La Sierra Chamber Series to feature top classical artists

On Sun., April 10 the La Sierra Chamber Music Series will present violinist Steven Copes, concertmaster of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; violist Ben Ullery, assistant principal viola of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; cellist Madeleine Kabat of the Madison Symphony Orchestra; clarinetist Burt Hara, associate principal clarinet of the L.A. Philharmonic; and violinist Jason Uyeyama, La Sierra’s director of string studies and a frequent player with the L.A. Philharmonic and other groups.

The quintet will perform a recital consisting of Hugo Wolf’s “Italian Serenade,” Dmitri Shostakovich’s “String Quartet No. 4 in D Major, Op. 83,” and Johannes Brahms’ “Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115.”

Copes, a Los Angeles native, joined the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra as concertmaster in 1998. He also appears frequently with the group as a soloist performing concerti by Brahms, Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and many other composers.

He performs for renowned music festivals and concert series around the world. Additionally, as a frequent guest concertmaster he has recorded and toured extensively throughout Europe and Asia with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra as well as with the Baltimore Symphony, London Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony.

An advocate of new music, he gave the world premiere of George Tsontakis’ Grammy-nominated “Violin Concerto No. 2” which won the 2005 Grawemeyer award and has been recorded for KOCH Records. He has also performed John Novacek’s “Four Rags” with the composer on National Public Radio’s “Prairie Home Companion” with Garrison Keillor.

He holds degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and The Juilliard School in New York City. Copes performs on a new violin by Brooklyn maker Samuel Zygmuntowicz, patterned after the 'Kreutzer' Stradivarius of 1727.

Ullery has served in his position with the L.A. Philharmonic since 2012. Previously he spent three seasons as a member of the Minnesota Orchestra and has performed frequently with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and as guest principal viola of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Ullery has appeared at the nation’s top music festivals and has been featured in chamber music performances on NPR’s “Performance Today” as well as with local broadcasts on Classical KUSC FM 91.5 in Los Angeles and Minnesota Public Radio. He has recorded chamber works for Bridge and Albany records.

Ullery is a faculty member at the Colburn School in Los Angeles where he teaches orchestral repertoire and coaches the Colburn Orchestra’s viola section. Ullery is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and also studied chamber music with members of the Guarneri, Takács, Vermeer, Borromeo, Miró, and St. Petersburg quartets.

Kabat has been featured as soloist with the orchestras of Lima International Festival in Peru, the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, Minot, N.D., Red de Escuelas de Musica in Medellin, Colombia, and the Cleveland Philharmonic among others. She recently made her solo debut at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.

Kabat has won prizes in the competitions of Fischoff, Hellam, Klein International, Young Texas Artists, Mid-Texas Symphony, the Cleveland Cello Society and many others. She currently serves as an artist-in-residence at La Sierra University.

An active orchestral musician, Kabat has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Houston Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and served as guest principal cellist with the Philharmonia Mexico in Mexico City. She holds diplomas from the Cleveland Institute of Music, Rice University, the Juilliard School, and most recently Oberlin Conservatory.

Hara joined the L.A. Phil in 2013 after 25 seasons as principal clarinet with the Minnesota Orchestra. The move to the L.A. Phil was a return home of sorts – he made his solo debut with the renowned symphony at the age of 14.

A frequent soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, Hara has also soloed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Tucson Symphony, the Alabama Symphony, Aspen Chamber Symphony, Cedar Rapids Symphony, the Quad Cities Symphony, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, and the Monterey Symphony.

Hara is on the faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and is the principal clarinet of the Aspen Chamber Symphony. Additionally, as an active chamber musician, Hara has performed with acclaimed festivals around the United States and the world including the Hong Kong Chamber Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. He has performed regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota and with the Minnesota Orchestra’s chamber music series, and recently performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Chamber Music Series.

He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and is a Buffet Group USA and Vandoren performing artist.

Uyeyama has performed with the L.A. Philharmonic since 2005 and is currently on tour with the orchestra through March 25 with concerts in New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Luxembourg and London. His extensive work as a recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral musician, and soloist also includes appearances with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and festival appearances in Medellin, Colombia, San Luis Obispo, Tanglewood, Aspen and Taos. He holds a master’s degree from The Juilliard School in New York City where he studied with Masao Kawasaki. Previous teachers include renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman, Dorothy DeLay, and Yao-Ji Lin.

In addition to his teaching duties and performances, Uyeyama is also founder and director of the Orange County String Studio in Irvine which offers private lessons, group and duo instruction. An advocate for community outreach, Uyeyama has also served as music director of Community Kids Connection in San Bernardino since 2008. Through this program, he has given free violin lessons to underserved children and performances for local hospitals and charity events.

The La Sierra Chamber Music Series recital will be held at 7 p.m. in Hole Memorial Auditorium. Tickets are $15 general admission, seniors $10, students $5. For further information call 951-785-2036 or email music@lasierra.edu. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. A campus map is available at https://lasierra.edu/campus-map/.

For further information on upcoming concerts visit https://music-events.lasierra.edu.