2016-2017 Season

Member program, featuring music composed by Nino Rota, Claude Debussy, and Heinrich von Herzogenberg; as well as some "Gypsy" music.

Performed first on the program will be a twentieth century piece The Trio for Flute, Violin, and Piano (1958), by Nino Rota (1911 –1979). Mother and son, Michelle Davis, flute, Elliott Davis, violin, will play the piece with Bridget de Moura Castro, piano. In style, the outer movements are neoclassic, reminiscent of Rota’s contemporary Stravinsky, but the heart of the work is the melancholy second movement. Rota, an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic is best known for his film scores. He composed the music for two of Franco Zeffirelli's Shakespeare films, and for the first two films of Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather trilogy, receiving the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Godfather Part II (1974) (Wikipedia)

Next, Susan Mardinly, soprano, accompanied by pianist Stacy Cahoon, will perform a series of songs with Gypsy influences from nineteenth century Europe: two songs from Johannes Brahms’s Zigeunerlieder ("He, Zigeuner" and "Brauner Bursche führt zum Tanze"), one by Franz Liszt, "Im Liebeslust," and Dvořák’s "Rings ist der Wald so stumm und still" and "Als die alte Mutter."  Brahms learned Hungarian Gypsy music from accompanying the violinist Reményi on a concert tour. All of his Gypsy Songs have rhythmic styles found in original Gypsy melodies. In 19th century Hungary, Gypsy music was in fashion, and Liszt embraced the vibrant rhythms.  Czech composer, Dvořák, was determined to save these traditions, a part of the doctrine of his musical personality.  All these songs reflect themes from the gypsy cycles of life: birth, coming of age, the wisdom of the elders, and death.   

Third, Diane Day, piano, will perform “Clair de Lune” from Suite Bergamasque and L'Isle Joyeuse, both by Claude Debussy. Most of Debussy’s music captures moods and colors, usually soothing through the use of tonal chords and scales, touch and pedaling. L'Isle Joyeuse is often more forceful and driving in its approach, yet with underlying melodies and gentleness. 

The concert program ends with Piano Quartet No. 1 in E minor, Op. 75, by Heinrich von Herzogenberg (1843 – 1900) performed by Virginia Allen, violin, Margaret Walker, viola, Herbert Walker, cello, and Michelle Duffy, piano.  A contemporary and admirer of Brahms, Herzogenberg composed this work during and after the final illness of his beloved wife, Elisabet von Stockhausen, who had been a piano pupil of Brahms.

This concert is the third in the Musical Club’s 2016-2017 season and takes place on October 20, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2080 Boulevard, West Hartford. Admission is free for members of the Musical Club and $5 for members of the general public who are warmly welcome.

The Musical Club of Hartford’s mission is to develop the musical talent of its members and to encourage the study and appreciation of music through programs, lectures and concerts. In addition, the Club gives financial assistance to promising young artists and aid to musical projects in the community.

Brief biographies of the musicians who are performing in the concert Include:

Michelle Davis (Avon) - Michelle Davis is a graduate of The New England Conservatory where she studied with Fenwick Smith. She is a member of The West Hartford Symphony Orchestra and performs frequently with Bridget de Moura Castro and others on solo and chamber music program, as well as with Tony Rauche at Avon Memorial United Methodist Church. She has taught all ages of flute students and has directed children’s choirs for almost thirty years. Her son, Elliott, will perform with her at the Musical Club concert on October 20th.

Elliott Davis (Avon) is fifteen years old and studies violin with Annie Trepanier, who teaches at the Hotchkiss School. He also studies piano with Bridget de Moura Castro. He plays in the Connecticut Youth Symphony and in the West Hartford Symphony where he was recently awarded a scholarship for summer study. He is a guest artist for this performance.

Bridget de Mouro Castro (Avon) - Pianist Bridget de Moura Castro holds degrees from Reading University (England) and Texas Christian University where she studied with Lili Kraus. A British Council Scholarship holder, she did graduate studies at Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest and specializes in organ, clarinet, piano, and chamber music. Ms. de Moura Castro was recorded on two CDs of French music–one of four-handed piano with her husband Luiz de Moura Castro and one of flute and piano 19th/20th century music. She has performed and taught in Spain, Czechoslovakia and Brazil.

Susan Mardinly (Rocky Hill) - Susan Mardinly, has enjoyed operatic roles such as Gingerbread Witch (Hansel and Gretel) for Connecticut Opera and Opera Theatre of Connecticut; Rosina (Barber of Seville); Susanna (Marriage of Figaro); Pappagena (Magic Flute); Dido (Dido and Aeneas); Estella (La Perichole). She sang Senta in the Scena/Duet from Flying Dutchman opposite David Rae Smith of New York City Opera. Soprano oratorio roles include opposite Jennifer Larmore and Jacques Trussel in Handel's Judas Maccabeus; Gabriel Faure’s Requiem, Haydn's Missa Brevis, Vivaldi's Gloria; Handel's Messiah, and the premiere of Fanny Mendelssohn's Faust with Peter Harvey. As soloist on Public Radio and TV in Boston and San Francisco, in Carnegie Hall, and as a Connecticut Commission on the Arts Touring Artist, Mardinly has sung jazz, solo cabarets, and on concert series throughout the Northeast. She has also directed/coached musical theatre, winning Best Musical Director for Into The Woods. Mardinly received 5 grants to research Fanny Mendelssohn, Amy Beach, and Barbara Strozzi, resulting in feature journal articles, publication of 60 scores by ClarNan, and lecture/recitals throughout the world including Venice, Boston, and New York. Mardinly is also a published poet, nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Elected to Pi Kappa Lambda, Who's Who in America, Women and the World, she holds a B.Music degree from New England Conservatory, M.M from The Hartt School, and a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut.

Stacy Cahoon (West Hartford) holds performance degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and a Master of Music Degree from the Hartt School of Music in Accompanying. She is an active accompanist in the area working with singers and instrumentalists. In addition, she is the accompanist for the Travelers Chorale and the CitiSingers of Hartford. As a composer, she has had vocal compositions premiered at Bushnell Hall, and the Women Composers Festival of Hartford.

Diane Day (West Hartford) - Diane M. Day holds an artist’s diploma in Piano from Hartford Conservatory. She performs chamber music, accompanies soloists and groups, including dance, and has performed many solo concerts over her career. She has studied with Juan Nazarian, Maria Luisa Faini, and Howard Parsons.

Virginia Allen (West Hartford) holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Michigan and a Master’s degree in Special Education. Additionally, she is a registered nurse and has recently retired from a 20-year nursing career. Ms. Allen is Concertmaster of the Connecticut Valley Orchestra and teaches violin at Charter Oak Cultural Center.

Michelle Duffy (West Hartford) - While in high school, Michelle Duffy studied piano with Miklos Schwab at the New England Conservatory. She received her BA with a major in music from Mount Holyoke College, studying with Ronald Hodges and Alexander Fiorillo. After receiving her M.S.L.S. from Florida State University in 1969, she embarked on a career as a librarian, which lasted 28 years. While working at Colby College in the mid-1970’s, she studied piano with William Wallace, but did not seriously play the piano again until discovering the Musical Club of Hartford in 2000.

