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Music: Fresno State Symphony Orchestra - Cello Festival Gala Concert

Music: Fresno State Symphony Orchestra - Cello Festival Gala Concert

Among the premiere cello festivals in the United States, the “2022 Cello | Fresno” brings world-renowned cello faculty Emilio Colón, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music; Cara Elise Colón, American Cello Institute; Thomas Landschoot, Arizona State University and Jonathan Ruck, University of Oklahoma, to instruct cellists of all ages and levels. The festival takes place Nov. 17-20 and features four days of master classes, cello ensemble, concerts and workshops for cellists around the Valley. 

Program

Beethoven, Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56

Stravinsky, Petrushka (1947 version)

Featuring

Emilio Colon, guest conductor

Limor Toren-Immerman, violin

Thomas Loewenheim, cello

Peter Klimo, piano

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Emilio Colón

The critically acclaimed cellist, Emilio Colón, has been described in prose as“ his playing is full of life and warmth” by the American Record Guide and has praised his performance as “lively, exciting, expressive and absolutely beautiful.” Fanfare Magazine wrote of the cellist, “Emilio Colón is obviously a virtuoso with taste.” Emilio was awarded the “2017 Artist of the Year” by the New York Classical Music Society. 

Performing throughout the world, Emilio has been invited as a soloist with the Reno Chamber Orchestra, Casals Festival, National Symphony of Ukraine, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, İzmir State Symphony Orchestra, Antalya Symphony Orchestra,  International Symphony Orchestra of Lviv, Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, Guayaquil Philharmonic Orchestra, Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, Classical Orchestra of Guatemala, Bozeman Symphony and San Angelo Symphony; recitalist for Shanghai Oriental Arts Center in China, Nevada Chamber Music Festival, L’Hermitage Foundation and Bruman Summer Concerts in Los Angeles, Tons Voisin Festival in Albi, France, La Musica International Chamber Festival in Sarasota, Florida, Mill Valley Chamber Music Society, Round Top International Festival Institute, Miami Music Festival, Chamber Music Unbound in California and recital tours throughout Europe and Asia. 

At the age of 26, Emilio was appointed to the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and has since established himself as a highly sought-after pedagogue. He has been invited to offer courses at the Paris Conservatoire, Geneva Conservatoire, Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, Royal Academy of Music in London, Hochschüle für Musik in Stuttgart, Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, and Toho Gakuen in Tokyo, Japan. Recently he was invited to adjudicate at the prestigious Pablo Casals International Cello Competition in Budapest and the Stulberg International String Competition in Michigan. 

Emilio appeared performing on screen for the movie Un Poema a L’Exili “EL PESSEBRE” de Pablo Casals y Joan Alavedra which received the Best Picture Award at the 2014 REUS International Festival in Spain.  His recordings are featured on the Enharmonic, Centaur, Zephyr, Klavier and Lyras labels. 

As an international cultural advocate, he has been a guest artist at many national and foreign embassies, receiving the US Ambassador’s Cultural Diplomacy Award for his work in improving the relations between the US and foreign countries. 

As the founder and artistic director of the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico, Emilio has won three consecutive awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Flamboyan Foundation for providing free concerts and outreach events for underserved communities in Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean, US and Canada through educational televised programming. A recent review of the ICOPR in the American Record Guide stated, “Colón and the musicians’ sense of style was utterly secure and their playing flawless.”

As host and producer of the television series “Beethoven in the Caribbean” and “Music and Puerto Rico,” Emilio is an advocate of making classical music accessible and engaging in the digital world, appearing on CBS, ABC, NBC and the CW in markets in the Caribbean, USA, Canada & Guam.

As composer and conductor, Emilio was commissioned to write a symphonic poem by the Garza Roja Foundation in Ecuador. “Poema: La Garza en el Daule”  premiered with Colón as guest conductor with the Guayaquil Philharmonic Orchestra in October of 2022. 

As a Larsen Artist, Emilio performs using Il Cannone® strings on his Amati cello made in Cremona in 1690 in combination with his Dominique Peccatte bow.

Cara Elise Colón

American cellist Cara Elise Colón enjoys a career as a performer, pedagogue, and arts administrator. She has been invited to perform in concert for L’Hermitage Concert Series, the Bruman Summer Chamber Music Festival in Los Angeles, the Mammoth Lakes Music Festival, the Lancaster International Piano Festival, the National Music Museum Concert Series in South Dakota, the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico, Ware Center Concert Series in Pennsylvania, Killington Music Festival, PSPA International Chamber Ensemble on tour in Malaysia, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Chamber Series, and Fundación Musical Chamber Series in Puerto Rico. She has studied with many leading musicians, including Janos Starker, Anne Martindale-Williams and Sidney Harth and played in master classes for Mstislav Rostropovich and the Diaz Trio.  

As a pedagogue, Cara has held positions on the faculty of the Indiana University String Academy and the Indianapolis Academy of Music.  A Suzuki-trained teacher, she has been invited as a guest clinician for the London Suzuki Group, Killington Music Festival, Cello|Fresno Festival, University of Alaska Cello Festival, University of Oklahoma ‘Low Strings Attached’ Festival and for pedagogy courses and ASTA events at Indiana University.  

As an arts administrator, Cara is currently the Vice President of the American Cello Institute, whose project, the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico, has won numerous awards from the National Endowment for the Arts for their work providing free access to the arts. The ICOPR connects kids and communities with classical music through free concerts, educational events and television programming throughout Puerto Rico and abroad.

Saturday, November 19, 2022


Contact:

Department of Music

Phone: (559) 278-2654
Website: Click to Visit

Fresno State Concert Hall View Directions to the Venue Directions WeatherView Venue Weather

2380 E Keats Avenue
Fresno, CA 93740

Cost:

$15 general, $12 employees/seniors, $8 students