The December Mid-Week Recital
features Cristina Montes Mateo, harp.
Online Wednesday, December 13, 12:10 p.m. PST
Presented by Dr. James E. Smith, First UMC Music Director, the Mid-Week Recital series is held on the second Wednesdays of the month. Recitals begin promptly at 12:10 p.m. online.
• Website: www.santamonicaumc.org/livestream
• Facebook: @santamonicaumc
• YouTube Channel: www.youtube/c/santamonicaumc
• The First UMC App: (To download, go to the App Store, search FirstUMC_SM)
In the words of Maestro Zubin Mehta:
“… Cristina is one among those very few individuals who have reached the very top of her field”.
Unanimous 1st Prize winner at the “Torneo Internazionale di Musica” (Rome) and the International Harp Competition “V. Bucchi”, Cristina Montes Mateo is recognized as one of the leading harpists of her generation throughout the world. She has also won four more international contests (Paris –Laskine and Sacem-, Madrid and Tokyo), as well as numerous national awards.
She usually appears as a soloist with major orchestras like the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Philharmonic Orchestra of Málaga, Francisco de Miranda Orchestra in Venezuela, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of the Theatre für Niedersachsen in Germany, and the Santiago de Chile Orchestra.
She has performed at many world leading festivals, highlighting the concert for the King and the Queen of Spain and the President of the U.N. at the Royal Palace in Madrid, being broadcasted live internationally.
She was selected by Lorin Maazel as Principal Harp of the Valencia Opera House Orchestra (Spain), and usually plays with the Munich Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Staatsoper Berlin and Los Angeles Philharmonic.
A sought-after teacher, she also gives regular Master classes at Berklee College of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire or Musikhochschule in Cologne.
Upcoming Recitals:
January 10: Jeff Greif, tenor; Hui Wu, piano
February 14: Coriolan Trio: Clayton Haslop, violin; Kevan Torfeh, cello; James Furmston, piano
March 13: Eva Smith Schoenweiss, violin; Wayne Smith, cello
April 10: Limor Toren-Immerman, violin; Nora Chang, piano
May 8: Phil Smith, organ
Watch Past Recitals Below!
Email Sign-Up for MUSIC | THEATER | ARTS EVENTS
Various guest musicians alongside Jim Smith, Music Director, and Ty Woodward, resident organist, have been featured during the Sunday online and In-Person worship service.
Your financial support is now more important than ever. Please consider making a donation to support our music program by clicking: GIVING PAGE.
Past Recitals
View the November Mid-Week Recital, featuring
Rufus Choi, piano; Noah Choi, cello View the Program
View the October 2023 Mid-Week Recital, featuring Aaron Shows, organ
View the September 2023 Mid-Week Recital featuring Margaret Thornhill, clarinet; Hui Wu, piano
View the May Mid-Week Recital with Evan Kahn, cello; Amy Zanrosso, piano.
View the March 2023 Recital featuring Cantilena Trio: Susan Greenberg, Jon Lee Keenan, Kenton Youngstrom
View the February 2023 Mid-Week Recital featuring Tom Batson, piano.
View the January 2023 Mid-Week Recital featuring Laurent Jochum, organ.
View the December 2022 Mid-Week Recital: with Beth Chouinard-Mitchell, tuba; Hannah Yi, piano
View the November 2022 Mid-Week Recital: with Susan Greenberg, Michele Zukovsky, and Dr. Pierre Tang
View the October 2022 Mid-Week Recital: with Nora Chiang Wrobel, piano; Limor Toren-Immerman, violin;Garik Terzian, cello
View the September 2022 Mid-Week Recital: with Mak Grgic [GER-gich], guitar.
View the May 2022 Mid-Week Recital, featuring Clayton Haslop, violin; Kevan Torfeh, cello; and Wendy Prober-Cohen, piano. View the Recital Program
View the April 2022 Mid-Week Recital, featuring Sean O’Neal, organ
View the March 2022 Mid-Week Recital, featuring Ty Woodward, organ; Dr. Jim Smith, piano and organ
View the February 2022 Mid-Week Recital, featuring Tae Yeon Lim, piano
View the January 2022 Mid-Week Recital, featuring Philip Vaiman, violin / Miloš Veljković, piano.
