Opus 19
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Opus 19
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| CWOTO Opus 19
Tickets: If you would like to reserve tickets, please click here to send a reservation request by email. Performance #1: FREE Performance #2: Tickets will be on sale in the lobby of the theatre, not the box office, one hour prior to the event. $20 general / $10 senior & student
Click here for a printable flyer for this event.
Young Riddle has distinguished himself as a conductor, educator, award-winning composer and now arts presenter as music director of the Nimbus Ensemble. After early training on the piano and trumpet he turned instinctively toward composition. Dr. Riddle went on to study at USC with composers Robert Linn and Morten Lauridsen, open form music with Earle Brown, and discovered a passion and talent for conducting, leading performances of Schubert's Symphony no. 8 and Haydn's oratorio, The Creation. Winning a scholarship to the Aspen Music School he studied with Charles Jones and Elliott Carter, and earned critical praise for his Violin Sonata and Brass Quintet (which won the Annapolis Brass Quintet/Goucher College competition, adjudicated by major composers Christopher Rouse, Robert Hall Lewis, and members of the quintet).
For more information on our guest conductor, please click here.
Overture: Mozart-Cosi fan tutte
Nicole Elizabeth Mc Amis, age 12 , is an Honors Student with advanced 7th grade classes at St. Paul's Parish Day School in Ventura . She has been playing piano since the age of four . Her first teacher was Dr. Kyung Lee and she has been with Peter Yazbeck since 2004 .
Nicole has been an honors student in the Certificate of Merit program and has recently passed the eighth level . She has won several gold medals in the Holiday Festivals presented by the Pleasant Valley Branch of the Music Teachers Assn. of California, and has performed at the Junior Bach Festivals. In February 2007 she was invited to perform on a master class for James McCormick. Nicole performs regularly at her church and in addition to piano she participated in the National Mathcounts Competition, plays basketball and has many hobbies . This is her first solo orchestral appearance.
Alix Sandman is a recent graduate of Newbury Park Adventist Academy and will be attending Andrews University in the fall where she will be studying Pre-Med and Piano Performance. Alix has studied piano for over 11 years and is currently a student of Mona Wu DeCesare. She has received numerous awards over the years including Regional Bach Winner, Advanced Panel for Piano Certificate of Merit, and has performed in both the Gold Medal Honors Recital for the Contemporary Music Festival at the Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Plaza and the Summer Youth Music Festival. Alix is also the piano accompanist for both the Newbury Park Adventist Academy general choir and elite choir, under the direction of Kristian Leukert. In addition to piano, Alix is also an accomplished flutist studying under Sandra Kipp. She is currently the principal flute for the Newbury Park Adventist Academy band. Alix has also performed as principal flute for both the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra as well as the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra. In 2005 and 2006 she performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Idyllwild Wind Ensemble. Most recently, Alix was awarded the Frederic Chopin award for outstanding piano performance at Newbury Park Adventist Academy, along with the John Philip Sousa award for outstanding band performance. Alix has recently completed level 9 Certificate of Merit for flute. In addition to her academic and musical accomplishments, Alix is a volunteer at both Los Robles Hospital, and Senior Concerns Adult Day Center in Thousand Oaks and is a member of the National Honors Society. In her spare time she loves swimming, shopping, and spending time with her friends.
Allegro brioso-Andante assai-Allegro scherzando
Gary Chan, 16, is an AP honors student, who just completed his junior year at Agoura High School. He started studying piano at the age of 6 with Marlene Cooper and has been a student of Edward Francis for the past four years. In 2004, Gary was the winner of The Young Pianist Competition sponsored by the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra and performed the Shostakovich Concerto No. 2 with that ensemble. He also won first place in the Open Category of the Southwestern Youth Music Festival. In 2005, he was a winner of the Artist of Tomorrow Competition sponsored by the Brentwood/Westwood Symphony, and had the opportunity to perform the Chopin Concerto No. 2 with that orchestra. Gary was named a Discovery Artist by the New West Symphony in 2006. He was a laureate in the MTAC state concerto competition held at Chapman University in 2006. In May of the same year, he was featured as a soloist in the Ventura Music Festival’s Rising Stars Recital, playing both the piano and the violin; it was his second appearance in the festival. He was one of the eight national recipients to receive a scholarship from The Chopin Foundation of the United States in 2006.
Last season, he performed the 2nd Rachmaninoff concerto with The CWOTO Orchestra as winner of the Young Concerto Soloist competition sponsored by the Conejo Valley Branch of the Music Teachers’ Assn. of California. Gary played in the Certificate of Merit Panel Honors Recital at the 2006 MTAC State Convention in Los Angeles. He is also a scholarship recipient from the Fe Bland Music Foundation. Gary was one of fifteen 2007 semi-finalists for the Los Angeles Music Center’s Spotlight Awards. He was one of twenty-three young artists from around the world, to be invited to compete in the 2007 Virginia Waring International Piano Competition in Palm Desert. He qualified for both the solo and concerto divisions. Most recently, he was the first prize winner of the CAPMT Romantic/Impressionistic Competition.
Gary has performed for various arts groups, including the New West Symphony League and the Los Angeles Philharmonic League. He has played in master classes and private for many distinguished artists including Jerome Lowenthal of the Juilliard School, Arnaldo Cohen of London’s Royal Academy of Music and Indiana University, renowned concert artist Jon Kimura Parker, of the Shepherd School of Music at the University of Houston, and John Perry of USC and the Colburn School Conservatory. He has been an invited participant in the Honors Piano Performance Seminar, held at The Colburn School since his freshman year in high school. In addition to playing piano, Gary has studied the violin with Dianne Rammon for the past 6 years. He is also a violinist in the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra. Academically, Gary is a member of the California Scholarship Federation. He is also a math tutor at his high school. In his spare time, Gary enjoys listening to classical music and playing video games. He also has a second degree black belt in karate. His other hobbies include swimming and playing basketball.
