Caldwell Fine Arts 2005-2006 Season

March 29
Wednesday, 7:30 pm

$15 - $18 adult; $11 - $14 student
Upper level seats are listed first. Includes all fees.

Cynthia Steljes - oboe, English horn
Peter DeSotto - tenor, violin
Alexander Sevastian – accordion, piano
Elinor Frey – cello

Orient Express program

Interview with Quartetto Gelato: Page 1, Page 2

For over a decade, this dazzling ensemble has enchanted audiences and critics worldwide with their exotic blend of musical virtuosity, artistic passion and charismatic presence. Quartetto Gelato established themselves as dominant forces on the emerging “new classical” scene early in their career by winning the coveted title of NPR Performance Today’s Debut Artist of the Year in 1996. Today, Quartetto Gelato continues its reign as an international sensation with repeat sold-out performances throughout the globe.

Classical in intent, eclectic by design, Quartetto Gelato not only thrills its audiences with the mastery of eight instruments, but offers the wonderfully unexpected bonus of a brilliant operatic tenor. With a performance repertoire that travels imaginatively between classical masterworks, operatic arias and the sizzling energy of tangos, gypsy and folk songs, the group’s relaxed stage presence and delightful humor establishes an immediate rapport with traditional and non-traditional classical audiences alike. Performed without scores, their shows radiate a sense of spontaneity and excitement rarely seen on the classical stage.

The 2004-2005 season featured concerts throughout the US, Canada and Guatemala with extended residency programs in Albuquerque NM, Brownsville TX and Kansas City MO. Quartetto Gelato returned for the fourth time to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with a new holiday program, Christmas from around the World. Summer festival programs featured the premiere of 4 x 4 (a collaborative program with Quartetto Gelato and string quartet) and also a 12 minute commission setting to music by Canadian composer Marjan Mozetich the well-known children’s favorite “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch for Quartetto Gelato and narrator. Mr. Munsch himself was the narrator for the premiere. Quartetto Gelato also performed an outdoor concert at Jackson Triggs winery in Ontario’s wine region summer and the performance was filmed as one portion of a commercial DVD, Quartetto Gelato Explores Music and Wine, to be released in 2006.

The 2005-6 season features over 100 concerts in recital and with orchestra throughout the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Estonia and Asia. In November, the quartet returned to Sweden for a 14 concert tour and toured Estonia for the first time, performing 3 concerts. On November 9^th, 2005, the quartet’s first compilation CD was released. Favourite Flavours, featuring highlights from the 5 CDs in the catalogue and a sneak preview of the 6^th which will include music from Latin America.

Active in the recording studio, Quartetto Gelato has released Quartetto Gelato Travels the Orient Express celebrating the original journey of the famous train and featuring music from London to Istanbul. Since the release in spring of 2004, the recording has met with immediate critical and public acclaim. The previous recordings, which have played a significant role in the group’s increasing popularity, are Neapolitan Café, Aria Fresca, Rustic Chivalry and their debut recording, simply entitled Quartetto Gelato. The latter two CD’s have literally been heard around the world, since they accompanied Canadian astronaut, Dr. Robert Thirsk, during his NASA flight on board the space shuttle Columbia in 1997.

Quartetto Gelato can also be heard on the soundtrack recording of the major motion picture Only You, starring Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr., on the Sony label. Last season the quartet was featured on the soundtrack of the Canadian independent film release, Looking for Angelina. Additionally they appeared on the hit CD recording of Cape Breton fiddler, Ashley McIsaak.

Classical radio listeners across the continent know Quartetto Gelato by their instantly recognizable sound, which is broadcast frequently on the CBC, PRI and NPR networks. In particular, the band has been featured regularly on NPR’s popular Performance Today program, which recognized Quartetto Gelato in 1996 by presenting them with their award for "Debut Artist of the Year." The panel of music critics who made that selection characterized the quartet as "an amazing ensemble that achieves the nearly impossible: they play salon music with real style and classical music with real precision; Great chops and a commitment in all that they play."

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Cynthia Steljes (oboe, English horn) continues to popularize the oboe through her work with Quartetto Gelato. She displays not only “breathtaking virtuosity” (Chicago Tribune) but also plays “with tremendous expression and grace” (Milwaukee Journal).

Cynthia has performed in concert and on radio throughout North America, Eastern and Western Europe and the Middle East as both soloist and chamber musician. Her main teachers have included Rowland Floyd at the University of Ottawa, Harry Sargous at the University of Michigan and Leslie Huggett. Cynthia is on the faculty of The Glenn Gould Professional School in Toronto. In addition, she is often asked to give oboe master-classes while on tour with Quartetto Gelato. Cynthia appears often as a guest soloist with chamber ensembles and orchestras. Recently she has performed with the Toronto-based ensemble Amici, the Erie Chamber Orchestra, the Toronto Chamber Orchestra and the newly-formed Associates of the Royal Conservatory.

“Whenever Peter DeSotto (tenor, violin, mandolin) unleashed his natural, Italianate tenor – usually in Sicilian and Neapolitan folk songs – I found tears springing to my eyes. It hardly seems fair that he’s also a whiz violinist who tossed off a gypsy number at dizzying speed.” (National Post)

Peter is a remarkable talent who combines the facilities to perform as a gypsy virtuoso and as a refined classical violinist who played with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for ten years. In his youth, his interests took him through jazz, bluegrass and world music. Peter also has the vocal prowess to sing a full range of repertoire from familiar folk songs to the great Italian operatic arias including Turandot’s Nessun Dorma. “...credible Pavarotti stand-in” (Stereo Review). In 2003, Peter performed the role of Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata with Opera York.

Alexander Sevastian (accordion, piano, bandoneon) is three-time first prizewinner of the International Accordion Competition. He won the Oslofjord in Norway (1998), The Cup of the North in Russia (2000) and the Anthony Galla-Rini Accordion Competition in the U.S.A. (2001).

Alex was born in Minsk, Belarus and began his studies on the accordion at the age of seven. In 1991 he attended the Glinka Musical College in Minsk. His advanced studies took him to the Gnessin Academy of Music in Moscow where he received his Masters in Performance degree, studying with renowned performer and pedagogue, Friedrich Lips. While at the Academy, Alex also studied piano, conducting and philosophy.

Alex began his professional career in Moscow in 1996, performing with the Russian Radio Orchestra. He has performed as recitalist and soloist with orchestra throughout Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Alex and his family moved to Canada in April 2001. In May 2003 he completed the Advanced Certificate in Performance program at the University of Toronto where he studied with Quartetto Gelato’s previous accordionist Joseph Macerollo.

Elinor Frey (Cello) is the newest member to Quartetto Gelato. She received a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in May 2005. A native of Seattle, she has studied in Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago with renowned teachers including Bonnie Hampton, Hans Jensen, Orlando Cole, and Barbara Mallow.

Elinor is an active recitalist, chamber musician and teacher, presenting dynamic and personal performances. An advocate of new music, Elinor served as cellist of the Aspen Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble in 2004 and 2005. With the New Juilliard Ensemble she gave the New York premiere of Betsy Jolas' cello concerto "Wanderlied" in Alice Tully Hall, April 2005, and recorded a CD in London of new chamber works. She has attended the Kneisel Hall Music Festival, the Norfolk Contemporary Session, and the Fontainebleau France Music Festival. Elinor performs on 115-yr old French cello on loan to her as the winner of the Virtu Foundation competition. After winning the prestigious 2004 Ladies Musical Club of Seattle competition she gave a concert tour of western Washington State September 2004.

www.quartettogelato.ca