GLENDALE NOON CONCERTS (Live in person free concerts) 4/2/25

 

Free Admission  

GLENDALE NOON CONCERTS             

Every First & Third Wednesday at 12:10-12:40 pm,  

has returned to live performances

in the Sanctuary of Glendale City Church!

 

RELAX DURING YOUR LUNCH HOUR WITH LIVE MUSIC

On Wednesday APRIL 2, 2025 

at 12:10 -12:40 pm PT

the Free Admission Glendale Noon Concerts program

will be performed live in the Sanctuary of Glendale City Church.  

 610 E. California Ave Glendale, CA 91206

 

PARKING INFO:

https://glendalecitychurch.org/location

 

Glendale Noon Concerts  4/2/25

at 12:10-12:40 pm PT

JAZZ DUO

MORGAN JONES- piano

SCOTT WORTHINGTON - bass

 

 

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE ARTIST BIOS:

 

STILL AVAILABLE! Watch

previous Glendale Noon Concerts streamed concerts

(April 2020-February 1, 2023):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oAfaPgGGMw&list=PLms1LJpnTpJzK7Yf6ryh2zyFMlkl7qC2z

Read about the previous programs:   

http://glendalenoonconcerts.blogspot.com

Facebook 4/2/25 event page:

 https://www.facebook.com/events/1392039718891424

Preview of the next concert:

Wednesday APRIL 16, 2025 

at 12:10-12:40 pm PT

Mozart Sinfonia Concertante 

Philip Vaiman -violin

Chika Inoue – saxophone

Brendan White - piano

Performer bios:

Morgan Jones is a multi-instrumentalist performer, composer and educator with degrees from The Juilliard School and USC Thornton School of Music, where he studied both piano and saxophone. He teaches piano students of all levels through his private studio, while continuing to perform, record and compose in multiple genres. Free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman mentored and prepared Morgan to be his replacement as the alto sax soloist for the world premiere of “Concerto for Ornette,” composed by Mr. Coleman’s longtime friend Carman Moore. The New York Times favorably reviewed Morgan’s performance at Alice Tully Hall, which Mr. Coleman attended. Morgan had the honor of playing tenor sax with Aretha Franklin at the Oracle Arena during her historic final tour of California. He can be heard on baritone sax on Panic! At the Disco’s album Pray for the Wicked, including the 4x-platinum single “High Hopes.” Morgan is currently the jazz pianist for the American Contemporary Ballet. He served for several years as the gospel choir director, pianist and organist for Hamilton United Methodist Church and Faith UMC. He regularly plays with funk band Scary Pockets as well as their sister band Pomplamoose, and is a longtime collaborator of singer-songwriter Heather Porcaro. He and Tamir Hendelman often play as a piano duo, presenting original arrangements of Oscar Peterson’s Canadiana Suite and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. He has played with a host of other jazz luminaries including Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Mulgrew Miller, Joshua Redman, Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Peter Erskine, Cyrus Chestnut, Jimmy Heath, and Jimmy Cobb. He has performed at the Apollo Theater, Blue Note Jazz Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Catalina’s, the Blue Whale, Carnegie Hall, and many others. His TV and movie credits include American Idol, The Voice, Glee, N.C.I.S, 10 Things I Hate About You and Burlesque. His original compositions are featured in the indie thriller Mojave, starring Oscar Isaac. Morgan’s passion for music education began at Juilliard, where he studied music pedagogy with Dr. Ed Bilous and taught in New York City public schools through the Morse Teaching Artist Fellowship. As co-chair of the Music and Medicine Initiative with Weill Cornell, he also led symposia on synesthesia, performance anxiety, and perfect pitch. His piano mentors include Tamir Hendelman, Frank Kimbrough, Daniel Pollack, Sergey Smilansky, Alan Pasqua, Russ Ferrante, and Mark Levine.

