September 24th Concert Details
31st Anniversary Season 2017—2018
The Placitas Artists Series is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
This project is made possible in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs,
Program and Notes
This concert generously sponsored by -
PAS Board of Directors, in memory of Elaine Slusher
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© Peter Böhringer - All Rights Reserved
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Justin Pollak, a native of Santa Fe, first studied the violin under Catherine Nichols. As a student at the
University of New Mexico, he studied violin with Leonard Felberg and Bernard Zinck and viola with
Kimberly Fredenburgh. From 2001 to 2011, he was a violinist with the New Mexico Symphony
Orchestra. Justin is currently a member of the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and the New Mexico
Philharmonic. He frequently performs with Chatter on both violin and viola. In the winter and spring
of 2012, he played concerts with the Figueroa Project and Opera Southwest. When not playing music,
Justin enjoys running, biking, and hiking.
Violist Willy Sucre is a member of the New Mexico Philharmonic and is the driving force behind the
"Willy Sucre & Friends" concerts. Born in La Paz, Bolivia, Sucre studied at the Conservatorio Nacional
de Música in La Paz; Colby College Chamber Music Institute in Waterville, Maine; Mannes School of
Music in New York; and the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland.
He was conductor and music director of the Albuquerque Philharmonic Orchestra, assistant conductor
and principal violist of the Canada Symphony Orchestra in Montreal, assistant conductor and assistant
principal violist of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and principal violist and guest conductor of
the National Symphony of Bolivia, the Chamber Orchestra of La Paz, and the Albuquerque Chamber
Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Sucre was the founder of the Cuarteto Boliviano, guest violist with
various chamber music ensembles, and for ten years the violist of the Helios String Quartet.
Sucre’s experience includes extensive chamber music concerts, lectures, school demonstrations, CD
recordings, and television performances throughout South, Central, and North America. He spends
most of his summers in South America looking for new works of chamber music by modern composers
and encouraging composers to write new pieces, especially piano quartets. He enjoys performing with
ensembles of diverse instrumentation.
Since 1980, violinist Liang-Ping How has been a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, touring
extensively throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, and appearing frequently as soloist and
concertmaster of the conductor-less group.
An active soloist and chamber music musician, How’s performances include the Caramoor, Spoleto,
Lochenhaus and Moab Music Festivals, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New York
Philomusica at the International Music Festival of Sophia, and as guest soloist for the former New
Mexico Symphony. In addition, he has served as the concertmaster for the Sarasota Opera since 2005
and is regularly engaged as concertmaster to the Monterey Symphony.
How made his solo debut with the National Youth Orchestra of Taiwan at age seven and went on to
study at the Interlochen Arts Academy and the Curtis Institute of Music with Jamie Laredo. A member
of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, How resides in Santa Fe and
plays an 1863 J.B. Vuillaume.
As a chamber musician, cellist Felix Fan has played with YoYo Ma, Gil Shaham, and Janos Starker in
venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Royal Festival Hall. In 2006, Fan and violinist
Cho-Liang Lin recorded Gordon Chin’s Double Concerto with the Kansas City Symphony.
Fan’s interest in contemporary music has led to collaborations with today’s leading composers
including Tan Dun, George Crumb, and Charles Wuorinen. Appearances with Bang on a Can All-Stars
has allowed Fan to work with Philip Glass and Terry Riley. In 2008 Fan joined the Flux Quartet. In
1998 Fan founded Muzik3, a performance series and commissioning foundation dedicated to the
advancement of modern music with an emphasis on integrating theater, dance, and video.
Fan studied cello with Eleanore Schoenfeld at USC, Janos Starker at Indiana University, and Aldo
Parisot at Yale University. In 1994, he was honored by Bill Clinton as a Presidential Scholar. Fan plays
the ‘Haussman’ Stradivarius of 1724.
