ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Behzod Abduraimov, piano

Behzod Abduraimov performs with leading orchestras worldwide, collaborating with prestigious conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, James Gaffigan, and Gustavo Dudamel. Summer 2019 included re-invitations to Verbier, Rheingau, La Roque Antheron and Lucerne Festivals. Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1990, Abduraimov began the piano aged five as a pupil of Tamara Popovich at Uspensky State Central Lyceum in Tashkent. In 2009, he won First Prize at the London International Piano Competition with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3.

DakhaBrakha

Ukrainian “ethno chaos” band DakhaBrakha creates a world of unexpected new music. DakhaBrakha was created in 2004 at the Kyiv Center of Contemporary Art by the avant-garde theatre director Vladyslav Troitskyi and named for the old Ukrainian word that means “give/take.” After experimenting with Ukrainian folk music, the band has added rhythms of the surrounding world into their music, thus creating the bright, unique and unforgettable sound of DakhaBrakha. At the crossroads of Ukrainian folklore and theatre, their musical spectrum is both intimate and riotous, plumbing the depths of contemporary roots and rhythms, inspiring “cultural and artistic liberation.”

Lila Downs

Lila Downs has one of the world’s most singular voices and innovative approaches to music. Born in the state of Oaxaca, México, she is the daughter of a Mixtec

Indian woman and a University of Minnesota professor. Downs has a GRAMMY and four Latin GRAMMYS. Lila Downs has performed at many of the world’s most prestigious festivals and venues, and has been invited to sing at the White

House. Artists with whom she has collaborated include Mercedes Sosa, Carlos Santana, Juanes, Bunbury, Cafe Tacuba, Los Tigres del Norte, 1 Giant Leap, Wynton Marsalis, La Niña Pastori, and Juan Gabriel, among many others.

Michael Gerdes, lecturer

Michael Gerdes is the Director of Orchestras at San Diego State University, where he conducts the San Diego State Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Opera Orchestra. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Selected by The San Diego Union Tribune as one of three “Faces to Watch” in Classical Music during his first year as Director of Orchestras, Gerdes is focused on creating a thriving orchestral community at San Diego State University.

Alex Greenbaum, lecturer

Born in New York, cellist Alex Greenbaum enjoys a diverse and adventurous musical life. As a member of the Hausmann Quartet he is an Artist-in-Residence and Lecturer at San Diego State University, where he teaches cello and chamber music. As a long-time member of The Knights chamber orchestra he has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe, and has recorded for Ancalagon, Arc, Bridge, Canary Classics, Cantaloupe, In a Circle, Koch, Naxos, Warner Classics and Sony records. Locally, Alex is a founding member of San Diego Baroque, a mainstay in Art of Élan's concerts, an affiliated artist with San Diego New Music and a member of Bach Collegium San Diego.

Robert John Hughes, lecturer

Journalist, broadcaster, musician, author, record producer. Hughes has interviewed hundreds of musical artists in classical, jazz, pop, rock, R&B, and blues, including Sting, Wynton Marsalis, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, B.B. King, Adele, and Peter Gabriel. As a record producer and member of the GRAMMY® Academy, Hughes has released five albums of live performances by artists heard on San Diego FM station 102.1 KPRi. Hughes has hosted La Jolla Music Society Preludes since 2018.

Classically trained to the highest standards, The Joffrey Ballet expresses a unique, inclusive perspective on dance, proudly reflecting the diversity of America with its company, audiences, and repertoire which includes major story ballets, reconstructions of masterpieces, and contemporary works. Founded by visionary teacher Robert Joffrey in 1956, guided by celebrated choreographer Gerald Arpino from 1988 until 2007, The Joffrey Ballet continues to thrive under internationally renowned Artistic Director Ashley Wheater and Executive Director Greg Cameron. Ashley Wheater MBE, Mary B. Gavin Artistic Director

Ashley Wheater has dedicated his life to dance. He was born in Scotland and trained at The Royal Ballet School in England. In 1997, after a career dancing with the London Festival Ballet, Australian Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet, Wheater retired from dancing. Since his appointment, in 2007, as The Mary B. Gavin Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet, his passion and commitment to The Joffrey Ballet has been evident in the quality that he has brought to the dancing and to the repertoire. In December 2019, Wheater was appointed to be a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello

Sheku Kanneh-Mason became a household name in 2018 after performing at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle, his performance having been greeted with universal excitement after being watched by nearly two billion people globally. Sheku initially garnered renown as the winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition, the first Black musician to take the title. He is the winner of Best Classical Artist at the Global Awards in 2020 and 2021 (the latter as part of the Kanneh-Mason family), and received the 2020 Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artists’ Award. Sheku was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List.

Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano

Isata Kanneh-Mason is the recipient of the 2021 Leonard Bernstein Award, a 2020 Opus Klassik award for best young artist, and, as a member of the Kanneh-Mason family, the 2021 best classical artist at the Global Awards. She recently gave her Wigmore Hall solo recital debut, which featured repertoire by female composers for International Women’s Day, and appeared in streamed performances with orchestras such as the Hallé and the BBC Scottish Symphony. In the 2021-22 season, Isata will continue as Young Artist in Residence with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Sounds of Zamar have carved a unique place for themselves in the music industry through soul-stirring arrangements of contemporary gospel, musical theater, and rich original compositions. The ensemble, organized in 2009, has performed with gospel greats such as William McDowell, Kierra “Kiki” Sheard, Richard Smallwood, VaShawn Mitchell, Earnest Pugh, and James Fortune. Hailing from Augusta, Georgia, Trey McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar are known for their opulent harmonies and beautiful blends, which are showcased throughout their 2012 album Limitless and their viral online covers.

