5:00 pm | Mix and Mingle & enjoy beverages from Second Helpings Cafe

5:30 pm | Performance Begins

“Love Songs”

Talented violinist and cellist, Carissa & Estefan Perez (see bios below), will fill The Front Porch Event Center with beautiful, uplifting love songs — the perfect way to celebrate the spirit of February. Come enjoy beautiful music, good company, and a little extra love this season. ❤️

Estefan Perez Bio

The Inaugural Memphis Symphony Orchestra Fellow and winner of several scholarships and performance-based grants, Estefan began his studies in Cello at the age of 9; Since then, he has gone on to perform as a soloist, chamber musician, collaborator, and guest artist in various cities across the Northeast, and now Memphis. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from both The Hartt School and the Rudi E. Scheidt School, Estefan has maintained a busy performing schedule while starting his own private studio. The past two years, he has been performing with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Robert Moody, and has cultivated a wide array of orchestral repertoire. Another passion of his is community outreach and engagement – part of his duties while in the MSO included giving coachings to MYSO cellists, as well as playing in various hospitals and retirement homes. He currently serves as the Memphis Symphony’s Personnel Manager and Education Coordinator.

As a soloist, Estefan has won two concerto competitions, giving performances of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations and Elgar’s timeless Cello Concerto. Chamber music highlights include performances of Brahms’ Op. 8 Piano Trio and Clarinet Trio, several Dvorak quartets, and most notably, a performance of Tchaikovsky’s monumental Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 50. Most recently, Estefan was featured on a recording project for Memphis’ “Circle of Friends”, a group comprised of all women who aim to promote diversity and inclusion in the arts in Memphis and beyond. His performance of Bach’s G Major Prelude was the music to which Circle of Friends trustee Becky Wilson narrated her poem for a live radio broadcast.        

A native of Long Island, New York, Estefan enjoys playing tennis and trying out new restaurants in his spare time.

Carissa Perez Bio

Carissa Perez began her studies in violin at the age of three, north of Chicago, under the tutelage of Lisa Chodorowski. She is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of The Hartt School, obtaining both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under Anton Miller, and her Suzuki concentration with Christie Felsing. She is an avid performer as well, performing regularly with professional orchestras in the greater Memphis area – including both the Memphis and Jackson Symphonies. 

Being taught Suzuki from a young age as well as making it her livelihood, she has had a myriad of students over the years of all levels. The most rewarding feeling is teaching aspiring violinists how to paint a picture with their instruments, using her experience to provide an environment that promotes and fosters not only creativity, but learning. Each student is met with the utmost care, balancing the line between positive encouragement and rigor to promote curiosity, self-awareness, and most of all, the love of making music. She currently serves as the Director of the Suzuki Music Program at the Germantown Baptist Church Conservatory in Germantown, TN, where she has a vibrant studio of over 30 students.

In her spare time, Carissa enjoys reading, the outdoors, and spending time with her friends and loved ones.

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