Opus 10
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CWOTO Opus 10

Tickets: click here to contact Edward Francis for advance tickets

    $15 general / $10 senior & student

Performers and Their Pieces

Overture to the Opera Russlan and Ludmilla    Mikhail Glinka (1804 - 1857)

Conejo Concerto Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Thomas Osborne

Violin Concerto, Op. 14    Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981)

     Andante

Ms. Kristin Brewer has been playing the violin since age seven, studying for many years with Amy Hagen of Ojai and most recently with Philip Vaiman.  She has played in the New West Youth Symphony and Ojai Youth Symphony and for the past year has been a member of the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra in Ventura.  Kristin soloed with OYS last June after winning its annual concerto competition. Kristin is an accomplished artist and writer. She is currently studying music at Ventura College.

Piano Concerto No. 13 in C Major, K. 415    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)

    Allegro

Ms. Larissa Insogna, 17, began piano lessons at a young age, studying with Yanna Liebes of Lake Sherwood. When she was in seventh grade, she began lessons with Edward Francis, who remains her current teacher. Larissa is a senior at Westlake High School. She has won several gold medals in various competitions, including the Contemporary and Romantic Festivals sponsored by the Music Teachers’ Assn. of California. She has also played in several honors recitals at the Thousand Oaks Civic  Arts Plaza. Last year, Larissa successfully passed the Advanced Level of the Certificate of Merit syllabus examination program.

When she is not practicing the piano, Larissa enjoys competitive tennis and is a ranked tennis player with the United States Tennis Association in Southern California. Larissa also enjoys computer-related topics and has attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Technology. She is currently the president of the Conejo Valley Chapter of National Charity League, a philanthropic organization dedicated to community service. Occasionally on weekends, she volunteers at UCLA’s Medical  Hospital. Larissa’s activities at Westlake High School include the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation, Yearbook, and school newspaper. In her spare time, she enjoys movies, eating out, reading, and relaxing with her sisters and brother.

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major, Op. 10    Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953)

    Allegro brioso -- Meno mosso -- Allegro scherzando

Ms. Natsuko Ejiri Piere, was born in Brazil San Paulo, and moved to Japan with her parents at age two. She started studying piano at the Yamaha School of Music at age four. She began private lessons two years later. Her teachers were Naoko Sugai and Miyuki Kurosawa. At age 18, she entered nursing college and became a registered nurse in Japan. In 2000, she came to the United States and started studying music at Moorpark College as a piano performance major.

In 2002, she received 1st place at the Antelope Valley Bach competition and performed with the orchestra. In 2003, she won the concerto competition at Moorpark College and performed the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Moorpark Symphony under the direction of James Song. At Moorpark  College she received the award for Most Outstanding Music Student two years in a row. 

This fall, she transferred to California State Universtity Northridge, where she is a piano performance major studying with the keyboard area chair, Francoise Regnat, on scholarship. In addition to maintaining her own teaching studio, she has become active as an accompanist for the chamber ensemble, wind ensemble and the Moorpark Symphony Orchestra. 

Outside of school, she enjoys composing music and teaching piano. Her teachers in the United States  have included Dr. He-Lyun Chung and, for the past two years, Edward Francis.

Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 35     Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)

    Finale: Allegro vivacissimo

Mr. Eric Lan, 13, is a freshman honors student at Westlake High School. He began his violin studies with Teresa DiTullio almost eight years ago. Eric is a member of the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra. Throughout his musical studies, he has been a winner in several competitions, including third place in both the Baroque and Solo categories at the Southwestern Youth Music Festival. In 2003, Eric earned second place in the Bach Complete Works Competition, as well as being a Bach Festival winner. Also, he was a gold medal winner in the MTAC 20^th Century Competition. Each summer, Eric participates in the MTAC Convention Festival Recital and also has attended the Young Musicians’ Foundation Debut Orchestra Camp.

In his free time, Eric enjoys playing sports, including basketball and baseball. He also participates in the youth group at Chinese Christian Church of Thousand Oaks.

Rhapsody in Blue    George Gershwin (1898 - 1937)

Mr. Justin Ramos, 15, is a sophomore at Adolfo Camarillo High School. He began his study of piano at age five in Sherman Oaks. Upon moving to Camarillo in 1997, he began private study with Donna Lee Simmons and is now under the guidance of Peter Yazbeck.

Justin has performed at the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks and has played twice at the Summer Concert in the Park series in Camarillo. He played the saxophone with the Pleasant Valley Honor Band for two years. He is currently a member of the Jazz and Concert Bands at Camarillo  High School, where he maintains a 4.0 GPA.

Justin passed his Level 9 Certificate of Merit exam and was a gold medal winner at last year’s Holiday Festival in Ventura. He was a finalist at the Regional Bach Festival and performed at the Showcase Recital in Santa Barbara. He also performed at the State Convention of the Music Teachers’ Association in San Diego last July. He just recently participated in the Southern California Junior Bach Festival Complete Works Audition at Cal State LA. 

Aside from playing the piano, Justin likes traveling, playing basketball, and fishing. He is a member of the high school tennis team and actively participates in his church youth group. Aside from diligent practice, he simply enjoys creative jam sessions with his friends.

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