100^TH Anniversary Season 2023-2024

October 24, 2023   I   2:00 PM

The Eroica Trio
Erika Nickrenz, piano; Sara Parkins, violin; Sara Sant'Ambrogio, cello

Concert co-sponsored by Mattie-Jennie Fund Trust and The Marjorie Walthall Fund 2

Temple Beth-El, 211 Belknap Place

The Grammy-nominated Eroica Trio enraptures audiences with flawless technical virtuosity, irresistible enthusiasm and sensual elegance. The New York Times writes, "There is an edge of the seat intensity to every note they produce."  The trio won the prestigious Naumburg Award, resulting in a highly successful Lincoln Center debut, and has since toured the U.S., Europe, Middle East, South America and Asia. While maintaining their demanding concert schedule, the Eroica Trio has released eight critically lauded recordings for Angel/EMI Classics Records, garnering them multiple Grammy nominations. The Boston Globe says "The Eroica Trio is the real thing...The thing that most impressed was the litheness of the group's ensemble... Each player in this group brings serious chops to the table, and the group has converted this currency to richer coin by assiduously studying one another's phrasing and tone."  The first all-female chamber ensemble to reach the top echelon of the field, the trio has performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto more frequently than any other trio in the world, having appeared with renowned symphonies such as Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Mostly Mozart Orchestra, Nashville, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Houston, New Jersey and Seattle.  The Eroica Trio's recording of the Beethoven Triple with the Prague Chamber Orchestra was so successful it landed on Billboards Top 20 for the first time in recording history. “It's one thing to talk in general about performers who operate on the same wavelength, and quite another to witness a virtuosic display of musical unanimity on the level of Saturday night's superb recital by the Eroica Trio...what proved most striking about the evening was how seamlessly the three performers merged their distinct contributions into a single ensemble voice." says the San Francisco Chronicle.  Click here for complete bio.

November 28, 2023    I    7 PM

Olga Kern / Vladislav Kern, Duo Pianists

Sponsored by the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts;
Concert in honor of Elaine Ehlers by Robert & Silvia Ehlers

Trinity Baptist Church, 319 E Mulberry Ave

Russian-American pianist Olga Kern is now recognized as one of her generation's great pianists. She jumpstarted her U.S. career with her historic Gold Medal win at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas as the first woman to do so in more than thirty years. First prize winner of the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition at seventeen, Kern is a laureate of many international competitions. In 2016 she served as Jury Chairman of both the Seventh Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition and the first Olga Kern International Piano Competition, where she also holds the title of Artistic Director.   Kern frequently gives masterclasses and since September 2017 has served on the piano faculty of the prestigious Manhattan School of Music.

She is the Virginia Arts Festival’s Connie & Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music.  She has performed with the Allentown Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Orquesta de Sao Paulo, and the New West Symphony, as well as appearing on US tour with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. She was the guest soloist at the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for Leonard Slatkin’s 75th Birthday Celebration. She will appear in recitals in Orford, Sunriver, Fort Worth (Cliburn), Carmel, San Francisco, Sicily, and Calvia. This October and November, Olga Kern will host her Second Olga Kern International Piano Competition. Click here for complete bio.

Vladislav Kern is a Russian and American pianist, composer and poet.   He is the winner of many international competitions and festivals in Russia, Denmark, Czech Republic, Republic of South Africa and the USA, including the Turec-Bach International Piano Competition in New York and Price Rubin International Competition.  At the age of 12, Vlad moved to New York and continued his education at The Juilliard School of Music - Class of Professor, Doctor Y. Kaplinsky.  One year later he received the prestigious Van Cliburn scholarship—the first time in the history of The Juilliard School, Pre-College Division.  From 2016 to 2019 he was also studying in Italy at Academia Pianistica Internazionale "Incontri col Maestro" di Imola - Class of Professor B. Petrushansky.  A Young Steinway Artist—a program that confers upon a select group of talented musicians the distinction of affiliation with the Steinway Artist family—Vlad was born in Moscow into a family of musicians including his mother Olga Kern.  Vlad has performed in world-known venues including David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center (NYC), La Sala Verdi at the Conservatorio di Milano, Konserthuset Stockholm and Grant Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He has collaborated with such musicians as Vladimir Spivakov, Leonard Slatkin, Roberto Minczuk, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Jindong Cai, Giancarlo De Lorenzo and Michael Morgan. Vlad has recordings on radio and television in many countries, including Italy, US, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Since 2013 Vlad promotes improvisation in concerts of classical music and poetry.  In 2022 Vlad opened his own digital music production - "Beat 101 Beat."  In 2023 he is planning to launch "Unity Arts" streaming service for artists of all genres.  Vlad opened a concert season of Popejoy Hall (Albuquerque, New Mexico) after its big break during the pandemic, performing Beethoven’s 2nd Concerto with New Mexico Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Roberto Minczuk.  Click here for complete bio.

