This preview has been provided by “Hearts for the Arts.”
Dr. Joann Freeburg, founder of “Hearts for the Arts,” is pleased to “kick-off” this exciting new program based on her lifelong passion to inspire, develop and honor Western Carolina’s top talented young artists. The “Hearts for the Arts” is supported by Freeburg Pianos and performed at Master Works Theatre in Hendersonville, North Carolina as well as other community venues.
Dr. Freeburg will “kick-off” the first “Hearts for the Arts” program by presenting Western Carolina’s top three gifted, prize-winning soloists who will perform great masterpieces written for flute, violin, harpsichord and piano. Christopher Tavernier, pianist, Grace Kim, flute and Kristie Kim, violin will perform some of the greatest masterpieces. They will inspire listeners as concerto soloists for their individual instruments, as a duo in three works for flute and violin, and as a trio playing Bach’s difficult Concerto for Flute, Violin and Harpsichord. Grace and Kristie Kim are sisters from a musical family and, while still in high school, have both earned an impressive list of honors, locally and statewide. Fourteen-year-old Christopher Tavernier will play the harpsichord in the Bach Concerto. He will end the program on the piano with an exciting performance of the final two movements of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1.
Freeburg Pianos is providing two pianos for this premier performance. In addition, Freeburg Pianos teamed up with Daniel Angerstein. Dan resides in Hendersonville and does pipe organ building and rebuilding, voicing and tonal design and consultation. He is donating the use of his harpsichord for this premier performance. The harpsichord was built by luthier Peter Tkach in 1992. It is fashioned after the historic French Double harpsichords and features Art Deco touches to the case. The lower manual is disposed with an 8′ and a 4′ choir. The lower 8′ also has a separate stop with leather plectra and it also has a buff stop. The upper manual is disposed with an 8′ Nazard choir.
Master technician, Keith Freeburg, will tune it to a well-tempered scale of Bach’s time. He will tune the two American-made Mason and Hamlin grand pianos, a Model BB 7′ semi-concert grand and a Model A 5’8″ grand, to the Equal Beating Victorian Temperament which favors the top half of the Circle of Fifths bringing out the various tone colors in the different keys.
Hearts for the Arts Student Consort
Christopher Tavernier – Pianist
At the age of thirteen, Christopher Tavernier earned the distinction of being the youngest concert pianist in North Carolina. Christopher performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Tar River Philharmonic Orchestra in Rocky Mount, North Carolina for the opening concert of their fall 2013 season.
Christopher began his piano studies at the age of six, and now at fourteen he has won several competitions, including the junior division of the Charlotte Symphony’s Concerto Competition, the Symphony Orchestra of Augusta Georgia’s junior division, and the Appalachian Classical Music Association’s Young Artist’s Competition at the Sonata Festival in Johnson City, Tennessee. As a musical descendant of Franz Liszt through his teacher, Dr. John Cobb,
Christopher performed a series of concerts with Dr. Cobb in 2013, honoring this distinguished legacy. The “World Masterwork Series, preserving the musical lineage of Franz Liszt” concerts featured both solo and two piano music and was presented at venues in both North and South Carolina, culminating in the first annual benefit concert for the Mission Foundation for Early Detection of Breast Cancer at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, North Carolina. Christopher’s pianistic lineage comes through Dr. Cobb, who studied with Claudio Arrau, whose teacher was a pupil of Franz Liszt. Franz Liszt was a student of Carl Czerny, who in turn was a pupil of Ludwig van Beethoven. Hence, the musical lineage actually extends from Ludwig van Beethoven to Christopher Tavernier. Later this summer, Christopher and John Cobb are performing their 2nd Annual “World Masterwork Series” benefit concert for the Missions Foundation. 100% of all proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit the “Ladies Night Out.” This is a joint program of Mission and Buncombe County Health Department to ensure that every woman has access to a mammogram. Mission Foundation is the 501(c)(3) philanthropic arm of Mission Hospital and receives grants and donations for the Ladies Night Out program. All ticket proceeds from the World Masterwork Series at the Diana Wortham Theatre and the Tryon Fine Arts Center will be paid directly to the Mission Foundation.
In addition to Christopher’s broad solo repertoire, he performs chamber music and is collaborating with The Rutherford Chamber Consort and the Student Chamber Consort. Friday May 30, Christopher will make his debut on harpsichord, performing the Triple Concerto in A minor, by J.S. Bach, with the Rutherford Chamber Consort at the Historic St. John’s Episcopal Church in Rutherfordton, NC. He is performing with the Student Chamber Consort on the “Hearts for the Arts” series at the Master Works Theatre in Hendersonville, NC this Sunday June 8th. Additionally, Christopher has performed live on WCQS, Asheville’s NPR Station and many times on WTZQ Radio in Hendersonville, NC. Christopher is a Perzina Artist, and he is a member of the Asheville Area Piano Forum.
Christopher is in the seventh grade at Hendersonville Middle School in Hendersonville, NC, where he is an honor student and a part of the AIG (Academically and Intellectually Gifted) program in Mathematics and Reading. Christopher is a member of the “National Junior Beta Club,” honoring his outstanding character and academic achievement, and he was selected for the Duke University Talent Identification Program, placing above the 95th percentile nationally. Christopher was nominated to attend the National Young Scholars Program (NYSP). In addition to maintaining a busy performance and competition schedule, he enjoys the arts, reading, writing, and playing competitive chess.
