Russell Thomas, Tenor
& Lucas Nogara, Piano
October 19, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.
Pre-concert talk with KUSC’s Brian Lauritzen at 6:00 p.m.
Pre-concert performance with Loma Linda Academy’s Pro Musica at 6:30 p.m.
Masterclass: October 20, 2024 at 10:00 am
Hole Memorial Auditorium
La Sierra University • Riverside, California
"A voice that marries Wagnerian stamina and Italiante beauty." --Wall Street Journal
With a “heroically shining tone of exceptional clarity and precision” (Opera Magazine) and “gorgeously burnished power” (The New York Times), American tenor Russell Thomas uses his signature elegance and intensity to create vivid character portrayals on the world’s most important stages. Read More
In partnership with
Paul Huang, Violin
& Helen Huang, Piano
February 1, 2025
at 7:00 p.m.
Takoma Park Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Takoma Park, Maryland
" …string phrases feel as natural as breathing.." -- The Washington Post
Recipient of the prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, violinist Paul Huang is considered to be one of the most distinctive artists of his generation. The Washington Post remarked that Mr. Huang “possesses a big, luscious tone, spot-on intonation, and a technique that makes the most punishing string phrases feel as natural as breathing.”
The Anna H. Wang Presidential Concert Series commemorates the life of a remarkable woman whose great passions were music and education.
Born in China, Anna was orphaned at five years of age. Little did she realize that the survival skills learned in the orphanage would prove crucial for what lay ahead.
Twenty years later, shortly after her husband, James D. Wang, was sent to the U.S. for graduate studies, the Sino-Japanese War broke out, forcing Anna, carrying an infant and a toddler, to flee for their lives. During those harrowing times, she found solace in the hymns of faith that infused her with courage and hope. Only by the grace of God did they survive. Additionally, she helped thousands of others survive as well when she helped build a bomb shelter and a hospital. There risking her own life amidst the fiery carnages of war, she treated the sick and wounded.
After settling in the U.S. she continued in nursing and health care administration. Having experienced the power of music during her darkest years, she realized music was an avenue for reaching hearts for God and for inspiring young people to greater heights. Always encouraging them to develop their God-given gifts to their greatest potential, she and her husband supported the education and even music lessons of countless youth. Thus desiring to continue her legacy of 105 years of faithful service to God and humanity, her children have established the Anna H. Wang Presidential Concert Series.