www.noontimeconcerts.org
Dan Flanagan currently serves as Concertmaster of the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, the Modesto Symphony, Lecturer of Violin at U.C. Davis, and Instructor of Violin at U.C. Berkeley. Described as a “stellar musician” (Nevada Reviews), he has been praised for his “exquisite tone” and “forthright brio” (Sacramento Bee). A dedicated orchestral player, he has performed as concertmaster with the Oakland East Bay Symphony, the California Symphony, California Musical Theater, the Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, and Symphony Silicon Valley. Dan has played as a soloist with the Sacramento Philharmonic, the American River Chamber Orchestra, Bear Valley Symphony, Reno Baroque Ensemble, and the Adelphi Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Sacramento, the Oregon Bach Festival, Chamber Music Alive!, Eco Ensemble, and at Chico State University, University of the Pacific, U.C. Davis, and U.C. Berkeley. Born in New Jersey and trained in New York and Michigan, he holds a B.M. from the Cleveland Institute of Music and M.M. from the University of Oregon, where he was a graduate teaching fellow. His teachers include Linda Cerone, Charles Castleman, and Fritz Gearhart.
Cellist Eric Gaenslen has performed as a chamber musician, recitalist and guest soloist in venues across North America and Europe. As cellist of the renowned Rossetti String Quartet, Eric performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Berlin Konzerthaus, and at the Spoleto Italy, Maverick and Vail Bravo Music Festivals, with such artists as Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Eugenia Zuckerman, Gautier Capuçon and Pepe Romero. Solo highlights include the world premiere of Siddartha for cello and string orchestra by Laura Carnibucci and a performance of Bloch’s Shelomo at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall. From 2009-2011 Eric held the position of Acting Principal Cellist of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
Carl Blake (piano) holds three degrees in piano performance: Bachelor of Music (magna cum laude) from Boston University, Master of Arts from San Jose State University, and Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University. He is the first recipient of the Marian Anderson Young Artist Award (presented by Ms. Anderson herself) that led to a year of private study with Pierre Sancan of the Paris Conservatory of Music.
Blake has performed in the United States, Russia, France, England, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands. To creditable acclaim, he performed several recitals at Carnegie Recital Hall and Wigmore Hall (London).
Blake has collaborated with well-known artists such as pianist Jean-Phillippe Collard, conductor Kent Nagano, cellist Kim Cook, baritone William Warfield, and sopranos Veronica Tyler and Mattiwilda Dobbs. The cello-piano duo toured Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Central America, and the Caribbean Islands under the auspices of the Artistic Ambassador Program of the United States Information Agency for nine weeks in 1996. Dr. Blake has received two Fulbright Senior Scholar Awards to lecture, teach, and perform at national music schools in Honduras, Central America.
Currently, he serves as music director of The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco.