AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL
2 16 CONCERTS & FILM SERIES
americanromanianfestival.org
WELCOME TAB LE O F CO N T E N TS
Board Members Staff 2016 Festival Introduction Thank You Sponsors
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E V E N TS
September 28, 2016 / Student Composers Seminar and Workshop September 30, 2016 / Black Angels and Music by Ţăranu October 2, 2016, 2016 / Passion and Youth October 6, 2016 / The French Connection with Fusion Trio October 23, 2016 / The French Connection with Fusion Trio November 6 & 13, 2016 / 7th Annual Romanian Film Series
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ART ISTS
Robert Conway, piano Tudor Giurgiu, visiting film director Will Haapaniemi, viola Heidi Han, violin David LeDoux, cello Rebecca Mayer, piano Laura Roelofs, violin Yoonshin Song, violin Hang Su, viola Marian Tănău, violin Cornel Ţăranu, visiting composer Judith Vander Weg, cello
B OAR D M E M BE RS
STA FF
Marian Tănău, President Maureen D’Avanzo Franz Herbert Silviu Pala John Rakolta Jr. John Santeiu Jr. Charles Slater, Secretary -Treasurer
Logan Skelton & Marian Tănău, Artistic Directors Maria Clesiu, Education Liaison (Romania) Lori Newman, Operations (USA) Ramona Uritescu-Lombard, Movies Curator
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AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL 2016
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ARTISTS. 2016 FESTIVAL. 2 0 1 6 FE ST I VA L
The American Romanian Festival Inc. is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster mutual understanding and promote American and Eastern European music and culture. The events planned by the American Romanian Festival Inc. this season will commence with a Student Composers Seminar on September 28 and a chamber music concert on September 30 at Wayne State University, Department of Music in Detroit. This year’s festival guest is Cornel Ţăranu who will hold a workshop and will conduct one of his works on September 30, 11:45 am at Wayne State University, Schaver Recital Hall. The festival will continue with three more chamber music concerts (October 2, 6, and 23) and the 7th Annual Romanian Film Series at the University of Michigan Museum of Art on November 6 and 13. For more information about the festival’s events, please visit americanromanianfestival.org.
T HANK YO U
Jonathan Anderson – Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory, Wayne State University Lisa Borgsdorf – Manager of Public Programs, University of Michigan Museum of Art Norah Duncan – Interim Chair, Department of Music, Wayne State University Sheri Sytsema-Geiger – Chief Administrator, Germanic Languages and Literature, University of Michigan Birgitta Killough – Assistant to the Chair, Germanic Languages and Literature, University of Michigan Lori Newman – editing and program notes Joan Olkowski – design Matthew Pons – Stage Department Head, Detroit Symphony Orchestra John Rakolta Jr. – Romanian Honorary Consul in Detroit Alina Sălcudeanu – Responsible Foreign Affairs, Romanian Film Centre The Santeiu Family Richard Sherman – Professor of Flute, Michigan State University Hannah Tănău – design Ramona Uritescu-Lombard – UM Lecturer in Germanic Languages and Literature
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SPONSORS. 2 0 1 6 S P O N SO RS
The American Romanian Festival programs are supported by our generous sponsors.
GOLD LEVEL
John & Terry Rakolta Jr. John & Judy Santeiu Jr. Marian & Jennifer Tanau Wayne State University, Deptment of Music SILVER LEVEL
Ann & James Nicholson Silviu & Gela Pala BRONZE LEVEL
Liviu Capatina Elizabeth Greve & Franz Herbert Charles & Carol Slater Alex Stancovschi FRIENDS CIRCLE
Tom Adams & Diana McArthur Ioan & Georgeta Atanasiu Linda Bancroft Cecilia & Mircea Big Lucian & Silvia Bogdan Barbara & John Brana Paul & Barbara Burakoff Liviu Capatina Marcy Chanteaux Dana & Vanja Chemalovic
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Bob & Esther Churella Doug & Minka Cornelson Mircea & Daniela Cure Maureen & Jerry D’Avanzo Doina David Ileana Dragnea Anne & Kevin Ellils Viorica Fuchs Dragos Galusca Andrea Geamanu Adrian & Ella Gheorghiu Sanda & Daniel Grosu Nick & Judy Ioannou Jeannette Jackson Dr. Anna Jonascu-Devine Cristina Muresan & Rabah Hadjit Iuliana & Ovidiu Niculescu Terence & Linda Ocallaghan Razvan Pala Claudia Petrescu Wiley Pickett Jr. Pavel Popa Marge Predeteanu Dorel & Anca Sala Peter & Jennifer Santeiu Mark Santeiu
AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL 2016
John III & Liza Santeiu Lisa & Logan Skelton Alex Stancovschi Diane & Alen Thompson Laura & Dan Zetu
Student Composers Seminar and Workshop
TALK.
