Hanson-Koobs series artists to present Mozart, Dvorak

The concert, previously scheduled for Jan. 30 in Hole Memorial Auditorium, will now be held online on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022 at 7 p.m. at La Sierra University 'Watch Live': https://livestream.com/lasierra; and La Sierra University Department of Music Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/lasierrauniversitymusic. Access is free. This scheduling change is due to the university's move to online operations during the month of January in light of the surging Covid-19 pandemic.

Appearing from the ranks of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the national and global performance and recording circuit will be Dominic Cheli, piano; Grace Park, violin; Erik Arvinder, violin; Ben Ullery, viola; and Robert deMaine, cello. The group will perform “String Quartet in D Major KV 499, ‘Hoffmeister’” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and “Piano Quintet in A Major Op. 81” by Antonín Dvorak.

Park has appeared as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Canada at venues such as Walt Disney Hall, The Kennedy Center, the Rudolfinum in Prague and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jordan Hall. She is the winner of the 2018 Naumburg International Violin Competition and recently performed at Carnegie Hall. A recent performance season included concerto debuts and recitals at top venues. She earned bachelor and master's degrees at the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. 

Arvinder, a Swedish-born violinist, is a founding member of the Vamlingbo Quartet and the founder and artistic director of the Leksand Chamber Music Festival. He has served as the concertmaster of a number of renowned ensembles including the Royal Swedish Opera, and was a member of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra before relocating to Los Angeles. In addition to his playing, he is known for his arrangements and orchestrations and will this year make appearances as a conductor with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Cheli, a native of St. Louis, Mo. participates in collaborative music outreach with Project: Music Heals Us, a nonprofit that presents interactive classical music to diverse audiences. He is also the LIVE Director of Tonebase Piano in which he presents virtual lectures, performances, and workshops. He is first prize winner of the 2017 Concert Artists Guild Competition and recently debuted at Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall with Maestro Valery Gergiev. Future performances include debuts at Lincoln Center and Kennedy Center as well as concertos with the Seattle and Indianapolis Symphonies. Recording projects include the Recovered Voices initiative, an organization that encourages greater awareness of music by composers whose careers and lives were disrupted by the Nazi regime in Europe. A seven-part documentary series featuring his performances of the music of Erwin Schulhoff premiered in November 2021.  

deMaine serves as principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and is also a frequent guest artist of top chamber festivals and a soloist around the world. He has appeared on the stages of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Teatro Colón, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, and Moscow's Tchaikovsky Hall, as well as the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center and Conservatory, among many others. He is a first-prize winner of many national and international competitions and is the recipient of a career grant from the Helen M. Saunders Foundation, and the gift of a Vuillaume cello from the Cecilia Benner Foundation. He studied at The Juillard School in Manhattan, the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Yale University in Connecticut, and Kronberg Academy in Germany. 

Ullery has been the assistant principal viola of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2012. He spent three seasons as a member of the Minnesota Orchestra and has performed as a guest principal viola with the Detroit Symphony, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and the Aspen Chamber Symphony. He has also been featured in performances on NPR’s “Performance Today” as well as local broadcasts on Classical KUSC 91.5. After graduating with numerous honors from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Ullery is a faculty member at the Colburn School where he teaches orchestral repertoire and coaches the Colburn Orchestra’s viola section. 

Violinist Jason Uyeyama, associate professor of music and director of string studies at La Sierra University, organizes the Hanson-Koobs series. In addition to teaching, he leads an active career as a recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. He has performed regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2005, performs wtih Camerata Pacifica, and has played with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Pacific Symphony. He is also founder and director of the Orange County String Studio in Irvine. Uyeyama holds a master’s degree from The Juilliard School where he studied with Masao Kawasaki. 

For information call or email at 951-785-2036 or music@lasierra.edu.