The Robinson Gardens in Beverly Hills opens its doors to Salastina for an Alice in Wonderland-themed High Tea. The venue's exterior boasts a large black-and-white checkerboard floor; terraced, Italianate, and palm gardens; boxwood hedges; roses galore; and quirky signage. The inside features an incredible tea room, library, and music salon. It’s the perfect place to bring Lewis Carroll’s famed tale to life. Our Sounds Delicious team, including Chef Becky Brown and Experience Designer Mercedes Curran, lend their talents to this immersive, playful, delightfully whimsical event in partnership with the Virgina Robinson Gardens. Don’t miss this perfect way to kick off the summer and close out Salastina’s 15th Anniversary Season.

On the musical program: The Jabberwocky Song, Cherry Ripe by Frank Bridge, Romance in G minor by Arthur Sullivan, Late Swallows by Frederick Delius, and an original medley of songs from the 1951 classic animated film adaptation.

The Menu

Welcome cocktail:

• Sweet cherry tart aperitif

Savory selections:

• Smoked salmon and dill tea sandwiches

• English pea falafel bite with whipped tahini cream (Vegan)

• Quiche tartlet with asparagus and herbs 

• Pimento cheese toast 

Tea:

• Earl Grey

Scones:

• Cream tea scones, served with housemade strawberry rhubarb jam and clotted cream 

Sweet selections:

• "Eat me" glazed butter cookies

• Magic mushroom meringues

• Butterfly and lavender flower tea cakes

• Assorted Macarons 

Tea:

• Herbal 

Valet parking add-on for $55 per car. Street parking and rideshare drop off on Elden Way is strictly prohibited. Neighborhood street parking is limited to two hours.

This event is for guests 12 years of age and up.

*menu subject to change

Something new is in the Finding Place…

It’s the composer and creator of Amazon’s hit stop-motion animated children’s show, Tumble Leaf!

Sing along to the theme song with Lisbeth Scott, the woman who wrote it. Meet Tumble Leaf creator and director Drew Hodges and executive producer Kelli Bixler. Create your own stop-motion animation with the puppets and behind-the-scenes technology from the show. Build your own instruments like Fig and the Beetle Band Bus. Try your hand at real, kid-sized classical instruments like the violin and cello with the help of our musicians — who’ve played on your family’s favorite soundtracks (like Frozen, Encanto, Moana, and Star Wars). And write your own tunes for Salastina’s musicians to play for you right then and there.

Oh, and yes: there will be snacks. Lots of snacks.

Don’t miss this whimsical, creative, and memorable event — Salastina’s first for kids!

Program:
10:30 AM Interactive Activity Stations Open
11:00 AM The Music and Magic of Tumble Leaf Concert Begins 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM Interactive Activity Stations Reopen

General Admission $25; Students with ID $10; Salastina Members (Friend-level and above) receive 20% discount; Free tickets for those directly affected by the January wildfires; Tickets for children under two are free

Salastina thanks the Seaver Institute for underwriting this event.

Salastina joins BroadStage’s Sunday Morning Music series with 19th-century German repertoire celebrating romantic love and domestic bliss. On the program: works by Brahms, Schumann, and Wagner. Brian Lauritzen puts the program in a relatable context between pieces.

Program:
Clara Schumann: 3 Romances, Op. 22: I. Andante molto Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo Op. 118: No. 2 and No. 5 Robert Schumann: 3 Romances Op. 94: II. Einfach, innig Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll

Sunday, March 9th, 2025 at 3 PM 
Rothenberg Hall at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens (map)
+ Livestream

If your soul could use a cathartic chakric cleanse, do not miss this hair-raising, spine-tingling, psyche-throttling musical rollercoaster. Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Trio  No. 2 and String Quartet No. 8 are his best-known and most electrifyingly recognizable chamber works. More than many of his other works, they grab you by the spiritual jugular and don’t let go. (And that’s saying a lot; IYKYK.) 

Camilla Tassi’s immersive, imaginative lighting projections up the emotional ante on this gripping music.

Complimentary wine and hors-d’oeuvre reception with the artists to follow.

More info on our venues and parking here. Should you wish to enjoy the many offerings at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens before Salastina's performance in Rothenberg Hall, purchase an admission ticket or reserve your timed entry here. This is not required if you plan only to attend our concert.

Sunday, March 9th, 1:30 - 2 PM: Early Access for Members at the Supporter + Level

Free admission for those affected by the LA wildfires (ticket required).

