Many outstanding performers have appeared at the SRFOL-sponsored "Pleasure of Your Company" series of Sunday music concerts. A selection of past performers appears below. Click on any photo to enlarge it for detailed viewing. For the best viewing of enlarged photos in your web browser, please enable Javascript or allow blocked content (scripts) to run for this page.

The Grigorian-Gubenko Piano Duo presented An Afternoon in Paris on March 12, 2023. This "four-hands piano" program featured French Romantic composers including Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel, and Claude Debussy. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Our concert on February 12, 2023 featured a 6-person vocal and instrumental ensemble named Courtly Noyse specializing in music of the Renaissance. The Noyse presented was certainly joyful, and a total of about 80 lords, ladies, lads and lasses were entertained and amused by the delightful singing and merry-making that transpired in our Community Longhouse. (Click photo to enlarge.)

On January 15, 2023, pianist Dmitry Kirichenko gave a spirited performance of piano works from the classical and romantic periods. (Click photo to enlarge.)

For the December 2022 POYC Concert, Fred Benedetti delighted the audience with a varied program including Spanish and classical guitar pieces played on a historical guitar built in 1830, various flamenco influenced compositions on a vintage Miguel Rodriguez flamenco guitar, two "Beatles" influenced songs on ukulele, and many original compositions. (Click photo to enlarge.)

In November 2022, a full capacity audience enjoyed a performance (sponsored by Jim & Jennifer Felix) of the Peter Sprague Quartet. The concert featured the Quartet's own arrangement of popular and jazz classics. (Click photo to enlarge.)

The October 2022 POYC concert featured the 8 Plus 88 Piano Trio. The performance included popular favorites from Brahms and Dvorak, pieces by contemporary composers, and the premiere of a very moving piece for solo cello composed by the trio's cellist Lorie Kirkell that was inspired by a poem by Amanda Gorman. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Leading off the 2022-2023 concert season, the September 2022 POYC concert featured the award-winning and Billboard-charting San Diego Jewish Men's Choir which presented an afternoon of uplifting Jewish music in a variety of languages including English, Yiddish, Ladino, and Hebrew. The audience was encouraged to sing and clap along as the SDJMC lent their unique blend of class and schmaltz to this wonderful music! (Click photo to enlarge.)

Appearing at the June 2022 POYC concert was the Grossmont Symphony Woodwind Quintet. We welcomed back this polished ensemble for a performance of classic, modern, and contemporary music written for a quintet consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn. The quintet consists of Kay Van Tassell (flute), Mike Gaby (oboe), Bob Barnhart (clarinet), Arnold Barron (bassoon) and Buddy Gibbs (French horn). (Click photo to enlarge.)

May 2022 featured the Me Kolme Trio. The Me Kolme Trio delighted the audience with performances of classical, romantic, and contemporary compositions that showcase the delightful tone and texture of the violin/viola, clarinet, and piano trio. (Click photo to enlarge.)

The April 2022 POYC concert featured the Hutchins Consort. This eight-member string ensemble, performing on custom acoustically designed violin-family instruments, from the 18.5 inch treble to the 7.5 foot contrabass, brings rich sonority to their music, ranging from classical works to rock and jazz. (Click photo to enlarge.)

The March 2022 POYC concert featured the Westwind Brass Quintet. This brass quintet, comprised of trumpets, horn, trombone, and tuba, returned to our stage with a genre-spanning program from their repertoire of the entire spectrum of brass music from classical works to music of other cultures and jazz. (Click photo to enlarge.)

February 2022 featured the Orvieto Piano Trio. The members of the Orvieto Piano Trio met in 2009 during the Orvieto Musica chamber music festival in the Italian town of the same name. As happens regularly at such festivals, they found tremendous enjoyment in playing together and sharing musical ideas; but they also made the remarkable realization that three individuals from different corners of the country and at different stages in their careers could find the singular passion of playing to have revitalized each other's love of performing to an even higher degree. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Appearing at the January 2022 POYC concert was the Allison Adams Tucker Jazz Trio. Performing with internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist Allison Adams Tucker were trio members Melonie Grinnell (pianist) and Justin Grinnell (bassist) in a musical journey through the history of jazz and how it has touched the world—from the advent of swing and the big band era to Latin jazz and the birth of the Bossa Nova, and the ever-evolving Great American Songbook. (Click photo to enlarge.)

