Please welcome to our stage Cellist Grace Anderson and Pianist Helene Jeanney

Friday, Apr 17, 2026 Reception at 5:30.  Program begins at 6.

Cycles of Spring - Cellist Grace Anderson teams up with the Berlin-based pianist Helene Jeanney in a dynamic program that explores the power of repetition and its ability to transform into renewal.  The program starts with the crystalline variations of French Baroque master Rameua, where intricate melodies are spun atop a persistent baseline.  This leads into the music of Bach, where singular motives are woven into an energetic, "macrame-like" texture.  By contrast, the program shifts to the stark, hypnotic harmonic cycles of Arvo Pärt, drawing the listeners into ritualistic repetitions that strip away the complex to reveal a raw clarity.  The program then culminates in Brahms's lushly romantic "Rain Sonata," where the pattering of rain serves as a memory and source of emotional resolution.

Grace Lin Anderson, cello, is acclaimed by New York Concert Review for her “rapier definition and boundless energy.”   Her career includes solo and chamber music performances at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center, and a BBC-broadcast appearance at Trinity Church Wall Street, and throughout Europe and North America.  Recent highlights feature 2025 concerto performances with the Arequipa Symphony Orchestra and National University Orchestra Peru — praised for “dazzling technique and musical expressiveness” — and a 2024 Germany tour performing the Solo Bach Cello Suites in historical venues including Bach’s resting place, the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig.  In North Carolina, she serves on the faculty at Queens University of Charlotte and is a sought after collaborator with performances throughout the state.  She holds degrees from Harvard University and The Juilliard School.

Helene Jeanney, piano, is a prize-winner of the Robert Casadesus and Chopin National Piano Competitions who lives and works in  Berlin, serving on the faculty of the Berlin Opera Academy and the French German School of Music.  She returns to the U.S. this spring with a series of concerts, including an appearance with the New York Philharmonic Ensemble at Merkin Hall.  Her international career as a soloist and chamber musician spans venues from Carnegie Hall to Isaac Stern Auditorium across Europe, South America, and Asia.  She holds degrees from the Paris Conservatory, Indiana University, and The Juilliard School.