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Dr. Yewon Lee is a frequently sought-after conductor and collaborative pianist on the operatic and concert stage. Prior to relocating to San Diego, Lee was Assistant Music Director of Opera at Baldwin Wallace University and Adjunct Professor at Kent State University. In the operatic world, she coached at Baldwin Wallace Opera Theater, National Opera Center, Aspen Opera Theater Center, and International Vocal Arts Institute in Israel, France, Italy, and Japan. Born in South Korea, Hyun-Jeong Ahn is an accomplished soloist and chamber musician with appearances across the United States, France, Germany, Czech, Spain, and Korea. Ahn was invited to give a solo and chamber recitals at venues such as Carnegie Weill Recital Hall (New York), Brahms House (Baden-Baden, Germany), Palffy Palace (Prague, Czech), Leith Symington Griswold Hall, Goodwin Hall, Friedberg Hall in Maryland, Studzinski Recital Hall in Maine, and Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Smith Recital Hall, Smith Memorial Room in Illinois, Seongnam Arts Center, Ceramic Palace Hall, Youngsan Art Center, Ewon Art Hall in Seoul.
Barry Davis Salwen is an international concert pianist giving performances and master classes in the United States, Europe, Israel, and Asia. He gave two weeks of master classes at the Shanghai Conservatory in China, among many other places. As the recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Scholars Grant, he gave a semester's seminar at the Music Academy in Freiburg, Germany, one of the leading music institutions in the country.
Comprised of Anna Grigorian and Natasha Gubenko, the award winning Grigorian Gubenko Piano Duo was formed in 2016. The duo has been featured numerous times at the MTAC conventions and continues to perform extensively at various professional and community functions. Both pianists lead busy piano teaching careers, conduct masterclasses, serve as adjudicators, and have leadership positions in the state and national professional music teachers associations.
Born by the Mediterranean Sea in Italy and raised between the Swiss Alps, Iris Moné is a Swiss-Italian artist with an international flair. She moved to Southern California 10 years ago, developed her songwriting craft and created soulful songs. In 2013, she was a finalist on the first season of The Voice of Switzerland, appeared on many albums, performed at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, the Bitter End in NYC, the Montreux Festival, and at the EXPO Milano.
Born and raised in a musical family, Giorgia Renosto is an Italian vocalist who entered the artistic world at the young age of 14. Highly exposed to classical music and opera by her grandfather, a clarinet player, she enriched her musical background with jazz by starting her formal training in Torino, Italy. Her ability to focus on various types of vocal styles inside the extremely diverse world of Vocal Jazz allowed her to capture elements of vocal technique from different sources of inspiration and at 17, she was selected as one of the winners of the “Giovani Proposte” of the Italian contest “Sanremo Giovani.”
Given 4 stars by Downbeat Magazine, multi-lingual vocalist/composer/educator Allison Adams Tucker began singing before she could speak, and she has performed in many genres from a cappella to punk, folk, and jingles. In 2005, Allison fell in love with jazz and has gone on to release 4 critically acclaimed albums and 3 EPs.
Back in April 2020, three long time professional San Diego musicians found themselves without any gigs or opportunities to play with other musicians because of the new Covid-19 Pandemic. Having gigged together in various bands for many years, on April 30, 2020 (UNESCO International Jazz Day), Greg Pardue (saxophones), Jack Hoffman (piano) and Roy Jenkins (bass) decided to try jamming outdoors on Greg's front porch where there was plenty of fresh air and room to observe the new concept of "social distancing." They had so much fun that they decided to make it a weekly jam and invited a few friends to check it out because it was a relatively safe environment for an audience and the musicians even in the throes of the pandemic. This Athenaeum Mini-Concert features the core quartet of Greg Pardue on saxophones, Jack Hoffman on piano, Mark Phelps on bass, and Mike Masessa on drums.
