Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade Benefit Concert Thursday, May 24

A benefit chamber music concert will raise funds for the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade, the Montecito-based organization that provides disaster relief to the victims of the devastating debris flow that occurred in January 2018. The performance takes place in Hahn Hall at the Music Academy of the West on Thursday, May 24, 2018, at 7 p.m.

Santa Barbara-based pianist Robert Cassidy has curated a program of beautiful music by French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918). Cassidy will be joined in performance by several outstanding local musicians: Natasha Kislenko, pianist and a faculty member of the USCB Department of Music; Jennifer Kloetzel, cello and an instructor at the UCSB Department of Music; Patrick Posey, saxophonist and Vice President of Artistic Planning and Educational Programs at the Music Academy of the West; and Mary Beth Woodruff, violinist and Artistic Director of Santa Barbara Strings.

“We’d like to bring continued awareness to the great volunteer work the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade is doing for our community. There is still a need for funding and volunteers. We all want to help,” said pianist Robert Cassidy.

The program for the concert includes the following: Debussy’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, solo piano pieces La cathedrale engloutie and L’isle joyeuse, Rhapsody for Saxophone and Piano, Petite Suite for piano four-hands, and concludes with the Sonata for Cello and Piano.

The concert will not require tickets and will be free and open to the public with general admission seating. There is a suggested donation of $20 or more that will be collected at the door. Anticipating a large crowd, early arrival is recommended beginning at 6:30 pm.

100% of the funds raised at this event will go directly to the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade. This concert is generously co-sponsored by the Profant Foundation for the Arts.

Pianist Robert Cassidy has received widespread acclaim for his performances and recordings of both solo piano repertoire and chamber music. About his eponymous solo recording, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s review praised him, remarking, “Cassidy demonstrates a keen grasp of varied styles on his new recital disc, which spans three centuries…with delicate and expressive sensitivity, savoring the magical atmospheres.” His second solo disc Pathways was released in 2016 and includes works by Chopin, Debussy, and American composer Joel Feigin.

Pianist Natasha Kislenko, hailed for her “vividly expressive” interpretations and “virtuosity that left the audience exhilarated,“ offers unique concert programs and presentations to the worldwide community of music listeners. A prizewinner of many international piano competitions, she has extensively concertized in Russia, Europe, Asia and across the Americas.

A graduate of The Juilliard School and a Fulbright Scholar, cellist Jennifer Kloetzel has concertized throughout the United States, Europe and Asia as a soloist and chamber musician. A founding member of the San Francisco-based Cypress String Quartet, Ms. Kloetzel has toured the world and performed at outstanding venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Chautauqua Institute and the Ravinia Festival, the Lobkowicz Palaces in both Vienna and Prague, as well as prominent colleges and conservatories nationwide.

Hailed by the New York Times as ‘brilliantly stylish,’ Patrick Posey is a versatile saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist who has performed as a soloist, recitalist, and orchestral musician in the US and across the world. He appears regularly with the San Francisco Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras and has performed with musical luminaries including Michael Tilson Thomas, Alan Gilbert, Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yefim Bronfman, and Jeremy Denk.

Mary Beth Woodruff is the Founder and Artistic Director of Santa Barbara Strings. She has served on the faculties of Songfest International at the Colburn School, the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Ballard School, and the Westmont Academy for Young Artists. For the past 5 years, she has been a member of the Radian String Quartet. She plays on a Guidantus Florenus made in 1727 in Bologna, Italy.

Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade Benefit Concert
Robert Cassidy, piano, Natasha Kislenko, piano, Jennifer Kloetzel, cello, Patrick Posey, saxophone, Mary Beth Woodruff, violin
Thursday, May 24, 2018, 7 p.m.
Hahn Hall, 1070 Fairway Road, Santa Barbara
Donations collected at the door
www.robertcassidypianist.com
www.santabarbarabucketbrigade.org