S EMIN AR & W O R KSH O P
Wednesday, September 28, 2016, 4 p.m. Wayne State University Old Main, Room 1307 Detroit, MI 48201
RSVP ONLY / LIMITED SPACE FREE ADMISSION ART ISTS
Cornel Ţăranu, visiting composer
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CONCERT Black Angels and Music by Ţăranu C HAMB E R M USI C CO N C E RT
Friday, September 30, 2016, 11:45 a.m. Wayne State University Schaver Recital Hall 480 W. Hancock St., Detroit, MI 48201
FREE ADMISSION ART ISTS
Cornel Ţăranu, guest and conductor Marian Tănău, violin Laura Roelofs, violin
Will Haapaniemi, viola David LeDoux, cello Robert Conway, piano
CO NC ERT P R O GRA M
Cornel Ţăranu (b. 1934)
George Crumb (b. 1929)
PR OLEGO M E N E
“B LACK A NG E LS” ST RING QUART ET ( 1 9 7 0 )
Cornel Ţăranu, guest and conductor Marian Tănău, violin • Laura Roelofs, violin Will Haapaniemi, viola • David LeDoux, cello Robert Conway, piano
– IN T ER M I SS I O N –
I. Departure 1. THRENODY I: Night of the Electric Insects, 2. Sounds of Bones and Flutes 3. Lost Bells 4. Devil-music 5. Danse Macabre (Duo alternativo: Dies Irae) II. Absence 6. Pavana Lachrymae (Der Tod und das Mädchen) (Solo obbligato: Insect Sounds) 7. THRENODY II: BLACK ANGELS! 8. Sarabanda de la Muerte Oscura (Solo obbligato: Insect Sounds) 9. Lost Bells (Echo) (Duo alternativo: Sounds of Bones and Flutes) III. Return 10. [Solo: Aria accompagnata] God-music 11. Ancient Voices 12. Ancient Voices (Echo) 13. THRENODY III: Night of the Electric Insects Marian Tănău, violin • Laura Roelofs, violin Will Haapaniemi, viola • David LeDoux, cello
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AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL 2016
CONCERT. Passion and Youth C HAMB E R M USI C CO N C E RT
Sunday, October 2, 2016, 3 p.m. Wayne State University Schaver Recital Hall 480 W. Hancock St., Detroit, MI 48201
FREE ADMISSION ART ISTS
Yoonshin Song, violin Heidi Han, violin Laura Roelofs, violin Marian Tănău, violin
Hang Su, viola Will Haapaniemi, viola David LeDoux, cello Judith Vander Weg, cello
CO N C E RT P R O G R A M
Marc Mellits (b. 1966) ST R IN G O CTE T ( 2 0 1 0 )
strong, aggressive, heavy, & accented slow with motion & funk industrial, massive
– I N T E R M I SS I O N –
George Enescu (1881–1955) OCT ET FO R STR I N GS, O P. 7 (1897)
Très modéré Très fougueux Lentement Mouvement de valse ben rythmée
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CONCERT The French Connection with Fusion Trio C HAMB E R M USI C CO N C E RT
Sunday, October 6, 2016, 7:30 p.m. UrbanBeat Events Center 1213 Turner St., Lansing, MI 48906
ADMISSION / $5–$22 Student: $5 (ID required) / Regular: $22 Payments Accepted: Cash, Credit Card, Check ART ISTS
Marian Tănău, violin David LeDoux, cello Rebecca Mayer, piano CO NC ERT P R O GRA M
George Enescu (1881–1955) PIAN O TR I O I N A M I N O R ( 1916)
I. Allegro moderato II. Allegretto con variazioni III. Vivace amabile
– I N T E R M I SS I O N –
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) PIAN O TR I O I N A M I N O R ( 1914)
I. Modéré—Trés II. Pantoum (Assez vif) III. Passacaille (Trés large) IV. Final (Animé)
– I N CO L LA B O RATI O N WI TH FRI E NDS O F A BSO LUT E MUS IC –
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AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL 2016
CONCERT. The French Connection with Fusion Trio C HAMB E R M USI C CO N C E RT
Sunday, October 23, 2016, 3 p.m. Wayne State University Schaver Recital Hall 480 W. Hancock St., Detroit, MI 48201
FREE ADMISSION ART ISTS
