The Stratus Ensemble will be presenting the December concert in the Brighton Allston Congregational Concert series on Sunday, December 20 at 3:00 p.m. The concert is in the church’s sanctuary, known for its excellent acoustics. Brighton Allston Congregational Church UCC is located at 404 Washington Street in Brighton Center.
The Stratus Ensemble performers are Yhasmin Valenzuela, clarinetist; Deirdre Viau, flute; Paul Jacobs, piano; and Sebastian Chaves, bassoon. The program is an especially varied one, featuring works not only by Bach, Mendelssohn, and Saint-Saëns, but also Messager, Martinu, Villa-Lobos, and Paquito D’Rivera.
All proceeds from the concert benefit the renovation of the Community Supper kitchen. General admission to the concert is $10; students and seniors are $5; low income persons are admitted free. Thanks to the generosity of Citizens Bank, there is parking next door in the Citizens Bank parking lot. Both driving and public transit directions are available at www.brightonucc.blogspot.com.
Yhasmin Valenzuela: A native of Peru, Yhasmin earned her bachelor’s degree at the Lima Conservatory “Josafat Roel Pineda” in both clarinet performance and music education.
She continued her studies in the United States at Texas Christian University where she received her Master’s Degree in Clarinet Performance. In 2005, she obtained a Graduate Performance Diploma with distinction at the Longy School of Music. While at Longy, she was a winner of the 2005 Honors Competition.
She has performed with ensembles in Peru, Mexico and the United States, including the Lima Symphony Orchestra, TCU Symphony Orchestra, TCU Wind Ensemble, and the Musica Anatolia Contemporary Ensemble. She was recently invited to perform as a soloist with the UTA Orchestra in Texas.
A founding member of the Stratus Ensemble, she is currently on the faculty at the Westwood Public Schools and at Beaver Country Day School.
Sebastian Chaves: Born and raised in Costa Rica, Sebastian started playing bassoon at age 15 at the National Institute of Music in his hometown San José. He later received a Bachelor in Music Performance and a Bachelor in Music Education degrees from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and Master of Music Performance and Graduate Performance Diploma degrees from the New England Conservatory in Boston.
Sebastian participated in international music programs such as the Tournon-sur-Rhône Music Festival (France), Round Top Music Festival (TX), Interlochen Arts Academy (MI), Chautauqua Institute (NY), Stuttgart Festival Ensemble (Germany), Aspen Music Festival (CO) and Verbier Music Festival (Switzerland).
Sebastian is a substitute player with the Boston Philharmonic, Opera Boston, the Boston Ballet and Boston Modern Orchestra Project; he is currently principal bassoon of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Orchestra, the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Plymouth Philharmonic and the Neponset Valley Philharmonic. Sebastian lives in Brighton with his wife, and enjoys horror movies, soccer and surfing.