Trey McLaughlin

Trey M. McLaughlin is a passionate vocalist, educator, composer, arranger, and clinician. Known for fusing together an eclectic mix of musical genres, he arranges and performs original works with his own touring and recording ensemble, The Sounds of Zamar, who concluded their first national tour in the 2018-19 season. McLaughlin currently serves as Director of Worship and Arts at Tabernacle Baptist Church of Augusta, Georgia, and is the Artistic Director of the non-profit performing arts youth group Creative Impressions, of which he was once a member and Student Director. He serves as adjunct faculty at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, teaching graduate-level courses in conducting, vocal technique, composition, arranging, and piano.

Kristi Brown Montesano, lecturer

Chair of the Music History Department at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, Kristi Brown Montesano is an enthusiastic “public musicologist.” She is an active lecturer for the LA Philharmonic, the Opera League of Los Angeles, the Salon de Musiques series, and Mason House Concerts. Her book, The Women of Mozart’s Operas (UC Press, 2007), offers a detailed study of these fascinating roles; more recent scholarly interests include classical music in film, women in classical music, and opera for children.

Photo Credits: Cover: L. Downs © Marcela Taboada; Pg. 17: L. Rosenthal, courtesy of artist; Pg. 18: Dakhabrakha © Vilchynska Tetiana; Pg. 19: S. Kanneh-Mason © Jake Turney; I. Kanneh-Mason © John Davis; Pg. 23: L. Downs © Marcela Taboada; Pg. 24: T. McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar, photo courtesy of artist; Pg. 33: The Joffrey Ballet artists: Graham Maverick, Yuka Iwai, Brooke Linford, Olivia Tang Mifsud © Cheryl Mann; Pg. 27: B.Abduraimov © Evgeny Eutykhov; Pg. 30: Spktral Quartet © Jocelyn Chuang; Pg.31, A. Sandoval © Jeremy Lock; Pg. 33: The Conrad solar panels © Hannes Kling ; Pg. 34: G. Carling courtesy of artist, R. Fonseca © Alejandro Azcuy; Pg. 35: The Okee Dokee Brothers courtesy of artists, C. Botti © Leann Mueller, The Joffrey Ballet © Cheryl Mann; Pg. 36: B. Abduraimov © Evgeny Eutykhov, Dakhabrakha © Vilchynska Tetiana, L. Downs © Marcela Taboada; Pg.37: Michael Gerdes, courtesy of artist; Alex Greenbaum, photo courtesy of artist, Robert John Hughes; Pg. 38: The Joffrey Ballet artists: Christine Rocas, Rory Hohenstein, Beyond the Shore © Cheryl Mann, Ashley Wheater © Cheryl Mann, S. Kanneh-Masons © Jake Turney, I. Kanneh-Masons © Jake Turney; Pg. 39: The Sounds of Zamar © courtesy of artist, T. McLaughlin © Megan Bean, K. B. Montesano, courtesy of artist; Pg. 10: Molly Puryear, courtesy of artist, Spektral Quartet © Dan Kullman, A. Sandoval © Jeremy Lock; Back Cover: I. Barnatan © Marco Borggreve.

Molly Puryear, lecturer

Molly Puryear brings passion for dance and non-profit administration to her position as Executive Director of Malashock Dance. Puryear has worked with Malashock Dance since 2006, and previously served in the role of Education Director. She strategically aligns artistic and educational efforts to create a dynamic relationship between programs, the communities they serve, and the organization’s valuable funders. Puryear is committed to serving the San Diego community through the development and administration of vibrant dance programs. She believes that dance is an avenue for personal expression that engages people from all walks of life.

Spektral Quartet

Multi-GRAMMY award nominees, the Spektral Quartet creates vivid conversations between exhilarating works of the past and the extraordinary works of today. With the New York Times writing, “they have everything: a supreme technical command that seems to come easily, a capacity to make complicated music clear, and, most notably... an ability to cast a magic spell,” Spektral is regarded as one of the most forward-thinking ensembles working today. Invited to take the stage at notable venues such as the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, American Academy in Rome, and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, the quartet is also in demand for residencies at leading music schools around the country including Stanford University, New World Symphony, and Northwestern University.

Arturo Sandoval, trumpet

A protégé of the legendary jazz master Dizzy Gillespie, Arturo Sandoval was born in Artemisa, a small town in the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, on November 6, 1949. Sandoval has since evolved into one of the world’s most acknowledged guardians of jazz trumpet and flugelhorn, as well as a renowned classical artist, pianist and composer. He has been awarded 10 GRAMMY® Awards, and nominated 19 times; he has also received six Billboard Awards and an Emmy. Sandoval was a founding member of the GRAMMY® Award-winning group Irakere, whose explosive mixture of jazz, classical, rock, and traditional Cuban music caused a sensation throughout the entertainment world. In 1981, he left Irakere to form his own band, which garnered enthusiastic praise from critics and audiences all over the world and continues to do so.

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THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL: A intimate 513 seat performance space with superb acoustics ideally suited for chamber music and classical recitals. Its design incorporates state-of-the-art technology and adjustable acoustics, making it a world-class space for amplified concerts, film, dance, theater, lectures, and more.

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