ISABELLE PAZAR, 
ELLIE BERGERON AKER,
& JOSEPH STACY 

“Give Through Music”: A Musical Tribute to Women’s History Month 2026

PCM invites the public to a chamber concert in honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on March 8th; which is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Join PCM teaching artists Isabelle Pazar, Ellen Bergeron Aker, and Joseph Stacy as they play a program of trio works by women composers specially selected to celebrate women’s achievements in music and to pay tribute to this year’s 2026 International Women’s Day theme, “Give to Gain,” which encourages generosity and collaboration to help advance gender equality.

Isabelle Pazar, flute
Ellen Bergeron Aker, violin
Joseph Stacy, piano

Program:

Mel Bonis (1858-1937)
Suite in trio, op. 59 for flute, violin, and piano
I. Sérénade
II.Pastorale
III. Scherzo

Madeleine Dring (1923-1977)
Trio for flute, oboe, and piano
I. Allegro con brio
II. Andante semplice
III. Allegro giocoso

Aleyna M. Brown
Oiseaux en Verre for flute, violin, and piano

Geraldine (Denny) Green (b.1967)
Capriccio for flute, violin, and piano

About the musicians:

Maine native Isabelle Pazar is a flutist, educator, and scholar, currently based in the Northeast. As a Fulbright Scholar from 2022-2023, she studied the pedagogical methods and stylistic approach to the French flute tradition in Paris at École Normale de Musique de Paris, then continued her research in Paris until Spring 2024 as a recipient of the prestigious Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship. In Paris, Isabelle also lived as an Artist-in-Residence at Fondation des États-Unis, performing across France at multiple venues including the Petit-Palais Musée des Beaux-Arts, the historic Salle-Cortot, the Residence of the U.S. Ambassador, the American Cathedral, Fondation des États-Unis, College Franco-Britannique, American Church of Paris, and the Salle Charles Munch.

Isabelle obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College, her Master of Music degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst as the Teaching Assistant for the flute studio and the musicology division of the Music Department, and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University. She has taught privately and given masterclasses and lectures at various academic and musical institutions. Currently, Isabelle serves as flute faculty at PCM and 317 Main Community Music Center and teaches privately.

Ellie Bergeron Aker is a native of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Music and Music Education and a Master of Violin and Literature degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where she served as a concertmaster for the Eastman Philharmonia.

Ellie has participated as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician at Bowdoin International Music Festival, Nuevo Mundo Music Festival in the Dutch Caribbean, Brevard Music Festival, and Summit Music Festival. She has performed under the baton of maestros such as JoAnn Falletta, Ken Laam,David Zinman, Lawrence Loh, and Keith Lockhart and alongside distinguished artists such as Itzak Perlman, Peter Serkin, Renée Fleming, Sarah Chang, William Preucil, Time for Three, Norm Louis, Gil Shaham, and Leon Fleisher. She has been a violinist with the New York State Ballet, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, St. Andrews Chamber Orchestra, the Greece Symphony Orchestra, McKinney Philharmonic, Las Colinas Symphony, Temple Symphony, Waco Symphony Orchestra, and the Temple Symphony String Quartet.

Pianist Joseph Stacy has enjoyed a diverse career as a teacher and performer spanning the United States, Canada, and Austria, winning several prizes in piano solo and duet competition, participating in Louisiana’s Collaborative Piano Institute, Austria’s AlpenKammerMuzik Festival and Classical Music Festival Piano Seminar, and the Eastman Leadership Academy. He has presented at MTNA National Conferences (Maryland and Florida), the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (Illinois), and Collegiate Piano Pedagogy Symposia (Texas and Virginia).

Joseph earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance/Pedagogy from Ohio University, receiving the Undergraduate Achievement in Performance Award. He earned his Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of British Columbia as a Faculty of Arts Graduate Fellow. In addition to concertizing as a soloist and collaborator, Joseph has provided music for a prestigious ballet school, performed on organ and piano for various choirs and churches, and taught privately. He currently serves on faculty at the Portland Conservatory of Music.

Run Time: 45 minutes, no intermission.