Scott Worthington enjoys a diverse career as a musician in Los Angeles. A 
Scott Worthington enjoys a diverse career as a musician based in Los Angeles. A "masterful and transfixing" bassist (NewMusicBox), he performs as a soloist, in orchestras and recording studios, and with improvisors and chamber groups. As a performer-composer, his albums have garnered critical acclaim. Prism was named one of The New Yorker's most notable classical albums of 2015 and called "as bewitching as it is original" by Alex Ross. Scott's other releases have been praised by The New York Times ("continually surprises and delights with tiny, glittering events") and the National Sawdust Log ("quietly gripping"). He has received commissions from the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, Loadbang, the Isaura String Quartet, the Byrne:Kozar Duo, Synchromy, and numerous soloists.

As an electronic musician, Scott has performed at the Ojai Music Festival, on the wasteLAnd and People Inside Electronics concert series, and created software for performances of music ranging from Lucier to Boulez. His own compositions and solo concerts make frequent use of electronic sound and live computer processing. As a recording engineer and producer, his work can be heard on Bridge, Microfest, Innova, Orenda, and Populist Records. Scott's current projects focus on improvisation with custom software in a duo with Christopher Burns and his own system Cassini.

He is the principal bassist of the Redlands Symphony and teaches at the University of Redlands Conservatory of Music and Cal State LA. Scott studied at the Eastman School of Music with James VanDemark and the University of California San Diego

GLENDALE NOON CONCERTS (Live in person free concerts) 3/19/25

Free Admission  

GLENDALE NOON CONCERTS             

Every First & Third Wednesday at 12:10-12:40 pm,  

has returned to live performances

in the Sanctuary of Glendale City Church!

 

RELAX DURING YOUR LUNCH HOUR WITH LIVE MUSIC

On Wednesday MARCH 19, 2025 

at 12:10 -12:40 pm PT

the Free Admission Glendale Noon Concerts program

will be performed live in the Sanctuary of Glendale City Church.  

 610 E. California Ave Glendale, CA 91206

 

PARKING INFO:

https://glendalecitychurch.org/location

 

Glendale Noon Concerts  3/19/25

at 12:10-12:40 pm PT

Daniel Kessner - flute, bass flute

Suzanne Julian - piano

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)arr. Daniel Kessner
Sicilienne, Op. 78

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Prélude, Op. 28, No. 13, in F# Major: Lento
Mazurka, Op. 33, No. 4, in B Minor: Mesto
Mazurka, Op. 63, No. 3, in C# Minor: Allegretto

Daniel Kessner (b. 1946)
from Eight Preludes, for solo bass flute
VIII - Ascèse 2
IV - Arpeggi
I - Ascèse 1

Philippe Gaubert (1879-1941)
Nocturne et Allegro Scherzando

 

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE ARTIST BIOS:

 

STILL AVAILABLE! Watch

previous Glendale Noon Concerts streamed concerts

(April 2020-February 1, 2023):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oAfaPgGGMw&list=PLms1LJpnTpJzK7Yf6ryh2zyFMlkl7qC2z

Read about the previous programs:   

http://glendalenoonconcerts.blogspot.com

 

Facebook 3 /19/25 event page:

 https://www.facebook.com/events/1203083771432644

 

Preview of the next concert:

Wednesday APRIL 2, 2025 

at 12:10-12:40 pm PT

JAZZ DUO 

Morgan Jones - piano

Scott Worthington - bass

 

Performer bios:

Born in Los Angeles in 1946, composer-conductor-flutist Daniel Kessner received his Ph.D. with Distinction at UCLA in 1971, studying with Henri Lazarof. His more than 180 compositions have received over 1000 performances, and are published by Universal Edition in Vienna. Most important awards include the 1972 Queen Marie-José International Composition Prize in Geneva, a 2003 Fulbright Senior Scholar Award in Trossingen, Germany, a Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant in Trondheim, Norway in 2007, a residency at the Universidade do Minho in Portugal in 2011, and most recently one at Paradise AIR (Artist-in-Residence) in Matsudo, Japan. He is Professor Emeritus at California State University, Northridge, retired in 2006 after a career of 36 years teaching composition, music theory, and directing various ensembles.

