Concert pianist John Novacek is the winner of the Leschetizky and Joanna Hodges International piano competitions in addition to numerous national competitions. He divides his solo work between recitals and concertos with orchestra and has appeared at numerous venues including Kennedy Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Avery Fisher Hall, Hollywood Bowl, New York's 92nd Street Y, Ravinia Festival and Tokyo's Suntory Hall. He is often heard on syndicated radio programs including NPR's "Performance Today", "The Record Shelf", "First Hearing" and "St. Paul Sunday". He is a much sought-after collaborative artist, has given numerous world premieres and worked closely with
John Willams, George Rochberg and Lalo Schifrin. Mr. Novacek has composed many original ragtime pieces for piano, for piano and violin and for piano and guitar, has written arrangements for The Three Tenors, Kiri Te Kanawa and pop singer Diana Ross, and has recorded twenty CDs.

New Hollywood String Quartet violinist Roberto Cani has captivated audiences around the world. He has been a prizewinner at numerous competitions, performing as a soloist and in concert and has been seen and heard on television and radio in Europe and Asia as well as in the U.S.

Rafael Rishik, violinist, was at the age of six one of the youngest students ever accepted at the Juilliard School of Music. He has participated in numerous festivals in the U.S. and in Israel and is active with the Motion Picture Recording Industry in Los Angeles. Mr. Rishik is a founding member of the New Hollywood
String Quartet.

Andrew Shulman, cellist and conductor, was the first-ever British winner of the Piatigorski Artist Award. He has performed in prestigious venues worldwide, including Buckingham Palace and the Royal Palace in Stockholm. His recordings include solo cello on Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997", the highest-selling recording of all time.

Robert Brophy, violist, has toured with the Verbier Festival Orchestra through Europe and North and South America and with UK orchestras. New music is close to his heart and he has worked with leading composers of the 20th and 21st centuries as a member of the award-winning Enso Quartet.

Having taken their name from one of America's finest quartets of a half-century ago, the New Hollywood String Quartet, now in its sixth season, has maintained an active performance schedule, garnering consistent praise from music critics and has established a prominent presence in the Hollywood recording industry.

The May 18 concert will feature the music of Brahms, Bela Bartok and Joaquin Turina. The program will begin at 4:00 pm in the Community Room, 1115 El Centro Street in South Pasadena. Doors open at 3:45 pm. Tickets, at $15 per person, may be available at the door. For further information, please call (626) 799-6333.


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The Friends of the South Pasadena Library’s online silent auction of
bottles of’ dandelion wine autographed by Ray Bradbury has successfully concluded. Only 10 of the bottles of the rare wine were signed by Bradbury before his Author Night appearance for the South Pasadena Library on March 14 in the South Pasadena High School Auditorium. The rare wine was donated by Maple River Winery of Casselton, North Dakota and the labels were signed by the inimitable author during the “Ray Bradbury Day in South Pasadena” festivities.

It wasn’t known at first, but dandelion wine is one of the hardest wines to find in the United States. When it could not be located in this vicinity for the event, Maple River Winery was called after a quick Internet search. When asked if he’d ever sent dandelion wine to Ray Bradbury, winery co-owner Greg Kempel stated that he’d sent it to many community theater companies around the United States presenting the Dandelion Wine play, but never to the author himself. Without a moment’s hesitation Kempel offered to donate bottles of dandelion wine to the Friends’ fundraising effort, and added that he was a Bradbury admirer.

The semi-sweet dessert beverage, said to taste like a combination of chardonnay and corn on the cob, is produced from hand-picked North Dakota dandelions. The winery, one of the only commercial producers of dandelion wine in the United States, customarily sells out each holiday season.

The winning bids total more than $530. Almost without exception, winning bidders reside nearby and many were in attendance in the large South Pasadena audience. Three of the winning bids exceed $100 and one of those came from an official from a State legislator’s office who collects items autographed by “the great authors.” Local winners have been notified to mail in their checks made out to the Friends so that they can pick up their bottles at WineStyles in South Pasadena, one of the community partners for the Library’s event.

Surprisingly, one of the winning bids came all the way from Bohemia, New York. Matt Parish, a Bradbury fan for more than 35 years, sent an email stating that he has “three kids and not a lot of money lying around” but that maybe his bid of $25 would be lucky. Dandelion Wine is one of his favorite books and he also provided a copy of a letter he sent to the author in 2007 declaring “You sir are my ‘time machine’ to my youth and for that I am forever indebted to you.” He received a hearty reply from Bradbury that acknowledged that the fan letter had him in tears.

Ray Bradbury’s classic Dandelion Wine is a semi-autographical book set in Green Town, Illinois, a fictionalized version of Bradbury’s own Waukegan. The protagonist, 12 year-old Douglas Spaulding, awakens one summer morning in his grandparents’ house and is filled with wonderment at being alive, feeling his breath whistling between his teeth while the breeze caresses his neck. In the novel, dandelion wine serves as a central symbol of the fleeting joys of youth and summer.
 
 
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