Saturday, September 27, 2014

Pianist Jeremy Samolesky in Guest Concert

 Pianist Jeremy Samolesky performs a Prokofiev sonata and works by Bach and Chopin in a Guest Artist concert at Humboldt State University on Saturday September 27.

 Dr. Samolesky was featured in a Canadian television documentary on 20th century Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. Among his many solo and chamber pianist performances in North America, Europe and Asia was a recital at the Kennedy Center in Washington, broadcast nationally on American Public Radio’s Performance Today program.  His debut solo CD will be released this fall.

 Originally from Canada, Dr. Samolesky holds two doctoral degrees from the Eastman School of Music, and is currently a professor of piano at Auburn University. He performs as a concerto soloist with orchestras throughout the U.S. and Canada, and is noted for working with living composers to present new works. 

 His program at HSU is scheduled to feature the sonata in A major by Prokofiev, also known as Piano Sonata No. 6, the first of Prokofiev’s three “war sonatas” composed in the 1940s. Other scheduled selections are an aria from Cantata No. 127 by Johann Sebastian Bach, a piano piece by Canadian composer Denis Gougeon, and two pieces by Frederic Chopin: Fantasie in F minor and Etude in B minor. 

 Pianist Jeremy Samolesky performs on Saturday September 27 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets are $10 general/$5 seniors, children and students, from the HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. This Guest Artist Series concert is produced by the HSU Music Department. 

Media: Times-Standard Urge, HSU Now, Mad River Union

Guest Artist Jeremy Samolesky: The Program

Die Seele ruht in Jesu Händen  from Cantata No. 127 by J.S. Bach/Harold Bauer

Piano-Soleil” from Six Thèmes Solaires (1992) by  Denis Gougeon

 Fantasie in F minor, Op. 49 by Frederic Chopin
 Etude in B minor, Op. 25 no. 10 by Frederic Chopin

 INTERMISSION

Sonata in A major, Op. 82 by Sergei Prokofiev
 I Allegro moderato
 II Allegretto
 III Tempo di valzer lentissimo
 IV Vivace

Guest Artist Biography: Jeremy Samolesky

Jeremy Samolesky, a native of Manitoba, Canada, currently serves as Associate Professor of Piano at Auburn University, where he teaches piano performance majors and serves as Piano Area Coordinator.

Known for his passion for both solo and collaborative performances, Samolesky has appeared in concert as a soloist and chamber pianist throughout the U.S., Canada, Italy, Austria, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Serbia, including a full recital at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., which was broadcast nationally on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today.”

 As a concerto soloist, Samolesky performs regularly with orchestras throughout the U.S. and Canada, with concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms, and Rachmaninov. Festival appearances include the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Orford Arts Centre (Quebec), the Agassiz Music Festival (Winnipeg), the Courtenay Music Festival (B.C.), the Methow Music Festival (WA), the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival (Bonefro, Italy), and the Chigiana Music Academy in Siena. Broadcasts of his performances have been heard on Seattle’s KING FM, Canada’s CBC, CJOB, WDAZ (ND), and Troy Public Radio (AL). Dr. Samolesky was also featured in a documentary on the piano music of Sergei Prokofiev, produced by the Manitoba Television Network.

Samolesky enjoys maintaining a rigorous performance schedule, with recent concert tours of China and Hong Kong, along with over 75 recitals and masterclasses at universities spanning 15 different states throughout the U.S over the past five years. In the summer of 2013, he was featured as a lecturer and soloist at the World Piano Conference in Novi Sad, Serbia, and also made his third annual residency in Malaysia, sponsored by the Perak Society of Performing Arts.

 Dedicated to the promotion of new music, Samolesky often works directly with living composers in preparing performances of their works, having given recent premieres by composers such as David Maslanka David Plylar, and Carl Vollrath.
Samolesky’s debut solo CD will be released on the Centaur label in the fall of 2014.

 Dr. Samolesky achieved the rare distinction of graduating with two doctoral degrees from the Eastman School of Music: Piano Performance and Literature under the direction of Barry Snyder, and Accompanying and Chamber Music with Jean Barr. Eastman has permitted this double-doctorate just once before in the school’s history.

