Gualala Arts Promoting public interest and participation in the arts since 1961
“Cultural Crossroads”
Chamber Music event at Gualala Arts September 10, 2022
The Chamber Music Series at Gualala Arts presents a special music event in September. “Cultural Crossroads” is set for 4:00 p.m., September 10 in Coleman Hall, and will feature four extraordinary talents: R. Carlos Nakai, Michele Kennedy, Pamela Freund-Striplen and the Alexander String Quartet. Tickets are $50 advance, plus $5 at the door (if available).
For music lovers, “Cultural Crossroads” is a chance to become immersed in the sounds that inspired Dvořák’s most beloved chamber music. From uplifting African American Spirituals and songs by Florence Price to original rhythms and melodies of Indigenous Americans, you’ll hear why Dvořák famously asserted “in the Negro and Indian melodies of America I discover all that is needed for a great and noble school of music.”
This Saturday afternoon performance interweaves Dvořák’s “American” Quartet and Quintet with these inspirational elements to create a vivid musical landscape. Bringing this story of the interconnectedness of cultures to life is the world’s premier Native American flutist, R. Carlos Nakai, the Alexander String Quartet, soprano Michele Kennedy, and violist Pamela Freund-Striplen.
Of Navajo-Ute heritage, R. Carlos Nakai is the world’s premier performer of the Native American flute. Originally trained in classical trumpet and music theory, Nakai was given a traditional cedar wood flute as a gift and challenged to see what he could do with it. He embraced the instrument in the early 1980s, and having lifted the flute to extraordinary heights, he recorded and released more than 50 albums in his career (including 40 on the Canyon Records label). His albums have sold more than 4.3 million copies for Canyon Records and earned two Gold Records for “Canyon Trilogy” and “Earth Spirit”. In 2014, Canyon Trilogy reached Platinum (over 1 million units sold), the first ever for a Native American artist performing traditional solo flute music.
While well-grounded in the traditional uses of the flute, Nakai has explored new musical settings including new age, world-beat jazz and classical. His cross-cultural collaborations have included an album with the Wind Travelin’ Band, a Japanese folk ensemble and Tibetan flutist and singer Nawang Khechog on several productions including “In A Distant Place.”
Soprano Michele Kennedy is a versatile specialist in early classical and new music. Praised by The Washington Post as “a fine young soprano with a lovely voice” and the San Francisco Chronicle—”a graceful tonal clarity that is a wonder to hear,” Kennedy’s recent venues include Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, Lincoln Center, Powell Symphony Hall, and Washington National Cathedral. Most recently, she debuted with NYC’s Five Boroughs Music Festival in a spring 2022 Songbook premiere. A graduate of Yale University and New York University, Michele Kennedy is committed to working toward greater equity and representation for BBI, LGBTQ, and female voices across the field.
Serving as Artistic Director, plus founding one of the nation’s first chamber music collectives (Gold Coast Chamber Players), Pamela Freund-Striplen infuses the same creativity she brings to performing as a violist to designing meaningful concert programs. She is the Artistic Director (for this performance), a curator of concerts, having won 2 years in a row “The Best Chamber Music Series in the East Bay”.
For four decades, the ALEXANDER STRING QUARTET has performed in the major music capitals of five continents, securing its standing among the world’s premiere ensembles. Widely admired for its interpretations of Beethoven, Mozart, and Shostakovich, the quartet’s recordings of the Beethoven cycle (twice), and the Bartók and Shostakovich cycles have all won international critical acclaim. In addition, the quartet has also established itself as an important advocate of new music through over 30 commissions from such composers as Jake Heggie, Cindy Cox, Augusta Read Thomas, Robert Greenberg, Martin Bresnick, César Cano, and Pulitzer Prize-winner, Wayne Peterson. The members of the Alexander String Quartet are David Samuel, viola; Zakarias Grafilo, violin; Frederick Lifsitz, violin; and Sandy Wilson, cello. Joining the Quartet is guest artist Jeffrey LaDeur, piano.
Tickets are now available at EventBrite.com.
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