Laurel Ensemble

The Laurel Ensemble invites you to an evening of chamber music that spans centuries, countries, and styles.
J.S. Bach - Trio Sonata in G for Flute, Violin & Continuo in G, BWV1039 (1720)
W.A. Mozart - Kegelstatt Trio For Clarinet, Viola & Piano K.498 (1786)
Albert Roussel - Trio for Flute, Viola & Cello, Op. 40 (1929)
Michael Torke - Telephone Book for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello & Piano (1995)
Jennifer Higdon - Smash for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello & Piano (2005)
Founded in 2005, the six member Laurel Ensemble is made up of the Bay Area's finest musicians, dedicated to creating concerts that celebrate the camaraderie of chamber music. We vary the instrumentation for each piece in a concert in order to experience the broadest musical colors, textures, and styles within one program. Visit us online at www.laurelensemble.com.
Sarah Holzman (Flute) performs with symphonies, opera companies, and chamber ensembles around the San Francisco Bay Area. Ms. Holzman has performed at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. Sarah has been heard on the radio on PRI's "Echoes" and has performed at the Festivals of Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Sarasota, and Music Academy of the West. Ms. Holzman teaches at the San Francisco Community Music Center and has degrees from the Oberlin and San Francisco Conservatories as a student of Michel Debost and Tim Day.
Ann Lavin (Clarinet) performs regularly with the Carmel Bach Festival, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Monterey Symphony, and New Music Works. She has performed with the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera. Festivals include Wien Modern in Austria, Shira in Jerusalem, and Tanglewood. Ms. Lavin has been Principal Clarinet with the Sarasota and Utah Festival Operas. Her principal teachers were Robert Marcellus, Daniel Gilbert and Charles Neidich. Ann has degrees from Northwestern and DePaul Universities and a DMA from Stony Brook University. Ms. Lavin is on the faculty at UC-Davis.
Christina Mok (Violin) is the Concertmaster of the Stockton Symphony and the Associate Concertmaster of the Symphony Silicon Valley. Ms. Mok earned two degrees at the Guildhall School of Music in London, studying under Yfrah Neaman and Rodney Friend as a recipient of the British Council Fellowship. She was a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia in London. Ms. Mok has been featured at the Evian Festival in France and the Proms in London, and has performed as a soloist with the Janacek Philharmonic, Russian Federal Symphony Orchestra, and the Seoul Symphony Orchestra.
Jenny Douglass (Viola) is the Principal Violist of the Marin Symphony and plays regularly with the San Francisco Symphony. She performs with the New Century Chamber Orchestra and appears on their new CD Together with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. Since 1992, Jenny has performed, toured, and recorded with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and played on their Grammy Award Winning CD, Shadow Dances. Jenny has degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and the Juilliard School, studying with Lynne Ramsey, Karen Tuttle, and Eugene Lehner.
Krisanthy Desby (Violoncello) is Assistant Principal Cello of the Napa Valley Symphony, and has played Principal Cello for the Golden Gate Opera and the Modesto Symphony. Ms. Desby has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, and joined the Moscow Chamber Orchestra on a U.S. tour ending at Carnegie Hall. Performances abroad include the Scotia Festival in Canada, Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria in Mexico City and Neuberg Kultertage in Austria. She has performed at the Mendocino, Midsummer Mozart, and the Grand Teton Music Festivals. Ms. Desby received degrees at the Peabody Institute and Rice University. Her teachers include Stephen Kates, Shirley Trepel, and Nathanial Rosen.
Lori Lack (Piano) performs as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe and the United States. She has performed with the Alexander String Quartet, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and Gold Coast Chamber Players. She has performed in recital with many artists including Matt Haimovitz and Robin Sharp. Ms. Lack received her degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, and San Francisco State University. In addition to serving on the faculty of CSU Summer Arts and California Summer Music, she works as an instrumental accompanist at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and San Francisco State University.