Violinist Dr. Stephen Redfield and pianist Dr. Joanna Burnside will perform in the first of a series of concerts on October 8 at 12:30 p.m. in Malone Hall Auditorium at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Perkinston Campus (Event Details).  The event is part of a four-concert series, Beethoven Piano and Violin Sonatas 1, 2 and 3, which celebrates Beethoven’s 250th birth year (2020).  They will perform the complete Sonatas for Piano and Violin, a formidable project that covers 10 sonatas in the concert series that will continue through spring 2021.

In addition to MGCCC, concerts are also scheduled at The University of Southern Mississippi School of Music and in a series at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Laurel; St. James’ Episcopal Church and the Mississippi Museum of Art, both located in Jackson; and at Tulane University in New Orleans.

The concerts are offered at no charge and are open to the public.

These sonatas represent a sort of encyclopedia of violin and piano writing, with a thorough exploration of moods and characters, forms, stylistic and compositional approaches, and treatment of the instruments as an ensemble.  They also span a sizable part of Beethoven’s life as a composer, beginning with the classically-conceived Op. 12 (1797-98) and ending with Op. 96 (1812), which some would identify as the first work of his late period.

Redfield and Burnside will play the sonatas in order, grouped 1-3, 4-6, 7 & 8, 9 & 10, one group a semester over two years, allowing the audience to become familiar with the encyclopedia, and to experience Beethoven’s life span through the music.

Redfield has been professor of violin at USM since 1996. Recently awarded “Best Instrumentalist” of 2018-19 by the Austin Critics Table, he was a student of Dorothy DeLay at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory and Donald Weilerstein at the Eastman School. A prize-winner in the Colman and Monterrey Chamber Music Competitions, he has performed as a chamber musician throughout the United States and internationally, and just last season performed five concertos with orchestra, including the Mozart D Major with the Mississippi Symphony.

Over his 40 years with the Oregon Bach Festival, he has participated in numerous recordings, including the Grammy® Award-winning disc Credo. Redfield is concertmaster of the Santa Fe Pro Musica, the Arizona Bach Festival, the Conspirare Company of Voices and La Follia Austin Baroque. With the Victoria Bach Festival, he has performed as concertmaster and soloist, and his concerts have been broadcast nationally.

Burnside has taught piano, music theory and music appreciation for 22 years at MGCCC. She holds a doctorate of musical arts in piano performance, with a minor in music theory, from Louisiana State University, and Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in piano performance from USM. 

An active collaborator with music faculty, guest artists, and students, Burnside has been featured as soloist with the USM Symphony, LSU Symphony and Mississippi Symphony orchestras. She is a member of the Mississippi Music Teachers Association, serving as president from 2004-2006. She is nationally certified through the Music Teachers National Association in piano and music theory. A member of the Hattiesburg Music Teachers League for more than 35 years, she currently serves as the website manager and membership chair.