Guest Artist: Stephen Drury

World renowned guest artist Stephen Drury will celebrate the Ives sesquicentennial 2 days after Ives’ birthday with a special performance of Ives’ complete sonatas for piano, including the monumental “Concord” sonata. 30 for 30 composer Paul Beaudoin composed a piece that “suggests some of the wilder, fantastical adventures into the half-childlike, half fairy-like phantasmal realm” of the Concord Sonata.

Mark Robson - Spielfreude

“Spielfreude”, the joy of playing, describes the sheer physical and emotive pleasure of performing at the keyboard. Mark Robson’s recital offers a program that largely takes its cue from this idea, with pieces by a range composers including Ligeti, Glass, Cowell, Messiaen, Aldo Clementi and Ginastera, with premieres by Peter Knell, Hannah Rice and Daniel Rothman. Also featured will be Schoenberg’s Zwei Klavierstücke, Op. 33 in honor of the composer’s 150th birth anniversary.

for Susan and Rick

Founding pianist Susan Svrcek was known for her elegant and insightful performances. Her untimely passing in 2022 foreshadowed the passing of her beloved husband of 32 years, influential composer Frederick Lesemann, whose music she championed, and who wrote much of his later music for her. This concert is a love letter from their colleagues, students and friends, three of whom (Donald Crocket, Thomas Flaherty and Bill Alves have written ‘30 for 30’ pieces dedicated to them. Click to see all the amazing artists who will perform!

Andrés Jaramillo - A Journey of Immigrants

Colombian American pianist Andrés Jaramillo is our Leonard Stein Resident Artist for 2024/25. Dr. Jaramillo specializes in the music of contemporary LatinX composers from Latin America and the US. Every composer on this program (including six world premieres and three 30 for 30 compositions) is or was an immigrant. Dr. Jaramillo explores, through these solo piano works, the myriad emotions, perspectives, and approaches inherent in the immigrant experience, intertwining the composers’ cultural backgrounds with those of their new homes. 

Vicki Ray - Brook and Meadowcroft

This concert features two new large-scale works by important international composers Taylor Brook and Thomas Meadowcroft. “Nox” by Taylor Brook explores the passage of time through a unique approach to the integration of electronic and digital media and Meadowcroft’s “All Possible Combinations” is the next installment in a series of works focused on aspects of ‘Deep Easy Listening.’ Both are 30 for 30 composers.

Nic Gerpe – Islands

In this program, Piano Spheres’ newest Core Artist Nic Gerpe will present a range of colorful and evocative pieces which explore the many aspects and connotations of islands, from the imaginary landscapes of Almeida Prado’s Ilhas, to Thomas Osborne’s poetic and virtuosic And The Waves Sing Because They Are Moving. The program will include captivating works by Donnacha Dennehy, Salina Fisher and Christopher Cerrone, and will feature ‘30 for 30’ World Premieres by Robert Pollock, José-Luis Hurtado and Paul Moravec.

Thomas Mellan: Collective Hysteria

Emerging Artist Thomas Mellon presents the Piano Sonatas of Pierre Boulez. Boulez is synonymous with music of era-defining extremes, showcasing brutal violence and sensual tenderness often in the same breath. What unifies these three pieces is their tremendous virtuosity and concern with revolutionizing musical form and rhetoric. Premieres of new 30 for 30 piano pieces by organist/composer Rashaan Allwood, underground death metal legend Colin Marston and Ukrainian virtuoso violinist Orest Smovzh round out this provocative program.

Aron Kallay – Love/Dream

Franz Liszt’s Liebestraum No. 3 elicits complicated reactions from musicians and audiences alike. Aron Kallay wants a reason to perform it! He also thinks it’s time for an update. ‘30 for 30’ composers Michael Frazier, Brandon Rolle, Zanaida Robles, and Daniel Allas use Liebestraum as a point of departure, creating new work on what it means to love, to dream.

Celebrating Pierre Boulez

Pianists Gloria Cheng and Ralph van Raat pay homage to Pierre Boulez’s legacy in his centennial year with a captivating duo-recital. The duo will perform music by Boulez, Feldman, Gibson, Lindburg, Stravinsky and Zappa. Produced in association with CAP UCLA.

for Sarah

Sarah Gibson was a brilliant pianist, composer and educator, and one of the brightest lights in our community. Along with pianist Thomas Kotcheff, she was half of the piano duo HOCKET, who joined Piano Spheres as a Core Artist in 2019, but she has been part of the PS family for over a decade. To say she will be missed does not encapsulate the magnitude of this tragic loss, but she will live on in our hearts and through her music forever.