Kristof van Grysperre – Spacious Vision

“Carols Rare and Bright” Artists: Kristof van Grysperre and Susan Kane

December 3, 2014 Spacious VisionLeave a comment

Kristof van Grysperre and Susan Kane frequently collaborate as part of the classical cabaret duo “Kristof and Kane.” Their next live streaming concert via the Concert Window website is on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. PST. So we thought to feature them together in a post!

A native of Belgium, Kristof van Grysperre has an international career as a pianist, chamber musician, vocal coach, and conductor. He has conducted more than forty operas, for companies such as Opera Pacific, Baltimore Opera Studio, Long Beach Opera, and the Thornton School of Music. At the piano, Kristof has collaborated with many singers and instrumentalists in recital. The Orange County Register has hailed his artistry as “gifted and stylistically impeccable.” He is currently the Associate Music Director at Long Beach Opera. “Carols Rare and Bright” will be Kristof’s second Spacious Vision concert.

American soprano Susan Mohini Kane has myriad credits as a soloist in concert and recital in Southern California and around the United States. She has presented many lectures on voice performance and pedagogy at national and international conferences, and published extensively on an array of topics related to the education and training of singers.

“Carols Rare and Bright” Performances

Click here for information about our Dec. 19 Long Beach performance.

Click here for information about our Dec. 21 Pasadena performance.

“Carols Rare and Bright”–Dec. 21, 2014 in Pasadena, CA

November 13, 2014December 15, 2014 Spacious VisionLeave a comment

The Christmas holiday is a time for music! It seems that traditional songs and carols are heard everywhere we go. We can take comfort in familiar tunes, but may also wish to hear something a bit different to refresh our holiday spirit.

Our 2014 holiday concerts will offer listeners a singular and refreshing musical experience. Rarely heard songs and carols by composers such as Benjamin Britten, Joaquin Rodrigo, and Ralph Vaughn Williams will be performed, along with rare English carols, Italian laude, and Spanish villancicos. Warm and intimate carols by jazz musician Alfred Burt will add a further glow to the evening.

Singers for these concerts will include baritones Bernardo Bermudez and Anthony Moreno, soprano Ariel Pisturino, and tenor Gerald Seminatore. Pianist and conductor Kristof van Grysperre (Long Beach Opera) returns for his second Spacious Vision appearance.

Sunday, December 21, 5:00 p.m.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3740 E Sierra Madre Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107

(A second holiday concert date in Long Beach will take place on Dec. 19 at Elise’s Tea Room; details here on the site. )

To help us meet the incidental costs of this event, donations are requested from our audience members. $20 is suggested, though contributions in any amount will be gratefully accepted. PayPal donations are also welcome; please direct any PayPal donations to the email address spaciousvision@outlook.com.

We hope to see you in the audience!

Britten in Song: A note for our audience

November 10, 2013February 12, 2014 Spacious VisionLeave a comment

“Britten in Song” is today! Nov. 10 at 5:00 at The Parish Church of St. Mark, Episcopal in Glendale, 1010 N. Brand Blvd. It will be a celebration of Benjamin Britten’s repertoire for the solo voice. Not only is the repertoire varied, but so are the voices! Sopranos Bianca Hall and Ariel Pisturino, tenor Arnold Geis, and baritone David Castillo are all uniquely compelling vocalists and performers. Add to this the talents of internationally acclaimed tenor Jonathan Mack and the pianistic finesse of Kristof van Grysperre, and the only possible result is an extraordinary recital.

This is a general admission event, and no tickets are
required. We don’t know what is in your hearts, or your budget, but we are counting on visitors to make some sort of donation to help us cover the costs of this event. We would gratefully accept cash or a check, as is convenient.

Parking is free in the church parking lot (behind the church on Dryden) and on adjacent streets. Refreshments or a light meal before or after the program are available at Recess, only a few steps away from the church on Brand Blvd.

There will be a brief pre-concert talk about Britten and his music at 5:00, and then it’s off to the races! We hope to see you.

Our “Britten in Song” Artists: Kristof van Grysperre

October 29, 2013February 12, 2014 Spacious VisionLeave a comment

KRISTOF VAN GRYSPERRE, a native of Belgium, has an international career as a pianist, chamber musician, vocal coach, and conductor. This past decade he emerged as a thrilling talent in the conducting world. The Orange County Register hailed him as “gifted and stylistically impeccable.”
Kristof pursued advanced study at the University of Southern California. He later taught at USC and served as interim music director of the USC Thornton Opera. He has also taught at the California Conducting Workshop and at SongFest. After a three year intermezzo in Belgium where he worked as full-time piano professor, Kristof returned to Southern California in 2012. He currently serves as associate conductor, chorus master and artistic administrator at Long Beach Opera. With a repertoire of over forty operas Kristof has conducted performances for Opera Pacific, Baltimore Opera Studio, Long Beach Opera, Intimate Opera Company, SongFest and USC Opera. As a pianist he has collaborated with leading instrumentalists and singers, such as violinist Maria Newman, tenor Philip Webb and sopranos Juliana Gondek, Ollie Watts Davis and Susan Mohini Kane. He has recorded for the René Gailly and Phaedra labels, the Flemish and Suisse Radio and Television, and K-Mozart.

We are very excited that Kristof will lead us through a tour of Britten’s song repertory, and also introduce some of Britten’s most powerfully expressive operatic arias!