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SFCM’s Faculty Artist Series is presented as an annual concert series featuring SFCM faculty in performance. This series showcases our world-class faculty to our community and audience members in personally curated repertoire.

Program

Sergei Rachmoninoff: Valse & Romance for 6 Hands
     I. Valse
     II. Romance
Margaret Halbig, Andrew King, and Natasha Kislenko, pianos

Jennifer Higdon: Little River Songs
     I. Little River
     II. Blue Smoke
Melinda Becker, mezzo-soprano
Megan Chartier, cello
Margaret Halbig, piano

Stjepan Šulek: Sonata for Trombone and Piano, "Vox Gabrieli"
Timothy Higgins, trombone
Margaret Halbig, piano

Béla Bartók: Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
     I. Assai lento - Allegro molto
     II. Lento, ma non troppo
     III. Allegro non troppo
Margaret Halbig and Natasha Kislenko, pianos
Zubin Hathi and Elizabeth Hall, percussion

Artist Profiles

Pianist Margaret Halbig is in high demand as a collaborative artist in both the instrumental and vocal fields. She is currently Associate Chair of the Voice Department and Principal Vocal Coach at the ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she also frequently collaborates with faculty and student instrumentalists.
During the summer, Margaret is Collaborative Piano Coordinator of Interlochen Arts Camp where she hires and coordinates vocal, instrumental, and dance pianists, collaborates on faculty recitals, teaches both solo and collaborative piano, as well as plays with students in competitions, masterclasses, and lessons. 
An advocate of new and contemporary music, Margaret is the pianist for Ninth Planet, a ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco-based new music collective where she also serves on the board. In 2020, Margaret became the primary pianist for Ensemble For These Times, a group that focuses on 20th and 21st century music that resonates with today yet speaks to tomorrow. She is also a member of Frequency 49, a wind and piano sextet, which performs all over the Bay Area. 
Margaret earned her DMA from the University of California ���߲ݴ�ýta Barbara under the tutelage of Robert Koenig and also holds performance degrees from the University of Missouri, Kansas City Conservatory and University of Evansville, Indiana.

A native of Roanoke, Virginia, Zubin Hathi joined the ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco Ballet Orchestra as principal timpanist at the start of the 2022-23 season. Prior to this appointment, he held the same position for one season with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. Zubin has participated in a number of festivals, including as principal timpanist with the National Repertory Orchestra and as fellowship recipient in the Pacific Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, and New York String Orchestra Seminar. He has also attended the Aspen Music Festival and School, and has participated in the Sun Valley Music Festival, St. Barts Music Festival, and ChamberFest Cleveland. Additionally, Zubin has performed with the orchestras of Cleveland, ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco, Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester, Columbus, and India, among others. 
Zubin holds a bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Don Liuzzi, Robert van Sice, and Eric Millstein. During his time at Curtis, he consistently made the Dean’s List in recognition of academic excellence. He completed his master’s degree and additional post-graduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Marc Damoulakis and Paul Yancich. He also worked with Luke Rinderknecht at Cleveland State University. 
Zubin is a proud endorser of Evans Drumheads and Freer Percussion Products. He has recorded with The Cleveland Orchestra, and can also be heard on recordings distributed by the Orchid Classics, Naxos, and Cedille labels.

Elizabeth Hall is a ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco based percussionist who has enthusiasm for chamber music and contemporary music. She is the co-founder of Prism Percussion, a duo that champions the music of Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Women, and Queer composers and has worked to commission, perform, and record new works. She has played with local ensembles including ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco Opera, New Century Chamber Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony, ���߲ݴ�ýta Cruz Symphony, One Found Sound, Ensemble for These Times, Opera on Tap, and ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco Contemporary Music Players. Comfortable with many musical styles, Elizabeth can also be seen playing cajon and singing with The North Beach Ramblers, Julie and the Warm Bodies, and with singer/songwriter Roo Harrigan. Elizabeth has recorded an album with Americana duo, Gutter Swan and is always excited for collaborative opportunities. She began her studies at Heidelberg University and received her Bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University and her Master’s degree from the ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Pianist Natasha Kislenko has performed extensively across Russia, Europe, Asia and the United States. She has appeared in recital and chamber music performances with numerous distinguished soloists, including Franck Huang, Glenn Dicterow, Richard O’Neill, Eugene Izotov, Brenda Rae, Tim Day, Alan Stepansky, and Leone Buyse, to name a few. 
As a soloist, Ms. Kislenko has received top prizes in international piano competitions in Germany, Portugal, France, the Slovak Republic, and the United States. She made her solo recital debut in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 1996, and most recently has appeared with Orquesta del Congreso Nacional in Paraguay, the Varna Chamber Orchestra in Bulgaria, the Eskisehir Municipal symphony orchestra in Turkey, and the ���߲ݴ�ýta Barbara Symphony.
Ms. Kislenko holds degrees in piano performance from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Southern Methodist University and Stony Brook University. Since 2007 she has been on faculty at UC ���߲ݴ�ýta Barbara. In summers,  Ms. Kislenko has been teaching in the collaborative piano program at the Music Academy of the West since 2004. Previously, she served on the faculties of California State University Fresno and Meadowmount School of Music (New York).

