CLASSICAL ENCOUNTERS presents a Concert for Piano & Wind Quintet

Program: Humoresque by Alexander Zemlinsky for Woodwind Quintet; Trio for Flute, Oboe & Clarinet by Malcolm Arnold; Sextet in B^b Opus 6 for Woodwind Quintet & Piano by Ludwig Thuille; Quartet for Winds by Jean Francaix; Passing Through for Oboe & Bassoon by Gernot Wolfgang & Sextuor for Piano, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon & Horn by Francis Poulenc

Background: Steven Vanhauwaert, Pianist - Hailed by the Los Angeles Times for his 'impressive clarity, sense of structure and monster technique'. To date, he has appeared in major venues with orchestras such as the Pacific Symphony, the Flemish Symphony, the Oak Ridge Symphony, the USC Symphony, the Bryan Symphony, Collegium Instrumentale, the Concord Jazz Ensemble, the Auburn Symphony, the Eastern Sierra Chamber Orchestra, the Peninsula Symphony, and Prima la Musica, amongst others. He performs frequently throughout Europe, Asia and the US, as a recitalist and in chamber music ensembles. Steven has been invited to perform in major concert venues such as the Concertgebouw in Brugge, Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa, Bovard Auditorium in LA, the Singel in Antwerp, the Great Hall of the Brussels Conservatory, the Great Hall of the Budapest Liszt Conservatory, as well as numerous other prestigious venues in Bulgaria, Hungary, China, the US, the Netherlands, France, Canada, the UK, Austria, and Spain. His China solo debut tour in June 2010 culminating with a debut at the renowned National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing was received with great critical acclaim. He was immediately offered a solo tour for the next season with performances in the prestigious Shanghai Oriental Arts Center amongst others.

Susan Greenberg, Flute - She enjoys a versatile career as soloist, chamber musician, symphony player, and recording artist. The Los Angeles Times has described her playing as “brilliant,” “elegant” and “supple,” and has lauded her “panache” and “musical projection.” She joined the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in 1975. As a member of LACO, she has been a frequent soloist on both flute and piccolo, opening the Orchestra’s 2006-07 season with Continuum IV– Cascades, a concerto for flute, alto flute and piccolo written for her by Gernot Wolfgang. Previously, she had premiered a piccolo concerto written for her by Bruce Broughton. Susan has also appeared as guest soloist with the San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Monica and Napa Valley symphonies, and at the Hollywood Bowl. She has performed with the LA Philharmonic, LA Opera, New York City Opera, American Ballet Theater and the Joffrey Ballet, as well as at the Casals, Ojai and Martha’s Vineyard Music festivals. Susan was principal flute for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra’s tour of Japan, and has received the Most Valuable Player award on the flute from the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences. She is also the principal flute for Symphony in the Glen.

Susan began her career performing throughout the US and Canada, Europe and the Middle East as principal flute with the Roger Wagner Chorale and Orchestra. She was a fellowship recipient to Tanglewood and to the Music Academy of the West. Susan is presently an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University and has taught at California Institute of the Arts and Occidental College.

Susan is the co-artistic director of Chamber Music Palisades, now celebrating its 14th season. She often performs on Pepperdine’s Stotensberg Music Series and the South Bay Chamber Music Series. Susan has recorded for over 500 motion pictures and is the flutist for The Simpsons television show. She recently played principal flute for Sex and the City 2.

Jennifer Johnson, Oboe – She has been gaining recognition from numerous engagements in both Colorado and California as well as abroad. A native of Colorado, she has played with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra occasionally over a span of seven seasons. Currently residing in LA, she subs with the Santa Barbara Symphony, has performed as guest principal oboe of the Berkeley Symphony, and has been principal oboe of both the American Youth Symphony and Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestras. She has performed with several chamber groups, and as a member of the Midnight Quintet, had the pleasure of recording a composition by Dr. David Rosenboom for New World Records in 2012. A highlight of her achievements has been two subsequent trips to Hong Kong where she was guest principal oboe for the Hong Kong Sinfonietta for a total of six weeks in 2007 and 2008. Music Festival participation includes the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, CO, and the Lucerne Music Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland. Since completing her Master’s degree at the USC and an Artist Diploma at the Colburn School Conservatory under the direction of Dr. Allan Vogel, she actively pursues a performance career and freelances in the Los Angeles area.

Gary Gray, Clarinet - Grammy nominee Gary Gray enjoys a versatile career as a concert artist, studio musician and professor of clarinet and Chair of Woodwind Studies at UCLA. He received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Indiana University where he studied clarinet with Robert McGinnis and chamber music with Janos Starker. He was Principal Clarinetist of the LA Chamber Orchestra for 20 seasons and an LA Times reviewer said of a performance with them "Gray has as mellow and gorgeous a sound as may be possible on his instrument."

Gary's CD of solo concerti with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was nominated for a Grammy and the Copland Concerto from this CD was used as underscoring for the Ken Burns PBS documentary "The War". For his recent CD with the New Hollywood Quartet the American Record Guide reviewer said "I can hardly believe Centaur Records has come up with such an incredible recording!" 

A long time member of the Pacific Serenades Chamber Ensemble, he was featured on their first CD’s and has performed with them at Carnegie Hall and in San Francisco. Gray has recorded over 1,000 film scores over his extensive Hollywood career with such composers as: John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin, Thomas Newman, Paul Chihara, Bruce Broughton and Don Davis, among many others.

His performance of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with Herbie Hancock and Lang-Lang on the 2008 Grammy Award TV show was a recent highlight and reached millions around the world.

Steve Becknell, Horn – He is currently principal horn of the LA Opera. He was a member of the LA Chamber Orchestra for eight years and has performed with many of the orchestras in the Southern California area including the LA Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Pacific Symphony, and the LA Master Chorale. Active in the Hollywood recording studios, he has played in over a thousand different motion pictures and television shows, and has recorded with such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, and Josh Groban. As a chamber musician, Steven has been the principal horn with Camerata Pacifica for the last fifteen years, and has performed at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Mainly Mozart Festival.

Judith Farmer, Bassoon - Critics have described bassoonist Judith’s playing as "impeccable" (American Record Guide), "masterly" (Fanfare Magazine) and "brilliant" (Kronenzeitung, Austria). Barnaby Rayfield also noted in the July/August 2011 issue of Fanfare Magazine: " ... the playing on [composer Gernot Wolfgang's CD Short Stories] is uniformly excellent, especially from Judith Farmer on bassoon, finding expressive extremes of that instrument I didn't think possible."

She enjoys a rich and varied career as a chamber musician, orchestra musician, soloist and teacher. She received her education at Indiana University and at the Hochschule fuer Musik in Vienna. From 1984-1996 she was principal bassoonist of the Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra, performed and toured regularly with the Camerata Academica Salzburg under Sandor Vegh and with numerous chamber music ensembles in Vienna. For the 1995-96 season, she held the position of visiting professor at the Hochschule fuer Musik in Graz, Austria. She has also taught at the International Mozart Academy in Prague, the Chautauqua Music Festival and the Henry Mancini Institute.

In 1996, she moved to LA and has since then performed with the LA Philharmonic - including as guest principal in spring of 2009 - as well as for over 100 major motion pictures. She is currently principal bassoonist of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, a member of the LA Opera Orchestra and the Long Beach Symphony. Judith teaches bassoon at USC. She is an avid chamber musician, who enjoys collaborating with composers on new works, and has had a number of works written and dedicated to her. Her recordings as a soloist and chamber musician are available on Albany, Ex-House and Orfeo Records.