La Sierra University’s professional artist series, the Hanson-Koobs Chamber Music Series, will start off the new year with a performance by a sextet of musicians noted for their work with the world’s top orchestras, chamber groups, and festivals.
The concert will be held online on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022 at 7 p.m. at La Sierra University 'Watch Live': https://livestream.com/lasierra; and La Sierra University Department of Music Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/lasierrauniversitymusic. Access is free. Appearing from the ranks of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the national and global performance and recording circuit will be Dominic Cheli, piano; Grace Park, violin; Erik Arvinder, violin; Jason Uyeyama, violin; Ben Ullery, viola; and Robert deMaine, cello. The group will perform “String Quartet in D Major KV 499, ‘Hoffmeister’” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and “Piano Quintet in A Major Op. 81” by Antonín Dvorak. Violinist Jason Uyeyama will serve as performance organizer.
Park has appeared as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Canada at venues such as Walt Disney Hall, The Kennedy Center, the Rudolfinum in Prague and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jordan Hall. She is the winner of the 2018 Naumburg International Violin Competition and recently performed at Carnegie Hall. A recent performance season included concerto debuts and recitals at top venues. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
Arvinder divides his time between his native Stockholm, Sweden, and Los Angeles as a chamber and orchestral violinist. After completing his undergraduate and graduate studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, he went on to become the youngest permanent member of the first violin section in the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra between 2008 and 2012. Other accomplishments include serving as the concertmaster in the Wermland Opera Orchestra in Sweden and as a founding member of the Vamlingbo String Quartet. He joined John Legend's “All of Me” tour in 2014 and is also known for his arrangements for international music artists as well as orchestrations for films and television shows including Netflix’s “The Prom” and “Chef’s Table.” His orchestrations have been performed and recorded by ensembles around the world and led by celebrated conductors, including Gustavo Dudamel.
Cheli, a native of St. Louis, Mo. participates in collaborative music outreach with Project: Music Heals Us, a nonprofit that presents interactive classical music to diverse audiences. He is also the LIVE Director of Tonebase Piano in which he presents virtual lectures, performances, and workshops. He is first prize winner of the 2017 Concert Artists Guild Competition and recently debuted at Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall with Maestro Valery Gergiev. Future performances include debuts at Lincoln Center and Kennedy Center as well as concertos with the Seattle and Indianapolis Symphonies. Recording projects include the Recovered Voices initiative, an organization that encourages greater awareness of music by composers whose careers and lives were disrupted by the Nazi regime in Europe. A seven-part documentary series featuring his performances of the music of Erwin Schulhoff premiered in November 2021.
DeMaine serves as principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and is also a frequent guest artist of top chamber festivals and a soloist around the world. He has appeared on the stages of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Teatro Colón, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, and Moscow's Tchaikovsky Hall, as well as the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center and Conservatory, among many others. He is a first-prize winner of many national and international competitions and is the recipient of a career grant from the Helen M. Saunders Foundation, and the gift of a Vuillaume cello from the Cecilia Benner Foundation. He studied at The Juilliard School in Manhattan, the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Yale University in Connecticut, and Kronberg Academy in Germany.
Ullery has been the assistant principal viola of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2012. He spent three seasons as a member of the Minnesota Orchestra and has performed as a guest principal viola with the Detroit Symphony, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and the Aspen Chamber Symphony. He has also been featured in performances on NPR’s “Performance Today” as well as local broadcasts on Classical KUSC 91.5. After graduating with numerous honors from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Ullery is a faculty member at the Colburn School where he teaches orchestral repertoire and coaches the Colburn Orchestra’s viola section.
Uyeyama is an associate professor of music and director of string studies at La Sierra University where he teaches violin and chamber music and organizes the Hanson-Koobs series. In addition to teaching, he leads an active career as a recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. He has performed regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2005, performs with Camerata Pacifica, and has played with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Pacific Symphony. He is also the founder and director of the Orange County String Studio in Irvine. Uyeyama holds a master’s degree from The Juilliard School where he studied with Masao Kawasaki.
Tickets for the Hanson-Koobs Chamber Music concert range from $7 - $18 and are available online only. For ticket purchase and attendance protocol visit https://lasierra.edu/hanson-koobs/. For information call or email at 951-785-2036 or music@lasierra.edu.
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