Upcoming Piano Recital

Local Pianist Lauded by LA Times Music Critic

Michael Sanders is no stranger to the concert halls and campuses of Southern California. He has been active as a piano soloist and accompanist, performing on both the East and West coasts, and in Japan: he has taught in the music departments of USC, UC Irvine, and Chapman University, and in his own private studio.

The Presbyterian Church of the Covenant’s “Friends of Music” is proud to be presenting him in concert on Sunday, November 9, at 4:00pm in the church sanctuary where he will play a program of fine music by Chopin, Schumann, Byrd and Gershwin. Mr. Sander’s playing is notable for its clarity, imagination, and musicality. Renowned violinist Isaac Stern gave him special recognition at a concert in the Aspen Festival in Colorado, and Martin Bernheimer, Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic for the LA Times, described his performance with English baritone John Shirley-Quirk at a Beethoven Marathon in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion as a “Glorious Moment”.

A graduate of USC where he received multiple degrees in piano, accompanying, and composition, Mr. Sanders studied with such masters as Alice Ehlers, Gwendolyn Koldofsky, John Crown, and Bernardo Segall. Besides piano, he also plays harpsichord and organ, and is active as a composer and arranger of music for the church. His reputation as one of the area’s finest vocal coaches and recital accompanists has earned him the respect of singers and voice teachers alike.

As organist-choirmaster of St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church in San Juan Capistrano, a position he currently holds, he established a concert series called “Friends of Music”. He is a poet and writer, and last year, retired from more than twenty years as a teacher of mathematics at several local colleges, including Orange Coast College and Saddleback College. He and his wife, Pam reside in Orange County.

The Presbyterian Church of the Covenant is located at 2850 Fairview Road, across from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. There is no charge for this event, but listeners will be given the opportunity to contribute donations. Proceeds will go to the “Friends of the Arts” to fund orchestras

for the church’s seasonal concerts, and to enable their music department to continue to present recitals of accomplished musical artists to the community. For more information, please call the church office at (714) 557-3340.