Ekatra is a sanskrit term for the word "Together". Kate and Jeanette bring stunning flute and piano perfornances to Southern California. Together, they have premiered Daniel Dorff's "Flash" which was written for Kate in 2009. They have performed from Long Beach to San Diego, and everyhwere in between.
Look for Kate and Jeanette to perform again in May of 2011.
Kate Prestia-Schaub, an active and enthusiastic performing artist and teacher, is a Southern California flutist sponsored by Powell/Sonare Flutes. She is the first place winner of many prestigious competitions, most notably the San Diego Flute Guild Young Artist Gold Competition, the National Flute Association Piccolo Artist Competition, and the Indiana University Woodwind Concerto Competition. Kate made her solo piccolo debut with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra at age 18, and since then, has concertized throughout the United States, Japan, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Her primary teachers have been Jim Walker, Tom Robertello, Kate Lukas, and Maralyn Prestia.
Passionate about expanding the piccolo repertoire, Kate has worked with numerous world-renowned composers, including Frederick Lesemann, Daniel Dorff, and James Sharp. Kate performed the world premier of their piccolo compositions, including “"Flash!â€" the winning composition in a competition sponsored by the International Piccolo Symposium. Kate premiered this work at the Symposium and gave the NFA premier in New York City in August of 2009. Currently, Kate is working with composer Martin Kennedy on a new work for piccolo, which will be premiered in 2011.
Kate is fortunate to collaborate with some of the finest professional musicians in Southern California, performing solo and chamber music in a variety of ensembles. The flute/piano duo, Ekatra, with Jeanette-Louise Yaryan, and the Inland Empire Wind Quintet, with Cindy Smit (oboe), Mark Brownlee (clarinet), Anthony Parnther (bassoon), and Warren Greff (horn), have both won critical acclaim in Southern California. Kate is a regular soloist for the "Classics at the Merc" concert series sponsored by the Golden Valley Music Society. In addition, she is principle flutist in the Inland Valley Symphony, and performs regularly with the Orange County Wind Symphony, Golden Valley Chamber Orchestra, Temecula Valley Players, and the Temecula Opera Company.
Jeanette-Louise Yaryan has been performing on piano since the age of three, winning numerous competitions and honors across the country and traveling worldwide to perform and study. In addition to earning two Master’s degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California, her accolades include performing Liszt’s Totentanz with the USC Symphony Orchestra and giving radio interviews on KCSN’s Arts and Roots Forum. She is also an active chamber musician with The Definiens Project, who are serving as the ensemble in residence for the Fresno New Music Festival for the second consecutive year. Yaryan teaches at Cypress College and has also served on the faculty of El Camino College, USC, and the California Academy of Math and Science, in addition to maintaining a private studio and working as the organist and pianist for Hope United Methodist Church in Torrance. She coaches vocalists and actors as part of her role as the Music Director for the Relevant Stage Theatre Company, and as répétiteur for Definiens Project's production of their first opera, America Tropical, and has worked as a choral and orchestral conductor. A talented composer and arranger, she is published with Emerson. Yaryan loves all things culinary, good film, traveling abroad, and downhill skiing.
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