Friday, October 30 at 8:00PM
Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall
Tickets: $25/20 – available at Benaroya Hall
Natalya Ageyeva has dazzled audiences throughout the United States and internationally, including Italy, Austria, and Israel, as well as on tour in her native Russia. Her performances have also been broadcast several times locally on KING-FM in Seattle and televised in Moscow and Chicago. She has appeared at a broad range of venues, including the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia, Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow. Her pianism prompted one reviewer to write “Immediately apparent was a tremendous technique at the command of a sharp musical intelligence and fingers of steel.”
Her artistry has earned her awards and recognition around the world, including the Young Artist Competition in Moscow, Rotary Club Scholarship in Chicago, Brechemin Scholarship at the University of Washington, Solo Competition Award from the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle, the Green Lake Music Festival Competition in Wisconsin, Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition in New-York, and the Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition in Italy. An artist of great versatility, Ageyeva has performed as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with orchestras internationally. She has also been an active participant in many music festivals, including the Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Summer Festival, Methow Valley Music Festival in Winthrop (Washington), the Mostly
The program consisted of A. Arensky Suite for two pianos, Op.15; I. Stravinsky L’histoire du Soldat-trio for clarinet, violin, and piano; R. Shchedrin In the style of Albeniz for violin and piano, P.Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite for two pianos and 5 Folk songs (J.Kracht arrangements) for one piano/four hands, clarinet, and violin. Ageyeva began formal piano lessons at the age of thirteen when she was accepted by the prestigious Special Music School for Talented Children in Moscow, and graduated with honors in the Masters Program from the world-renowned Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, where she studied with Valeriy Kastelsky. While at the Moscow Conservatory, Ageyeva was offered extensive solo and orchestra appearances throughout the former Soviet Union. She completed her doctoral degree at the University of Washington with distinguished pianists Bela Siki and Robin McCabe. She has also worked with well-known pianists John O’Conner, Victor Merjanov, and Helene Grimaud, and collaborated with conductors Vladimir Vais, Alexander Rudin, and Peter Erös.
Ageyeva is currently focusing on her solo career and is performing extensively in the U.S. She previously taught at Moscow Conservatory and University of Washington, and has adjudicated piano competitions in Chicago and Seattle.
Ageyeva is a founding member and Artistic Director of the Russian Chamber Music Foundation of Seattle.
Winner of the 2006 Avery Fisher Career Grant, American violinist Erin Keefe has established a reputation and is earning praise as a compelling artist who combines exhilarating temperament and fierce integrity. A top prize winner of several International Competitions, she recently took the Grand Prizes in the Valsesia Music International Violin Competition (Italy), the Torun International Violin Competition (Poland), the Schadt Competition and the Corpus Christi International String Competition, and was the Silver Medalist in the Carl Nielsen, Sendai (Japan) and Gyeongnam (Korea) International Violin Competitions, resulting in performances and immediate re-engagements in the US, Europe and Asia.
Ms. Keefe has appeared in recent seasons with orchestras such as the New Mexico Symphony, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, the Korean Symphony Orchestra, the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, the Sendai Philharmonic, the Gottingen Symphony and the Odense Symphony Orchestra and has given recitals throughout the United States, Austria, Germany, Korea, Poland, Japan and Denmark.
Ms. Keefe has collaborated with many leading artists of today including the Emerson String Quartet, Roberto and Andres Diaz, Edgar Meyer, Gary Graffman, Richard Goode, David Soyer, Colin Carr, Leon Fleisher and William Preucil. She also performed on a program with Michael Tilson Thomas premiering his own chamber music at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. Her recording credits include Schoenberg’s Second String Quartet with Ida Kavafian, Paul Neubauer, Fred Sherry, and Jennifer Welch-Babidge for Robert Craft and the Naxos Label, recordings of the Dvorak Terzetto and the Dvorak Piano Quartet in E-flat with David Finckel and Wu Han for the CMS Studio Recording label as well as live performances of the Bartok Contrasts, Dvorak Piano Quintet, Mozart E-flat Piano Quartet, Respighi’s Il Tramonto and Haydn’s Arianna a Naxos recorded for Deutsche Gramophone with Menahem Pressler, Gary Hoffman, Ani Kavafian and Ewa Podles. In the fall of 2009, Ms. Keefe released her first solo cd including works by Mendelssohn, Schumann, Ravel, Sibelius, Lutoslawski and Hindemith recorded with pianist Anna Polonsky. Ms. Keefe’s festival appearances have included the Marlboro Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Music from Angel Fire, Ravinia and the Seattle, OK Mozart, Mimir, Music in the Vineyards and Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festivals.
