Chamber Music: Gems of Eastern Europe, 1/18

16 Jan Chamber Music: Gems of Eastern Europe, 1/18

On Thursday, January 18, 7 p.m., at Christ Church, the Telluride Camerata invites the community and guests to enjoy an evening of chamber music, “Gems of Eastern Europe” features the works of Dvořák, Kodály, Martinů, and Ysaye.

Violinists Ching-Yi Lin and Brandon Christenson and violist Andy Braddock are in town  to perform “Gems of Eastern Europe,” a collection of lyrical and virtuosic works by Dvořák, Kodály, Martinů and Ysaye for the ethereal combination of two violins and viola. 

The group will also perform the Andante from Janacek’s “Idyll for String Orchestra” with the Telluride Camerata and local string musicians: Danny DeSantis, David Homer, Kelly Stellmacher, Rosalee Walsh, Camille, Juliet and Sydney Denman, Valerie Franzese, Jeffrey Miller and Ross Perrot.

More about the performers:

Dr. Ching-Yi Lin is Associate Professor of Violin and Director of the WKU Pre-College Strings Program at Western Kentucky University. Recent performances and master classes have taken her to the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Norway; Shenyang and Xi’an Conservatories in China; Northwestern University; the University of British Columbia, and Louisiana State University.

Ching Yi

During the summer months, Lin serves on the faculty at the Indiana University (IU) Summer String Academy and WKU Summer String Institute. She is also on the faculty of the Sommersymfoni i Kristiansand in Norway and University of North Texas Summer String Institute in Texas.

In 2008–09, Dr. Lin acted as co-researcher, violin instructor, and piano accompanist for the Fairview Project, an initiative designed to assess how underprivileged children might benefit academically and socially from learning the violin. 

In 2013, Dr. Lin was presented with the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service in Washington, D.C., recognizing her work in bringing music into the lives of young people throughout her community.

In 2016, Lin joined Hillary Herndon from University of Tennessee (UT) and led a group of six WKU and UT undergraduate and graduate students to Moshi, Tanzania, to teach strings in the Kilimanjaro area. Under the organization of Daraja Music Initiative, Lin started a beginner violin class for students of the Majengo Primary School. Over 60 string instruments were donated from across the United States for this endeavor.

Dr. Lin plays on a violin made in 1863 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. 

Violist Andrew Braddock is currently on the faculty of Western Kentucky University (WKU) and the WKU Pre-College Strings Program. He teaches viola at the university and maintains a full pre-college studio of young violinists and violists. He also serves as Director of the WKU Summer String Institute. 

Braddock has given master classes throughout the United States and abroad, at institutions such as the Xi’an Conservatory (China),; the Da’an School (Taiwan); Vanderbilt University; Indiana University Summer String Academy; and Oklahoma University.

In addition to his many recital performances in the Kentucky area, Braddock has performed in Israel, Austria, Indiana, New York, and Colorado. He is the principal violist of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra and has been a member of the Evansville Philharmonic and Owensboro Symphony Orchestras.

Andrew Braddock is in the process of completing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Kentucky.

Grounded equally in chamber music and education, violinist Brandon Christensen’s career has given him the opportunity to perform and teach all over the world, including with the Beijing Sinfonieta; The Southern Illinois Festival Orchestra; the Carolina Chamber Symphony; and the Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, Christensen has collaborated with myriad international performers including Valentina Igoshina and Vladimir Mendelssohn of the Paris Conservatory; Jeffrey Zeigler of the Kronos Quartet; and Mark Sparks of the Saint Louis Symphony. A frequent performer in Italy, he has been on the faculty of the Festival Suoni d’Abruzzo and appeared on stage in Bologna, Ascoli Piceno andTuscany.

Recently retired from the Holland School of Visual and Performing arts in Missouri where he was a tenured professor of violin, Dr. Christensen has also served on the faculties of Dickenson College; The Harrow School in Beijing; and the Pennsylvania Academy of Music. He has given extensive international clinics including master classes throughout China, Italy, and Sweden.