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Opening Night with Festival Orchestra Napa

Festival Napa Valley Stage at Charles Krug  |  St. Helena
 

Festival Napa Valley kicks off its 17th season with a celebratory evening featuring two beloved masterpieces and one world premiere. The concert opens with a new work by rising young composer Yang Bao. Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas takes center stage for Joaquín Rodrigo’s iconic Concierto de Aranjuez. The evening culminates with pianist Alexander Malofeev performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s lush Piano Concerto No. 2 – a fitting tribute to one of the world’s greatest composers on his 150th Anniversary. Kyle Dickson, 2023 recipient of the Joel Revzen Conducting Fellowship, leads Festival Orchestra Napa.

A selection of artwork created by participants in the Festival's How I See Music workshops will be projected during the performance.

Empress M will have food for purchase at all Festival Napa Valley events held at Charles Krug.
 


Festival Orchestra Napa's appearance is made possible through a generous gift from Tatiana and Gerret Copeland, proprietors of Bouchaine Vineyards

Frost School at Festival Napa Valley is a multiyear partnership with the University of Miami, featuring Frost School of Music faculty and students playing a lead role in the Festival’s university-level educational, chamber music, and orchestral music programming.

Yang Bao is the recipient of the 2023 Maria Manetti Shrem Daniel Brewbaker Composer Prize

Kyle Dickson is the 2023 Joel Revzen Conducting Fellow

How I See Music is a Festival Arts for All program

Additional support for How I See Music provided by Julie and Frank Husic, Kaiser Permanente Thrive, and Napa County

Performers

Yang Bao
Yang Bao

Yang Bao is a New York-based pianist, composer, and installation artist who works in sound sculpture, live performance, composition and video. With his versatile artistry and interdisciplinary creativity, he visualizes his music through physical forms, creating an experiential synthesis of the arts.

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Pablo Sáinz Villegas
Pablo Sáinz Villegas

Praised as “the soul of the Spanish guitar,” he has become a worldwide sensation known as this generation’s great guitarist. Pablo Sáinz Villegas has been acclaimed by the international press as the successor of Andrés Segovia and an ambassador of Spanish culture in the world. Since his early debut with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos at Lincoln Center, he has played in more than 40 countries and with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the National Orchestra of Spain.

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Alexander Malofeev
Alexander Malofeev

Alexander Malofeev came to international prominence when, in 2014, he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians at age thirteen. Reviewing the performance, Amadeus noted, “Contrary to what could be expected of a youngster…he demonstrated not only high technical accuracy but also an incredible maturity. Crystal clear sounds and perfect balance revealed his exceptional ability.” Since this triumph, Malofeev has quickly established himself as one of the most prominent pianists of his generation.

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Kyle Dickson
Kyle Dickson

2023 Joel Revzen Conducting Fellow
American conductor Kyle Dickson is building a reputation as an inspiring and compelling presence on the podium.

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Festival Orchestra Napa
Festival Orchestra Napa

Festival Orchestra Napa is an all-star ensemble that brings together principal players from major international orchestras and faculty from renowned colleges and conservatories, together with participants from the Frost School of Festival Napa Valley's Blackburn Music Academy. Centered around a core of Frost School of Music faculty, the orchestra also includes hand-picked musicians from ensembles such as the San Francisco Symphony, MET Opera Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Atlanta Symphony, among others.

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Venue

Charles Krug

Established in 1861, Charles Krug is home of California’s first wine tasting room. Since its founding by Charles Krug, a pioneer and visionary, this winery has continued to contribute significantly to the world of wine. In 1943, The Mondavi Family purchased the winery and vowed to continue Krug’s legacy of visionary thinking and innovation.
Charles Krug