Margaret Walker (Bloomfield) and Herbert Walker (Bloomfield) are co-founders of Con Brio, a chamber music ensemble active in the Greater Hartford area since 1988.

The Musical Club of Hartford will present its fifth concert of the season on November 3rd at the Westminster Presbyterian Church at 10 a.m.  The first piece on the program will be the Flute Sonata in E Minor by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier written in 1742.  A French Baroque composer of instrumental and vocal music, Boismortier was one of the first composers to have no patrons.  Instead he made enormous sums of money by publishing his music for sale to the public because he was one of the first to obtain a royal license for engraving music.  Susan Allen is the flutist accompanied by Anne Mayo, harpsichord and Laura Mazza-Dixon, viola de gamba.

Next on the program is a piano piece by the 20th century French composer, Francis Poulenc.  Commissioned in 1935 to write incidental music for a play about Margaret of Valois, wife of the future King Henry IV of France, Poulenc used a Renaissance suite by Claude Gervaise; originally scored for oboes, bassoons, trumpets, trombones, percussion and harpsichord; Poulenc arranged the 20th century version for solo piano.  Linda MacGougan performs the piece.
 
The third section of the program will be performed by the ensemble Deborah Robin, recorder; Anne Mayo, harpsichord and Laura Mazza-Dixon, viola de gamba. They will play one of the Concerts Royaux written in 1722 by François Couperin, a member of a family dynasty of organists at the church of St. Gervais in Paris and one of the most celebrated composers and musicians of the Baroque period. Couperin’s Concerts Royaux (Royal Concerts) are four suites composed for the French court of Louis XIV between 1714 and 1715 and intended for listening more than dancing
 
Next on the program are three pieces for flute and piano from the 21st and 20th centuries, performed by Bridget Gilchrist, flute, and Linda MacGougan, piano. They will play the first movement of Sonata No.1 by Eric Ewazen composed in 2011, a virtuosic, lyrical piece in the 19th century Romantic tradition.  Next they will play the second movement of a Sonata for Flute and Piano by Francis Poulenc written in 1957 and, then, the third movement of the Sonata for Flute and Piano by Robert Mols, written in 1949. A member of the music faculty at the University of Buffalo, Mols died three years ago, leaving a lifetime of musical achievements.  He was a composer, teacher, and wrote the UB fight song.
 
Finally, Karen de Bergh Robinson, soprano, and Diane Day, piano, perform songs by Debussy, Reynaldo Hahn, and Kurt Weill. Claude Debussy, most well known for his works for piano solo, wrote 55 songs for voice and piano throughout his career.  His first published work at the age of 18 is the song to be performed at this concert, Nuit d'étoiles (Starry Night), written to the text of a poem by Théodore de Banville, a 19th century French poet. Next, they will perform Le Rossignol des lilas by the French composer, Reynaldo Hahn (1874 – 1947), a popular writer of songs, who was close to and admired by major poets and writers, including Verlaine, Daudet, Mallarmé, and Marcel Proust. The duo will end with a song by Kurt Weill from the musical, Marie Gallante, “Je ne t’aime.”  Marie Gallante was staged first in 1934 in Paris but not until 2008 did it make its New York debut. The play is a melodramatic tale of a woman forced into prostitution in order to survive. The song is a quintessentially bittersweet Weill piece.
 
This concert is the fifth in the Musical Club’s 2016-2017 season and takes place on November 3, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2080 Boulevard, West Hartford.  Admission is free for members of the Musical Club and $5 for members of the general public who are warmly welcome.

The Musical Club of Hartford’s mission is to develop the musical talent of its members and to encourage the study and appreciation of music through programs, lectures and concerts.  In addition, the Club gives financial assistance to promising young artists and aid to musical projects in the community.

 
Biographies of the Performers

Susan Allen was born into a family of musicians and music teachers. She studied with Lou Soloway, and then with Paula Robison at the New England Conservatory in Boston. A flute instructor and ensemble director at Trinity College, Susan’s busy flute studio in Glastonbury has produced a number of advanced students who have won scholarships and important regional awards.

Diane Day holds an artist’s diploma in Piano from Hartford Conservatory.  She performs chamber music, accompanies soloists and groups, including dance, and has performed many solo concerts over her career.  She has studied with Juan Nazarian, Maria Luisa Faini, and Howard Parsons.

Karen de Bergh Robinson received her undergraduate degree from Sarah Lawrence and has performed In New York City with several modern dance companies, as well as playing the soprano leads in numerous Gilbert and Sullivan productions, including the role of Princess Ida with the Village Light Opera Company.  She sang for 15 years with the CT Opera Company as a member of their AGMA chorus, has been a soloist in Hartford area churches, and performed in numerous duo concert performances with the pianist Paul Bisaccia at the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Wood Memorial Library and other venues.

Bridget Gilchrist has been an educator, in schools and a private flute instructor, for most of her life.   She presently enjoys conducting, composing and coaching flute ensembles and master classes in several school systems in Ct.  She has performed with numerous Bands and Symphonies, and Chamber Ensemble groups, as well as the Ariel Flute Choir, which she founded 22 years ago.  She is also active in the Connecticut Music Educators Assoc., having been head flute judge for All State Festival and many Regions for over 30 years.

Linda MacGougan, pianist, lives, performs as a soloist, accompanist and chamber musician and teaches in West Hartford and throughout the State.  She is a member of and serves as an adjudicator for the Connecticut State Music Teachers Association.
In the 1970s, Anne Mayo and her husband, Walter, constructed a harpsichord from a Zuckermann kit, igniting a decades-long study of solo and chamber repertoire for that instrument. She and her husband, are past Co-Presidents of The Musical Club of Hartford, long-time members the Hartford Chorale,  and currently sing with the Madsingers, a madrigal group.

Laura Mazza-Dixon teaches classical guitar and viola da gamba at the Windy Hill Guitar Studio in Granby, CT. With a degree in classical guitar from Penn State University and an MFA in Early Music from Sarah Lawrence College, she has also performed and directed concerts of Renaissance, Baroque and traditional folk music.

Deborah Robin studied recorder with Ilse Schaler, Bernard Krainis, and Frans Brueggen. She can be heard on the Smithsonian Institution’s 1978 recording of the Bach Brandenburg Concerto #4 as second recorder soloist with Bernard Krainis and Stanley Ritchie.  Deborah has a BA in art from Yale and an MBA from UCLA. Her business – Robin Research Group – designs and conducts qualitative research for clients in many different industries.

Musical Club to Present Concert Featuring Schumann and Vocal Music

The Musical Club of Hartford will present its final concert of 2016 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church 2080 Boulevard, West Hartford on Dec. 8 at 10 a.m.  The winter and spring concerts will continue in the first four months of 2017.

