Rena Harms in Conversation with Christian Baldini

I recently sat down with soprano Rena Harms to discuss her upcoming performance of Poulenc's Gloria which she will perform as our soloist with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento, together with the Sacramento City College Choirs. The performance is this Saturday, December 7, 2024, at 7:30pm. Below is our exchange:

Christian Baldini: Rena, it will be a pleasure to make music with you for the first time. Tell me, what are some of the moments you love the most about Poulenc's Gloria, and why? What should people listen for in this piece?

 

Rena Harms: I love Poulenc. The first full role I ever sang was Mere Marie in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites in college. Poulenc has such a distinct sound and I love the moments in the Gloria that make me say “wow, that was so beautifully and quintessentially Poulenc.” I also love his use of dynamic contrast. 

CB: How were your beginnings with music? Who have been your most important mentors, and why?

 

RH: I grew up in a musical family and always knew I wanted to be a performer. I did my first play when I was 4 and acted, sang and danced all the way through high school. I went to Manhattan School of Music for my undergraduate degree and fell in love with opera. My most important mentor is Marilyn Horne. She has been my biggest advocate, hero and friend throughout my career. In my early career I was in the young artist program in LA and was hand picked by Placido Domingo. He definitely played a big role in my career as well. He conducted my first Mimi in La Boheme, which I jumped in for with no rehearsal on stage or in costume. It was a life changing experience!

CB: Which composers inspire you the most? And which works suit your voice the best? Somewhat connected to this: how has your voice changed over time, and has that influenced your repertoire choices?

 

RH: I love to sing Verdi and Strauss the most. The way they wrote for the voice is unsurpassed. Puccini sings to my soul and is my favorite to perform. He writes ever emotion into the score. It is an actress’ paradise! I think my voice is especially suited for Czech composers but those operas are unfortunately not programmed so much so I have not gotten to sing some of my most coveted roles (Rusalka and Jenufa!) All voices mature and change but one of my biggest challenges in my early career was having to say not to things my teacher and Marilyn Horne thought were too soon. I said no to 5 Toscas before I was 25! I worked very hard in my career to say yes to things that I could sing with integrity in my voice. 

CB: You are both active in the concert stage, as well as the operatic world. What are some of the main differences in your view, and what are your personal preferences?

 

RH: The main difference for me is that in a concert you get to concentrate much more on the music because that is the totality of what is being asked of you.There is nothing I love more than singing a role in an opera, to tell a story and take an audience on a journey but there are so many other things going on that I find sometimes the importance of enjoying the beauty of the orchestra and voices can be forgotten.  In a concert performance one gets to put all of the energy into the making music together. 

CB: Thank you for your time Rena, I look forward to bringing this beautiful music by Poulenc to life with you as our soloist!

 

RH: I can’t wait! 

Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for a “winningly liquid” voice as well as for her “dramatic vividness and vocal flourish,” Santa Fe native Rena Harms recently brought the role of Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly to productions at English National Opera, Arizona Opera, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Current and upcoming engagements, include her role and company debut with Pocket Opera as Mrs. Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, a return to Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera as Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro and debuts with the Auburn Symphony as the soprano soloist for Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at the famed Mondavi Center in Davis, Poulenc’s Gloria with the Camellia Symphony and a series of Holiday Concerts with Music in the Mountains.

In the 2022-2023 season Ms. Harms made her role and company debut at Opera San José as the Stepmother in Alma Deustcher’s Cinderella, returning later in the season for Tosca. She also made a company debut as Nedda in I Pagliacci at the SP&O.

Ms. Harms’ “breathtaking intensity” (NDR Kultur) was on display in her recent French debut as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra at Opéra National de Bordeaux, and in her return to Florentine Opera for a role debut as Beatrice in Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers. She also reprised her interpretation of Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Opera Santa Barbara, a role she has performed in Milwaukee, Basel, and San Francisco. Her performance as Nell Gwynn in the regional premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s Prince of Players at Florentine Opera was recorded live for international release and received two Grammy nominations.

Ms. Harms recently joined the Seattle Symphony as the soprano soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival and Opera America for their New Works Sampler, and Seattle Opera for Don Giovanni. She has appeared as Helmwige in Die Walküre and covered Freia at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Desdemona in Otello with the Oldenburgishes Staatstheater, and as the title role in Sigfried Matthus’ Judith with Staatstheater Braunschweig and Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg. Additional credits include the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus covering Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Florentine Opera as Micaëla in Carmen and Liù in Turandot, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte for Staatstheater Braunschweig. She sang the title role of Fibich’s Sárka, Marenka in The Bartered Bride, and Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, all in new productions with Staatstheater Braunschweig.

Ms. Harms made her English National Opera debut as Amelia in a new Dmitri Tcherniakov production of Simon Boccanegra and joined Theater Basel for Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, the High Priestess in Calixto Bieito's Aida, and a Flower Maiden in Parsifal. In the U.S. performances include Micaëla in Carmen with Opera Santa Barbara and Opera Southwest as well as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Ericlea in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Wolf Trap Opera. She sang Mimì in La bohème with Los Angeles Opera, where she was a member of the company’s prestigious Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program. With that same company, she sang Barena in Jenufa, Erste Magd in Der zerbrochene Krug and Zweite Magd in Der Zwerg in a double bill conducted by James Conlon and released on DVD, Sylvaine in The Merry Widow, as well as their Grammy Award-winning production of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Ms. Harms was a participant in San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program and was a proud member of the apprentice artist program at Santa Fe Opera.

