SUN, OCT 23rd, 2022 at 7:30pm
CHAMBER MUSIC by CANDLELIGHT
Founder's Fund Concert in Honor of Margaret Budd
PROGRAM
Trio Sonata in G Major For Two Flutes and Basso Continuo, BWV 1039
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
I. Adagio
II. Allegro ma non presto
III. Adagio e piano
IV. Presto
Christine Murphy, flute
Amal Gochenour, flute
Nina DeCesare, bass
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582, Arr. Peter Petrof
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Kevin Smith, violin
Holly Jenkins, violin
Jacob Shack, viola
Dariusz Skoracewski, cello
Prélude, Récitatif et Variations, Op. 3 for Flute, Viola & Piano
Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
Christine Murphy, flute
Jacob Shack, viola
Lura Johnson, piano
Kegelstatt Trio, K. 498
W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)
I. Andante
II. Menuetto
III. Rondeaux: Allegretto
Vitor Trindade, clarinet
Jacob Shack, viola
Lura Johnson, piano
Trio Sonata in G Major For Two Flutes and Basso Continuo, BWV 1039
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
I. Adagio
II. Allegro ma non presto
III. Adagio e piano
IV. Presto
Christine Murphy, flute
Amal Gochenour, flute
Nina DeCesare, bass
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582, Arr. Peter Petrof
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Kevin Smith, violin
Holly Jenkins, violin
Jacob Shack, viola
Dariusz Skoracewski, cello
Prélude, Récitatif et Variations, Op. 3 for Flute, Viola & Piano
Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
Christine Murphy, flute
Jacob Shack, viola
Lura Johnson, piano
Kegelstatt Trio, K. 498
W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)
I. Andante
II. Menuetto
III. Rondeaux: Allegretto
Vitor Trindade, clarinet
Jacob Shack, viola
Lura Johnson, piano
PROGRAM NOTES
Trio Sonata in G Major for Two Flutes and Continue, BWV 1039 (Bach)
Scored for two transverse flutes and continuo, this enormously beloved and frequently performed sonata is one of the few trio sonatas that can genuinely be attributed to Bach. The trio sonata was composed between 1736 and 1741 in Leipzig, where, since 1729, Bach had been director of the Collegium Musicum, a chamber music society performing weekly at the Café Zimmermann. The Café Zimmermann was the coffeehouse of Gottfried Zimmermann in Leipzig which formed the backdrop to the first performances of many of Bach's works, including, naturally, the Coffee Cantata, among many others. —Groves
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582, Arr. Peter Petrof (Bach)
Originally written for the organ, the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor (BWV 582) was presumably composed early in Bach's career and is one of his most important and well-known works and an important influence on 19th and 20th century passacaglias. Robert Schumann described the variations of the passacaglia as "intertwined so ingeniously that one can never cease to be amazed." —Groves/Wikipedia
Prélude, Récitatif et Variations, Op. 3 for Flute, Viola & Piano (Duruflé)
This is one of the few chamber works composed by Maurice Duruflé, a highly self-critical musician and composer who only published 14 works in his lifetime. He wrote this work in 1928 and dedicated it to the memory of the well-known French publisher and contemporary music enthusiast Jacques Durand, who had died in August of that year.
—Willard J. Hertz
Kegelstatt Trio, K. 498 (Mozart)
In late 1786, Wolfgang Mozart had a prolific span composing chamber music, including the Trio in E-flat Major, K. 498 ("Kegelstatt"). He dedicated it to Franziska von Jacquin (one of his pupils) and the sister of his close friend Gottfried. Mozart frequently visited the Jacquin residence seeking diversions in "games and music-making," and it is rumored that the Kegelstatt Trio actually got its nickname from a bowling style game the composer liked to play, called "kegelstatt."
MUSICIAN BIOGRAPHIES
Nina DeCesare, bass
Nina DeCesare joined the bass section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in September 2020 after five years in the Oregon Symphony bass section. She has also performed with the Detroit Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony, the Sun Valley Music Festival, the Knights Orchestra, and the Oregon Bach Festival. Equally comfortable as a orchestral musician, soloist, and chamber musician, Nina regularly performs with Third Angle New Music, 45th Parallel, Chamber Music by Candlelight, and Classical Up Close.
Alongside her busy performing schedule, Nina is passionate about teaching and mentorship and in 2022, she joined the faculty at Peabody Conservatory. She has also presented masterclasses at the Pittsburgh Bass Symposium, Michigan State University, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, James Madison University, and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She has been featured as a recitalist and faculty member at the SF Bass Bash, KC Bass Workshop, the Twin Cities Bass Camp, and the Rabbath Institute Los Angeles.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Nina embarked on several “pandemic projects” including an ambitious #36daysofBach venture inspired by Alisa Weilerstein, recording all of the movements of the six Bach cello suites consecutively over six weeks. In the summer of 2020, Nina co-founded the Double Bass Lab with members of the LA Philharmonic and the San Diego Symphony, teaching weekly classes for students unable to take lessons in person due to the pandemic.
