Biryukov and Belen to Guest with Inland Valley Symphony, 4/11 & 4/15

The Inland Valley Symphony, Anthony Parnther, Music Director and Conductor, will present "ALL BRAHMS," a concert of the music of Romantic composer, Johannes Brahms featuring renowned Guest Artists, Russian cellist, Ruslan Biryukov, and award-winning violinist, Danielle Belen, performing the rarely heard "Double Concerto For Violin and Cello, Op. 102." Other works to be performed on the program include: "Tragic Overture, Op. 81" and "Symphony in F major, Op. 90." Two performances of the same concert will be given in various Southland locations.

Biryukov and Belen's performances for these concerts have been generously sponsored by Inland Valley Symphony Board member and Temecula area philanthropist Susie Keenan.

Anthony Parnther said: "The music of composer Johannes Brahms is always a favorite on any concert program. We are very fortunate in our upcoming concert to have the talents of two extraordinary soloists, cellist Ruslan Biryukov, and violinist Danielle Belen, who will perform with our orchestra the rarely heard and technically challenging Brahms 'Double Concerto For Violin and Cello, Op. 102,' as part of our 'All Brahms' concert."

Alana Joos, President of the Inland Valley Symphony's Board of Directors, added: "Given the difficulty level of Brahms' 'Double Concerto for Violin and Cello,' we wanted to hire professional soloists like Ruslan Biryukov and Danielle Belen who are performing artists at the top of their respective fields, and who are both artistically equipped to carry the crucial leading roles their parts demand in this rarely performed piece of music."

The first performance will be presented on Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 2:30 p.m. at Gershwin Performing Arts Center; Murrieta Mesa High School; 24801 Monroe Avenue; Murrieta, CA 92562. Tickets for the April 11th concert are $20 each for Adults; $15 each for Seniors, Students (18 & under) and Military; and $3.00 each for Children (12 & under). Tickets for April 11th may be purchased online at www.InlandValleySymphony.org or by calling the Inland Valley Symphony at 760-318-0460 or 818-231-0931. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Parking is free.

The second performance of the concert will be presented on Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Town Temecula Community Theater; 42051 Main Street; Temecula, CA 92590. Tickets for April 15th may be purchased online at www.TemeculaTheater.org or by calling the Box Office at Old Town Temecula Community Theater at 866-653-8696. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Parking is free.

For further information about the Inland Valley Symphony, please visit www.InlandValleySymphony.org. For further information about Ruslan Biryukov, please visit www.CelloArt.com. For further information about Danielle Belen, please visit www.BelenViolin.com.

About The Artists:
Cellist Ruslan Biryukov (Guest Artist) has been praised for his superb artistry, passion, individuality and charismatic personality. In a recent reviews of his performances, The Beverly Hills Outlook wrote: "Ruslan Biryukov is an astonishing young cellist," while www.reviewplays.com wrote: "To say his performance was incredible would not do it justice." Biryukov has served as the Former General Director of Concert Department of Association "Russian Performing School" (Rostropovich Foundation) in Moscow for four years from 1998 - 2002. Since the age of 11 he has performed professionally, starting in 1995 when he began playing up to 150 performances annually as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the world, including countries in the former USSR, in Europe, and in the United States. As a chamber musician he has appeared with world-renowned violinist, Midori at Disney Hall in Los Angeles, with cellist Kirill Rodin, and with members of the Ysave Quartet. He is the only cello soloist to be invited for seven years in a row to perform solo recitals at LACMA's Sunday's Live Concert Series broadcast live on the radio and online. He was the only Russian Cello Soloist invited to perform during the opening season of the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa.

Biryukov has been a master teacher at music festivals in Europe and Russia. He has held teaching positions at the Ippolitov-Ivanov State Institute of Music in Moscow, Russia and the Music Academy in Lovran, Croatia. Locally he now teaches cello weekly in Silverlake, Fullerton and San Diego. He has trained a number of very successful students, including winners of more than five-dozen prestigious competitions locally and internationally. His creative artistic ideas are based upon the tradition he learned from esteemed artists such as Kirill Rodin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniil Shafran, Natalia Gutman, Janos Starker, Steven Isserlis, and Eleonore Schoenfeld. The cellist received his formal music education at Baku Music Academy in Azerbaijan, the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory in Russia, and at USC's Thornton School of Music. He first earned international recognition by winning major awards in Azerbaijan and by his name included in the Gold Book of Russia's international program "New Names." Biryukov has gone on to win numerous other awards worldwide, including First Prize in the 17th Mu Phi Epsilon International Competition. Biryukov is also the Founder of the newly formed Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra and the Producer and Artistic Director of "Positive Motions" Concert Series. To learn more about Ruslan Biryukov, please visit the website, www.CelloArt.com.

