2025 Concert Season
Benjamin Hoffman, Movses Pogossian, violins | Aaron Oltman, viola | Michael Kaufman, cello | Marisa Gupta, piano
Presented by Da Camera Society
June 6, 2025 at 7:30PM
Barrett Hall
Pasadena Conservatory of Music
100 North Hill Ave. Pasadena, CA, 91106
Program
Mieczysław Weinberg – Concertino
Gabriela Lena Frank – Zapatos de chincha
Peter Myers – Icefall (LA Premiere)
Johannes Brahms – String Quintet No. 2 in G Major
Marisa Gupta, piano
Born of Thai and Indian parentage, pianist Marisa Gupta made her debut as a soloist with the Houston Symphony and is the recipient of numerous awards, including top prizes at the Concours Maria Canals (Barcelona), the Viotti Competition (Vercelli, Italy), Corpus Christi and Kingsville International Music Competitions, a Solti Foundation Award, a Fulbright scholarship, and 1st prize at the Haverhill Sinfonia Soloists' Competition (UK). Recognised as a scholar, she was a finalist in the BBC New Generations Thinker’s Scheme, an Edison Visiting Fellow at the British Library and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Marisa has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician at some of the world’s great venues including the Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw, Palau de la Musica (Barcelona), South Bank Centre, King’s Place, The Bridgewater Hall, LSO St. Luke’s, Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, Ateneul Român, LACMA, Zipper Hall, Tokyo Opera City, Munegetsu Hall (Nagoya), and other venues throughout Europe, Japan, and the USA. Broadcasts include appearances on BBC Radio 3, BBC TV4, Radio 4 (Netherlands), Radio Catalunya, KUHF (Houston) and KUSC. She has appeared as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, and many others. Festival appearances include Ravinia, the City of London Festival, Three Choirs, Prussia Cove, Yellow Barn, and Rockport.
She has worked closely with a number of composers, notably Jörg Widmann, Philippe Hersant, Brett Dean, David Matthews and at IRCAM. Marisa has given the US and UK premieres of works by Jean-Frédéric Neuburger (Durand), European premieres of major works by Aaron Jay Kernis and Ned Rorem at the Wigmore Hall, and the world premiere of Rhapsodie by Philippe Hersant. Prominent chamber music partners include Stephen Kovacevich, Nicolas Dautricourt, Philippe Graffin, Anthony Marwood, members of the Berlin Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, and many others.
Marisa studied at London’s Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She also received the Diplôme de Soliste from the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève in Switzerland.
Benjamin Hoffman, violin
Violinist Benjamin Hoffman has been heard across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania, performing with artists such as Ani Kavafian, Wolfram Christ, Jorja Fleezanis, John Adams, and Gary Hoffman. He has appeared at Yellow Barn, Chamber Music Northwest, Aspen, the Ojai Music Festival, and Music Academy of the West, and has performed in Carnegie Hall, the Wiener Konzertverein, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Seoul Arts Center, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts Beijing. Mr. Hoffman is an enthusiastic concertmaster and has led much of the symphonic repertoire both with and without conductor. He has also performed as a guest musician with the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, and the San Diego Symphony. Mr. Hoffman holds a doctorate and master of music degree from the Yale School of Music and an undergraduate degree from Indiana University.
Michael Kaufman, cellist
Dr. Michael Kaufman is an internationally recognized cellist celebrated for his passionate artistry, technical command, and adventurous programming. He was recently appointed Assistant Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the University of Utah, where he brings the same energy to teaching that he does to the stage.
Dr. Kaufman has performed at major venues including Carnegie Hall’s Zankel and Weill Halls and has appeared at leading festivals such as Verbier, Yellow Barn, Music@Menlo, and Open Chamber Music at Prussia Cove. He has collaborated with artists including Midori and Kim Kashkashian, and served as principal cellist with La Monnaie Opera in Brussels. His recordings include music by Tigran Mansurian for ECM Records.
Deeply engaged in contemporary music, he has premiered numerous new works, including Sean Friar’s cello concerto with the Eastman Wind Ensemble and Brett Dean’s 12 Angry Men at the Piatigorsky Festival. He is the founder and artistic director of Sunset ChamberFest and a founding member of the boundary-pushing cello quintet SAKURA, known for its bold and eclectic repertoire.
Dr. Kaufman holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Southern California, studying with Steven Doane and Ralph Kirshbaum. He also performs with LA Opera and teaches at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.
Aaron Oltman, viola
Aaron Oltman has performed with many of the orchestras in the Southern California area, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, Pasadena Symphony, New West Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony and the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared in chamber music concerts for the Camerata Pacifica in Santa Barbara, Sundays Live at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the South Bay Chamber Music Society, the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Green Umbrella series, and is active in the Recording Industry.
He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees of Music in Performance at the University of Southern California, studying under Donald McInnes. He has performed in Master Classes for Karen Tuttle, Gerald Stanick, Robert Vernon and Roland Vamos. He has participated in the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, Encore Music Festival in Cleveland and the Sunflower Music Festival in Topeka, Kansas.
Movses Pogossian, violin
Movses Pogossian made his American debut performing the Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall in 1990, about which Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe wrote: “There is freedom in his playing, but also taste and discipline. It was a fiery, centered, and highly musical performance…” Movses Pogossian has since performed with orchestras such as the Brandenburger Symphoniker and the Halle Philharmonic in Germany, the Sudety Philharmonic in Poland, the Tucson Symphony, the El Paso Symphony, the Scandinavian Chamber Orchestra of New York, and the Toronto Sinfonia. His recent and upcoming performances include recitals in New York, Boston, Ann Arbor, and concerts in Korea, Japan, Germany, Canada, and Armenia. Pogossian was one of the 2016/17 Artists in Residence of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and performed the Mansurian Concerto No. 2 at their season-opening concerts, conducted by Jeffrey Kahane.