Marian Tănău, violin David LeDoux, cello Rebecca Mayer, piano
CO N C E RT P R O G R A M
George Enescu (1881–1955) PIAN O TR I O I N A M I N O R ( 1916)
I. Allegro moderato II. Allegretto con variazioni III. Vivace amabile
– I N T E R M I SS I O N –
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) PIAN O TR I O I N A M I N O R ( 1914)
I. Modéré—Trés II. Pantoum (Assez vif) III. Passacaille (Trés large) IV. Final (Animé)
Ástor Piazzolla (1921–1992) CUAT R O E STAC I O N E S P O RTE ÑA S (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)
I. Verano Porteño (Buenos Aires Summer)
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FILM SERIES Then I Sentenced Them All to Death
The Miracle of Tekir
FIL M S C R E E N I N G
FI LM SCR E E NING
Sunday, November 6, 2016, 3:30 p.m. Helmut Stern Auditorium, University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) 525 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Sunday, November 6, 2016, 5:30 p.m. Helmut Stern Auditorium, University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) 525 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
FREE ADMISSION
FREE ADMISSION
Then I Sentenced Them All to Death
The Miracle of Tekir
Moartea lui Ipu, 1972; Sergiu Nicolaescu, Drama, English Subtitles, 96 min
Miracolul din Tekir, 2015, Ruxandra Zenide, Drama, English Subtitles, 90 min
During World War II, just before the events of August 23rd 1944, a German soldier is found murdered in a Romanian village. The dead soldier’s superior threatens the villagers that unless the perpetrator is handed over by the following morning they will all face reprisals.
The film tells, like a fable, the struggle of a young woman to protect her unborn child who she believes is a miracle, an immaculate conception. TRA I LE R
youtube.com/watch?v=zd8fGetLsWw
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AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL 2016
FILM SERIES. Why Me?
F I L M S C R E E N I N G & TA L K
Sunday, November 13, 2016 3:30 p.m., Tudor Giurgiu introduces the film Why Me? 3:45 p.m., Film Screening 6:00 p.m., Film Discussion with Tudor Giurgiu Helmut Stern Auditorium, University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) 525 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
FREE ADMISSION Why Me? De ce eu?, 2015; Tudor Giurgiu, Drama, English Subtitles, 125 min
Cristian, a young idealistic prosecutor whose career is on the rise, tries to crack a case against a senior colleague accused of corruption. The dilemma of choosing between his career and the truth weighs heavily on his shoulders. Looking further to solve the case, he enters a danger zone paved with unexpected and painful revelations. T RAIL ER
youtube.com/watch?v=qq06v2PGKuo
About Director Tudor Giurgiu Born in 1972 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Tudor Giurgiu has worked in cinema for over twenty years as a producer, director, and writer, and has over 50 credits, including documentaries, shorts, music videos, and feature films, to his name. He is the owner of Librafilm, an independent production company, as well as the founder and festival director of Romania’s most prestigious film festival, the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF). Between 2005 and 2007 Tudor Giurgiu was President of the Romanian National Television, TVR. About his second feature film, Why Me? (2015), he has said:
“It is the most important project I worked on. I would like for it to remain known as a radiography of the Romanian society of the 2000s.”
