CASANOVA DUO
ELENA CASANOVA, PIANO
This mother and son duo will musically transport you through their very special connection
THE CASANOVA DUO Elena Casanova and Adrian Casanova have been collaborating and making music for twenty plus years. This mother and son duo will bring a wonderful mixture of music expressed through the lens of their very close relationship. Elena comments, "Adrian always inspires me whether on guitar, cello, or voice". They will musically transport you with works by Piazzolla, Lecuona, Fauré, as well as classics, original pieces and improvisations.
ADRIAN CASANOVA, a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter based in Ukiah. “He was born to perform” his friends say. He graduated with the Prep Diploma at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and attended Southern Adventist University, Diablo Valley College as well as Mendocino College. He is a curious and avid learner and has been absorbing music and exploring musical instruments as well as musical genres from a very early age. He first performed as a vocalist at "The Usual Suspects" Concert when he was 7. He has since performed and collaborated alongside many local musicians in Ukiah including Will Siegel, Steve Baird, Joel Cohen, Paul McCandles, Mendocino College Dance Department, and his mother Elena Casanova. His EP album “You & Me” was released in 2021 and it can be found on all streaming platforms. He is a patient teacher and comfortable in the classical world as well as in the folk, indy and jazz worlds. He is a talented chef and life student. You can find him on social media (@adriancasa.nova)
CANTABILE
Programs are put together with the presenter, audience and venue in mind. Always entertaining with variety and pizzazz.
Michele Rivard, mezzo-soprano, was the vocal coach and a performer in 20 productions for the professional musical theatre company Cabrillo Stage. She has appeared with the Santa Cruz Symphony, Cabrillo Music Festival, New Music Works, Ensemble Monterey, Trinity Chamber Orchestra, Novato Lyric Opera, Woodminster Summer Theater, San Francisco Simphonietta, Distinguished Artists Concert & Lecture Series, Cabaret Santa Cruz, Picasso Ensemble, and the University of California Santa Cruz and Cabrillo College Orchestras. Favorite roles include Lady Tiang (King & I), Nellie (South Pacific), Mother Abbess (Sound of Music), and Widow Corney (Oliver!) Polly (Beggar’s Opera) and Rosina (Barber of Seville.) Michele retired as Music Program Chair from Cabrillo College in Aptos after twenty-five years. She currently teaches Classical and Musical Theater students at Santa Clara University and at Solano College in Fairfield.
The Eloquence Ensemble
Rachelle Berthelsen-Davis
Violinist, is a professor of music on the faculty of Pacific Union College and the director of the Pacific Union College Orchestra and Vox Pro Musica. She teaches violin, viola, chamber music, music history, violin pedagogy, and conducting.
As a soloist, concertmaster, and chamber musician, Davis has toured Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, China, and Southeast Asia—as well as the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Prior to moving to California, she was an assistant professor of music at Columbia Union College and the concertmaster and assistant director for the New England Symphonic Ensemble, the resident orchestra for Mid-America Productions at Carnegie Hall, New York City. She holds degrees from the University of Texas Butler School of Music (D.M.A.), the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (M.M.), and Pacific Union College (B.S.). When she is not playing classical music, Davis loves improvisation and jamming with other styles of music.
Gwyneth Davis
Cellist, received her degree in music from Stanford University and also studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She plays with the Lamplighters, Cinnabar Opera, and many chamber music and baroque ensembles, and has performed with most of the regional orchestras in the Bay Area as well as with the Utah Symphony and San Francisco Opera.
Beth Heid
Violist, has performed with many chamber ensembles and orchestras in the Bay Area. She has enjoyed the international musical experience, playing with the Mexico City Philharmonic for several years, as well as spending several summers in Graz, Austria, with a festival orchestra. She has been a member of the Napa Valley Symphony and also plays frequently with the Santa Rosa Symphony. Beth has had many years of experience playing with various quartets and trios for concerts, weddings, private events, and on cruise ships. Her academic experience includes a music degree from the Conservatory of Music at the University of the Pacific, where she studied both violin and viola with John Coppin and Warren VanBronkhorst. She also studied chamber music at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, with Jean Fournier. She studied for several years with noted Bay Area violist and teacher Robert Slaughter.