On behalf of Music Director Ransom Wilson and the musicians of the Redlands Symphony, the Redlands Symphony Association announces the appointment of three principal musicians who will be joining the orchestra in the 24-25 season. "We are so excited to have these musicians—all of whom are at the top of their field and expert performers—join the orchestra, further enhancing our history of and commitment to the highest standards of music making for our community," remarks Music Director Ransom Wilson. Joining the orchestra are Rong-Huey Liu, Principal Oboe; Aristides Rivas, Principal Cello; and Jonathan Stehney, Principal Bassoon.
.png)
Taiwanese American oboist Rong-Huey Liu is a California- based high demand multi-faceted artist. As soloist she has performed concertos of Bach, Corigliano, Daugherty, Ferran, Kalliwoda, Lebrun, Marcello, Mozart, Navarro, Saul, and Strauss. As a Hollywood recording studio musician, Rong-Huey has collaborated with celebrities such as Inflo, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Underwood, Chris Botti, Andrea Bocelli, Spinal Tap, The Who, and Weird Al. Her cinema credits include “Star War VIII”, “Hocus Pocus II”, “Disenchanted”, “Agents of SHIELD”, and “A Jazzman’s Blues”, to name a few.
Rong-Huey holds the principal oboe positions in the Redlands Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, Los Angeles Ballet, Fresno Philharmonic and Riverside County Philharmonic. She regularly performs and teaches at the music festival including the Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy (FOOSA). Deeply committed to music education, Rong-Huey builds a diverse oboe studio with students from various cultures. background, and frequently serves as guest artist at numerous institutes. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. She is currently the oboe professor at the University of Redlands, California State University Fullerton, La Sierra University, and Riverside City College.
Dr. Rong-Huey Liu is a Marigaux Artist.
Grammy nominated cellist Aristides Rivas is a founding member of the fusion world music band Voci Angelica Trio. Rivas has performed at a wide range of international music venues and festivals such as Caramoor Music Festival, Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, Newport Jazz Festival, the Barbican in England, Sejong Center in South Korea, and Teatro Colon in Argentina, among others. Rivas is a specialist in El Sistema-inspired youth music programs and has presented at international conferences such as South Korea’s state run El Sistema conference, the ITAC4 at Carnegie Hall, and the El Sistema USA Symposium in 2019. Rivas is a cello faculty at California Baptist University.
Dr. Jonathan Stehney's expertise ranges from performing Baroque music on period instruments to performing the most challenging contemporary and experimental music. He has traveled widely performing new works for bassoon and contrabassoon. Dr. Stehney has worked with such notable composers as Sofia Gubaidulina, Pierre Boulez, Péter Eötvös, Olga Neuwirth, James Tenney, Mark Menzies, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and others. He has studied extensively with Pascal Gallois, Paul Riveaux, and the Ensemble Intercontemporain.
Jonathan received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Bassoon Performance from CalArts, his Master of Music and Performance Certificate from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from SUNY Stonybrook. He is currently a free-lance musician in the greater Southern California region, performing with numerous orchestras, including the Long Beach Symphony, Redlands Symphony, assorted chamber ensembles and in recording studios, as well as an arranger for concert and theater works.
—
"With the addition of these three Principal Musicians, we are looking forward to continuing the upward trajectory of artistic quality Maestro Wilson and all of our musicians have been so instrumental in achieving the past nine years," remarks RSA Board President Kathy Cencirulo.
The Redlands Symphony shares a special relationship with the University of Redlands which provides pathways for musicians on faculty at the University of Redlands Conservatory of Music to concurrently hold Principal chairs while on faculty at the University. "This unique partnership allows both the Symphony and the University to attract and retain top-tier talent and create an environment of collaboration among the two organizations and real world laboratory experiences for music students," says Executive Director Kevin Eberle-Noel.
The Redlands Symphony Association is grateful to the Nies Family for their endowment gift, naming the Principal Oboe chair as the Nies Family Endowed Chair as well as our musician chair sponsors: George & Helma Webber (Principal Oboe), Melodee & Scott Seccombe (Principal Cello), and Target Lumber Sales, Inc. (Principal Bassoon).
.png)
Entertaining and Inspiring the IE since 1950.
