La Sierra chamber series to showcase world-class quartet

Four musicians who have performed with orchestras around the nation and the world will merge their talents next weekend on La Sierra University's stage to deliver a chamber music concert of renowned composers' works.

The university's Department of Music will present an evening of classical works on Sat., Feb. 11, performed by violinist Jason Uyeyama, La Sierra's director of string studies; violinist Searmi Park, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra member; violist Toby Appel, international performer and faculty member at the renowned Juilliard School in New York City; and cellist Madeleine Kabat, a prize-winning soloist, symphonic performer and teaching assistant at Oberlin Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio.

The program will consist of “String Quartet No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 138” by Dmitry Shostakovich, “String Quartet in F Major” by Maurice Ravel, and “String Quartet in F minor, Op. 80” by Felix Mendelssohn.

The concert will be held at 7 p.m. in La Sierra's Hole Memorial Auditorium. General admission is $10, family admission is $20, senior citizen admission is $5, free admission for children age 12 and under. The concert is part of La Sierra University's Chamber Recital Series and is made possible in part by the Dick & Ardyce Koobs Chamber Music Endowment Fund. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. For further information call 951-785-2036.<br/><br/>Violist Appel is a member of the viola and chamber music faculties at the Juilliard School and is a frequent commentator for National Public Radio's “Performance Today.” He has performed in recitals and concertos throughout North and South America, Europe and the Far East and has held membership with renowned ensembles and quartets. He has appeared as a guest artist with numerous acclaimed groups including the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society and with jazz artists Chick Corea and Gary Burton. His special appearances include a tour for the U.S. State Department and performances at the United Nations and the White House.

Appel has recorded chamber music and recitals on Columbia, Delos, Desto, Koch International, Opus 1 and Musical Heritage Society labels.

Violinist Park, a Los Angeles native, studied at the University of California, Los Angeles with Mark Kaplan. In addition to her membership with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Park performs regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the L.A. Opera orchestra and the Pacific Symphony. She has soloed with many orchestras and performed as concertmaster and assistant concertmaster for the New West Symphony, the American Ballet Theatre and other top groups.<br/><br/>Uyeyama, also an associate professor of music at La Sierra, leads an active career as a recitalist, chamber musician, orchestra musician and soloist. He is a regular performer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and has played with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on its Asian tour.

He earned a master's degree from Juilliard where he studied with renowned violinists Itzhak Perlman, Masao Kawasaki and Yao-Ji Lin.

Uyeyama's appearances include those at widely known festivals in Aspen, Colo., Taos, New Mexico, Tanglewood Music Center near Stockbridge, Mass., and Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo. This season's highlights include performances at Festival Mozaic and Festicamara in Medellin, Colombia. He is also music director of Community Kids Connection-Music, a collaborative program with Loma Linda University that provides free music lessons for underprivileged children in San Bernardino.

Saturday's concert will be cellist Kabat's third La Sierra University appearance. She last played at the university on Dec. 8 in a trio with Uyeyama and international piano sensation Orion Weiss.<br/><br/>Kabat's interest in music sparked at age 11 when her father, a university music technician, brought home a viola da gamba to work on. Since the cello is the modern counterpart to the gamba, her parents signed her up for cello lessons, Kabat said. “I knew I wanted to be a cellist and never pursued any other career paths,” she said. A few years later at age 18, Kabat debuted with the Cleveland Orchestra. She has won top prizes in many events including the Klein, William C. Byrd, Fischoff, and Hellam international and national competitions. An active orchestral musician, Kabat has performed with the Houston Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

She has appeared as featured soloist with the Springfield Symphony in Missouri, the Cleveland Philharmonic, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in South Carolina, and the Festival Mozaic Orchestra in California. She has also appeared as a guest artist for La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest, a gala in Carnegie Hall for Keshet Eilon, and in Mexico City on a trip sponsored by the Juilliard School.

Kabat holds diplomas from Juilliard, Rice University and the Cleveland Institute of Music. She met Uyeyama a few years ago when she played at Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo and has performed with the violinist several times since.

PR Contact: Larry Becker

Executive Director of University Relations

La Sierra University

Riverside, California

951.785.2460 (voice)