2020-2021 Grand Finalists with Roger Kalia and Vijay Venkatesh. Photo by Steve Carroll
Congratulations to the Grand Finalists on their fantastic performances!
1st Place: Alexander Hobbs, Violin
2nd Place: Anaïs Feller, Violin
3rd Place: Emily Rosenberg, Soprano
Honorable Mention: Henry Woolf, Flute
Honorable Mention: Eric Gan, Piano
Tuesday, July 29 at 8pm at the Redlands Bowl
Featured Soloist Vijay Venkatesh
The Hollywood Chamber Orchestra
Roger Kalia, Competition Conductor
Sponsored by David and Robin Maupin
Scholarship awards sponsored by The Associates of the Redlands Bowl
Experience five dazzling performances from extraordinarily talented concerto competition finalists as they compete for the prestigious competition’s top prize. The finalists are chosen through a rigorous worldwide selection process prior to the concert, and the winners announced at the evening’s conclusion.
In 2020 Redlands Bowl Performing Arts (RBPA) announced that they would postpone the 2020 Grand Finals of the Redlands Bowl Young Artists Concerto Competition to 2021. The Grand Finalists from 2020 will be carried over to the date of Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at 8pm.
As RBPA contemplated a variety of ways to make the competition possible, it was determined that postponing the competition would give the best chance in providing the grand finalists the best experience possible and opportunity to perform on the Redlands Bowl stage with orchestra.
“While we are so grateful to have been able to present a full artistic season online for 2020, we were not able to present the Young Artists Concerto Competition as we wanted. Pushing the concert forward to 2021 allows us to give it the attention and esteem it deserves.” Said Beverly Noerr, RBPA Executive Director.
Valerie Peister, RBPA Program Director commented, “Though an extra year is too long to wait, we’re looking forward to thrilling performances by our 2020 Young Artist Competition finalists on the 2021 Redlands Bowl stage. We are honored to provide them the coveted opportunity to showcase their talents under the baton of acclaimed conductor Roger Kalia and accompanied by a full orchestra.”
Members of the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra
Anais Feller
Anais Feller (14) studies violin at the Music Academy of the Colburn School in Los Angeles, under the tutelage of Martin Beaver. At age 10, she made her orchestra debut with the California Chamber Orchestra in Koblenz, Germany. As a soloist, Anais has collaborated with orchestras such as the Plano Symphony Orchestra, San Angelo Orchestra, and Memphis Repertory Orchestra. She won the grand prize at the 2019 Young Artist Competition at Collin County, Texas and garnered top prizes at the Fort Worth Symphony Young Artist Competition, Vernell Gregg Young Artists Competition, International Academy of Music concerto competition, Bravo International Music Festival competition and at the 2020 Southern California Philharmonic Young Artist Concerto competition. Anais has attended music festivals in the US, Germany, Italy, Spain and Greece. Shehad master classes with Leonardo Kavakos, David Kim, Cho-Liang Lin, Chee Yun and JinJoo Cho. Her favorite concert experience was playing Bach Double Violin Concerto with the renowned violinist Ray Chen in 2020. Anais was previously a competitive ballet dancer and now dances mostly modern and lyrical.
Eric Gan
Born in 2003, Eric Gan started learning piano at the age of five and currently studies with Professor Ning An. He won First Prize at the Los Angeles Young Musician International Competition in 2019, and is a three-year winner of the US Chopin Foundation Scholarship (2017-2019).He has also won top prizes at the Lansum International Piano Competition and the Orange County Rising Stars Piano Competition. At the age of nine, Eric gave his first solo recital at the Steinway Piano Gallery in San Francisco and has continued to give annual performances. He has performed in venues such as the Zipper Hall in Los Angeles and Steinway Piano Gallery in Seattle. Eric has also attended master classes with renowned pianist Anton Nel and Steinway Artist Mikhail Yanovitsky. Since 2017, he has held annual benefit concerts, raising funds for underprivileged students and helping victims of the Camp Fire in Northern California.