On the concert stage, Ms. Harms made her Mexican debut with Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Orquesta Sinfonica Simón Bolívar in a program of opera arias, and sang Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder with the Burbank Philharmonic and Santa Fe Community Orchestra. She twice joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a series of concerts for children, and was the soprano soloist with Music Academy of the West for Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915.

Ms. Harms is a Grand Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, winner of the Hennings-Fischer Foundation Competition, second prize winner of the Marcello Viotti International Vocal Competition.

 

Alina Kobialka in Conversation with Christian Baldini

Alina Kobialka is a remarkable violinist that I have known for a long time, and she has been a regular collaborator for me on several violin concertos. We sat down to discuss her upcoming performance of Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, which she will perform as our soloist with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento on December 7, 2024. Below is our exchange:

Christian Baldini: Alina, what a pleasure it is to collaborate with you again! It has been a while since the first time we met, and since the first time we performed together. You were probably 12 or 13 years old the first time I heard you play. Tell me, what are some of your favorite moments and musical gestures in the Scottish Fantasy, and why? What should people listen for in this piece?

Alina Kobialka: I am thrilled to collaborate with you again with this beautiful piece! It's hard to pick some favorite moments because I love the musical journey of the entire piece. If I had to choose, the very opening of the piece would be one of them, where the orchestra sets up this dream-like atmosphere for the solo violin to enter with a beautiful, quasi-cadenza-like melody. There are also so many other lovely moments in the piece where I get to trade lines with various instruments in the orchestra or even duet together with them. That's something that people can listen for in this piece, along with all the beautiful melodies and harmonies that are created. The harp also plays a great role, so definitely pay attention to that! I love that I get to sing my heart out with this piece, and then it all culminates in the exciting and challenging final movement. I've wanted to play this piece for a long time, and I am delighted that I finally get to! 

CB: A lot has happened since you and I first met. Now you are a tenured member of the New York Philharmonic, still at a remarkably young age! Tell me, how have the last couple of years been? What can you share about being a member of the NY Phil and working every week with wonderful soloists and conductors? What are some of your favorite memories?

AK: I feel incredibly lucky to be a member of the NY Phil. I have amazing colleagues, and it's so joyful and inspiring for me to play with them week after week. I am always learning from them and continuously motivated to improve myself to be the best musician and colleague. There is a certain flexibility that is also required from this job, as we are constantly working with many different soloists and conductors, and it's always amazing to me how quickly the orchestra can adjust and adapt. My favorite memories include working with exceptional soloists (I still remember how Emanuel Ax's encore made me cry!) and fantastic conductors who bring a certain energy and fun to the week. I got the chance to play the chamber version of Appalachian Springs with Hilary Hahn, and it was so fun to work with her in a smaller group setting. I also played a mixed-genre concert with Jacob Collier, Chris Thile, and Madison Cunningham, and it was amazing to see the improvisation and communication between those musicians. I could go on and on. It's been a phenomenal two-ish years with the orchestra. 

CB: Being a California girl, and after living in Chicago (for College), and now living in New York, what are some of the main differences you notice? And also, what do you miss the most about California?

AK: The first and most obvious answer that comes to mind is the weather! Going from no seasons to extreme seasons shocked me, and sadly, I still can't confidently walk in the snow. What I love about these cities is that they all have different personalities, and the experience varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. I do miss how accessible nature is in California, especially the beaches and hiking. But I love living in NYC and am lucky to be close to Central Park! 

CB: You have developed wonderful long-term relationships with many musicians, including Donato Cabrera and Michael Tilson Thomas. You and I have also performed several concertos together. What do you notice in these experiences where you know your collaborators so well? Is it quite different from performing with someone for the first time?

AK: I've been so lucky to have many great musical experiences with you all. A certain familiarity comes from collaborating continuously over time, and it can be easier to communicate specific musical ideas you have. It can be different when performing with someone for the first time, as you are familiarizing yourself with the person's style. Still, I've been fortunate to work with many great, flexible musicians who make the experience easy. 

CB: You are also an avid chamber music performer. What are some of your favorite things about performing chamber music?

AK: There is so much fantastic chamber rep, and I always have so much fun performing it. Chamber music has made me a better musician, as I've learned how to listen, communicate, and lead through it. I've also learned so much about timing and phrasing. I love collaborating and performing with other musicians, and I feel so fortunate to be able to play so much chamber music! 

CB: What are some of the next projects that you really look forward to? Also: what are some dreams you have which you may not have realized yet?

AK: I am performing Britten's String Quartet No. 1 with my colleagues in January. I love his music and would love to perform more of his works. Gustavo Dudamel, our incoming music director, is also coming in the spring, so I am incredibly excited about that! I am also passionate about community concerts and giving back, and I am working on putting together some projects with various organizations in NYC. I am currently living the dream, but I always strive to learn, find inspiration, and feel fulfillment, whatever that may mean at specific points in my life. 

CB: Welcome back Alina, and thank you very much for your time. I look forward to featuring your wonderful musicality with our audiences in Sacramento!

AK: I'm so happy to be back and excited to make music with you and Camellia Symphony again! 

Praised for her “beautiful tone, effortless precision, and musical maturity beyond her years,” Chinese-American violinist Alina Kobialka joined the New York Philharmonic in 2022. Hailed as a “jaw-droppingly assured” soloist with a gift for making “present and future converge” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Kobialka’s artistry shines as a collaborator, chamber musician, and soloist. “Watch for her name. She appears to be bound for greatness” (Las Vegas Review-Journal).

