Concert program: information about the pieces and performers, and more videos of this concert are at: https://longbeachcello.com/cellofest/…

0:00 – 2:02 Rondo (Anonymous)
2:35 – 5:45 Duo for two cellos, Allegro deciso (Kummer)
6:01 – 10:24 Sheep May Safely Graze (Bach)
10:55 – 13:06 Bourrée (Handel)

13:28 – 17:30 Sonata for two cellos and piano in g minor, Andante (Handel)

18:07 – 19:52 Quia fecit mihi magna (Bach, description of piece 17:45 – 18:06)

21:23 – 25:31 Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Allegro (Mozart)
25:56 – 28:31 Pavane (Fauré)
28:57 – 31:48 Bolero (Ravel)

32:32 – 35:14 Two Chorales (Bach)
(32:32 – 33:37 Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, BWV 250, 33:41 – 35:14 Aus meines Herzens Grunde, BWV 269)

35:33 – 40:01 Hymn of the Cherubim (Tchaikovsky)

41:32 – 44:07 5 duets for two violins (arranged for two cellos), Prelude (Shostakovich)

44:29 – 55:51 Sonata for two cellos in G Major (Barrière)
(44:29 – 49:53 Andante, 50:09 – 52:47 Largo, 53:01 – 55:51 Presto)

57:19 – 1:07:09 Duet for Viola and Cello (Beethoven)

Our performers – Alicja’s students

Aleena Kang Certificate of Merit level 9,

Tyler Thorsteinson Certificate of Merit level 6 ,

Alexia Ventura Certificate of Merit level 10,

Josue Sanchez Certificate of Merit level 2

CM Certificate of Merit is a yearly music evaluation program that was created and developed by the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC) in 1934. It provides a solid foundation for music study through a sequential progression of eleven (11) Levels, from Preparatory through Advanced (Level 10). Students perform musical repertoire, technique, sight reading, ear training, and theory based on requirements set forth in an applicable instrument Syllabus.

Our performers – Professionals

Helen Belangie, cello.
A native of Montana, Helen Belangie began studying the cello at the age of eleven under the tutelage of Christine Ranf Sopko, and later, Fern Glass Boyd. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she studied with Irene Sharp and Jennifer Culp. While a student at the conservatory she soloed with the orchestra and with the San Francisco Classical Philharmonic. During high school and college, many summers were spent away studying at festivals. These include; Interlochen, Idllywild, Aspen, Zephr chamber festival in Italy, the Banff Institute, and the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove. After graduation, she was a contracted member of several Bay Area symphonies and at this time very much enjoys teaching and playing chamber music in the Los Angeles area. More information about her studio can be found on www.cellolessonslosangeles.com.

Violinist and violist Alan Busteed is a versatile musician who enjoys a variety of settings. He played regularly with the Fort Worth Symphony, presented violin and viola Master Classes and conducted a student string orchestra in Brazil, and toured the Far East from his former home base in Lisbon, Portugal. Alan’s violin solo appearances with orchestra in concert have featured works by Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Vivaldi, J S Bach, Brahms, Dvorak, Wieniawski, Chausson, and Sarasate. 

Alan is a long time member of the Santa Barbara Symphony on viola. He is recipient of  a 2021 Latin Grammy as violin soloist for tango music. Alan is an active popular music pianist. He accompanies professional singers and plays keyboard for the Afro Cuban Ensemble, a salsa big band, in San Diego.

Hervé Blanquart, Basso. Hervé started singing professionally at age 11 in his native France as a soprano soloist of the Paris boys choir, with which he came to Los Angeles, on tour. Much later, he joined the choruses of the Los Angeles Opera, San Diego Opera, and the Pacific Symphony (Pacific Chorale). Since 2014, Hervé has been focusing on Catholic liturgical chant. He is currently the cantor for the Saturday 5:15PM vigil mass at Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in San Pedro, and the schola director for the Latin Mass at the John Paul II polish center in Yorba Linda. He also maintains the chant website www.longbeachchant.com

Alicja Blanquart, cello.
Alicja Blanquart was born in Warsaw, Poland . She graduated from Eastman School of Music and earned her Masters Degree in Cello Performance at the University of Southern California. She is an avid chamber musician who has collaborated with
distinguished artists including , Sarah Chang . In the summer 2011 , 2014 Alicja was a guest artist in a solo performances at the Chopin to Gorecki Festival in Warsaw Conservatory in Poland. She currently freelances with several orchestras in California and maintains a thriving cello studio in Long Beach. More information about her studio can be found on www.longbeachcello.com

—– PROGRAM NOTES —–

Anonymous Rondo – This Rondo was made by an unknown composer sometimes in the 17-18th century. It is a nice Baroque piece. (Program note by Josue)

Gabriel Fauré was a French composer and teacher who also played the piano and organ. Fauré’s musical style greatly influenced many 20th-century composers that came after him. One of his most famous pieces is Pavane, which is a short work originally written for piano in 1887. (Program note by Aleena)

Maurice Ravel was a French composer, conductor, and pianist. He is often associated with the self-rejected term of Impressionism, which was a movement in the late 19th century that associated music to the work of Impressionist painters. Ravel was widely regarded as France’s greatest living composer in the 1920s and 1930s. His most famous composition, Boléro, is a one-movement orchestral piece originally commissioned for ballet. (Program note by Aleena)

Many people would be able to recognize Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s piece “Eine kleine Nachtmusik“ because of its first movement, which is the Allegro movement. (Program note by Alexia)

Friedrich August Kummer is known for writing a book that helps cello students with their musical technique, as well as for being a composer. (Program note by Alexia)

Tchaikovsky‘s hymn of the Cherubim – This piece was written in 1878 as a religious hymn used for the Russian Eastern Orthodox Church, originally written with Russian lyrics/hymn. “Cherubim”, in religious literature are beings with wings who server many religious roles. Tchaikovsky was a composer who lived in the 19th Century from 1840 – 1893 in Russia, and he was the first Russian composer to make a lasting impact. (Program note by Josue)

George Frideric Handel, born Feb 23, 1685, died April 14, 1759
He was a German – British composer well known for his operas, oratorios and instrumental compositions. He wrote the most famous of all oratorios Messiah in 1741. (Program note by Tyler)

From Johann Sebastian Bach: Three Chorales , Excerpts from Cantatas, “Quia Fecit Mihi Magna” from his Magnificat.

From Dmitri Shostakovich, a prelude,

From Jean-Baptiste Barrière, his Sonata for two cellos in G Major

… and the famous Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel.

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