Suzanne Julian was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Sherman Oaks, California, where she began private piano study with Erma Bassett and Louise Meacham, and later, as a student at CSUN, with Adrian Ruiz and Jakob Gimpel.  She received both her B.A. in Music and her M.A. in Piano Performance from CSUN, during which time she was the recipient of various awards in piano performance, chamber music, music composition, and student teaching.  She has taught applied and class piano, music theory and appreciation, and served as an accompanist at CSUN, Moorpark College, East Los Angeles College, Pasadena City College, and Los Angeles Valley College.  Suzanne maintained a private piano studio for many years and has performed chamber music, solo piano recitals, and with orchestra at numerous colleges and private homes in Southern California.  She is currently retired and refocusing on piano performance.

 

 

Program Notes:

Gabriel Fauré composed his Sicilienne in 1893, originally as part of a larger theatrical work that was never completed. Recognizing its exceptional beauty, he later arranged it for cello and piano. Since then there have been many other transcriptions for different instruments. We collaborated on this one, sharing the thematic material more equally between the flute and piano.

 

 “Music, rich, full of feeling, not soulless, is like a crystal on which the sun falls and brings forth from it a whole rainbow.  And everyone may admire it for a different reason; one will enjoy the fact that the crystal has been artfully carved, another will like the red color, still another the green, while the fourth will admire the purple.  And he who puts his soul into the crystal is like one who has poured wine into it.”

 

                                                                                            

 

In his short life, Chopin created a vast amount of music almost exclusively for solo piano which demonstrated a completely original style characterized by beautiful melodies, very progressive harmonies and flexible tempi.  Of his work, he said: “I decided that my universe will be the soul and heart of man.  It is there that I will look for nuances of every feeling which I transfer to music as well as I can.”  The three short pieces performed today surely represent this, beginning with the exquisite F# Major Prelude, one of 24 in every major and minor key.  This is followed by two of his 58 Mazurkas, expressive, sophisticated Polish folk dances in triple meter with accents frequently shifting to beats 2 or 3.

 

Daniel Kessner’s Eight Preludes, written ten years ago, were not necessarily intended to be performed as a complete set; rather, the performer is encouraged to choose the number and order of pieces to suit a particular recital. “Ascèse” (French) is an exercise or series of exercises whose goal is not only physical, but also spiritual.

 

Philippe Gaubert, a contemporary of Ravel, composed this work in 1906. The Nocturne is dreamy and poetic, setting the stage for the “breathless” theme of the Allegro Scherzando, which provides a dazzling finish to the piece, and to the recital. 

Program notes by Daniel Kessner and Suzanne Julian

GLENDALE NOON CONCERTS (Live in person free concerts) 3/5/25

 

Free Admission  

GLENDALE NOON CONCERTS             

Every First & Third Wednesday at 12:10-12:40 pm,  

has returned to live performances

in the Sanctuary of Glendale City Church!

 

RELAX DURING YOUR LUNCH HOUR WITH LIVE MUSIC

On Wednesday MARCH 5, 2025 

at 12:10 -12:40 pm PT

the Free Admission Glendale Noon Concerts program

will be performed live in the Sanctuary of Glendale City Church.  

 610 E. California Ave Glendale, CA 91206

 

PARKING INFO:

https://glendalecitychurch.org/location

 

Glendale Noon Concerts  3/5/25

at 12:10-12:40 pm PT

 WOODWIND QUARTET

The concert was recorded and can be viewed on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=318PUcAId58 

Catherine Baker, flute

Catherine Del Russo, oboe

Phil O’Connor, clarinet

Allen Savedoff, bassoon

 

Quatuor (1933)                                                                                   

Jean Françaix (1912-1997)

 

            I. Allegro

            II. Andante

            III. Allegro molto

            IV. Allegro vivo

 

The Sequoia Trio (2008)                                            

Jenni Brandon (b. 1977)

 

