Rising Stars Concert with Christopher Tavernier, piano and Emmalee Odom, bassoon
August 5, 2025 • 6–8pm
Rising Stars Concert is a collaboration between the Asheville Chamber Music Series and the Asheville Art Museum featuring North Carolina musicians embarking on a major concert career.
Rising Stars—Piano: Christopher Tavernier | Bassoon: Emmalee Odom
Repertoire:
Carl Maria von Weber: Andante and Hungarian Rondo, Op. 35 (1813)
J.S. Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 (1717-23)
Astor Piazzolla: Oblivion (1982)
Franz Liszt: Transcendental Étude No. 4 “Mazeppa” (1852)
André Previn: Sonata for Bassoon and Piano (1999)
ABOUT THE RISING STARS
Christopher Tavernier made his orchestral debut with the Tar River Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of thirteen in Rocky Mount, NC, performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in the opening concert of the orchestra’s Fall 2013 season. Since then, he has won numerous competitions throughout the southern United States including the Jan and Beattie Wood Concerto Competition at the Brevard Music Center, 1st Place in the inaugural Hayes School of Music Piano Competition, 1st Place in the Gulf Coast Steinway Society Collegiate Solo Piano and Concerto Competitions, and 1st Place in the Florida MTNA Collegiate Piano Competition. In addition to being a solo performer, Christopher has an avid interest in chamber music. He’s performed in a variety of ensembles including the Rutherford Chamber Consort, the Brooklyn College Orchestra, and as the pianist in the piano & clarinet duo “88 Keys and a Reed.” He’s currently an active member of the “Cascades Trio” (made up of FSU alumni), the “DaVinci Trio” (made up of current Eastman students), and as a duo with a variety of professional artists. Christopher has performed many benefit concerts in support of the Mission Foundation's “Ladies Night Out”—a collaboration of women helping women who provide free mammograms and health screenings for uninsured/underinsured women. Christopher obtained his Bachelors of Music from Florida State University and is currently pursuing his Masters of Music at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. His teachers include John Cobb, Douglas Weeks, Read Gainsford, Rieko Aizawa, and Douglas Humpherys.
Emmalee Odom is a recent graduate from the Eastman School of Music where she received her Masters of Music in Bassoon Performance & Literature studying with George Sakakeeny. She received her Bachelors of Music in Bassoon Performance from Florida State University in 2023. She has performed with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra and the Albany Symphony Orchestra. In addition to being an orchestral musician, she also has a passion for playing chamber music. In 2019, she was the first prize winner of the Pensacola Music Study Club Solo Competition. Her teachers include Jeff Keesecker, Abigail Walker, and Joy Hoffman.
