MUSIC

Cypress Creek FACE presents The Fidelis Quartet, 3 p.m., Tuesday, April 12, 2011.

The Fidelis Quartet is one of Houston’s premier chamber music ensembles, comprised of four Houston Symphony musicians with a keen interest in the quartet repertoire. The ensemble consists of violinists Rodica Gonzalez and Mihaela Frusina, sisters from Romania; violist Wei Jiang; and cellist Jeffrey Butler.?

Initially formed in 1997 to perform at Symphony functions, its scope of activities has since expanded to include concertizing, community outreach presentations, recitals, and televised performances. Among others, they have performed for Texas Governor Rick Perry and his Royal Highness, the Aga Khan. As members of the Fidelis Quartet, they enjoy the opportunity to step out of their roles as orchestral musicians and perform from the great wealth of works written for string quartet. June 2005 marked their New York Carnegie debut. May 3rd 2011 is their return to Carnegie.

Rodica Oancea-Gonzalez was born in Bucharest, Romania, where she began her violin studies at the age of four. She gave her first public performance at the age of 11 while studying at the George Enescu Music School. At the age of 18, she enrolled in the Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory in Bucharest. Rodica received her master’s degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Her mentors include Modest Iftinchi, Sergiu Luca, and Christoph Eschenbach. She is currently a member of the Houston Symphony and an affiliate artist at Houston Baptist University. She has performed extensively as a recitalist and chamber player throughout Romania, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, and the United States; she has also appeared as soloist with the Houston Symphony.

As a founding member of Houston Baptist University’s resident piano trio, Tre Voci, she has participated and lectured in masterclasses during a tour of China and released a CD in 1999. Recent performances include the Bruch Violin Concerto with the Bucharest Philharmonic and numerous recitals in Carnegie Hall. She is violinist with the Houston-based FIDELIS string quartet. Last June she returned to Carnegie Hall with her sister Mihaela Oancea-Frusina and pianist Ilonka Rus. Rodica and her husband Robert are proud parents of Matthew Laurian-3 years old.

Mrs. Mihaela Oancea-Frusina was born in Bucharest, Romania and began playing the violin at the age of five. She gave her first public performance at the age of 12 while studying at the George Enescu Music School. At the age of 18, she was invited to study Violin at Shepherd School of Music, Rice University with the renowned violinist Sergiu Luca. Mrs. Oancea-Frusina received her Bachelor and Masters degree in Violin Performance from Rice University in Houston. She is currently a member of the Houston Symphony and has been teaching privately for the past 14 years. Mrs. Oancea-Frusina has performed extensively as a recitalist and chamber player throughout Romania, Italy, Mexico, and the United States.

She has also appeared as soloist with the Houston Symphony and Bucharest Philharmonic. In collaboration with other members of the Houston Symphony Orchestra she has formed Fidelis Quartet and performed numerous recitals around the Houston area for the past 12 years. She is a very experienced teacher in orchestra repertoire and chamber music. She has instructed master classes in the Klein and Conroe school districts, both at the middle school level and high school level and has prepared many students for regional and state competitions, in Solo and Orchestra performance.

Born in China, Wei Jiang began studying violin at the age of 5 with his Father and studied viola after being admitted to the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He graduated with the highest honor from the Conservatory and subsequently was offered a teaching position there as the youngest member of the music faculty. During his 5-year tenure at the Central Conservatory, Wei was actively involved in performing both solo and chamber music, touring extensively with his string quartet in Asia and Europe. He was also a founding member of the Eclipse Ensemble, a unique group performing throughout China, showcasing music by contemporary Chinese composers.

Wei came to the U.S. in 1996 to further his musical training at the Oberlin Conservatory and later at the University of Maryland. In 1999, he became a member of the Houston Symphony. Wei is also a member of the Fidelis String Quartet which performed in recital at Carnegie Hall in 2005 and toured Puerto Rico in 2006. In his spare time, Wei is an amateur photographer and enjoys traveling with his wife Sherry and two young children Luke and Alice.

Jeffrey Butler has been a cellist in the Houston Symphony since 1986. He holds degrees in music performance from Boston University and the University of Michigan School of Music, where he was recipient of that school’s highest award, the prestigious Stanley Medal. He began cello studies at an early age with his parents, both professional cellists, and continued studies with Jerome Jelinek, George Neikrug, and Claus Adam. Mr. Butler has served on the faculty of the Stetson University School of Music, where he was a founding member of the Stetson Trio.

Before joining the Houston Symphony he was a member of the Detroit Symphony. In addition to performing as an orchestral musician, Mr. Butler frequently performs chamber music with several groups, including Tre Voci and the Fidelis String Quartet, which performed to acclaim in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. He has appeared as soloist with the Houston Chamber Orchestra and the Galveston Symphony.