Since joining the New York Philharmonic, Kobialka has performed with luminaries such as Hilary Hahn, Yo-Yo Ma, and Emanuel Ax. She frequently appears in the Philharmonic’s Merkin Hall Chamber Series and has toured extensively in Asia, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China. In May 2024, she performed with the World Union Orchestra in South Korea alongside members of the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

A three-time artist at the Marlboro Music Festival, Kobialka has collaborated with legendary musicians such as Dame Mitsuko Uchida, Jonathan Biss, and Kim Kashkashian. Her love for cross-genre collaboration has brought her to the stage with Jacob Collier, Chris Thile, and Esperanza Spalding in performances seamlessly blending classical, folk, and jazz elements.

Kobialka is a prizewinner of the 2017 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition and a laureate of the 2016 Irving M. Klein International Competition. She also received the Grand Prize at the Mondavi Center National Young Artists Competition.

A San Francisco native, Kobialka made her solo debut at age 14 with the San Francisco Symphony during its 100th Anniversary Concert at Davies Symphony Hall. She has since appeared with the orchestra three times, most recently under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas. Other solo engagements include performances with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and Asheville Symphony.

Kobialka began her violin studies at age five with Li Lin and later trained at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s preparatory division under Wei He. At 16, she moved to Los Angeles to study at the Colburn School’s Music Academy with Robert Lipsett and Danielle Belen. She earned her master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Ilya Kaler.

Catherine (Shin-Rou) Lin in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On September 28, I will have the pleasure of conducting Brahms' Violin Concerto with Catherine Lin as our soloist with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento. Also on the program are Daniel Godsil's "Cathedral Grove" and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1. Below is an interview with Catherine. (click here for ticket information)

Christian Baldini: Catherine, welcome, and let's start by talking about Brahms. What do you like the most about this concerto? Why is it special? What should people listen for in this piece?

Catherine Lin: Brahms is definitely one of my favorite violin concertos. It has a lot of beautiful melodies and lines between the solo violin and the orchestra. Why is this piece special? I think the most interesting thing and unusual thing is Brahms gives the orchestra a very strong role and, not just for the soloist. I highly recommend everyone to listen to the sixteen notes from the orchestra part in the first movement and the beautiful melody in the beginning of the second movement. All the themes can also be heard in the orchestra parts too.

CB: Let's talk about your beginnings with music. Growing up in Taiwan, how did you first encounter the violin? Did you play other instruments as well?

CL: First time I saw the violin was when I was three. My brother was practicing on his violin. I saw it and I told my mom I also want to play this instrument and she said, “Ok, only if you decide to make the violin as your career, otherwise you should just play the piano since I’m a piano teacher.” I was very excited and said yes! I will practice every day. Now, I feel very lucky that I made the right choice.

As for other instruments, as I mentioned, my mom is a piano teacher, so she taught me theory, piano and musicianship (like rhythm and solfège). So I know how to play piano and when I was in middle school, I also learned percussion for a year and that was fun!

CB: Who are some of your favorite composers? And favorite violin concertos?

CL: Paganini, Beethoven, and of course, Brahms. I like many violin concertos, such as Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Glazunov, but if I have to pick one it will still be the Brahms violin concerto.

CB: Have you played a lot of chamber music as well? Is the experience different from playing as a soloist with an orchestra?

CL: Yes, I’ve played a lot! Playing chamber music is very fun, but it’s different from playing with an orchestra. The size of a chamber group is much smaller. Whereas orchestras have strings, winds and percussions. So they have much larger scale. For chamber music, I think discussion is more important than playing; you need to spend time discussing how to create good music and find compatible partners with similar music ideas.

CB: What's a day like for you? How much do you practice? Do you have hobbies? Do you exercise?

CL: I have a pretty busy life doing my schoolwork at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I usually practice at least 3 to 4 hours on weekdays and practice more on the weekends. I like drawing and working out when I’m free.

CB: What is your advice for your musicians who are starting out? How does one deal with frustrations? How does one stay positive?

CL: listen carefully and practice slowly are my suggestions. Usually when I feel frustrated, I would find something I like to do like talking to friends or do something I enjoy to do like painting or playing with my cats.

CB: Thank you for your time Catherine, I look forward to making music with you!

CL: Thank you, Maestro for inviting me to play with you and this amazing orchestra!

Catherine Lin rehearsing Brahms with Maestro Baldini and the Camellia Symphony Orchestra

Catherine Shin-Rou Lin, 21, was born and raised in Taiwan. She started playing violin when she was four and now she is currently an undergraduate student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Professor Chen Zhao.
Catherine has participated in several music festivals, including the Beverly Hills Music Festival, where she played for many professors such as Oleh Krysa, Margaret Batjer, and Tamara Chernyak. She also attended the Round Top Music Festival and the Bowdoin Music Festival these past few years. Additionally, Catherine has taken private lessons with renowned violinists such as Ilya Kaler, Nai-Yuan Hu, Keng-Yuen Tseng, Nancy Zhou, and Danny Tzu-Ti Chang.
In addition to her festival experiences, Catherine had a great time with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra in 2022, receiving excellent guidance from SF Symphony’s members and conductors.

