"Meadowmount Invades Plattsburgh" Recital Nov. 3

The "Meadowmount Invades Plattsburgh" recital will feature an evening of classical music that will include compositions by J.S. Bach, P. Tchaikovsky, J. Haydn and many more. The group will be accompanied by Dr. Karen Becker, assistant professor of music at SUNY Plattsburgh. The concert is event is free and open to the public. 

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The Meadowmount School of Music, located near Westport, N.Y., was founded in 1944 by Ivan Galamian as a seven-week summer school in Westport, N.Y., for accomplished young violinists, violists, cellists and pianists training for professional careers in music. There are Meadowmount alumni performing in virtually every major orchestra and teaching in many major universities and conservatories in the United States. Alumni of Meadowmount include Soovin Kim, Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman. 

The recital will include the following Meadowmount cellists:

Ruben Palma , 16-year-old cellist from Canberra, Australia, is currently a student of Owen Carman at the Meadowmount School of Music. He has performed solo works with the Canberra Pre-tertiary String Orchestra, in a master class for Alexander Baillie, as a member of the Sydney Conservatorium High School Orchestra and as part of the cello class on a scholarship in the second Australian String Academy, which was held in early 2006. He studied for a year with Georg Pedersen at the Sydney Conservatorium High School.

Mauricio Villazon , 20-years old, was born in Mexico and studies at the Meadowmount Conservatory. His former teachers include Moonlight Tran and University of Nevada at Las Vegas Professor Andy Smith. He has attended Meadowmount for two summers and is an assistant teacher this summer. He recently performed and taught at the Las Vegas second Annual Cello Day Festival held at the Las Vegas Academy. He has performed concerts as soloist and chamber music collaborator in Las Vegas and locally at the Meadowmount School, AuSable Club and the Crater Club. Mauricio won second place in the annual Bolognini Cello Competition in Las Vegas and has taught privately in Las Vegas. Mauricio currently studies with Owen Carman at the Meadowmount Conservatory.

Angel Welp , a 15-year-old cellist from Westport, N.Y., began her studies at a young age and has attended Meadowmount for five summers. She has attended the Southern Methodist University Pre-College Music Conservatory of Dallas, The Institute for Strings and the Mannes Pre-College Music Program, where she studied with Kit Brainard. Angel has also studied with Rebecca Seivers, Mimi McShane, Tanya Carey and Melissa Kraut and currently studies with Owen Carman at the Meadowmount Consevatory.

Eighteen-year-old cellist Isah Webb began studying cello at the age of 15. He is a resident of Seattle, Wash., where he performed with the Seattle Conservatory and Young Symphony programs. He is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, where he studied with Melissa Kraut. Isah currently studies with Owen Carman at the Meadowmount Conservatory.

Owen Carman received his bachelor of music degree from the Curtis Institute and his master's from the Juilliard School, where he studied cello with Leonard Rose, Channing Robbins, David Soyer and Orlando Cole. He studied chamber music with members of the Juilliard, Guarneri, Curtis and Budapest string quartets. He was named Professor Emeritus in 2002 at Michigan State University where he taught cello and chamber music since 1977.

Carman was formerly the principal cellist of the Eastern Music Festival, the New York City Symphony, Philadelphia Lyric Opera and a summer member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was also a member of the New College and Beaumont string quartets. He was a guest artist with the Juilliard, Chester and Rackham string quartets and has performed solo and chamber music concerts on PBS television and National Public Radio.

As cellist of The Meadowmount Trio, Carman has recorded for Melodiya, Russian Disc, Citadel and Equilibrium record labels. He has performed solo and chamber music concerts in Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, Russia and has presented master classes at many major universities and conservatories throughout the United States and China. His former students perform in many major U.S. orchestras, chamber ensembles and teach at prominent music schools. He joined the Meadowmount faculty in 1981 and was appointed director of Meadowmount and president of the Society for Strings, Inc. in 1989. He plays a rare 1706 Joseph Guarnerius cello.

Pianist Karen Becker recently began her second year as assistant professor of piano at SUNY Plattsburgh. She has presented the inaugural season of her recital series "Karen Becker and Friends" as well as appeared as soloist with the Champlain Valley Oratorio Society and acted as music director of the College's production of Urinetown: the Musical.  In December 2005, Karen returned to Colorado as music director/arranger for the "Christmas Review" at the Lake Dillon Theater. This summer she also served as music director for the summer stock theater season conducting performances of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Once on this Island and Gypsy. 

Becker holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the Juilliard School and a D.M.A. from the University of Wisconsin (UW) where she was a student of Van Cliburn medal-winner Christopher Taylor. While at UW, she was featured soloist in the Concerto for Piano and Winds by Igor Stravinsky, with the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble - an organization she helped found as well as served as pianist with the UW-Symphony and Chamber Orchestra.

In New York City, after receiving her master's from Juilliard, Becker worked as pianist for the American Opera Project at New York City Opera, piano soloist for the Summergarden series at the Museum of Modern Art and as a keyboard player in the Philip Glass Ensemble. She also was featured on the "Music from Japan" series at Columbia and was a champion of contemporary music, playing premieres by John Cage and rarely-heard music by Charles Koechlin and Erik Satie.

In addition to presenting concerts of solo and chamber music throughout the West and before relocating to Plattsburgh, Becker worked as the pianist for the Colorado Symphony, Colorado Symphony Chorus, Colorado Children's Chorale and Central City Opera. Becker also served on the faculty of the Aspen Opera Theater Center at the Aspen Music Festival for three summers.

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