Natalie Raney, cello – Spring
Sunday, June 21, 2020 at 4 pm
Download a copy of the program here.
Natalie Raney, cello
Spring
PROGRAM
Dorothy Chang (b. 1970)
Bloom
I. Emerging
Kaija Saariaho (b. 1952)
Sept Papillons (Seven Butterflies)
Papillon I: Dolce, leggiero, libero
Papillon II: Leggiero, molto espressivo
Papillon III: Calmo, con tristezza
Papillon IV: Dolce, tranquillo
Papillon V: Lento, misterioso
Papillon VI: Sempre poco nervoso, senza tempo
Papillon VII: Molto espressivo, energico
Intermission
J. S. Bach (1685–1750)
Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Menuets I & II
Gigue
Pablo Casals (1876–1973)
Song of the Birds
with David Gonzales, guitar
About the artists
Natalie Raney fell in love with the cello when she was nine years old, after hearing her coolest, childhood role model play it in the house next door. Her journey has led her across the country and landed her in San Francisco where she resides as a sought-after chamber musician, soloist, and teacher. Recognized for her bold and adventurous playing, she has established herself as an immensely versatile performer.
As a chamber musician, she has performed with world-renowned musicians such as Kim Kashkashian, Menahem Pressler, Norman Fischer, Geoff Nuttall, Bonnie Hampton, Roberto Diaz, Ian Swensen, Jodi Levitz, Paul Hersh, and the Arianna String Quartet. She worked closely with composer, Joan Tower, after being invited by the Muir Quartet to participate in the Emerging Quartets and Composers Program. While studying at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, she was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center and was also a finalist for the Coleman Chamber Music Competition. She has studied chamber music under members of the Tokyo, Pacifica, Brentano, Vermeer, Muir, Concord, and Arianna String Quartets.
Natalie was the founding cellist of Curium, a piano trio that highlights works by women composers. Within Curium’s first year of formation, they were winners of the Barbara Fritz Chamber Award, were featured on the International Showcase Concert for the St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, and performed over a dozen throughout the Bay Area. Additionally, Natalie performs as a core member of One Found Sound, a conductorless, democratically run chamber orchestra.
Passionate about teaching, Natalie is currently a faculty member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College, where she coaches chamber music ensembles. She has coached chamber music to young musicians through the Lyceum Music Festival in Utah and Summer Music West in San Francisco. In addition to her work as a chamber coach, Natalie maintains a private studio in San Francisco, California.
Natalie graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory receiving an Artist Certificate in Chamber Music studying with Jean-Michel Fonteneau. She received her Master of Music degree at Boston University, mentored by Marc Johnson, former cellist of the Vermeer Quartet and received a Bachelor of Music studying with Kurt Baldwin and the Arianna Quartet at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. www.natalieraneycello.com
With a career spanning 15 years, versatile guitarist David Gonzales has appeared across the U.S. as a chamber musician, soloist, and educator. As co-founder of the ground-breaking electric guitar ensemble, Ignition Duo and a former member of the renowned San Francisco Guitar Quartet, David has worked closely with many acclaimed composers to expand the repertoire for both classical and electric guitar. As an award-winning solist, David performs music spanning from the renaissance to modern periods. In addition to his broad performing experience, David is also passionate about nurturing a future generation of creative musical artists through his work as a teacher, having partnered with numerous music schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
As a co-founder of Ignition Duo, David has demonstrated a commitment to exploring new sonic territory in the realm of classical music. Ignition Duo has premiered over two dozen new chamber works, working closely with composers to write music for their unique instrumentation: two electric guitars. Ignition Duo has performed at the Spoleto festival, where it was said they “grooved, jammed, and shredded with Mozartian precision.” (The Post and Courier, Charleston). Additionally, Ignition Duo has performed at the Switchboard music festival, and has collaborated on commissioning projects with the composition department at UC Santa Barbara and the San Francisco-based Guerilla Composers Guild. Ignition Duo received a grant from the San Francisco friends of Chamber Music to record their debut album, Ablaze Amidst the Horns, released in 2015.
As a member of the San Francisco Guitar Quartet, SFGQ, David has toured across California, the Midwest and the South. SFGQ have been featured artists at the University of Louisville Guitar Festival, the Dayton Guitar Society, and the Knoxville guitar society, among others. As a member of the SFGQ, David helped spearhead new commissions for the group from leading young California composers.
As a first prize winner at the Society of American Musicians solo guitar competition, David has performed internationally at the Domaine Forget festival in Quebec, as well the Incontri Chittarristici in Gargnano, Italy. He has been a featured guest for the Chicago, and Ventura classical guitar societies, and has played concerts throughout California and New Mexico, his home state. David holds degrees from Northwestern University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and has studied with many of the world’s foremost classical guitarists, including Oscar Ghiglia, Roland Dyens, and David Russell. His primary teachers include Sergio Assad, Anne Waller, and Mickey Jones.
As an educator, David has mentored a young generation of musicians in California, New Mexico and Colorado. He started his teaching career as a conductor, ensemble coach and private guitar teacher at the Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico. David has gone on to teach guitar ensemble for underfunded school districts through the Music Matters program in Solano County, CA, has volunteered for the Conservatory in the Schools program, and has since given masterclasses at schools and universities throughout the U.S., including University of Louisville, Eastern Kentucky University, and the Denver School of the Arts, among others. David currently teaches privately in San Francisco. www.davidgonzalesguitar.com