Musical Connections presents the Masters Music Concert Series. The project consists of thirteen concerts that combine classical music with multicultural initiatives. The last concert, “Golden Fingers,” features Duo AleAnya (Anya Grokhovski and Alena Gorina) playing on one piano, and will take place at the Scottish Rite Theater.
This concert will feature works by Schubert, Brahms, Barber, and Rachmaninoff.
To learn about upcoming Musical Connections shows or to obtain interviews or reviews, please contact Alena Gorina at alenapianist@yahoo.com or call (512)-656-6865.
These artists perform out of a love for classical music and cultural elegance. Join us for an innovative and exciting performance!
This event was made possible by the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division, a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and Great Promise for American Indians. We look forward to seeing you there!
Originally from Minsk, Belarus, pianist Alena Gorina is a lecturer at the Texas State University at San Marcos. Dr. Gorina holds a DMA in Piano Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master’s Degree from the Bowling Green State University, and the Diploma of the Belarusian National Conservatory. Her principal teachers over the years have been Nancy Garrett, Maxim Mogilevsky, Vladimir Dulov, and Ariadna Guzhalovskaya.
In Belarus, Ms. Gorina taught at the College of Music, the Belarusian Academy of Music, and the National Music School. She performed with various instrumentalists and served as an accompanist with the balalaika ensemble “Zolotaya Gorka” (“Golden Hill”) between 1998 and 2000. Her admiration of twentieth-century music brought her to Vienna, where she participated in master classes with Emmy Henz-Diémand. In 2001, the Bahrain Music Institute invited Alena Gorina to lead their piano department.
Dr. Gorina’s recognition in America began after a live broadcast as a soloist on WGTE FM 91 in Toledo, Ohio. She frequently appears with the “Musical Bridges Around the World” (MBAW) series in San Antonio, presenting a variety of programs and styles including “Schubert’s Birthday”, “A Date with Rachmaninoff”, ”Women in Music”, and “French Impressions.” A Naxos recording of her performance of Lucas Foss’s “Psalms” with the University of Texas Chamber Singers under conductor James Morrows was released July 2010. In December 2011, Dr. Gorina participated in a unique performance of Liszt’s “Hexameron” for six pianists/twelve hands as part of “Golden Fingers and Golden Toes” for MBAW. Dr. Gorina’s piano solo album “Magical Evenings” is available on Amazon.
In 2013, she organized the piano duet AleAnya with Anya Grokhovsky (DuoAleAnya.com). The duet is gaining national recognition, including a Puerto Rican tour, collaborating with composers and choreographers to enrich the repertoire. In Summer 2017, the duet will perform a European tour. In her free time, Dr. Gorina performs community outreach concerts at schools and retirement homes, both as a soloist and as part of the duet.
Anya Grokhovski is a noted chamber music artist, born into a family of professional musicians. Her father was a violinist with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra for more than forty years. Her mother is a noted violin teacher and her brother plays a concert violin. Anya received her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in piano performance and pedagogy from the Russian Academy of Music in Moscow, Russia. She was a professor at the Gnessin State College in Moscow prior to coming to the US in 1989. The position of a staff accompanist at UTSA brought her to San Antonio in 1991.
Among her chamber music partners are: Emanuel Borok, concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony; Khenning Kruggerood, Norwegian concert violinist; Pierre Hommage, French violinist; Francheska Salvimini, Italian concert flutist; Mark Cheikhet, Russian concert violinist and many others. She had the great honor of serving as the accompanist for the legendary American bassist, William Warfield. She has recorded with the Moscow State Symphony, the German, Swiss, and Czech National Radio, numerous piano solo recordings as well as chamber music CDs and DVDs.
She has performed with groups and festivals in: Amsterdam (Holland), Bergen (Norway), Avignon, Paris, Axan. Provence, Marseilles and Alsace (France), Lugarno, Basel, and Aquarossa (Switzerland), Ljubljana, (Slovenia), Moscow and St. Petersburg (Russia), Tallinn (Estonia), Lisbon and Coimbra (Portugal), Prague and Mareinbud (Czech Republic), Trieste, Bressia, Disenzano, Alexandria, Brindisi, Venice, and Milan (Italy). Among her most recent performances were Festival Oldenburg Promenade in Germany; Boston Conservatory of Music; TMI and Carnegie Hall in New York.
Anya’s fiery passion for music, commitment to San Antonio, and connections to world-class musicians provided a platform for the creation of an exciting new musical experience. With the avid support of a group of local music lovers in 1998 Anya designed a series of salon concerts in private residences. By 1999, programming extended to San Fernando Cathedral, and in 2000 to McAllister Auditorium. Extensive community outreach educational program Kids to Concerts offers free in-school multicultural performances. NEW International Music Festival “Music Without Borders” will be introduced to San Antonio audiences in the spring of 2014. Currently MBAW programming reaching over 25000 people a year in the greater San Antonio metro area.
Tickets (at the door):
Adults: $20
Seniors: $10
Students and children under 12: free
