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Register Staff
11-13-2008 The nonprofit Bishop Community Concert Association is pleased to announce the third of five concerts for the 2008/2009 season.
Nova and Susanna Jimeniz are sopranos with Chi-Chen Wu on piano and Joyce Lee on violin in an award-winning ensemble that combines classical and contemporary styles in melodic and powerful duets.
The concert will be held at the Bishop Union High School auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
Bella Sorella – Nova and Susanna Jiménez (sopranos) with piano and violin accompaniment – is an award-winning soprano ensemble that combines classical and contemporary styles in melodic and powerful duets. Bella Sorella’s unique music, magnetic stage presence and remarkable personal story has earned them acclaim and recognition throughout California and abroad.
Bella Sorella officially formed in the fall of 2005 but has been years in the making. What they’ve accomplished since releasing their self-produced debut CD, “Popera,” is nothing less than remarkable.
With music that spans more than 300 years and seven languages, Bella Sorella has dazzled audiences throughout Northern California in live performances at Villa Montalvo, the Empire Plush Room, the Little Fox Theater, El Campanil Theatre, Community Concerts Concord, AT&T Park, Saint Joseph Cathedral, Santa Clara University, Mission Santa Clara, San Jose State University and the San Jose Italian Festa.
The group’s Southern California performances included the San Diego Indie Music Fest, the Lyceum, Palomar College, La Jolla’s Athenaeum, The Coffee Gallery and The Gig in Hollywood. Bella Sorella has also performed at Coachman Park in Clearwater, Fla., and Nagoya, Japan, where they were featured musicians at the Villaggio Italia’s Primavera Festival.
Bella Sorella’s angelic sound has graced the airwaves radio stations in the Bay Area and Japan.
They’ve given live television performances on NBC in San Diego and the Bay Area’s Bruce Latimer Show, the longest-running television variety show in the United States.
Industry professionals have already taken notice of this spectacular ensemble. The Los Angeles Music Awards unanimously selected Bella Sorella as the 2007 Vocal Group of the Year.
Joyce Lee, who began playing with Bella Sorella in September 2008, started her music studies on piano at age four and violin at age 12.
She is an alumna of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), where she received both her B.M. and M.M. in Violin Performance. She is an avid chamber musician and regularly collaborates with other musicians and performs composers’ new works.
In March 2008, Lee was featured as violin soloist in John William’s Three Pieces from Schindler’s List with the Nova Vista Symphony. She has toured in Europe with the San Francisco Youth Orchestra and played with the Louisiana Philharmonic in New Orleans.
She was also a featured concertmaster at the summer festival orchestra in Las Vegas and played in an audition workshop with William Preucil in Indianapolis.
Lee regularly performs with the Vallejo, Marin, Santa Rosa, Stockton and Silicon Valley symphonies.
In addition to coaching young musicians at Summer Music West, a chamber music program at SFCM, Joyce teaches both violin and piano and is an accompanist as well. Joyce also runs her own business, organizing chamber ensembles (string duos, trios and quartets) for special events (www.j oyouslee. com).
Chi-Chen Wu is a recitalist, chamber musician and orchestral soloist who has performed throughout North America and Asia. Her performances have taken her to such venues as the National Taiwan Recital Hall, Jordan Hall, Cami Hall, The Wang Theater, Paine Hall, Killian Hall, Mayfest International Chamber Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival.
Wu holds a D.M.A. in collaborative piano and a double masters degree in piano solo performance and collaborative piano from the New England Conservatory of Music.
As a chamber musician, Wu has collaborated with Karl-Heinz Steffen, the principal clarinetist of the Berlin Phiharmonic, Irma Muresanu, winner of the Queen Elizabeth Competition in violin, Ben Hoadley, Alicia Didonato, musicians from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and members of the Boston Symphony and New York Philharmonic orchestras.
In addition to her chamber music activities, Wu is also regularly engaged as a soloist with orchestras, such as the Boston Ballet Orchestra and Symphony by the Sea. An avid interpreter of contemporary music, she was the official pianist of Aggregate, a Boston-based composers group, and was the appointed pianist in the premier of John Harbison’s The “Great Gatsby.”
In the summer of 2004, she was the official staff pianist of the Aspen Music Festival. She held the post of staff pianist from 2005-2006 at the New England Conservatory.
From 2006-2007 Wu was Assistant Professor of piano performance and collaborative piano at National Taiwan Normal University.
She is currently a Visiting Scholar at Cornell University, where she teaches piano and works with the world renowned fortepianist Malcolm Bilson.
Wu recently performed a Bach Keyboard Concerto with the Cornell Chamber Orchestra on a Stein copy and gave a solo recital featuring works of Schumann on a Graf copy. This is her first tour with Bella Sorella.
For ticket prices or more information, call Mary Mae Kilpatrick at (760) 873-6690.
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