James Greening-Valenzuela

One of today's most gifted concert artists, JAMES GREENING-VALENZUELA is an active performer throughout Europe and North America. At age eighteen, he made his international debut as a soloist with the Bach Festival Orchestra at the Concerts de Font'Neuve in France, and was invited to return for several seasons. He went on to win first prize in the Shreveport Symphony Young Artists Competition, after which he made solo recital debuts at Symphony Hall in Boston and Carnegie Hall.

He has been in demand as soloist with orchestras and recital series ever since. Appearances have included solo performances at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre, New York's 92nd Street Y, Grand Teton Music Festival, Festival Internacional de Musica in Costa Rica, Festival Barocco de Santa Ana, Festival Tibor Varga in Switzerland, Festival Rodolfo Lipizer in Italy, Las Vegas Summer Music Festival, and Temple Square Concerts Series in Salt Lake City, as well as guest artist appearances at Yale, Boston, UCLA, Wisconsin, and Hofstra Universities.

Founder and Artistic Director of California Music Festival since its inception in 2000, Mr.Greening-Valenzuela received his training at the San Francisco and St. Louis Conservatories of Music, and the City University of New York, where he was the recipient of the Baisley Powell Elebash Dissertation Fellowship. As a recording artist with Con Brio Recordings, Inc., his many CD releases have received critical acclaim, and his recording of the Bach Solo Sonatas was submitted for a Grammy Award nomination.

Mr. Greening-Valenzuela currently resides in New York City, where he is concertmaster of the New York Symphony Orchestra, and director/faculty member of New York Academy of Music. He also teaches at Third Street Music School Settlement and the Amadeus Conservatory of Music, and has served as adjunct faculty at Brooklyn College, Queens College and Boise State University.

James Greening-Valenzuela appears under the auspices of Lois Scott Management, Inc.

"...a violinist with a sound technique...his musicianship is acute and mature... We are in Greening's debt."
BOSTON GLOBE

"...Greening's performance was like a fireworks display...each number exceeded the first in beauty and eloquence. One witnessed the soul of a great musician as he gave each phrase and amazing dept of feeling."
THE SPECTRUM

CONCERT PROGRAM #1

Ciaccona in G Minor ......Tommaso Vitali
Sonate No. 1, for violin and piano...... Ernest Bloch
INTERMISSION
Sonate in D Minor for solo violin, Op. 27, No. 3 ("Ballade")......Eugene Ysaye
Sonata in A Major, Op. 47 ("Kreutzer")...... Ludwig van Beethoven

CONCERT PROGRAM #2

Sonata in G Minor, K. 379 ......Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sonata in F Minor, Op. 80 ......Serge Prokofiev
Aus der Heimat ("From the Homeland") ......Bedrich Smetana
INTERMISSION
Sonata in D Minor, Op. 121 ......Robert Schumann
Three Pieces, Op. 81 ......Jean Sibelius

CHILDREN'S CONCERTS AND MASTER CLASSES

A much sought-after pedagogue, Mr. Greening-Valezuela presents a wide variety of children's concerts for schools and other programs, as well as master classes.

THEME CONCERTS

MUSIC OF THE NINETIES
(1690s, 1790s, 1890s)
Sonata Representativa in A Major (1690) ......Heinrich von Biber
Sonata in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1 (1797) ......Ludwig van Beethoven
INTERMISSION
Morceau de Salon, Op. 6 (1893) ......Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sonata in E-fiat Major, Op. 102 (1894) ......Camille Saint-Saens
(Encore: Meditation from "Thais" (1892), by Jules Massenet)

CESAR FRANCK: THE COMPLETE WORKS FOR VIOLIN & PIANO
Andante quietoso, Op. 6
Grand Duo, Op. 14
INTERMISSION
Sonata in A Major

THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE!!!
Your audience is given a program of approximately sixty selections -- and THEY choose the program! An evening of fun and great music!

Mr. Greening-Valenzuela currently has five CDs on the Con Brio Recordings label:

Bach: Three Sonatas for the Violin Solo

"[Greening-Valenzuela has] more courage and imagination than the average (and above-average) modern-day virtuoso..."
AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE

"Greening-Valenzuela plays expressively throughout, and his technical resources are impressive... From the opening bars of the G minor Sonata we are clearly in for a thrilling time..."
ROY BREWER - MUSICWEB

Bach: Three Partitas for Violin Solo

Faure: Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 13
Brahms: Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 100

Ernst Bacon: Sonata for Violin and Piano, David Diamond: Chaconne for Violin and Piano

"... this is a performance of potency and passion..."
THE STRAD

"Both works on this short CD are written in an immediately approachable idiom that is most appealing. Both, also, are carefully and successfully crafted in their own ways."

"...this Violin Sonata is a thoroughly confident affair, given here in a most committed performance by Greening-Valenzuela and Walker. The violinist has an expressive, but not distracting, vibrato and a strong sense of line that suits this music perfectly. In addition, Greening-Valenzuela's sweet top register is well-captured in the first movement."

"The Chaconne (Diamond) is quite a remarkable work Greening-Valenzuela suavely characterises the various variations."
COLIN CLARKE - MUSICWEB

Miniatures for Violin and Piano

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