Daniel Godsil in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On September 28, I will have the pleasure of conducting Daniel Godsil's "Cathedral Grove" with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento. Also on the program are Brahms' Violin Concerto with Catherine Lin as our soloist and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1. Below is an interview with composer Daniel Godsil. (click here for info about this program)

Christian Baldini: Daniel, welcome, and let's start by talking about your music. What was the genesis for Cathedral Grove? Is it different from your other music? What should people listen for in this piece?

Daniel Godsil: One of the things that really inspired this piece was a comment by composer Sam Nichols, my former teacher at UC Davis: he said that orchestral music—with its relatively bigger scale, ​large performing forces, and sheer number of people working behind the scenes—is really a public art. That really resonated with me, and got me thinking about other public spaces like our country's national and state parks. I often visited California's beautiful parks while I was studying at UC Davis, and decided to do an orchestral "sound-painting" of one of my favorites, Muir Woods (of which Cathedral Grove is a part). Around the time I was writing this piece, I was writing a lot of electronic music that used what I called "sound-shapes"...honestly kind of silly, but trying to render in sound very simple shapes like triangles, X-shapes or chiasms, circles, etc., as jumping-off points to start a composition. People can perhaps listen in this piece for big triangles and X-shapes—roughly the giant shapes created​ by trees in the Muir Woods—rendered in sound. This piece was also a little different from my other work at the time in that I consciously tried to use more consonant combinations of notes. I often write using a spectrum of dissonant and consonant sound combinations, but for this work I experimented with trending more towards the consonant side of things. 

CB: Let's talk about your beginnings with music. How did it all start for you? Was there a particular "eureka" moment when you decided to become a professional musician?

DG: I started playing guitar at age 11. Throughout junior and high school I played mostly rock music, and (after learning just three or four chords) started forming bands with friends. I was writing tons of new songs and riffs all the time, which really the culture of rock music...everyone was writing their own stuff! I didn't think about it much at the time, but that environment was really teaching me the art of composition. My eureka moment was around the age of 17 when I really fell in love with film music. I realized that the orchestral timbres I was drawn to were difficult to achieve with the more limited pallet of tone-colors in rock, and found a piano teacher, learned how to read music, and more importantly, how to write it down and communicate with lots of other more classically-trained players. 

CB: Who are some of your favorite composers? Why? What do you look for in "new music"?

DG: This is a tricky question! It's often said that the music you learned to love in your adolescence is the music you love for your whole life, and that's definitely true for me. So that's a lot of heavy metal like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Sepultura...and also film scoring in the classic Golden Age style like Erich Korngold, Max Steiner, John Williams, and James Horner. Because of my metal background I love "classical" music with lots of raw energy...Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Beethoven, and more recent composers like Georg Haas, Thomas Ades. And because of my love of film music I love composers who built a lot of drama into their forms...I love Sibelius! I also found myself very drawn to the American Symphonists of the 1930s and 40s who helped form the language that film composers use. Composers like David Diamond, Walter Piston, Roy Harris, and of course Copland. What I look for in new music, I think, really tends toward those two silly adolescent drives...energy and drama! 

CB: What's a day like for you? When is the best time to compose? Do you have hobbies? Do you exercise? How do you balance your life as a Professor with your time to compose and perform?

DG: I'm in my fourth year teaching music at Columbia College, in the foothills of the Sierra close to Yosemite. This job keeps me very busy—it's a small school and I'm a department of one! I teach music theory, ear training, music history, private lessons, and I conduct the college orchestra. So I haven't found a lot of time to write much in the last few years while I figured out the job! I'm happy to report that I've (more or less) figured it out and am finding more time now to compose...mostly, for me, in the very early morning before my kids wake up. I'm a diehard hockey fan, and have recently gotten very much into astronomy/telescopes. I am an avid cyclist and exercise often...it's essential for me! It's the best medicine one can get. My job mostly (right now) calls on my performing abilities...I play a lot of piano and guitar (and have been studying jazz very in-depth recently) and have been conducting a lot. I find it very musically satisfying. ​

CB: What is your advice for your musicians who are starting out? How does one deal with frustrations? How does one stay positive?

DG: I always recommend that musicians should develop a very diverse and marketable skill-set...learn to compose! Play several instruments. Get good at video editing. Know how to record with a DAW and know what microphones work for what things. Maybe this doesn't work for everyone, but it does for me: if you get frustrated learning a Beethoven sonata or get composer's block, go learn a jazz standard for fun or go for a walk. 99% of the time that will help you forget your frustration and come back to whatever it was with a positive attitude. 

CB: Lastly, what is the meaning of music to you? I know this is a very big and general question. Feel free to answer it in any way that represents you!

DG: This changes for me a lot, but right now I'm just so grateful to be in a big community of great music makers, be it my students, the talented amateur players in my orchestra, or just friends who play bluegrass for fun. Especially now in this election cycle, there's a big push to look at life through a political lens...how much more fun and positive it is to apply a musical lens instead, and let that focus and inform everything else! 

CB: Thank you for your time Daniel, I look forward to making music with you!

DG: Thanks Christian! Can't wait to work with the wonderful Camellia Symphony! 

Daniel Godsil (Courtesy Photo)

Daniel Godsil's music, which has been described by the San Francisco Classical Voice as having an “intense dramatic narrative,” draws from such eclectic influences as science fiction, thrash metal, and Brutalist architecture. His more recent work draws inspiration from the natural beauty of Northern California, his current home.