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ARTISTS Robert Conway
Tudor Giurgiu
P IAN O
V I SI TI NG FI LM DIRECTOR
Robert Conway is an associate professor of piano at Wayne State University, where he is also the director of the piano area. Since 1989, he has performed regularly as orchestral keyboardist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and has been a soloist with them on several occasions. In 2013, he performed the solo piano part to Symphony No. 4 by Charles Ives in Carnegie Hall as part of the Detroit Symphony’s presentation of the complete symphonies of Ives. He has served as a musical representative of the United States as an Artistic Ambassador of the United States Information Agency on a month-long tour of South Asia and the Middle East in 1997, as well as acting as a Department of State Cultural Envoy to Jamaica in 2005 and Azerbaijan in 2008. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has appeared at numerous national and international festivals, performed concertos with many orchestras, collaborated with prestigious composers, given countless premieres and is featured on several recordings on numerous labels. In 2009, he performed as part of the American Romanian Festival in Timisoara and Sannicolau Mare, Romania. Conway received a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the New England Conservatory and master’s and doctoral degrees in piano performance from the University of Michigan. His principal teachers were Theodore Lettvin, Rudolf Kolisch and Eugene Bossart.❖
Born in 1972 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Tudor Giurgiu has worked in cinema for over twenty years as a producer, director, and writer, and has over 50 credits to his name, including documentaries, shorts, music videos, and feature films. An Eisenhower Fellow in 2014, he is also the owner of Libra Film, an independent production company, as well as the founder and festival director of Romania’s most prestigious film festival, the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF). Between 2005 and 2007, Tudor Giurgiu was President of the Romanian National Television, TVR. About his second feature film, Why Me? (2015), he has said, “It is the most important project I worked on. I would like for it to remain known as a radiography of the Romanian society of the 2000s."❖
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AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL 2016
ARTISTS. Will Haapaniemi
Heidi Han
V IOLA
V I O LI N
Will Haapaniemi is a violinist born in Los Angeles from Finnish ancestry. He is thrilled to have joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2014 alongside his wife, violinist Heidi Han. Will always wanted to be a violinist, from the time he saw Itzhak Perlman play on Sesame Street when he was a little over two years old. Many other interests competed with practice time; some of his favorites were the martial art Capoeira, dance, and training for his sailplane pilot’s license. Much is owed to Will’s master violin teachers, Yoko Takebe and Michael Gilbert of the New York Philharmonic while Will attended Manhattan School of Music. In high school, Will was fortunate to study with Mark Kaplan, and fondly remembers lessons with Ruggiero Ricci in his home in Palm Springs. Also a great influence, Will’s cousin Paul Roby of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and his aunt, Linda Grace, whose tireless support encouraged him to be the musician he is today. And of course, without the support of Will’s parents, none of this would have been possible. Will is active as a soloist and chamber musician, and has played viola since high school. ❖
Korean violinist Heidi Han first picked up a violin at the age of five. Born and raised in Korea, she began her studies with JaeKwang Song while attending Yewon School of Arts. When Heidi was 13, her family moved to Vancouver, BC, Canada, and she continued her studies with Robert Davidovici. While in Canada, she served the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra as a concertmaster and won first prize of the Kiwanis Competition, Burnaby Clef Concerto Competition, and the Young Artists of British Columbia Competition. Heidi received both her Bachelor’s degree and graduate performance diploma from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, earning the Peabody Merit Scholarship for both programs. During her time at Peabody, Heidi studied with Victor Danchenko and was the concertmaster for the Peabody Concert Orchestra. While pursuing her degrees, she won the first prize in the Marbury Competition and was awarded the Josef Kaspar Award, and she was invited to join the Keshet Eilon International Violin Mastercourse in Israel to study with Shlomo Mintz. Currently, Heidi plays with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as a second violinist and lives in Detroit, Michigan, where she enjoys great music making with her colleagues and her husband, Will Haapaniemi. ❖
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ARTISTS Rebecca Mayer
