Music in the Chambers Featuring SAKURA Cello Quintet

• Sunday, Sept. 7 at 3 PM

• Mike Balkman Council Chambers

• 9770 Culver Blvd

• Parking available at City Hall in underground garage

Reserve your tickets today to secure priority seating. A limited number of tickets will be available on the day of the concert.

About SAKURA Cello Quintet

A unique and versatile cello quintet, hailed as “brilliant” and “superb” by Mark Swed in the Los Angeles Times, the SAKURA Cello Quintet is built on the artistry and virtuosity of its members: Stella Cho, Michael Kaufman, Yoshika Masuda, Zachary Mowitz and Peter Myers. Drawing from the rich heritage of a repertoire that spans eight centuries, inventive programs are constructed around conceptual threads, with a commitment to opening new vistas of beauty and expression by showcasing the great warmth and scope of five cellos.

SAKURA explores great music of the past through dazzling arrangements that offer fresh perspectives on familiar notes, and continually expands the five-cello repertoire into the future by commissioning new works. In the tradition of the great chamber ensembles, the quintet distills its interpretations through time, reveling in the pure sonic pleasure of a unified and colorful sound. Its name honors the great mentor and artist Ralph Kirshbaum, with whom all five members studied: sakura (桜) (Japanese) and Kirschbaum (German) have the same meaning: “cherry tree”, an organism whose flowers have five petals.

Performance highlights have included the premiere of the world’s first concerto for five cellos and orchestra (Thomas Mellan’s “…on transcendence…”), a performance and pedagogical residency at New Orleans’ Birdfoot Festival, and concert appearances across the country. SAKURA was awarded two prestigious grants to commission new cello quintets: a Tarisio grant for five young American composers and a New Music USA grant for Donald Crockett. The quintet served as Young-Ensemble-in-Residence of the Da Camera Society from 2016 to 2020.

Host or Publisher City of Culver City