Guest Artists Day 4

Featured Artist Concert

9 June 2023, 7 PM, MACM

Workshop: IMPROVIOLA JAZZ

9 June 2023, 8:30 AM PC 807

Partial Concert: Portuguese Music for Viola and Piano

9 June 2023,  11:30 AM, PC 807

Lecture Recital: Viola Tales

9 June 2023, 12:00 PM, A407

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Born close to Paris in France, Solène discovered the viola at the age of 4. The anecdote tells that her teacher told her that viola is "the most beautiful instrument in the world". Then she continued her musical and artistic education by closely mixing music, dance and theater. She passed a theater level at High School and she wanted to become a musical actress. After, she decided to concentrate on the study of her instrument. In addition to her orchestral practice, in particular within the Ostinato Orchestra and the Colonne Orchestra, she developed a repertoire of soloist and chamber music through the teaching received at the PSPBB. (Pole Supérieur of Paris Boulogne Billancourt) After a year of exchange at the University of Montreal and a master's degree in Rotterdam, she is full of desires and musical proposals with the will to always discover new cultures. Moreover, she is a laureate of the International Viola Society competition in 2022.
In addition to her classical and contemporary music activities, Solène dreams of combining genres
and styles. She collaborated this year with Indigo Production on the show Diamond Dance in Paris.
And this, while keeping the wish to ensure that culture and especially classical music is accessible
to all.

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Lecture Recital: A Compositional Trinity for Viola: Three Caprices Evoking Heritage, Faith, and Urban Culture

9 June 2023, 1:00 PM, A407

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 Dr. Aiveen Gallagher is a string artist from Ireland, and has performed extensively in Europe, the UK, and the USA. An advocate for the contemporary arts, Gallagher is the co-founder of Siren, an international network of musicians dedicated to the cultivation,promotion, and performance of new music. She is a three-time international prize-winner in chamber music and has been the recipient of bursaries and awards from violinist Ivry Gitlis and violist BrunoGiuranna. Most recently, Gallagher was awarded 2nd prize in her category of the 2022 Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the performance of American Music, and her viola and percussion ensemble, Duo Schembri-Gallagher, was awarded 2nd prize in the chamber music category of the 2022 American Prize for Excellence in the Arts. She has been a featured soloist on several occasions at events such as the International Viola Congress, the American Viola Society, and the Virginia Music Teachers Association.Gallagher has also collaborated with leading artists including Massimo Quarta, Helena Wood,Toby Hoffman, Stefano Bollani, and Pietro de Maria for the Livorno Music Festival, the NationalString Quartet Foundation of Ireland, and the European Foundation for Support of Culture.Gallagher has worked with many professional orchestras including the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hulencourt Soloists Orchestra, Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia, the London Film Orchestra, and the Petrozavodsk Symphony Orchestra, performing in historic venues including the Berlin Concert House and the Berliner Philharmonie, Musikverein Vienna, Moscow State Conservatory, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Kimmel Center, and Carnegie Hall. Gallagher has delivered workshops at third-level institutions such as NYU Steinhardt School of Music and the University of Illinois. She has also served as string adjudicator for the European String Teachers Association and the Illinois Grade School Association. She is a certified teacher of "A New American School of String Playing," trained directly by its authorand founder, Grammy-Award winning American violinist Mark O'Connor. As part of her doctoral dissertation at James Madison University, Gallagher composed three original caprices for solo viola, the Trinity Caprices. These works were the recipient of theJMU Graduate School Innovation Award for outstanding innovation and creativity. Gallagher’sprevious studies took place with Ivo-Jan van der Werff at the Royal College of Music, London, Constantin Zanidache at the Munster Technological University, István Szabó at Western Illinois University, and Michael Klotz at Florida International University. Gallagher has recently joined the string faculty at James Madison University.

Lecture: Who is afraid of the Older Violist?