Winner of the 2019 League of Composers/ISCM Steven R. Gerber prize (for Cosmographia) and the 2017 Earplay Donald Aird Composition Competition (for his quartet Aeropittura), Godsil's music has been played by Spektral Quartet, Ensemble Dal Niente, Talujon Percussion, Daedalus Quartet, Lydian String Quartet, Empyrean Ensemble, Metropolitan Orchestra of Saint Louis, UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, University Symphony Orchestra at California State University Fullerton, Knox-Galesburg Symphony, Secret String Quartet, and the Nova Singers, among many others. Recent film scores include the PBS documentary Boxcar People, Man Ray’s 1926 silent film Emak-Bakia and the feature film H.G. Wells’ The First Men In The Moon. Godsil was a finalist in the 2018 Lake George Music Festival chamber composition competition, as well as the 2014 and 2019 Red Note New Music Festival Composition Competitions. His choral works are published by Alliance Music Publishing and NoteNova Publishing, and his chamber and orchestral music is published by BabelScores in Paris.

Born and raised in central Illinois, Godsil (b.1982) holds his PhD. in Composition and Theory from the University of California, Davis, where he studied with Pablo Ortiz, Mika Pelo, Laurie San Martin, and Sam Nichols. He holds an MFA in Music Composition from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, where he studied with John Fitz Rogers, John Mallia, and Jonathan Bailey Holland. He also holds a BM in Music Composition from Webster University.

Godsil was selected to participate in the 2017 Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP) in Boston, where he had master classes with composers Nicholas Vines and Georg Friedrich Haas.

Godsil has also been active as an educator, conductor, and performer in the central Illinois area, Knox College, Monmouth College, and Carl Sandburg College. At Knox College, he directed the New Music Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Ensemble, and Men’s Chorus. He has also held posts as choral accompanist and collaborative pianist, and served as Music Director and Organist at Grace Episcopal Church in Galesburg, IL.  

Godsil is a professor of music at Columbia College in Sonora, California. He has also served as artistic committee president for Ninth Planet New Music, a trailblazing new music ensemble based in California's SF Bay Area. 

Salomé Ospina in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On March 17, I will have the pleasure of conducting the Grieg Piano Concerto with Salomé Ospina with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento, as part of our "Rising Stars" concert series. On the same program we will also feature the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Suni Norman. Below is an interview with Salomé:

Christian Baldini: Salomé, welcome, it has been very fun to have you in rehearsals with us and to make music with you. Tell us, what are some of your favorite things about the Grieg Piano Concerto? What would you say to someone who's never listened to it? What should they listen for? What will they encounter in this music?

Salomé Ospina: Thank you so much for having me! It has been an honor to play with the Camellia Symphony orchestra and you for the past couple of weeks. I honestly love every single moment in the Grieg concerto. One of my favorite moments in the entire piece is during the slow part of the third movement. I have a solo with the first cello accompanying me as well during this section. I was actually unaware that it was only the first cello until the first rehearsal with the orchestra. This is so meaningful to me because my mother, Maria Hoyos, plays first cello in this orchestra. This duet is so beautiful and I believe it encapsulates all the love and support she has given me over the years. I also really enjoy the last two sections of the third movement because this is the "grandioso" section of the piece. I get to accompany the brass players for a great solo and it is the moment where the tension from the entire piece is finally released. I would describe this piece as adventurous and beautiful. I would listen to the recurring themes especially in the first and third movement. They are everywhere! They get subtly changed throughout the piece but are truly resonant. They will encounter a beautiful journey through this music. I hope that they really enjoy this piece!

CB: You started playing the piano as a young child. Who have been your most important mentors, and why?

SO: Some of my most important mentors have been: Kirsten Smith, Helen Mendenhall, Tatiana Scott, Betsy Collins, and Joe Gilman. They have all guided me for many years with private instruction and are one of the main reasons that I am where I am today musically. They have really helped me develop my technique and love for music as well. I am so grateful to have had these wonderful people in my life.

CB: What are other works and other composers you love playing,  and why?

SO: I really enjoy playing Brahms and Chopin because their harmonic structure is just so beautiful. Also the storytelling that goes on within their pieces is incredible. I recently played the Brahms Piano trio no. 1, and it was incredible because of the complex harmonies and especially because of the interaction between the strings and the piano as well. I also really enjoy listening to Sibelius’s Symphony no 5. 

CB: Do you play other instruments? Do you branch out into other music styles besides classical?

SO: I do not play any other instruments. My mother tried to teach me cello at the age of three, but I decided that piano was what I preferred. I am deeply passionate about playing jazz as well as classical. I love to play in both combos and big bands and I am starting to begin composing as well! I also enjoy playing a variety of styles from latin america with my parents such as boleros, cha-cha-cha, salsa, and many more! I love to listen to music by Hector Lavoe, Duke Ellington, Oscar Petterson, Oscar De Leon and many more!

CB: What is a typical day like for you? How much do you practice in addition to all your other activities? You are still in high school, right?

SO: I am actually still a junior in high school! I typically spend my time in jazz band and concert band at school as well as in some other challenging classes. I typically go home after lunch time at school and usually have a rehearsal with a jazz combo or a private lesson. I try to practice for 2 to 3 hours in a day, but it really depends on how much schoolwork I have. I love to spend time on the weekends with my friends as well. 

CB: What are your plans for the future? Where would you like to see yourself in ten years?

SO: I hope to become a music teacher or a French or Spanish teacher. I really am not sure about where I see myself in ten years. I can envision myself branching out into many things. However, I see myself the most as a teacher of some sorts, and hope to be a performer on the side. 

