Artistic Director and violinist Joan Blackman leads the group in a performance of Beethoven’s
String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18 No. 1. Joan served as Associate Concertmaster of the
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for many years. She has also performed and recorded with the
Victoria Symphony, CBC Radio Orchestra, Turning Point Ensemble and the Banff Festival
Orchestra. She has enjoyed an extensive career as a chamber musician, playing with such groups
as the Purcell String Quartet and the Gryphon Trio.
Clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester will join the quartet to perform Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet in B
minor, Op. 115. Franch-Ballester is a professor at UBC and has been in great demand as both a
solo artist and a chamber musician. He was a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career
Grant in 2008. As a concert soloist, he made his New York debut with the Orchestra of St.
Luke’s at Lincoln Center and went on to perform with numerous orchestras across Spain, the
U.S. and around the world.
By order of the PHO all concert-goers are required to have two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Your purchase verifies your vaccination status as vaccinated.
Matsqui Centennial Auditorium
32315 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford
José Franch-Ballester, clarinet
Joan Blackman, violin
David Gillham, violin
Emilie Grimes, viola
Zoltan Rozsnyai, cello
