Chamber Trio of Jordan Bak, Geneva Lewis, & Evren Ozel to Perform at The Wallis in June

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will present the chamber trio of JORDAN BAK, viola, GENEVA LEWIS, violin, and EVREN OZEL, piano, on Thursday, June 1, 2023, 7:30 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. With myriad colors and sounds spanning two centuries, this evening offers a unique blend of artistic collaboration and instrumental and interpretational distinctiveness between performers and composers. The program features Debussy's Violin Sonata in G Minor, Schumann's Fantasiestücke, Mozart's Duo for Violin and Viola in G Major, and Piano Trio No. 1 in B Minor by Max Reger, a piece that showcases the young composer's musical and technical maturity, brimming with bravura, sensitivity, and promise. Preludes @ The Wallis, a pre-concert conversation with the artists moderated by Classical California KUSC's Brian Lauritzen, takes place at 6:30 pm.

JORDAN BAK

viola, Award-winning Jamaican-American violist who won the Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition in 2019, is building an international career as a trailblazing artist, praised for his radiant stage presence and robust alto sound. The 2021 YCAT Robey Artist and a top laureate of the 2020 Sphinx Competition, Bak is also a Grand Prize winner and Audience Prize recipient of the 2019 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and the 2019 John White Special Prize from the Tertis International Viola Competition. In addition, Bak is a featured artist for WQXR's Artist Propulsion Lab. A proud new music advocate, Bak gave the world premiere of Kaija Saariaho's Du gick, flog for viola and mezzo-soprano and the viola premiere of Jessica Meyer's Excessive Use of Force. Bak has been a presence at numerous chamber music festivals including the legendary Marlboro Music Festival; he has collaborated and performed with top-level ensembles including Verona Quartet and Merz Trio, and such artists as Jonathan Biss, Lara Downes, and Ani Kavafian. A New York native, Bak holds degrees from New England Conservatory and The Juilliard School, where he was only the third violist to receive the coveted Artist Diploma. In addition to his performing schedule, Bak serves as Assistant Professor of Viola at Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts and as returning Viola Faculty for the Classical Music Institute of San Antonio, while giving masterclasses internationally.

GENEVA LEWIS

violin, was named Winner, 2020 Concert Artists Guild Competition. New Zealand-born, Lewis has forged a reputation as a musician of consummate artistry whose performances speak from and to the heart. Lauded for the "remarkable mastery of her instrument" (CVNC), she also received a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant. Other recent accolades include Kronberg Academy's Prince of Hesse Prize, as well as being named a Performance Today Young Artist in Residence and Musical America's New Artist of the Month. After her solo debut at age 11 with the Pasadena Symphony, Lewis has gone on to perform with orchestras around the world, including appearances with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, Sarasota Orchestra, Pensacola Symphony, Augusta Symphony, and Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. In recital, recent and upcoming highlights include performances at Wigmore Hall, Emory University, Kravis Center, and Myra Hess, among others. Passionate about collaboration,she has participated in many chamber music festivals including the Marlboro Music Festival and Ravinia Steans Music Institute. She has had the pleasure of performing with such prominent musicians as Ilya Kaler, Michael Kannen, Kim Kashkashian, Ida Kavafian, Mitsuko Uchida, and the Borromeo String Quartet.

EVREN OZEL

has been hailed an "exceptionally gifted artist" by the South Florida Classical Review and performs frequently throughout the United States as an up-and-coming soloist and chamber musician. Ozel's playing has earned him success in several major piano competitions, such as the Dublin Competition, the Cooper Competition, and the US National Chopin Competition, the last of which secured him a spot in the biggest piano competition in the world: the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, where he participated in October 2021 and advanced to the quarter-final stage. As a chamber musician, he has performed at Marlboro Music Festival (with artists like Jonathan Biss and Joseph Lin) and ChamberFest Cleveland (with Franklin Cohen and Peter Wiley) and performed twice with the Jupiter Chamber Players in NYC who specialize in non-standard repertoire. Performance venues include apartments in Boston via Groupmuse as well as places like Boston's Symphony Hall, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center and New York's Carnegie Hall. Ozel is currently in the Master of Music program at New England Conservatory, where he has been a student of Wha Kyung Byun since 2014. He is represented by Concert Artists Guild as an Ambassador Prize winner of their 2021 Victor Elmaleh Competition.

Tickets ($29-$79) are on sale now, as are single tickets and subscriptions to all performances in The Wallis' 2022/2023 Season. TheWallis.org/BLO

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills. To purchase single tickets, subscriptions and for more information, please call 310-746-4000 (Monday - Friday, 10 am to 6 pm), email Tickets@TheWallis.org or visit TheWallis.org.

The Wallis is closely monitoring the ever-changing local health and safety environment carefully and addressing known health factors at the moment. Should plans change and any performance be required to be postponed or cancelled or if venue capacity limitations are instituted, ticket holders will be notified immediately with options for their purchased tickets per The Wallis' ticketing policies.

The health and safety of patrons, staff, and artists inside and outside the venue are a top priority for The Wallis. Facial masks are no longer required but are strongly encouraged and recommended. The Wallis' health and safety protocols are also subject to change at the venue's sole discretion or in accordance with LA County and City of Beverly Hills regulations. Current Health & Safety Protocols and updates may also be accessed at TheWallis.org/Safety. Policies are subject to change.

About Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts:

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is a dynamic cultural hub and community resource where local, national, and International Artists share their artistry with ever-expanding audiences. The campus, located in the heart of Beverly Hills, CA, is committed to robust and distinctive presentations and education programs curated with both creativity and social impact in mind. Distinguished by its eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its location in the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis has produced and presented more than 350 theater, dance, music, film, cabaret, conversation, and family entertainment programs since its doors opened in October 2013. Hailed as "au courant" (LaLa Magazine), The Wallis was lauded by Culture Vulture, which proclaims, "If you love expecting the unexpected in the performing arts, you have to love The Wallis." Its programming has been nominated for 79 Ovation Awards and nine L.A. Drama Critic's Circle Awards. The campus itself, a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot facility, celebrating the classic and the modern, has garnered six architectural awards. Designed by acclaimed architect Zoltan E. Pali (SPF:architects), the restored building features the original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places), which serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and includes the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater; the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater; an inviting open-air plaza for family, community and other performances; and GRoW @ The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education, where learning opportunities for all ages and backgrounds abound. Together, these elements embrace the city's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for L.A.-area visitors and residents alike. Michael Nemeroff is Chairman of The Wallis' Board of Directors, and Robert van Leer is Executive Director and CEO.

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