First on the program, the Musical Club’s Vocal Ensemble will present works by C.E. Miller, Gustav Holst, Gabriel Faure, Isadore Freed, Edvard Grieg, and Michael Martin. The program of the Musical Club Vocal Ensemble is a celebration of music sung over seven decades. The copyright of the first song is 1916 and of the last number is 2003.  Members of the Vocal Ensemble are Jane Bugbee, Carol Carlson, Sandra Ann Craig, Sharon Girard, Carol Hunt, Marjorie Hutensky, Miriam Kennedy, Ellen Ma, Josephine Mangiafico, Anne Mayo, Carol Sexton, Susanne Shrader, Lean-Cheng Tan, Vilma Walton, Janet Wilson, and Eugenia Zessos. Accompaniment is provided on the piano by Elizabeth Carabillo. Rita Henderson conducts.

Next, will be the romantic and popular Piano Trio No.1 in D Minor by Robert Schumann. This captivating trio is one of the most definitive romantic trios and is imbued with Schumann’s strong personal style.  Schumann (1810-1856) wrote this piece in 1847. Lisa Kugelman, violin, Fran Bard, cello, and Stacy Cahoon, piano will perform.

Finally, on the program are four songs from the Broadway songbook, including So in Love from “Kiss Me, Kate” (Cole Porter), Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man from “Showboat” (Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein), I Know Him So Well from “Chess” (Benny Andersson, Tim Rice, and Bjorn Ulvaeus), Marry the Man Today from “Guys and Dolls”(Frank Loesser).

Patrice Fitzgerald will perform accompanied by David Garrido-Cid. Alice Matteson, soprano, will join Ms. Fitzgerald for the two final songs.

Admission is free for members of the Musical Club and $5 for members of the general public who are warmly welcome.  The Musical Club of Hartford’s mission is to develop the musical talent of its members and to encourage the study and appreciation of music through programs, lectures and concerts.  In addition, the Club gives financial assistance to promising young artists and aid to musical projects in the community.

Performer Bios

Cellist Fran Bard has played with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra for many years. She also performs with the Hop River Chamber Players in Andover,CT  .Ms. Bard taught Elementary Strings in the Windsor Public Schools for most of her teaching career and finished  in the Glastonbury Public Schools. Originally from Chicago, she received her B.M.  from the Chicago Musical College and her M.M and Music Educators Certification from the University of Connecticut. Her cello training was under the tutelage of Channing Robbins, Aldo Parisot, Raya Garbousova, Karl Fruh and Mary Lou Rylands.

Stacy Cahoon (West Hartford) holds performance degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and a Master of Music Degree from the Hartt School of Music in Accompanying. She is an active accompanist in the area working with singers and instrumentalists. In addition, she is the accompanist for the Travelers Chorale and the CitiSingers of Hartford.  As a composer, she has had vocal compositions premiered at Bushnell Hall, and the Women Composers Festival of Hartford.

Lisa Kugelman, violinist, West hartford, studied with Bernard Lurie, Roman Totenberg, and Syoko Aki, and performs regularly with the Hartford Symphony, the Worthington Trio, and the Arensky Trio.

Patrice Fitzgerald, mezzo-soprano, received a graduate degree in Vocal Performance from Hartt in 2008.  She has performed in musicals and operas throughout the region, appearing with Berkshire Opera, Connecticut Opera, Warner Theatre, Greater Hartford Opera Ensemble, Simsbury Light Opera Company, and West Hartford Community Theater, and has toured Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Scotland and Ireland as a choir member and section leader.  Patrice performs regularly in classical, Broadway and jazz concerts with her husband Richard Leslie.

Alice Matteson, soprano, was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. Alice graduated magna cum laude from The Hartt School in 2008 with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. During her time at Hartt, she performed the role of Eurydice in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, and partial roles of Ginevra in Händel's Ariodante, and First Witch in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. She was also a featured soloist with the Hartt Baroque Collegium. Concert works have included soprano soloist in Mozart's Requiem, Fauré's Requiem, Vivaldi's Gloria, and Benjamin Britten's Missa Brevis and Ceremony of Carols.  Chamber works have included soprano soloist in Heinrich Schütz's Müsikalische Exequien, J.S. Bach's Wedding Canata (BWV 202), J.S. Bach’s Jesu, meine Freude (BWV 227) and Giacomo Carissimi's Jonas. Alice has a special interest in early music, and sings with the up-and-coming vocal chamber ensemble Voce Concitato, based in Hartford, CT.

Alice is also very dedicated to music ministry in the church. She has been a member of the Schola Cantorum at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, CT since 2008, and directs the Archdiocesan Youth Choir, which is in residence at the Cathedral. She also serves as a cantor for the Catholic Communities of East Hartford North and St. John Fisher Church in Marlborough, CT. Alice is an active voice and piano instructor. She is on faculty at Summit Studios Performing Arts Center, located in Manchester, CT, and maintains an active private studio in her home in Bloomfield, CT.

David Garrido-Cid, piano, started his musical studies in Caracas, Venezuela. His education continued in Spain, first in his hometown, Ourense, then at the Real Conservatorio de Música de Madrid. He holds a Masters from The Hartt School, and an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music. His major teachers included Anselmo de la Campa, Luiz de Moura Castro and Boris Berman. He has worked with other prominent musicians: Peter Frankl, Claude Frank, Paul Badura Skoda, Joaquin Achúcarro. He was recipient of various scholarships: Donald Johnston (Yale); the Evelyn Bonar Storrs (Musical Club of Hartford); and Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza (Coruña, Spain).

Some of his international awards include: First Prize on the Van Rooy Competition for Musical Excellence, and winner of the Emerson String Quartet Competition, both at The Hartt School. David’s performances have taken him through Spain, Italy, Brazil and USA, having shared stage with the Emmerson String Quartet, Humbert Lucarelli, and Robert Black.

David is currently the Director of Music Ministries at St. Thomas the Apostle church in West Hartford, CT. He is actively involved in the choral conducting scene. He is, together with Gabriel Löfvall and Rodrigo Queiroz, co-founder and co-director of Vallis Musicæ - a traveling Connecticut Community Choral project. Born in 2006 in the Farmington Valley area, the group has toured Brazil (2007), Spain (2008) and Argentina (2010), and Ireland (2013). David performs often around Connecticut and Massachusetts, enjoying both solo appearances as well as with his wife, Alice Matteson (soprano).

Performance by the Winners of the 41st High School Competitions in Piano, Strings, and Winds.

Each year in early January, the Musical Club of Hartford holds a scholarship competition for high school students living or studying music in Connecticut. This is the 41st year of the competition. On Sunday, January 22, 2017 at 2 pm at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2080 Boulevard, West Hartford, CT 06107, a concert presenting the winners of this competition will take place. The concert is free and open to the public, but concert-goers are urged to arrive early as seating may be limited.

The first, second and third place winners in the categories of Piano, Strings, and Winds will receive the prizes at the concert. Scholarship prizes for brass/woodwind and strings are awarded by the Musical Club Gifts and Scholarships Fund, which also supports many other musical activities in the Hartford area. The Piano Competition is funded by the Musical Club's Evelyn Bonar Storrs Fund, established with a bequest from Mrs. Storrs for support for talented and advanced students of piano.

Winners of the Piano Division of the 2017 Musical Club of Hartford Competition:

• Julius Shieh (1st Place) performing Sonata in E minor, Hob.XVI:34: I. Presto by Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), is a ninth grade student at Avon High School and a student of Stanford Online High School. Since 2016 he has studied piano with Margreet Francis at the Hartt School Community Division, selected there to perform in the Piano Department’s Honors Recital. Awarded the Watson Morrison Scholarship at Hartt, he was a 2016 winner of the Virtuoso Pianists Competition, The Hartford Music Teachers Alliance.  