February 6, 2024   I   7  PM

Nathan Laube, Organist

Co-sponsored by Trinity University and Anne & Bruce Johnson

Margarite B. Parker Chapel, Trinity University

Nathan Laube, organist, is a leading performer and pedagogue who is beloved around the world.  “Nathan Laube, once a ‘rising star,’ is now an international star, and his consummate musicianship is justifiably celebrated worldwide. How fortunate we are that he just happens to be an organist, too” states The Tracker.  His extensive recital career includes major venues spanning four continents, with appearances at the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Maison Radio France in Paris, Auditorium Maurice Ravel in Lyon, and the Sejong Center in Seoul.  He has performed in the most famous cathedrals of Europe, including Notre-Dame Cathedral and Saint-Sulpice in Paris, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the Frauenkirche in Dresden, the Berlin Dom and a solo organ recital for the prestigious BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall in London.  The Diapason says “The tour de force of Laube’s concert was his performance of Maurice Duruflé’s Suite pour Orgue, Op. 5. His playing was flawless, inspired, and for want of a better word, transporting.”  Laube is a regular guest at notable music festivals around the world as a performer and pedagogue.  He has two CD recordings: the Stephen Paulus Grand Concerto on the Naxos label recorded with the Nashville Symphony for which the symphony received a Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium; and a solo recital recording on the Ambiente label recorded at the Stadtkirche in Nagold, Germany.  Many of his live performances have been featured on American Public Media’s “Pipedreams.”  He is currently Associate Professor of Organ at the Eastman School of Music, and is the International Consultant in Organ Studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, UK.  Laube is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.  He continued his studies at the Conservatoire Rayonnement Régional in Toulouse as a William Fulbright fellow.  He received his master’s at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart.  Click here for complete bio.

March 5, 2024   I    2 PM

Lawrence Brownlee, Tenor

Concert sponsored by Barbara & Blair Labatt

Laurel Heights United Methodist Church, 227 W. Woodlawn Avenue

Lawrence Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a singer on the world's top stages, and as a voice for activism and diversity in the industry. He has been hailed as “an international star in the bel canto operatic repertory” (The New York Times), “one of the world’s leading bel canto stars” (The Guardian), and “one of the most in-demand opera singers in the world today” (NPR).   Brownlee’s 21-22 season included his role debut in the title role of Rameau’s Platée with Opéra National de Paris and Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri with Opernhaus Zürich. Brownlee’s appeared in Washington National Opera’s “Come Home: A Celebration of a Return” concert to open The Kennedy Center’s 50th Anniversary Season. In the 2022-23 season, Brownlee returned to The Metropolitan Opera as Tamino in a new production of Die Zauberflöte, and he sings Le Comte Ory with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.   Amidst the challenges of COVID-19, Brownlee emerged as a pivotal voice in classical music’s shift toward digital programming and the resurgence of conversations around racial justice.  His critically acclaimed solo recital program Cycles of My Being, a song cycle that centers on the Black male experience in America today, has toured extensively, including performances at Opera Philadelphia, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and virtual broadcasts throughout 2020. In spring 2021, Brownlee joined The Juilliard School as a Distinguished Visiting Faculty Member. He serves as artistic advisor for Opera Philadelphia, and he also serves as an Ambassador for Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Lyric Unlimited, and is an Ambassador for Opera for Peace. He is a winner of numerous awards and distinctions including “Male Singer of the Year” (2017 International Opera Awards), the Kennedy Center’s Marian Anderson Award, the Opera News Award (2021) and Grand Prize Winner of the 2001 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. In October 2019, he had the distinct honor of singing at Jessye Norman’s funeral in her hometown of Augusta, Georgia.  Click here for complete bio.

Please contact us at satuesdaymusicalclub@gmail.com if you want to be added to the Artist Series email notification list. 

 We look forward to welcoming you at our upcoming concerts.   

Anna C. Armstrong, MD • Artist Series Chair

 For more information, contact satuesdaymusicalclub@gmail.com

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Funding Our Mission: To fund our mission of promoting the performance of music as a fine art by keeping ticket prices low and allowing students for free, please consider these "Giving Levels" to support the Artist Series:

• CANTABILE Gifts of $1,000 and above
• PRESTO Gifts of $500 - $999
• ALLEGRO Gifts of $250 - $499
• ANDANTE Gifts of $100 - $249
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Contributors will be noted in the Artist Series programs under the appropriate giving level, if they so desire. All contributions are tax-deductible; call 210-710-7582 or by paying online HERE.

The Tuesday Musical Club will continue to monitor recommendations of the CDC, city/state regulations and Laurel Heights United Methodist Church’s safety protocols, and will act accordingly when concert dates near.