The High Desert Chamber Music Celebrity Recital series returns for its 18th season with the announcement of renowned cellist Peter Wiley and pianist Anna Plonsky making their second appearance May 15, their first since the HDCM series began in 2017. HDCM uses live performances to promote and introduce new audiences to classical music. Chamber music, which is generally written for a smaller group of instruments than a full symphony, makes it more accessible to a wider variety of audiences. There is also a unique collaboration between the musicians, as there is only one performer per part.
Founded in 2008 by violinist Isabelle LaForet Senger, HDCM’s mission is to bring classical music to Central Oregon with programs such as the HDCM Concert Series and Music & Friends. Senger has worked with composers in the Motion Picture recording studios, performing regularly on television series like “Family Guy,” “American Dad,” “The Cleveland Show” and “King of the Hill.” She has contributed to the albums of many of today’s top recording artists, including Christina Aguilera, John McLaughlin, James Blunt, Mandy Barnett, Tiffany (produced by Dr. Dre), Evanescense and Kanye West. She has also performed live with Andrea Bocelli, Olivia Newton-John, Donna Summer, Randy Newman, Yanni, John Tesh, Frank Sinatra Jr. and Keely Smith. “We are delighted to welcome Peter Wiley and Anna Polonsky back to Central Oregon,” says Senger. “Their previous visit left a lasting impression on our audience, and this return — made possible through long-standing artistic relationships — highlights the kind of meaningful connections that continue to shape our concert series and bring extraordinary music to our community.”
Wiley attended the Curtis Institute at just 13 years of age, under the tutelage of David Soyer. He continued his impressive youthful accomplishments with his appointment as principal cellist of the Cincinnati Symphony at age 20, after one year in the Pittsburgh Symphony. He has been awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant and was nominated with the Beaux Arts Trio for a Grammy Award in 1998. As a member of the Beaux Arts Trio, Wiley performed over 1,000 concerts, including appearances with many of the world’s greatest orchestras. He continues his association with the Marlboro Music Festival, dating from 1971. He has also been a faculty artist at Caramoor’s “Rising Stars” program and has taught at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Mannes College of Music and Manhattan School of Music. He is also on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music and a member of the Guarneri String Quartet.
Polonsky has collaborated with the Guarneri, Orion, Juilliard and Shanghai Quartets, as well as with musicians Mitsuko Uchida, Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Goode and Emanuel Ax. She has given concerts in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall’s Stern, Weill and Zankel Halls. She’s toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. A frequent guest at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, she was a member of the Chamber Music Society Two during 2002-2004. She is a recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award. Polonsky made her solo piano debut at the age of seven at the Special Central Music School in Moscow, Russia. She emigrated to the United States in 1990 and attended high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. She received degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of Peter Serkin and from the Juilliard School, studying with Jerome Lowenthal.
The May 15 program will include Beethoven’s Variations on “The Magic Flute,” Schubert’s “Arpeggione Sonata,” and Rachmaninoff’s “Sonata in G minor, Op. 19.”
High Desert Chamber Music, which has other events in the series happening all summer, is a nonprofit with a variety of opportunities, from volunteer work, hosting an artist or purchasing a flower basket.
High Desert Chamber Music
Friday, May 15 7:30-9:30pm
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon
61980 Skyline Ranch Rd. Bend
highdesertchambermusic.com
Adult $65 Child/Student $15
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