Programme
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745 –1799)
Sonata for Two Violins No. 3 in A major
-Allegro
-Aria con variatione
Isaac Willocks, first violin
Edmond Agopian, second violin
David Baker (1931 - 2016)
Ethnic Variations on a Theme of Paganini (1976)
Edmond Agopian, violin
Teresa Serafini, piano
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004)
Blue/s Forms for Violin Solo (1979)
-Plain Blue/s
-Just Blue/s
-Jettin’ Blue/s
Edmond Agopian, violin
Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)
Divertimento for Violin and Viola
- Brioso
- Lento e espressivo
- Allegretto con grazioso
Edmond Agopian, violin
Isaac Willocks, viola
Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)
Three Spirituals (2005)
- We Shall Overcome
- Kum Ba Yah
- Great Day
Edmond Agopian, violin
Isaac Willocks, viola
Jasmine Long, cello
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745 –1799)
Deux Symphonies Concertantes
Symphonie in E flat Major
-Allegro
-Rondeau
Symphonie in G Major
-Allegro
-Rondeau
Isaac Willocks, Violino Primo Principale
Edmond Agopian, Violino Secondo Principale
Patricia Lee, Violino Primo
Cindy Chen, Violino Secondo
Ethan Mung, Viola
Jasmine Long, Violoncello
Isaac Willocks, violin
Isaac Willocks is in his second year of studies in the Bachelor of Music in Performance degree at the University of Calgary, School of Creative and Performing Arts, where he studies violin with Edmond Agopian. He is also a student in the Advanced Performance Program at Mount Royal University Conservatory. Previous violin teachers include Laurel Tym, Cristian Neacsu and Jeremy Van Dieman. He has played with many different orchestras in the past, including the Rosedale Valley Strings, the Burman University Orchestra and more recently, the Calgary Youth Orchestra. Presently he is a member of the University of Calgary Orchestra. He has also been a guest performer in the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed often in the Calgary Performing Arts Festival. Along with continuing his education, his future plans include bringing musical opportunities to, and working with, underprivileged students and communities.
A Celebration of Music by Black Composers II is this season’s second livestreamed concert which features music by Black composers. The program was initiated in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Featured composers include one of the earliest documented Black composers of Classical music, Joseph Bologne (1745 –1799). The other composers on the programme are David Baker, Adolphus Hailstork and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson. The featured musicians are Isaac Willocks, violin and viola, Edmond Agopian, violin, Patricia Lee, violin, Cindy Chen, violin, Ethan Mung, viola, Jasmine Long, cello, and Teresa Serafini, piano.
Edmond Agopian
Edmond Agopian has been awarded the Calgary Arts Award, and the Alberta Centennial Medal “in recognition of outstanding achievement and service to the people and province of Alberta”. At the University of Calgary he was awarded the J. P. L. Roberts Distinguished Professorship in Fine Arts.
A graduate of the Juilliard School and the University of Toronto, Edmond Agopian began his music studies in his native Romania. In 1991, he relinquished his post at Acadia University to take up positions as Professor of Violin and Conductor at the University of Calgary, and Artist-in-Residence at Mount Royal Conservatory. He was appointed Music Director of the Calgary Youth Orchestra in 2002.
As a violinist, he has been featured on regional and national CBC, French and English radio programs, Radio Europa, and as soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. He is First Violin of the University of Calgary String Quartet in Residence, whose recording on the American label MSR Classics has received enthusiastic reviews from radio broadcasters and magazines, including Fanfare Magazine (USA).
Conducting work has included performances with the Canadian Chamber Orchestra (conductor and concertmaster), the Shanghai Opera Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, and conductor and soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. His Sundogs CD recording with the University of Calgary Orchestra, of Canadian orchestral music, was described by one critic as a "hands-down winner". Under his direction, the Calgary Youth Orchestra has toured, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and New Zealand.
For thirteen seasons he was Music Director/Concertmaster of Calgary’s professional string orchestra, the Kensington Sinfonia and for twenty summers he was on the faculty of the Morningside Music Bridge International Music Festival at Mount Royal University Conservatory, in Beijing, Shanghai, and Gdansk, Poland.