View the November 2021 Mid-Week Recital, featuring Kirill and Anna Gliadkovsky, piano duo.
View the October 2021 Mid-Week Recital, featuring Cristina Montes Mateo, harp
September 2021 Recital: Tengyue (TY) Zhang, classical guitar
May 2021 Mid-Week Recital: Rufus Choi, piano
April 2021 Mid-Week Recital: Kevan Torfeh & Friends:
Kevan Torfeh, cello; Jim Smith, organ and piano; Tomasz Golka & Anna Kostyuchek, violins; and Linda Muggeridge, oboe.
View the Recital Program here
March 2021 Recital: David York, organ
February 2021 Recital: Aram Barsamian, baritone; accompanied by Mark Salters, piano.
View the Program
Wednesday, January 13: Ty Woodward, organ; David Searfoss, trumpet; Stephen Billington, trumpet
View the Recital Program here
Wednesday, December 9, 2020: Calico Winds, wind ensemble
View the Recital Program here
Wednesday, November 11 2020, Kirill Gliadkovsky, piano
View the Recital Program (list of pieces and artist bio)
Wednesday, October 14, 2020: Nancy Roth, violin; Lorenzo Sanchez, piano
Wednesday, September 9, 2020: Aaron Shows, organ
View the Recital Program for Aaron Shows
August 12, 2020 – Susan Greenberg, flute; Cristina Montes Mateo, harp
July 8, 2020 – Connie Sheu, guitar, and Elise Henry, flute
June 11, 2020 – Duo Imaginalis: Ekaterina Bessmettseva, piano; Hugo Nogueira, guitar
May 13, 2020 – Mark Robson, Piano Online Recital
January 8, 2020 – David Childs, baritone
David Childs is a baritone who specializes in Jewish Music. He holds a degree in Vocal Performance from UCLA and is an alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival. David’s past musical endeavors include singing solo roles with several performing groups: Guild Opera, Pacific Opera Project, Aspen Opera Center, & LA Chamber Orchestra. In 2017, David performed a recital with pianist Mark Robson as part of Boston Court’s Emerging Artist Series. David also played accordion with the Latin-American folk-pop band, We The Folk. He currently serves as Cantorial Intern at Sinai Temple in Westwood and is studying at the Ziegler School of Rabbinics at American Jewish University.
March 11, 2020 – Sergey Kosemyan, cello; Anna Markosyan, piano
Sergey Kosemyan is a recipient of the UNESCO Gold Medal, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Aram Khachaturian, 2008. He is the prize winner of the following International Competitions: Aram Khachaturian International Competition, 2006; Pierre Lantier International Chamber Music Competition (Grand Prix), Paris, 2002; the National Young Artist Competition in Yerevan, Armenia (1997) First Prize; and the winner of the Premier Prix de La Conservatoire National Superior de Paris, 2002. He is the founder of the Classic Art Trio (2014), and Kosemyan Ensemble (2017) in Mexico. His teachers have been Mstislav Rostropovich, Philipe Müller, Harry Hoffman, and Dominique de Williencourt.
Anna Markosyan is a graduate of the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory, and winner of the A. Babajanyan National Piano Competition (Armenia). She has performed in chamber ensembles in Armenia, Russia, Europe, Mexico and the USA.
May 8, 2019 – David York, organ
April 10, 2019 – The Wilder Trio, clarinet, bassoon & piano
March 13, 2019 – AlmaNova Duo, flute and guitar
February 13, 2019 – Lukas Hasler, organ
March 14, 2018 – Duo Ondine: Boglárka Kiss, Flute; Alison Bjorkedal, Harp
February 7, 2018 – Althea Waites, Piano – February 7, 2018
May 10, 2017 – Jaebon Hwang, Organ
The finale of the 2017 Mid-Week Recital series is with award-winning composer and organist, Jaebon Hwang! She is organist at Westwood United Methodist Church where she presides over one of the largest organs in the region. Awarded the Fellow of American Guild of Organists, the organization’s highest level of certification, she is active as a recitalist and as a collaborative artist.
May 9, 2018 – Christoph Bull, Organ
Sign up for the Music Theater Arts newsletter for reminders on the Mid-Week Recital and other music updates.