Alexander Hobbs
Alexander Hobbs recently performed a string quartet with Noah Bendix-Balgley, the first concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic. He also made his Carnegie Hall recital debut in summer 2019. He is the prizewinner of numerous competitions, as well as an active concert performer. Alexander’s competition prizes include Second Prize, the highest award given, at the Osaka International Competition in 2013, Second Prize at the Nationals, Student Music Concours of Japan in 2011, as well as many others. Alexander has appeared as soloist with multiple orchestras including performances with the Japan Classical Orchestra, the NHK Philharmonic Orchestra Ensemble, and the Japan String Teachers Association Orchestra. Conductors whom Alexander has worked with include Esa-Pekka Salonen, Ludovic Morlot, Matthias Pintscher, Hans Graff, Paolo Bortolameolli, Edo de Waart, Hugh Wolff, Felix Mildenberger, James Conlon, Robert Spano and Valery Gergiev. Alexander’s solo performances in his native Japan include the concert halls Kioi Hall, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall and Suntory Hall. At the age of three, Alexander enrolled in the Toho School of Music for children where he commenced his formal violin studies at the age of five, under the tutelage of Asako Iwasawa. At the age of eleven, Alexander earned the honor of serving as concertmaster for a performance of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of the conductor Myung-Whun Chung. The following year, Alexander was chosen to perform at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy, as part of the World Heritage Festival. Alexander has also attended the prestigious Aspen Music Festival for multiple seasons beginning in 2012. Alexander has participated in master classes with several renowned artists and pedagogues, including Andras Keller, Zakhar Bron, Leon Spierer and Augustin Dumay. Alexander has also served as concertmaster of Toho Gakuen Academy Orchestra and YMF Debut Chamber Orchestra. In May, 2020, Alexander completed the Bachelor of Music degree at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, where he studied with Robert Lipsett. Alexander currently studies with Pierre Amoyal, a world-renowned violinist and a professor at the Mozarteum University.
Emily Rosenberg
Soprano Emily Rosenberg has been recognized as a “spirited actress” with a “rounded and lyrical voice, well under her control” by Platea Magazine, and “could be part of the program at any established international theater.” This season, Emily made her role debut as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Jerusalem Lyric Opera. Other recent highlights include an appearance as Lieschen in Korngold’s Der Ring des Polykrates with Numi Opera, a return to Pacific Opera Project for their “super” take on The Magic Flute, singing the title role of The Cunning Little Vixen with Opera Steamboat, and her Chicago debut originating the role of the Narrator in the world premiere of For Those in Peril, a new opera by Francis L. Lynch. Emily has captivated audiences in multiple portrayals of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, with performances in Los Angeles, Prague, and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Additional roles include Laetitia (The Old Maid and the Thief), Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance), Amore (Orfeo ed Euridice), Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Annina (La traviata), Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), and covering Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), and Zerlina (Don Giovanni). Emily made her Boston Symphony Hall debut in 2015 as soloist in the Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY world tour. Emily holds degrees in Vocal Performance and Professional Music with a focus in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music. A native of Chicago, Emily is currently based in Los Angeles, where her sound is sought after for commercial and film score recordings in addition to opera and concert producing organizations.
Henry Woolf
Flutist Henry Woolf made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 15 as first prize winner of the Alexander and Buono International Flute Competition. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied with Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Flute Jeffrey Khaner. At Curtis, Woolf was frequently featured on the student recital series and participated in multiple touring projects including a nine city European tour as well as a chamber orchestra tour of the US.Since graduating from Curtis in 2018, Woolf has played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, and Orpheus at Mannes Chamber Orchestra,among others. In October of 2019 Woolf was invited to compete in the Maxence larrieu International Flute Competition in Nice, France and in 2020 was invited to the Sarasota Music Festival.Woolf currently studies with Denis and Erin Bouriakov at UCLA.
Maestro Roger Kalia and Special Guest Artist, Pianist Vijay Venkatesh
Maestro Roger Kalia
A dynamic and innovative presence both on and off the podium, Roger Kalia is a respected collaborator with orchestras and artists alike, known for his eloquent and compelling interpretations, and for bringins a “fresh view to classical music.”
Vijay Venkatesh, Piano
Hailed by the Herald-Tribune for his “dazzling pianism verging on the impossible, effortless technical command and authority with a sense of poetry and refinement that belies his years,” pianist Vijay Venkatesh has been recognized on three continents as a pianist with profound musicianship, sparkling pianism and an innate sense of partnership.
Roger Kalia
Competition Conductor
Vijay Venkatesh, Pianist
Special Guest Artist and Former Redlands Bowl Young Artist Competition Winner.
