J.S. Bach-J. Brahms: Chaconne in D Minor for the left hand, BWV 1004
Max Bruch: 8 Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op. 83
W. A. Mozart: Kegelstatt Trio in E-flat Major, K. 498
A “clarinet maverick” (Time Out New York), Cory Tiffin is currently the Principal Clarinetist for the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Previous positions include Principal Clarinet of the Green Bay Symphony and Performing Member of the Chicago Philharmonic. He won his first position in an orchestra at 23 years old, playing second clarinet in the Illinois Symphony.
Cory regularly performs with the San Francisco Symphony and Oakland Symphony, having also performed with the Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony, the California Symphony, and dozens of other orchestras. Summer festival appearances include performing as Principal Clarinet with the New Hampshire, Mendocino, Bear Valley, and Music in the Mountains festival orchestras.
Hailed for his “understated virtuosity” (Chicago Classical Review), Cory has given recitals with the Grammy Award-winning Chicago Chamber Musicians and the Grammy-nominated Lincoln Trio and both curated and performed on numerous programs on Chicago’s WFMT-FM. He has been a featured soloist multiple times with the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra and the Las Vegas Philharmonic. A champion of new music, he collaborated with some of the USA’s leading new music ensembles, such as Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Access Contemporary Music, and the University of Chicago’s New Music Ensemble. He founded and ran the eclectic Anaphora Ensemble for several years in Chicago and has commissioned chamber music by some of today’s leading composers.
Cory received his bachelor’s degree in music from DePaul University. His primary teachers include Larry Combs, Julie Deroche, and Wagner Campos in addition to coachings and masterclasses with Stephen Williamson, Carey Bell, Yehuda Gilad, and many others. As an educator, Cory has been on the faculties of the University of Chicago, DePaul University, Loyola University, University of Nevada Las Vegas, and Chabot Community College. He can be heard on the Southport and Albany record labels.
Aurélien Fort Pederzoli is a graduate of the Paris Conservatory. He then attended the Bern Hochschule, Switzerland, where he was in the master class of Prof. Monika Urbaniak and received guidance from Prof. Igor Ozim. his primary teacher was Veda Reynolds, a professor at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
In 2008, Aurélien founded the Anaphora Ensemble, a chamber music project, which appeared frequently on national radio and performed in eclectic places, from the Green Mill to the symphony hall. From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Pederzoli was the first violinist of the Corky Siegel Chamber Blues Band and toured nationally and internationally with them. Other collaborations include Rachel Kolly, Christian Chamorel, Daniel Barenboim, Kent Nagano, the Ysaye quartet, H.J Lim, members of Eighth Blackbird, Shmuel Ashkenasi, The Lincoln Trio, and Mathieu Dufour to name a few.
From 2009 until 2014, Aurélien was one of the violinists, and founding member, of the Grammy-nominated Spektral Quartet, in residence at the University of Chicago. In 2015, Pederzoli founded (alongside Desirée Ruhstrat and David Cunliffe) The Black Oak Ensemble, a string trio at its core, and has been performing with them ever since. 2018 marks the release of their debut album “Silenced Voices” on the Cedille Label.
Aurélien is one of the founders of the music festival Musique Dans Le Gers, based in the southwest of France.
PALLAVI MAHIDHARA PIANO Praised for her unique artistry and charismatic stage presence, Indian American pianist Pallavi Mahidhara has appeared in solo and orchestral concerts across five continents. She is the Second Prize winner of the 69th Geneva International Piano Competition and the VI International Prokofiev Competition in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Other awards include the Olivier Berggruen Prize at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, the Steinway Förderpreis in Germany, the Astral Artists National Auditions in the US, and on multiple occasions, the “Sobresaliente” Award from the hands of Queen Sofía of Spain.
Pallavi is the Executive Producer, Writer, and Host of “The Conscious Artist”, a podcast designed to promote Mental Health Awareness for musicians, artists, and all human beings. She holds degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler and studied with Dimitri Bashkirov at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía. As the first female Indian pianist to attend these institutions and host a podcast on mental health in Western classical music, she fervently embraces her role as a cultural ambassador, artist, and mentor.
Pallavi has performed at important festivals such as Marlboro Music, Verbier Festival, and Gstaad Menuhin Festival. She has given chamber music performances with renowned artists such as Gary Hoffman, Diemut Poppen, Wolfram Christ, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Arnold Steinhardt, István Várdai, Pablo Ferrández, Josef Spacek, and Theo Fouchennert. She has performed under the direction of Arjan Tien, Thomas Sanderling, Daniel Boico, Róbert Farkas, Daniel Abad Casanova, and Pablo Gonzalez, among others.