Gualala Arts Chamber Music Series presents: Axel Strauss, violin & Roy Bogas, piano Sunday, February 18, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. at the Gualala Arts Center

The Gualala Arts Chamber Music Series is excited and delighted to present violinist Axel Strauss and pianist Roy Bogas in a concert on Sunday, February 18th, 4:00 p.m., at the Gualala Arts Center. Roy Bogas is well-known in Gualala as leader of the "Roy Bogas and Friends" String Ensemble, featured in our Summer Chamber Music Weekend for the past several years. Axel Strauss is the spectacular virtuoso first violinist of the ensemble.

Roy Bogas, who has been called Gualala's favorite pianist, received his training in New York and at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He made his debut with the San Francisco Symphony at age 14, and at age 19 he became accompanist to Yehudi Menuhin, playing over a hundred concerts with him throughout North and South America. He has also played with Joseph Szigeti and many other well-known artists. In 1962 he was a prizewinner at the second Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He has performed as soloist with virtually every orchestra in Northern California, and with many other orchestras in this country and abroad. Bogas is a Professor of Music at Holy Names University in Oakland, and is also Principal Solo Pianist for the San Francisco Ballet. An active chamber musician, he is the founder and director of the MasterGuild Series of chamber music concerts at Holy Names.

Violinist Axel Strauss resides in San Francisco, where he serves as Professor of Violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He made his recital debut in Hamburg in 1988 and his concerto debut with the Neubrandenburg Philharmonic two years later. At the age of 17 he won the silver medal at the Enescu Competition in Romania, and has been recognized with many other awards, including top prizes in the Bach, Wieniawski, and Kocian Competitions. In 1998, he became the first German artist to win the coveted Naumburg Violin Award in New York. He later became teaching assistant to the famous Dorothy Delay at the Juilliard School. He has performed in recitals and concerto appearances in many venues in the United States as well as Europe, and has worked with Itzhak Perlman and other well-known artists. He also maintains a busy concert schedule, and is frequently invited to appear at music festivals in the United States and abroad.

Tickets are $20 for advance purchases, or $25 on the day of the concert (buy your tickets early!). Children and young people ages 7 through 17 are admitted free. Advance tickets are available at the Gualala Arts Center or at the Dolphin Gallery in Gualala. For advance credit card purchases by telephone, call the Arts Center at 707-884-1138. For further information visit our website, GualalaArts.org. Those unable to furnish their own transportation may call the Arts Center to request rides to the concert.