Dr. Ari Streisfeld
A new Visiting Violin Series will feature three events throughout the 2022-2023 academic year that bring guest violinists to SUNY Fredonia to work with students and perform in Rosch Recital Hall.
The series was hosted by School of Music Assistant Professor Jessica Tong.
To add more interest to each event, regional luthiers will be on site with instruments to try and accessories available for purchase. It’s an opportunity for students and community members, bridging the gap and making these items more accessible, while also supporting small regional businesses. All events in the violin series are free and open to the public.
Violinist Ari Streisfeld will perform at the first event on Sunday, September 11, which includes a master class in Rosch Recital Hall at 1 p.m.; Payton’s Violins (luthier) in Mason Hall Room 1051 at 2:30 p.m.; and a concert by Dr. Streisfeld, with School of Music violin faculty, in Rosch Recital Hall at 4 p.m. The event is sponsored by Payton’s Violins in Rochester, NY
Streisfeld has won worldwide critical acclaim for his performances of a diverse repertoire and has established himself as one of the leading performers of contemporary classical music. Lauded for his “dazzling performance” by The New York Times and “brilliant playing” by the New York Classical Review, Streisfeld is a founding member of the world-renowned JACK Quartet.
Recent season highlights include performances at Wigmore Hall (London), La Salle Pleyel (Paris), Teatro Colon (Argentina), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Bali Arts Festival (Indonesia), Carriage Works (Sydney, Australia), Venice Biennale (Italy). ), Carnegie Hall, Library of Congress, Morgan Library (New York), Lucerne Festival (Switzerland) and Salzburg Festival (Austria).
He has collaborated with many of today’s leading songwriters and has recorded for Mode, Albany, Carrier, Innova, Canteloupe, New Focus and New World Records.
Violinist Edwin Huizinga and guitarist William Coulter, who perform as the duo Fire & Grace, will appear at the second event on Monday, October 31, which includes a violin master class in Rosch Recital Hall and a guitar master class in Mason Hall Room 1051. both at 6 pm and The String House (luthier) in Mason Hall Room 1051, at 7 pm The Huizinga-Coulter event is sponsored by The String House in Rochester.
Fire & Grace, an eclectic collaboration, explores the connecting musical elements of classical, folk and contemporary traditions from around the world. Fire & Grace’s repertoire is vast, ranging from Bach to Vivaldi, tango to Celtic tunes, traditional Bulgarian tunes to American ones and waltzes, all played with a sense of discovery and dedication to the elements of passion and virtuosity – fire and grace – found in these various traditions.
Recent and upcoming performances include engagements at the Carmel Bach Festival, Mozaic Festival, Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Electric Earth Concerts, Monterey Museum of Art, and with Tomaseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas.
The group’s self-titled debut album combines melodies from Argentina, Bulgaria and Western Europe with dance elements from the baroque and folk music traditions.
Violinist Markus Placci will appear in the third event on Sunday, February 26, 2023, which includes a master class in the Rosch Recital Hall at 1:00 p.m.; The String House (a luthier) in Mason Room 1051 at 2:30 p.m.; and a concert with Mr. Placci in Rosch Recital Hall at 4pm The event is also sponsored by The String House.
Acclaimed for his “wonderful personality, a great energy, a total command and extremely convincing taste” (La Libre Belgique), Mr. Placci has performed throughout Europe, the United States, South America and Asia.
Since his solo debut at the age of 13 with the Bologna Symphony, Placci has appeared regularly with major symphony orchestras including the Barcelona Symphony, Radio Television Orchestra of Spain, Baden-Baden Philarmonie, Pomeriggi Musicali Orchestra Milan, Teatro San Carlo the Naples Symphony, the St. Petersburg State Philharmonic and the Annapolis Symphony, among others.
He has been heard live on BBC Radio, Bartok Radio Hungary, RaiRadio, RTV Espana and is the winner of international awards such as the “Brahms Preis” in Germany and the prestigious “XXVI Vittorio Veneto Biannual Competition” in Italy.
Placci received degrees from the Bologna Conservatory and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and studied extensively with Zakhar Bron and Mela Tenenbaum. In 2005, Placci premiered Spanish composer J. Cervelló’s Violin Concerto to great acclaim, and in 2008 was appointed to the Boston Conservatory’s Berklee faculty. He plays an 1871 JB Vuillaume violin, a copy of the “Alard” Stradivari.