Karen Bentley -- Recent Performances

Home Upcoming Performances Recordings CDs and iTunes Bio Friends Photos Poetry	Past Performances March 6, 2007 in Birmingham March 23, 2007 in Palo Alto, California March 25, 2007 in San Mateo, California May 6-13, 2007 in the Czech Republic June 7 and 9, 2007 in Berkeley June 8, 2007 in Mill Valley June 14, 2007 on Amelia Island July 27-30, 2007 in Highlands/Cashiers July 31, 2007 in Birmingham August 24, 2007 in Birmingham September 5, 2007 in Birmingham September 6, 2007 in Tuscaloosa September 7, 2007 in Tuscaloosa September 10, 2007 in Baton Rouge September 11, 2007 in Baton Rouge October 11, 2007 in Birmingham October 15, 2007 in Birmingham November 10, 2007 in Birmingham December 14, 2007 in Carbondale, Colorado February 12, 2008 in Birmingham February 15, 2008 in Birmingham February 20, 2008 in Jacksonville February 23, 2008 in Annville February 24, 2008 in State College March 4, 2008 in Birmingham March 12, 14, & 15, 2008 in San Francisco April 11, 2008 in Atlanta April 12-18, 2008 in the Czech Republic May 4-9, 2008 in Birmingham May 16, 2008 in Palo Alto See also 2000-2006 appearances

Review Program notes	Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Birmingham, Alabama Hill Recital Hall Birmingham Southern College 7:30 P.M. TransBAMAgiNations Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Ivan Sokolov, piano www.artmusic.org The idea for a duo collaboration with pianist/composer Ivan Sokolov was sparked after reading violin and piano sonatas at the Seattle home of Elena Dubinets, a Russian musicologist who had invited each of us to perform with the Seattle Chamber Players as guests in their 2004 Icebreaker II: Baltic Voices, an international conference of contemporary music from the countries of the Baltic Sea. We played through the Shostakovich Viola Sonata, which was inspired in mood and motif by Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and is permeated by autobiographical quotations from his own symphonies. Vanya then exclaimed that he would like to compose his own Solnechnaya (Sunlight) Sonata for violin and piano that we would premiere in a duo recital during the upcoming season at Birmingham-Southern College. We contacted Charles Mason and Dorothy Hindman to request a duo composed by each of them and were midstream in our planning when Dr. Mason was awarded the 2005 Samuel Barber Rome Prize in Music Composition. The triple duo project was then relocated to Seattle where the Washington Composers Forum presented the TransMagiNations program and then onto Rome where we performed at Villa Aurelia at the American Academy in May 2006 as the culmination of their year in Rome. The current program was augmented from a call for scores in October 2006 by BAMA (Birmingham Art Music Alliance) composers and we are at long last bringing the project back home to Alabama under the title TransBAMAgiNations Ivan Sokolov has performed as a soloist throughout the former Soviet Union and Europe. He is a regular participant in contemporary music festivals in Russia and abroad, including at the Alternativa, Moscow Autumn, December Nights festivals, the Schleswig-Holstein festival, Almeida Festival London, the Copenhagen Culture festival and others. "Sokolov, born and trained in Russia, played…with enormous speed, brio and variety." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Michael Angell: Prig & the Pig (world premiere) Charles Norman Mason: Incantesimi Dorothy Hindman: centro Ivan Sokolov: Solnechnaya (Sunlight) Sonata for Violin and Piano Robert Boury: Two Blues (world premiere) Jan Vicar: Uspavanky (Lullabies) (world premiere)

	Friday, March 23, 2007 Palo Alto, California Stanford Hospital Atrium 12:30 P.M. Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Dmitriy Cogan, piano Brahms: Violin Concerto Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major

See video montage	Sunday, March 25, 2007 San Mateo, California Bayside Performing Arts Center 2025 Kehoe Avenue 3 P.M. Karen Bentley Pollick, violin with Redwood Symphony Brahms: Violin Concerto