• Saomai Nguyen (second place), performing Danzas Argentinas by Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983), is a junior at Hall High School in West Hartford. Saomai is both a pianist and clarinetist. She has studied piano with Tamila Azadaliyeva at the Hartt School Community Division (HCD) since the third grade and clarinet with Dawn Matthews since fifth grade. Last year she also joined Curt Blood’s clarinet studio. Saomai has placed multiple times in the CSMTA Select Student and Audrey Thayer piano competitions.  She has also performed in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. With clarinet, Saomai has been active in honors ensembles such as the CMEA northern Regional and All-State bands and orchestras. This year she will participate in the NAFME All-Eastern festival.

• Rachel Li (third place), performing Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3, Allegro by Ludwig van Beethoven, (1770-1827), is a sophomore at Brookfield High School. Rachel started piano lessons with Felicia Zhang, then became a pupil of Margarita Nuller in 2013.  By age 12, Rachel passed the Royal Conservatory Achievement Program level 7 and 8 for both piano performance and music theory with Excellence Awards. In 2014, she won 1st Place in the 7th grade section of the 35th Audrey Thayer Piano Competition, and in 2015, Rachel was awarded 1st Place in the Elementary/Middle School section of the 38th Renee Fisher Piano Competition. She also attended the MNTA junior piano competition and was awarded 3rd place in the Connecticut state competition.  

• Honorable Mentions were awarded to Caroline Ma, Miss Porter’s School, Farmington, CT, Grade 10, (Teacher: Margreet Francis, Hartt Community Division) and to Noah Yoon, Loomis Chaffee School, Windsor, CT, Grade 11, (Teacher: Malgosia Lis, Hartt Community Division) 

Winners of the Strings Division of the 2017 Musical Club of Hartford Competition:

• Kayla Bryan (First Place: violin), Grade 11, will perform Partita No. 3 in E Major, 3rd Movement (Gavotte en Rondeau) by J. S. Bach (1685-1750) and Bael Schen: II Nigun, Adagio non Troppo by Ernest Bloch (1880-1959). Kayla Bryan is a junior at Guilford High School and a violin student of Donna Agai at the Hartt School Community Division. She is a member of the Connecticut Youth Symphony where she won the 2016 Concerto Competition. She was also the recipient of awards in the Hamden Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and the David Einfeldt Chamber Music Seminar Concerto Competition. She attended the Preludio program at Ithaca College in 2015 and the Greenwood Chamber Music Camp this past summer. Kayla took part in the Hartt Honors Recitals from 2012-2016, receiving the Senior Honors Recital Underclassman Award in 2016.

• Matthew Hill (Second Place: violin), will be performing Praeludium and Allegro in the Style of Pagnani by Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) and Partita No. 3 in E Major (Preludio) by J. S. Bach (1685-1750) accompanies by Frank Viola. Matthew Hill is a freshman at Conard High School in West Hartford. He studies violin with Teri Einfeldt at the Hartt School Community Division, is Concertmaster of the Opus 89 Orchestra, and an active chamber musician. He is a member of I Giovanni Solisti string orchestra in the West Hartford Public Schools, and was the featured soloist with Northwinds Symphonic Band on Long Island in November 2016. He performed in the Junior Honors Recital at Hartt for the past three years, was Concertmaster of the 2016 Northern Regional Middle School Orchestra, and will be a member of the Northern Regional High School Orchestra in 2017.

• Abigail Sunde (Third Place: violin), will be performing Sonata No. 1in G minor by J. S. Bach (1685-1750) and Praeludium and Allegro in the Style of Pagnani by Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) accompanied by Frank Viola. Abigail Sunde is a ninth grader at Miss Porter's School in Farmington. She studies violin with Teri Einfeldt and has studied piano with Malgosia Lis since age 4 at the Hartt School Community Division. She participates in chamber music, orchestra, and currently the Connecticut Youth Orchestra. Since age 9, she has performed in the international biennial orchestra and masterclasses for violin and piano through the Suzuki Association Americas. Abigail participated in middle school regional competitions, and was a Connecticut representative for the Music Teachers National Association Junior Strings Division.

Honorable Mention was awarded to Sofia Gilchenok (viola), Grade 9, from Columbia; Lillian Yim (cello), Grade 9, from Unionville; and Elliott Davis (violin), Grade 10, from Avon, CT

Winners of the Winds Division of the 2017 Musical Club of Hartford Competition

• Hazel Wang (First Place, flute) performing Sonata for Flute and Piano by Pierre Sancan (1946), accompanied by Gaylien Chun. Hazel is a sophomore at the Ethel Walker School, in Simsbury, Ct. In China, Hazel studied with Daming Zhang, Bile Zhang, Jeffrey Khaner. In Connecticuty she studied with Gonzalo Cortes, and currently studies with Minta White. In her native China, she has won the CCTV National Talent Competition twice, won 2nd prize in the China Flute Association Competitions twice, and won first prize in the International Orchestra Competition in Singapore. She also participated in master classes with the principal flutists of the Singapore Symphony, as well as the China National Symphony. Here in Connecticut, Hazel has been accepted by audition into the Northern Region Orchestra for the past 3 years, as well as being principal flute in CT All State Band last year.

• Seohyun Hong (Second Place, flute) performing Sonatina for Flute and Piano (second and third Movments) by Eldin Burton (1948), accompanied by Adrienne Greenbaum, is a junior at Staples High School in Westport, CT. She studies with Adrienne Greenbaum. In the past two years, she has been accepted into the CT Western Region Band and Orchestra and CT All State Band. Seohyun won the American Chamber Orchestra’s Concerto competition in 2016, and performed with them as soloist. She has been performing with the Norwalk Youth Symphony Orchestra for 8 years, being Principal flute in 2013, Assistant 2nd Flute and Piccolo, 2014/15, and 2nd Principal Flute in 2016.

• Yoseph Kim (Third Place, clarinet) performing Solo de Concours by A. Messager, (1899), accompanied by Gaylien Chun, is a senior at the Hopkins School in New Haven. He studies with Julie Levine at the Neighborhood School. Joseph has participated in the Hopkins School Orchestra for the past 5 years, and has been Principal clarinet for 3 years. He has also participated in the Neighborhood Music Youth School Orchestra, as well as the NMS Wind Quartet for the past 4 years. Joseph was selected by audition for the Southern Region Orchestra for 4 years, and participated in CT All State in 2011, and in 2010 as Principal Clarinet of the Band.

Honorable Mention was awarded to Saomai Nguyen, a junior at Hall High School in West Hartford, CT who studies with Dawn Matthews and Curt Blood and who was also the 2nd Prize Winner in the Musical Club’s Piano Competition.

Free Admission.

This member program, entitled “Love, Passion, Portraits,” will consist of several interesting collaborations with musical selections centered on this concept.