9 June 2023, 10:00 AM PC 807

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Violist Dorotea Vismara has been active in Europe, China, North and South America with the
chamber ensembles Piattellina, Onibatan, Leonore Quartet and Gruppo Bruno Maderna. She has
also performed chamber music with musicians such as Stanley Dodds, Gao Ping, Deborah Hoffman, Timothy Lees, Monika Leskovar, Momenta Quartet, Parker Quartet, among others, and has recorded for Gasparo Records and for Society of Composers International. Ms. Vismara has been principal violist of the Istituzione Sinfonica Abruzzese, and tenured violist of the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.
A founding member of the Italian Viola Society, she has served as its President from 2017 to 2021.
Ms. Vismara was the host of the 43rd International Viola Congress in Cremona in 2016. She also
hosted and co-hosted the yearly national viola events presented by the Associazione Italiana della
Viola in Livorno (2014); Firenze (2015); Cosenza (2017); Cremona (2018); Siena (2019) and most
recently online in 2020. She is a Board Member of the International Viola Society. A researcher of new studio teaching methods for violin and viola, her articles and projects have been published in the journals Laboratorio Musica, BeQuadro, InVoce, and by the publisher Curci. She is on the viola faculty at the Conservatorio di Musica “Claudio Monteverdi” in Bolzano. Former
students of hers are faculty members in music conservatories and members of chamber
ensembles and symphony orchestras in Italy and the USA. Dorotea Vismara completed her studies in Italy (MM in Viola and MM in Music History) and in the
United States (MM in Viola) at the Conservatorio di Musica “Luigi Cherubini” in Florence, at the
Università degli Studi di Bologna and at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
under the tutelage of Piero Farulli, Giuseppina La Face and Masao Kawasaki.

Lecture Recital: The Bartók Viola Concerto: Authenticity, Identity and Performance Practice

9 June 2023, 2:00 PM, PC 807

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Natalie Stepaniak is a violist, composer, and arts advocate. She is originally from the Denver-
Boulder area of Colorado, and is currently based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She specializes in contemporary music and has collaborated with composers Conner Leigh Shaw, Delanie Molnar, Shawna Wolfe, Ben Nylander, Lila Meretzky, and others. Natalie was one of the original founders of Sonic Harvest, a contemporary music orchestra that programmed concerts of new works from local composers in the Northern Colorado area.
Her ensemble membership also included the UNCOmmon Ensemble under the direction of Dr.
Anne Lanzilotti as a composer-performer. The ensemble performed works by Andrew Norman
and experimental vocalist, Ken Ueno. The group also premiered works of ensemble members
and faculty composers at the University of Northern Colorado. She has also participated in music festivals both as a composer and performer around the United
States. Natalie has performed in the 2018 Open
Space New Music Festival, composed for the
2018 Arts Letters and Numbers, composed and
performed in the 2019 Montecito International
Music Festival, and as a fellow for the 2021 Next
Festival for Emerging artists. Natalie holds a Bachelors and Graduate Certificate in Music Performance from the University of Northern Colorado as well as a Masters of Music from Bowling Green State University. Her studies have also taken her abroad to Thailand. She studied with Dr. Daniel Keasler at the College of Music of Mahidol University.
She currently attends Louisiana State University
for her Doctor of Musical Arts under the
mentorship of Dr. Kimberly Sparr.

Masterclass: Bartok and Walton

9 June 2023: 3:00 PM, PC 807

Full Recital: Romantic unknown Viola sonatas  written for the emerging violist of the mid 19th century

9 June 2023, 4:00 PM, MACM

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Mehdi Ghazi was described as a “sensitive pianist” (Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times) and “a great pianist” with a power of “communicating emotions comparable to that of Wilhelm Kempff” (Claude Gingras, La presse, Montreal).

Ghazi is a laureate of the 2020 Campillos International Piano Competition and Medalist of the 2014 Hilton Head International Piano Competition.  He was awarded the second prize and the “Audience Award” at the 2018 Orford Music Award. In 2015, Ghazi was selected as one of “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30” by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

As a soloist and chamber musician, Ghazi has performed in several venues around the world such as UNESCO’s Great Hall in Paris at age 12. He also worked and collaborated with renowned conductors Daniel Barenboim, Yoav Talmi, John Morris Russell, Pavel Baleff and Raffi Armenian. He performed with celebrated musicians such as pianist Conrad Tao, violinist Valeryi Sokolov, cellist Aleksey Shadrin, singer Julie Nasrallah and the Montreal based wind ensemble Pentaèdre.  In 2010, he was selected by The Glenn Gould Foundation to perform before the Governor General of Canada as part of a tribute to the late Glenn Gould.

After moving from Algeria to Canada in 2006, he was awarded several prizes and awards: The 2014 Sylva Gelber Award, First Prize at the “Festival de musique classique du Bas-Richelieu”, and First Prize at the Canadian Musical Competition, as well as school chamber and concerto competitions and special scholarships. He is often featured on radios, televisions and newspapers: CBC (2011), Classical 96.3 (2012), The Globe and Mail (2011), Algerian Radio and Television (2006) among others.

Ghazi graduated with the highest distinctions from the Montreal Conservatory and the Glenn Gould School where he studied with pianists John Perry, André Laplante, Marc Durand and Jean Saulnier while taking master classes with internationally acclaimed artists such as: Daniel Barenboim, Leon Fleisher, Emanuel Ax, Menahem Pressler, Dang Thai Son, Michel Beroff, Jean-phillippe Collard, Robert McDonald and John O’Conor.

