February 9th 2025 | 4 p,m.
Peace United Church
900 High St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Schubertiade

Featuring
Mezzo Soprano Solmaaz Adeli
Pianists Alon Goldstein and John Orlando

PROGRAM:

Schubert: Andantino Varie for piano four hands
Songs TBA
Piano Sonata in B Flat Major

ADMISSION:
$40 General online
At the door Suggested Donation $40 or pay what you can

She also performed as the title role in François Pierre Descamp’s opera Zumurrud and as Subaida in Harun und Djafar by Clemencic for the Sireneoperntheatre’s Vienna Chamber Music Festival. Ms. Adeli has had the opportunity to perform at prestigious concert venues in Austria, including the Vienna State Opera’s Marmorsaal, the Brahms-Saal at the Wiener Musikverein, the Palais Belvedere, Rathaus Vienna, and the Mausoleum in Graz with the Capella Leopoldina.

Throughout her career, Solmaaz Adeli has collaborated with prominent figures in the classical music industry such as Philip Stölzl, Davide Livermore, Kristine Tornquist, Timothy Near, René Clemencic, Adrian Sylveen, Christian Grube, Barbara Day Turner, F.P. Descamps, and studied with notable mentors including Linda Watson, Sheri Greenawald, Margreet Honig, Hilde Zadek, Susanne Mentzer, Ardalan Jabbari, and Sir Thomas Allen.

An advocate for contemporary music, Ms. Adeli will debut Kurt Schwertsik’s opera Alice – eine phantastische Revue at Wien Modern in 2023 with Sirene Operntheater. She has also performed in premieres of works by composers such as Scott Ordway, Kim André Arnesen, Chris Praetorius, and Barry Phillips.

Ms. Adeli’s notable performances in the United States include Gluck’s Orfeo with the Connecticut Lyric Opera, Winter Nights with the Asheville Lyric Opera, and Ravel’s Concepción in L’Heure Espagnole with the Island City Opera. She has also toured with her recital programs Made in Vienna, Latin Lovers, and AMERICANA+, which have been well received at venues such as Stanford’s Bing Music Series, Princeton’s Salon 33 Series, and the City Hall of Vienna. Additionally, she has appeared in televised performances including the Special Olympics 2015 from UCLA, the American National Anthem for the US Embassy of Vienna’s Commemoration Ceremony of 9/11, and a live performance of White Christmas with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for Austria’s Licht ins Dunkel on ORF.

Beyond her musical career, Solmaaz Adeli holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Earth Sciences from UC Santa Cruz. She initially pursued a career in the sciences before moving to Austria to pursue her passion for singing. She received a scholarship to study at the Opernschule at KUG in Graz and participated in Il corso di recitazione per cantanti lirici, led by Davide Livermore, an esteemed opera director from Turin.

Solmaaz Adeli: https://www.solmaazadeli.com/

Alon Goldstein

Alon Goldstein is a highly regarded and original pianist known for his musical intelligence and innovative programming. He has performed with various prestigious orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, and the Israel Philharmonic, under the baton of renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta and Herbert Blomstedt. In the upcoming season, he will be giving recitals in cities across the world, including performances in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Vienna, Berlin, and Milano. Additionally, Mr. Goldstein is continuing his successful recording project for the Naxos label, focusing on all piano concerti by Mozart.

In recent seasons, Mr. Goldstein has performed with orchestras such as the Orquesta Filarmônica de Minas Gerais and the Beijing Symphony, tackling works by composers like Brahms, Mozart, and Beethoven. He has also given recitals and played chamber music with various ensembles, including the Goldstein-Peled-Fiterstein Trio and the Fine Arts Quartet, in venues around the world.

Notable highlights include appearances at the Indianapolis Symphony Prokofiev Festival, a Latin American tour with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, and performances with the Chicago Symphony and the London Philharmonic.

Aside from his performances, Mr. Goldstein is passionate about music education and has taught at renowned institutions such as the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival, and Music@Menlo. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the Society of Scholars award from his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University. Currently, he serves as the Artistic Director of the Lieven Piano Foundation summer school in Vienna, the Artistic Director of the Mt. Angel Abbey Bach Festival in Oregon, and Co-Director of The Distinguished Artists Concert & Lecture Series in Santa Cruz, CA. He also founded the Emerald Coast Music Alliance, which hosts an annual festival in Florida aimed at bringing classical music to under-served communities.

Alon Goldstein’s musical journey began at Tel Aviv University, where he studied under Prof. Victor Derevianko and Prof. Arie Vardi. He furthered his education at the Peabody Conservatory of Music with Leon Fleisher and became his teaching assistant. He received scholarships from the America Israel Cultural Foundation and pursued additional studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He was also an artist in residence at the Theo Lieven piano academy in Como, Italy. Currently, he holds the position of Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.

Alon Goldstein: https://alongoldstein.com/ 

John Orlando

John Orlando graduated summa cum laude with a Doctorate of Musical Arts 
degree in performance from the University of Southern California. He has performed with the San Jose, Santa Cruz County and Fresno Symphonies, the Cabrillo Festival, and the Institute for the Development of Intercultural Relations for the Arts in Santa Cruz.

He is a founding member of the Johannes Trio and toured California with the Akademos Quartet from Warsaw, Poland in a performance of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet. Dr. Orlando has performed concertos by Mozart with the San Francisco Sinfonietta at Herbst Hall in San Francisco and the Todi Music Masters Orchestra in Todi, Italy.

Other engagements followed with the Cadenza Chamber Orchestra, directed by Maya Barsacq and the Espressivo Chamber Orchestra, directed by Michel Sanger.

Dr. Orlando has held teaching positions at the Universities of Southern California and Santa Clara. He is instructor emeritus at Cabrillo College where he was head of the piano department for over a generation. Dr. Orlando is the director of the Distinguished Artists Concert & Lecture Series, which he founded in 1985. He was one of the first recipients of the Gail Rich Award for community service in the Arts in Santa Cruz County and was chosen Best College Teacher and Best Performer in Santa Cruz County by the Good Times Weekly local newspaper.

John Orlando: www.distinguishedartists.org