David LeDoux C EL LO
PIANO
David LeDoux has appeared as a soloist with the Syracuse Symphony, the Skaneateles Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Tulsa Philharmonic, the Oklahoma State University Symphony, the Louisiana Sinfonietta, and the Mid-Texas Symphony. LeDoux is an active and avid chamber musician, including many years with the Syracuse Society for New Music. As a committed private teacher, he spent 2012 as a cello instructor for Imagine Syracuse, a music program in an inner-city school which was modeled after the El Sistema program in Venezuela. Previous professional engagements for David have included serving as Principal Cellist with the Baton Rouge (LA) Symphony, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Symphony, and the Louisiana Sinfonietta. Last summer, David returned to his faculty position with the Eastern Musical Festival in Greensboro, NC. David lives in Madison Heights, and David includes among his hobbies reading, running, and movies.❖
Rebecca Mayer recently graduated with academic honor from the Cleveland Institute of Music, receiving her Bachelor of Music and her Master of Music in piano performance. The Cleveland Institute of Music faculty awarded her the Sadie Zellen Prize and the William Kurzman Prize in piano. Her previous teachers include Kathryn Brown at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Logan Skelton of the University of Michigan, and Deborah Moriarty at Michigan State University. She has soloed with the Ann Arbor and Rochester Symphonies of Michigan in both piano and in violin. As a soloist, Rebecca was named honorable mention in the Henry Joniec National Piano Competition, a finalist in the International Eastman School of Music Piano Competition, the Ima Hogg National Instrumental Competition, and the National Mozart Concerto Piano Competition. Rebecca has performed nationally and internationally in master classes and solo concerts, including solo performances in Prague and Italy. In the summer of July 2003, Rebecca made her solo debut at the Carmel Bach Festival in Monterrey, California. Shortly after her debut, she performed Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Sonata live on the television show Applause. In October of 2009, Rebecca was invited by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to perform Dvorak’s “Dumky” Piano Trio with Fedor Amosov and Oleg Larshin at the Max M. Fisher Music Center. In addition to her piano
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AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL 2016
ARTISTS. Laura Leigh Roelofs VIOLIN
study, Rebecca has an extensive history as a violinist. As a violinist, she won numerous young artist competitions including the Birmingham Musicale, Rochester Young Artist Competition, Jean Hoffman Competition, and Zerounian. In the spring of 2000, Rebecca and her two sisters formed a piano trio. As a trio, they were top prize winners in the senior division of the National Fischoff Chamber Competition, prize winners in the International Coleman Chamber Music Competition in California, and placed second in the National Fischoff Junior Chamber Competition while in high school. Additionally, the Cleveland Institute of music awarded the trio the Dr. Bennett Levine Memorial Award in Chamber Music. As an established trio, the Harding Trio performed in master classes with the Beaux-Arts Trio, Juilliard Quartet, Itzhak Perlman, Paul Katz, John Perry, Norman Fisher, Sergei Babayan, Donald and Vivian Weilerstein, the New Arts Trio, Emerson Quartet, Cavani Quartet, Cleveland Quartet, and the Arianna String Quartet. The Harding Trio has also been featured numerous times on WCLV Classical FM 104.9 in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently, Rebecca Mayer lives in Hillsdale, Michigan, with her husband and three children. After teaching piano at Hillsdale College for a few years and founding the “Listen and Learn” concert series, she frequently performs with musicians from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at various concert series throughout Michigan and beyond. ❖
Laura Leigh Roelofs is Associate Professor of Violin at Wayne State University, where she heads the string department. Described by critics as a brilliant and intensely expressive performer, she maintains an active schedule of solo and chamber music concerts. Ms. Roelofs also holds the Assistant Concertmaster chair of the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, serving as Acting Concertmaster from 20142016. During recent seasons she has been featured as soloist for the Barcelona Ballet’s production of Swan Lake, and onstage as the Violinist in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, opposite countertenor David Daniels. Previously, Ms. Roelofs performed for fourteen seasons as Associate Concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and as a member of the Oberon String Quartet, artists-in-residence at St. Catherine’s School in Richmond. She has served on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University and as Artist-Teacher of Violin and Viola at Georgia State University in Atlanta. While in Georgia, she toured the Southeast region as violist of the Atlanta Chamber Players. Ms. Roelofs has appeared as soloist with the Baltimore Symphony and the Richmond Symphony, among others. She holds a B.Mus. in Violin Performance from Boston University’s School of Fine Arts, where she was a student of Roman Totenberg; she received both MM and DMA from the Catholic University of America where she studied with Robert Gerle. ❖