Andrew Chen, 14, future sophomore at Oak Park High School, has been studying piano for eight years. Currently a pupil of Edward Francis, his previous teachers included Marina Gushansky and Angela Hsu. Andrew has participated in many Southern California Junior Bach Festivals and MTAC Contemporary Music Festivals, winning awards for many consecutive years. In the Certificate of Merit syllabus evaluation program, he has passed the eighth level in piano this year and has performed on the Branch Honors Festival several times. Andrew was also invited to join the Colburn School of Performing Arts Honors Piano Seminar, a monthly lecture and master class series, attracting the top high school students from Southern California. Andrew is also a violinist, studying under Joyce Osborn since age 12. He previously studied with Diana Goodman and Shu-wei Liu. Andrew will be enrolled in the highest level in Certificate Merit for violin next year, and was chosen to play at the Convention last year. Andrew also played for the Leni FeBland scholarship auditions last year. He performs in recitals and workshops, and has just finished his third year as a member of the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra. Andrew is doing very well academically and is in an accelerated mathematics program. He completed his first season on the OPHS tennis team and will be honing his skills throughout the summer, by taking some individual coaching. Andrew enjoys being a huge basketball and Lakers fan, playing basketball and tennis, listening to music, playing computer and video games, and is interested in computer programming. Andrew also likes to watch movies with his brothers.
Jason Chen, 14, future sophomore at Oak Park High School, has been studying piano since the age of six. He is currently studying with Edward Francis, and has previously studied with Marina Gushansky and Angela Hsu. Jason has participated in MTAC events throughout the years, including the Southern California Junior Bach Festival and the 20th Century Festival, receiving awards in both on an annual basis.
He has passed level eight in the Certificate of Merit syllabus examination program and has been selected to perform in the Honors Recital many times. Jason was also invited to join the Honors Piano Seminar at the Colburn School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles his first year of eligibility. He has been selected to audition in piano, for the Leni FeBland Foundation Scholarship this year. Jason has also been studying violin under Joyce Osborn for almost two years, and previously studied with Diana Ray-Goodman and Shu-wei Liu. He passed level nine in the Certificate of Merit program last year and in the previous year performed at the MTAC Convention in Los Angeles. Last year, Jason auditioned for the Leni FeBland scholarship in violin. He plays in recitals and workshops, and is entering his fourth year as a violinist with the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra. As a freshman, Jason is excelling academically is taking an accelerated mathematics program. He is also on the OPHS tennis team. During his free time, Jason likes to draw, play computer and video games, listen to music, play basketball and tennis with his brothers, and oddly enough, do chores around the house.
Kristen Leire is a recent honors graduate of La Reina High School. She began playing the piano at the age of four and has studied with Edward Francis since 2003. She completed the Advanced Panel level for the Music Teacher’s Association of California Certificate of Merit syllabus examinations in 2005 and has won gold medals in the Baroque and Contemporary Music Festivals, which afforded her the opportunity to play in honors recitals at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. Additionally, Kristen has played the harp for nine years, the last seven as a student of Stephanie Bennett. She has been a member of the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra for six years. She performed Handel’s Harp Concerto in B flat major with The CWOTO Orchestra in 2005. Kristen hopes to become a physician and in the fall will be studying Pre-Medicine and Molecular/Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. She worked at USC’s Research Lab, the Saban Research Institute, directed by Dr. David Warburton last year and will be volunteering there again this summer. She has also done international community service in Mongolia, traveling to the country with physicians from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, visiting the children’s hospital in the capital city Ulaanbataar.
Michael Liu, 17, is a recent graduate of Calabasas High School. He has been playing the piano since the age of 5. His past teachers include Patricia Schaffner and Gloria Hilliard. Currently he is a student of Edward Francis, with whom he has studied since 2004. Michael has participated in Certificate of Merit since the age of 7, and passed the Advanced Level with honors in 2005. He also has been a gold medal winner at many MTAC Contemporary Music Festivals, and has played in awards recitals at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. He has been a participant in the Advanced Honors Piano Performance Seminar at the Colburn School of Performing Arts for four years, and has played in master classes for many acclaimed piano professors who are invited as guest teachers at the monthly master class. He won the 2006 Irvine Emerging Artist Competition and received honorable mention in the Cypress College Piano Competition. He was also a laureate in the CAPMT Romantic/Impressionistic Competition this past spring. In addition to his piano studies, Michael has studied violin with Idell Low for 10 years. He has served as Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra under the direction of Russell Steinberg in 2005 and 2006. Recently he was invited to play with the LA Philharmonic for the Hollywood Bowl Opening night in June 2007. Michael also has studied flute with Francine Jacobs since age ten. He played flute and piccolo in his school Wind Ensemble and also has been a state finalist for the VOCE woodwinds competition twice. In his spare time, Michael enjoys astrophotography, computer programming, photography, oil painting and aviation. He earned his wings and became a FAA certified single-engine private pilot this year. Michael is an AP Scholar with Distinction, a National Merit Finalist, and a U.S. Presidential Scholars Semi-Finalist. In the fall, he will be attending Stanford University to pursue a pre-medicine course of study. |
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