His violin method “The No Time to Practice Technique Companion” has been on the SHAR Music Company’s Bestseller List since 2002 and has been positively reviewed in the American String Teacher magazine. His students have won local, national and international awards, including the Rose Bowl – Calgary Performing Arts Festival, and are members of major orchestras, including four violinists in the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
_PNG.png)
Patricia Lee, 2nd violin
Patricia Lee, is in her fourth year of the Bachelor of Music in Performance degree at the University of Calgary, where she studies violin with Edmond Agopian. Patricia has been studying the violin since the age of six. At the age of seventeen she received her ARCT Diploma in Violin Performance from the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music. She has attended many music festivals and competitions, including the Kiwanis Music Festival / Calgary Performing Arts Festival, and the Canadian Music Competition. She has been a member of the Calgary Youth Orchestra, and has been Concertmaster of the University of Calgary Orchestra. As a soloist she has recently performed the first movement of Mendelssohn’s violin concerto with the Centre Street Church Orchestra; she is also Concertmaster of that orchestra. Last year, Patricia had the opportunity to attend the Domaine Forget Summer Academy in Quebec, where she studied with a number of eminent teachers, including Erica Raum, David Gillham, Sheila Jaffe, and Marina Thibeault. Patricia is also very interested in Music Therapy and hopes to pursue more studies in that field.
.jpg)
Cindy Chen
Cindy Chen completed her Minor in Music at the University of Calgary. She studied violin with Edmond Agopian. Besides music, she is also studying electrical engineering at Schulich School of Engineering. While at the University, Cindy participated in the UCalgary Orchestra, a variety of chamber and small ensembles, as well as the Fairy Queen Production. She also played with the Calgary Youth Orchestra and was in the Mount Royal University Conservatory Academy program. A highlight of her performance career was receiving the gold certificate for a performance class in 2017 from the Calgary Performing Arts Festival.
Ethan Mung
Ethan Mung began his violin study at the age of five, piano at the age of six, and viola at fourteen.
Ethan is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Music (Viola Performance) program at the University of Calgary. He is a member of the Centre Street Church Orchestra and an alumnus of the Calgary Youth Orchestra. He has performed with the New West Symphony Chorus, including recording sessions for their Christmas 2019 CD. He studies viola with Dean O’Brien. He was previously a Senior Student in the Mount Royal Conservatory Academy Program for Young Artists under the direction of Chris Sandvoss. His piano studies have been with Denise Jamieson and he currently plays at Royal Conservatory Level 9.
Ethan has participated in the Calgary Performing Arts Festival in both viola and piano. In 2019 he received a platinum seal and a scholarship for his viola performance and a red seal for piano. He received a Gold Medal from the Royal Conservatory of Music for achieving the highest marks in his level (violin) in Alberta in 2016.
In July 2019 he attended the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Summer Institute as a violist where he participated in the orchestral program, including a series of concerts and recitals, master classes, private lessons, and chamber ensembles. He has also attended master classes and private lessons with Nicolo Eugelmi, Marcin Swoboda, Dan Scholz, Laurent Grillet-Kim, Sharon Wei, Emilie Grimes, Michael van der Sloot, and John Thompson.
A composition of Ethan’s, “Lament for Strings”, was performed by the Mount Royal Conservatory Sinfonia under the direction of Chris Sandvoss at their Winter Fantasia in December 2019. The piece was also the subject of interviews by CBC’s Homestretch and the Mount Royal University Media.
Ethan has a passion for sharing the gift of music both in performing and teaching. He looks forward to further performing, composing, and teaching opportunities.
.jpg)
Jasmine Long, cello
Jasmine Long graduated with a Master’s degree in Performance from the University of Calgary where she studied cello with John Kadz and Johanne Perron; she also studied at Mount Royal University Conservatory. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance from McGill University and a Bachelor degree in Music Education and French from the University of Windsor.
She has performed as soloist with orchestras, has toured with a number of ensembles, and has attended music festivals, nationally and internationally. She is currently working at the Alberta School of Music as Head of Administration and Social Media Coordinator, music instructor and freelance musician. Ms. Jasmine is a multi-faceted musician and teacher who emphasizes self-inquiry, joy, creativity, and sensitivity to music. Her pedagogical approaches are a blend of Royal Conservatory of Music, Suzuki method, Kodaly method, and other various methods. Ms. Jasmine has a passionate interest in chamber music and is a member of the Anju Trio.
Teresa Serafini
Teresa Serafini was born in Calgary in 2001 and grew up in a family of seven children. She studied piano with Marianne Bleile from 2005 to 2016 and Marilyn Engle since 2016, with whom she currently studies Piano Performance at the University of Calgary. From September 2010 to May 2015, she was a piano student at the Mount Royal University Conservatory’s Academy of Music for Gifted Youth. Teresa has a broad range of piano experience in solo performance, chamber music, accompaniment (strings, vocal, musical theatre, ballet), background music, and teaching. Over the years, she has played for dozens of guest artists including Catherine Ordronneau, Jean-Paul Sevilla, Gabriela Montero, Helmut Brauss, Jin Zhang, and Dmitry Nesterov. She has received numerous awards and scholarships from the Mount Royal University Conservatory, the University of Calgary, the Contemporary Showcase, and the Calgary Performing Arts Festival. Teresa has also performed as a four-time national finalist in the Canadian Music Competition.