            I. Sequoiadendron giganteum: The Big Tree

             Tree Interlude One

            II. “A crowd of hopeful young trees and saplings…”

            III. The Three Graces

             Tree Interlude Two    

            IV. The Noble Trees

 

Three Little Negro Dances (1933)                 

Florence B. Price (1887-1953)

 

            I. Hoe Cake

            II. Rabbit Foot

            III. Ticklin’ Toes

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE ARTIST BIOS:

 

STILL AVAILABLE! Watch

previous Glendale Noon Concerts streamed concerts

(April 2020-February 1, 2023):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oAfaPgGGMw&list=PLms1LJpnTpJzK7Yf6ryh2zyFMlkl7qC2z

Read about the previous programs:   

http://glendalenoonconcerts.blogspot.com

 

Facebook 3 /5/25 event page: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/2036874076814134

 

 Preview of the next concert:

Wednesday MARCH 19, 2025 

at 12:10-12:40 pm PT

Daniel Kessner - flute, bass flute

Suzanne Julian – piano

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) arr. Daniel Kessner

Sicilienne, Op. 78                                                        

 

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Prélude, Op. 28, No. 13, in F# Major: Lento            

Mazurka, Op. 33, No. 4, in B Minor: Mesto

Mazurka, Op. 63, No. 3, in C# Minor: Allegretto      

 

Daniel Kessner (b. 1946)

from Eight Preludes, for solo bass flute                    

            VIII - Ascèse 2

            IV - Arpeggi

            I - Ascèse 1

 

Philippe Gaubert (1879-1941)

Nocturne et Allegro Scherzando                              

Please check the link below for updates

http://glendalenoonconcerts.blogspot.com

 

PLEASE HELP THESE CONCERTS TO CONTINUE WITH A DONATION:

https://adventistgiving.org/#/org/ANPPGL/envelope/start 

or by mailing it to 610 E California Ave, Glendale, CA 91206 to the Friends of Music.

The Glendale Noon Concerts series is presented by Glendale City Church every first & third Wednesday at 12:10-12:40 pm. www.glendalecitychurch.org

Concert schedule: https://glendalenoonconcerts.blogspot.com

Much appreciation to the Hennings-Fischer Foundation for their mission to support art and education and their generous grant to GNC.

Performer Bios:

 

Catherine Baker, flute

 

Catherine Baker is the principal flutist of the Bakersfield Symphony and Orchestra Santa Monica. She is established in Los Angeles as a versatile artist with projects spanning orchestral performance, studio recording, chamber music, and education. She was the First Place Winner of the 2018 Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia Young Artist and the Second Place Winner of the 2019 National Flute Association Orchestral Audition and Masterclass Competition. Catherine has performed with ensembles throughout California including the Fresno Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Muse-ique, Santa Barbara Symphony, San Bernardino Symphony, and Redlands Symphony. 

 

 

Catherine Del Russo Oboe, Oboe d’amore, English horn performer

 

Ms. Del Russo received a Bachelor of Music Degree and Performance Certificate from the prestigious Eastman School of Music. She received a Master’s Degree in performance from Ohio University. Currently, she is the Principal Oboist of the Downey Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara, Burbank Philharmonic Orchestra and the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic. She is in her 34th year as English horn and oboe with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and second oboe with the Mozart Classical Orchestra. Catherine performs regularly with her trio Lobo Ensemble, consisting of oboe, violin and cello. And, in 2011, she and her trio won the Beverly Hills Chamber Music Auditions. She is adjunct faculty at Occidental College.

 

Phil O’Connor, clarinet
 

Phil is a key musical figure in film, television, commercial, modern classical, and jazz music idioms. He has performed/recorded/collaborated with an eclectic roster of the finest musical artists (Prince, Paul McCartney, Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel, Pierre Boulez, John Williams, among many others.) He has served as a musical and product consultant for several of the instrument/reed/mouthpiece/ligature companies for clarinet consumers. Phil is the professor of clarinet at California Institute of the Arts. He attended college at CSU- Hayward, Manhattan School of Music and University of Southern California. He is a regular performer in the 3 time Grammy winning John Daversa Progressive Big Band, and the Pasadena Symphony. He has performed extensively in all of Southern California's finest ensembles throughout his residency in Los Angeles.