The January 2020 concert concert featured the Deuterium Jazz Quartet, a group which has been in existence since 2001 and which focuses on classic jazz and original pieces. Every performance is new with their jazz, finding new expression to songs that provide lyric quality. (Click photo to enlarge.)

The December 2009 holiday concert featured Courtly Noyse, a group inspired by our forebears from the sixteenth century who enjoyed a Sunday afternoon with music, storytelling, and song. Recorders, viola da gamba, vielle, krummhorns, cornamuse, cornetti, bowed psaltery, mandolin, gemshorns, and rackett, were among the instruments the group they had in tow. The group also cast their instruments aside at the drop of a (Tudor) hat, and burst into six-part vocal harmony. (Click photo to enlarge.)

For Fathers Day 2009, the Dixieland Express took over our stage for a toe-tapping afternoon. One of the finest bands in America’s Finest City, Dixieland Express are regulars at the annual 5-day Dixieland Jazz Festival where, for over 25 years, visitors from around the world have visited San Diego over Thanksgiving weekend to experience traditional jazz. Dixieland Express has a well-deserved and enthusiastic following. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Since its formation in the millennium year 2000, the California Quartet has emerged as one of the most promising young chamber ensembles in the United States. Passionate and personable, the members of the CQ naturally bring the audience and performers closer through thoughtful and convincing musical interpretations, and by integrating lively and relevant commentary about each work they perform. Their program, presented in May 2009, celebrated the music of Mexico, and included music by Chavez, Revueltas, and Beethoven. (Click photo to enlarge.)

In April 2009, POYC presented San Diego Symphony principal bassist Jeremy Kurtz in a solo bass performance. Winner of numerous competitions, including the 1997 International Society of Bassists solo competition, his wide musical interests have also led him to study with such artists as jazz bassist John Clayton and classical/bluegrass bassist-extraordinaire Edgar Meyer. Jeremy Kurtz was joined by pianist Ines Irawati. (Click photo to enlarge.)

The March 2009 concert featured music for piano, clarinet, and flute. Miho Gary, pianist, was born in Japan and graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is a member of Music Teachers Association of California. Elena Yárritu, flutist, has performed extensively in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, and abroad in France, the Netherlands, and in Eastern Europe. Clarinetist Matt Gill is a graduate of Oberlin College. The concert included the Carmen Fantasy, Time Pieces by Muczynski, and music by Pleye. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Guitarist Colin McAllister appeared in solo performance in February 2009. Mr. McAllister is widely recognized for his innovative concert programming, versatility, and dedication to an adventurous contemporary repertoire. He has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Europe and Mexico, and has earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of California, San Diego, where he is a Lecturer in Music and Director of the guitar program. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Our first concert of 2009 celebrated The Life of Sergei Rachmaninoff In Music and Narration and featured Janelle DeStefano, mezzo soprano; James Frimmer, pianist; and Joanne Regenhardt, narrator. Taken from the letters and notes as well as the music of this celebrated composer, this was a fascinating concert. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Our December 2008 Holiday Concert was presented by a chorale from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts Magnet School. This is a school for students with a strong interest in the arts, and offers a rigorous academic program in conjunction with comprehensive study in the visual and performing arts taught by teachers who are active arts professionals as well as credentialed educators. (Click photo to enlarge.)

A dynamic and engaging performer, harpist Kate Loughrey is known for her versatility, playing classical, jazz, and world music. As an alumna of Harp Fusion, the internationally acclaimed touring ensemble, she has toured as a member and soloist to Asia, Europe, and throughout the US. Ms. Loughrey performed at the POYC October 2008 concert. (Click photo to enlarge.)