Keynote Address by the Honorable Dr. Condoleezza Rice

Dr. Condoleezza Rice is a professor of Political Economy in the Graduate School of Business, the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, and a professor of Political Science at Stanford University. From January 2005-2009, Dr. Rice served as the 66th Secretary of State of the United States. Prior to serving as America’s chief diplomat, she also served as President George W. Bush’s Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (National Security Advisor) from January 2001-2005.

Dr. Rice began formal music lessons at three when her Grandmother Ray noticed her granddaughter’s keen interest in music. In Dr. Rice’s book, Extraordinary, Ordinary People, she recounts: “I don’t remember learning to read music, so today it is like a native language for me. This made it much easier to master sight-reading, something that I do well to this day.” Dr. Rice continued to take piano lessons through childhood and perform at various school, church, and community events. At age fifteen, she performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D minor with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, her prize for winning a student competition. The same year, Rice entered the University of Denver as a music major though she soon switched to political science, a move that drastically changed the course of Rice’s life.

In 1993, while provost at Stanford University, she turned her attention again to the piano and started lessons with faculty member, George Barth. Musical highlights include a 2002 performance with Yo-Yo Ma at Constitution Hall, a 2008 recital for the Queen of England at Buckingham Palace, and a 2010 fundraiser with Aretha Franklin in Philadelphia’s Mann Music Centre.

Derek Brown

Derek Brown has been described by jazz journalist Scott Yanow as “performing unaccompanied solos that occasionally make one recall Bobby McFerrin in his early prime and the great saxophonist Eddie Harris…utilizing slap-tonguing, circular breathing, a wide interest in musical styles and dazzling coordination to create rather unique music.” Crossing genres from jazz to classical to funk, saxophone innovator Derek’s unique playing style has wowed audiences across the globe using creative new “beatbox-like” techniques. Previously the director of jazz studies at Abilene Christian University, Derek now lives and performs in Chicago, pursuing various projects around the area and throughout the world. His recent BEATBoX SAX music videos and weekly tutorials on YouTube (over 2 million views) have been very popular among saxophonists and music lovers alike, leading to endorsements with Legere, JodyJazz, P.Mauriat, BG, and AKG. Derek’s recent jazz festival performances include appearances in the US, Asia and Europe.

Julie Mckenzie

Julie McKenzie is Principal Flutist of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, and Piccoloist of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, positions that she has held since 1991. She is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she was a student of Lloyd Gowen. Other teachers and mentors have included Paul Renzi, Julius Baker, Peter Lloyd and Keith Underwood. In her earlier career, Julie participated as an orchestral fellow in the Berkshire Music Festival at Tanglewood, and she was featured in a CBC television documentary with Jean-Pierre Rampal. For many years Julie was a member of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the San Francisco Chamber Symphony and the Anchor Chamber Players. As a soloist, she has appeared at the Carmel Bach and Mendocino Music Festivals, and with the New Century Chamber Orchestra. She has recorded for New Albion and Teldec Records, among others.

Layna Chianakas

Layna Chianakas, mezzo-soprano, is an Associate Professor of Voice, Voice Area Coordinator and Director of Opera Theater at San Jose State University. Recently, she performed La Principessa in Suor Angelica and Zita in Gianni Schicchi with Intermountain Opera in Montana, and directed Orpheus in the Underworld and Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortileges with the San Jose State Opera Theater. Ms. Chianakas made her debut as Amneris in Aida with the Dayton Opera, made her Carnegie Hall debut with the SJSU Choraliers in April 2015, and directed Il barbiere di Siviglia for Opera San José. Her Postcard from Morocco by Argento for San José State Opera Theater received third place in the National Opera Association Opera Competition. She is a frequent master clinician for California ACDA, and CASMEC, as well as numerous educational institutions throughout the country. She lives in San Jose, CA with her husband and two children.

Gwendolyn Mok

Gwendolyn Mok, Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at San Jose State University, received degrees from Yale University and State University of New York at Stony Brook and was the 2016 President’s Scholar at SJSU. Her latest solo CD Legacy: The Spirit of Beethoven on the MSR label has been widely praised.  Ms. Mok has been a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, The Philharmonia, Hong Kong Philharmonic among others and in recital in Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Washington Kennedy Center.  Her CDs: the Complete works of Ravel and Brahms’ Late Piano Works, Legacy; The Spirit of Beethoven, Ravel Piano Concerto in G and Saint- Saëns Africa – Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, are frequently broadcast around the world.

Trio 180

Trio 180, the faculty piano trio-in-residence at the University of the Pacific’s Conservatory of Music, is dedicated to their roles as performer, proponent of new music, and educator. In addition to giving concerts and master classes throughout the United States, the trio has been featured on concert series in Mexico and Canada. Of Trio 180’s eponymous debut recording, Strings wrote, “the trio’s pleasing musicality and deft, splendid playing is overall transporting.” Concert seasons have included numerous performances for Composers, Inc. in San Francisco and Berkeley, a concert tour to Vancouver, Canada, and performances across California, including concerts at the Crocker Museum in Sacramento and the Sundays Live series at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Trio 180 has enjoyed their trips to Maryland, where they played on the prestigious concert series Sundays at 3 in Columbia.

Visit www.trio180.com for more information.

The Cheng-Chow Trio

The Cheng-Chow Trio, made up of Canadian and American pianists, has performed unique programs of music for one to six hands, to the delight of audiences throughout the United States and Asia. To see three multi-international competition-winning pianists jockeying for position at the same piano is a rare sight indeed. The fact that this virtuosic show of force is usually shared with a packed hall, and that the artists seem to enjoy their collaboration as much as the audience, is less surprising if you are familiar with Angela Cheng, and twin brothers Alan Chow and Alvin Chow. The three got to know each other when they studied at the same time at The Juilliard School, and their performances feature them in different combinations on two pianos and in spectacular arrangements which feature all three artists at the same piano. It all makes for an enjoyable and inspiring experience for the audience and performers alike.