 In his four years at Eastman, Samolesky garnered many top honors, including the Barr Award, the Barbara M. King Scholarship, the Brooks Smith Scholarship, the “Excellence in Accompanying” award for three years in a row, 1st place in the Kneisel Lieder Competition, and was awarded the Performer’s Certificate for distinguished artistry in performance. He also holds the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Washington and the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Manitoba.

As a teacher, Dr. Samolesky’s students are frequent competition winners and regularly receive prestigious scholarships and assistantships at renowned graduate music programs throughout the U.S. For his achievements, he was awarded the 2012 “Excellence in Teaching” award from Auburn University. Samolesky currently serves on the executive board of the Alabama Music Teachers’ Association and would like to thank the Manitoba Arts Council for their continued support throughout his career.

Saturday, September 06, 2014



A Musical Welcome to the New School Year

HSU Music faculty members perform in their annual Welcome Concert to celebrate the new school year on Saturday September 6 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

 The planned program includes jazz, percussion, original compositions and a tango ballet as well as pieces by Bach, Brahms and Dvorak. This late afternoon event is followed by a reception in the Music Lobby. 

 This concert also welcomes two new Music faculty members: Daniel Colson (bass) and Joel Cohen (cello.) 

 “The opportunity to collaborate is particularly appealing for the performers,” said music professor Elisabeth Harrington. These collaborations begin with Howard Kaufman, Eugene Novotney and David Penalosa combining on a percussion trio by Penalosa. They include an unusual duo of Dan Aldag (trombone) and Gil Cline (trumpet) on the jazz piece “For Dancers Only” by Sy Oliver.

 Quintet in G Major by Antonin Dvorak is performed by Cindy Moyer and Karen Davy on violin, Sherry Hanson on viola, Kira Weiss on cello and Daniel Colson on bass. These five performers also combine on “Tango Ballet” by famed Argentine composer Astor Piazolla. 

 Virginia Ryder (clarinet) and Robin Miller (piano) join Cindy Moyer for a suite by Darius Milhaud. Joel Cohen (cello) and Elena Casanova (piano) perform music by J.S. Bach and Johannes Brahms.

 Vocalist Elisabeth Harrington and pianist John Chernoff combine on two parts of “Reflections in Time,” a composition by HSU Music professor Brian Post that incorporates poems by HSU faculty. Chernoff also plays two other pieces by Post. 

 The 2014 Welcome concert begins at 5 p.m. on Saturday September 6 in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $10 general/$5 seniors, children and students, from the HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. This Faculty Artist Series concert is produced by the HSU Music Department. 

Media: Mad River Union, Eureka Times Standard Urge, HSU Now.

Welcome Concert: The Program


These are the pieces scheduled to be played at the 2014 Welcome Concert on September 6, though not necessarily in performance order.  

Off/On 1 by David Peñalosa

 Howard Kaufman, Quinto, Tumba, and Bell
 Eugene Novotney, Timbales and Percussion
 David Peñalosa, Quinto and Conga

 “In Gratitude” by Brian Post
 John Chernoff, piano

Movements from “Reflections in Time” by  Brian Post
 Trees 
 The Way things work
 Elisabeth Harrington, soprano John Chernoff, piano

Quintet in G Major, Op. 77  by Antonin Dvorak
 Scherzo: Allegro vivace

Tango Ballet by Astor Piazolla (arr. by Jose Bragato)
 Tempo di Tango 
 La Calle Encuentro - Olvido
  Cabaret
 Soledad 
 Allegro

Cindy Moyer, violin
Karen Davy, violin
Sherry Hanson, viola
Kira Weiss, cello
Daniel Colson, bass

Suite for clarinet, violin, and piano, Op. 157b by Darius Milhaud
 Ouverture
 Divertissement 
 Jeu
 Introduction et Final 

Virginia Ryder, clarinet
Cindy Moyer, violin
Robin Miller, piano

Allemande from Suite # 6 in D by J.S. Bach
Sonata in D major op 76 by Johannes Brahms
Vivace ma non troppo

Joel Cohen, cello
Elena Casanova, piano

"For Dancers Only" by Sy Oliver

 Dan Aldag, trombone
 Gil Cline, trumpet