UNCSA CelloFORWARD Festival with Andrea Casarrubios
UNCSA CelloFORWARD Festival
UNCSA Cello Professor Brooks Whitehouse and the UNCSA Cello Studio invite you to UNCSA CelloFORWARD with Andrea Casarrubios on Saturday, October 26, 2024.
This year’s festival will be a celebration of the artistry and music of Spanish-born cellist and composer Andrea Casarrubios, who has played as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Her works have been programmed by such organizations as the Indianapolis and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, the National Philharmonic, Sphinx Virtuosi, and the European Parliament, and her acclaimed 2020 composition "SEVEN," "an elegiac tribute to the essential workers during the pandemic" (The New York Times) is already a beloved standard of the solo cello repertoire.
Casarrubios will begin the day leading an all-inclusive cello choir including a reading of two of her own works, Anthem and Overture and Chorale. Both Casarrubios and CelloFORWARD director Brooks Whitehouse will offer master classes that students can apply to perform in. The day will feature a recital by Casarrubios including SEVEN and three of her works for cello and piano with pianist Allison Gagnon. She will also be joined by Christopher Gilliam and the Winston-Salem Choral Artists for a performance of her haunting Caminante for Cello and Choir.
In addition there will be a festival showcase of works by Casarrubios and other cellist-composers performed by festival participants. Throughout the day, luthier and award-winning cello maker Gary Davis will be on site showcasing his own instruments.
CelloFORWARD invites cellists of all levels and ages to come play, listen and celebrate Andrea Casarrubios' artistry and her wonderful contributions to the cello repertoire.
Registration
The registration fee for this event is $30.
Included with the registration fee:
- Participation in UNCSA CelloFORWARD with Andrea Casarrubios
- T-shirt
- Lunch
- Complimentary ticket to the festival showcase concert at 11 a.m.
- Complimentary ticket to the recital with Andrea Casarrubios and Allison Gagnon at 3 p.m.
If you have any questions about participation or registration, please email Brooks Whitehouse at whitehouseb@uncsa.edu
UNCSA CelloFORWARD Schedule
|
8:30-9 a.m. |
Check In |
|
9–10:30 a.m. |
Cello choir with Andrea Casarrubios |
|
10:30-11 a.m. |
Break and visit booth of luthier and cello maker Gary Davis |
|
11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. |
Festival Showcase concert of works by Casarrubios and other cellist-composers performed
by festival participants |
|
12:15–1:15 p.m. |
Lunch |
|
1:15–2:30 p.m. |
Master class with Brooks Whitehouse |
|
2:30–3 p.m. |
Break and demonstration of Stand Partner teaching app with cellist and app developer Ryan Graebert |
|
3–4:30 p.m. |
Recital with Andrea Casarrubios, Allison Gagnon and the Winston-Salem Choral Artists |
|
4:30–6:30 p.m. |
Master class with Andrea Casarrubios |
Guest Artists
Andrea Casarrubios
Praised by The New York Times for having "traversed the palette of emotions" with "gorgeous tone and an edge-of-seat intensity" and described by Diario de Menorca as an "ideal performer" that offers "elegance, displayed virtuosity, and great expressive power," Spanish-born cellist and composer Andrea Casarrubios has played as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. First Prize winner of numerous international competitions and awards, Casarrubios has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Piatigorsky, Ravinia, and Verbier Festivals. Her latest engagements include commissions and concerts in Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Romania, Belgium, Germany, Canada and the United States.
Casarrubios' compositions have been programmed by organizations such as the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, National Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, Sphinx Organization, Washington Performing Arts, the European Parliament, NPR, and the Argentinian, Brazilian and Spanish National Radios. Her album "Caminante: Music of Andrea Casarrubios" presents some of her own original music and it was chosen as one of the "Best 2019 Classical Music Albums" by Australia's ABC Classic, celebrating her artistry as "superhuman." Her acclaimed piece "SEVEN" is "an intense and elegiac tribute to the essential workers during the pandemic" (The New York Times) was commissioned by Thomas Mesa, receiving its Carnegie Hall premiere in 2021. "SEVEN" has been performed around the world since. Other recent original works include the orchestra version of "Afilador" (2022-23) commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for MusicNOW, and "Herencia for String Orchestra" (2023), a "stirring creation" (The Strad) commissioned for Sphinx Virtuosi's 2023-24 tour and premiered at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium in 2023.
As a guest soloist at Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Casarrubios premiered her own Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, "MIRAGE," a work that she will continue to perform next season. Other upcoming appearances as a cellist include performances of Franz Schubert's "Arpeggione Sonata" arranged for cello and orchestra by Casarrubios herself, Osvaldo Golijov's "Azul" with conductor Sameer Patel, as well as duo recital programs featuring her own music alongside works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Nadia Boulanger, Manuel de Falla and Xavier Foley. A dedicated mentor, Casarrubios has taught masterclasses at The Juilliard School, University of Southern California, Eastman School of Music, City University of New York, Missouri State University, as well as at numerous festivals and institutions on tour. Her cello teachers have included Maria de Macedo, Lluis Claret, Amit Peled, Marcy Rosen, and Ralph Kirshbaum. She is an alumna of Ensemble Connect, and as part of her Doctoral degree in New York, Casarrubios also studied composition with John Corigliano.