CB: Both of your parents are musicians, right? Your mother is of course Maria Hoyos, our wonderful principal cellist with the Camellia Symphony. I am sure it will be extremely special to both of you to be playing this concert together. How has it shaped you to come from a musical family?

SO: Being around music constantly is such a privilege for me. I am so grateful to have such wonderful, loving parents. My mom plays cello with the Camellia Symphony and my dad plays saxophone and flute. Being around parents that are practicing exposed me to so much music from a young age and inspired me to become who I am now. This concert means so much to both of us and I can’t believe that I am going to be able to play as a soloist in a concert with my mom as the first cellist. This has been my mom’s dream for many years now, and I am very excited to be playing!

CB: Are you fully bilingual? How have languages shaped or influenced you as a person and as a musician?

SO: Yes, I actually only speak Spanish at home with my parents! Being around two different cultures at once has influenced my view on the world and especially on my values. I try to get the best from both cultures and try to often combine values in order to try to achieve a more balanced lifestyle. I have been introduced to so much music because of them and because of that, I have a love for many different genres. 

CB: Thank you Salomé, I look forward to making music with you and sharing your talents with our audience in Sacramento very soon!

SO: Thank you for this opportunity and for having me!

Salome Ospina is a junior at Rio Americano High School. She currently studies with Kirsten Smith for classical piano and Joe Gilman for jazz piano. She has also previously studied with Helen Mendenhall, Tatiana Scott, Betsy Collins, and Craig Faniani.

Salome debuted as a soloist with the Saint Saens Piano concerto no 2 in November 2022 with the “Sinfónica Joven de Colombia” in Medellin. She has been a part of the Placer County Youth Orchestra, and has performed with the Sacramento Youth Symphony as well. The Summer of 2022, she toured Austria and the Czech Republic with the Rio Americano Jazz and Concert Band. Salome enjoys accompanying other students for performances. 

In February, she went to New York to participate in the Charles Mingus High School Jazz Competition with a small jazz combo from Rio Americano. Salome is a part of The New Traditionalists, a jazz combo that has gone to perform in Orlando and New Orleans. In 2023, Salome was selected as one of 6 people nationwide for the Monterey Next Generation Women in Jazz Combo. This group had the opportunity to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September 2023 and Berklee College Music January 2024. Salome was chosen as one of the winners for the 2024 National YoungArts Award for jazz piano. 

Suni Norman in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On March 17, I will have the pleasure of conducting Sibelius' Violin Concerto with Suni Norman with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento, as part of our "Rising Stars" concert series. On the same program we will also feature Salomé Ospina playing the Grieg Piano Concerto. Below is an interview with Suni:

Christian Baldini: Welcome, Suni. I am delighted to feature you as our soloist with our orchestra. Tell me, what are some of the features of the Sibelius Concerto that you enjoy the most? What would you say to someone who does not know this piece, what should they listen for?

Suni Norman: Sibelius Violin Concerto is one of my favorite concerti — this concerto has the perfect amount of soaring melodies and virtuosic passages. Sibelius wanted to be a professional violinist, but due to starting at a late age he was never good enough to fulfill his dream of joining the Vienna Philharmonic. This piece encompasses Sibelius’s failed dream to become a professional violinist. He includes virtuosic techniques from Paganini and Wieniawski, and some Bach-like material can even be heard throughout.

CB: Besides the Sibelius Concerto, what are some of your other favorite pieces, and why?

SN: My favorite pieces are always changing, but right now I love listening to Mozart! I love listening to Mitsuko Uchida’s Mozart Piano Concertos. Mozart’s music is very bright and happy — at the end of the day it gives my brain a break from all the music I’m playing.

CB: You were born in Utah, and you have studied with wonderful teachers, and have been a laureate of important competitions including the Stradivarius one. How did it all start for you with music? Who have been your most important mentors?

SN: I had a computer game when I was 3 years old called JumpStart Toddlers. In the game there was an interactive orchestra and if you clicked on the instruments they would play a song. The violin played the beginning of “Spring” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and I thought it was the coolest thing (probably because it was one of the only tunes I recognized). I ended up starting years later, and decided it was what I ultimately wanted to have a career in. My most important mentors have been my violin teachers Soovin Kim and Chen Zhao.

CB: You are a supernumerary with both the San Francisco Symphony and the Utah Symphony. What can you tell us about playing with these two wonderful orchestras? Do you have some specific favorite projects with them and different conductors that you could share with us?

SN: One of my favorite performances was Mahler 6 with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. It was inspiring to play with a conductor and ensemble who know the Mahler symphonies like the back of their hand.

CB: What is your advice for young musicians? How do you best deal with challenges, frustration and adversity?

SN: My advice for young musicians is to take it slow and relax. Enjoy the process and know progress isn’t always a steady slope up. Sometimes we need bad days to appreciate when we sound good!

CB: Thank you for your time Suni, and I look forward to making music with you in Sacramento!

SN: Thanks Maestro, looking forward to a fun Sibelius Concerto!

Suni Norman is an accomplished violinist from Tooele, Utah. She is a laureate of multiple violin competitions including the Stradivarius Competition. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from New England Conservatory and an Artist Diploma from San Francisco Conservatory. Norman has participated in festivals such as New York String Orchestra, Music Academy of the West, Colorado College Festival, Heifetz and Kneisel Hall. 

Norman has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician across the United States. Notably, she has recently collaborated with eminent musicians including Ben Beilman, Robert Mcdonald, Marcy Rosen, Shai Wosner, as well as quartets such as Borromeo, Miro, Takács and Fry Street. 

