Composer and violist Jonah Sirota is a new breed of multi-talented musician. Equally at home writing concert music, scoring soundtracks for TV, film, and videogames, and performing on the concert stage and in recording sessions, Jonah creates and recreates vivid music for a wide variety of audiences.  His debut solo recording STRONG SAD, a 2018 National Sawdust Tracks release, features premiere recordings of new elegies for the viola by Nico Muhly, Paola Prestini, Arthur Joseph McCaffrey, Valgeir Sigurðsson, Robert Sirota, Kurt Knecht, and Jonah himself.  His orchestral work Grounded was recently performed by major youth orchestras in New York and Massachusetts, and his soundtrack to the Public Television documentary Return of the American Bison was nominated for a 2019 Heartland Emmy Award.

Jonah was the violist of the recently-disbanded Chiara String Quartet for all of its 18 years. With the Chiara Quartet, he toured internationally, recorded seven albums and played in numerous major venues worldwide. The Chiara Quartet performed much of the string quartet repertoire from memory (‘By Heart”), including the complete string quartets of Béla Bartók, a recording of which was released in 2016 on Azica Records. The group was honored with a Grammy nomination (2011, Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Jefferson Friedman’s 3rd String Quartet on the New Amsterdam label), the ASCAP/CMA Adventurous Programming Award, the Guarneri Quartet Award, top prizes at the Paolo Borciani Competition and the Astral Artistic Services Audition, and a Gold Medal at the Fischoff Competition. Their albums have been featured on N.P.R., and in “Best of the Year” lists from the Boston Globe, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. In the 2015-2016 season, the group was in residence at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, a venue to which the group returned for their farewell New York concert in May of 2018. As a concert violist, Jonah performs with pianist Molly Morkoski, with organist Kurt Knecht as the improv duo Mondegreen, and as a member of the revived California String Quartet.  He is sought after as a Hollywood session player and regularly plays with major orchestras, including the Long Beach Symphony, where he serves as Assistant Principal viola.

Jonah is also known as a pedagogue. He coaches chamber music at the Colburn School, and gives viola and composition masterclasses and residencies across the country. His “practice self-audit” has been used by many viola students to facilitate the self-evolution their own improvement and creativity in the practice room, while his Practice Tune-Up for professional and adult amateur violists has given many the chance to reconnect with their own inner passion on the instrument. Mr. Sirota has taught at the Juilliard School, at Harvard University, and at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music (where he helped build a world-class chamber music program), as well as at Greenwood Music Camp. He resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Photo credit: Walker Pickering

Internationally renowned harpist Ina Zdorovetchi has established a reputation as one of the leading musicians of her generation, noted for her compelling interpretations and unique tone. Hailed as “the harp whisperer” as well as “monster player”, she has appeared as soloist with the Boston Pops, West Deutsche Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony, Haifa Symphony, Portland Symphony (Maine), Brevard Music Center Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, National Philharmonic of Moldova, Seattle Chamber Orchestra and was featured in the American Harp Society National Conference Gala concert.

A sought-after recitalist and chamber musician, she has performed in Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Rockport Music Festival, World Harp Congress, has recorded for Sony, Naxos, Albany Records, BMOP/Sound, and was presented in live broadcasts on WGBH Radio Boston, Israel Broadcasting Authority, WDR Koln (Germany) and Moldova National TV. Additional highlights include giving the European premiere of John Williams’ Harp Concerto On Willows and Birches, World premieres of Thomas Oboe Lee’s Haro Concerto …bisbigliando… (dedicated to her), Osvaldo Golijov’s Ayre and performing a solo recital for an event hosted by John Kerry, 68th Secretary of State of the United States, in front of a crowd of the world’s preeminent leaders.

As the recipient of numerous awards, Ina Zdorovetchi is the top prize winner of the 17th International Harp Contest in Israel, second prize winner at Cite des Arts Harp Competition in Paris and has been honored with the Henry Cabot Award for Special Commitment of Talent by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Alien with Extraordinary Abilities in the Arts title by the United States government and Outstanding Music Faculty of the Year by the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

She holds several harp performance degrees from the New England Conservatory, Boston University, Boston Conservatory and Bucharest University of Music (Romania) and received her early training in her native Republic of Moldova, double-majoring in harp and piano performance at the Ciprian Porumbescu Music School.

