For more information about the series contact: Carol Panofsky • 831-566-2954 • panofsky@cruzio.com
MUNCHING WITH MOZART AND FRIENDS is sponsored by The Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries
and the Santa Cruz County Music Teachers’ Association of California.
It is a monthly series of free noon-time concerts at the Downtown Branch.
Brian Johnston, violin
Brianna Conrey, piano
Clara Schumann, Three Romances, op. 22
Andante molto
Allegretto
Leidenschaftlich schnell (passionately fast)
Beethoven, Sonata #6 for violin and piano in A, op. 30 no. 1
Allegro
Adagio molto espressivo
Edward Elgar, Romance op. 1 for violin and orchestra or piano
Amy Beach, Sonata for violin and piano, op. 34
Allegro moderato
Molto vivace
Brian Johnston is a violinist, violist and biomedical scientist living in Scotts Valley. He began violin studies at age 7 and studied in chemistry and music at Pomona College. He received a scholarship to the Institute for Advanced Musical Study in Montreux, Switzerland, where his teachers included Zino Francescatti on violin and Bruno Giuranna on viola. He was concertmaster and soloist with the Berkeley Promenade Orchestra (now the Berkeley Symphony) and played first violin with the San Jose and Oakland Symphonies, the latter during his PhD studies in biophysical chemistry at UC Berkeley. Later, while a post-doctoral fellow at MIT, he twice toured Europe (including performances at the Salzburg Festival) with the New Orchestra of Boston. He has performed with the San Francisco Opera, American Ballet Theater, and San Jose Chamber Orchestra, among others, and recorded the soundtrack for an Oscar-winning movie. He currently performs frequently with the Santa Cruz and Monterey Symphonies as well as a variety of chamber music groups. In his science life, he was previously Consulting Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University as well as founder and CEO of SomaGenics and cofounder of RealSeq Biosciences, Santa Cruz-based biotech companies focused on RNA-based therapeutics and diagnostics.
Brianna Conrey is a pianist and storyteller based in Santa Cruz, California. A natural performer who was an audience favorite and quarter-finalist at the 2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, she is known for her elegantly expressive style, warm and inviting stage presence, and world-class musicianship. Equally at home with words as she is with music, Brianna's writing focuses on modern womanhood, creativity, and family life, and has been featured in P.S. I Love You, Forge, and Human Parts. Brianna Conrey's newest creation is "Piano: An All-Woman Show," a wide-ranging celebration of women composers spanning nearly 250 years of music written for solo keyboard instruments.
Coming Soon
February 20: Piano solo Kay Yoon , piano
March 20: Rising Stars Santa Cruz County Music Teachers’ Association of California winners
April 17: Jazz Renata Bratt and Fiends
For more information about the series contact: Carol Panofsky • 831-566-2954 • panofsky@cruzio.com
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