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 Joshua Ranz - clarinet, Roger Wilkie - violin, Ana Landauer - violin, Connie Kupka - viola and David Speltz - cello will present rarely heard quintets by Mozart and Brahms. These quintets are widely considered the greatest chamber works for this combination of instruments.
Hailed in the Los Angeles Times for his “stunning rendition” of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto and an “exciting” version of the Copland Clarinet Concerto, Joshua Ranz is principal clarinet of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the New West Symphony. He is also bass clarinetist of the Pacific Symphony. Ranz has played on over 200 soundtracks for such composers as John Williams, Michael Giacchino, James Horner, Randy Newman and many others. In April, 2021 Ranz released a groundbreaking album “Three Cello Suites” comprising of three of J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites arranged for Bass Clarinet. In the fall of 2018, Ranz joined the faculty at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music as Lecturer in Clarinet.
A Southern California native, violinist Roger Wilkie has been the beloved concertmaster of the Long Beach Symphony for over 27 years. He has appeared as a soloist throughout his career with the Symphony, performing the concertos of Brahms, Mendelssohn, Bruch, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, and more recently Sibelius to critical acclaim. Mr. Wilkie’s professional career began at age 21 when he joined the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, eventually being appointed Principal Second Violin, a position he held until 1989. He has since returned to the ensemble as Guest Concertmaster. He has also served as Guest Concertmaster with the LA Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the Real Filharmonia De Galicia, Spain under Music Director, Helmut Rilling. Mr. Wilkie is an accomplished and sought-after chamber musician and is the founding member of the Angeles String Quartet. He has appeared at many chamber music festivals including La Jolla Summerfest, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Festival. Presently, Mr. Wilkie is a member of the Pacific Trio.
A winner of several national violin competitions in her native Armenia, Ana Landauer made her debut with the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Armenia at the age of 14. She has appeared at the Tanglewood Music Festival, the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and served as Concertmaster and Guest Soloist of the National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado. She has performed locally with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony, and Mozart Camerata. Ana is currently Principal Second Violin of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and is an active chamber musician in the greater Los Angeles Area.
Violist Connie Kupka, a native of Southern California, grew up in a music-loving family. She attended UCLA, and after graduation won a scholarship to study chamber music with the Guarneri String Quartet at Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in Connecticut. The experience created a lifelong passion for chamber music, and inspired her along with her now-husband, cellist David Speltz, to form their own ensemble, the Arriaga Quartet. The Quartet went on to win the Grand Prize at the prestigious Coleman Competition and begin a touring career presenting the broad range of offerings from the very large string quartet repertoire. She has also been a member of the Escher String Quartet, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
David Speltz - David Speltz, introduced to the cello by his father, began his formal studies with influential cellist and teacher, Eleanore Schoenfield, and was later invited to join the Piatigorsky master class at USC. He originally earned a master’s degree in mathematics from UCLA but soon realized that the cello was his path to follow. In 1973, he co-founded the Arriaga Quartet, which went on to win a first prize in the Coleman Competition. As a member of the ensemble Musical Offering, he performed at the Library of Congress, Lincoln Center, the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, and recorded for the Nonesuch label. He was a member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra under Sir Neville Mariner and principal cellist of the California Chamber Orchestra. He has been active in the motion picture industry, playing in studio orchestras for over 1,000 movies.
Presenter / Producer: Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library /Restoration Concerts
Listed Categories
Music > Classical
Music > Chamber Music
Event Phone: 626-403-7350
Venue
Historic South Pasadena Library Community Room
1115 El Centro St.
South Pasadena CA 91030
Regions:
Pasadena / San Gabriel Valley
Performance Dates: 4/19/2026
Performance Times
4:00 p.m.
Ticket Information:
Tickets will be available at the door ($25) or online at https://www.friendsofsopaslibrary.org/restoration-concerts ($26).
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