Press release	May 6-13, 2007 Czech Republic Tour May 6 in Pilsen May 7 in Snezne May 8 in N. Mesto May 11 at Zbiroh Castle May 13 in Pisek Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Dennis Parker, cello May 7, 8, and 13 Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello Vicar: Homage to Fiddlers Eggert: Dance Card for Violin and Cello Schulhoff: Duo for Violin and Cello Vicar: Lullabies for Violin and Piano May 11 Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and (Viola) Cello, K.364 Williams: Scherzo alla Marcia, from Symphony No. 8 Dvorak: Serenade in D minor for wind instruments, Op. 44 With the Wind Ensemble of the Prague Castle Guard and Czech Police Band Vaclav Blahunek - Conductor

Read several reviews Listed as one of 2007's Top 10 Classical Performances by Conta Costa Times	June 7 and 9, 2007 in Berkeley Berkeley, California 8 P.M. Thursday and Saturday Zellerbach Hall Berkeley Edge Fest Paul Dresher Electro-Acoustic Band John Duykers, tenor Paul Dresher: The Tyrant See the Edge Fest web site for more information

	June 8, 2007 in Mill Valley Mill Valley, California 7:30 P.M. Friday Private House Concert Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Ian Dogole, percussion Violinist/violist Karen Bentley Pollick and multipercussionist Ian Dogole possess a far-reaching musical vision, traversing the realms of Bach, Bartók and Brahms, segueing seamlessly into free improvisation, morphing into Finnish tango and then onto Corea, Gershwin and Monk by way of a Danish salsa. Never constrained by preexisting formulas, their musical adventures transport listeners to previously uncharted musical landscapes. It’s an aural/visual feast for the senses. Join us in the intimate setting of a Mill Valley living room with exquisite views for an evening of spirited and ever-shifting musical dialogues. Limited seating, so please call to make reservations.

	Thursday June 14, 2007 on Amelia Island Amelia Island 11 A.M. Historic Nassau County Courthouse Coffee Concert with Richard Stolzman Richard Stolzman, clarinet Vega String Quartet William Ransom, piano Program includes works by Gershwin, Wolf, Puccini, Weber and Schulman written or arranged for clarinet See www.aicmf.com/festival.htm for more information

	July 27-30, 2007 in Highlands/Cashiers, North Carolina Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival 7 P.M. Friday, July 27 Highlands and 5 P.M. Saturday, July 28 Cashiers William Preucil and Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Miles Hoffman and Paul Murphy, viola Christopher Rex, cello William Ransom, piano Saint Saéns: Sonata for Violin and Piano Dvorak: Viola Quintet in E-flat 5 P.M. Sunday, July 29 Highlands and 7 P.M. Monday, July 30 Cashiers Charae Kreuger and Christopher Rex, cello Karen Bentley Pollick, violin, viola, and hardangerfele Philip Thomson, piano Garfield Lemonius and Glenda Norcross, dancers Bach: Cello Suite Chopin: Grand Polonaise for Cello and Piano Liszt: Mephisto Waltz for Piano Piazzolla: Tangos for Piano Trio John Halle: Rozology for Violin and Piano Ole Saxe: Tango Orientale for Viola and Piano Odd Bakkerud: Fanitullen for Norwegian hardangerfele See http://h-cmusicfestival.org for more information

	Tuesday July 31, 2007 in Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama 7 P.M. Birmingham International Center Atrium 1910 Third Avenue North Just Plain Folks Southeastern Roadtrip Showcase See www.jpfolks.com for more information

	Friday August 24, 2007 in Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama 7 P.M. Alys Stephens Center 1200 10th Ave. S. Theresa H. and James Bruno Magic City Chamber Music Festival Yakov Kasman, piano Denise Gainey, clarinet Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Michael Fernandez, viola Charae Krueger, cello Manuel Ponce: String Trio Béla Bartók: Contrasts Robert Schumann: Quartet for Piano and Strings in E flat Major, Opus 47 See the Magic City Chamber Music Festival web site for more information

	Wednesday, September 5, 2007 Birmingham, Alabama 7:30 P.M. Hill Recital Hall Birmingham Southern College Works by Ivan Sokolov Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Dennis Parker, cello "Sokolov, born and trained in Russia, played…with enormous speed, brio and variety." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Solnechnaya (Sunlight) Sonata for Violin and Piano (2005) Sonata for Viola and Piano (2006) Sonata for Cello and Piano (2002) Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano (2000) The three sonatas are cyclical and share a similar theme.