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ARTISTS Yoonshin Song VIOLIN
Acclaimed as “a wonderfully talented violinist...whose sound and technique go well beyond her years,” Yoonshin Song was born in South Korea where she began her musical studies at age five. Making her solo debut with the Seoul Philharmonic at age 11, she has since built a successful performing career throughout Korea, the United States, and Europe. Yoonshin earned many prestigious prizes throughout her career. Some highlights include top prize awards in international violin competitions such as the Wieniawski (Poland), Lipizer (Italy), Henry Marteau (Germany), and first prize at the Stradivarius International Competition in the US. In her native South Korea, Song has won virtually all the major national competitions. In addition, Yoonshin has received the David G. Whitecomb Foundation Award and the Korean Minister of Culture Award. Since giving her debut recital after winning the Jeunesses Musicales Competition in 1999, she has been soughtafter as a recitalist performing throughout Korea, the United States, and Europe to great acclaim. As a soloist, she has performed with many orchestras around the world, including the Detroit Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Utah Symphony, the P. Constantinescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the KBS Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Korean Baroque Chamber Orchestra.
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Yoonshin has participated both as a soloist and as a chamber musician in numerous music festivals: Marlboro Music Festival, Verbier Music Festival, Deer Valley Music Festival, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Perlman Music Program, Miyazaki Chamber Music Festival in Japan, and Bayreuth Festival in Germany. Yoonshin earned her Master’s degree and Graduate Diploma under the tutelage of Donald Weilerstein at the New England Conservatory and completed the Artist Diploma and Professional Study programs at Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Robert Mann and Glenn Dicterow. Since 2012, Yoonshin has been the Concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and has enjoyed close collaborations with inspiring guest artists such as Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell, and Jamie Laredo among others. Yoonshin currently plays on a 1707 Vincenzo Rugeri violin on loan to her by a generous sponsor in Michigan. She teaches at the University of Michigan. ❖
AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL 2016
ARTISTS. Hang Su
Marian Tănău
V IOLA
V I O LI N
Hang Su was born in Zhengzhou, China, grew up in Beijing, and matured in the United States. A three-time recipient of the Léni Fé Bland Scholarship, Su was also granted the Alfred Charles Mobus Jr. Scholarship while studying at the Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California. The firstprize winner of the California Young Artist Competition, he has also won the Idyllwild Arts Concerto Competition and the National Debut Competition held by the Young Musicians Foundation. Su has performed concerts throughout the USA and China in halls including Kennedy Center, Annenberg Hall, Royce Hall, Schoenberg Hall, California Center for the Arts, Newman Hall, Bovard Auditorium, Zipper Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Wilshire Ebell Theater, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Beijing Concert Hall. Su has been the Principal Violist of the International Chamber Orchestra, Debut Symphony Orchestra, American Youth Symphony, Colburn Orchestra, and twice received a full scholarship to participate in the Music Academy of the West. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists such as Ralf Gothóni, Arnold Steinhardt, Ronald Leonard, Dennis Trembly, Margaret Batjer, Peter Stumpf, and members of the Ysaÿe Quartet. Su has studied with Paul Coletti, Ralph Fielding, Xiaolong Liu, and Donald McInnes. ❖