Grace Kim – Flute
As a graduating senior at Asheville High School, Grace has played the flute since she was five years old. Grace was the winner and recipient of the 2013 Asheville Woman Leadership Award of the Community Foundation of WNC, among an estimated 130 nominated throughout Buncombe County. She was named the 2014 Distinguished Young Woman of Buncombe County. Winning first chair in both All-District and NC All-State Honors Band, Grace participated in the clinics and concerts at UNC Chapel Hill. As a winner of 2012 Asheville-Buncombe Youth Orchestra concerto competition, Grace performed as a soloist with the orchestra in which she also serves as flute principal in March 2012 at Asheville Civic Center.
After winning the inaugural Asheville Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition in 2012, Grace debuted with the Asheville Symphony at the Young People’s Concert under the direction of Daniel Meyer in 2012 at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at the U.S. Cellular Center for over 3,000 public school students.
Last October, Grace traveled to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh after being selected to perform in the masterclasses with Professors Jeanne Baxtresser and Alberto Almarza at the Flute Forum. Grace was a winner of the 2012 South Carolina Flute Society Fall Masterclass Competition and participated in a masterclass with Dr. Tadeu Coelho. For three summers, from 2011 to 2013, Grace studied in the high school division at the Brevard Music Center Summer Festival and studied with Dilshad Posnock and Marianne Gedigian. Grace was the flute principal in Stravinsky’s Firebird concert last summer.
Grace recently won 2014 Hendersonville Symphony Concerto Competition and was featured soloist with Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra on May 3. Grace studied the flute with Katherine Price of Hendersonville and has been studying with Dilshad Posnock for over five years.
Grace is the Co-founder and President of the Asheville Young Musicians Club (AYMC) where highly talented, classically-trained student musicians come together for weekly rehearsals to perform concerts that raise money to benefit children’s education in Nicaragua and music education around Asheville. AYMC has given annual benefit concerts since 2011 and has donated over $5,000 through Vision Nicaragua, Asheville Area Piano Forum and Asheville Chamber Music Series. Grace has decided to study at Vanderbilt University to pursue degrees in music performance and MBA in the next five years.
Kristie Kim – Violin
Kristie (Asheville High, rising junior) started the violin at the age of 5. Kristie won Ensemble Competition from Sonata Festival in Tennessee 2009 with her flutist sister, Grace. Kristie has participated in the Asheville-Buncombe Youth Orchestra (ABYO) since she was in 6th grade and currently serves as concertmaster of the orchestra. She won the ABYO 2014 concerto competition and performed as soloist with the orchestra in March at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Kristie was the second place winner of 2014 Hendersonville Symphony Concerto Competition.
In February, Kristie participated in a masterclass presented by the Asheville Symphony with the phenomenal violinist Elena Urioste. Last year, Kristie was invited to perform in Pan Harmonia’s production of Appalachian Spring in Asheville and Black Mountain. Last summer Kristie attended 6-week summer program at Brevard Music Festival studying with Corinne Stillwell. Kristie also enjoys competing in state level math competitions and tennis tournaments. In both 2012 and 2013, Kristie were the first place winner of the North Carolina High School Math Contest Western Region State Finals in Algebra 1 and Geometry respectively. Kristie and Grace was 2012-13 girls tennis MAC Doubles Champions and made it to the NCHSAA 3A State Tennis Tournament. Kristie has received All-WNC Girls Tennis Selection in both 2013 and 2014.
Invited by Asheville Symphony Guild, Kristie with Grace performed at Biltmore House in Asheville in March 2013. Kristie co-founded the Asheville Young Musicians Club (AYMC) in 2011 with her sister. The group has been featured in the Pan Harmonia concert series and performed live on WCQS, Asheville’s NPR Station. AYMC’s 3rd annual benefit concert was on Sunday, June 1 at Bent Creek Baptist Church. Kristie studied violin with Inez Redman and has been studying with Jason Posnock, concertmaster of the Asheville Symphony since 2009.
Program Highlights
Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1052
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
I. Allegro
Christopher Tavernier, piano
Dr. John Cobb, accompanist
Triple Concerto in A Minor, BWV 1044
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
I. Allegro
II. Adagio ma non tanto, e dolce
III. Allabreve
Grace Kim, flute
Kristie Kim, violin
Christopher Tavernier, harpsichord
Trio Sonata in C Minor
Johann Joachim Quantz (1697–1773)
I. Adante moderato
II. Allegro
Grace Kim, flute
Kristie Kim, violin
Dr. Hwa-Jin Kim, piano
Nocturne et Allegro scherzando
Philippe Gaubert (1879-1941)
Grace Kim, flute
Kristie Kim, violin
Dr. Hwa-Jin Kim, piano
Gabriel’s Oboe, Main theme from The Mission [1986]
Ennio Morricone, arr. by Hwa-Jin Kim
Grace Kim, flute
Kristie Kim, violin
Dr. Hwa-Jin Kim, piano
Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs)
Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908)
Kristie Kim, violin
Dr. Hwa-Jin Kim, accompanist
Flute Concerto in D,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
I. Allegro
Grace Kim, flute
Dr. Hwa-Jin Kim, accompanist
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor, Op. 23
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
II. Andantino semplice – Prestissimo
III. Allegro con fuoco
Christopher Tavernier, piano
Dr. John Cobb, accompanist