Suni Norman is currently a supernumerary for San Francisco and Utah Symphony orchestras. She is also featured on an episode of PBS’s Now Hear This (Copland: Dean of American Music). 

Dagenais Smiley and Susan Lamb Cook in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On February 17, 2024, I will have the pleasure of collaborating with violinist Dagenais Smiley and cellist Susan Lamb Cook bringing to life together the beautiful Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra by Brahms. This will be in Sacramento with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra. After intermission, we will perform  Bruckner’s 5th Symphony. Here is a conversation we had with Susan and Dagenais, in preparation for our performance.

Christian Baldini: Welcome, Susan and Dagenais, it will be a real treat to do this double concerto with you. Please tell me, what are some of your favorite features about this piece? Why is this such an important piece in the repertoire, and what do you love about it?

Susan Lamb Cook:  I have always been a fan of the music of Brahms and have studied and performed much of his chamber music repertoire, from the wonderful cello sonatas, to his string quartets, quintets, sextets, piano trios, quartets – the list goes on.  So, having the opportunity to perform the Double Concerto is truly a highlight for me, especially with my dear friend and colleague Dagenais Smiley as well as with you, Christian, and the Camellia Symphony Orchestra.  So often, concertos begin with a long orchestral introduction but in this case, Brahms launches immediately into a cello cadenza, similar to the opening of the Elgar Concerto which I had the pleasure of performing with you and the CSO last season.  In Brahms’ opening cadenza, he soon has the violin join in, creating a conversation between the two instruments which gives a preview of what is yet to come.  The Brahms Double is an expansive work containing technical and musical challenges not only for the soloists but for the orchestra as well.  This was Brahms’ final symphonic composition, and one can hear the luscious textures which Brahms is so famous for throughout this monumental work.

Dagenais Smiley: As a violinist, I always love playing the works of Brahms, from the symphonies to the string quartets, and his violin concerto is one of my favorites. He always writes incredible melodies, and intense textures, which is thrilling to perform.  I haven’t had the pleasure of working on the Double Concerto before now and it’s been an incredibly rewarding undertaking.  It’s a unique experience to share a concerto with another instrument, especially the rich voice of the cello, and as Susan already mentioned, it’s like having a conversation with a colleague.  It is technically demanding while still presenting beautiful, soaring melodies.  It’s interesting to note  that it wasn’t immediately a hit upon its presentation, but it has now become a favorite amongst both cellists and violinists.  I am extremely excited to be performing this work with Susan and with you, Christian, and the Camellia Symphony!

Christian: As you know, composers (and especially followers in their circles) had rivalries, and this was also the case between Brahms and Bruckner. Constantin Floros states that “In the last third of the 19th century Brahms and Bruckner were regarded as antipodes.” For different reasons, this was also the case at times with performers. Brahms and the famous violinist Joachim (for whom the Double Concerto was written, together with cellist Hausman) had had a fallout. Brahms offered this concerto as an olive branch to Joachim. In fact Clara Schumann wrote in her diary that after Joachim, Hausmann, and Brahms had tried out the piece for friends, “The Concerto is a work of reconciliation. Joachim and Brahms have spoken to one another again.” - My long related questions to both of you are: What does music mean to you? Is it possible to alter/affect the human spirit through music? Which kind of atmosphere does it communicate, or which kind of spirit inhabits this particular concerto?

Susan:  The world of music, and specifically the cello, has been a part of my life ever since I can remember, so I feel as though the cello is simply an extension of who I am.  My cello and I spend so much time together – in the practice room, in the teaching studio, on the concert stage – that I really can’t imagine my life not being filled with music and the art of music making.  As to whether or not music can possibly affect the human spirit, my answer would be absolutely, yes.  It is interesting how we each seem to be drawn to different styles or genres of music, composers, artists etc., and sometimes we can all listen to the same piece of music but each has a completely different reaction to it.  Our reactions can include joy, excitement, sadness, despair, but the fact is that we react or respond to the way in which the music touches us emotionally.  I do hope that, through our performance of the Brahms Double, we will be able to stimulate reactions from the audience members, perhaps a feeling of excitement from the powerful opening statements of both the first and last movements, as well as a sense of affection and joy from the gloriously optimistic melody of the second movement.  This monumental work leaves me breathless, so I hope it will do the same for our audience members.

Dagenais:  My relationship with my violin and with music is much like a relationship/friendship with a fellow person.  Sometimes it’s filled with joy and humor, sometimes sadness and even a bit of frustration, but it’s always there and as Susan has already stated, I can’t imagine a life without playing music. I had the opportunity to play Mahler 4 recently and during some of the rests, I looked out into the audience and saw how rapt the audience was, and some attendees were even in tears, so yes, I do believe that music has the ability to affect our spirit.  I have favorite pieces I gravitate towards when I’m in a certain mood, as I’m sure we all do, and part of why I love performing (any type of music), is the connection with the audience.  It’s very rewarding to bring the joy, beauty, emotion, sadness, etc. of music to new people.  I’ve talked to some who have never attended a concert before and they were so excited and moved by what the music made them feel.  I look forward to sharing this great piece with the audience and I also look forward to hearing the Bruckner!

Christian: You are both wonderful educators, and colleagues of mine at the University of California, Davis. What are some of your favorite things about working with young people and helping them grow as musicians and human beings?