Led by Aaron Lind, this trio brings a blend of blues, soul, and jazz that will have you on your feet. Each member promises exciting improvisations, transporting you to the heyday of 1960s organ trio magic, while seamlessly incorporating the best of present-day sounds.
Adam Wolff has been playing the piano for most of his life. Starting at the age of 8, he spent ten years studying classical piano performance, music theory, and creative music expression. Raised in New York and Chicago, he returned to New York City in the 80s and spent many years playing music full-time in Manhattan. While living in New York, Wolff studied with several great pianists: Barry Harris (Keeper of the Bebop Flame), Mike Longo (Musical Director for Dizzy Gillespie), and Kenny Werner (Author of Effortless Mastery and a global music legend).
Cellist Margaret Tait joined the San Francisco Symphony directed by Seiji Ozawa in 1974. Although engaged throughout her career as an orchestral musician, she has a deep and abiding love for chamber music. She is a founding member of the Aurora String Quartet, performing worldwide for twenty-two years. Margaret recently relocated to San Diego and will be focusing on performing works for solo cello and chamber ensembles. She and Alison met while playing for Mainly Mozart in Del Mar during the pandemic! Dr. Alison Luedecke, organ and harpsichord, is passionate about sharing her love of music. She is a founding member of and harpsichordist/organist with San Diego Baroque presenting all Baroque music on period style instruments and is also a founding member and organist with Millennia Consort (Brass Quintet, percussion and organ). As a large ensemble musician she performs with the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, the California Chamber Orchestra and other ensembles. She is active as a solo concert organist and has played in France, Canada, Mexico and Germany. She received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance at the Eastman School of Music as a student of David Craighead.
Edward Gabrielyan is a San Diego–based jazz pianist. Duncan Moore is a San Diego–based drummer and educator. Besides maintaining a busy teaching schedule, he performs and records with numerous artists in the Southern California area. Justin Grinnell is a San Diego–based freelance jazz bassist and music educator. More importantly, he is a husband to pianist/educator Melonie Grinnell and father to their two sons.
Join the Camarada Tango Quartet as they present a powerful program of tango through time—a curated time-travel experience highlighting several famous traditional tango composers: Pugliese, Francini, Pontier, Salgan, Troilo, Mores, the unequivocal Astor Piazzolla featuring rich arrangements and commissioned original works by Andrés Martín. They return to Argentina and Uruguay tomorrow for a two-week tour beginning Oct. 14, 2025.
Alchemy is Donn Boyd and Ephraim Reitman, two guitarists of different but complimentary styles. They play a mix of jazz, blues, and classic hits.
Award-winning classical pianist Adam Hostomsky is dedicated to bringing deep insight and virtuoso fireworks to audiences in San Diego and the world. Adam was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia and started playing piano at the age of 3 ½ under government tutelage. At age 8, his family settled in La Jolla and continued his musical development. He studied with Betty Oberacker at University of California Santa Barbara and received a Master of Fine Arts Piano Performance from California Institute of Arts in 2005 where he studied with Peter Miyamoto and Liam Viney.
Erica Erenyi completed a Master’s degree and Performance Residency Program in cello performance at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a student of Anne Martindale Williams. She received her Bachelor of Music from Biola University in La Mirada, California, as a student of Marlin Owen. More recently, she undertook a course of intensive study with Peter Thiemann in Barcelona, Spain. Cellist Elizabeth Brown, a native of San Diego, enjoys a diverse musical life of performing and teaching. She began her musical studies at the age of four and in high school won first prize in the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus Young Artists Competition and was a concerto winner at Interlochen Center for the Arts. Having served as the principal cellist of the Orquesta Sinfonica Sinaloa de las Artes in Sinaloa, Mexico, until 2014, Elizabeth has performed throughout Mexico, the U.S. and Europe. Since his solo debut at age 16 with the Owensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra, Jacob Thompson has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious venues.
