famous brand music  Clark Suprynowicz

Upcoming Shows

Clark Suprynowicz is composer-in-residence with the Berkeley Symphony through their 08-09 season, and will write three short orchestral works for the symphony's Under Construction series. See details here.

Past Shows

The Ariel Quartet has performed extensively in Northern California. The recipient of many awards and grants locally, the ensemble also won the highest commissioning grant awarded from Chamber Music America. The quartet's recording on Soundspells Productions received this review from Fanfare magazine: "The musicians convey the feeling of great joy, superior sound. Fans of jazz, classical fusion, fans of contemporary music - get this disk!" Besides presenting the classic repertory for string quartet, the Ariel Quartet has a passion for and a commitment to presenting new work by Bay Area composers. New works were presented in the Spring of 2007 by composer Clark Suprynowicz in a series of concerts at the Giorgi Gallery, and at the Hillside Concert Series in Berkeley.

The Ariel Quartet is comprised of:

William Barbini - First Violin. Following his graduation from the Juilliard School, William Barbini became a member of the New York Philharmonic. While in New York, he performed frequently in chamber music ensembles. He was first violinist with the Gramercy String Quartet, the resident ensemble at Lehman College, Fordham University in the Bronx. The Quartet played a series of pre-concert performances at Avery Fisher Hall and appeared jointly with Pierre Boulez and the New York Philharmonic. Other chamber music credits include performances with the Balihry Piano Trio, the Philharmonia String Quartet, and violin duos with Kineko Okumura. He has performed solo recitals and concertos with orchestras in this country and Europe. Some of these ensembles include; the New York Philharmonic, Tonk'r Orchestre, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Lancaster Symphony, Niagara Falls Philharmonic, Sacramento Symphony and the Sacramento Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Barbini came to Sacramento in 1983 to serve as concertmaster of the Sacramento Symphony. A year later he joined the faculty of California State University at Sacramento as a member of the Music Department. He is currently the Music Director of the Chamber Music Society of Sacramento and serves as Concertmaster for the Classical Philharmonic, the Pro Art Symphony, Chico Symphony and the Monterey Symphony. Recently Mr. Barbini was invited to join the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory.

Kineko Okumura - Second Violin. Born in Tokyo, Japan, violinist Kineko Okumura was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship after her successful Tokyo debut. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School. She has won numerous awards and competitions, including the Paganini International Competition and the Ysaye Award. Formerly a member of the Gramercy String Quartet and the New York Chamber Orchestra, Ms. Okumura has also performed many solo recitals and made numerous music festival appearances. In 1983 she joined the Sacramento Symphony, where she appeared as soloist. Currently she holds the position of Principal Second Violin with the Sacramento Chamber Orchestra and performs extensively in the Bay Area.

Paul Ehrlich - Viola. Paul Ehrlich is Principal Violist with The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and performs frequently with The San Francisco Opera and The San Francisco Symphony.? He is also active as a chamber musician, and recently performed as viola soloist in Janacek's "Pridalka" at The Grand Tetons Festival. Paul was educated at Cambridge University, England, and The Yale School of Music, where he received the D.M.A. degree.

Victoria Ehrlich - Cello. A cellist with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Victoria Ehrlich, a native Texan, studied at Southern Methodist University, the Academia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Her teachers included Robert Marsh, Bernard Greenhouse and Robert Gardner. Prior to joining the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in 1984, she played with the Santa Fe Opera, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and was principal cellist with the Symphonies of Omaha, Richmond and Phoenix. Ms. Ehrlich has performed with the San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Symphony, the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony, Classical Philharmonic, Lamplighters, and the percussion group Adesso. She is also an active chamber musician. Recent work includes several concerts involving collaborations between poets and composers.