La Musica International Chamber Music Festival Celebrates 30th Season April 4-13

The critically acclaimed La Musica International Chamber Music Festival celebrates 30 seasons this year. The festival begins on Monday, April 4, at the Sarasota Opera House with Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, the piece La Musica chose to open its first program 30 years ago.

Attending artists for this milestone season include three musicians who also performed with La Musica its opening year: Bruno Giuranna, viola; Derek Han, piano; and Daniel Avshalomov, viola. New artists this year include Italian violinist Cecilia Ziano, and cellist JeongHyoun “Christine” Lee from Korea. The remaining 2016 festival artists have performed with La Musica throughout the years: Federico Agostini, violin; Claudio Cruz, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Antonio Meneses, cello; Scott Faulkner, bass; and Carol Wincenc, flute.

Highlights of the festival include a commissioned piece by Sarasota resident and composer Jerry Bilik. Quintet for Piano and Strings, Op. 30 has its world premiere on Sunday, April 10 at 2:30 p.m. at the Sarasota Opera House. Mr. Bilik, renowned for his work on popular television shows, "Disney on Ice," and his M Fanfare for the Michigan Marching Band, recently received great acclaim for his Symphony in M L, performed by the Sarasota Orchestra. The 2016 festival also features the successful “Simply Sonatas at Sainer,” which debuted last season. This “come as you are” performance on Monday, April 11, serves as an introduction to chamber music in the intimate venue of Sainer Pavilion at New College of Florida.

La Musica will perform four concerts at the Sarasota Opera House: April 4, April 7, April 10 and April 13. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m., except for April 10, which is a Sunday matinee beginning at 2:30 p.m. Sally Faron, La Musica president and board secretary, says to expect exciting programs and performances this season. "Known for his ability to devise creative and diverse programming, Artistic Director Bruno Giuranna has attained new heights with his choices for La Musica's 30th anniversary," states Faron.

Tickets for all events and performances for La Musica's International Chamber Music Festival can be purchased online at www.lamusicafestival.org. The La Musica box office is open in Felding Hall at the Sarasota Opera House weekdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and one-and-a-half hours before each concert. Subscriptions to all four concerts at the Opera House are $150, single tickets are $40. Tickets for "Simply Sonatas at Sainer" are $30; this concert performed at Sainer Pavilion at New College of Florida has limited seating by general admission only. A festival rehearsal pass for $60 allows access to all open rehearsal sessions at Sainer Pavilion. Daily rehearsal passes are $15 and will be available during the festival at the rehearsal hall. For more information or to order tickets by phone, please call the box office at 941-366-8450, option 7.

2016 Festival Concert Dates and Programs

The following performances will be at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota, FL 34236.

Program I Monday, April 4, 2016 8:00 p.m.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525

Yuko Uebayashi: "Misericordia" for Flute & String Quartet

Antonín Dvořák: Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81

Program II Thursday, April 7, 2016 8:00 p.m.

Heitor Villa-Lobos: Assobio a Játo (The Jet Whistle) (1950)

Vaughan Williams: Piano Quintet in C minor (1903)

Johannes Brahms: String Quintet, No. 2 in G major, Op. 111

Program III Sunday, April 10, 2016 2:30 p.m.

Zoltán Kodály: Duo for Violin and Cello

Jerry Bilik: Quintet for Piano and Strings, Op. 30 *WORLD PREMIERE*

Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet in A Major, Op. 26

Program IV Wednesday, April 13, 2016 8:00 p.m.

Franz Haydn: Piano Trio in G minor Hob. XV:19

Ludwig van Beethoven: Serenade in D Major, Op. 8

César Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor

The following performance will be at Sainer Pavilion at New College of Florida, 5313 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota, FL 34234.

Monday, April 11, 2016 5:30 p.m.

Sergey Prokofiev: Sonata for Two Violins in C major, Op. 56

Johannes Brahms: Sonata in F minor for Viola and Piano, Op. 120, No. 1

Gabriel Fauré: Sonata No. 2 in D minor for Cello and Piano

2016 La Musica Artists

For artist bios, visit the festival website at www.lamusicafestival.org.

Violin: Federico Agostini (Italy), Claudio Cruz (Brazil), Cecilia Ziano (Italy)

Viola: Daniel Avshalomov (USA, pictured), Bruno Giuranna (Italy), Hsin-Yun Huang (Taiwan, pictured)

Cello: JeongHyoun “Christine” Lee (Korea), Antonio Meneses (Switzerland)

Bass: Scott Faulkner (USA)

Flute: Carol Wincenc (USA)

Piano: Derek Han (USA)

About La Musica

La Musica’s mission is to bring together the finest musicians of Europe and the Americas to present exciting programs of familiar and unusual chamber music, communicating a joy in performance to enthusiastic audiences. We strive for high artistic standards in selecting musicians for each annual festival. A major goal is community outreach to draw people into the creative process through special performances and daily open rehearsals. For more information about La Musica, visit www.LaMusicaFestival.org.