Cellist Megan Chartier is “unafraid to display gutsy abandon,” as described by the South Florida Classical Review. She has performed throughout North America and Europe as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral cellist. She currently holds positions as principal cellist of Opera ���߲ݴ�ý Luis Obispo and section cello in the Vallejo Symphony, following her positions as core cellist of the Astralis Chamber Ensemble, principal cellist of the Miami Symphony Orchestra, and extra cello of ���߲ݴ�ý Antonio Symphony. In recent seasons, she has performed with ensembles including Ensemble for These Times, Berkeley Symphony, Symphony ���߲ݴ�ý Jose, Stockton Symphony, Modesto Symphony, One Found Sound in ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco, and the Nu Deco Ensemble in Miami. As a soloist, she was named a semi-finalist in the 2017 PRISMA Concerto Competition, was a first-prize winner of the Ann Arbor Society of Musical Arts’ 2015 Young Artist Competition, and a winner of the 2015 Miami Music Festival Concerto Competition, conducted by Grzegorz Nowak of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Chartier holds a Bachelor of Music degree in performance from Eastern Michigan University, and a Master of Music in performance from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In the fall of 2023, she joined the faculty as cello lecturer at California Polytechnic State University in ���߲ݴ�ý Luis Obispo. In her spare time, she enjoys creating artwork under her art pseudonym, Inkermezzo, to promote education, awareness, and activism in classical music.

Timothy Higgins was appointed to the position of Principal Trombone of the ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco Symphony by Michael Tilson Thomas in 2008. He was previously the acting Second Trombonist with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC.  Mr. Higgins, a Houston native, has a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from Northwestern University and has performed with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Music of the Baroque, Aspen Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, Sun Valley Summer Symphony and Washington National Opera.  His principal teachers have been Michael Mulcahy (Chicago Symphony), Michael Warny (Houston Grand Opera), and Royce Landon (Des Moines, Iowa).
In tandem with a busy orchestra career, Timothy Higgins is a sought after composer and arranger.  He was the sole arranger of the National Brass Ensemble’s Gabrieli recording. In November 2021, Tim composed and premiered as soloist in his Concerto for Trombone with Michael Tilson Thomas and the ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco Symphony. Additional arrangements and compositions have been programmed by the ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Steamboat Springs Strings Festival and numerous university brass ensembles. Tim’s compositions have been commissioned by the ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, American Brass Quintet, international tuba soloist Sergio Carolino, and Music City Brass Ensemble. He was the composer in residence at Music Academy of the West in 2018, debuting a piece for chamber ensemble and voice featuring Deborah Voigt. His arrangements and original compositions are available through his publishing company, 415Music, established in 2014.
As a teacher, Timothy is currently on faculty at the ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco Conservatory of Music and has been a faculty member of Northwestern University, the Pokorny Seminar since 2012, the Aspen Music Festival since 2018 and the Pacific Music Festival. He has led masterclasses in Australia, China, Canada, Japan and the United States, including classes at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, the New World Symphony, Vanderbilt University, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Juilliard School of Music.
In 2005, Timothy won the Robert Marsteller Solo trombone competition, as well as the ITA Trombone Quartet competition with CT3.  While attending the Tanglewood Music Center, Mr. Higgins was awarded the Grace B. Upton Award for Outstanding Fellow.
In 2013, Timothy released his solo CD, Stage Left, which can be found here. Recent albums include two self-produced recordings from 2020 in his Underground series.
Timothy Higgins is a Bach Artist and an Ultimate Brass Artist.

Melinda Becker’s New Mexican and Jewish heritage has shaped her career as a performer of art song in Spanish, Ladino, Yiddish and a variety of other languages. As a soloist and chamber musician, she is recognized for her expressive interpretations of diverse repertoire,
from mariachi to baroque, to new, and experimental music.
Melinda’s collaborations with emerging new music composers and ensembles include projectswith Nicolas Lell Benavides, Friction Quartet, Brian Baumbusch and the Lightbulb Ensemble, Emily Koh, the Musical Art Quintet, and as a soloist with the Classical Revolution Orchestra and the Ukiah Symphony Orchestra. She is dedicated to performing, championing, and the education of music by women and other underrepresented groups. She recently joined forces with Friction Quartet to record Canto Caló, an album of music by Nicolas Lell Benavides, on Innova Recordings.
Melinda earned her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance at the ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco Conservatory of Music studying with Catherine Cook. Through Project Canción Española at the Escuela Superior de Canto in Madrid, and Música en Compostela in ���߲ݴ�ýtiago de Compostela, Spain, she studied Spanish chamber music and art song, as well as pursued post-graduate studies at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg in France. Melinda teaches private vocal lessons in ���߲ݴ�ý Francisco.