The free admission Glendale Noon Concerts series from 12:10 p.m. to 12:40 p.m. will next feature cellist Jerome Kessler and pianist Valeria Morgovskaya on Wednesday, June 3 in the sanctuary of Glendale City Church, 610 E. California Ave. in Glendale. They will be performing works by Beethoven and Kessler. 

For over half a century, Jerome Kessler has been active in the music world of Southern California. He was a founding member of the Beverly Hills Trio and the Los Angeles Cello Quartet. Since 1981 he has served as music director/conductor of the Topanga Symphony. He is a member of the Camilli Trio.
An original member of Stokowski’s American Symphony Orchestra, he was former principal cellist of the Pasadena Symphony. Since 1964 he has played in Hollywood’s recording, motion picture and television orchestras.

A proponent of contemporary music, he has commissioned and/or premiered works for cello, multiple cello and orchestra by such composers as Barry Brisk, Frank Campo, Ron Jones, Fred Katz, Robert Linn, Thomas Pasatieri, JAC Redford, Nelson Riddle, Willard Roosevelt and Eugene Zador.

As cellist, conductor and composer, he has appeared in all four corners of the U.S. and in between. He played with Pierre Boulez and Frank Zappa and recorded with John Denver, Neil Diamond, Richard Harris and Nicolas Slonimsky.

Pianist Valeria Morgovskaya graduated from the Kiev State Conservatory. Since her immigration to the U.S. in 1990, Morgovskaya has been in high demand as accompanist for singers and all orchestral instrumentalists. She has been an official accompanist to festivals and courses such as Piatigorsky Cello Seminar and Beverly Hills Music Festival, and has performed throughout the U.S, Germany and Japan, as well as on numerous radio broadcasts. She has provided accompaniment for many national and international competitions and was an official accompanist at Schoenfeld International String Competition in Hong Kong (2013) and Harbin (2014). Morgovskaya is currently staff accompanist at Loyola Marymount University and UCLA, and is often engaged in that capacity at USC, Cal State Long Beach, Colburn School, Montecito International Music Festival, Academy of the West and Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts.

The free admission Glendale Noon Concerts is celebrating its 18th year of presenting concerts every first and third Wednesday for Glendale and the Southland community.

Upcoming concerts will be updated at http://glendalenoonconcerts.blogspot.com.