Santa Barbara Music Club

Member Type: Musician

Pascal Salomon , Pianist

Pascal Salomon, pianist, was born in Israel, grew up in France, and has concertized as recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber music pianist to great acclaim in China, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Moldova, Spain, Switzerland, and the U.S. He has been featured soloist with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Sinfonietta of Lausanne, La
Sinfonietta de Genève, Orchestre du Capital-Toulouse, and the National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova, and has performed in major concert venues including Toulouse Capitole (France), Iasi Philharmonic Hall (Romania), Ernest Ansermet Concert Hall-Geneva and Stravinski Auditorium-Montreux (Switzerland), and Forbidden City Concert Hall-Beijing (China).

He studied at the Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris, earned the Virtuosity Degree at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Genève, Switzerland, and was selected for master classes with Paul Badura-Skoda, Jeremy Denk, Murray Perahia, Andras Schiff, and György Sebök. In 2017 he completed his DMA Degree at UCSB, under the mentorship of Paul Berkowitz and Dr. Lee Rothfarb; his research lecture was an in-depth study of music phenomenology from a performer’s standpoint.

Awarded “Best French Pianist” at the Senigallia International Competition in Italy, he was winner of the Maria Canals International Competition in Barcelona and received the Young Performers Scholarship from the “Société de Musique d’Yverdon-les-Bains” (Switzerland). UCSB honors included the Martin Kamen Fellowship, Ernö Daniel Memorial Prize for Distinguished Performance in Piano, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant, and Graduate Division Dissertation Fellowship.

His CD recordings include Pascal Salomon Plays Schumann, by ART Records, Czech Portraits, with violist Jacob Adams, by Centaur Records, and a live concert recording, Chopin, Ravel, Schubert, by the National Radio in Iasi, Romania.

Dr. Salomon taught piano at the Geneva Conservatory for nine years and presented master classes in Romania (University of Art and College of Music in Iasi), in Hungary (Crescendo Summer Institute of Art), and in China (Yunnan Institute of Arts). He is currently building the upcoming Santa Barbara Conservatory of Music, opening this September, which will offer a complete music education for grades 1-12 in the Santa Barbara area with a mentorship approach and possible scholarships. For more information, please visit their website here.

SBMC Concert Performances

Chad Cullins , Clarinetist

Chad Cullins, clarinetist, began studies with Elise Unruh and Nancy Mathison in Santa Barbara and furthered his musical education at Santa Barbara City College and USC, the latter as a pupil of Christie Lundquist, Principal Clarinet of the Utah Symphony. Chad has performed in many Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera productions as well as with the SB Choral Society, SB Oratorio Chorale, Symphony of the Vines, and West Coast Symphony, and his performances with the San Luis Obispo Opera Orchestra exemplified his doubling skills on clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute. A current SBCC student and member of the SBCC Symphony, Chad’s goals include expanding his classical and jazz flute repertoire and performing tenor saxophone as soloist and in jazz ensembles.

SBMC Concert Performances

Cynthia Vong , Flutist

Cynthia Vong, flutist, is currently pursuing her MM Degree at UCSB, studying with Jill Felber. Cynthia earned her BME Degree from Pennsylvania State University, was featured soloist with the Reading Symphony Orchestra and Ringgold Band, and was invited to perform at the 2013 and 2015 National Flute Association Conventions. At UCSB she serves as Teaching Assistant for the University Wind Ensemble and Flute Choir, and she also teaches flute students in the Santa Barbara School District. She has recently formed a duo, “Midground,” with percussionist, composer and producer Kevin Eppinger, producing electronic music featuring the flute. The duo released its first single, Chroma, on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Apple Music in January.

SBMC Concert Performances

Sonos5Winds

Sonos5Winds is the Westmont College Woodwind Quintet-in-Residence and is comprised of Andrea Di Maggio, flute; Trey Farrell, oboe; Joanne Kim, clarinet; Andy Radford, bassoon; and John Mason, French horn. Currently in its fifth year, Sonos5Winds performs traditional and contemporary repertoire and is deeply involved in music education within the Santa Barbara community. The ensemble sponsors events such as last year’s WindFest and the annual Westmont Academy of Young Artists, providing opportunities for students to receive chamber music coaching and lessons with Sonos5Winds members. For information on member bios and the group’s concert schedule, please visit their website here.

SBMC Concert Performances

Amanda Kritzberg , Clarinetist

Amanda Kritzberg, clarinetist, received her BM and MM Degrees from UCSB, studying with Paul Bambach. She has been involved in many diverse ensembles, including symphonies, chamber orchestras, wind ensembles, clarinet choirs, and contemporary music ensembles, and has been featured recording artist for mixed-media projects, including film. As member of the Now Hear Ensemble she has premiered numerous works, and has toured with the group in the “Made in California” project, which included the “Made in California” album. Most recently, Amanda was awarded a residency at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute and was featured soloist at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in Disney Concert Hall Complex in Los Angeles.

SBMC Concert Performances

Kristi Holstein , Violinist

Kristi Holstein, violinist, was born in Charleston, West Virginia and began playing violin at age 7. She received her BM Degree, Summa Cum Laude, from West Virginia University and her MM Degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. A member of the American String Teachers Association, National Association for Music Educators, American Chamber Music Society and Society of Music Theory, she is currently a teaching artist with BRAVO! and Santa Barbara Strings and a member of the American Youth Symphony, Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara, Lompoc Pops Orchestra, Opera San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria Philharmonic Society, and Young Musicians Foundation Debut Chamber Orchestra and maintains a private violin and viola studio in Santa Barbara.

SBMC Concert Performances

Renée Hamaty , Pianist

Renée Hamaty, pianist, has performed worldwide as soloist and collaborative pianist. She majored in music at Occidental College, studying with Aube Tzerko, and has concertized widely as vocal and instrumental accompanist, including collaboration with Leonard Bernstein in West Coast premieres (Candide and Mass) and Stephen Sondheim in Chicago and Los Angeles. For fifteen years she was Music Director and pianist for “Opera & Broadway Under the Stars” concerts at Arts & Letters Cafe in Santa Barbara, and served as vocal faculty pianist for the Music Academy of the West’s 2013 MERIT program. In addition to her active piano collaborating schedule, Renée teaches private piano students of all ages in her Santa Barbara studio.

SBMC Concert Performances

Westmont String Quartet

The Westmont String Quartet consists of four talented students at Westmont College: Sierra Farrar, violinist, is a junior majoring in Ecological Biology and Music and is a winner of Westmont’s Music Guild Competition; Mirah Ray, violinist, is a junior majoring in Music Performance and is a winner of Westmont’s Music Guild Competition; Erik Fauss, violinist, is a senior Music Major who was awarded First Place in the 2017 Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Competition; Timothy Beccue, cellist, is a senior Physics Major who was a Prizewinner in the 2017 Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Competition.

SBMC Concert Performances

Erik Fauss , Violist

Erik Fauss is a freelance violist and singer/songwriter. He is currently finishing his Masters at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Juan-Miguel Hernandez and Helene Clement. Before moving to London, Fauss completed his Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. In the Fall of 2016, he studied with Matthias Maurer and Thomas Selditz in Vienna and Yuta Nishiyama at the University of Arts in Berlin.

SBMC Concert Performances