Ms. Zdorovetchi resides in Boston, MA, playing as principal harpist with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Portland Symphony and Boston Lyric Opera and teaching as the Associate Professor of Harp at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Founded in 1988 by former director Mark Barville, and led since September 2003 by Eliza Rubenstein. The LBCCO is now in its 31^st season with Mr. Matthew Martinez as the Interim Artistic Director. An important fixture of the Long Beach arts scene, the Chorale has performed many of the great works of Western classical music and has appeared at the legendary Carnegie Hall; Aquarium of the Pacific; Long Beach Museum of Art, Rancho Los Alamitos; and Carpenter Performing Arts Center, as well as having performed with the Long Beach Opera. The Chorale’s musical repertoire is globally inspired – embodying the middle ages to contemporary influences.

The LBCCO is Long Beach’s only all-volunteer community masterworks chorus; all LBCCO members are volunteers motivated by their love of singing. Our motto “Great Music, Up Close” reflects our commitment to presenting masterworks in a welcoming setting and at an accessible price. We pride ourselves on working within the Long Beach community to offer all music lovers the opportunity to experience live classical music.

Performances in our 19-20 season include:

Candlelight Carols, with organ – December 14 and 15, at Grace First Presbyterian Church
Fauré Requiem, with chamber orchestra – March 28 and 29, at Grace First Presbyterian Church
LBC at the AOP – June 7, at Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach

Contacts: Dean Hanley, President, 310.377.6840, [email protected] or Matthew Martinez, Interim Artistic Director, at [email protected]

GINAI, a Black Pearl of the Pacific

A three times Hawaiian Music Awards winner and the winner of three Na Hoku Hanohano Awards for “Endless Christmas, 2014, Hot Club of Hulaville, “Django Would Go”, 2009, also Hula Joe & The Hutjumpers, 2000, Ginai has proven to win your heart with her charismatic, hypnotic voice and welcoming stage presence. When you hear her voice and see her perform, you can’t help but be captivated. She is an exciting and riveting internationally acclaimed singer/ songwriter who has worked many years to become one of the worlds most accomplished performers with over ten CD releases to her name here and abroad! (See her discography below)

Her performance career is still in high gear, paying tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Amy Winehouse, and Chuck Mangione, with appearances at the Blue Note Waikiki, and as herself at the former Blue Note clubs in Fukuoka and Nagoya, Japan. A longtime Whitney Houston impersonator on international road shows for Legends in Concert, Ginai can sometimes be found filling in over at the Rock-A-Hula Showroom in Waikiki. She is often asked to do fundraisers for March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association, and more. With a voice well suited for the stage, Ginai proved her mojo with the part of Michelle Robinson in the 20th anniversary performance of Dreamgirls in the legendary Fox Theater, Atlanta in 2002.

Her website www.ginai.com is constantly updating her calendar and her blog talks about her many musical escapades. On Facebook, she is active and kind, and on Instagram as Dginai, she is engaging and fun! She also performs regularly with the Mike Lewis Big Band, filling her YouTube channel with lots of fun. You can subscribe @ginaimusic. Ginai can be found mentoring young bands, vocalists, and performers, sharing in the spirit of aloha wherever she goes.

At home in Hawaii, Ginai enjoys time with her husband Ted, a rock vocalist himself along with their three children. She is a Lion’s Club member, and actively volunteers for Make ‘Em Smile, visiting hospitals (Shriners, Kapiolani Cancer Center) and rehab centers to bring them musical cheer. She is an avid surfer with a first place trophy in the longboard division of the Gold’s Gym Surf Meet, held in Waikiki. Her favorite wave is Makaha Surfing Beach, crystal blue ocean in her beloved home turf of the Waianae Coastline. Ginai enjoys her four dogs Brownie, Django, Pepper, and Dobby. Her two cats are named Juma and Mowmow, with horses too, Shadow, Dakota, and Keka.

DISCOGRAPHY
2017 – Swanky at Abbey Road, Patrick Von Wiegandt featuring Ginai
2016 – Swanky, appearing with Patrick Von Wiegandt
2015 – Mr. Swanky, appearing with Patrick Von Wiegandt
2014 – Endless Christmas, on Black Hawaiian Music
2009 – Django Would Go, Hot Club of Hulaville, producer, singer, songwriter
2008 – Midnight Smooth, listed as Ginar (court battle ongoing)
2007 – Come Together, a collection of Beatles classics, with Pierre Grill
2006 – Jazz Island, her first solo CD, Black Hawaiian Music
2000 – Hula Joe & The Hutjumpers, Hawaiian swing, Black & Tan Records
1995 – 2005 as Genai, Japan, for Video Arts Music

David Riccobono is the Principal Percussionist of the Long Beach Symphony. He has performed as a percussionist and timpanist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Virginia Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, and Pasadena Symphony. David has spent his summers as a fellow with the Round Top Festival Institute (2018) and Tanglewood Music Center (2019). In June of 2019, he won 2^nd place in the Modern Snare Drum Competition in Cleveland, OH.

