Vandy pole vaulter sets sights on national record
April 3, 2008
Dorothy Champagne Voisin
April 7, 2008
The 12th annual Music at St. John’s Concert series will end on a high note April 6 with a performance by the Alexander-Soares Duo.
The concert begins at 3 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 718 Jackson St., in Thibodaux.
Violinist James Alexander and pianist Luciana Soares – currently in residence at Nicholls State University – will perform works off their CD due out this fall on Centaur Records featuring five sonatas by Brazilian composer Lidiuno Pitombeira.]
“This should be unique for the St. John’s Concert series,” said series president LaDonna Alexander. “And any concert that features the grand piano inside the church is always a delight.”
Beginning the fall of 2007, Alexander started and now leads Nicholls’ new string program. He teaches violin, viola and string pedagogy.
Soares, in the meantime, is assistant professor of piano at the university. She teaches applied piano, accompanying, music analysis and ear training.
Separately, the Alexander and Soares have prestigious musical careers.
He’s studied in New York with Ivan Galamian and in London with Yfrah Neaman, and was awarded the Concert Recital Diploma (Premier Prix) from the Guildhall School of Music in England and the Diploma of Excellence by the Romania government for his contributions to that country’s music. Alexander is a former principal of the Southwest German and St. Gallen Switzerland Symphony orchestras. Prior to joining Nicholls’ staff, he taught violin for nine years as an artist-in-residence at Louisiana State University.
Alexander is the director of the Pelican State Chamber Music Series, a member of the Burle Marx Trio and, each year he continues to teach and perform at the String Quartet Symposium in Ernen, Switzerland.
Soares studied in the United States and her native Brazil. She has received many awards in Brazil and continues to appear as both a soloist and collaboarative pianist. Soares’ expertise as a researcher and performer have earned her lecture and recital dates at universities, concert series and conferences across the country.
In addition to performing with Alexander, Soares has also accompanied the Burle Marx Trio. She has a solo recording, “Brasileira: Piano Music by Brazillian Women,” available worldwide on the Centaur label.
Alexander and Soares decided to combine their talents in 2005. Since then, the couple has performed at a number of venues, including the Sala Cecilia Meireles, the Theatro Jose de Alencar, the Conservatorio Pernambucano de Musica, and the Cine Bangue in Brazil; the University of Akron and Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio; and throughout Louisiana and Mississippi.
Just last spring, the duo performed and taught master classes as featured artists of the II Chamber Music Festival Centro Sul e Vale do Salgado in the Brazilian state of Ceara. Also in 2007 Alexander and Soares performed and taught master classes in Rio de Janeiro, Goiania, Recife, and Joao Pessoa, Brazil, where they were noted for giving a “brilliant performance, marked by technical refinement, sense of ensemble, and sophisticated interpretation.”
“This has been a diverse year for the concert series,” LaDonna Alexander said. “We don’t want to be bored with the same thing all the time. We’re always looking for new artists that show all the different ranges of the music.”
Admission to the concert is $10 for adults, $5 for students over 18, and free for those under 18. A reception will follow the concert.
The program is supported in part by a grant from the Houma Regional Arts Council.
For more information about the concert series, call (985) 447-2910.
Violinist James Alexander and pianist Luciana Soares, currently in residence at Nicholls State University, will perform works off their CD due out this fall on Centaur Records.
