2008 Visiting Artists

 

The violinist MIDORI made her historic debut at the age of 11 when she was introduced as a surprise guest artist by conductor Zubin Mehta at the New York Philharmonic’s annual New Year’s Eve concert in 1982. Since that night over 20 years ago, she has established a record of achievement which sets her apart as a master musician, an innovator, and a champion of the developmental potential of children. Midori’s performing schedule is balanced between recitals, chamber music performances and appearances with the world’s most prestigious orchestras. Highlights of her 2006-2007 season include the world premiere of a major new work for violin and piano she commissioned by Einojuhani Rautavaara, performances of John Adams’ violin concerto under the direction of the composer, and scores of concerto and recital appearances throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Japan. In 1992, Midori founded Midori & Friends, a non-profit organization in New York which brings music education programs to thousands of underprivileged children each year. Her commitment to community collaboration and outreach extends beyond these organizations to her work with young violinists in master classes all over the world, and to her positions as Jascha Heifetz Chair at USC’s Thornton School of Music and co-director of the Midori Centre for Community Engagement at USC.

ELMAR OLIVEIRA has taken his place as one of the most commanding violinists of our time, with his unsurpassed combination of impeccable artistry and old-world elegance. Mr. Oliveira is one of the few major artists committed to the entire spectrum of the violin world – constantly expanding traditional repertoire boundaries as a champion of contemporary music and rarely-heard works of the past, devoting energy to the development of the young artists of tomorrow, and enthusiastically supporting the art of modern violin and bow makers. Among his generation’s most honored artists, Elmar Oliveira remains the first and only American violinist to win the Gold Medal at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky International Competition. He is also the first violinist to receive the coveted Avery Fisher Prize, in addition to capturing First Prizes at the Naumburg International Competition and the G.B. Dealey Competition. A prodigious recording artist, Elmar Oliveira was a Grammy nominee for his CD of the Barber Concerto with Leonard Slatkin and the Saint Louis Symphony.

XAVIER PHILLIPS was born in Paris and started playing the cello at age 6 with Jacqueline Heuclin. In 1989 he was awarded first prize in chamber music at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in Philippe Muller’s class. He then undertook further study with Paul Tortelier and Mstislav Rostropovich. Xavier has appeared in Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, London, Hamburg, Paris, and he has played with some of the most prestigious orchestras including the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre National de France, and the Berliner Symphoniker. During the 2002-03 season he made his debut in subscription concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic both under the baton of M. Rostropovich. In 2005, he was highly lauded for his performance of the Dvorak concerto at the Bologna Opera, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées with the Orchestre National de France, and the Orchestre National de Lille. In April 2004, Xavier Phillips made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and played Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations under the direction of Mstislav Rostropovich. After being awarded the “Grand Prix du Disque” for his recording dedicated to Alberic Magnard’s chamber music, Xavier Phillips received a “Choc de la Musique” for the recording of Schnittke, Shostakovitch and Prokofiev Sonatas with the Turkish pianist Hüseyin Sermet.

One of America's greatest and most versatile violinists, ANI KAVAFIAN was born in Turkey of Armenian parents. She began her musical studies at the piano at the age of three. When she was nine years old, her family moved to the United States, and she began violin studies with Ara Zerounian. At the age of sixteen, she won first prizes in both the piano and violin competitions at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. Two years later, she began her undergraduate music studies at the Juilliard School of Music under the tutelage of Ivan Galamian, and she later received a master's degree in performance with honors from Juilliard. A prestigious award-winning artist, Ani Kavafian has performed with virtually all of America's leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra. Ms Kavafian is an artist-member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, touring with them throughout the United States and Canada and performing in their regular series at New York's Alice Tully Hall. In 2002, she was appointed to the faculties of Stony Brook and Yale universities. Ani Kavafian performs often with her sister, Ida Kavafian, and resides in northern Westchester County, New York, with her husband, Bernard Mindich.

CECILE LICAD has appeared regularly in North America with orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and many others. In Europe, she has played with the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Bayerisches Rundfunk Orchestra, and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. In Asia, she has performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo's NHK Symphony and her native Philippine Philharmonic. As a highly regarded chamber musician, she has performed regularly with ensembles such as the New York Chamber Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Guarneri Quartet, Takacs Quartet, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Music from Marlboro. At Curtis Institute of Music, she studied with Rudolf Serkin, Seymour Lipkin and Mieczyslaw Horszowski.

Since NELITA TRUE made her debut at age seventeen with the Chicago Symphony in Orchestra Hall and her New York debut with the Juilliard Orchestra in Avery Fisher Hall, her career has taken her to the major cities of Western and Eastern Europe, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Iceland, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, Canada, and to Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as to forty-nine states in America. She was a visiting professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, performing and conducting master classes and has been in the People's Republic of China twelve times for recitals and master classes. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan with Helen Titus, Ms. True went on to Juilliard to study with Sascha Gorodnitzki, and then earned the DMA with Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory. In Paris, she studied with Nadia Boulanger on a Fulbright grant. Formerly Distinguished Professor at the University of Maryland, Ms. True is currently Professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music. Ms. True was awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, the Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching at Eastman, the 2002 Achievement Award from MTNA, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from National Keyboard Pedagogy Conference (USA).

More than 45 years after his debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of 16, ANDRE WATTS remains one of today's most celebrated and beloved superstars. His recent engagements include appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra and the Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Houston, Dallas and Cincinnati symphonies; a tour with the Israel Philharmonic with performances in Boston, Chicago and Atlanta; a Carnegie Hall appearance with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; and a European tour with the Baltimore Symphony. During the 06/07 season, Mr. Watts celebrated his 60th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his debut (with the Philadelphia Orchestra). In honor of this milestone and his numerous achievements and contributions to the world of classical music, he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in June, 2006.

Piano Artists in Residence

Pianist CHRISTINA DAHL has had a multi-faceted career as a chamber player, soloist and teacher. She has been on the piano faculty at SUNY Stony Brook for nine years, and was previously at Lawrence University. She has been a collaborating artist at the Aspen Music Festival and the Ravinia Festival, and held fellowships at Tanglewood and the Banff Centre. Ms. Dahl has performed at Carnegie Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, and the National Gallery in Washington DC. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Peabody Conservatory where she was a student of Ann Schein, and has done doctoral work at SUNY Stony Brook with Gilbert Kalish.

 

In 1992, AWADAGIN PRATT won the Naumburg International Piano Competition and two years later was awarded a 1994 Avery Fisher Career Grant. He has played numerous recitals throughout the U.S. including performances in New York at Lincoln Center, Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center, Los Angeles at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Chicago at Orchestra Hall. His many orchestral performances include appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Minnesota Orchestra and the Pittsburgh, St. Louis, National, Detroit and New Jersey symphonies. He is currently an Associate Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence at the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

 

Winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize, pianist PAUL SCHENLY has been soloist with major United States orchestras, including the Atlanta Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and New York Philharmonic. He appeared in the Great Performers Series at Lincoln Center, and in acclaimed recitals at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Schenly has appeared with many of the world’s leading conductors including James Levine, Eric Leinsdorf, Christoph Von Dohnanyi, Edo de Waart, Mstislav Rostropovich, Christoph Eschenbach, Loren Maazel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Zubin Mehta, Robert Shaw, and Aaron Copland. He is currently the head of the Piano Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music.