When Reigning and Rising Stars Align

Three centuries ago, Vivaldi composed virtuosic concerti to spotlight his most talented students. Now in PBO’s partnership with the Juilliard School’s Historical Performance program, what better way to celebrate than showcase PBO teachers and J415‘s recent alumni side-by-side in Vivaldi’s dazzling double concerti?

CORELLI Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 7 in D major
VIVALDI Concerto for Two Violins in C major
VIVALDI Concerto for Two Violoncellos in G minor
VIVALDI Concerto for Two Oboes in D minor
VIVALDI Concerto for Two Violins and Two Violoncellos in G major
VIVALDI Concerto for Oboe and Violin in B-flat major
VIVALDI Concerto for Violin in B-flat major
GEMINIANI Concerto Grosso No. 12 in D minor, “La Follia” (after Corelli)

Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Elizabeth Blumenstock & Alana Youssefian, violin
Phoebe Carrai & Keiran Campbell, violoncello
Gonzalo X. Ruiz & David Dickey, oboe

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Wednesday November 7 @ 7:30 pm | First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto
Friday November 9 @ 8 pm | Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
Saturday November 10 @ 8 pm | First Congregational Church, Berkeley
Sunday November 11 @ 4 pm | First Congregational Church, Berkeley

ALANA YOUSSEFIAN – violin

A native of New Jersey, “sensational” baroque and modern violinist Alana Youssefian (San Francisco Civic Center) has quickly forged a reputation as an engaging and spirited soloist, chamber player, and orchestral musician. Hailed for her “incredible poise,” “sensitive dynamics,” and “plangent emotional involvement” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer), as well as presenting performances that are “utterly convincing” (Early Music America), Ms. Youssefian has performed internationally as a concertmaster and soloist, in addition to holding engagements at venues such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Mann Center, Carnegie Hall, and Alice Tully Hall. Ms. Youssefian studied with Marilyn McDonald at Oberlin Conservatory, and completed a master’s degree in Violin Performance at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music with Kenneth Goldsmith. She most recently graduated from The Juilliard School’s Historical Performance Program in Spring 2018, where she studied with Elizabeth Blumenstock, Cynthia Roberts, and Rachel Podger.

As winner of Juilliard’s 2017 Historical Performance Concerto Competition, she performed Vivaldi’s “Il Grosso Mogul” concerto with Juilliard415 and Nicholas McGegan. She has performed with Juilliard415 as concertmaster and soloist on several occasions, including their tours of India and New Zealand. She has also performed with Ars Lyrica Houston, Bach Society Houston, Mercury, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, The Sebastians, New York Baroque Incorporated, Sonnambula, Les Arts Florissants at Dans le Jardin de William Christie, The Helicon Foundation, and Teatro Nuovo as associate concertmaster. She is a founding member of the baroque ensemble les soûls d’amour, and enjoys their residency at the Seabury Academy at St. Paul’s on the Green in Norwalk, CT. Her latest ensemble, The Cramer Quartet, was selected for a residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute in Summer 2018. She was named an American Fellow of The English Concert and Juilliard Fellow of Mercury in 2018. In her free time, Ms. Youssefian enjoys spending time with her partner Jared and their cats Jimmy and Django, reading thriller books, and rocking out to The Rolling Stones.

DAVID DICKEY – oboe

David Dickey earned his Master of Music Degree in Historical Performance in Baroque oboe from The Juilliard School. During his two-year program, he played with the school’s premier period instrument ensemble, Juilliard415, and toured through England and Germany, playing in J.S. Bach’s own Thomaskirche at Bachfest in Leipzig, as well as at The Boston Early Music Festival under Masaaki Suzuki. Upon graduation, he received the Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant, awarded to five students graduating from Juilliard, and was one of four graduates to be given a year-long contract to appear in recitals and orchestral performances with The English Concert in America. Since then, he continues to live in New York, playing with New York Baroque Inc., Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, and Early Music New York. He can be heard playing with orchestras around the country with the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, Philharmonia Baroque in Berkeley, CA, Mercury: The Orchestra redefined in Houston, TX, and the American Bach Soloists in San Francisco.

KEIRAN CAMPBELL – violoncello

Cellist Keiran Campbell is a New York City-based performer specializing in modern and baroque cello playing. Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, he began studying the cello at age 8. Keiran received both his BM and MM from The Juilliard School, studying with Darrett Adkins during his undergraduate, and Phoebe Carrai and Timothy Eddy during his masters.

Keiran performs in a wide variety of styles and venues, from U.S. State Department-led tours of Bolivia with members of Juilliard415, to performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center with klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer, to concerts with Aeon Ensemble and DJ Spooky in Carnegie Hall.  He has appeared as a soloist with the North State Chamber Orchestra, the Mallarme Chamber Orchestra, the Durham Symphony, and Juilliard415. Keiran plays with chamber groups around the city, and he is a founding member of both Voyage Sonique and New Amsterdam Consort, two young period performance groups made of up recent Juilliard graduates. Keiran has also performed with groups including Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik, and Mercury Baroque Orchestra. He recently participated in the inaugural season of Teatro Nuovo, a Bel Canto Opera festival pioneered by Will Crutchfield in upstate New York.

Keiran has attended The Berwick Academy, Perlman Chamber Workshop, Sarasota Music Festival, and Kneisel Hall. He has worked closely with Steven Isserlis and Ralph Kirshbaum in masterclasses at IMS Prussia Cove, and he has also worked with David Geringas at the Accademia Chigiana. Keiran was a 2017-2018 fellow with Mercury Houston, and he is currently a fellow with the English Concert.

This season, he will play several concerts as a guest principal cellist with Tafelmusik in Toronto, including a production of Mozart’s Idomeneo, and he will appear in Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Steffani’s Orlando.