Program:
Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Violinists
Meredith Crawford, Resident Violist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist
Brian Lauritzen, Resident Host Projection design by Camilla Tassi based on paintings by Rebecca Stenn

Friday, March 7th, 2025 @ 8 PM - Orange County (map)
The Weinstein Performance Space at Chamber Music OC

If your soul could use a cathartic chakric cleanse, do not miss this hair-raising, spine-tingling, psyche-throttling musical rollercoaster. Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Trio  No. 2 and String Quartet No. 8 are his best-known and most electrifyingly recognizable chamber works. More than many of his other works, they grab you by the spiritual jugular and don’t let go. (And that’s saying a lot; IYKYK.) 

Complimentary wine and hors-d’oeuvre reception with the artists to follow. More info on our venues and parking here.

Friday, March 7th, 6:30 - 7 PM: Early Access for Members at the Supporter + Level

Program:
Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Violinists
Meredith Crawford, Resident Violist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist
Brian Lauritzen, Resident Host

Since our performance of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in the spring of 2023, we have jumped on every opportunity to collaborate with mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski. Her sublime tone, phrasing, and naturalness shine in select lieder by Franz Schubert.

Clara and Rodolfo Leone group fourteen sublime songs by Schubert into themes: water, good versus evil, night scenes, and love stories.

This concert is FREE. *While reservations are currently sold out, please sign up for our waitlist for any returned tickets or no shows. We will also have limited seating available to listen to the audio of the concert in The Wende Museum’s garden.

Program:
Seligkeit
Three songs of water: Fischerweise — Erlafsee — Gondelfahrer
Good versus Evil: Der Tod und das Madchen —Die Junge Nonne
Night Scenes: Der Wanderer an den Mond — An den Mond — Abendstern — Die Sterne
Love Story: Geheimes — Du Bist Die Ruh — Bei dir allein!
An die Musik

Artists:
Clara Osowski, Guest Mezzo-Soprano
Rodolfo Leone, Guest Pianist

10 AM: Early Access for Members at the Supporter + Level

Did Mozart really laugh like that? Was Salieri truly such a jealous, murderous jerk? Real musicians weigh in on the veracity of Peter Shaffer’s iconic film.

Our roundtable discussion includes Josh Shaw, the charismatic and knowledgeable Artistic Director of Pacific Opera Project — which will produce Salieri’s La Scuola de’ Gelosi in mid-January. Share your thoughts and ask us anything as active participants in the conversation — or simply listen in.

You can watch the movie beforehand or press play at 6 PM sharp, chatting with us on Zoom. We’ll then take a quick bathroom and snack-refill break and reconvene on Zoom at 9:05 for the discussion.

You can rent the Director’s Cut on Amazon Prime Video here for $3.79. It’s free to join us on Zoom. You must register by clicking the button below to receive the Zoom link.

Chef Becky Brown, Experience Designer Mercedes Curran, and Salastina team up once more for the most opulent, decadent, nostalgic, immersive, and beautiful holiday event ever. The Da Camera Society again opens its doors to the stunning Doheny Mansion for the occasion.

Built in 1899, the Doheny Mansion’s Pompeian Room is replete with actual gilded details, colored marble floors, and a golden, ombre glass dome that is simply resplendent at midday. And naturally, it’ll be appropriately decked out for Christmas. Enjoy Becky’s 5-course gourmet holiday brunch while losing yourself in music composed when the venue was built.

The Yuletide Carolers musically greet you in Victorian garb. Come in costume yourself, if you wish!

NOTE: Ticket sales close FRIDAY AT NOON. Tickets are non-refundable. At checkout, you may choose either the standard or vegan menu. Substitutions politely declined.

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Resident Violinists
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist Linnea Powell, Guest Violist Cristina Montes Mateo, Guest Harpist

Menu: First course
Standard: Smoked trout rillettes on brioche, celery leaf salad
Miso Deviled eggs with cured ikaru
Vegan: Caramelized Marsala mushrooms, white bean puree, garlic confit

Second course Standard: Red oak salad, citrus vinaigrette, oro blanco, aged Gouda 
Vegan: Red oak salad, citrus vinaigrette, oro blanco

Third course Standard: Scottish salmon, McGrath farms beet puree, brown butter, satsuma emulsion  Vegan: roasted beet medley, satsuma emulsion, cashew cheese, walnuts 

Fourth course:  Standard: New Zealand lamb chops, celery root, medjool date chutney, toasted pepitas, mint  Vegan: seared king oyster mushrooms, celery root puree, medjool date chutney, pepitas, fried sage 

Fifth course:  Standard: Pumpkin cheesecake, ginger cranberry jam, ginger snap crumble, chantilly cream
Vegan:  Ginger cranberry sorbet with olive oil 

Salastina proudly presents this performance in partnership with The Da Camera Society.