Accompanied by David Schonfeld on baroque oboe, Laura Mazza-Dixon on viola da gamba, and Eric Hansen* on archlute, soprano Alice Matteson will perform four love-themed songs by Henry Purcell: Fairest Isle, If Love’s a Sweet Passion, I Attempt from Love’s Sickness to Fly, and When I Have Often Heard Young Maids Complaining.

Susanne Shrader, violin, and Alan Lurie, piano, will bring us passion with Manuel de Falla’s Siete Canciones Populares Españolas.

Lillie Gardner, piano, will present several depictions of people through music, including the Third Movement “The Alcotts” from Charles Ives’s Piano Sonata No.2, and three selections from Portraits by Virgil Thomson: “Connecticut Waltz (Harold Lewis Cook),” “Insistences (Louise Crane),” and “Persistently Pastoral (Aaron Copland).”

Alice Matteson will sing two songs from Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben (A Woman’s Life and Love) assisted by her husband, pianist David Garrido Cid.

Finally, we will hear several movements from the four-hands piano arrangement of Liebeslieder Waltzer, Op. 52 by Brahms, performed by Musical Club member David Garrido Cid and guest, Miguel Campinho*.

Hartford, CT: Eight advanced piano students at area colleges will perform at the annual Evelyn Bonar Storrs scholarship winners recital on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in West Hartford, CT. The concert takes places at 10 am. Admission is free to all and the general public is warmly welcomed. The mission of the Musical Club of Hartford is to develop the musical talent of its members and to encourage the study and appreciation of music through programs, lectures and concerts. In addition, the Club gives financial assistance to promising young artists and aid to musical projects in the community.

The 2017 competition winners--Anchie Donn, Sirakanjana Seradi, Lillie Gardner, Victor Nigri e Silva Santos, Anna Grudskaya, Augustin Muriago, Liana Paniyeva, and Henry Kramer--represent a broad international spectrum, including Taiwan, Thailand, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Argentina, the Ukraine and the United States. They will be performing works ranging from J.S. Bach to Amy Beach and Alberto Ginastera. Of this group, six are from undergraduate and advanced degree programs at the Hartt School, University of Hartford, one is from the doctoral program at the University of Connecticut and one is from the doctoral program at Yale University.

The achievements of the winners of this year’s MCH Evelyn Bonar Storrs competition are numerous. Programs and brief biographies follow:

Anchie Donn

Goldberg Variations BWV 988, Aria and variations 1-5 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Taiwanese-American pianist Anchie Donn has performed in major cities across Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States. As a member of The Heron Trio, she has been featured on National Public Radio. Anchie has participated in festivals such as Aspen Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Chautauqua Music Festival, and Baroque Performance Institute. She is completing her Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance at The Hartt School, where she is also a teaching fellow. Past degrees include a Master of Music from Boston University and a Bachelor of Music with highest honors from University of Michigan. Her teachers include Paul Rutman, Jonathan Bass, Christopher Harding, and Arthur Greene.

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Sirakanjana Seradi

Intermezzos Op. 119, No. 1 in B minor and No. 2 in E minor by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Sirakanjana Seradi is a Thai pianist, currently doing her 3rd year of Bachelor of Music at the Hartt School, University of Hartford, Connecticut studying with Paul Rutman. Before she came to the United States, she had studied with Eri Nakagawa at College of Music, Mahidol University for the pre-college program where she received an Excellent Student Award in the graduation ceremony. She recently gave a piano recital in Thailand at Collage of Music, Payap University in January 2017.Sirakanjana Seradi is a Thai pianist, currently doing her 3rd year of Bachelor of Music at the Hartt School

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Lillie Gardner

Prelude #4, Book 2: Les fees sont d’exquises danseuses by Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

“A Hermit Thrush at Eve” Op.92, No. 1 by Amy Beach (1867-1944)

Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, Lillie Gardner has performed in the "Chopin 200" Festival at the World Financial Center, the “Tutte le Corde: Piano Music After 1950” series in Greenwich Village, and at venues such as Bellevue Hospital, Teatro de Casa Italiana, Southampton Cultural Center, Frederick Loewe Theater, Provincetown Playhouse, the Tenri Cultural Institute of New York, and the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Asturias in Spain. Most recently, she performed solo recitals at von der Mehden Recital Hall and was selected alternate in the University of Connecticut’s 2015 Aria and Concerto Competition. At New York University, Lillie received her Bachelor and Master of Musicdegrees as a student of Miyoko Lotto and Dr. Jose Ramon Mendez.

Currently she is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at UConn where she has studied with Irma Vallecillo and currently studies with Dr. Angelina Gadeliya. Lillie’s final degree recital, American Literature in Recital, will be at UConn in April of 2017, and will consist of solo piano, chamber, and vocal music inspired by works of American literature.

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Victor Nigri e Silva Santos

Ciclo Nordestino No. 4 (Northeastern Cycle No. 4): Caboclinhos, Cantilena, and Frevo by Marlos Nobre (b. 1939)

Victor Nigri is a Graduate Professional Diploma candidate in piano performance at The University of Hartford's The Hartt School, where he is the recipient of a music talent scholarship, studying under the guidance of Professor Luiz de Moura Castro. Nigri is also a piano faculty member of the Hartt Community Division.He has performed in both solo and chamber music recitals throughout Brazil, the United States, and Portugal. He recently took part in the Campos do Jordão International Winter Festival, Brazil, and Óbidos International Piano Festival, Portugal.In 2014 he graduated from Minas Gerais State University with a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance as a student of Professor Heron Alvim. In addition to being distinguished with a Honorable Prize of Best Performance of Brazilian Music at the VII Maestro Spartacco Rossi Piano Competition, Nigri was also a top prizewinner at the XXII Souza Lima Piano Competition and the IX Cora Pavan Capparelli Piano Competition.

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Anna Grudskaya

Le Vent dans le Plaine and Des Pas sur la Neige by Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Anna Grudskaya was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan to a family of musicians and artists and began piano studies at the age of four. Winner of the Concerto/Aria Competition at Santa Clara University and Van Waynen Piano Competition, Ms. Grudskaya has performed in concert halls in the United States and abroad. She has performed in festivals including the International Keyboard Institute and Festival, Aspen Music Festival and School, Beijing International Music Festival and Academy, New Orleans Piano Institute, NYU Summer Piano Intensive, and Adamant Music School, working with distinguished artists such as Menahem Pressler, Nelita True, Boris Berman, Ann Schein, Alan Chow, and Alessio Bax. Anna Grudskaya earned Bachelor Degrees in Music and Psychology from Santa Clara University in the studio of Hans Boepple, a Master of Music Degree from Mannes College of Music in the studio of Pavlina Dokovska, and an Advanced Certificate in Music Education at NYU’s Steinhardt School in the studio of Eteri Andjaparidze. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The Hartt School under the tutelage of David Westfall. 

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Agustin Muriago

Cuyana, from Tres Piezas, Op. 6 by Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)

Etude-tableaux Op. 39, No. 5 by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Agustin Muriago is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in piano performance at The Hartt School in Connecticut. He has performed throughout the United States, Spain, and his native Argentina in venues such as Steinway Hall in New York City and the “Teatro Opera” in Buenos Aires. His repertoire ranges from traditional piano literature to contemporary music premieres, with an emphasis on Spanish and Argentinean piano music. Major teachers include José Ramón Méndez, David Westfall, Veda Zuponcic, Aldo Antognazzi, and Marcela Fiorillo. As a prizewinner of the 2008 “Teachers del Norte Pianists del Sur” directed by Mirian Conti, he continued his studies in the United States, earning a Bachelor’s degree from Rowan University and a Master’s degree from New York University.