A native of Huntington Beach, CA, David began his studies at the age of 8.  He has most recently completed a Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance at the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California. Leading up to his graduate studies, David received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the University of California, Los Angeles. David is currently studying with Jim Babor and Joe Pereira of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and had previously studied with Raynor Carroll and Theresa Dimond.

Brian Cannady is an active performer, arranger, and music teacher based in East Los Angeles. In addition to playing percussion with the Long Beach Symphony, he performs with a wide range of ensembles across Southern California. Between musical theater, jazz ensembles, chamber music, and salsa music, Brian is a mainstay of the Los Angeles music community. In addition to performing, he spends a large portion of his time teaching music. Brian is a specialist for Roosevelt Elementary’s Music Immersion Experience program where he teaches singing, orff percussion, and violin to students as young as 4 years old.

Brian received his Master of Music in Percussion Performance at Boston University under the instruction of Tim Genis and Kyle Brightwell. Upon returning from Boston, Brian has continued to study with his longtime teacher Kenneth McGrath. Brian received his Bachelor of Music from CSU Fullerton under the instruction of Todd Miller.

In his spare time, he records his original compositions for jazz ensemble that he hopes to one day perform live. Brian currently lives with his wonderful girlfriend Chloe Swindler, an international award-winning trumpet soloist and chamber musician.

In addition to his position in the Long Beach Symphony, Miles McAllister is also 3rd trumpet in the Santa Barbara Symphony, Principal Trumpet of the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, and a full-time member of the Disneyland Band. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Redlands and a Master of Music in Trumpet Performance at California State University Fullerton.

He can also be heard playing with the Pacific Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Pacific Symphony, San Diego Symphony and Pops, New West Symphony, California Philharmonic, and many other groups throughout Southern California. From 2015-2022, he was a member of the touring group Presidio Brass and from 2011-2013, he played trumpet for Carnival Cruise Lines in numerous showbands performing in their production and variety shows.

Violinist Reina Inui is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. She is from Los Angeles, where she studied with Robert Lipsett and Sheryl Staples at the Colburn School. Miss Inui has previously held positions with the Buffalo and Virginia Symphony Orchestras. Last season she was invited to tour China with Pinchas Zukerman and the Pacific Symphony. She has also performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Philly POPS, among others. Performance highlights in Philadelphia include Opera Philadelphia’s gala concert to commemorate the premiere of Kevin Puts’ 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, Silent Night, a collaboration with the BalletX on their sold-out Fall Series, and a trio composed by Nico Muhly for the Los Angeles Dance Project presented at the Kimmel Center of Performing Arts. On a slightly different note, Miss Inui has played in concert with the late Frank Sinatra, Jr., Johnny Mathis, Il Divo, Gloria Gaynor, Vanessa Williams, Aref Arefkia, Jackie Evancho, and Seth MacFarlane.

Miss Inui won Grand Prize at the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards and Second Prize at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Bronislaw Kaper Awards. She was a finalist at both Schadt and Julius Stulberg International String Competitions. She has participated in music festivals around the world including Verbier, Tanglewood, Aspen, Sarasota, Villa-Lobos, Saito Kinen, ORFORD, Mozarteum, Princeton, Sunset, Ishikawa Music Academy, Kneisel Hall, ARTOSPHERE, and ENCORE. She was appointed Principal Second Violin of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra during their residency in Verbier, Switzerland. Furthermore, she has worked extensively with Seiji Ozawa and his opera project in Japan.

In her spare time, she enjoys running along the beach and studying French. Her favorite color is hot pink which reminds her of the beautiful bougainvillea in Southern California. For more, please follow reinalaviolinista on Instagram.