Violinist Danielle Belen (Guest Artist) is the First Prize winner of the 2008 Sphinx Competition. She will release her debut recording with Naxos later this year. Belen recently performed as soloist with the Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Nashville and San Francisco Symphonies, the Boston Pops and the Florida and Cleveland Orchestras. Zachary Lewis from the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote: "Violinist Danielle Belen captivated every ear with an assured, impassioned performance of Ravel's 'Tzigane,' knocking off the daunting showpiece as if it were a trifle." She has recently worked with conductors Franz Welser-Mostt, Robert Spano, Keith Lockhart and Carl St. Clair. A graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music and the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles, Belen is now on faculty at the Colburn School. With a growing violin studio of her own, she is also teaching assistant to renowned pedagogue Robert Lipsett. She also teaches master classes and leads community engagements across the country in conjunction with her professional performance appearances. Belen plays on a 1709 Allessandro Gagliano violin from the Mandell Collection of Southern California. To learn more about Danielle Belen, please visit the website www.BelenViolin.com.

Maestro Anthony Parnther (Music Director and Conductor, Inland Valley Symphony) was recently selected as the new Music Director and Conductor for the Inland Valley Symphony. He made his debut appearance in November 2009, conducting the symphony for their European Tour concerts. Parnther is also in his inaugural year as Conductor and Music Director of the Orange County Symphony in Anaheim, CA. In addition to his duties with the Orange County Symphony, Parnther serves as the Founding Conductor of the critically acclaimed Appalachian Brass Orchestra, as well as the newly forged Orange County Wind Symphony.

A multifaceted musician, Parnther has been featured as a conductor in virtually every musical medium from Ballet to Wind Band. He is in demand as a guest conductor and clinician nationally. He has studied conducting and score study with Paul Hinman, Roxanne Haskill, Thomas Jenrette, Francis MacBeth and John R. Bourgeois and has received praise from numerous composers including Eric Ewazen, Anthony Plog, and Karel Husa for the performance and interpretation of their works. Parnther's musical studies began at age four. He studied cello with Evangeline Bennedetti of the New York Philharmonic and piano with Darlene Fedele. He has also studied bassoon with Robert Barris (Northwestern University), D. Keith McClelland and Tristan Willems (East Tennessee State University), among others. He has been a featured soloist with numerous orchestras throughout the Southeastern United States. Parnther's private bassoon students have gone on to prestigious music festivals such as Sarasota, Eastern Music Festival, Interlochen, Cannon and Tanglewood.

Johannes Brahms (Composer) (May 7, 1833 - April 3, 1897), a German composer and pianist, was one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene. In his lifetime, Brahms's popularity and influence were considerable. He composed for piano, symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, and for voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he gave the first performance of many of his own works, which have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Baroque and Classical masters. Brahms was a master of counterpoint, the complex method of composition for which Bach is famous. He was also known for the development of compositional styles pioneered by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.

Brahms' rarely heard "Double Concerto For Violin and Cello, Op. 102," his final work for orchestra, was composed in the summer of 1887, and first performed on October 18, 1887. Brahms wrote the concerto for cellist Robert Hausmanm and his old estranged friend, the violinist Joseph Joachim. The concerto was a gesture of reconciliation towards Joachim, after their friendship had ruptured following Joachim's divorce from his wife Amalie. Because Brahms sided with Amalie in the dispute, this led to the estrangement between Brahms and Joachim. Brahms' Double Concerto acted as a form of musical reconciliation.

The Inland Valley Symphony is comprised of 60 musicians from cities throughout the Southland, is Temecula based. The symphony performs four musical programs per season (two concerts per program) and two or more concerts by special invitation. This non-profit, tax-exempt 501©(3) corporation is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of volunteers, community leaders and musicians from the organization. Various area business people serve on the symphony's Advisory Board and provide support for the organization by providing in-kind services on an as-needed basis. Concerts, community outreach activities and the Symphony's music education program are made possible by individual membership subscriptions, grants and corporate sponsorships. In 2008 the Inland Valley Symphony founded the Inland Valley Youth Symphony. Now in its 2nd year, the Youth Symphony performs two concerts per season with a roster of over 50 young musicians. In addition to performing concerts, the musicians of the symphony volunteer to assist beginning music programs in the area by providing coaching. They work closely with local school music departments to raise the awareness of classical music and nurture the development of young musicians.

For further information about the Inland Valley Symphony, please visit www.InlandValleySymphony.org.

 

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