The Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music will present a Faculty Cello Recital, featuring virtuoso cellist, Dr. Steven Elisha, and Dr. Kyung A. Yoo, piano, Monday, March 3 at 7:30pm in the Carol A. Carter Recital Hall (Statesboro Campus).
The program includes 19th and 20th Century masterpieces for cello and piano, including Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58 by Felix Mendelssohn, Cello Sonata No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99 by Johannes Brahms and Bohuslav Martinů’s Variations on a Theme of Rossini, H.290.
The program is free and open to the public.
About Dr. Steven Elisha
Internationally acclaimed cellist, Dr. Steven Elisha, has taught and performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, Norway, China, Taiwan, Brazil, Israel and the United States. He first attracted attention at the age of fifteen when began performing professionally and gave solo performances with the Albany and Schenectady (New York) Symphonies.
Elisha’s New York debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and premiere performance of Cry of the Dove (a cello concerto written by his sister, Adrienne Elisha) drew critical acclaim. As an honorary member and returned guest of the Beijing Cello Society, he has extensively toured mainland China, performing recitals and teaching master classes at the Shanghai, Canton, Xian, Jinan and Beijing conservatories. While serving as the Co-Principal Cellist of the Bergen (Norway) Philharmonic, Dr. Elisha was teaching at the Grieg Academy of Music.
Dr. Elisha has performed as a featured soloist with the Beijing Central Philharmonic and Symphonies of Beijing, Xian, Jinan, and Canton, Toledo Symphony, Connecticut Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Topeka Symphony, Gulf Coast Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Highland Park Strings, Washington Square Music Festival Orchestra, Hastings Symphony, Lawrence Chamber Orchestra, Sunflower Music Festival Chamber Orchestra and National Taiwan Arts Orchestra.
Formerly, Director of String Studies at Washburn University, Principal Cellist of the Topeka Symphony, and Conductor of the Topeka Symphony Youth Orchestra, Elisha was also the Artistic Director/ Conductor of the Lawrence Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Elisha regularly gives recitals, master classes, workshops and residencies throughout the United States and internationally, including the Jerusalem Academy, University of Haifa, National Taiwan University of the Arts, Grieg Academy, Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy, and the Milan Conservatory.
As an Arts-in Education program, his fun-loving and innovative “Mr. Cello Stories” is enjoyed by audiences of all ages. Elisha frequently presents workshops, teaches and performs at national and international festivals, conferences and summer music programs, which have included the Bergen International Music Festival, Summit Music Festival, Sunflower Music Festival, Washington Square Music Festival, Charleston International Music School, Omaha Conservatory Summer Institute, College Music Society and American String Teachers National Conference.
Elisha is co-founder and cellist of the Elaris Duo, with violinist Larisa Elisha. As a recording artist, he is heard on a Grammy-nominated Musical Heritage Society recording of New England piano trios, Yale Cellos of Aldo Parisot on Delos, as well as DUO VIRTUOSO and DUO VIRTUOSO II on MSR-Classics, which received high-praised reviews in Fanfare Magazine, Gramophone American Record Guide and other leading music publications. Both MSR-Classics releases received the prestigious Global Music Awards.
Recent concert tours include a Germany Tour of Berlin, Leipzig, Halle and Bamberg, as well as an Italy Tour of Milan and Bologna. Currently, Dr. Elisha is Professor of Music, Strings Area Head and Director of Orchestras at Georgia Southern University Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music, as well as the Co-Director of Strings at Southern Music Festival, the Elaris International Summer Academy and the Regional Representative of the American String Teachers Association Georgia Chapter.
About Dr. Kyung-A Yoo
Hailed for “her expressive and sensitive sound,” Dr. Kyung-A Yoo, Associate Professor of Collaborative Piano joined the faculty of the Townsend School of Music (TSM) in 2021. Currently she teaches collaborative piano, solo piano, chamber music, sight reading skills, and basic musicianship. She is planning to create various courses related to collaborative piano in the future. As a distinguished artist at Robert McDuffie Center for Strings, Dr. Yoo coaches and performs with string players and guest artists. Before joining TSM, she served as an Artist Collaborator at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music for nine years.
Working closely with such renowned musicians and pedagogues as Leone Buyse, Paul Kantor, Richie Hawley, and Stephen King, she played for numerous master classes and recitals every year. Under the mentorship of Dr. Yoo, many students won competitions, orchestra jobs and entered prestigious music schools such as the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, the Colburn School, Peabody School of Music, New England Conservatory, and Eastman School of Music to name a few. Her performances and interviews were featured on The Front Row, hosted by KUHF Houston Public Radio, collaborating with flutists Leone Buyse, Jean Ferrandis, and Sergio Pallottelli.
Throughout her career, Dr. Yoo collaborated with many distinguished artists and the list includes Ralph Kirshbaum, Steve Doane, Tim Eddy, Mark Kaplan, Barbara Butler, Jean Ferrandis, and Richie Hawley. Her professional career started at Manhattan School of Music where she received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano under the tutelage of Dr. Heasook Rhee and worked as a staff pianist and vocal coach. As a collaborative pianist, she frequently performed with new music ensemble the New York Composers Circle, the Joy in Singing Art Song Competition, New Triad for Collaborative Arts, and the Korea Music Foundation, presenting debut recitals and annual concerts at Carnegie and Merkin Halls.
Additionally, she was featured in Classical Singer magazine and her performances was broadcast by WQXR radio station in New York City. Equally at home in both instrumental and vocal repertoire, she appeared in the world premiere performance of American composer Tom Cipullo’s song cycle, A Visit with Emily, and was re-invited to perform it in the following year. In addition, she was one of the five pianists selected to participate in the prestigious vocal festival, Art Song Festival at Baldwin-Wallace College where she worked with the renowned collaborative pianist, Warren Jones. As a strong supporter of new music, she has premiered numerous works for piano and varied chamber music ensembles including Requiem for the Living by Elliot Levine and Óyeme con los ojos by Allison Sniffin. Eugene McBride, a composer in residence with the New York Composers Circle, has written piano solo and chamber music works for Dr. Yoo.
Dr. Yoo’s most memorable experience came when she entered Mannes College of Music where she had the honor of studying with a world-renowned pianist, Leon Pommers, who had performed exclusively with violinist Nathan Milstein. At Mannes College, she received her Master of Music and Professional Studies Certificate in Piano Performance. It was under Mr. Pommers’ guidance that she was first introduced to the collaborative aspects of performance. Dr. Yoo also served as a staff accompanist at Summit Music Festival and Quartet Program and was invited to the Music Academy of the West at Santa Barbara as a full-scholarship pianist. During two summers there, she worked intensely with Anne Epperson and Jonathan Feldman.
After serving as a visiting Assistant Professor of Collaborative Piano at the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University, Dr. Yoo continued her work as a collaborative pianist at Oberlin Conservatory. She also worked as faculty member of the Heifetz International Music Institute for five years and joined Aspen Music Festival and School in 2014 as a collaborative pianist and performance coach.