He has held the position of piano instructor at NYU, offered masterclasses, and served as adjudicator at piano festivals in New York and Connecticut. He is currently on the faculty at The Hartt School Community Division  

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Liana Paniyeva

Klavierstücke, Op 76: No. 1 Capriccio. Un poco agitato; No. 4 Intermezzo. Allegretto grazioso; and No. 8 Capriccio. Grazioso ed un poco vivace by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Liana Paniyeva began winning prizes in piano competitions in Ukraine in 2002 when she earned Third Prize at the International Competitions in Memory of E. Gilels, First Prize at the International Competition in Memory of Prokofiev, and Second Prize at the International Competition in Memory of A. Karamanov.  Her accomplishments in 2008 included First Prize at the “Music World” International Competition in Italy, and she was the winner of “The Voice of Music” Piano Competition in Israel. In the United States in 2012, Ms. Paniyeva was the winner of the American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music; recipient of the Grand Prize at the Metropolitan International Piano Competition; and the winner of the AFAF Golden Era of Romantic Music International Competition.  In 2013~2015, Ms. Paniyeva was awarded the E.B. Storrs Piano Scholarship from the Musical Club of Hartford. Ms. Paniyeva was also awarded a prize in the 2014 Scottish International Piano Competition in Glasgow, and won 6th place at the Iowa International Piano Competition in 2015.

She has performed at international festivals in Norway, Hungary, Syria, Italy, and Israel; and during the 2012-2013 season, she performed three times at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Liana graduated from the Donetsk Music Academy in Ukraine in 2007, and went on to earn her Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music in 2011.  Her career continues with recitals in Hungary, Israel, Ukraine, USA, England, Syria and Norway. Currently Liana is pursuing a Master’s Degree at The Hartt

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Henry Kramer

Iberia, Book I: Evocación by Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909)

Sonata in D Major K. 96, L. 465 byDomenico Scarlatti 1665-1757

Morningsong and Mist by Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960)

Attars by Judith Lang Zaimont (b. 1945)

Music Competition (Sendai The winner of the 2015 William Petschek Recital Debut Award from The Juilliard School, pianist Henry Kramer is establishing himself as one of the most exciting young pianists on the concert stage today. His performances have been praised by critics as “triumphant” and “thrilling” (The New York Times), and “technically effortless” (La Presse, Montreal). A Maine native, Mr. Kramer has earned top prizes in the 2015 Honens International Piano Competition, the 2011 Montreal International Music Competition, and the 6th China Shanghai International Piano Competition. He was also a prizewinner in the 8th National Chopin Competition in Miami and received the 2014 Harvard Musical Association Arthur Foote Award. He is a winner of Astral’s 2014 National Auditions. He was awarded the silver medal in 2016 at the Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition in Brussels.

In the 2015-2016 season, Mr. Kramer is featured at Portland Piano International (Oregon), The Cliburn Foundation, Symphony in C, and the Portland (Maine) International Chamber Music Festival. He recently appeared as soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra under Yan Pascal Tortelier, and has also appeared with the Shanghai Philharmonic, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra in Ankara, Turkey, the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain du Montreal, and the Yale Philharmonia. In recent seasons, he performed Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 2 with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony and Toshi Shimada, as well as Beethoven’s Chorale Fantasy with Robert Moody and the Portland Symphony Orchestra.

In the spring of 2012, Mr. Kramer made his European debut in a solo recital at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. An engaging chamber musician, he has been featured in performances at Lincoln Center, and has participated in the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival and La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest. Recently, he appeared on Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute tour, which included performances at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and New York’s Morgan Library, as well as an unprecedented appearance in Havana, Cuba, as a cultural ambassador. At the Verbier Festival Academy, he was awarded the Tabor Prize in Piano.

Mr. Kramer holds both a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School and an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music, where he received the Charles S. Miller Prize for the most outstanding first-year pianist. He currently pursues doctoral studies at the Yale School of Music, and was recently appointed as the Iva Dee Hiatt Visiting Artist in Piano at Smith College

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The American String Quartet with pianist, David Westfall, will perform in concert at 3:00 pm on Sunday, April 2
at Millard Auditorium, University of Hartford.

This concert is FREE, BUT TICKETS ARE REQUIRED.  You may order tickets:
1. At the University of Hartford Box Office located at Lincoln Theater (Office hours are Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 am. To 5:00 pm).
2. By calling the University of Hartford Box Office at (860) 768-4228 or 800-274-8587 (see Office hours above).
3. Online by copying into your web browser or clicking on the following link: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=71566
4. At the ticket counter at Millard Auditorium the day of the concert, beginning one hour before the concert.
Attendees are encouraged to obtain tickets before the concert to avoid potential lines at the ticket counter at Millard.

The concert is being sponsored and presented by the Musical
Club of Hartford, Inc. as part of its Jolidon Concert series in partnership with The Hartt School and the Hartt
Community Division. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. Admission is free but a goodwill
offering will be accepted to benefit the Hartt Community Division’s Arthur and Betty Winograd Chamber
Music Scholarship Fund. Quartet members Peter Winograd, violin, and Wolfram Koessel, cello will also be
conducting a master class for chamber music ensembles on Saturday, April 1, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm, at Millard.
The Hartt School Community Division and the The Hartt School Instrumental Studies Division are sponsoring
the master class. It is free and open to the public.

American String Quartet and David Westfall

 THE AMERICAN STRING QUARTET with DAVID WESTFALL, piano

Peter Winograd violin
Laurie Carney violin
Daniel Avshalomov viola
Wolfram Koessel cello
David Westfall, piano

The concert will open with Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet in F minor Op. 95 “Serioso”. It is the last
quartet before his late quartets and is one of the shortest, most extremely compact and furious of all of
Beethoven’s compositions. It is commonly referred to as the “Serioso” stemming in part from the tempo
designation of the third movement, “Allegro assai vivace” (full of life) “ma serioso” (but seriously).
The second work to be performed will be Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3 in F Major. Composed in
1946, it is a grave, dramatic work in which each instrument in turn has its moment of glory.
The program will conclude with David Westfall on piano joining the quartet to perform Johannes Brahms’
Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34. This work began life as a string quintet with two cellos, but when Brahms’
friends, Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim, expressed some doubts about the work, he eventually withdrew
it and rescored it into a sonata for two pianos. However, others felt that even this version was unsatisfactory
so he reworked it again into the now well-known piano quintet version with the strings and piano playing
equally important roles throughout the work. It is considered to be one of his most beautiful works, revealing
Brahms at his most personal and indeed lovable.

Internationally recognized as one of the world’s foremost quartets, the American String Quartet celebrates its
41st season in 2016–2017. Critics and colleagues hold the Quartet in high esteem and many of today’s leading
artists and composers seek out the Quartet for collaborations. The quartet is known for its performances of
the complete quartets of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Bartok, and other composers and for championing
American and contemporary composers. The complete Mozart string quartets on a matched set of
Stradivarius instruments are widely held to set the standard for this repertoire.

