By Kathleen Suss, Concordia Conservatory

Nov. 7, 2023: Concordia Conservatory presents the More Than Music concert, Film Inspiration, on Sunday, November 19 at 4 pm.  The concert will include Concordia Conservatory faculty Stephanie Liu on violin, Clare Hoffman on flute and Slavina Zhelezova on piano.

The concert will take place at the home of Laurie and Hoke Slaughter, 2 Elm Rock Road, Bronxville.

This 45 minute concert/lecture program will draw from film, video and screen as inspiration in a chamber music program of music by Dmitri Shostakovich, Mel Bonis and John Williams. Tickets are $25 for adults and $12.50 for seniors and children.

To purchase tickets, click here of call 914-395-4507.

About the Conservatory Faculty Artists for Film Inspiration

Clare Hoffman

Clare Hoffman, flute, has toured the United States, Europe, and Asia, performing in a variety of settings from major concert halls to an ancient amphitheater on the Greek island of Rhodes and Vivaldi’s parish church in Venice.

Locally, she has performed with the Berkshire Bach Society (Tanglewood), Bang on a Can Festival (Lincoln Center), Cutting Edge (New York City, Victoria Bond, director), Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra (Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series).

She has premiered works by John Corigliano, Seymour Barab, Brent Michael Davids, Arnold Black, and Richard Einhorn, and recorded for television and film. She is a dedicated advocate for arts education and has worked throughout the United States with students from diverse backgrounds, from inner-city schools in places like Los Angeles and New York City to farming communities in Iowa and Native American communities in Arizona.

Her education projects for the Grand Canyon Music Festival include an arts curriculum for fifth graders that integrates music and visual arts with core subjects.

She is co-founder and artistic director of the Grand Canyon Music Festival, currently in its 40th season presenting critically acclaimed concerts and award-winning education programming, including the Native American Composer Apprentice Project (NACAP), with composers-in-residence Pulitzer Prize-winner Raven Chacon, Trevor Reed, and Michael Begay, and ensembles including the Catalyst Quartet, ETHEL, and Sweet Plantain, which was recognized by First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House with the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, and with an Infusion Award from the Lewis Prize for Music, NewMusic USA’s New Music Educators Award, and the Governor's Arts Award.

She is currently on the faculties of Concordia Conservatory and the Dalton School. She studied at the Mannes College of Music with Andrew Lolya, at L’École d’Été in France with legendary French flutists Jean-Pierre Rampal and Alain Marion, and with Samuel Baron and in master class with Julius Baker.

Stephanie Liu

Passionate about collaboration beyond the classical canon, violinist Stephanie Liu has performed over 20 world premieres. She has been featured as a soloist with the Stony Brook Baroque Players, Menomonee Falls Symphony, Princeton University and Chamber Orchestras, among others. Recent ensemble appearances include the New York Classical Players, Norwalk and Albany Symphonies, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Berkshire Opera Festival, and BalletNext.

She has participated in festivals and residencies internationally, including Spoleto Festival USA, Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, and Bang on a Can Festival at MassMoCA, and is a member of the Deep Roots Ensemble, a folk music ensemble with whom she has appeared at bluegrass festivals and recorded two albums. In summer 2023, Stephanie created an original sonic memoir piece - And Then We Come Home - combining interviews with Charleston resident Kim Clark, soundscape recordings, and improvisation, which premiered at the Spoleto Festival USA.

A passionate educator, Stephanie was a recipient of a David Projects for Peace grant for work in arts education, and teaches at Molloy University, Concordia Conservatory, and College of Mount Saint Vincent. Stephanie also makes an impact as an arts administrator, currently serving as Director of Development & Marketing for the award-winning contemporary music group Talea Ensemble.

Stephanie holds degrees from Princeton University (A.B. Economics) and Stony Brook University (M.M., D.M.A.), studying with Arnaud Sussmann, Philip Setzer, Jennifer Frautschi, and Anna Lim. Bulgarian-American pianist Slavina Zhelezova has performed recitals, concerti, and chamber music at venues such as Mexico’s Cervantino International Arts Festival, the Taiwan National Orchestra Hall, and the Bell’arte Foundation Series (Brussels).

In the US, her credits include the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series (Chicago), Palm Beach Atlantic University, and NYC’s The cell Theater. Fueled by the energy of meaningful connection, Slavina is committed to creating moments of magic with bold programming and engaging commentary. Slavina’s debut album on Centaur Records, “Midnight Conversations” with pianist Citlalli Guevara, was described as a “brilliant performance that’s lots of rollicking fun” (American Record Guide). As part of the Guevara & Zhelezova Piano Duo, she has toured Mexico performing recitals at the En Blanco y Negro International Festival and with the Xalapa and Guanajuato Symphony Orchestras.

Committed to building community and meaning, Slavina founded River Crossing Concerts. Based in River Edge, NJ, the series invites social change through interactive and immersive concerts events with diverse and inclusive programming. Zhelezova’s accolades include a first prize at Ostuni International Piano Competition (Italy), grants from the Soros and St. Cyril and Methodius International Foundations. She holds a Doctorate and a Master’s from the Manhattan School of Music and Bachelor’s from the Mannes College of Music.