As a member of Lincoln Center’s prestigious Chamber Music Society Two program for the 2006-09 seasons, Ms. Keefe appeared in numerous programs at Lincoln Center as well as on tour throughout the US. In January of 2008 she and other artist members were featured on “Live from Lincoln Center” playing Schoenberg’s Verklarte Nacht. She has performed with the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society and appears regularly as a guest artist with the Boston Chamber Music Society and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Ms. Keefe earned a Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music Degree from The Curtis Institute. Her teachers included Ronald Copes, Ida Kavafian, Arnold Steinhardt, Philip Setzer, Philipp Naegele and Teri Einfeldt.
Ms. Keefe plays on a Nicolo Gagliano violin from 1732 and lives in New York City.
Clarinetist Sean Osborn has performed on four continents since his recital debut at the age of seventeen at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Appointed over nearly 300 other applicants to a position with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 1989, Mr. Osborn was the youngest clarinetist in the history of the Met. He has also performed as guest Principal Clarinet with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Seattle Symphony , and the American Symphony Orchestra.
Touring the country extensively, Mr. Osborn has performed live on numerous radio stations, including WNYC, KUOW, and KING radio, as well as being presented in recital on WHYY, WIAA and nationally on NPR’s Performance Today to name a few. Sean is a top prize winner in both the ARTS Competition and the International Clarinet Society Competition, and in 1984 was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. He has also participated in the Marlboro, Seattle Chamber Music, Colorado, Aspen and Keystone music festivals, and recorded for Sony Classics, London, Deutsche Grammaphon, CRI, and others.
A frequent chamber musician, Mr. Osborn has collaborated with many world-class musicians, including James Levine, Donald Weilerstein, Richard Stoltzman, members of the Colorado and St.Lawrance String Quartets and members of the orchestras of New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Boston and many others. Also a new music specialist, Sean has presented premiers of many composers, including John Corigliano, John Harbison, Phillip Glass, John Adams, Michael Daugherty, Chen Yi, Jennifer Higdon, and Chinary Ung, to name a few.
A student of Stanley Hasty at the Eastman School of Music, Mr. Osborn is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Interlochen Arts Academy where received its highest honor – the Young Artist Certificate, while studying with Dr. Frank Kowalsky. In 1999 he received his Master’s Degree from Southern Illinois University, where he studied clarinet with Dr. Eric Mandat and composition with Dr. Frank Stemper. He has also given numerous master classes throughout the country, including those at The Eastman School of Music, Rice University, Florida State University, and The Manhattan School of Music. In fall of 2006, Sean began teaching clarinet and chamber music at the University of Washington.
Mr. Osborn is also a composer, and has written two Symphonies, an Oboe Concerto, Trombone Concerto, Wind Serenade, Sonata for Eb Clarinet (or Violin) and Piano, and Duet for Bassoon and Clarinet to name a few. His pieces have been performed by faculty of the Juilliard School and members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, Marlboro Music Festival, and the American Saxophone Quartet to name a few.
Alexander Tutunov is widely recognized as one of the most outstanding virtuosos of the former Soviet Union. First Prize winner of the Belarusian National Piano Competition and winner of the Russian National Piano Competition, Tutunov’s playing was described by Soviet Culture, Moscow, as “exhilarating and inspired, and which demonstrated a unique talent”.
Dr. Tutunov maintains a busy performing schedule in Europe, China, Mexico, and the United States as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and on radio and television. Dr. Tutunov is also in demand as an adjudicator for piano competitions.
Tutunov’s recording of the Abeliovich Piano Concerto was featured as part of the Emmy award winning soundtrack for the History Channel documentary, Russia: Land of Tsars, and his CD of the Tchaikovsky Concert Fantasy with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra was produced in January 2008. Other recordings include: Concerto for Piano & Orchestra by Peter Sacco with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra (Albany Records) and the solo piano works of Lev Abeliovich Sonatas & Frescoes, Trio, Songs (Altarus Records). The CD America’s Millennium Tribute to Adolphe Sax on the AUR label, which includes Tutunov’s recording of “Transformations” by Todd Barton, received a Grammy nomination.
Tutunov graduated magna cum laude from the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory (studies with Anna Artobolevskaya and Lev Naumov) and University of North Texas (piano studies with Joseph Banowetz). Awarded his doctoral diploma with honors in concert performance from the Belarusian State Conservatory, Dr. Tutunov has taught at the Minsk College of Music, the University of North Texas, and Illinois Wesleyan University.
Alexander Tutunov now lives in Ashland, where he is Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence at Southern Oregon University. A successful piano pedagogue, he continues to prepare award-winning students. Dr. Tutunov is Artist in Residence at the University of Alaska Southeast, Artistic director of the SOU International Piano Institute, and was recently named Associate director of the Chinese-American International Piano Institute in Chengdu, China.