Ghazi holds an Algerian Science Baccalaureate and recently completed a Doctorate degree in piano performance at the University of Montreal under the tutelage of Jean Saulnier.

Full Recital: Romantic unknown Viola sonatas  written for the emerging violist of the mid 19th century

9 June 2023, 4:00 PM, MACM

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Our viola repertoire is underestimated. This recital wants to propose lesser known but beautiful viola sonatas (or excerpts) written between 1862- and 1897 by Auguste de Vaucorbeil, Charles Tournemire, Ludwig Norman, Frank Limbert, Felix Draeseke,  and Gerald von Brucken-Fock in a time when the viola gained in  popularity and the very first viola classes in Europe  first by Leon Firket in Belgium (1776) and by Théophile Laforge in Paris (1894) were established.

World Premier: Anzioletti's Viola Concerto 1

Mahidol University Symphony Orchestra

9 June 2023, 1:30 PM, MACM

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Born in 1984, at the only age of fifteen, Marco Misciagna achieved his Diploma in violin and then in viola with full marks at the State Conservatory of Music “N. Piccinni” in Bari. He subsequently obtained his Diploma with distinction at “Santa Cecilia Academy” in Rome. Recognized as one of the best students of the Conservatory, he was invited to the
Quirinal Palace in Rome by the Ex-President of the Italian Republic Ciampi. Considered as one of the most virtuous and talented artist of his generation, he continued his development under the guidance of C.Romano and D.Trkulja (ex first violin of the famous
Zagreb Quartet) and the great violist Michel Kugel. Chosen by M° Boris Belkin and M° Yuri Bashmet, he perfected his skills following the International Courses at the Chigiana Academy of Music in Siena, where he was awarded two Honour Diplomas and won the Prize “Monte dei Paschi di Siena” twice, as best violinist and best viola player in the school
(actually the first time in the history of the Academy). He continued further study at the “W.Stauffer” Academy in Cremona with Salvatore Accardo and at the “Fiesole School of Music” with P.Vernikov. In 1999 he won the First Prize for young talented musicians
“M.Benvenuti” of Vittorio Veneto and he was invited to take part in the Moscow international N.Paganini violin Competition where he was the only Italian member who had the great opportunity to play in the concert halls of the prestigious Moscow State
Conservatory. He has pursued a brilliant career as a soloist, performing with several national and international orchestra, winning great popular and critical acclaim. He played "The four Seasons" by A.Vivaldi, the Concerts for viola by Telemann, Bach, Handel, Rolla, Stamitz and Hoffmeister, "Rondò in A-Dur D438" by F.Schubert, the Symphonie Concertante K364 by W.A.Mozart for violin and viola, the Concert n. 2 "La Campanella",zthe "Carnevale di Venezia" and the "Sonata per la Grand' Viola" by N.Paganini, the Concertzn.1 in F sharp minor by H.Wieniawski, the "Tzigane" by Ravel, the Concert in D-Dur op.35zby Tchaikowsky, the Concert op.77 by Brahms, "Zigeunerweisen" op.20 by Sarasate, the
Concert op.14 by S.Barber, the Concert for viola by W.Walton. He played chamber musiczwith several ensembles like the Ensemble Meditèrranèe, Hipponion Ensemble, Ensemble 2
Agosto, Quatuor Abime, Ensemble Oscar Niemeyer, Kissar Ensemble with musicians such as Antony Pay, F.Petracchi, M.Caroli, A.Markov, N.Lomeiko, U.Ghi, R.Giordano, M.Wolf, M.Sirbu, R.Bahrami, V.Zubitsky, A.Rudin, S.Stadler and many others. He recorded in
premiere world recording the complete works for viola sola by Maurice Vieux and for Brilliant Classics all 41 caprices by Bartolomeo Campagnoli. Some of his violin revisions were published by the publishing house Berben and he published his viola solo
arrangements for Partitura Verlag and for DaVinci Edition. He was for years Principal Viola Soloist of String Orchestra in Malaga (Spain) with whom he recorded for Deutsche Grammophon together with the legendary guitar quartet “Los Romeros”. He performed in the most famous concert halls of Europe such as the Berliner Philarmonie, Essen
Philarmonie, Hamburg Laieszahalle, Mannheim Rosengarten, the Meistersingerhalle Nurimberg, the Prinzeregententheatre of Munich, Arriaga Theatre in Bilbao, Musikverein in Wien, Victoria Eugenia Theatre in San Sebastian, Sala Sinopoli Auditorium Parco della Musica of Rome and in the most prestigious halls of America such as the Balboa Theatre
in San Diego – California, the Fox Tucson Theatre, S. Francis Auditorium in Santa Fe – New Mexico, the C.W.Eiseman Center, the Rudder Theatre, the Empire Theatre in Texas,
the American Theatre in Hampton – Virginia, the Lehman Center and Carnegie Hall of New
York and many others. He has been invited to teach Master Classes at the “Real Conservatorio Superior Reina Sofia” in Madrid, at the “Royal Irish Academy of Music” in Dublin, at Istanbul University State Conservatory and Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory (Turkey), the Music Academy "P.Tchaikovsky" in Kiev and in other important academies. His repertoire includes his arrangements\transcription and pieces for solo viola which has never been played before, such as M.Vieux, M.Anzoletti, Casimir Ney, A.Rolla, H.Von Steiner,
Hermann, as well as Bach, Telemann, Biber, Hindemith and many others. He was
Professor of violin and viola at the Italian Conservatory in Paris and Hight School of Music
and Arts IMEP of Namur (Belgium). In January 2014 the Belgian Government, through the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and International Relations, appointed Marco Misciagna "Highest Repute Artist". He is member of Artistic Advisory Board (strings tutor, trainer, leader and concertmaster) of the Youth Philharmonic International Orchestra (a Project of Turken Foundation) based in New York, “Distinguished Artist” of the Alion Baltic International Music Festival in Tallin (Estonia) and “Honorary Principal
Soloist” of the Arkhangelsk State Chamber Orchestra (Russia) and “Honorary Artist” of
the St Heliers Music Centre in Auckland (New Zeland), as well as "Honorary Citizen" of the
City of Ayvalik in Turkey. Actually he is Professor of viola at the Superior State Conservatory "N.Rota" of Monopoli (Italy), Honorary Professor at “Institut Superieur de Musique de Sousse (Université de Sousse, Tunisia), Honorary Professor at “Esteban Salas” Conservatory in Santiago de Cuba, Honorary Professor at “Pettman National Junior
Academy of Music” (Auckland, New Zeland), Honorary Professor at Yerevan Komitas State
Conservatory (Armenia) and Honorary Professor at the “S.Rachmaninov” State Conservatory (Tambov-Russia) and Far Eastern State Academy of Art (Vladivostok-Russia). In 2018 he received from the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine the Gold Medal for the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Kiev Opera Theatre and he was awarded
the title of "Distinguished Visitor" from the City of Santiago de Cuba. He received numerous awards and prizes, such as the Academic Oscar “City of Naples”, the Gold Medal "Maison des Artistes" at the Aula Magna of the "La Sapienza" University of Rome and the "Vigna d'Argento” at the Palazzo Montecitorio (Italian Chamber of Deputies) and was named "Messenger of Peace" for Assisi Pax International and "Ambassador of Peace in the World" of the Universum Academy Switzerland - International University of Peace. He is a member of the European Cultural Parliament (ECP-Fg).

