June 11, 2017 - 4:00pm
San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Stefan Cwik: "Luz Dorada: Music after three paintings by Eduardo Rodriguez Calzado"
(World premiere)

Rachmaninoff: "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini"
Elliot Wuu, soloist
WINNER, PARNASSUS-SFCM COMPETITION

Mussorgsky/Ravel: "Pictures at an Exhibition"

About the composer...

Singer/guitarist/composer/educator Stefan Thomas Cwik was born in 1987 in Chicago. His older brother and sister were taking music classes at school, so Stefan followed suit, inspired by his brother to start on guitar. Stefan came to San Francisco at age 18 to study guitar and composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Dusan Bogdanovic and David Conte. He has also studied with French composer Michel Merlet in Paris, and with John Corigliano at The Juilliard School in New York City. While at Juilliard, Stefan won the Orchestral Composition Competition for two years running, with his works Terpsichore and The Illusionist. 

Stefan was named Composer in Residence for Symphony Parnassus in 2016. Stefan has collaborated three times before with Maestro Stephen Paulson and Symphony Parnassus, premiering his Concert Dances for Orchestra, his Piano Concerto with soloist Scott Foglesong. and his English Horn Concerto The Sword in the Stone featuring soloist Russ DeLuna. Stefan Cwik is currently Professor of Music Theory and Musicianship at SFCM, and is a member of ASCAP. He’s also the lead singer and guitarist in The Blind Bandits, a trio that performs his contemporary original songs. Stefan’s Website is:  www.stefancwik.com

About our soloist...

First Prize winner in the 2015 Hilton Head International Piano Competition for Young Artist and a Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, Elliot Wuu is a rising star in becoming an exceptional young artist. Since early years, Elliot has captured audience with colorful tones, sensitive musicality and emotional depth in his music. 

In the recent years, Elliot has won numerous state, national and international competitions and performed across the globe. In 2015, Elliot was awarded top prizes in four prestigious international competitions. In addition to his success at Hilton Head, he also won Second Prize and special Schubert Prize in the International e-Piano Junior Competition, Third Prize and special Mozart Prize in the Cleveland International Piano Competition for the Young Artists, Second Prize and special award for the Best Performance of a composition by Russian Composers in the 7th Bösendorfer and Yamaha USASU International Piano Competition. In 2016, he has been chosen as the 2016-2021 Young Artist Guild (YAG) member of MTAC.

Other notable top prizes he received include First Prize and Klavierhaus award for best performance of Romantic piece in the Inaugural Kaufman International Youth Piano Competition, First Prize in Young Musician Category and Second Prize in Junior Category of the San Jose International Piano Competition, and First Prize of the ENKOR Piano and Violin International Competition. Elliot was also two-time First Prize winner of the Pacific Musical Society Competition of which Yehudi Menuhin, Leon Fleisher, and Ruth Slenczynska were among the past winners; and at the turn of the century of the Pacific Musical Society, Elliot also won the special Centennial scholarship award for the best performance of all categories in the centennial competition.  Elliot was the winner of 2013-2014 California MTNA Competition as well as the Southwest Division MTNA Competition, and he won Second Place in the MTNA National Competition. In 2012, he won the Junior Piano Award of the Mondavi Young Artists Competition. Furthermore he was a winner of the Marilyn Mindell Piano Competition of the Peninsula Symphony and El Camino Youth Symphony Concerto Competition.

Born in September 1999 in Fremont, CA, Elliot began piano studies at the age of six. He is currently a San Francisco Conservatory of Music pre-college scholarship student under the tutelage of Yoshikazu Nagai. He has also studied with Jed Galant and Rose Chen. While attending Valley Christian High School, Elliot is also a music student of its Conservatory of the Arts program. 

In the 2015/2016 season, Elliot performed with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro John Morris Russell. In 2015, Elliot has also worked with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra with guest conductor Maestro Chelsea Tipton, the Minnesota Orchestra with conductor Maestro Mark Russell Smith, and the Canton Symphony Orchestra with conductor Maestro Gerhardt Zimmerman. 

In 2013, he was selected as one of the twelve young pianists from around the world to participate in the Inaugural Lang Lang Junior Music Camp in Munich, Germany, where he performed and worked with Lang Lang in concert and masterclass. 

Over the years, Elliot has also participated in many international music festivals, including Amalfi Music & Arts Festival, Oxford Philomusica Piano Festival, International Piano Festival "Lato z Chopinem” in Poland, and Beijing International Music Festival and Academy. In 2016, Elliot received the Mastroianni Award at the Amalfi Music & Arts Festival. He performed in masterclasses for such artists as Ruth Slenczynska, Dame Fanny Waterman, Gary Graffman, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Matti Raekallio, John Perry, Niel Immelman, Duane Hulbert, and Chengzhong Yin. 

Elliot has performed in major venues in the U.S., France, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Poland and China. He was featured in the NPR's From the Top program broadcasted nation-wide. His performances at the Merkin Concert Hall was aired on WQXR. In NYC, he also performed at the WQXR Greene Space and the United Nations Headquarters with Lang Lang. Other notable venues include Holywell Music Room where Haydn performed before, Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris, the Ravinia Festival and the Chicago Millennium Park. He also performed in Steinway Society Young Artist Concert, Pacific Musical Society Centennial Gala, Peninsula Symphony Family Concert, and Junior Bach Festival. Furthermore, Elliot likes to share his music with all ages and supports the community. He has regularly performed for benefit concerts, fundraising events, senior homes and school outreach. 

Aside from music, Elliot enjoys golf, basketball, and swimming. He is also a big fan of Peanuts Comics and especially loves Schroeder.