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. On Feb. 7 from 12:10 p.m. to 12:40 p.m., the Glendale Noon Concerts will feature violinist Sakura Tsai and cellist Stella Cho performing duos by Maurice Ravel and Reinhold Glière.

The program includes Maurice Ravel’s “Sonata for Violin and Cello” and selected movement(s) from Reinhold Glière’s “8 Pieces for Violin and Cello, Op. 39.”

Violinist and educator Sakura Tsai enjoys a multifaceted career having performed nationally and internationally as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician.

A native of Southern California, Dr. Tsai earned degrees (B.M., M.M., and D.M.A.) in violin performance from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music where she was honored the prestigious Order of Areté and became a member of Pi Kappa Lambda. Her mentors and teachers included Midori Goto, Kathleen Winkler, Hagai Shaham and Alice Schoenfeld. Additional fields of study while pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree included music theory and analysis, violin pedagogy with Endre Granat, and kinesiology.

A dedicated educator, Dr. Tsai is artist teacher of violin at the University of Redlands. She is also on faculty at California School of the Arts-San Gabriel Valley, California State Summer School for the Arts, Junior Chamber Music (Inland Empire), and, most recently, Montecito International Music Festival. Dr. Tsai makes frequent appearances as an adjudicator and serves as a clinician in schools around Southern California where she mentors aspiring young musicians. In 2018, Dr. Tsai was selected to be the guest conductor of the San Bernardino County High School honor orchestra. She coaches instrumentalists in the Walnut Valley Unified School District at both Diamond Bar and Walnut high schools while being actively involved with the Diamond Bar High School Performing Arts Academy Advanced Music Program. In addition, Dr. Tsai has a robust private studio and has previously held faculty positions at Marymount California University and Idyllwild Arts Academy.

As a performer, Dr. Tsai is currently a member of the Redlands Symphony Orchestra and the Long Beach Symphony. She performs in several regional orchestras and has spent summers at the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland) and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (Germany) academies, and Music Masters Course Japan (Japan). Dr. Tsai maintains an active career as a chamber musician winning honors at international competitions such as the International Young Artists Peninsula Music Festival and the Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition. As a violinist with chamber ensembles Definiens, DuselForty58, and the What’s Next? Ensemble, Dr. Tsai has championed works of numerous living composers. An avid performer of contemporary music, extensive collaboration with young composers with these ensembles included residencies and performance projects at institutions such as Idyllwild Arts Academy, California State University, Northridge and Long Beach, University of California, Riverside, and University of Southern California. Dr. Tsai’s solo and ensemble performances have been featured live on world-wide television and radio broadcasts such as classical KUSC, KRTU-FM, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (Germany), and Japan Broadcasting Corporation – NHK (Japan).

South Korean cellist Stella Cho made her London solo debut at the Royal Albert Hall at 15 years old. Since then, she has concertized in South Korea, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Austria, Croatia and the USA. She has been featured on national television and radio on numerous occasions. Cho was also selected as one of the Holland Music Sessions’ “New Masters on Tour” and gave solo recitals across Europe, including prestigious venues Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Slovak Philharmonic Hall in Bratislava.

Cho has been invited to numerous renowned music festivals around the world, including Yellow Barn, Ravinia Steans Institute, Aspen Music Festival, Casals Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, Banff Chamber Music Festival, the Perlman Music Program and IMS Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music. She has also collaborated with eminent musicians such as Ralph Kirshbaum, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Joseph Kalichstein, Joseph Silverstein and Borromeo Quartet.

Cho earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees with honors at the respected Gregor Piatigorsky Studio at USC’s Thornton School of Music under Ralph Kirshbaum and furthered her studies at the New England Conservatory with Laurence Lesser. She completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at University of Southern California and was honored as the outstanding DMA graduate.

Cho is a dedicated teacher and she holds positions as cello faculty at Loyola Marymount University and Colburn Community School of Performing Arts. As an active performer, she regularly performs in the SAKURA Cello Quintet and the self-conducted chamber ensemble Delirium Musicum, with whom she recently recorded their debut album with Warner Classics.

For information on upcoming concerts, visit http://glendalenoonconcerts.blogspot.com.