LIEDER ALIVE! presents
The Heart of Poland

Alina Ilchuk, soprano
Peter Grünberg, piano

Soprano Alina Ilchuk and pianist Peter Grünberg offer an afternoon of early Chopin and other Polish songs, Ukrainian melodies, and Dvořák love songs.

Alina Ilchuk, a Ukrainian-American soprano, has gained acclaim for the exquisite quality of her vocal expression and the nuanced interpretations she brings to her performances. Since making her professional debut in 1995, she has graced audiences across Europe, the United States, and Canada, collaborating with numerous esteemed ensembles. In recent times, her efforts have been directed towards raising funds for her homeland of Ukraine, as well as actively promoting Ukrainian cultural heritage. In 2022, Ms. Ilchuk delivered a solo recital showcasing the works of Ukrainian composers in collaboration with the distinguished lecturer and pianist Peter Grünberg for the prestigious program LiederAlive! in San Francisco. She has also appeared as a featured artist at the Concert of Compassion, sharing the stage with legendary mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and composer Jake Heggie. In 2023, she was invited as a guest artist to perform in a series of concerts with the U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West. She also contributed to the Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco’s charity event for the Olena Zelenska Foundation, underscoring the importance of continued support for Ukraine and expressing gratitude to the U.S. citizens for their assistance.

Ms. Ilchuk is deeply committed to supporting the development of arts education worldwide. In 1998, she established the award-winning Sacramento Academy of Musical Arts, guiding aspiring musicians to remarkable successes, including performances at illustrious venues like Carnegie Hall and enrollment in reputable music programs, such as the Merola Program at the San Francisco Opera, S.F. Conservatory of Music Vocal Intensive, Boston University Tanglewood Institute Summer Program, Curtis Mentor Network, and Stanford Jazz Program. Her students have also achieved excellence in various music competitions, including the Mondavi Center National Competition, Progressive Musicians International Competition, Schmidt Vocal Arts Competition – California Cohort, National Association of Teachers of Singing Student Auditions, and Hal Leonard Voice Competition. Many students frequently engage in musical theater productions, shows, and choirs at local and international levels. During the early 2000s, she helped launch and taught at the Sacramento-based Slavic branch of Patten University, facilitating access to higher education for immigrants from post-Soviet republics in the United States. Furthermore, she is a steadfast supporter of the American-Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, channeling her efforts into raising financial support for the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv.

Ms. Ilchuk holds a Master’s Degree in Performance and Music Education from the Mykola Lysenko National Academy of Music in Lviv, Ukraine, and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from California State University, Sacramento. She is a distinguished member of Pi Kappa Lambda and the National Association of Teachers of Singing, where she has been an active contributor on the boards of both the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter and the California Capital Chapter of NATS.

Sydney-born musician Peter Grünberg has led a multifaceted career that spans several countries. For fifteen seasons, he was Musical Assistant to Michael Tilson Thomas at the San Francisco Symphony. During that time he worked on several GRAMMY® Award-winning recordings, honed the performances of the SFS Chorus and many visiting soloists, and gave hundreds of pre-concert lectures. His performances as a piano soloist with the Symphony have often featured American music, from Gershwin and Copland to Ives and Adams.

He was appointed head coach at the Grand Théâtre de Genève at age 21. A few years later, as a result of preparing the first Australian performances of Berg’s Lulu, he was appointed Resident Conductor with the Sydney Symphony. In the 1990’s, he held the position of head of music staff at San Francisco Opera. During that period he conducted at Moscow Conservatory and at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and led the San Francisco Symphony in a concert of opera excerpts. He performed at the festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, and also at Tanglewood with Frederica von Stade and the flutist Matthieu Dufour.

He has a long history of presenting and performing song recitals, having collaborated with such artists as Tatiana Troyanos, Deborah Voigt, Laura Claycomb and Quinn Kelsey. Instrumental chamber music is also close to Mr. Grunberg’s heart: He has performed Beethoven and Mozart in Japan with members of the Vienna Philharmonic; with Peter Henderson at Sun Valley Summer Symphony he performed John Adams’s two-piano extravaganza Hallelujah Junction. With the New Century Chamber Orchestra he recently arranged music from Berlin in the 1930’s for a performance with Thomas Hampson and Daniel Hope.

Mr. Grünberg retains a connection with both the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Opera, and is currently developing future collaborations with other young artist programs around the world. Grünberg continues to maintain an active life as a recitalist and chamber musician. Next season, he will be appearing with the young American violinist Benjamin Beilman in Sun Valley, and as artist-in-residence with LIEDER ALIVE! San Francisco, he will be performing again with soprano Esther Rayo and cellist Oliver Herbert in a wide-ranging program of music by Schubert.

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