Three For All
Sunday, August 11th, at 3:00PM
Doors open at 2:30PM
Bösendorfer Hall, Ruggero Piano
This program will explore Latin music from different points of view including American composer Adrienne Albert’s Ode to Piazzolla and Cuban Stories; John Williams’s interpretation of Por Una Cabeza by the famous Argentine composer, Carlos Gardel; two trios by Astor Piazzolla; and Pacific Serenade, inspired by an evening on the West Coast by Miguel del Aguila from Uruguay. Teresa Fernandez will round out the program with a selection of Latin songs.
Por Una Cabeza for Violin & Piano
Carlos Gardel/John Williams (arranger)
Ode to Piazzolla for Violin, Cello & Piano
Adrienne Albert
Invierno Porteno for Violin, Cello & Piano
Astor Piazzolla
Primavera Portena for Violin, Cello & Piano
Astor Piazzolla
Pacific Serenade for Clarinet & Piano
Miguel del Aguila
Latin Songs
Teresa Fernandez (vocalist)
Cuban Stories for Flute, Cello, Violin & Piano
Adrienne Albert
Dr. Carol Ann Barry is a Nationally Certified member of MTNA. Her piano training has included several degree programs as well as study abroad. Selected to serve as a Rotary International Fellow, she studied at the Goethe Institute in Munich, and the Hochschule für Musik und Darsteleende Kunst in Hamburg, Germany. Dr. Barry is interested in the pedagogical work of internationally renowned pedagogue Abby Whiteside. Her doctoral work included extensive studies in New York City with pianist Sophia Rosoff.
After almost two years, the Free Spirits Ensemble is back in Bosendorfer Hall at Ruggero Piano – and ready to dance! Our concert begins with Michele Mangani’s “Tre Danza Latine”. Next is featured “Four Unknown Dances” by Lanette Lind. We then shift to South American with four selections from Jobim and Piazzolla, arranged by Jim Williams – all designed to warm an early spring evening with Terpsichore.
MICHELE MANGANI
Tre Danza Latine for clarinet and piano
LANETTE LIND
Four Unknown Dances for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano
ASTOR PIAZZOLLA
Inveirno Porteno for violin, cello and piano
Oblivion for violin, cello and piano
FOUR LATIN SELECTIONS (ARRANGED BY JIM WILLIAMS)
FOR CLARINET, VIOLIN, CELLO AND PIANO
Girl from Ipanema | Antonio Carlos Jobim
Shadow of Your Smile | Johnny Mandel
Ausensias | Astor Piazzolla
Street Tango | Astor Piazzolla
Lend a hand, save the band! During Hurricane Helene, the Avery High School Band lost all its instruments. The NCBach Festival and Bach and Beyond are playing a kickoff fundraiser for the Band at Ruggero Piano on Dec. 7, 2024 at 7 PM to raise money to get them back on their
feet.
Masterclass
This masterclass will feature four piano students and works from Brahms, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Lyapunov.
Dr. Clara Yang Bio
Praised for her “breathtaking technical prowess” (Cultural Voice of North Carolina) and “probing emotional depth and daring individuality” (Peninsula Reviews), Chinese-American pianist Clara Yang has performed on some of the world’s leading stages, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (New York), the Forbidden City Concert Hall (Beijing), the National Auditorium of Music (Madrid), the Seymour Centre (Sydney), and Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre (Rochester). Featured on prestigious concert series such as Carolina Performing Arts and Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, she connects with audiences by creating deep emotional experiences through her musical storytelling.
She has appeared as soloist under the baton of distinguished conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Long Yu (余隆), Carl St. Clair, Josep Caballé Domenech, George Jackson, Laura Jackson, Tõnu Kalam, Grant Llewellyn, and Jeff Tyzik, with renowned orchestras such as the European Union Youth Orchestra, Sichuan Symphony Orchestra, Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Madrid, Pacific Symphony, and the North Carolina Symphony.
Yang is equally at home in the classical canon, new music, and interdisciplinary work. Known for her bold artistic vision, she has collaborated across genres with luminaries including pianist Aaron Diehl, new media artist Xuan, rock guitarist Yvette Young, and hip-hop artist Suzi Analogue. In 2024, she was named an Artist-in-Residence at the renowned Baryshnikov Arts for her multimedia project Ex Machina, will be presented by Baryshnikov Arts as part of Carnegie Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250 festival. A champion of new music, she performed alongside Philip Glass, Timo Andres, and other distinguished artists in The Complete Philip Glass Piano Etudes concert produced by Pomegranate Arts. She also gave the world and U.S. premieres of Chen Yi’s Piano Concerto Four Spirits—written for her—with the China Philharmonic Orchestra (中国爱乐) at the Forbidden Concert Hall in Beijing and on Carolina Performing Arts.