Eric Starr maintains a multi-faceted musical career as a faculty member at SDSU, trombonist for Westwind Brass, board member for San Diego New Music, and Community Engagement Partner with Art of Elan. At SDSU, Eric serves as studio artist teacher, lecturer, brass coordinator, internship coordinator and program advisor for the Music, Entrepreneurship and Business degree where he directs the Brass Chamber Music program and co-directs the Experimental Music Ensemble. Sarah Skuster joined the San Diego Symphony Orchestra as principal oboist in 2009 and has subsequently appeared as a featured soloist with the orchestra on several occasions.
Gregory Page is an eclectic, prolific, genre-bending performing songwriter, balladeer, recording artist, film maker, art activist, music producer, and published poet with an extensive discography. With endearing stage presence, evocative lyrics, masterful guitar work and warm voice, the London-born artist seamlessly draws from imagination and experience transcending traditions of folk, Celtic, Armenian, American Roots, ragtime, blues, swing and French Romanticism into his own signature idiom that has been described as “Americeltic.”
There will be no mini-concert on Monday, September 1 in observance of Labor Day. Thank you for understanding, and see you next Monday!
Dmitry Kirichenko began his musical education under a Soviet system that selected only the best, most talented students for artistic study. At the age of 7, he was accepted into the Stolyarsky School of Music. Upon graduation he was accepted to the Moscow Conservatory for college level studies under Professor Zemliansky. One of the leading educational institutions in the world, the Moscow Conservatory is reserved for the most talented music students.
Javid & Naoko is a New Flamenco ensemble comprised of a husband and wife guitar virtuosos Javid & Naoko. Exquisitely original guitar compositions instilled with the intense energy of the heart and the fiery passion of the soul. Javid & Naoko have released five full-length New Flamenco albums.
Sädesärla is a world fusion duo project presenting original compositions and arrangements of folk music from Sweden, Thailand, and beyond with Christopher Adler on khaen, the bamboo free-reed mouth organ from Laos and Northeast Thailand, and Batya MacAdam-Somer on violin, viola, and voice.
Beverly Reese Dorcy, piano/percussion, was formerly principal percussionist with the Fresno Philharmonic, Tacoma Opera, Bellevue Philharmonic, San Francisco Women's Philharmonic, Monterey Opera, Monterey Pops Orchestra, Golden Gate Opera and Classical Philharmonic. She has also performed extensively with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, San Diego Opera and Sun Valley Summer Symphony in Idaho. Bruce Dorcy, french horn, was a member of the National Ballet of Canada and Canadian Opera Orchestras for 24 years (asst. principal/third horn) and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra for 11 years (principal horn) and also played on Broadway in New York for 6 years ("Fiddler on the Roof", "Promises, Promises", "Man of La Mancha"). Occasional performances with the New York City Opera, Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Toronto Symphony, San Francisco Opera, Western Opera Theatre, Opera San Jose, Monterey Opera, Monterey Pops, Golden Gate Opera, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Las Vegas Philharmonic etc.
Laevitas is a dynamic violin-guitar duo founded by Kenneth Liao and Drew Butcher. Violinst Kenneth Liao will perform with Drew Butcher, who will join him on guitar. Violinist Kenneth Liao joined the San Diego Symphony in 2019 after spending two seasons as a Fellow with the New World Symphony. Born in Maryland, Mr. Liao received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California, where he studied with Midori Goto, and subsequently completed a Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of David Chan.
David Beldock and Ian Vatet are guitar players in the band Friends and Enablers. They play original music, folk, rock, and blues songs while having fun doing so. When Ian and David play guitars together, there is magic in the room. David Beldock performs original acoustic folk, blues and jazz. Beldock is a guitar player and singer/songwriter. He has played in two of San Diego’s most renowned bands, Bordertown and Wooden Angel. His songs have won various awards, most notably from the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and from Dr. Demento (which especially pleased him). His solo CDs have received favorable reviews. He enjoys writing songs and making music. Ian Vatet has been playing guitar for almost 50 years, and he continues to actively gig. Vatet has extensive experience performing, recording, composing, and teaching.
