The musical guest for our service on Sunday, February 3rd will be Lan Qiu, violinist with the Phoenix Symphony. Lan will join with Larry for a varied program including Ravel’s beautiful “Pavane pour une infante défunte”, and an exciting New Year’s piece from Lan’s native China to help ring in The Year of the Boar, which begins on February 5th. Invite your friends to join us to hear this amazing guest soloist!

Lan has been playing in the first violin section with the Phoenix Symphony since 2003. Between 1996 and 2000, Qiu was a member of the first violin section of the China National Symphony Orchestra, one of the most outstanding professional orchestra in China. He toured and performed in most countries in Europe, Asia and North America between1987 and 2000.

Since his graduation in 1989 from Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China, Qiu was serving acting concertmaster for the China Central Philharmonic Orchestra (former China National Symphony Orchestra) in Beijing till 1996. With great honor, Qiu was invited to perform at the First Shanghai Worldwide Chinese Artist 2006 New Year’s Concert in China. In 1996, he was elected as the “Outstanding Young Artist of China.” Qiu was also the winner of the National Youth Violinist Competition in 1990.

In February 2009, Qiu was invited to be the guest concertmaster for the Chandler Symphony Orchestra. With the same orchestra, Qiu was featured as the violin soloist performing Sinfonia Concertante in Eb Major by W. A. Mozart with violist Dwight Lear in March this year.

She and Larry will present music by Vivaldi and Schubert, and Saint-Saëns “The Swan”. 

Talya’s musical career began at the age of ten, when she picked up the cello for a school project and never put it down. Growing up close to New York City, she attended the Mannes and Juilliard pre-college programs under cellists Barabara Mallow and Bonnie Hampton, and soloed with the Juilliard Preparatory Orchestra. She received her undergraduate degree from the New England Conservatory and her graduate degree at the Juilliard School, her primary mentors being Paul Katz and Natasha Brofsky.

Talya attended the Perlman Music Program and their affiliated residencies from 2007 to 2014 and has participated in summer music festivals at the Banff Centre, Tanglewood, Taos, and Yellow Barn, where she discovered her love for chamber music. Her most memorable experiences are those in which she has worked and performed with renowned musicians such as Itzhak Perlman, Alan Gilbert, the Weilerstein Trio, Alfred Brendel, and members of the Shanghai, Cleveland, Brentano, and Juilliard String Quartets.

Recently, she has performed with east coast-based ensembles, including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the New York Classical Players, Symphony in C, the Secret Opera Company, Shattered Glass, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. During her time in New York she performed at Carnegie Hall under conductor Alan Gilbert, and was also a member of the Synesthetics, a contemporary band collaborating with The Art of Circus company, as well as the Astoria Tango Orchestra.

In addition, Talya has performed in places such as Israel, China, Brazil, the Kosciuszko Foundation, the Neue Galerie, and Thirteen’s Great Performances on the PBS channel. She finds that she can touch audiences best when she offers a lighthearted, yet genuine presence in her concerts, and hopes to use this blend to inspire others with classical music.

Talya’s interests outside of cello include studying foreign languages, the outdoors, and holistic health.

A busy holiday season lies ahead beginning with our worship service on Sunday, December 16th. This is followed by Larry’s 11th “Extraordinary Evening of Music” on Monday night, December 17th and our worship service on Sunday, December 23rd.

We have a special Christmas Eve service planned for Monday, December 24  at 5:30 PM when we will be joined by soprano Ivana Martinic who will provide some special music and a moving service which is a true tradition at CCOV. If you are seeking a way to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, make plans to join us for this special service.

On Tuesday evening – Christmas Day – we will be serving dinner at the UMOM women’s shelter in Phoenix.  All of these events offer a great opportunity to invite friends, relatives, and neighbors to experience the joy of CCOV during the Christmas season.

Here’s a clip of Larry with his friend Alex Laing performing a selection from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto recorded on December 2nd.

We always need 7-8 individuals to serve dinner at this United Methodist Outreach Ministry (UMOM) event and we welcome families with teenagers 14 years old or older to join us. We leave CCOV at 4PM and are usually back around 7:30 PM.

“Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” 

This is your invitation to live and love as our faith calls us to do.

Plan to meet at CCOV and then carpool to Halle Women’s Center, 3424 East Van Buren.

Contact: Janet at 480-391-3905 if you have any questions or need more information.

Please join us on December 2nd, when our guest soloist will be Alex Laing, Principal Clarinet with the Phoenix Symphony. He and Larry will be presenting Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and some seasonal favorites, too. Be sure to arrive early so you don’t miss any of this wonderful music. Hope to see you then!

We always need 7-8 individuals to serve dinner at this United Methodist Outreach Ministry (UMOM) event and we welcome families with teenagers 14 years old or older to join us. We leave CCOV at 4PM and are usually back around 7:30 PM.

“Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” 

This is your invitation to live and love as our faith calls us to do.

Plan to meet at CCOV and then carpool to Halle Women’s Center, 3424 East Van Buren.

Contact: Janet at 480-391-3905 if you have any questions or need more information.

We always need 7-8 individuals and we welcome families with teenagers 14 years old or older to serve dinner at this United Methodist Outreach Ministry (UMOM) event. We leave CCOV at 4PM and are usually back around 7:30 PM.

“Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” 

This is your invitation to live and love as our faith calls us to do.

Plan to meet at CCOV and then carpool to Halle Women’s Center, 3424 East Van Buren.

Contact: Janet at 480-391-3905 with questions.