MENU
News:

Always on Tuesdays and always free. Click Here to Donate to Live Classical Music

Sarah Wood, Stephanie Bibbo, Elaine Kreston, Emanuela Nikiforova, Miles Graber
June 30, 2021
Sarah Wood, Stephanie Bibbo, Elaine Kreston, Emanuela Nikiforova, Miles Graber

Dimitri Shostakovich: Quintet for Piano and Strings, Op. 57

  • Prelude: Lento
  • Fugue: Adagio
  • Scherzo: Allegretto
  • Intermezzo: Lento
  • Finale: Allegretto

Romance from “The Gadfly” Op. 97, arranged for Piano Quintet by Dimitri Shostakovich

Violinist Sarah Wood is a regular substitute musician with the San Francisco Symphony.  She is a founding member of the Circadian String Quartet, a frequent recitalist, and holds tenured positions as Assistant Principal Second of the Berkeley Symphony and acting Assistant Concertmaster of the California Symphony.  Sarah has appeared as a soloist with the San Francisco Civic Symphony, the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra, the Villa Sinfonia, Panache & the Icicle Creek Chamber Orchestras.  Internationally, she has performed as a chamber musician and recitalist in the Netherlands, Tunisia, and Chile.

where she was a student of Paul Kantor & William Preucil. A California native, she also formerly studied with Zaven Melikian and Robin Sharp.  In addition to her busy performing schedule, she is currently a teacher in the

training of the Alexander Technique and often works as a clinician to help violinists design custom violin equipment.

Stephanie Bibbo is a member of the Berkeley, Santa Rosa, and Oakland Symphonies, and has performed with orchestras and chamber music ensembles in venues throughout Europe and the United States.  She was an Adjunct Professor of Chamber Music at the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, and currently performs and teaches violin in the Bay Area.  Stephanie received her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from New England Conservatory, and a Master of Music and Professional Studies Diploma at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Ian Swensen.

Elaine Kreston is both an inspired classical cellist and a versatile
improviser. She has performed throughout Europe and the United States,
at venues including Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, Broadway
theatres, recording studios, radio broadcasts, spiritual retreats, and
arena rock shows, as well as schools, bookstores, and cafés. She is
known for her passionate interpretations of the solo cello suites of
J.S. Bach (now on CD). Bay Area audiences have seen her perform with
New Century Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Chamber Orchestra, San
Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Rosa Symphony chamber players,
Maybeck Trio, the Cello Chixtet, and RumiCello.

Elaine holds a B.M. in cello performance from the New England
Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Laurence Lesser, and a
master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. With a spirited
desire to share the wonders of music with future generations, she
leads a teaching studio in Berkeley, and visits schools to perform,
teach, and inspire. One of her favorite things about the cello is the
first lesson: “Give your cello a hug.”

Bulgarian violinist Emanuela Nikiforova is a graduate of International Menuhin Music Academy, LSU School of Music, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has performed as a chamber and orchestral musician on three continents and recorded as such for Bulgarian TV, “Claves” and “RevistaClassica” (Buenos Aires). Currently a member of Berkeley, Marin, Oakland, Santa Rosa, and Silicon Valley symphonies, she enjoys chamber collaborations with colleagues and Bay Area guests. Most notably she has performed in a chamber group with Zuil Bailey, Stephen Clapp, Rene Mandel, and Maria Borozina, among many others. Emanuela is the Music Director of the formation Antika Slavic Strings, which performs for the Bulgarian community in the Bay Area. Emanuela teaches violin privately at home in Alameda, and at The Renaissance International School in Oakland.

Miles Graber received his musical training at the Juilliard School. He has performed with numerous artists, including Sarah Chang, Cho-Liang Lin, Camilla Wicks, Axel Strauss, Mimi Stillman, Paula Robison, Zuill Bailey, Judith LeClair, Frederica von Stade, and Christina Mok. Mr. Graber has been associated with such organizations as New Century Chamber Orchestra, Midsummer Mozart, Oakland Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, Oakland Lyric Opera, Berkeley Opera, Opera San Jose, and California Symphony. His accompanying posts include the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the San Domenico Conservatory, the Irving  M. Klein International String Competition, the Mondavi Young  Artist Competition, and the Northern California Flute Camp. He is a member of the Alcyone Ensemble, MusicAEterna, the Graham-Graber-Rose Trio, the Sor Ensemble, the Mira Trio, and the new music group Sounds New.