CELEBRATIONS
THE BEETHOVEN IN THE ROCKIES CONCERT SERIES PRESENTS
Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:00 PM
First Congregational Church
2101 16th St, CO 80631, United States
Colorado Piano Trio with Friends
Miriam Kapner, oboe
Yuriy Bekker, violin
Jubal Fulks, violin
James Shaw, viola
Romina Monsanto, cello
Katarina Pliego, cello
Juhyun Lee, piano
Adam Piotr Żukiewicz, piano
PROGRAM
Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44
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Allegro brillante
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In modo d'una marcia. Un poco largamente
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Scherzo: Molto vivace
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Allegro ma non troppo
INTERMISSION
Theodore Dubois
Oboe Quintett in F major (1905)
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Allegro
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Canzonetta. Tranquillo
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Adagio non troppo
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Allegro con fuoco
This program will last approx. 75 minutes, including a brief intermission.
Yuriy Bekker is a critically-acclaimed violinist and conductor, and an impassioned community ambassador.
Bekker has been a mainstay of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) for 17 years. He has led the CSO as Artistic Director since 2021 and concurrently leads as Concertmaster (2007) and Principal Pops Conductor (2016). Bekker previously served as the orchestra’s Acting Artistic Director from 2010-2014 and has a long history of dedication and vision for the CSO.
In 2011, he was given the Outstanding Artistic Achievement award from the city of Charleston to honor his cultural contributions to the community.
Bekker has performed worldwide as a celebrated guest concertmaster, avid chamber musician, conductor and soloist. Bekker has held the position of concertmaster for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the AIMS Festival in Graz, Austria. He has also held positions with the Houston Symphony and the Houston Grand Opera and Ballet Orchestras. Bekker is also an adjunct faculty member of the College of Charleston School of the Arts as a violin professor and as conductor of the College of Charleston Orchestra.
Bekker earned a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory under the tutelage of Herbert Greenberg. He also holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Indiana University School of Music, where he studied violin with Nelli Shkolnikova and Ilya Kaler. Bekker has studied conducting with Christopher Wilkins, David Zinman, Imre Pallo and David Effron.
Born in Minsk, Belarus, Bekker is now a U.S. citizen, proud husband to his wife, Jenny, and father to their children, Nathanael and Charlotte. Bekker performs on the 1638 Franz Degen Andrea Guarneri violin, generously on loan to him from an anonymous patron.
Miriam Kapner’s oboe playing has been described by the New York Times as “a sensitive exploration of the oboe's singing character and its technical armory”. She has performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City Opera, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Ballet, Symphony Silicon Valley, and Ballet San Jose. She is currently a member of the Colorado Bach Ensemble where she performs on oboe, English horn, and oboe d’amore. Ms. Kapner has been heard on NPR as part of Studio 360, discussing the art of oboe reed making. Her writing has been published by the National Library of Poetry, in the International Double Reed Society Journal, and online in various arts webzines. Ms. Kapner is the oboe instructor at Regis University in Denver. Additionally, she composed the score for a documentary short subject film, entitled Out of the Darkness, about the musicians who played for first responders in the weeks and months following 9/11. She was also the Executive Producer of this film, which was screened at four different film festivals around the country. B.M. degree from New England Conservatory, M.M. from Manhattan School of Music.
James Shaw is a currently assistant principal of Boulder Chamber Orchestra. He is also a member of a Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. Shaw received his bachelors degree in music performance from the University of Denver. Where he studied with Basil Vendryes. He received Masters degree in Music Performance from Shepherd school of music, Rice University where he studied with Karen Ritscher. At Rice University he was a teacher at the Shepherd Prepratory department where he taught Chamber music.
Mr. Shaw also has a Masters in Orchestra conducting From Kent State where he was a String quartet fellow and studied chamber music with Miro and Miami string quartets.
Cellist Romina Monsanto is a versatile performer and educator originally from Venezuela. She has performed as a soloist and ensemble member in Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States. She performs in varied styles, from orchestral, new music ensembles, to diverse chamber music ensembles.
