Jay Pike and Sixto Franco, Viola Duo

Program:
Re-tuning, by Ann Southam
Duet for two violas, by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Mechanics, for two violas, by Sixto Franco
Lament, for two violas, by Frank Bridge

Jay Pike studied viola in his home state at the University of Montana, and later at Roosevelt University in Chicago. He has performed with many ensembles in the Chicago area including Chicago Opera Theatre, the Elgin Symphony, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and Ensemble Dal Niente. Some highlights include a beautiful production of Bluebeard’s Castle at Thalia Hall with the New Millennium Orchestra, and performing alongside his college teachers and mentors in a String Orchestra of the Rockies concert last fall.
Jay also keeps a busy teaching schedule. In addition to running a Suzuki violin program in Morton Grove, Jay also teaches for The People’s Music School’s new community music program in Back of the Yards, on Chicago’s south side.

Sixto Franco, viola
Mr Franco is an active performer, teacher and composer, having performed in Europe, United States and Mexico. Mr Franco has performed with ensembles such as the Eight Black Bird and the Fifth House ensembles, Camerata Chicago, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Symbiosis Ensemble in LA, and Camerata Musicalis in Spain, Barcelona Symphonic Orchestra, and Shleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra, among others.
As a former member of the Kaia String Quartet, Sixto Franco has released two albums titled “Latinoamerica” (2015) and “Quartango” (2016). As chamber music performer, Sixto Franco has also appeared at the Latino Music Festival of Chicago performing, Pritzker Theater, Fullerton Hall of the Chicago Arts institute, Mayne Stage, University of Chicago, and has joint artists such as Paquito D´Rivera, Fareed Haque, Ernie Adams, and Rick Ferguson.
Besides his presence in the chamber music and orchestra scene, Mr. Franco has also appeared as soloist in California and his native Spain, performing works of Mozart, Bruch and other contemporary composer. In 2012, composer, Jason Barabba dedicated his duet for viola and clarinet to Mr. Franco who then premiered and recorded the work June of that year in Madrid, Spain.
As a composer, Sixto Franco has written for different mediums such as chamber music, theater and dance. He made his debut on February 2011 premiering his work “Blanco y Negro” in a Cancer Benefit Concert promoted by the Spanish Consulate of Los Angeles and the Symbiosis Ensemble. The “MalArte Association”, Spain, premiered his piece Five “O’clock Tabu” as the sound track for an interdisciplinary theater and dance show with the same title. His last collaboration included the Tiffany Lawsone Dance Company resulting on the creation of “Calm Panic” for solo viola and dancer. Some of his future engagements are: the premiere of his Viola Duet and the world premier of a viola concerto by composer Kevin Hartnett’s viola concerto.
Sixto Franco is a Master Graduate from Thornton School of Music at University of Southern California and has earned a Performance Degree in Chamber Music studies at the Northern Illinois University under the guidance of the Avalon String Quartet. His teachers include Donald McInnes, Ashan Pillai, Anthony Devroye, Hagai Shaham and Midori Goto.