 

Allen Savedoff, bassoon

 

B.M. Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford;  M.M. University of Michigan.  Former faculty member at Augusta College, Georgia and St. Cloud State University, Minnesota.  Member of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Pacific Symphony.  Has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic New Music Group, LA Opera, LA Chamber Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony, Glendale Symphony, LA Master Chorale and Southwest Chamber Music. Studio work includes recording for feature films and television.  He has recorded three solo CDs: Contradiction, a collection of jazz standards on contrabassoon; SavoirFaire, a classical album on bassoon and contrabassoon; and Standing On Chairs, a blues, pop and rock album. The first two are on Capstone Records, the third on Big Round Records.

 

 

FROGRAM NOTES:

Jean Francaix’s Woodwind Quartet is what happens when a French composer with a sharp wit and a love for playfulness lets loose on a woodwind quintet, minus the horn, of course, because Francaix wasn’t a fan. In fact, he once said “The horn is like that uninvited guest-always barging in unannounced and ruining the party.” Written in 1933 when he was just 21, this piece is a sparkling display of his signature blend of elegance and humor. The flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon banter like old friends at a Parisian café - sometimes playful, sometimes teasing, but always impeccably stylish. It’s a masterclass in charm, sophistication, and just the right amount of cheek - proof that classical music can have a sense of humor, too!

 

The Sequoia Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon was written by local composer Jenni Brandon. Ms. Brandon is a composer and conductor who has written over 70 works, many of which depict her memorable experiences with nature and poetry.  Regarding this piece she writes:

 

“Each movement of The Sequoia Trio takes a quote about Sequoia trees from John Muir’s book The Yosemite and uses it to inspire the music. The opening waving pattern creates the gentle breeze as the growth of the tree starts in the bassoon, moving through the clarinet and is carried all the way to the top of the tree through the oboe. Movement two is sassy and jazzy, describing the kind of resilient attitude that young trees must maintain in order to survive. “The Three Graces” plays on the idea of the three instruments in the ensemble and Muir’s own reference to Greek mythology. Finally in “The Noble Trees” the instruments play a hymn-like tribute to the largest living things on earth. The two “Tree Interludes” represent the individual voice of a tree and its story.”

 

More information on Jenni Brandon, can be found at jennibrandon.com.

 

I. Sequoiadendron giganteum: The Big Tree

“Southward the giants become more and more irrepressibly jubilant, heaving their massive crowns into the sky from every ridge and slope, waving onward in graceful compliance with the complicated topography of the region.”

 

II. “A crowd of hopeful young trees and saplings…”

“But here for every old storm-beaten giant there are many in their prime and for each of these a crowd of hopeful young trees and saplings, growing vigorously on moraines, rocky ledges, along water courses and meadows.”

 

III. The Three Graces

“Groups of two or three (sequoias) are often found standing close together…They are called “loving couples,” “three graces,” etc… By the time they are full-grown their trunks will touch and crowd against each other…”

 

IV. The Noble Trees

“…the Big Trees (sequoia gigantean), the king of all the conifers in the world, ‘the noblest of the noble race.”

                                                                                    John Muir, The Yosemite, 1912        

 

 

Three Little Negro Dances

 

Florence Price, born in 1887, was an American composer and pianist whose work spans three decades, during which she wrote more than 300 musical compositions. In 1933, she became the first African American woman to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra.

 

Three Little Negro Dances, written in 1933, was originally for solo piano, and has since been transcribed and arranged for wind band, symphony orchestra and now wind quartet. In the score, Price writes: “In all types of Negro music rhythm is of preeminent importance and is a compelling, onward sweeping force that tolerates no interruption. All phases of truly Negro activity, whether work or play, singing or prayer are more than apt to take on a rhythmic quality.”