Susan:  Teaching brings me great joy - I really love working with my UC Davis students as well as my adult and my pre-college students.  Many of my students at UC Davis have chosen fields of study other than music, like animal sciences, engineering, environmental science, etc., but they truly love and value their connection to music through their cello. I am pleased and honored to assist them in becoming better players so that they will have the life-long ability to continue expressing their passion for music through their cello playing.  I continue working with pre-college students through my Rising Stars of Chamber Music Program which takes place each year over the winter holiday.  The students in this program are advanced players who are passionate about chamber music and are totally committed to their music making,  As these students study some of the great works in the chamber music repertoire, I can see them develop as musicians through their understanding of musical lines and phrases, and more importantly, I can see them develop and use tools of cooperation and collaboration while working with their group members, which ultimately allows for wonderful friendships to be formed.  This is one of the greatest benefits of being a musician. 

Dagenais: As Susan mentioned, many of the students we have are majoring in other challenging disciplines yet they want to maintain that connection to music and their instruments.I help them with time management and give them suggestions on how to practice efficiently with limited time and I love seeing the excitement in my students’ eyes when they realize how much progress they’ve made over the quarter.  I am very proud of my students when they are able to master a new technique or play a piece they never thought they would be able to before through their hard work and diligence.  It’s rewarding seeing how important music is to them despite how busy they are in their other fields and I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with them on their musical journey.

Christian: Lastly, what would be your advice for young musicians? We have all felt challenges in life. Most people have thought about quitting, multiple times in many cases. What advice would you give to someone who is struggling with their musical development?

Susan:  There is no doubt that succeeding in music takes a great deal of time, effort, and commitment, and I can certainly remember that, when I was younger, there were periods of time in which I simply wanted to give up.  I was fortunate, though, to have had wonderful teachers along the way, not to mention my parents who were always encouraging me to continue practicing and not be discouraged if things did not always go as I had hoped (in performances, competitions, etc.).  As musicians, we are always putting ourselves on the line, baring our souls to the listener and opening up an often intimate and very personal part of ourselves. Not an easy thing to do.  I always tell my students, though, that every performance is a dress rehearsal for the next performance, with the thought that we are always practicing, doing our best to improve and, of course, always striving for the perfection that we may never achieve.  Some great advice that I received early on was to surround myself with those who were better than me so that I could always continue learning.  This advice has served me well, not only in the area of music. 

Dagenais:  My approach to teaching is to be encouraging, but also realistic and understanding.  One of my students was struggling with the motivation to practice,  so we had a chat about it and I acknowledged that student’s feelings (we’ve all been through that struggle in our life) and gave them some advice on how to move forward. I think it’s important to recognize when something is a struggle and to accept and acknowledge those feelings rather than try to erase them. I try to teach my students to have patience with themselves (something that I struggled with in school). It’s ok to take a day off practice when you’re in a negative head space and return the next day feeling refreshed and excited to begin again. It’s easy to get stuck in the cycle of trying to achieve perfection and the rat race of gigging so much that we can sometimes get frustrated and lose the joy of performing. It’s important to take the time to remember what music means to us. Sometimes it can be a wonderful change to attend a concert rather than performing in one to remember how powerful it can be to experience live music.

Christian: Thank you both very much for your time, and especially for your wonderful musicianship that I will be delighted to share with our audience in Sacramento!

Dagenais Smiley, a Northern California native, earned  her bachelor’s degree from the Oberlin Conservatory  under the direction of Milan Vitek and her master’s of music from the USC’s  Thornton School of Music, studying with Ms. Kathleen Winkler. An active orchestral and chamber musician, Dagenais performs with the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, and is currently acting Associate Concertmaster with the Modesto Symphony, often stepping in as Concertmaster. She recently became Assistant Concertmaster of the Reno Philharmonic and also performs with the Stockton Symphony, the Monterey Symphony, the Fresno Philharmonic, and other various Northern California  orchestras. Ms. Smiley currently teaches violin at UC Davis and maintains a private violin studio. She enjoys skiing, hiking and playing Pokemon Go in her spare time.

Susan Lamb Cook is Lecturer in Cello and Chamber Music at the University of California, Davis, and holds degrees from the University of Iowa and the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria.  She is a member of the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera and the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra and is director of the VITA Academy’s Great Composers Chamber Music Series at the Harris Center in Folsom. Her solo performances include those with the Sacramento Philharmonic, the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, the Reno Philharmonic, the Cairo Symphony (Egypt), the Paradise Symphony, and the Camellia Symphony.  In Addition, she was featured as soloist in a Gala Concert in the Esterhazy Palace, Eisenstadt (Austria) with the Classical Music Festival Orchestra. As an active performer and educator both nationally and internationally, Susan has completed five concert and teaching tours of China, has performed and given master classes at San Francisco State University, Scripps College, Harvey Mudd College, Marshall University in West Virginia, Austin College in Texas, and Utah Tech University, and her performances have been featured on National Public Radio and Austrian National Television. She has served on faculty at the Saarburg International Music Festival in Germany, the Vianden Festival, Luxembourg, and on the artistic staff for the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria.  As member of the Kismarton Trio, she has performed at the Hungarian National Museum and the Petöfi Museum of Literature in Budapest (Hungary).  Susan performs regularly for the UCD Shinkoskey Noon Concert Series, the Westminster Music At Noon Series, and the Crocker Art Museum’s Classical Concert Series, and her past performances can be found on YouTube at Susan Lamb Cook, Concerts and Conversations, and the UC Davis Music channel.