The FEU’s beloved Sunday concert series is back ! During the Rendez-Vous Musical #98 coordinated by Gillian Bobnak, some of the FEU’s talented musicians & guest artists will pay homage to the classics and put their own spin on contemporary works in a dynamic and captivating performance.
These concerts, which are an opportunity for the musicians to present the works they are perfecting or creating, are known for their friendly and warm atmosphere. The audience, delighted by the (re)discovery of classical and contemporary works and new compositions, often stays to chat with the musicians, who take great pleasure in these exchanges, always talking about music and their discipline with great passion.
Pratical Information
Date Sunday, April 7 | Time 5pm | Facebook Event
Save the Date! Next concert on Sunday, May 5th
Program
Claude Debussy
Etudes 10+12 (L136)
X. Pour les sonorités opposées
XII. Pour les accords
Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit, piano
Johannes Brahms
from Intermezzi, opus 117
2. Andante non troppo e con molto espressione in B-flat minor
from 6 Piano Pieces, opus 118
3. Ballade in G minor
Samuel Gaskin, piano
Improvisation
Samuel Gaskin, piano
Jonathan Mutel, violin
Johann Sebastian Bach
Partita no. 1, BWV 825
Edgar Jaber, piano
Madeleine Dring
Trio for Flute, Oboe, and Piano (1970)
Gillian Bobnak, oboe, Khalid McGhee, piano, Ethan Nylander, flute
Resident Musicians
Gillian Bobnak is an American oboist who specializes in historical and modern oboes. She is newly based in France, where she is studying with Antoine Torunczyk at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Paris. She holds degrees from the New England Conservatory, where she was a student of Mark McEwen, and the Juilliard School, where she studied with Gonzalo Ruiz. At Juilliard, she worked with a wide array of esteemed faculty and guest artists, including William Christie, Paul Agnew, Jakob Lehmann, Lionel Meunier, Rachel Podger, Laurence Cummings, Peter Whelan, Laurence Equilbey, and Masaaki Suzuki. She has performed throughout the United States with groups such as the Oregon Bach Festival, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the San Francisco Early Music Festival with Vox Luminis, and Symphony in C. In the summer of 2023, she received a grant from the Netherlands-America Foundation to pursue a brief period of study with oboist Frank de Bruine at Koninklijk Conservatorium den Haag, and received a full scholarship for a week of study at the Vielklang Festival in Tübingen, Germany. Her interests include the performance of 17th and 18th century sacred German music, especially the vocal works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his predecessors; historical woodwind improvisation; early recordings and their relation to performance practice research; and France’s influence on the modern American oboe sound.
As an pianist and organist, Samuel Gaskin is interested in music of all kinds. As an improviser, he shared 1st prize in the 2023 St. Albans International Organ Competition and received 2nd prize in the 2021 American Guild of Organists’ (AGO) National Competition of Organ Improvisation. As a collaborative pianist, he has performed across the United States and Europe with mezzo-soprano Jacquelyn Matava. As a composer, recent premieres include Chase, for the ~Nois Saxophone Quartet, In memoriam, premiered by the Unheard-of Ensemble, and Psalm 118, for choir and organ. Samuel was assistant organist at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas before receiving a Fulbright grant to France, where he is currently pursuing studies in organ performance and in jazz piano at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Versailles.
Born in Boston and raised in Bucharest, Edgar Jaber is currently pursuing a PhD degree in Applied Mathematics at ENS Paris-Saclay. He is a pupil of the Romanian pianists Toma Popovici and Viorica Rădoi as well as of American pianist Jay Gottlieb. Also a conductor, Jaber is the current musical director of the Orchestre du Collège Néerlendais at Cité Universitaire. His repertoire focuses mainly on classical and romantic German composers as well as early twentieth century modernism.
American pianist and collaborator, Khalid McGhee, is dedicated to exploring the convergence of musical genres. Originally from Saint Louis, Missouri, he received comprehensive training in classical piano and voice, while also covering genres like gospel, jazz, soul and musical theater. A Blue-Chip Full-tuition Scholar at the Northern Arizona University – Kitt School of Music, he received a Bachelor of Music with Distinction in Piano Performance. He continued his studies at the Institut für Musik der Hochschule Osnabrück in Lower-Saxony, Germany, winning prestigious awards such as the Deutschland Stipendium (twice) and a Fulbright grant. Parallel to his musical pursuits, Khalid’s deep-rooted passion for diverse cultures, human behavior, and cross-cultural communication is evident in his studies in pedagogy and linguistics, as well as his impactful work as an educator and collaborator. During his recent Fulbright experience, he actively explored the use of music as a tool to enhance language learning and promote social integration among school students with migrational backgrounds. He currently resides in Paris as an Artist-in-Residence and Harriet Hale Woolley Scholar at the Fondation des États-Unis, pursuing a Diplôme Supérieur at the École Normale de Musique de Paris “Alfred Cortot”.
Jonathan Mutel is a prominent violinist on the international stage, and open to many musical repertoires. His passion for chamber music and the symphonic repertoire has led him to perform in France (Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Salle Gaveau) but also in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and China. At the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music he perfected his playing and expanded his repertoire with his teacher Peter Brunt. Within this context he has been exploring new musical horizons, including the baroque repertoire on periodic instruments as well as the modern repertoire and musical improvisation. Jonathan Mutel studies jazz violin at the conservatory and teache violin at the Fontenay-le-Fleury music school.
Holding a Bachelor’s of Music in Flute Performance from West Virginia University, Ethan Nylander is a rising professional flutist who especially enjoys orchestral music, contemporary music, and composition. Ethan is the recipient of a Fulbright Grant to France, and he currently studies at the École Normale Supérieure de Musique de Paris with flutist Mihi Kim. Some of Ethan’s prized accomplishments include winning First Place in the Atlanta Flute Club Young Artist Competition and Carl D. Hall Piccolo Competition, First Place in the Central Ohio Flute Association Collegiate Competition, First Place in the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute Solo Competition, and Second Place in the Mid Atlantic Symphony Orchestra’s Elizabeth Loker Concerto Competition. He also won the WVU Young Artist Competition in 2022 and performed solo with the WVU Symphony Orchestra. During his studies at WVU, Ethan recorded an album of solo pieces for Alto and Bass flute by French-speaking composers titled Métamorphose: Contemporary Solo Works for Low Flutes which can be found on streaming platforms. He briefly studied composition at WVU and has written multiple pieces for flute, to include flute and piano works, solo flute, and flute and electronics- one of which has been recorded on his album. Ethan has performed in concert halls such as the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kresge Concert Hall in Pittsburgh.
Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit, two-time American Fulbright grantee to France, is a master’s student in European and International Studies at CY Cergy Paris Université. Currently based in Paris, Poom studied piano with Frances Renzi and Karen Tank in his native Sylvania, Ohio. He has performed in several master classes, including those taught by Nelita True (Eastman School of Music), Christopher Harding (University of Michigan), Joela Jones (The Cleveland Orchestra), Robert Shannon (Oberlin College), Caroline Hong (The Ohio State University), and Robert Satterlee (Bowling Green State University). Poom pursued his undergraduate studies at Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island) where he earned his A.B. in anthropology, French and Francophone studies, and Latin American and Caribbean studies. He completed his studies in anthropology with honors, in addition to receiving departmental prizes in anthropology and French studies. Prior to his move to France, Poom worked at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, Massachusetts) as Executive Assistant to the Director.