$15 youth, $25 Senior/Student, $30 general admission
Tickets available through Eventbrite.
Described as one of the finest soprano saxophone artists of the present generation, Michael Hernandez presents a solo saxophone recital that reinterprets standard repertoire to the saxophone, as well as introduces new works, written specifically for Michael, that will leave you in awe.
“Hernandez’s rich and lush tone offers an unfettered palette of colors that constantly react to the emotional need of the music. His musical intelligence, his talent and his spirit of adventure make him a strong musical collaborator.”
-Nicole Paiement, Artistic Director/Conductor Opera Parallèle, San Francisco
Program:
Sonata No. 2 in C minor TWV 41:c3, Georg Philipp Telemann
Drei Romanzen Op. 94, Robert Schumann
River * (2010), Ola Gjeilo
The Journey* (2012), Karalyn Schubring
And the pleasure blooms to die….*(2022), Juan Sebastián Cardona Ospina
Discrete Structures* (World Premiere), Marc Mellits
Episodes*(2007), Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
*denotes work written for Michael Hernandez
Michael Hernandez, soprano saxophone; Philip Jung, piano accompanist
Artist Profiles
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Concert Saxophonist Michael Hernandez has been described as one of the leading soprano saxophone artists of his generation. His performances have captivated audiences in concert halls across Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, France, Holland, Austria, Italy, the UK as well as North and South America. Michael has been invited to hold residencies at several music festivals throughout the U.S. including Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Music in the Mountains, Hot Springs Music Festival, National Music Festival, Ethos New Music Festival, The Festival of New American Music, the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra, Festival South and the Oklahoma State Contemporary Music Festival. Recently Hernandez has appeared as guest soloist with the Brooklyn Symphony Phoenix Symphony Guild, Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, Redwood Symphony, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Santa Cruz Symphony, The Hot Springs Festival Orchestra, The National Music Festival Orchestra, Echo Chamber Orchestra, The Monterey Symphony, San Jose Wind Symphony, and Colombia’s Banda Municipal de Manizales, among others. He has been featured on WPRB’s Classical Discoveries - Viva 21st Century, WCNY Classic FM’s Fresh Ink, and WNED Buffalo Toronto Public Media’s Classical Stage, and has been broadcasted multiple times nationwide on NPR’s Performance Today. Additionally, Michael has been featured on albums from Mark's Records and Naxos Record labels. Recent highlights include guest performances at BachFest in Leipzig (Germany), Balaton Saxophone Festival (Hungary), the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, Szczecin International Saxophone Festival (Poland), Utrecht Bartholomeus Gasthuis (Holland), the Cité de la Musique de Strasbourg (France), Hanns Eisner Musikhochshule (Germany), Ducal Castle (Poland), The SFJAZZ Center, San Francisco War Memorial, Roulette Intermedium (Brooklyn), Manhattan School of Music, SpectrumNYC, SoundWired Chicago, Roche Family Visiting Artist Series (PA), Fairmont Chamber Music Society (WV), Berkeley Chamber Performances (CA), El Dorado Chamber Concerts (CA), Community Concerts at Second of Baltimore (MD), The Artist Series (FL), Jacksonville’s Friday Musicale (FL), Downto wn Chamber Series (AZ), Music in the Mansion (CA) and countless others. As the founding soprano chair of the acclaimed MANA Quartet, Michael made history in 2009 when MANA became the first saxophone quartet to win the Alice Coleman Grand Prize at the 63rd Annual Coleman Chamber Music Competition. He also earned First Prize in the National MTNA Chamber Music Competition in 2007 and the Beverly Hills National Audition in 2017. Michael is the Co-Founder and owner of MANA Mouthpieces Inc., and frequently lectures on Music Entrepreneurship at colleges and festivals across the U.S. and Germany. An endorsing artist for MANA Mouthpieces, D'Addario Woodwinds, Key Leaves, RooPads, and Lefreque Sound Solutions, he performs on historical saxophones crafted to the specifications of the instrument’s inventor, Adolphe Sax. Currently, Michael serves as the Assistant Professor of Saxophone and Music Entrepreneurship at San Jose State University.
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Philip Jung currently has a B.M. Degree from the Juilliard School of Music and a M.M Degree “Magna Cum Laude” from Tel Aviv University. During his studies in Juilliard, Philip studied with Matti Raekallio; in Tel Aviv, he studied with Emanuel Krasovsky and Arie Vardi. Philip has been playing the piano since the age of 3 and was a scholarship student of John McCarthy in the Preparatory Division at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Since the Fall of 1999 to 2007, Philip has been on the Honorary Distinction List as a Preparatory Student in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is the winner in the piano division of the 2006 California Youth Symphony Young Artist Competition and has received the Steinway Society Award. Philip was invited as a pianist in a special contemporary music seminar presented by Midori in San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre. During the summer, he attended the 2006 Summer Piano Music Festival at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland, where he was named “Best Performer.” In addition to being honored as a four year consecutive recipient of a scholarship from the Chopin Foundation of the United States, Philip has received first prizes in the Pacific Musical Society Competition, San Francisco Chopin Competition and the 2006 Ross McKee Piano Competition. Philip is the only person in the thirty year history of the Korea Times Competition to receive the Grand Prize as both a violinist and pianist. Philip was also awarded with first prize and the title of “Best Performer” for both the Romantic and Classical Periods in the San Francisco Young Artist’s Competition. Philip was invited by Mayor Mr. Joseph P. Rhodes in the City of Reedley and Mr. Kim Jonghoon, the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in San Francisco for the celebration of the Korean American Day in the Opera House at the City of Reedley, California. For the 2002 Anniversary of the Foreign Participants Korean War, Mr. Kim Jonghoon additionally invited Philip as a special guest performer for the Korean Immigration’s 100 year anniversary in San Francisco Philip has performed in numerous masterclasses with renown professors and artists such as Antonio Pompabaldi, Yin Cheng Zong, Jerzy Sterczynski, Dr. William Wellborn, Jerome Rose and Mikhail Petukhov. During his studies in Germany, he studied with Adrian Oetiker. He recently has returned to the Bay Area from Munich, Germany to continue his career in teaching.