As a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra player, Veronica Gan (also known as Roni Gan) has performed in Canada, Israel, Asia, the US, and Europe.  A native of Arlington, Texas, Veronica began to study violin at the age of 10 and studied at the Suzuki Institute of Dallas under Paul Landefeld. Since then, Ms. Gan has performed at programs and music festivals including the Meadowmount School of Music, the Schlern Music Festival, the Chautauqua Institute, the Banff Centre, and the Music Academy of the West.  She completed her Undergraduate degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts under the guidance of Michele Auclair (New England Conservatory/ The École Normale de Musique de Paris) and then moved to Chicago to study and assist the famous violin/viola duo, Roland and Almita Vamos of Northwestern University.  She has also worked with Sally Thomas, Emanuel Borok, Mary Lou Speaker Churchill, Jan Sloman, Motoi Takeda, Lisa Kim (New York Philharmonic),  Angela Fuller, and Naoko Tanaka.

Ms. Gan has recently performed with groups such as Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Fifth Dimension, Queensryche, Clay Aiken, Kirk Franklin, Peter Gabriel, Il Divo, Josh Groban, and Stevie Wonder.  Ms. Gan has also recorded under Ropeadope Records (2009, 2012) which included recording for the two-time Grammy Award Winning group, Snarky Puppy in their album “Ground UP” in Brooklyn, New York.  She also is a collaborator with the up and coming group “The Colors” who recently began work with Warner Bros. in Los Angeles.  Ms. Gan has also collaborated on the recent single “Marvin Gaye” by artist Charlie Puth featuring Meghan Trainor under Atlantic Records.  She also recorded for Charlie Puth’s album for the song “Dangerously”.  In March of 2015, Veronica also appeared with Dierks Bentley at the Country Music Awards which was featured on National Television.

In November of 2012, Ms. Gan began to work with Cirque Musica to perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto.  She has performed as soloist with many orchestras including the Fort Worth Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Spokane Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and many more.

Claire Huangci, the child prodigy of the time, whose extraordinary virtuosity astonished the piano world earlier, has grown into a mature artist. Especially with Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, her creative interpretations are fresh and convincing. (Jury-Statement, 1st prize of the Geza Anda Competition 2018)

The young American pianist of Chinese descent, winner of the first prize and Mozart Prize at the 2018 Geza Anda Competition, has succeeded in establishing herself as a highly respected artist, captivating audiences with her “radiant virtuosity, artistic sensitivity, keen interactive sense and subtle auditory dramaturgy” (Salzburger Nachrichten).

Claire Huangci began her international career at the age of nine with grants, concert performances, and prizes, becoming the youngest participant to receive a second prize at the International ARD Music Competition in 2011. Only in her later teenage years did she finally feel more and more that this instrument was to be her vocation. She received significant input from her teachers Eleanor Sokoloff and Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia before studying under Arie Vardi at the University of Music, Drama, and Media in Hanover. She has assisted Professor Vardi since her graduation in spring 2016.

Chopin’s music gave Claire Huangci her artistic breakthrough when she won first prizes at the Chopin Competitions in Darmstadt in 2009, as well as in Miami in 2010. She has since proved her great versatility with an unusually broad repertoire, which includes a large number of contemporary works. Claire Huangci has performed in solo recitals and as a partner with international orchestras such as the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (under Sir Roger Norrington), Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, Münchner Kammerorchester, China Philharmonic Orchestra and Vancouver, Santa Fe and Moscow Radio Symphonies at international concert venues that include the Carnegie Hall, Wiener Konzerthaus, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gasteig Munich, Gewandhaus Leipzig, la Salle Cortot, Oji Hall Tokyo and the Symphony Hall in Osaka. She has also made guest appearances at festivals such as the Kissinger Sommer, Verbier Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, and the Schwetzinger SWR Festival.

After a busy last season with highlights including solo debuts at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Klavier Festival Ruhr, and a tour through China with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Cornelius Meister, she begins the 18/19 season with concerts with the Bern Symphony orchestra under Mario Venzago. Further appearances will lead her to the Vienna Konzerthaus, Franz Liszt Akademie Budapest, Zurich Tonhalle, Tokyo Suntory Hall, and Washington DC Smithsonian Institute.

After the releases of her debut CD with solo works of Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev and her prize-winning double album of Scarlatti sonatas, (German Record Critics‘ Award and Gramophone Editors Choice) she released a celebrating recording of the complete Chopin nocturnes in Spring 2017.

“Do we need another recording of Chopin’s Nocturnes? Not really! But when one hears this brand new double-CD from Claire Huangci, the answer is yes!” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Just in time for the start of the new season, Claire will release her fourth solo album with Berlin Classics/Edel featuring the complete preludes of Sergey Rachmaninov.