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RVCC to Present Concert Featuring Music by Catalan Composers

originally published: 03/01/2023

(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- Raritan Valley Community College’s Arts & Design department will present “Catalans in United States: Joan Manén, Lluis Benejam, Marc Migó,”a a concert featuring the musical trio of Bethany Bobbs (cello), Kalina Macuta (violin), and Daniel Blanch (piano) on March 19 at 6:00pm. The event, part of the MOZAIKA Concert Series’ 2022-2023 season, will be held in the Welpe Theatre at the College’s Branchburg campus.

The concert offers the opportunity to discover three Catalan composers who developed their careers partially in the United States: Joan Manén (1883-1971), Marc Migó (1993-), and Lluis Benejam (1914-1968). Their unique styles merge the Mediterranean light with American influences. Similarly, the performers featured in the concert, Bethany Bobbs from the United States, and Daniel Blanch and Kalina Macuta from Catalonia, will merge their musicality to showcase the stylistic richness that characterizes the music of the three featured composers.

A recipient of the Jerome L. Greene Fellowship, Bethany Bobbs (shown at the top of this article) is a cellist at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Astrid Schween. Bobbs has won numerous prizes, including the Lynn Harrell Competition, Adelphi Young Artists Competition, and the Houston Symphony Concerto Competition. She is currently a Jupiter Symphony Chamber Player, where she performs alongside musicians such as Paul Neubauer, Stella Chen, and Stefan Jackiw. In 2020 Bobbs and her twin sister, Susanna, founded a non-profit organization known as Harmony for Healing, which has provided financial aid to unemployed artists struggling during COVID-19 and Ukrainian refugees in need of medical supplies and humanitarian aid.

A versatile, creative musician committed to recovering his country’s musical heritage, Daniel Blanch (shown above) has had a solid career as a solo pianist and chamber musician. Since his début at the Palau de la Música de Barcelona in 1999, he has participated in numerous cycles and festivals, performing in such European concert halls as the Brahms Saal of the Musikverein of Vienna, the Auditori de Barcelona, and the Witold Lutoslawski Hall in Warsaw. He has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Sinfonia Varsovia, the Cuban National Symphony, the Podlasie Philharmonic, the  Prague Chamber Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, and the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz.

Born in Olsztyn, Poland, Kalina Macuta (shown above) studied under the direction of well-known Polish teachers Artur Milian and Magdalena Szczepanowska. She has won such competitions as Tadeusz Wronski International Competition for Violin Solo, 14th International Chamber Music Competition in Lodz with the Tutte le Strade Piano Quintet, and the Maria Canals International Competition of Barcelona. In 2005 she made her début as a soloist at the Palau de la Música Catalana of Barcelona with the Andorra Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Miquel Ortega, and since then has performed throughout Europe. She also has played with Simfonia Varsovia, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Sant Cugat Symphony Orchestra, Garraf Chamber Orchestra, and Reial Cercle Artístic Symphony Orchestra, among others.

 

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The MOZAIKA Concert Series is designed to promote multicultural dialogue through the performance of music from the classical canon through the 21st Century.

A post-performance discussion with the artists will follow the concert. General admission tickets cost $15 each; admission is free for seniors and students. For advance ticket reservations, contact the RVCC Theatre Box Office at 908-725-3420. For information, call the Arts & Design department at 908-218-8876. Concert proceeds will benefit the Applied Music Fund for scholarships and the purchasing of musical instruments for RVCC music students.

The MOZAIKA Concert Series is made possible by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, New Jersey.