Her recordings have received critical acclaim and international media coverage. Her solo album Folding Time (Albany Records) was awarded a Global Music Awards Gold Medal and named one of the Best of 2016 by American Record Guide. Her collaborative albums—Mother Tales (Navona Records), with violinist Sunmi Chang, and Grieg and Prokofiev (Albany Records), with cellist Helen Xiao-Dan Zheng Altenbach—have been praised by Strings Magazine, Pizzicato, and Fanfare. Her performances have been broadcast worldwide, and she has been profiled by major media outlets and publications in both the United States and China.
A committed educator and mentor, she has presented masterclasses, lectures, and coaching sessions at leading institutions and festivals across the globe, including the China Conservatory of Music, Central Conservatory of Music, Piano Academy in Gulangyu, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory’s Musical College, King’s College London, Liceu Conservatory in Barcelona, and the Southeastern Piano Festival. Her students have garnered top prizes in national and international competitions. She was a national reviewer for the renowned YoungArts organization and served on the Artistic Panel for New Music USA. Recipient of the prestigious Institute of Arts and Humanities Fellowship and the Schwab Academic Excellence Award at UNC-Chapel Hill, she currently serves as the Head of Keyboard Studies at the university.
Yang holds a DMA from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Nelita True; an MM and Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music, under Claude Frank; and a BM from the USC Thornton School of Music, where she studied with John Perry. Her precollege mentors include Hans Boepple, Zhou Guangren (周广仁), and Li Huili.
Learn More Here
Fire, Poetry, Rhapsody
Thomas Pandolfi, Piano
Join internationally acclaimed pianist Thomas Pandolfi for an electrifying evening of Romantic power, lyrical beauty, and dazzling virtuosity.
From the commanding brilliance of Chopin’s “Military” Polonaise and the sweeping grandeur of the “Heroic” Polonaise, to the delicate poetry of Debussy’s Clair de lune and Ponce’s Intermezzo, the program traces a vivid emotional journey through the Romantic and post-Romantic piano tradition.
The evening culminates in Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue (1927 solo piano version), bringing the program to a thrilling and unmistakably American finale.
A concert of intensity, elegance, and imagination—designed for both devoted piano lovers and new audiences alike.
Performer Bio
American pianist Thomas Pandolfi is acclaimed for performances that combine virtuoso brilliance with poetic nuance and an immediate, communicative presence. A compelling interpreter of the Romantic and early modern repertoire, he brings a distinctive blend of tonal refinement, structural clarity, and expressive depth to the concert stage.
Pandolfi’s repertoire centers on the works of Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Ravel, and Gershwin, through which he explores the piano’s full expressive range—from orchestral power to intimate lyricism. His interpretations are noted for their coloristic imagination and a natural sense of musical architecture that lends both coherence and vitality to each performance.
A frequent concerto soloist, Pandolfi has appeared with orchestras across the United States and internationally, including the National Philharmonic, the Augusta Symphony and the George Enescu Philharmonic, with upcoming engagements including the Reading Symphony Orchestra. His performances of major works such as Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Gershwin’s Concerto in F are distinguished by both virtuoso command and a refined collaborative sensitivity.
His recordings include orchestral collaborations with the National Symphony Orchestra of London and the Moravian Philharmonic further reflecting his work on the international stage.
In recital, Pandolfi is recognized for thoughtfully curated programs that balance dramatic intensity, lyrical intimacy, and coloristic imagination, creating performances that resonate deeply with both seasoned listeners and new audiences alike.
A graduate of The Juilliard School, Thomas Pandolfi continues to establish himself as a compelling voice in the Romantic tradition—an artist whose performances unite intellectual insight with genuine expressive immediacy.
Masterclass details coming soon!
Performer Bio
American pianist Thomas Pandolfi is acclaimed for performances that combine virtuoso brilliance with poetic nuance and an immediate, communicative presence. A compelling interpreter of the Romantic and early modern repertoire, he brings a distinctive blend of tonal refinement, structural clarity, and expressive depth to the concert stage.
Pandolfi’s repertoire centers on the works of Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Ravel, and Gershwin, through which he explores the piano’s full expressive range—from orchestral power to intimate lyricism. His interpretations are noted for their coloristic imagination and a natural sense of musical architecture that lends both coherence and vitality to each performance.
A frequent concerto soloist, Pandolfi has appeared with orchestras across the United States and internationally, including the National Philharmonic, the Augusta Symphony and the George Enescu Philharmonic, with upcoming engagements including the Reading Symphony Orchestra. His performances of major works such as Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Gershwin’s Concerto in F are distinguished by both virtuoso command and a refined collaborative sensitivity.
His recordings include orchestral collaborations with the National Symphony Orchestra of London and the Moravian Philharmonic further reflecting his work on the international stage.
In recital, Pandolfi is recognized for thoughtfully curated programs that balance dramatic intensity, lyrical intimacy, and coloristic imagination, creating performances that resonate deeply with both seasoned listeners and new audiences alike.
A graduate of The Juilliard School, Thomas Pandolfi continues to establish himself as a compelling voice in the Romantic tradition—an artist whose performances unite intellectual insight with genuine expressive immediacy.
