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Violinist Rachell Ellen Wong performs for Valley of the Moon Music Festival's virtual Beethoven 2020 series

Violinist Rachell Ellen Wong performs for Valley of the Moon Music Festival's virtual Beethoven 2020 series Sunday, November 22 at 5:00 PM

Violinist Rachell Ellen Wong, the first Baroque violinist to win the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, performs Beethoven's epic "Kreutzer" Sonata No. 9 with Eric Zivian, fortepiano, as part of the Berkeley, California's Valley of the Moon Music Festival's Virtual Beethoven 2020 series. The performance follows an introduction by former poet laureate of the United States (1993-1995), American Pultizer Prize winning poet and essayist Rita Frances Dove. Ms. Dove will read her poem “The Bridgetower,” about brilliant Black English violinist George Bridgetower, to whom the Sonata was originally dedicated.   Valley of the Moon Music Festival Virtual Concert Sunday, November 22, 2020 at 5:00 PM California time L.V. Beethoven "Kreutzer" Sonata No. 9, Op. 47 I. Adagio sostenuto – Presto II. Andante con variazioni III. Presto Rachell Ellen Wong, violin; Eric Zivian, fortepiano Introduction by Rita Dove Tickets: Groupmuse

Recipient of a prestigious 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant (the first baroque recipient in the respected program’s history) and Grand Prize winner of the inaugural Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition, violinist Rachell Ellen Wong is a rising star on both the historical performance and modern violin stages, and has performed throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Costa Rica, Panama, China, and New Zealand. A sought-after collaborator, her growing reputation as one of the top historical performers of her generation has resulted in appearances with such respected ensembles as the American Bach Soloists and The Academy of Ancient Music, and tours with Bach Collegium Japan, Les Arts Florissants, and others. Equally accomplished on the modern violin, Ms.Wong made her first public appearance with the Philharmonia Northwest at age 11 and has since performed as a soloist with such orchestras as Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Panama and Seattle Symphony.   Performances this 2020-21 season include Seattle Symphony in Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons as part of the orchestra's livestreamed Baroque and Wine Series; with her partner, violist Andrew Gonzalez, she performs for Emerald City Music Stage's virtual series; and in December Rachell returns to the popular Byron Schenkman & Friends series, where she joins series founder and harpsichordist Byron Schenkman and violist Andrew Gonzalez in a jubilant concert for the series' online premiere.   Last season, Ms. Wong simultaneously served as a 2019-2020 Mercury Chamber Orchestra Juilliard Fellow, and as an American Fellow of The English Concert. Recent performance highlights include performances with Yale Schola Cantorum in Oslo, Norway, at Massachusetts’ Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Series, with the American Bach Soloists in San Francisco, The Academy of Ancient Music in the UK, Bach Collegium Japan in Warsaw, Poland, and with Les Arts Florissants at France’s Festival Thire, to name among others.   A recent graduate of New York's The Juilliard School, Ms. Wong holds a Masters in Music in Historical Performance from Juilliard, a Masters in Music from Indiana University and a Bachelors of Music from The University of Texas at Austin. She performs on a baroque violin from the school of Joachim Tielke and a violin made by Carlo de March.   Valley of the Moon Music Festival Located in the heart of Sonoma, California, the Valley of the Moon Music Festival is the first music festival in the U.S. entirely devoted to Classical and Romantic chamber music on period instruments. Led by Music Director and Co-Founders Tanya Tomkins and Eric Zivian, the Festival brings together some of the world’s experts in historic performance practice as well as coaching and presenting up-and-coming musicians. Familiar repertoire is shown in an exciting new light over three weekends of concerts in July and early August.   Press Contact Laura Grant, Grant Communications 917-359-7319; Laura@grant-communications.com