La Sierra University hosts Montecito festival for 5th summer

The festival will be held July 14 – Aug. 2 at La Sierra and will provide instruction in instrumental, vocal, brass and composition programs. Noted guest artists along with professional festival faculty and students will provide free performances during the festival’s run. 

Guest musicians will include violin/violist Andrés Cárdenes, violinist Cho-Liang Lin, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violist Karen Dreyfus, trumpeter Timothy Morrison, and baritone vocalist W. Stephen Smith. 

Cárdenes is a Grammy-nominated, Cuban-born violinist, violist and conductor who has appeared on four continents with more than 100 top orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Sinfónica Nacional de Caracas. He has collaborated with many of the world’s famed conductors including Charles Dutoit, Sir André Previn and Leonard Slatkin.

Lin, a Grammy-nominated violinist and a soloist with major orchestras around the globe, has also served as music director of the La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest and of the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival. His performance instruments include a 1715 Stradivari named “Titian.”

Thibaudet, a native of Lyon, France, is a Grammy-nominated pianist and recipient of multiple awards and honors whose numerous credits include more than 50 albums and appearances with top symphonies around the world. He has appeared on many film soundtracks including as featured soloist for Dario Marianelli’s Oscar-winning score for the 2007 film “Atonement,” as well as on Marianelli’s Oscar-nominated 2005 film “Pride and Prejudice.” In 2010 he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame, and in 2012 was awarded the title Officier by the French Ministry of Culture.

Dreyfus, a note orchestral soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, has performed in the nation’s top concert houses and with such iconic ensembles as the New York Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo and Emerson quartets. She has collaborated with such legendary artists as Yehudi Menuhin, Leon Fleisher, with jazz great Chick Corea on his Grammy-nominated album, and with her husband, violinist Glenn Dicterow, former New York Philharmonic concertmaster. She is a frequent session player for movie soundtracks and other recordings.

Morrison, former Boston Pops Orchestra principal trumpet and former associate principal with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, can be heard on many iconic film soundtracks including “Apollo 13,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “JFK,” and “Amistad.” Morrison, who is also a conductor, pursued a career as a soloist with with top orchestras around the world including the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic.

Smith, an operatic baritone, has held faculty and teaching positions with prominent music schools, festivals and opera companies including The Juilliard School, Aspen Music Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera, St. Louis Conservatory of Music and many others. He has performed more than 40 roles in opera and musical theater including eight title roles. These include the role of Germont in “La Traviata” with Aspen Opera Theatre Center.

Toward instilling a spirit of giving and community service in its students, the festival also offers outreach performances for community, faith-based and civic organizations. 

Founder Chan Ho Yun co-directs the festival with La Sierra’s Martin Glicklich, adjunct flute professor. The 12-year-old Montecito festival originated in the Santa Barbara area in 2008 and was held there annually until 2015 when it moved to La Sierra to accommodate the festival’s growth.

Donations are accepted at all events to benefit the La Sierra University Department of Music. For community outreach performance requests, contact Dr. Chan Ho Yun at cyun@montecitomusicfestival.com. A downloadable concert and master class calendar for the Montecito International Music Festival is available here and at montecitomusicfestival.com. For further information call213-925-2400. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. A campus map is available at https://lasierra.edu/campus-map/.