On this mystical compline program, Salastina’s Composer Mentor Derrick Skye’s latest string quartet Deliverance is a portal to another time. Its musical DNA came from select works of other Baroque composers whose works share the program. Together, the program illustrates centuries-old music's timeless resonance – and the endless possibilities for re-imagining its magic and mystery. 

A complimentary wine reception with the artists will follow. More info on Mary Chapel and parking here.

Program:
Hildegard von Bingen: O Frondens Virga
Thomas Tallis: Audivi Vocem
Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina: Missa Nigra Sum - Sanctus
Johann Sebastian Bach: Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor
Derrick Skye: Deliverance (West Coast premiere)
Gregorio Allegri: Miserere

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Resident Violinists
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
Derrick Skye, Resident Composer
Luke Maurer, Guest Violist

6:30 PM - 7 PM: Early Access for Members at the Supporter + Level

Salastina proudly presents this performance, sponsored by the Music Department at Mount Saint Mary’s University.

Begin your holiday season joyfully with a unique, bespoke wine and music experience supporting Salastina’s Vital Sounds Program.

Our colleague and friend Natalie Leggett, a beautiful violinist and wine expert, connects a sense of Home in music to that of terroir in wine. Each of our four wine and music pairings has a mutually-amplifying, beautiful story to savor. The musical program includes selections from Eric Whitacre's You Feel Like Home: Suite from The Sacred Veil, which Salastina premiered and recorded earlier this year, as well as “Going Home” From Antonin Dvorak’s beloved New World Symphony. Small plates will also be provided.

The Cellar in Old Town Pasadena is the perfect cozy, intimate spot to enjoy these inspired wine and music pairings.

All donations received through this event support Salastina's Vital Sounds Program. Vital Sounds provides free, virtual, one-on-one bedside concerts to critically ill patients at Huntington Health and UCLA Medical Center five days a week.

All proceeds benefit Salastina's Vital Sounds Program. Ticket costs are tax-deductible, less $246 per attendee, as allowed by law. If you attend with someone else, you’ll both qualify for a year of Digital Member Benefits.

Salastina thanks Board Member Dr. Nirav Kamdar for generously underwriting this event.

A few months ago, Salastina’s Resident Cellist Yoshika Masuda and Resident Pianist HyeJin Kim released Hidden Flame on Avie Records. The album contains music by Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Rita Strohl, Nadia Boulanger, Maria Theresia Paradis, and a world-premiere by Reena Esmail. Yoshi described the album's purpose: “musicians and music lovers often feel confident that great works must already be a part of the standard repertoire. However, this album proves that there are hidden gems that deserve more recognition out there!" For this Happy Hour, audiences will be treated to Yoshi and HyeJin performing select works featured on the album live. Throughout, Co-Artistic Director Maia Jasper White hosts a conversation between Yoshi, HyeJin, and the audience about repertoire selection and the recording process as a whole.

Mimosa and pastry reception with the artists to follow.

Program:
Frédéric Chopin: Waltz in A minor (West Coast Premiere) Amy Beach: Romance Op. 23
Reena Esmail: one word makes a world
Rita Strohl: Great Dramatic Sonata, "Titus et Bérénice"

Artists:
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist

10 AM: Early Access for Members at the Supporter + Level

Inspired by a documentary, Salastina’s Resident Flutist Benjamin Smolen sought out and befriended Walter Arlen — an Austrian-born, gay Jewish composer who fled the Nazis, ultimately spending most of his life and career in Southern California.

Sadly, Ben did not have the chance to perform Walter’s music before the composer passed away last September at age 103.

Ben curates this posthumous celebration of the works and friendships of a man who continues to inspire him. 

Mimosa and pastry reception with the artists to follow.

Program:
Walter Arlen: Monotypes
Roy Harris: American Ballads
Hector Villa Lobos: Jet Whistle
Carlos Chavez: Lento from String Quartet No. 3
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Ein Quartett-Satz on the Name of Walter Arlen
Walter Arlen: Sonnett for Violin and Piano

Artists:
Benjamin Smolen, Resident Flutist
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Resident Violinists
Meredith Crawford, Resident Violist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist

10 AM: Early Access for Members at the Supporter + Level

Please note that this concert is now taking place at Barrett Hall at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music.