Acclaimed flutist and three-time Global Music Award recipient, Brooklyn native Lori Bell is a flutist and composer of admirable depth and broad musical sympathies. A resident of San Diego, she has contributed to raising the standards of performance while earning acclaim from both peers and critics for her artistry on stage and in recordings.
Elegancia Doble, is a gifted duo having won first prize at the 17th Japanese Musician’s Association of California Piano competition in 2016. Naomi Hobbs was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. She earned her music degree at the Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo, where she also taught for 10 years. In 1998, the year before she moved to San Diego, she performed Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto with the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra. She was a music and piano instructor at San Diego Community College district for 10 years. Hobbs won first prize at the Seventh Annual International Piano Competition in Mexico in 2012 and was the gold medalist of the Sixth Annual. Seattle International Piano Competition in 2015. Yumiko Oya grew up in Tokyo, Japan. She began playing piano at age three. After moving to the US in 1990, she began studying music theory at Orange Coast College and was invited to play as a soloist on Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4 with its orchestra at their annual concert. Further study earned Oya her Master’s degree in Piano Performance at the California Institute of the Arts. Since then she has actively performed as a soloist and with various ensembles.
Comprised of Anna Grigorian and Natasha Gubenko, the award winning Grigorian Gubenko Piano Duo was formed in 2016. The duo has been featured numerous times at the MTAC conventions and continues to perform extensively at various professional and community functions. Both pianists lead busy piano teaching careers, conduct masterclasses, serve as adjudicators, and have leadership positions in the state and national professional music teachers associations.
Guitarist Jimmy Patton and percussionist Enrique Platas have combined their talents to form this award-winning duo. Their music can be described as having an international flair as they incorporate flamenco, Middle-Eastern, salsa, calypso, Brazilian, and other world rhythms into their compositions and arrangements. Jimmy and Enrique's musical collaboration has given creation to their unique, fiery world-music style that has captivated audiences from all over. Listeners will experience virtuosic guitar passages accompanied by exotic percussive rhythms, which together produce a sound that will grab your soul.
Band leader and beloved piano player for many years in San Diego, Sue is known as the Queen of Boogie Woogie and always manages to entertain with fun and flair. She has won many San Diego Music Awards, with various bands, and toured the world with the late blues artist Candye Kane, for 8 years. In 2008 her album "Sophisticated Ladies" won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis for Best (unsigned) CD. The City of San Diego named a day after her, also in 2008.
Join us for a captivating concert with Folias Duo, the celebrated pairing of flutist Carmen Maret and guitarist Andrew Bergeron. With over two decades of collaboration, they are renowned for their seamless fusion of classical, jazz, world music, and improvisation. Their original compositions, inspired by life on the road and the beauty of the natural world, transport audiences with vivid storytelling through music. This performance will feature highlights from their newest works, including pieces inspired by the Great Lakes.
There will be no mini-concert on Monday, June 2 due to a private event. Thank you for understanding, and see you next Monday!
There will be no mini-concert on Monday, May 26 in observance of Memorial Day. Thank you for understanding, and see you Monday, June 9!
Brightfeather is a dynamic and immersive violin-piano duo founded by violinist Benjamin Hoffman and pianist Irene Kim. Through deeply personal performances, Brightfeather is committed to bringing the light, hope, and strength of music to audiences across the globe. The duo has performed throughout the United States as well as in Europe, Asia, and Oceania, and presents repertoire spanning an extensive range of time periods and musical languages.
Pacific Woodwind Quintet is a group of experienced musicians who are enthusiastic about introducing audiences to both standard wind quintet literature as well as arrangements of orchestral music. Consisting of Janet Cherif (horn), Laura Ford (bassoon), Paul Goodman (clarinet), Ken Kahan (flute), and Kathi Bower Peterson (oboe), the quintet is looking forward to their Athenaeum debut.
