NOON ConcertS presents The Strobe Quartet
Laura Griffiths, Oboe; Ani Bukujian, Violin; Elizabeth Prior, Viola; Krisanthy Desby, Cello
PROGRAM
Johann Christian Bach: Quartet in B Major
Vincent Russo: Visions of Joan of Arc
Edward Elgar: Quartet for Solo Oboe and String Trio
Neal Desby: Passacaglia and Fugue in the Time of Covid
Franz Josef Haydn: String Trio, Hob. XVI
Gordon Jacob: Quartet for Oboe and Strings
Strobe is an award-winning oboe quartet, receiving grants from the Zellerbach Family Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, InterMusicSF, and most recently, Chamber Music America, for a new work by UCLA-based composer Kay Rhie. Formed in 2016, Strobe’s mission is to expand the oboe repertoire, violin, viola, and cello. They have commissioned four composers to write music for the oboe quartet and performed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. A new recording with commissioned works is forthcoming.
MUSICIANS
Laura Griffiths, Oboe, is Principal Oboe of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and Professor o Oboe at San Jose State University. In demand as an orchestral musician, she has been Principal Oboe of the Cleveland Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic, and Acting Principal Oboe of
the San Francisco Opera. She has also served as guest Principal Oboe with the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles, Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony. She is active as a chamber musician with Strobe and other ensembles during the year, as well as summers at Midsummer Mozart Festival, Music in the Mountains, and the Britt Festival.
Ani Bukujian, violin, is Principal Second Violin of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and Concertmaster of the Marin Symphony. She began violin at age two, making her solo debut at the age of seven. She has won numerous awards, including three gold medals at the World Championship of Performing Arts, First Place at the J.S. Bach Competition, ASTA Annual National solo Competition, and the Pasadena String Festival. She received her Bachelor's and Master’s degrees from the Juilliard School, and studied with SFS Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and at music festivals throughout the world.
Elizabeth Prior, Viola, is Principal Viola of the San Francisco Symphony, Associate Principal Viola of the Marin Symphony, and a member of New Century Chamber Orchestra. She plays regularly with the San Francisco Ballet and Opera orchestras. Before coming to the US, she played with the Cape Town Symphony in her native South Africa, and worked in Germany with the Basel Symphony and the Freiburg Philharmonic, where she was Associate Principal Viola. She founded the Broderick Ensemble and the Farralon Quintetn, and organized the Devon House Garden Concert chamber music series during the COVID lockdown. She has performed at the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, Midsummer Mozart Festival, and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony. Her new album, Viola Romance with pianist Miles Graber, can be found on Spotify and Apple Music.
Krisanthy Desby, cello, has performed in orchestras and chamber ensembles in the US, Mexico, Europe, South Africa, and India. She was Associate Principal Cello of the Napa Valley Symphony and the Santa Cruz Symphony, and continues to play with several orchestras throughout the Bay Area. She ahgs coached young chamber and orchestral musicians as a String Specialist at University High School and at the San Domenico School in San Anselmo. Before coming to San Francisco, she played in the Houston Symphony, and well as the Houston Ballet Orchestra and the Houston Grand Opera, and was a member of the Tucson Symphony. She founded the Laurel Ensemble, which performed throughout the Bay Area and at Hong Kong’s Musicarama Festival. She has been a member of the Mendocino Music Festival, Neuberg Kulturtage in Austria, the Scotia Festival and is currently a member of the Midsummer Mozart Festival and the Grand Teton Music Festival.
SUPPORT If you would like to help us continue these important concerts and ensure they are available to everyone to enjoy please consider donating, volunteering or sponsorship. We are grateful for any help and dedicated to serving our community of audience and performers.
ABOUT NOON CONCERTS Our 2024 season of signature Noon Concerts fills the theater with the intimate warmth and beauty of superbly talented Bay Area, National and International talent. All concerts are free to the pubic, we welcome everyone through our doors. Join us to celebrate the transcendent power of live music.
CURATOR We have had the good fortune to have Beni Shinoharas our Noon Concerts Curator over the last 9 years. She is a highly respected Bay Area musician who is in demand for her talent and dedication. She has made our Noon Concerts one of the area’s sought-after engagements for many performers and we are thrilled to have her curating our Season once again.
SUPPORT If you would like to help us continue these important concerts and ensure they are available to everyone to enjoy please consider donating or volunteering or sponsorship. We are grateful for any help and dedicated to serving our community of audience and performers.