Pianist David Westfall maintains an active career as concert pianist, collaborative artist, and teacher. He has
concertized and given master classes throughout the United States, Canada, Spain, Brazil, Germany, and
Serbia. He is an avid chamber musician, and has performed with internationally acclaimed string quartets such
as the American, Chiara, and Jupiter. Dr. Westfall is currently Associate Professor of Piano and Director of the
Instrumental Studies Division at The Hartt School.

The Arthur and Betty Winograd Fund at the Hartt Community Division supports scholarships and financial aid
to encourage, nurture, and develop chamber music playing in pre-college musicians. Arthur Winograd’s
extensive career began in 1946 as the original cellist of the world renowned Juilliard String Quartet. He left
the Juilliard Quartet in 1956 to pursue a career in conducting. From 1964 to 1985, he was conductor and
music director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Upon his retirement from the symphony, he joined the
chamber music faculty at The Hartt School. Betty Winograd, an accomplished pianist in her own right and
graduate of Juilliard, served for years on the piano faculty of The Hartt School and The Hartt School
Community Division. Betty was also a long time member of the Musical Club of Hartford. Peter Winograd,
son of Arthur and Betty, is the first violinist of the American String Quartet and an alumnus of the Hartt
Community Division.

The Musical Club of Hartford is a non-profit organization well into its second century of existence.
Membership is open to all those who share a love of music, including performers, listeners, and composers,
providing a valuable network for musicians in the Greater Hartford area. Each year the Club presents 12
member-performed concerts, two professional concerts, two musical exploration programs, a concert by
recipients of the Club’s Evelyn Bonar Storrs Piano Scholarships Fund, and a concert by the winners’ of the
Club’s four high school competitions.

PROGRAM

String Quartet  in F minor, Op. 95 “Serioso”    Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)    
I.   Allegro con brio    
II.  Allegretto ma non troppo
III. Allegro assai vivace ma serioso
IV. Larghetto espressivo; Allegretto agitato; Allegro

String Quartet No. 3 in F Major    Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
I.   Allegretto         
II.  Moderato con moto
III. Allegro non troppo
IV. Adagio    —
V.  Moderato

INTERMISSION

Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34    Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
I.   Allegro non troppo    
II.  Andante, un poco adagio
III. Scherzo: Allegro    
IV. Finale: Poco sostenuto - Allegro non troppo - Presto

QUARTET BIOGRAPHY

Internationally recognized as one of the world’s foremost quartets, the American String Quartet celebrates
its 41st season in 2016–2017. Critics and colleagues hold the Quartet in high esteem and many of today’s
leading artists and composers seek out the Quartet for collaborations.

The Quartet is also known for its performances of the complete quartets of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert,
Schoenberg, Bartók, Mendelssohn, and Mozart, as well as all the string quintets of Mozart, Mendelssohn, and
Brahms. The Quartet’s recordings of the complete Mozart string quartets on a matched set of Stradivarius
instruments are widely held to set the standard for this repertoire.

To celebrate its 35th anniversary, the Quartet recorded an ambitious CD, Schubert’s Echo, released by NSS
Music. The program invites the listener to appreciate the influence of Schubert on two masterworks of early
20th-century Vienna, Berg’s dramatic, atonal Quartet Op. 3, and Webern’s visionary Fünf Sätze (Five
Movements), Op. 5.

In addition to quartets by European masters, the American naturally performs quartets by American
composers such as George Whitefield Chadwick, Henry Cowell, Arthur William Foote, Charles Ives, Walter
Piston, and others.

The American also champions contemporary music. The Quartet has commissioned and premiered works by
distinguished American composers Claus Adam, Richard Danielpour, Kenneth Fuchs, Tobias Picker, George
Tsontakis, and Robert Sirota. The Quartet has recorded on the Albany, CRI, MusicMasters, Musical Heritage
Society, Nonesuch, and RCA labels. The Quartet’s discography includes works by Adam, Corigliano,
Danielpour, Dvořák, Fuchs, Prokofiev, Schoenberg, and Tsontakis.

The Quartet’s innovative programming and creative approach to education has resulted in notable
residencies throughout the country. The Quartet continues as quartet in residence at the Manhattan School
of Music (1984–present) and the Aspen Music Festival (1974–present). The ASQ taught in Beijing, China, from
2005 to 2014, and travels widely abroad.

Formed in 1974 when its original members were students at The Juilliard School, the American String Quartet
was launched by winning both the Coleman Competition and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award the same
year.

QUARTET MEMBERS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Peter Winograd joined the American String Quartet in 1990. He gave his first solo public performance at the
age of 11, and at age 17 he was accepted as a scholarship student of Dorothy DeLay at The Juilliard School.
Recognized early as an exceptionally promising young artist, Winograd was a top prize winner in the 1988
Naumburg International Violin Competition. He then made his New York debut to critical acclaim and has
since appeared as a guest soloist with numerous orchestras and in recital across the country and abroad,
including annual collaborative performances with cellist Andrés Díaz at the Florida Arts Chamber Music
Festival. In 2002 Winograd performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Hartford Symphony; his father,
Arthur Winograd, was the featured guest conductor. Winograd has been a member of the violin and chamber
music faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and the Aspen Music School (where the American is
Quartet-in-Residence) since 1990. Born into a gifted musical family, Winograd began his studies with his
parents. His mother was a professional pianist, and his father was the founding cellist of the Juilliard Quartet
and a conductor of the Hartford Symphony in Hartford, Connecticut, where Winograd grew up. He holds
bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard. His wife, violinist Caterina Szepes, is a regular participant in
the Marlboro Festival and a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. His violin is by Giovanni Maria del
Bussetto (Cremona, 1675).

A founding member of the American String Quartet, Laurie Carney holds the distinction of performing
quartets longer than any other woman in this elite field. The ASQ began concertizing while she was still an
undergraduate at Juilliard. Apart from the Quartet, she has performed trios with her husband, cellist William
Grubb, and pianist Anton Nel; duos with violist Michael Tree; and as an ensemble partner to such artists as
Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, Salvatore Accardo, Cho-Liang Lin, Joshua Bell, Yefim Bronfman, Misha Dichter,
Ralph Kirshbaum, Alain Meunier, and Frederica von Stade. Carney's concerto appearances include performing
Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with the Bournemouth Symphony, Basque National Orchestra, and the Welsh
National Orchestra. She gave the premiere of Gianpaolo Bracali’s Fantasia for violin and piano. Most recently,
Robert Sirota composed his Violin Sonata No. 2 for her, and in addition to performing the premiere last
spring, she will record the work later this season. A faculty artist at the Aspen Music Festival and School since
1974 and the Manhattan School of Music since 1984, Carney has held teaching positions at the Mannes
College of Music, Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, University of Nebraska, University of
Michigan, Shepherd School at Rice University, and the Taos School of Music. Her dedication to the
development of young players brings frequent invitations to offer master classes, most recently in California,
Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, and New Mexico. Carney is a member of a prodigious musical family: her father
was a trumpeter and educator, her mother a concert pianist, and all three siblings are professional violinists.
Her violin is by Carlo Tononi (Venice, 1720).