	Thursday, September 6, 2007 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 5:00 P.M. Westervelt Warner Museum 8316 Mountbatten Road NE Works by Ivan Sokolov Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Dennis Parker, cello "Sokolov, born and trained in Russia, played…with enormous speed, brio and variety." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Solnechnaya (Sunlight) Sonata for Violin and Piano (2005) Sonata for Viola and Piano (2006) Sonata for Cello and Piano (2002) Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano (2000) The three sonatas are cyclical and share a similar theme.

	Friday, September 7, 2007 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 12 Noon Frank Moody Music Building 810 2nd Avenue Convocation--Seeing Through Sound works by Ivan Sokolov Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Dennis Parker, cello "Sokolov, born and trained in Russia, played…with enormous speed, brio and variety." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer For information, call 205-348-7111

	Monday, September 10, 2007 Baton Rouge, Louisiana School of Music Recital Hall Louisiana State University 8:00 P.M. Works by Ivan Sokolov Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Dennis Parker, cello "Sokolov, born and trained in Russia, played…with enormous speed, brio and variety." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Solnechnaya (Sunlight) Sonata for Violin and Piano (2005) Sonata for Viola and Piano (2006) Sonata for Cello and Piano (2002) Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano (2000) The three sonatas are cyclical and share a similar theme.

	Tuesday, September 11, 2007 Baton Rouge, Louisiana School of Music Recital Hall Louisiana State University 8:00 P.M. Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Dennis Parker, cello Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello Vicar: Homage to Fiddlers Eggert: Dance Card for Violin and Cello Schulhoff: Duo for Violin and Cello Vicar: Lullabies for Violin and Piano Dorothy Hindman: Monumenti

Review	Thursday, October 11, 2007 Birmingham, Alabama Brock Recital Hall Samford University 7:30 P.M. Mason/Robertson Award Recognition Hradcanska for flute, violin, cello and piano Oh What a Beautiful Morning! for string quartet Three Legged Race for piano trio Incantesimi for violin and piano

	Monday, October 15, 2007 Birmingham, Alabama Pearson Auditorium Miles College 2:00 P.M. Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Adam Bowles, piano Charles Mason: Incantesimi Robert Boury: Two Blues John Halle: Rozology Ole Saxe: Tango Orientale for Viola and Piano Phillip Ratliff: Duo for Viola and Piano (World Premiere) A concert of homegrown contemporary music featuring a world premiere for viola and piano by Miles College professor of composition Phillip Ratliff.

Review	Saturday, November 10, 2007 Birmingham, Alabama Hill Recital Hall Birmingham Southern College 7:30 P.M. Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Paul Bowman, guitar Monroe Golden: Ten Strings for violin and guitar Mary Elizabeth Neal: Duo for Violin and Guitar Matthew Scott Phillips: Fate for violin and guitar

	Friday, December 14, 2007 Carbondale, Colorado Steve's Guitars 19 N. 4th 8 P.M. FEAST Karen Bentley Pollick, violin FEAST has created a completely new sound in music. Combining rigorous classical training with the timeless melodies andy rhythms of the great Irish, Spanish, and American musical traditions, as well as Classical music, their concerts are greeted with wild enthusiasm and standing ovations. FEAST offers a program of delightful variety: brilliant and soulful group numbers are interspersed with soulful duos, solos and trios. The emotional palette ranges from tear-jerking versions of "Danny Boy" to humorous versions of classic songs, and all-out rockin' versions of hot fiddle tunes. The result is a stunning and unforgettable musical banquet. 970-963-3304

	Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Birmingham, Alabama Hulsey Recital Hall University of Alabama at Birmingham 7:30 P.M. Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Adam Bowles, piano Avi Friedlander, cello Paul Mosteller, baritone Michael Angell: Prig & the Pig Michael Angell: Songs on Wrongful Death (world premiere)

Read this review from The Birmingham News	Friday, February 15, 2008 Birmingham, Alabama Hill Recital Hall Birmingham Southern College 7:30 P.M. Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Lisa Moore, piano Music of Martin Bresnick Besides having received The Rome Prize, The Berlin Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Koussevitzky Commission, among many others, Martin Bresnick is also recognized as an influential teacher of composition and teaches at the Yale School of Music. Described by The New York Times as "lustrous at the keyboard, and at once engaging and challenging" and as a "phenomenal pianist" in The Village Voice, Australian Lisa Moore enjoys one of the most diverse musical careers experienced by pianists today.

	Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Jacksonville, Alabama Mason Hall Jacksonville State University 7:30 P.M. Karen Bentley Pollick, violin and other members of the BAMA players Technology Enhanced Concert featuring acoustic and electronic instruments with video accompaniment

	Saturday, February 23, 2008 Annville, Pennsylvania Zimmerman Recital Hall, Suzanne H. Arnold Gallery Lebanon Valley College 7:30 P.M. Music of Scott Eggert Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Justin O'Dell, clarinet Dennis Parker, cello Six Wooden Blocks for Violin, Clarinet, and Cello (world premiere) Uccello for Solo Cello Dance Card for Violin and Cello Go! for Violin, Clarinet, and Cello (world premiere)

	Sunday, February 24, 2008 State College, Pennsylvania Palmer Museum of Art in conjunction with the G. Daniel Massad: Loading the Work exhibition Penn State University 2:00 P.M. Music of Scott Eggert Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Justin O'Dell, clarinet Dennis Parker, cello Six Wooden Blocks for Violin, Clarinet, and Cello (world premiere) Uccello for Solo Cello Dance Card for Violin and Cello Go! for Violin, Clarinet, and Cello (world premiere)

	Tuesday, March 4, 2008 Birmingham, Alabama Reynolds/Kirschbaum Recital Hall University of Alabama at Birmingham 7:00 P.M. Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Adam Bowles, piano Avi Friedlander, cello Paul Mosteller, baritone Birmingham Southern College Concert Choir Lester Seigel, conductor Jan Vicar: The Sun is Going Down for female choir and violin Michael Angell: Songs on Wrongful Death

See review from the San Francisco Chronicle	March 12, 14, & 15, 2008 San Francisco, California Theater Artaud 8:00 P.M. Paul Dresher Electro-Acoustic Band Paul Dresher: The Tyrant

	Friday, April 11, 2008 Atlanta, Georgia Emory University Schwartz Center 1700 North Decatur Road 12:00 Noon Karen Bentley Pollick, violin William Ransom, piano Edvard Grieg: Violin sonata No. 3 in C minor, Op. 45 Bach: Violin sonata in E Major

	April 12-18, 2008 Czech Republic April 12, 7 P.M. in Domanín– Dělnický dům April 14, 7 P.M. in Brno – Konvent April 15, 7 P.M. in Kyjov – Divadelní sál April 16, 6 P.M. in Kolín – Židovská synagoga April 17, 7:30 P.M. in Rakovník – Rabasova galerie, Heroldova síň April 18, 7 P.M. in Plzeň – Masné krámy Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Dennis Parker, cello J.S. Bach: Suita C-major for solo cello Viktor Kalabis: Duo for violin and cello Edwin Schulhoff: Duo for violin and cello J.S. Bach Sonata G-minor for solo violin Jan Vicar: Hommage to Fiddlers Scott Eggert: Dance Card for violin and cello

Review	May 4, 2008 Birmingham, Alabama Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham 4300 Hampton Heights Drive 3:00 P.M. and May 5-9, 2008 Birmingham, Alabama Vulcan Park and Museum 1701 Valley View Drive 12:00 P.M. Karen Bentley Pollick, violin Grant Dalton, percussion Christian Woehr: Djembach: Suite for Solo Violin & Percussion (1997) Elliott Carter: March for Solo Timpani (1950) and Riconoscenza per Goffredo Petrassi for Solo Violin (1984) David Jaffe: Impossible Animals (1989 version for Violin and Synthetic Voices) Ole Saxe: Salsa for Karen for Violin and Percussion (1998) Unto Mononen: Satumaa: Finnish Tango (Fairytale Land, 1955) Odd Bakkerud: Fanitullen for Norwegian hardangerfele Poem by Jorgen Moe Ervin T. Rouse: Orange Blossom Special (1936) May 4 only - Dan Tepfer: Solo Blues for Violin and Piano More info from The Birmingham News

	May 16, 2008 Palo Alto, California Stanford University CCRMA Ballroom Paul Dresher Ensemble Sam Adams: Mirror (World Premiere)

Past Performances