Highlighting historical performance practice, CMC faculty violinist Ava Gehlen-Williams will feature efflorescent classical music throughout the ages by under-represented composers, exploring musical connections, lineage, and influences of female composers. The program will include a variety of works for strings and piano by Clara Schumann, Florence Price, Grażyna Bacewicz, Francesca Caccini, and more.
Featured Musicians:
Ava Gehlen-Williams, violin
Manny Vousé, violin
Francis Fedora, cello
Christian Brossard-Douglas, piano
Leon Chou, piano
Program:
- Francesca Caccini Te lucis ante terminum
- Maddalena Lombardini Violin Duos No.1 & No. 5
- Grażyna Bacewicz Violin Duos
- Clara Schumann Three Romances for Violin and Piano
- Clara Schumann Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17
- Florence Price Night (piano trio arrangement by Merz Trio)
Thursday, August 8 at 7pm
CMC Concert Hall
FREE (RSVP here)
About the Shenson Faculty Concert Series
The Shenson Faculty Concert Series returns this summer with free concerts spotlighting CMC’s talented faculty members. Each year, the Shenson Foundation sponsors free community concerts for musical projects to support CMC faculty as performing artists and ensure their work on stage is shared and celebrated in our community.
This year’s accomplished presenters will highlight a wide variety of musical styles, techniques, and creative inspirations—from jazz to classical to folk traditions, original compositions, and music as a tool for social justice and historical and cultural reflection.
Meet this summer’s talented faculty performers:
- June 20 – Scott O’Day, guitar
- July 25 – Clif Payne, voice
- August 8 – Ava Gehlen-Williams, violin
- August 15 – Deszon X. Claiborne, percussion
About the Performers:
Ava Gehlen-Williams teaches theory and ensemble classes in the Young Musicians Program and private violin lessons at CMC. Ava is currently a Master’s student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and was an alumna and was a teaching artist at Yale University working with students attending New Haven public schools. She has pedagogy training and shadowing experience in Suzuki and traditional pedagogy. Ava is also a co-founder of Evergreen Music Press, based in Seattle, Washington. Evergreen Music Press publishes a variety of materials with the aim of broadening the pedagogical canon for string education. Outside of music, Ava enjoys reading, hiking, and contortion classes.
Leon Chou is a pianist, organist, violinist and violist based in the SF Bay Area. He first accompanied youth choirs in Albany Unified School District At UC Berkeley, he studied organ with George Emblom, and carillon up in the famous Campanile bell tower. He was a member of Cal Jazz Choir, and both directed the group and arranged music. Leon now plays organ at several Episcopal churches in the Bay Area and is Orchestra Manager of Berkeley Youth Orchestra.
Matthew Vousé is a violinist passionate about not only continuing the traditions of classical music, but also looking to the future, reimagining what it means to be a musician in the modern era. With an active repertoire ranging from classical, contemporary, film, and even game music, Vousé explores ways to incorporate multiple styles into his playing. It is with this that he is determined to expand and diversify the arts so that it may more accurately reflect our globalized society. When it comes to his performances, Vousé is well traveled, performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the Boston Symphony Hall. He has collaborated with multiple artists including Lara Downes, the Kronos Quartet, the Telegraph Quartet and has played with several Bay Area ensembles such as the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and SF Ballet. Vousé currently holds a BM in Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he continues his studies with Cordula Merks as a Denis de Coteau Fellow.