Renowned Clarinetist Christopher Di Santo,  Violinist Ruotao Mao, And Pianist Michael Sheadel  To Perform At Next Maurice River Music Salon Concert On March 24

MAURICETOWN, NJ—Renowned clarinetist Christopher Di Santo, violinist Ruotao Mao, and pianist Michael Sheadel will be the featured performers at Maurice River Music’s next salon concert on Sunday, March 24, at 2:30 p.m., at a residence in the Mauricetown, NJ area. 

They will perform Charles Ives’ Largo for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sonata for Piano and Violin in C major, K.296; Camille Saint-Saëns’ Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 167; and Béla Bartók’s Contrasts for clarinet, violin, and piano, Sz. 111.

Di Santo, making his sixth Maurice River Music salon concert appearance, has been a participant in music festivals in both North America and Europe, and has performed throughout venues in the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, and Italy. Recording credits include Lee Pui Ming’s She Comes to Shore: concerto for improvised piano and orchestra in 2010 with the Bay Atlantic Symphony—of which he is principal clarinetist—on the Naxos/Innova label as well as Verdi’s Requiem and Mozart’s Requiem K. 626 with the Vox Ama Deus Ensemble on the Lyrichord label. He has also recorded two CDs of the music of Robert Russell Bennett and Paul Mack Somers for Maurice River Press. His clarinet playing and commentary were highlighted on NPR’s Morning Edition on October 9, 2004, later broadcast in translation over Voice of America, throughout Europe and the former Soviet Republics. 

He joined the faculty of The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (now Stockton University) in January 2012 as Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of Classical Music Studies in the college’s School of Arts and Humanities. Former positions include appointments on the music faculties of Moravian College, as Artist-Lecturer, and as adjunct faculty in the music departments of Swarthmore College and West Chester, Lehigh and Rowan Universities. In December 2006, he accepted an invitation to Shanghai, China where he performed as soloist with the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra and conducted a series of master classes with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music’s highly talented and advanced clarinet students. He has also performed Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the Bay Atlantic Symphony.

Mao, making his fifth Maurice River Music salon concert appearance, started learning the violin at the age of six under the guidance of his father and gave his first public performance at the age of nine in Shanghai. Now an active soloist and chamber musician, he was described by Classical New Jersey as performing with “…virtuoso display of world-class magnitude” and a “level of playing [which] has reached far beyond mere technical competence.” 

He came to Boston on a full scholarship offered by the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay, Paul Kantor, and Masuko Ushioda. While in Boston, he won numerous prizes and graduated With Distinction in Performance. He also attended prestigious music festivals such as the New York String Seminar with Alexander Schneider and at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where his performance of Bartok’s String Quartet No. 1 received an honorary mention. He started working with violinist Arnold Steinhardt of the Guarneri String Quartet in 1989 at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, where he received a Master’s degree. While at Rutgers, he won many concerto competitions.

Mao has appeared as soloist with the Jupiter Symphony, Riverside Symphonia, New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Rutgers University Orchestra, Edison Symphony, Delaware Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, Bay Atlantic Symphony, and Corelliard Chamber Orchestra, among other orchestras. In 2004, he premiered a violin concerto by Ernest Stires in the Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall.

As a chamber musician, he was one of the founding members at Rutgers University of the esteemed Amabile String Quartet and the Beijing Piano Quartet. His piano quartet has appeared in Alice Tully Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium, and Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall as a winner of Artists International Chamber Music Series in 1994. His string quartet—Rutgers’ Quartet-in-Residence from 2000 to 2002—has performed with the Muir String Quartet, has appeared in many concert series on the East Coast, and has been heard on radio nationwide. Its performing was praised by Classical New Jersey as “luminous, raised to that level by exceptional precision of ensemble.”

Mao has also performed in Korea and Colombia, South America. On radio, he has played on WNYC, WETS public radio—serving Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina, and on WDVR-FM—serving Delaware Township, Lawrenceville, Princeton, and Trenton, NJ. He has recorded for the CRI and Beijing Broadcast CD labels.

The concertmaster of the Bay Atlantic Symphony, he also serves as the concertmaster of the Delaware Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, Riverside Symphonia, and Edison Symphony Orchestra.

Sheadel, making his Maurice River Music salon concert debut, has performed in the United States and Europe as both soloist and collaborative pianist. A co-founder of the flute and piano ensemble The Hamilton Duo, he has also appeared as ensemble pianist with the Chestnut Brass Company, Encore Chamber Players, Philadelphia Virtuosi, Network for New Music, Orchestra 2001, and the Settlement Contemporary Players. An avid performer of contemporary music, he has participated in the regional and world premieres of numerous new works. His discography includes recordings with The Hamilton Duo, violinist Timothy Schwarz, composer Cynthia Follo, and Orchestra 2001.

He earned degrees in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music, the Peabody Conservatory, and Temple University. In addition to teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, he also teaches for the Main Line Conservatory, the Settlement Music School, and the Blue Mountain Chamber Music Festival.

The final Maurice River Music salon concert of the 2018-19 season will feature marimba virtuoso Makoto Nakura, in his salon concert debut, on April 7, at 2:30 p.m.

Seating is very limited, so reservations are required. Donations to assist in covering expenses will be accepted. To reserve seats, receive directions, or receive more information on the series, please call Maurice River Music at 856-506-0580, e-mail them at info@mauricerivermusic.com, or visit their website at www.mauricerivermusic.com.

Ruotao Mao photo credit: Alan Kolc. All others are courtesy of the respective performers.