Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society Concert, Dec. 8

The Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society presents the fourth concert of their 2019-2020 concert series with a concert on Sunday, Dec. 8 with chamber music performed by returning piano soloist, Natasha Kislenko. The concert will include music by Mozart, Piano Variations on the theme Salve tu Domine by Paisiello, KV398; Chopin, Souvenir de Paganini; Rachmanioff, Variations on a theme of Corelli, Opus 42; and Tchaikovsky, The Seasons, Opus 37A.

The concert will take place at the Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church, 633 W. Las Flores Ave., Ridgecrest at 4 p.m. Tickets ($30/general, $25/senior, and $5/students and active duty military) are available at Red Rock Books, the Maturango Museum, and at the door. For more information, visit the Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society website, http://www.rcchambermusic.org, or call Karen Haden, (760) 371-5936.

Pianist Natasha Kislenko, hailed for her "vividly expressive" interpretations and "virtuosity that left the audience exhilarated" (Santa Barbara Independent) offers unique concert programs and presentations to the worldwide community of music listeners. A prizewinner of several international piano competitions, she has extensively concertized in Russia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Turkey, and across the Americas.

Ms. Kislenko made her Carnegie Hall solo recital debut after taking the Grand Prize at the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition in 1996. Recent solo engagements include the Eskisehir Greater Municipality Symphony Orchestra, Turkey and the Varna Chamber Orchestra, Bulgaria. A resident pianist of the Santa Barbara Symphony since 2010, she has been a featured soloist for the Shostakovich, Grieg, Clara Schumann, de Falla, and Mozart piano concerti to great critical acclaim. In 2013, Ms. Kislenko was invited as a special guest to present the new Steinway D piano at the Teatro Municipal Ignacio A. Pane in Asunción, Paraguay, performing with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Congreso Nacional.

Born in Moscow, Natasha holds degrees in piano from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University, NY. Her main teachers include Anatoly Vedernikov, Gilbert Kalish and Joaquín Achúcarro.

In addition to a successful performing career, Dr. Kislenko has been a dedicated educator and mentor to the younger generations of aspiring musicians. A collaborative faculty member at the Music Academy of the West, CA since 2004, Natasha joined the faculty at University of California, Santa Barbara in 2007 after serving at California State University, Fresno for five years.

Don't miss this opportunity to experience an exhilarating Russian born pianist perform pieces by some great Russian composers with some Mozart and Chopin to lead off the program.