ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Rich Capparela, host. In 1972 an employment counselor asked Rich Capparela, “If you could be anything in the world, what would you be?” Without hesitation he replied, “A classical music radio announcer!” Today Capparela is one of the best-known classical music radio personalities in the United States. He is currently a senior announcer/producer at KUSC-FM in Los Angeles.
His recording company, Cardiff Studios, produces commercials and programming for U.S. arts organizations, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony. He’s appeared as narrator at Carnegie Hall in music by Benjamin Britten and has performed in Southern California with the Boston Pops and conductor Keith Lockhart, narrating The Night Before Christmas. In 2009 he began an association with the Metropolitan Opera when he hosted the Met’s prestigious Western Regional Finals competition. Since 1995 Capparela has hosted live radio broadcast concerts by Pacific Symphony.
In December of 2001 as part of Los Angeles Music Week, Capparela was honored in chamber by the Los Angeles City Council for his contributions to the city’s music community. In 2002 Capparela provided program notes for the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet’s Grammy-nominated album “LAGQ: Latin.” Rich continued his association with the Grammys in February of 2004 when he presented the year’s classical Grammys in Los Angeles. In January 2010 Capparela hosted the Grammy Salute to Classical Music honoring Placido Domingo.
He is active as a lead singer and guitarist with a four-piece cover rock band, Otherwise Normal. Capparela and his wife Marcia, a private school administrator, live in Santa Monica.
Alena Hove, violin. Hailed for her “rich, smooth tone” as well as “nuance and grace” (CityArts), Alena Hove has been recognized for her musical clarity and charismatic stage presence. Currently pursuing her Master of Music degree at the Colburn Conservatory, she studies under the internationally acclaimed Robert Lipsett who serves as the Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair.
Hove made her solo debut at age 9 with the Port Gardner Bay Chamber Orchestra, performing Haydn’s Violin Concerto in G Major. Since then, she has played with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Philharmonic, Ottawa Chamber Orchestra, the Seattle Youth Symphony, the Colburn Baroque Ensemble, and was invited to perform in the Seattle Chamber Music Society as a winner of their young artists competition. Hove started her violin studies under late Yuko Honda, one of Shinichi Suzuki’s own students. At age 8, she joined The Coleman Violin Studio in Seattle where she studied with internationally recognized pedagogue, Simon James, co-founder of the studio Jan Coleman, as well as pianist Hiro David.
As a versatile musician, she has been serving as a Concertmaster of the Colburn Orchestra, a Concertmaster of the Colburn Baroque Ensemble, and has studied at the New York String Orchestra and the Aspen Music Festival. She has been part of numerous film scores and live concerts as a contracted musician. As an avid chamber musician, Hove has been featured in the Colburn Chamber Music Society where she has collaborated with artists including Martin Beaver and Pedja Mužijević. She has been an artist at the Taos School of Music, working closely with Robert McDonald, the Borromeo String Quartet, the Brentano String Quartet, and the Shanghai Quartet, as well as been part of the Encore Chamber Music Institute.
Her recent accomplishments include being selected as a featured artist of the Colburn Conservatory's upcoming season, and an award from the Burbank Philharmonic's Hennings-Fischer competition with which she will also be performing in the next season. She has been involved in the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices. Under the baton of Artistic Director James Conlon, she was invited to perform Kammersymphonie by Franz Shreker for a recorded concert with her colleagues of the Colburn Conservatory for the Library of Congress. She has also won an award at the Recovered Voices competition at the Colburn School, performing Hanns Eisler’s Violin and Piano Sonata, "Reisesonate."
Chelsea Chaves, soprano. Chelsea Chaves has performed widely and is adored for her lyricism and winning stage presence. Since graduating with her master’s degree from the USC Thornton School of Music, Chaves has been featured in opera productions and concerts, including Astoria Music Festival, Musiktheater Bavaria, Opera Santa Barbara, OperaWorks, the Pacific Chorale, Pacific Symphony, Songfes, and many more. Her favorite roles include Violetta from Verdi’s La Traviata, Hanna Glawari from Lehár’s Die Lustige Witwe and Pamina from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.
Chaves is passionate about bringing classical music to the younger generations and is often featured with Long Beach Symphony and Pacific Symphony in their outreach pursuits. In 2018, she was a recipient of the prestigious vocal award from the Profant Foundation in Santa Barbara and was a finalist for the Loren L. Zachary Competition in 2015. She has also sung the National Anthem at two Laker games.
For more information, please visit www.chelseachaves.com.
Nicholas Preston, tenor. Tenor Nicholas Preston has been praised by the Orange County Register as being “resonant and warm” and by the classical music site Bachtrack as “a ringing stentorian tenor.” This Hawai’i native is in demand as a soloist in Southern California and beyond, having performed throughout California and touring as a soloist in France, Italy and Spain. He has been a member of Pacific Chorale since 2002 and has frequently appeared as a soloist with the ensemble. Preston has also performed as a soloist with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Claremont Chorale, Santa Maria Philharmonic Society, Cypress Masterworks Chorale and The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. He has worked under the batons of John Alexander, Carl St.Clair, Keith Lockhart, John Williams, Nicholas McGegan, Kent Nagano, John Mauceri, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Grant Gershon and Gustavo Dudamel.