House Concert April 1, 2012
Foothill Chamber Winds with Aileen James, piano
Murray Campbell (oboe), Cathy Collings (bassoon), Henry Hansen (clarinet), Cameron Kopf (French horn), Kirsti Powell, (flute)
Sunday, April 1 • 2pm
$30 per person Location: a private home in Nevada City…directions upon paid reservation
This is the way chamber music was meant to be enjoyed…unique programming with a delightful salon-style social offering! Enjoy a Mozart Quintet for Clarinet, Bassoon, Oboe, Horn and Piano; Sextet by Poulenc for Flute, Oboe, Horn, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano – and more! “The Mozart and Poulenc works are challenging for all, and worth the effort! – the Mozart is exquisitely beautiful, and the Poulenc has his usual touches of quirky humor.” says Aileen James.
Foothill Chamber Winds
Kirsti Powell, Flute, began her love of music in the fifth grade in her hometown of Santa Monica, California. While in high school, she was part of a group of young flutists who performed with James Galway and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the premiere of John Corigliano’s “Pied Piper Fantasy.” During college, she performed with the Pepperdine University Orchestra, played in the pit for many musicals and operas, and met her clarinetist husband, Bill, while both played in the UCLA Marching Band. Music remained an active part of her life after college, but took a backseat to raising her two children, now 16 and 18. Kirsti rekindled her passion for playing flute after moving to Grass Valley eight years ago. During the last few years Kirsti has performed locally with Sierra Stages, InConcert Sierra, Nevada County Composers Cooperative, and other community groups.
Murray Campbell, Oboe, was raised by musicians in a small village in the hills of southern Scotland. The overwhelming majority of the objects in the house were musical instruments and thus became indistinguishable from toys, an attitude that continues to this day. He was trained in musical versatility by, among others, his parents and his piano teacher: the composer Ronald Stevenson. Ultimately focusing on violin and oboe, he studied the latter with Robin Miller (former principal, SCO) while obtaining a B.Sc. in Mathematical Physics at the University of Edinburgh. In 1996 he moved to the Netherlands to study Sonology at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. After seven years working there as a performer and composer for Amsterdam-based experimental theatre company De Daders he met his partner Amber and followed her to Nevada County where he is currently active in several diverse ensembles.
Henry Hansen, Clarinet, joined the Foothill Chamber Winds in early 2003. He performs regularly with the Sierra Nevada Winds Orchestra and has been a member of various foothill and Sacramento-area orchestral groups—including Orchestre Panache, the Auburn Symphony, and the Orchestra of the Concerts of All Hallows. He has played in pit orchestras for such groups as Sierra Stages, CATS, Foothill Theater Company, and the Auburn Light Opera Company. For many years he conducted the Nevada County Concert Band. Henry has performed in and organized more than a dozen house concerts in Nevada City and Grass Valley, including four solo recitals. He maintains a small number of private students and continues his clarinet studies with Deborah Pittman in Sacramento. Among other degrees, Henry holds a BA in Clarinet Performance from Western State College of Colorado, where he had the opportunity to perform at the New York World’s Fair and Radio City Music Hall.
Cameron Kopf, French Horn, originally from Sacramento, now lives in the woods of Washington, CA. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in French Horn performance in 1976 at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. He was a member of the Nashville Symphony and La Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico before returning to Sacramento in 1982, where he played with the Sacramento Symphony for fourteen years. Cameron also participated in the Music in the Mountains festival from 1985 through 2001. In 1997, he joined the national touring company of The Phantom of the Opera and was on the road for ten years, traveling extensively throughout the US and Canada. He moved back to Northern California in 2007 to perform in various ensembles and orchestras throughout Northern California, and in Broadway shows in San Francisco and Sacramento. He also plays the harp and recorder family, and composes for those and other instruments.
Cathy Collings, Bassoon, received her music training at the Oberlin Conservatory. She played with many orchestras and other ensembles in Alaska, Montana, and Nevada before moving to Nevada County in 1991. Here she has played in several local orchestras including the Auburn Symphony, sung in local choirs, founded the Foothill Chamber Winds, assisted with children’s theater, coached student chamber music, and has been a long time volunteer for Music in the Mountains. A lover of chamber music, she has participated in many chamber music workshops in Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Arcata. She currently teaches piano and bassoon, performs and manages the musicians for Sierra Stages and for the Foothill Chamber Winds, sings with the Music in the Mountains’ Festival Chorale, and stage manages for InConcertSierra and the Nevada County Composers Cooperative. Other music-related activities include tuning harpsichords and turning pages for pianists during performances.
Dr. Aileen James
Aileen James, piano, holds a bachelor degree in music and a masters degree in piano performance and music history. In 1976 she was accepted to Stanford University on full fellowship, the only pianist in the graduate program, and received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Performance practices (DMA). Her studies encompassed an equal amount of performance and research, with a thesis on Brahms. Further studies include University of Southern California, the Schubert Institute in Austria, and the Royamount Music Festival in France, and private studies with Adolph Baller of the Alma Trio, and Julian White of Berkeley.
Dr. James has been a private teacher for over 50 years and served on the faculties of Pacific Union College, Stanford and Santa Clara Universities. From 1986 – 1997 she was the Artistic Director of the American Pianists Association in Indianapolis, heading its Biennial National Piano Fellowship Competition and the fellowship program. While living there, she was forum hostess and wrote the program notes for the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. As a member of the Music Teachers National Association and Music Teachers Association of California, she has been active as a lecture recitalist and taught master classes.
Currently, Aileen lives in Grass Valley and continues her enjoyment of performing chamber music and lecture-recitals. She frequently shares the bench with her colleague and friend, Ken Hardin, in piano four-hands (and sometimes even two pianos!). Her relationship with the American Pianist Association has resulted in a partnership with InConcert Sierra that brings us a Fellowship Winner to the opening concert of the Third Sunday Season each year.
