Sunday, January 12, 2020, at 7 pm Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto map * guest performers   Sonata Op. 5, No. 2 in G minor for piano and cello   Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Adagio sostenuto e espressivo - Allegro molto più tosto presto   Rondo (Allegro)   performed by Ching Shih, piano; Walter Halvorsen, cello Sonata No.1 for Viola and Piano, Op. 240   Darius Milhaud (1892–1974) Entrée   Français   Air   Final   Intermezzo for Viola and Piano   Nino Rota (1911–1979) performed by Noriko Iwamoto, viola; Richard Sogg, piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 11   Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Allegro con brio   Adagio   Tema con variazioni ("Pria ch'io l'impegno": Allegretto)   performed by Jen Chang, piano; Eri Ishigaki*, violin; Jennifer Mathers*, cello Cellist Walter Halvorsen holds a degree in Violoncello Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with soloist Paul Tobias. He also studied at the New School of Music in Philadelphia under the tutelage of Orlando Cole of the Curtis String Quartet. He was a founding member of the Silverwood Trio and performed in chamber music series throughout the Boston area for 11 years. In the SF Bay Area he has performed in chamber music ensembles on the Cal Arte Ensemble, Fortnightly Music Club, Soiree Musicale and Stanford Hospital Bing concert series. Pianist Ching Shih was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She was the first prize winner of Capital Youth Concerto Competition in 2000. She majored in Piano Performance and graduated with a Masters in Music from the University of Washington in 2003, then moved to the Bay Area in 2004. She joined the Fortnightly Music Club in 2007. She currently lives and teaches in San Francisco and enjoys performing classical music. As an active chamber musician, Noriko Iwamoto performs extensively in the Bay Area. Her intuition in music making comes from playing in orchestras and ensembles in Japan, Mexico and US. Noriko studied under the tutelage of Shizuko Ishii, Willard Tressel, Renat Schuba and the Smetana Quartet. Richard Sogg, pianist, began his lessons at age 6 and has studied with Beryl Rubinstein, John Delevoryas, Adloph Baller, and most recently with Menahem Pressler both at Indiana University and at the Adamant Vermont Music School. He has been a soloist with the Boston Symphony, San Jose Symphony, Mission Chamber Orchestra, Nova Vista Symphony and Master Sinfonia. He is an active chamber musician in Northern California and in Pittsburgh (PA). In his other life he specialized in Neuro-ophthalmology and studied at Harvard, Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and at UCSF. He is Professor emeritus at Stanford University School of Medicine. Violinist Eri Ishigaki* has performed throughout Japan and internationally as a soloist, in ensembles, as a studio musician, and in orchestras. Originally from Kanagawa, Japan, she completed her undergraduate degree at the Toho Music School in Tokyo and obtained a Masters degree in Violin Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under San Francisco Symphony’s concertmaster Alexander Barantschik. Jen Mathers is a cellist and pianist who studied music and environmental sciences at Northwestern University. She works part-time in habitat restoration and native plant landscaping, and part-time as a freelance cellist. She has played in orchestras, chamber music ensembles, opera, ballet, and musical theater productions for over 20 years. She manages, performs in, and arranges classical, contemporary, and jazz music for Bay Area Strings (www.BayAreaStrings.com), which provides ensembles for weddings and other special events. She is principal cellist of Symphony Parnassus and the Solano Symphony, and has performed with many professional orchestras around the Bay Area.