Drama “The Mermaid,” Dance of the Water Plants and Dance of the Corals – Hans Werner Henze (Transcription by Hanzhi)
Sonata E-flat major – Georg Anton Benda (1722-1795)
Impromptu for Hanzhi (2020) – Katherine Balch
Andante in F-Major – Wolfgang A Mozart
My Story – Hanzhi Wang

​ Praised for her captivating stage presence and performances that are technically and musically masterful, the groundbreaking young musician Hanzhi Wang is the first accordionist to win a place on the roster of Young Concert Artists in its 58-year history.

In 2018, Musical America named Hanzhi Wang “New Artist of the Month,” and Naxos released its first-ever solo accordion CD, Ms. Wang’s “On the Path to H.C. Andersen.” It features music by Danish composers including “The Little Match Girl,” written for her by Martin Lohse, and was nominated for the prestigious DR (Danish Radio) P2 Prize 2019. In addition to Mr. Lohse, Ms. Wang’s artistry has also been recognized by other contemporary composers, with works dedicated to her by James Black and Sophia Gubaidulina, with whom she has worked extensively.

First Prize Winner of the 2017 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Ms. Wang’s debut opened the Young Concert Artists Series in New York in The Peter Marino Concert at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, and her Washington, DC debut opened the 40th Anniversary Young Concert Artists Series at the Kennedy Center, co-presented with Washington Performing Arts.

Ms. Wang was awarded YCA performance prizes with the Candlelight Concert Society in Columbia, MD; the Sinfonia Gulf Coast in Destin, FL; the Tri-I Noon Recitals at Rockefeller University in New York City; the Vancouver Recital Society; Tannery Pond Concerts (NY), the Usedom (Germany) Festival; the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle (NC); the University of Florida Performing Arts Prize; and at the Krannert Center at the University of Illinois in Urbana. Additional engagements include appearances for IRIS Orchestra in Tennessee, Bravo! Vail Music Festival, and YCA alumnus Alexander Fiterstein’s Clarinet Academy in Minneapolis.

Ms. Wang won First Prize in the 40th Castelfidardo International Accordion Competition in Italy, has served on the jury for the Accordion Competition of Rome and Portugal’s International Accordion Festival, and inspired the next generation of accordionists with lectures, performances and master classes at the Manhattan School of Music, Royal Danish Academy of Music, Tianjin Music Conservatory, Beijing’s Capital Normal University, Tilburg and Ghent Music Conservatories (Belgium), and the inaugural 2018 Nordaccordion Festival in Norway.

She received a Young Concert Artists Fellowship for the 2018-19 Season and holds YCA’s Ruth Laredo Prize and the Mortimer Levitt Career Development Award for Women Artists of YCA.

Ms. Wang earned her Bachelor’s degree at the China Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and her Master’s degree at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen as a student of Geir Draugsvoll.

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