The Strad magazine hailed violist Daniel Avshalomov as “one of the finest occupants of that chair, both
instrumentally and musically, of any quartet now active.” Avshalomov performs in recitals and collaborations
and as a featured performer and concerto soloist at festivals across the country. Before joining the Quartet,
Avshalomov served as principal violist for the Aspen, Tanglewood, and Spoleto festival orchestras, as well as
for the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Opera Orchestra of New York, and American Composers Orchestra. He also was a
founding member of the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble. A frequent guest artist with the Guarneri Quartet, he
has performed with such groups as the Da Camera Society, Marin Music Fest, and La Musica di Asolo. He has
shared the stage with Norbert Brainin (first violinist of the Amadeus Quartet), Misha Dichter, Bruno Giuranna
(a founding member of I Musici), Maureen Forrester, the Juilliard and Tokyo quartets, and the Bolshoi Ballet
(as solo violist). Avshalomov’s articles appear in Notes and Strings; he has edited several viola works for
publication and contributed to ASTA’s Playing and Teaching the Viola. He has been the subject of two articles
in The Strad magazine and one in Classical Pulse. Avshalomov developed a lecture-demonstration, “Inside
Passages,” first presented to the New York Viola Society in 2000. He performed the world premiere of
Giampaolo Bracali’s Concerto per Viola, which RAI has broadcast in Europe, and the American premiere of
Alessandro Rolla’s Esercizio 3. On his CD, Three Generations Avshalomov, with pianists Robert McDonald and
Pamela Pyle, Avshalomov performs works for viola and piano composed by his grandfather, father and
brother. The CD was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered. Avshalomov has been on the faculty of the
Manhattan School of Music since 1984 and at the Aspen School since 1976. His viola is by Andrea Amati
(Cremona, 1568).

Since his Carnegie Hall debut in 1994, cellist Wolfram Koessel has performed as a chamber musician, recitalist
and soloist throughout the world. The Strad magazine praised his “exceptionally attractive cello playing.” As a
soloist he has performed concertos throughout the United States as well as with Japan’s Osaka Symphony
Orchestra and orchestras in Germany and South America. He also has appeared often with the New York
Metamorphoses Orchestra, which he cofounded in 1994. His collaborations include performances with
legendary tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, distinguished dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, and cellist Yo Yo Ma, among
many others. Koessel also appears with a wide range of ensembles, including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
and Trio+ (a group he formed with violinist Yosuke Kawasaki and pianist Vadim Serebryani), which performs
creative and collaborative concerts throughout Japan, the United States, and Canada. Koessel served as music
director of the Mark Morris Dance Group from 2004 to 2008 and has toured extensively with the company
both nationally and internationally, performing in several world premieres. In the fall of 2009, he was the
featured performer in a new dance work, performing Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in C. He resides with his wife,
pianist and writer J. Mae Barizo, and his daughter in Manhattan. His cello is by Giovanni Cavani (Modena,
1917).

Pianist David Westfall maintains an active career as concert pianist, collaborative artist, and teacher. He has
concertized and given masterclasses throughout the United States, Canada, Spain, Brazil, Germany, and
Serbia. He is an avid chamber musician, and has performed with internationally acclaimed string quartets
such as the Jupiter, Chiara, and American. He frequently performs and lectures for music conferences
throughout the United States, and has performed for the past three years for the European Piano Teachers
Association conference held in Novi Sad. He has served on the juries of international competitions, including
the Ricard Viñes International Piano Festival in Lleida, Spain, and the Isidor Bajic Piano Memorial Competition
in Novi Sad, Serbia. He has also served for a number of years on the National Fulbright Screening Committee
in New York. He has also given masterclasses for the World Piano Pedagogy Conference and the Music
Teachers National Association (USA). He has recently given classes the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, the
Royal College of Music in London, Mannheim University of Music and the Performing Arts, and the University
of Texas. He is in residence every summer at the Three Bridges International Chamber Music Festival where
he performs and coaches piano and string ensembles, and also gives classes in piano pedagogy that focus on
teaching gifted young piano students, addressing concepts of movement, sound, and musical style.

Dr. Westfall is a graduate of Texas Christian University, Indiana University and the Juilliard School of Music.
He received his Doctorate in Musical Arts from the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford, where he is
currently Co-chair of the Keyboard Department and Chair of Accompanying. He has studied with renowned
concert pianists Abbey Simon, Gyorgy Sebok, Luiz de Moura Castro, and and later with Murray Perahia at the
Dartington Festival in England. He also serves as Artistic Director and resident pianist of the South Church
Chamber Music Society in New Britain, Connecticut. He recently toured South Korea where he taught and
performed at major music schools, including Sejong University, Sook Myung Women’s University, Seoul
National University, Sungshin Women’s University, and
Seoul Arts High School.

The Arthur and Betty Winograd Fund at the Hartt Community Division supports scholarships and financial aid to encourage, nurture, and develop chamber music playing in pre-college musicians.  Arthur Winograd’s extensive career began in 1946 as the original cellist of the world renowned Juilliard String Quartet.  He left the Juilliard Quartet in 1956 to pursue a career in conducting.  From 1964 to 1985, he was conductor and music director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.  Upon his retirement from the symphony, he joined the chamber music faculty at The Hartt School.  Betty Winograd, an accomplished pianist in her own right and graduate of Juilliard, served for years on the piano faculty of The Hartt School and The Hartt School Community Division.  Betty was also a long time member of the Musical Club of Hartford.

The Musical Club of Hartford is a non-profit organization well into its second century of existence. Membership is open to all those who share a love of music, including performers, listeners, and composers, providing a valuable network for musicians in the Greater Hartford area. Each year the Club presents 12 member-performed concerts, two professional concerts, two musical exploration programs, a concert by recipients of the Club’s Evelyn Bonar Storrs Piano Scholarships Fund, and a concert by the winners’ of the Club’s four high school competitions.
 

Member program. Dan Fine, Walter Gwardyak, Chris Jeffers, Walter Mayo, Mohamed Shams.

1. Mohammed Shams, former Storrs Scholar, will perform several of Earl Wild's etudes based on George Gershwin songs:
The Man I Love
Fascinatin' Rhythm
I Got Rhythm
(Encore TBA)

2. Bridget Gilchrist (flute) Dan Fine (piano) and Walter Mayo (string bass) will play:

"Baroque and Blue" a movement from Suite for Flute and Piano by Claude Bolling
Love Theme from "Spartacus" by Josef Lateef
The Nearness of You by Hoagy Carmichael
St. Thomas by Sonny Rollins

3. Guests Joe Deugenio and Jack Pott will discuss and perform music from "Letter From Italy", an oratorio to be performed by Greater Middletown Chorale, Hartford Chorale and Hartford Symphony Orchestra on May 4, 2017 at the Bushnell.

4. Walter Gwardyak (piano) Andrew Mayo (electric guitar) and Walter Mayo (string bass) will play:

The Way You Look Tonight by Jerome Kern
My Funny Valentine by Rogers and Hart
Night and Day by Cole Porter
C Jam Blues - Duke Ellington