Partial Concert: Viola Music from Thailand

9 June 2023, 6:00 PM MACM

Full Recital: E Duo Multum

9 June 2023, 3:00 PM, MACM

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Karin Dolman, professor at Codarts University of arts rotterdam, had for 27 years of experience in
new music with the String Quartet of the concert building of Rotterdam. The Doelen.
Karin loves to work together with her master students and triggers them to find their personal
preferences in musical life.

Shu-Ching HSU

Yvonne Yung-Hwa LIU

Ming-Li WU

Chia-Hsin CHANG

Full Recital: Sound Images from Formosa : chamber music from Taiwanese composers

9 June 2023, 6:00 PM, MACM

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Yvonne Yung-Hua LIU
- Adjunct associate professor at Shih Chien University
- Master of University of Boston, USA
- Bachelor of UCLA, USA

Shu-Ching HSU
- Adjunct assistant professor at National Taiwan University of Arts
- Violist / Artistic director of Radiant Ensemble
- Master of University of Montreal, Canada
- Diplôme de CNR de Boulogne-Billantcourt, France
- Bachelor of National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan

Chen-Hung HO
- Principal Violist of Taipei Symphony Orchestra
- Adjunct associate Professor at National Taiwan University of Arts,
National Taipei University of Arts
- Diplômes de CNSM de Paris, Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris,
National Taiwan Academy of Arts

Ming-Li Wu
- Full-time associate professor for the Department of Music at Shih Chien
University
- Adjunct associate professor at National Taiwan University of the Arts
and Soochow University
- Master of Manhattan School of Music
- Bachelor of Taipei National University of the Arts