On June 4 the free admission Glendale Noon Concerts (GNC) will feature violinist Mari Haig and pianist Christine Sotomayor Lopez performing works by J.S. Bach, Massenet, Khachaturian and Albeniz. They will be performing the “Prelude from Solo Suite” for viola, “J.S. Bach Meditation” from Thaiis J. Massenet, “Nocturne from Masquerade Suite” by A Khachaturian and “Sevilla” by I. Albeniz.

Violinist Mari Haig served as concertmaster in tribute concerts for the double coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla for Queen Elizabeth’s 60th Diamond Jubilee and for the royal wedding of Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton. In the U.S., Haig is assistant concertmaster of the St. John Chamber Orchestra. She has played in the Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay, the Los Angeles Baroque and the Disneyland Candlelight Orchestras, Musica Angelica, Long Beach, Riverside, Pacific, Pasadena, Desert and San Diego symphonies, and Burbank Philharmonic. Haig has performed with a broad range of artists, including Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie, Henry Mancini, Buddy Rich, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, Mannheim Steamroller and for Carla Morrison at the Hollywood Bowl. Haig is the concertmaster and arranger/orchestrator for singer Mario Bryant. Haig is featured on countless CDs, including “Echoes of Vilna,” which is in the Library of Congress. Her improvisation on violin, viola and cello can be heard on Emmy Award winning soundtracks for television shows, including “The Bold and the Beautiful.”

Christine Sotomayor Lopez received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano performance and accompanying from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, where she also holds a doctorate degree in choral conducting. As a pianist/accompanist, she has toured throughout the United States and Mexico as an accompanist for many outstanding instrumentalists and vocalists. She held the position as opera coach for Arizona Opera, Four Corners Opera and Chautauqua Summer Opera Program. She is emeritus faculty at Cerritos Community College. She was the coordinator of the keyboard studies program and director of the Applied Music Program for 31 years. 

Dr. Lopez was chosen Cerritos College Most Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year for 1997-98. Her musical credits as conductor and musical director at Cerritos College include “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” “Die Fledermaus,” “Pippin,” “West Side Story,” “Once On This Island” and “Cabaret” among others. She is the music director and organist at St. Cyprian’s Catholic Church in Long Beach, scholarship chairman of the Orange County Sigma Alpha Iota alumnae chapter, active member of the MTAC Lakewood-Cerritos chapter, orchestral pianist for Whittier Regional Symphony, Bellflower Symphony, Peninsula Symphony and the Long Beach Community Band and choral accompanist at Fullerton.

Performances are at the sanctuary of Glendale City Church, 610 E. California Ave. in Glendale. http://glendalenoonconcerts.blogspot.com