Special Concert 'A French Emotional Journey' starring Aleck Karis | Athenaeum Music & Arts Library | La Jolla
- Add to Google Calendar
- Add to Outlook Calendar
Download ICS file
6 p.m. » Piano Concert
“A French Emotional Journey” starring Aleck Karis
7 p.m. » Closing Reception
After the concert, mingle with festival guests and participants in a welcoming and elegant setting.
Join the Alliance Française of San Diego (AFSD) and the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library from October 2 to 4, 2025, for the inaugural San Diego French Literature and Arts Festival—a vibrant three-day celebration of Francophone literature, film, and the arts. Organized by the Alliance Française San Diego in collaboration with esteemed partners including Gallimard, Villa Albertine, and the Athenaeum, this cultural event promises inspiration and discovery.
Open to all, the festival brings together Francophone authors, educators, artists, and students for a rich, immersive experience across San Diego.
We are proud to welcome acclaimed author Éric Fottorino as our Literary Guest of Honor, and Ann Craig as our Honorary Patron alongside a distinguished lineup of local and international voices.
On October 4, Aleck Karis will perform “A French Emotional Journey,” a piano concert in the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Music Room at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, which will be followed by a reception.
Aleck Karis has performed recitals, chamber music, and concertos across the Americas, Europe, Japan, and China. As the pianist of the new music ensemble Speculum Musicae he has participated in over a hundred premieres and performed at major American and European festivals. His appearances with orchestra have ranged from concertos by Beethoven and Chopin to those of Stravinsky and Carter. His ten solo discs cover repertoire from Mozart to the present, most recently Debussy’s Études and Children’s Corner suite on Bridge, and Beethoven’s sonatas Opus 2, no. 1 and Opus 106 (Hammerklavier), on Roméo. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the UC San Diego music department.
His newest recording is available on Romeo Records, featuring Beethoven’s sonatas Opus 2, no. 1 and Opus 106.
Tickets include the concert and the reception.
Event Supported By
Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, located in the heart of La Jolla, Calif., in San Diego County, is one of only 16 nonprofit membership libraries in the United States. This rare cultural institution, an important one to the greater San Diego area, offers a depth and accessibility of resources and programs found nowhere else in the region. The library, devoted exclusively to music and art, has an outstanding and ever-expanding collection of books, periodicals, reference material, compact discs, videocassettes, DVDs, sheet music and librettos, as well as one of the most significant collections of artists' books in Southern California. The library is open to the public five days a week and members can check out materials for a modest annual fee. The Athenaeum also presents an eclectic, year-round schedule of art exhibitions, concerts (classical, jazz and new music), lectures, studio art classes through its School of the Arts, tours and special events. To quote the San Diego Union-Tribune, "There are few libraries in America as unusual as the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library." Admission: Admission to the library is free. Gallery exhibits are free and open to the general public. Materials may be used in the library or checked out by members. Borrowing privileges are limited to members only. Books may be checked out for four weeks and all CDs, videos and DVDs for two weeks. Materials may be reserved in advance. Guided Tours: Free guided tours take place the third Saturday of every month at 11 a.m.