Want to fill your heart, mind, and soul to bursting? If you can handle the intensity of an all-day marathon of the complete piano trios of Johannes Brahms, consider this your formal invitation.

Concert 1 @ 3:30 PM

Concert 1 includes the beloved B Major Piano Trio and the epic E Flat Major Trio for Piano, Violin, and Horn. Take a dinner break at any Pasadena restaurant nearby (many great ones are within walking distance) before indulging in another gluttonous feast of Brahms’ German Romanticism.

Complimentary wine reception with the artists to follow each performance.

Program: Concert 1
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8
Johannes Brahms: Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40

Artists: Concert 1
Kevin Kumar, Co-Artistic Director and Resident Violinist
Zach Mowitz, Guest Cellist
David Cooper, Guest Horn Player
Rodolfo Leone, Guest Pianist
Brian Lauritzen, Resident Host

3 PM: Early Access for Members at the Supporter + Level

Concert 2 @ 7:30 PM

Save room for dessert: Concert 2 includes the C Major and C Minor Piano Trios and the Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and Cello.

Complimentary wine reception with the artists to follow each performance.

Due to our guest artist’s contractual obligations, we regret that we cannot livestream Concert 2.

Program: Concert 2
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101
Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87

Artists: Concert 2
Randall Goosby, Guest Violinist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist
Sergio Coelho, Guest Clarinetist
Brian Lauritzen, Resident Host

6:30 PM: Early Access for Members at the Supporter + Level

Join us for our virtual event for conversation with and world premieres from this year’s Sounds Promising cohort. This year’s young composers were based in New Zealand, Prague, Indiana, London, and both US Coasts. Featuring premieres by Mathis Saunier, Sydney Wang, Shane Scott Cook, Luca Pasquini, and Jackson A. Waters.

Read more about our Sounds Promising cohort here.

Join us for our virtual event for conversation with and world premieres from this year’s Sounds Promising cohort. This year’s young composers were based in New Zealand, Prague, Indiana, London, and both US Coasts. Featuring premieres by Yuxuan Lin, Benjamin Beckman, Kirsten Strom, Chloe Liuyan Liu, and Austin Ali.

Read more about our Sounds Promising cohort here.

Few musicians possess the cojones and humility to perform music blind. And by “blind,” we do NOT mean sightreading; the musicians have practiced and rehearsed!

Rather, we mean the musicians don’t know what they’re playing. Not the composer, the piece title, when and where it was written… nada.

Sounds Mysterious is a musical scavenger hunt in which the musicians and audience solve those mysteries together.

This time, all of Salastina’s Resident Artists have chosen a short piece to stump everyone else in the ensemble.

The music our Resident Artists have chosen is readily accessible, consummately listenable, and delightfully unexpected. We can't be more specific about the repertoire. But we can promise:

• laughter, collegiality, and plenty of razzing amongst the musicians

• ample opportunities to hear audience members’ intuitions and insights -- and share your own

• the joy of musical discovery

Mimosa and pastry reception with the artists to follow.

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Resident Violinists
Meredith Crawford, Resident Violist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist
Benjamin Smolen, Resident Flutist
Brian Lauritzen, Resident Host

Program:
Mystery Work for Flute, Violin, and Piano, chosen by Benjamin Smolen (Nino Rota Trio - I. Allegro non troppo)
Mystery Work for Flute, Violin, and Piano, chosen by HyeJin Kim (Mel Bonis Suite en trio, Op. 59 II. Pastorale)
Mystery Work for Violin and Viola, chosen by Brian Lauritzen (Courtney Bryan And What I Mean is This)
Mystery Work for Violin and Piano, chosen by Yoshika Masuda (Rita Strohl, Solitude)
Mystery Work for Cello and Piano, chosen by Maia Jasper White (Leone Sinigaglia 2 Stücke, Op. 16: II. Humoreske)
Mystery Work for Piano Trio, chosen by Meredith Crawford (Ludwig Philipp Schawenka Piano Trio No. 1 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 100: II. Allegro)
Mystery Work for Piano Quintet, chosen by Kevin Kumar (Jean Cras Piano Quintet: II. Calme et paisible)

Play with the pros in Co-Artistic Director Maia Jasper White’s living room.

Salastina’s roster of Resident Artists will play through any piece of your choosing with you, allowing for instrumentation. (Our forces: string quartet, piano, and flute.) Simply let us know what you’d like to play no later than three days before the event to give us time to locate the sheet music.

