The Distinguished Artists Concert Foundation
Sunset Concert
October 29, 2025
Amit Peled, cello, Noreen Polera, piano
The home of Norbert and Lorie Pelc
1114 Via Malibu, Aptos
Reception at 5:45 pm
Concert at 6:45 pm
Praised by The Strad magazine and The New York Times, internationally renowned cellist Amit Peled is celebrated as one of the most exciting and virtuosic performers on the concert stage today. Having performed at many of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., Salle Gaveau in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, and the Konzerthaus Berlin, Peled has released over a dozen recordings on the Naxos, Centaur, Delos, and CTM Classics labels. Musical America named Peled one of the Top 30 Influencers of 2015.
Program:
J.S. Bach: Cello Suite No.1 in G major, BWV 1007
Prelude, Sarabande, Gigue
M. Weinberg: Cello sonata no. 2, op. 63
C. Saint-Saëns: The Swan
Amit Peled is recognized as one of today’s most exciting and virtuosic performers. Internationally acclaimed cellist, conductor, and pedagogue. In addition to his many live performances in notable venues, he has an extensive discography that includes more than twenty CD recordings, among them all the Bach suites using the legendary cello of Pablo Casals, on the Naxos, Centaur, Delos, and CTM Classics labels. A distinguished professor of cello at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, he has also presented master classes and cello workshops all across the globe. Peled was named one of Musical America “30 Professionals of the Year” in 2015. As an advocate of music of our days, Mr. Peled has commissioned and premiered many works of living composers and will premiere a cello concerto by his former student and Grammy Nominee Andrea Casarrubios in the 2026/27 season.
Peled is the Founder and Artistic Director of the revolutionary Mount Vernon Virtuosi, an orchestra based in his hometown of Baltimore. Under his leadership, the ensemble has transformed Maryland’s classical music landscape through free concerts and educational initiatives serving underprivileged communities. As a centerpiece of his community engagement, Peled established the Music House in East Baltimore, where young musicians live free of charge and actively connect with the neighborhood through outreach and performance.
Pianist Noreen Polera ranks among the most highly regarded and diverse chamber artists performing today. Her career has taken her to every major American music center and abroad to Europe, Russia, and Asia. Recent performances include those at Alice Tully Hall, Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Jordan Hall, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Kennedy Center, and Salle Cortot. She appeared at the Caramoor, Bard, Grand Teton, and Cape Cod music festivals, and performed with the chamber music societies of Philadelphia and La Jolla. She has recorded for Sony, EMI, Audiophon, and Centaur Records. Ms. Polera has collaborated with leading soloists, including David Shifrin, Matt Haimovitz, Carter Brey, Antonio Meneses, Aurora-Natalie Ginastera, Yo-Yo Ma, and Leonard Rose. Winner of the accompanying prize at the VIII International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, she regularly collaborates with laureates of the Queen Elisabeth, Tchaikovsky, and Naumburg international competitions.
PARKING: Please park on the street outside the gate at Via Malibu and Via Verde. If you need to park closer please call Lorie at 650-799-5305.
Minimum donation: $100 per person. All proceeds are in benefit to the Distinguished Artists Foundation, a Santa Cruz County 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that sponsors the Distinguished Artists Concert & Lecture Series. Since 1985, the Foundation has brought world-class performers and speakers to the area for public enjoyment and educational outreach.
We thank Music Exchange, Union City, for their support of this home-concert program.