Romanian-born violinist Marian Tanau first picked up the violin at age four and began his musical education in his hometown of Timisoara in Romania. He graduated from Liceul de Muzica “Ion Vidu,” where he studied violin with Maria Cleşiu. He then left for the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca and the Conservatorul de Muzica “G. Dima,” where he earned an Artists Diploma. Later in the USA, he earned a graduate degree from Bowling Green State University. Tanau joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1995. He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Romania and the USA and is an active chamber musician. In 2004, Tanau joined the violin faculty at Wayne State University. In 2005, he was awarded a sabbatical year and moved temporarily to Romania where he joined the music faculty at the National College of Art “Ion Vidu,” and the Music Conservatory of the West University from Timisoara. His recording of the Violin Sonata by Paul Paray, recorded for Grotto Productions, received praise from critics in the prestigious Strad, Gramophone, and Fanfare Magazines. Marian Tanau is the founder and president of the American Romanian Festival Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote American and Romanian music and culture to audiences in the USA and Europe. ❖
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ARTISTS Cornel Țăranu V IS IT ING CO M P O S E R
b. 20 June 1934, Cluj-Napoca
Cornel Țăranu is a Romanian composer of mostly orchestral, chamber, and vocal works that have been performed throughout Europe; he is also active as a conductor. Prof. Țăranu studied composition with Sigismund Toduță at the Academia de Muzică Gheorghe Dima in Cluj-Napoca from 1951–57, where he later earned his DMus in musicology in 1974. He also studied analysis with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in 1966–67 and attended the Ferienkurse in Darmstadt in 1968–69 and 1972, where he studied analysis with György Ligeti, conducting with Bruno Maderna, and percussion with Christoph Caskel. Among his honours are five prizes from the Uniunea Compozitorilor și Muzicologilor din România in Bucharest (1972, 1978, 1981, 1982, 2001) and the Koussevitzky International Critics Award (1982, for a recording of Garlands). He has been a member of the Academia Română in Bucharest since 1993 and was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France in 2002. He is also active in other positions. He founded the ensemble Ars Nova in Cluj-Napoca in 1968 and has served as its artistic director and conductor since 1968. He has served as the vice president of the Uniunea Compozitorilor și Muzicologilor din România since 1990 and as director of the
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festival Cluj Modern in Cluj-Napoca since 1995. His writings include the book Enescu in conștiința prezentului (1969, Editura pentru Literatură; French translation as Enesco dans la conscience du présent, 1981, Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică). He has taught at the Academia de Muzică Gheorghe Dima since 1957, where he was an assistant professor from 1970–90 and where he has been Professor of Composition since 1990. He has given lectures in Germany, Israel, Switzerland, and the USA. His primary publishers are Éditions Alphonse Leduc, Éditions Durand-SalabertEschig, and Editura Muzicală.❖
AMERICAN ROMANIAN FESTIVAL 2016
ARTISTS. Judith Vander Weg C EL LO
Judith Vander Weg is a graduate of Indiana University and the University of Michigan with degrees in cello performance. She has appeared throughout the United States, Canada, Belgium, France, and Spain in collaborative recitals and as orchestral soloist. Principal cellist of the Flint Symphony Orchestra since 2002, she previously served as principal cellist with the Mid-Texas Symphony, associate principal with the Toledo Symphony, and as a member of the Grand Rapids Symphony. With friends in San Antonio she co-founded HEMISPHERE, a flute, oboe, cello, and piano quartet in 1994. Since 1998, Judith has been a performing artist at the Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck (MI). Always fortunate to combine performing, teaching, and coaching chamber music, Judith is currently an adjunct faculty member of the Music Department at Wayne State University and has served on the faculties of the University of Texas in San Antonio, the University of Toledo, Calvin College, and Grand Valley State University. She is a clinician for youth symphonies and school orchestras, a frequent adjudicator, and maintains a busy home studio in Grosse Pointe. â?–
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MISSION The American Romanian Festival Inc. is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster mutual understanding and promote American and Eastern European music and culture. A specific focus of the festival is to encourage cultural awareness and understanding between people of culture, musicians, and artists of the United States and Romania. The festival organizes educational, cultural, and artistic events which take place in Romania and the USA. Founded in 2005, the organization supports cultural exchanges with Americans participating in events in Romania and Romanians participating in events in the USA.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE To make a tax-deductible contribution, please make checks payable to the American Romanian Festival Inc. and mail to: American Romanian Festival Inc. 1407 Ferdon Road Ann Arbor, MI 48104
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