The Friends of the Cape May Music Festival invite the public to a chamber music concert featuring Venezuelan violinist Manuela Isabel Romero Gonzalez and concert pianist Stanley DeLage, performing works by Franck, Kreisler, Debussy and contemporary Cuban composer José María Vitier.
The concert will be performed at the Cape Island Baptist Church, 115 Gurney St., on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 4 p.m. The Friends are an affinity group of the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC) in support of the annual Cape May Music Festival.
A native Venezuelan, violinist Manuela Isabel Romero Gonzalez began her violin performance and education career at the Conservatory of Music Simon Bolívar and the Latin-American Academy of Violin, in Caracas, Venezuela. Romero came to the U.S. to study with Dr. Stephen Redfield at the University of Southern Mississippi, where she received her master’s degree in violin performance in May 2018. She served as concertmaster of the University of Southern Mississippi Orchestra from 2017-2018. Romero has been a prize winner in numerous competitions and performed as a member of the Young Symphony Orchestra of Caracas, the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, and the Venezuela Symphonic Orchestra. She was concertmaster of the chamber music ensemble ARAMAC as it toured Europe, and a participant in the Northern Lights Music Festival in Minnesota. Passionate about teaching students of all ages, she taught violin in Venezuela for over 10 years within the renowned El Sistema program. Since 2016, she has taught in Hattiesburg, Miss. at William Carey University and the University of Southern of Mississippi’s Suzuki violin program, and at the Hattiesburg Public School District. She is currently in Philadelphia as an ArtistYear AmeriCorps Fellow, while also serving as the string conductor at Play on Philly. As an ArtistYear Fellow, she is working on building a string program at Edison High School, an underserved inner-city school in Philadelphia. In addition, she currently performs with the Allentown and Lancaster Symphony Orchestras.
Pianist Stanley DeLage is a native of Tinton Falls, N.J., where he began his piano studies at age five, and made his recital debut at the age of 13. He has been a prize winner of numerous national and international piano competitions including, MTNA State and Eastern divisions; The Osaka International Competition in Osaka, Japan; and the International Chopin Competition of Hartford, Conn., where he was awarded first prize. Notable performances include concerts at Steinway Hall and Weill Recital Hall in New York City, as well as chamber and solo performances at the Northern Lights Music Festival and the Vienna Summer Music Festival. He has debuted works of living composers including chamber and four-hand piano works by the American composer Michael Polo. DeLage holds degrees from Rowan University and Peabody Conservatory where he studied with Veda Zuponcic and Alexander Shtarkman, respectively. Other teachers include Thomas Schumacher, Douglas Humpherys, Alan Chow, Peter Mack, Larissa Dedova and Mikhail Volchok. Currently an adjunct faculty member at Rowan University, he frequently gives collaborative recitals, and is a sought-after chamber musician. Upcoming performances include chamber and solo recitals throughout the Tri-state area, as well as scheduled performances in Europe in 2019.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at www.capemaymac.org/friends-events, by phone at (609) 884-5404 or at the door. Become a Friend of the Cape May Music Festival and receive a $5 discount on your admission for this concert. Admission is free to students ages 18 and under.