This event is free for Members. Non-members must become Members for the year to participate. Membership begins at $20/month and is fully tax-deductible.

Salastina Member’s are invited to be a fly of the wall for our 2024 Sounds Promising Composer Workshops.

Members can rewatch this workshop in the Members Lounge.

Salastina Member’s are invited to be a fly of the wall for our 2024 Sounds Promising Composer Workshops.

Members can rewatch this workshop in the Members Lounge.

Salastina Member’s are invited to be a fly of the wall for our 2024 Sounds Promising Composer Workshops.

Members can rewatch this workshop in the Members Lounge.

Wrapping up our time in Santa Ynez with a public performance of Hummel and Brahms — in a Mission built in 1804. This also includes access to a self-guided tour of the Mission before or after the concert.

Program:
Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Grand Rondo Brilliante
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quintet

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Violinists
Meredith Crawford, Resident Violist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
Ben Smolen, Resident Flutist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist

Those who’ve purchased a weekend package or Sunday day trip for our Wine Country Trip do not need to buy tickets for this concert, as they’re included in the package.

The Music of the Spheres has never tasted so good.

Travel through the cosmos with space-themed musical selections in the otherworldly, intimate Revery LA. Enjoy Master Chef-alum Becky Brown's gourmet 4-course meal between pieces.

Stellar is the only way to describe the company we’ll keep at this event. Meet three astronomers and music lovers who’ll share “secrets of the universe” as well as the millenia-old kinship between music and astronomy.

NASA astronomer Steve Bryson, a man tasked with discovering how many Earth-like planets there are in the universe, performs the theremin alongside Salastina’s string quartet. He’ll also share a little about his scientific work. Two lovely French employees of LIGO let us in on their groundbreaking scientific work listening to the actual sounds of the universe to draw meaningful insights about its origins. (NBD: it won the Nobel Prize in 2017.)

Throughout the evening, try creating otherwordly sounds and alien voices at our “Theremin Petting Zoo.”

Theme Edit’s Mercedes Curran provides experience design for this immersive, fascinating, delicious event unlike any other in the universe.

Please note that you may choose either the complete vegan or regular menu. We cannot accommodate dish-by-dish substitutions or changes to your menu selection on-site. No further changes can be made after selecting your preferred menu at the time of ticket purchase. No other dietary restrictions or substitutions can be accommodated.

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Violinists
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
Linnea Powell, Guest Violist
Steve Bryson, Guest Theremin Player and Speaker
Arnaud Pele and Marie Kasprczak, Guest Speakers
Becky Brown, Chef
Mercedes Curran, Experience Designer

Program:
Terry Riley: Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector
Carolina Eyck: Strange Birds and Ascent Descent
Chris Westlake: Selections from Star Trek: Lower Decks 
Hans Zimmer: Selections from Interstellar
John Williams: Selections from Star Wars

MENU
Welcome drink: Bantha Punch
Spirulina, coconut milk, pineapple, rum

First course: Beachside on an Alien World
Tai snapper crudo cured in kombu with shiso crema, wasabi flying fish roe, tapioca crisp
Vegan option: Shiso salad, pickled carrots, and daikon, thai basil, tapioca crisp

Second course: Extraterrestrial beet terrine
Amaranth, purple haze goat cheese, walnuts, pomegranate molasses
Vegan option: Amaranth, walnuts, pomegranate molasses

Third course: The infinity of space
Braised beef short rib, black forbidden rice, black sesame, black garlic
Vegan option: Braised King oyster mushroom, black forbidden rice, black sesame, black garlic

Fourth course: Nebula
Luminescent chocolate cake, white chocolate glaze, chocolate caramel mousse
Vegan option: “Celestial forms” chocolate sorbet

Ticket sales close Thursday, April 25th

Sounds Mysterious is a game in which Brian assigns us a piece of music that none of us recognize. He even redacts the composer’s name. We rehearse it, perform it, and attempt to guess the composer along with you. The delight of surprise and interactive “whodunnit” guessing game make for an engaging spin on the live concert experience.

Artists:
Kevin Kumar and Maia Jasper White, Co-Artistic Directors and Violinists
Meredith Crawford, Resident Violist
Yoshika Masuda, Resident Cellist
HyeJin Kim, Resident Pianist
Brian Lauritzen, Resident Host

Salastina Members may watch the livestream for free in our Members-Only Lounge.