Nikolas Astrinidis: Capriccio in Modo Balcanico
Manuel de Falla: Suite Populaire Espagnole
Lewis Patzner: Palid Manzanita
Enrique Granados: Andaluza
Germaine Tailleferre: Berceuse
Astor Piazzolla: Le Grand Tango
Award-winning pianist Elektra Schmidt performs as a solo artist and in chamber groups in the United States, France, Greece, and the United Kingdom. Notable recent engagements include performing as a soloist with the Santa Rosa Symphony, the Golden Gate Symphony, and the Bay Area’s Awesöme Orchestra. In the upcoming season, Elektra will be performing Chopin’s iconic Concerto Number 1 with the Golden Gate Symphony under Maestro Urs Steiner.
As well as a flourishing performance career, Elektra curates for numerous festivals and art houses in Europe and San Francisco. She is the founder of Artist Migration, an organization dedicated to the integration and mobility of international artists.
After graduating summa cum laude from the National Conservatory of her native Greece, Elektra pursued her post-graduate studies in Paris at the Schola Cantorum and the Conservatoire Raoul Pugno under the guidance of distinguished pianist Lilia Boyadjieva.
She received her master’s degree with First Prize and Distinction (Medaille d’Or avec les félicitations du jury).
She has collaborated with international festivals throughout the world including the San Francisco International Arts Festival, the Arundel Festival, and Oxford Philomusica in the United Kingdom. Elektra has been on the adjudicating panel of the US open music competition since 2017.
Lewis Patzner is a professional cellist and composer from Oakland, CA. After earning a bachelor’s degree in cello performance from the Peabody Institute in 2007, Lewis took an uncommon path and toured both as a side musician for rock bands and in his own experimental instrumental metal band, Judgement Day. He now lives in Oakland and works as a freelance musician. A dedicated chamber musician of all styles, Lewis plays standard string quartet repertoire with the Town Quartet, jazz, world music, and originals with the Musical Art Quintet, and modern punk with the artsy Oakland band, La Dee Da. Lewis has appeared on over 100 recordings, with artists including Slash, Pete Yorn, Pinback, and Demi Lovato. He is also the organizer of the Classical Revolution Oakland chapter, which presents one performance a month at Awaken Cafe in Oakland. Lewis is currently in the process of recording an album of original music for solo cello, produced by the former cellist of the Kronos Quartet, Joan Jeanrenaud.