Dr. Monsanto holds the Assistant Professor of Cello position at University of Northern Colorado. She served as the principal cellist of the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra in Brazil and as faculty in the 17th Encontro de Violoncelos in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Festival de la Musica Orquestal in Jalisco, Mexico, and chamber music camp Point CounterPoint Session 2 in Leicester, Vermont.
An avid performer of contemporary music, she is a founding member of the oboe and cello duo New Duobus. She has performed new commissions, including Portraits Bizarre: Quartet Miniatures Based on the Paintings of Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth by C.L. Shaw, and Six Questions by Paul Elwood. She has appeared for four seasons in the Open Space Festival of New Music, where she performed works by Paul Elwood, Andrew Norman, Augusta Read Thomas, and Ellen Fullman.
Dr. Monsanto participated in album recordings, including Portraits, Moods, and Places by C.L. Shaw, The Akari Sessions by Anne Lanzilotti, Heaven? Indeed by Julian Cary and The Uncommon Ensemble at The TANK. She recorded sound effects for Ludek Drizhal in the Polish movie Solid Gold and Daniel Wakefield’s movie score for The Forgiving. The Akari Sessions featured in the Noguchi Museum in New York during the Akari: Sculpture by Other Means exhibit.
Katarina M. Pliego holds a doctorate in Cello performance from the University of Northern Colorado, where she studied with Dr. Gal Faganel. She received her MM in Cello performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (UK), where she studied with Rudi de Groote. At RCS she was the recipient of a generous scholarship for most talented MM instrumentalist, received a distinction for her final recital and performed Brahms' Sextet with Ilya Gringolts all around Scotland.
Mrs. Pliego has performed in several competitions and was the winner of the Arts Innovation Award, Rocky Mountain Concerto Competition and Southard Competition at UNC, received honorable mention at UNC Concerto Competition and BBC SSO Concerto Competition at RCS, twice received third prize at Competition for Young Slovenian Cellists and gave solo recitals with pianist Nafis Umerkulova as the winner of Jeunesses Musicales Concert Series. She also received a scholarship for the Stamford International Chamber Music Festival (UK) and for the Wagner Orchestra in Bayreuth (Germany).
Dr. Pliego is also an enthusiastic teacher and has been teaching all levels, from beginners to college, since 2012. Dr. Pliego was Dr. Faganel’s teaching assistant for three years, while at UNC, and taught cello and chamber music to music education majors. She was also Dr. Faganel’s sabbatical replacement in Spring 2017, while also maintaining a position as adjunct professor of music history at the Front Range Community College in Fort Collins, and Columbia College in Denver.
Dr. Juhyun Lee is a collaborative pianist from South Korea, actively performing and coaching
across the United States. She has been featured in prominent programs such as the Bowdoin
International Music Festival (ME), SongFest (CA), Boston Modern Orchestra Project (MA),
Luzerne Music Center (NY), National Flute Association Convention (DC/UT), International
Horn Symposium (CO), Music on Site (KS), and the International Keyboard Odyssiad (CO),
serving in various roles including fellow, guest artist, faculty member, adjudicator, music
director, and coach.
Dr. Lee developed a strong foundation in woodwind repertoire while working with renowned
saxophonist Kenneth Radnofsky from 2012 to 2015, serving as his studio pianist at the New
England Conservatory, Boston University, and Boston Conservatory. Since then, she has
expanded her collaborative work to include strings, brass, opera, and orchestra through diverse
professional engagements. She has also premiered works by distinguished composers including
Charles Strouse and Armand Qualliotine.
She is currently Assistant Professor of Practice at Colorado State University, where she maintains
an active performance profile through faculty and guest artist recitals, alongside coaching
instrumentalists and vocalists. Dr. Lee has been on the CSU faculty since 2018, during which
time she completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Arizona State University. She also
holds a Master’s degree in collaborative piano and chamber music from the Longy School of
Music of Bard College.