Impromptu Piano Quartet

    Hattiesburg’s Impromptu Piano Quartet will be featured at the Feb. 12 St. Paul’s Music Series.

    The quartet includes Stephen Redfield, violin, Hsiaopei Lee, viola, Alexander Russakovsky, cello, and Theresa Sanchez, piano. The afternoon of music will feature:

    Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Major, WoO 36 Ludwig van BeethovenIII.  

    Thema. Cantabile – Var. I-VI – Thema – Coda

    (1770-1827)    (1770-1827)

    

    Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25 Johannes Brahms

    Allegro    (1833-1897)

    Intermezzo:  Allegro ma non troppo

    Andante con moto

    Rondo alla Zingarese:  Presto

    Following are bios of the performers:

    Violinist Stephen Redfield , D.M.A., has been on the Southern Miss music faculty since 1996, where he performs with the Mississippi Chamber Circle and the Impromptu Piano Quartet. Throughout the year Stephen acts as concertmaster of the Santa Fe Pro Musica, and each summer is soloist and leader with the Victoria Bach Festival. He is also often concertmaster of the Oregon Bach Festival, where he has participated in numerous recordings. Early in 2013, Stephen performed Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, and the Sebastian Ensemble, his period group, presented concerts in Marfa and El Paso Texas. Following that, as part of the Arizona Bach Festival in Phoenix, he played the Double Concerto for Oboe and Violin.

    Hsiaopei Lee, violist, has appeared as recitalist, chamber musician and orchestra player spanning three continents. She has presented solo recitals throughout the United States and Asia and collaborated in chamber music in such cities as New York, Paris, and Taipei. As a member of the Dayton Philharmonic, Taipei Philharmonic, and Aspen Chamber Orchestras, Lee has performed under David Zinman, James Conlon, Robert Spano, David Robertson, and Michael Stern, to name a few. Her successful teaching experience in Taiwan inspired her to continue her education at Columbia University Teachers College in New York, where she received a master’s degree. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Masao Kawasaki and Catharine Carroll. Dr. Lee joined the string faculty at The University of Southern Mississippi in 2005, where she plays with the Mississippi Chamber Circleand Impromptu Piano Quartet. She serves as the principle violist of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra. In 2012, she received a fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission. Her first CD, Viola Music Written by American Female Composers, will be released by Centaur Records this year.

    A graduate of the Yale University and the University of Santa Barbara, Alexander Russakovsky has appeared in numerous solo and chamber music performances in Russia, Israel, Europe and the United States. A founding member of the Jerusalem Academy String Quartet, he also performed in the Chamber Music Series of the Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Barge Music in New York City and with the Western Slope Music Festival in Colorado. In the fall of 2001 Dr. Russakovsky joined the music faculty of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. He also has served on the faculties of the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in Bonefro, the IV Violoncello Biennal in Peruand the CICA Chamber Music Festival. Most recently, Dr. Russakovsky has given master classes and recitals in Taiwan,Israel, and Latin America. A recipient of many awards, he won the Angela and Maurice M. Clairmont Competition in Tel Aviv, the Performing Arts Foundation Competition in Santa Barbara and the 1999 Career Grant of the Esperia Foundation.

     Pianist Theresa Sanchez pursues a varied performing career as a soloist and collaborative musician. She has performed as soloist with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, the University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra (including the Southern Nights CD) and The Wind Ensemble. With the Meridian Symphony Orchestra, she premiered and recorded Carey Smith’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Dr. Sanchez was the founding Artistic Administrator for the Vicksburg International Chamber Music Festival and performed in each series with various outstanding artists. She has been a faculty member at Jones Junior College since 1995, and is a past president of the Mississippi Music Teachers Association. She was formerly on the faculty of William Carey College and has taught at the Mississippi Keyboard Camp and the Okanagon Summer School of the Arts in British Columbia. From 2003 to 2006 she performed in the International Music Institute in Pontlevoy, France, and joined the Touring Artist Roster of the Mississippi Arts Commission in 2003. She was recently featured on WQXR (New York) Radio’s Reflections from the Keyboard and WMSV Radio’s High Notes. She currently serves as Chamber Music Coordinator for the Hattiesburg Concert Association and FestivalSouth.

Want to go?

What: St. Paul’s Music Series featuring Impromptu Piano Quartet

When: Feb. 12, 12:05 p.m.

Where: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1116 23rd Ave.

Admission: Free

For more information: Call (601) 693-2502