The free admission Glendale Noon Concerts series has returned to live performance

at the sanctuary of Glendale City Church, 610 E. California Ave. in Glendale. Programs are from 12:10 p.m. to 12:40 p.m.

Performing will be Kirstin Fife on violin and Brendan White on piano. The theme of the Jan. 21 concert is “Queens and Kings.”

“The Tarot Project” composed by Kirstin Fife is a cycle of 78 pieces of music for violin and piano. Every piece is a musical representation of each card in the tarot deck. While the ultimate performance is a musical tarot reading achieved by pulling random cards from the deck, for this performance a series of pieces will be played by pre-selecting the queens and kings cards. 

Kirstin Fife is a violinist, performer, composer and teacher. As a composer/arranger/ orchestrator, she has had several of her chamber works performed in Southern California, including “Dali Pieces” at the Newport  Beach Library Concert Series, “Cornucopia” at the Glendale Noon Concerts, “Hair Pieces” at  South Pasadena Presbyterian Church Concerts, and “The Major Arcana” at Sun Space. In April 2019, she was invited by Doug Tornquist to speak at USC about her “Tuba Sonatina.” Also, several tuba players worldwide have performed her work “Basso Bossa” for tuba and piano. In the fall of 2020, Santa Barbara Symphony presented  a movement from her duo for flute and viola, “Indoor Games.” Most recently “Quintet for Flute and Strings” was premiered at the Glendale Noon Concerts in August 2023. Other notable performances of Fife’s music at Glendale Noon Concerts include the “Sonata for Violin and Piano,” “Tango Johana” for violin and piano and “Charities” for solo viola d’amore. “Quintet for Clarinet and Strings” was premiered by the Avanti Ensemble. Also, she and pianist Albert Wood Potts premiered her 14-movement suite “Cups” last October at a private home recital. The Glendale Noon Concert on Sept. 18, 2024 was the first time that six of the movements were performed publicly.

As a freelance violinist, she has released two solo CDs: “Pieces of My Heart” and “Czechmate.” As a session violinist, she has recorded extensively for movies, TV and records. She has performed on several  award shows, including  the Grammy Awards, Academy Awards and Emmy Awards. In 2023 she served as concertmaster for the Pasadena Playhouse’s production of ”A Little Night Music.” In addition, Kirstin has always maintained a private violin/viola teaching studio.

Kirstin Fife holds degrees from Yale University (MM) and USC (BM).

Brendan White is a Grammy Award-winning artist whose performances feature a wide range of classical and contemporary piano repertoire. White is based in the LA area where he collaborates with orchestras, chamber ensembles and solo artists. He is a featured musician on Danaë Vlasse’s Grammy Award-winning album “Mythologies.” White performs solo recitals celebrating new composers and historically overlooked masterpieces. His collaborations include performances with with the Eastman School’s Musica Nova, Vicente Chamber Orchestra, Global Harmony Symphony, Jackson Symphony, Symphony of the Verdugos, and more. As one of Piano Sphere’s Emerging Artists, he has worked with notable composers and conductors including Thomas Adès, Alma Deutscher, Alan Pierson, Donald Crockett and Steven Stucky.

  A Tennessee native, White studied at the Eastman School of Music and University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. In addition to his performance career, he is passionate about music education and teaches students of all ages. He is an original member of the annual Sunset Chamberfest in Los Angeles, which features the work of young composers in Southern California.