Nina began playing the bass while studying with renowned pedagogue George Vance. As a young bassist, she also worked closely with François Rabbath, Ali Yazdanfar, Ira Gold, and Hal Robinson. While still in high school, Nina won first place in both the Under 14 and 15-18 age divisions of the International Society of Bassists’ solo competition. In 2011, Nina made her solo debut with the Chesapeake Orchestra in Southern Maryland, performing the Vanhal Concerto.
Nina completed her Bachelor of Music degree at Rice University (‘14), studying with Paul Ellison. During her time at Rice, she spent her summers at the Tanglewood Music Center, Sarasota Music Festival, Moritzburg Festival Academy, Wabass Institute and Domaine Forget International Academy. In 2012, Nina was awarded Rice University's Wagoner Fellowship to spend the summer in Paris, where she studied intensively with François Rabbath. Nina also represented the Shepherd School as a part of the Conservatory Project, which culminated in a solo performance at the Kennedy Center.
In the summer of 2022, Nina will appear as faculty at Domaine Forget, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, the National Orchestral Institute, and the Golden Gate Bass Camp. She will also perform as principal bass at Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Chatter, a chamber music series in Albuquerque.
Amal Gochenour, flute
Amal Gochenour was appointed Piccoloist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by conductor Marin Alsop in 2018. She has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, National Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, and Washington National Opera Orchestra, as well as guest Principal Flute with the Korean Broadcast Symphony. She was previously a member of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Gochenour is an active teacher and has given masterclasses and lectures for flute studios around the country. She has presented at the National Flute Association and Mid-Atlantic Flute conventions, and is on faculty at the Atlantic Music Festival in Maine.
She collaborated as research associate with Jeanne Baxtresser, former Principal Flute of the of the New York Philharmonic, on the best-selling “Orchestral Excerpts for Flute, Volume II.”
Born in Kuwait and raised outside of Washington D.C., she began early musical studies on piano before switching to flute at the age of ten. She earned her undergraduate degree at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and her Master of Music degree at Carnegie Mellon University. Prominent teachers include Alberto Almarza, Jeanne Baxtresser, Alice Weinreb, Bradley Garner and Judith Lapple. Ms. Gochenour is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
Holly Jenkins, violin
Originally from House Springs, Missouri, Holly Jenkins joined the Second Violin section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in September, 2016.
Ms. Jenkins has performed as a soloist and as a chamber musician in recitals in seven different countries. She has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Cleveland’s Trinity Lutheran Church and St. Louis’ Sheldon Concert Hall. She began her performing career at the age of 11, when she was selected to solo with the Alton Symphony Orchestra. Subsequent concerto performances have included appearances with the Oberlin Conservatory, St. Louis Chamber Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, Principia College Orchestra, Belleville Philharmonic and the Clayton Symphony. Ms. Jenkins was also a member of the New York City based conductorless string ensemble, Shattered Glass, from 2013-2016, touring the Midwest and East Coast and performing regularly across New York City.
In addition to performing, Ms. Jenkins is passionately committed to promoting peace, dialogue and cross cultural awareness through music. During the summer of 2011, she and a colleague conducted a tour of Jordan and the West Bank in cooperation with Musicians Without Borders, Nablus a Culture and several other organizations, teaching and performing in schools and community centers. In 2012, she participated in a two-week trip to Pakistan with Cultures in Harmony to perform and conduct music workshops.
Ms. Jenkins holds degrees with the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Manhattan School of Music. Most recently she has attended Bard College to play with The Orchestra Now. Her teachers have included Milan Vitek, Laurie Smukler, Amy Oshiro-Morales and Winifred Crock.
Lura Johnson, piano
Steinway Artist Lura Johnson is celebrated by critics and audiences for her insightful, emotionally impactful performances. The Washington Post describes hearing her play as “one of life’s great pleasures.” The Baltimore Sun praises her “surging expressive force... impressive bravura...” and “exceptional vitality, color, and impact.” Performing more than one hundred concerts annually as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral pianist, Lura captures, distills, and powerfully communicates the spirit and personality of the music she performs. She describes her mission this way: “My goal is to vividly and thoroughly bring to life the essence and true character of the music, the way an actor embodies a role with full commitment.”
Lura is Resident Pianist of the Baltimore Symphony and Principal Pianist of the Delaware Symphony, positions which synthesize her finely honed ensemble skills, soloistic virtuosity, and versatility. She has played principal keyboard for seven albums recorded by the Baltimore Symphony, including Bernstein’s Mass, which received a Grammy nomination in 2010. The Washington Classical Review wrote of a BSO performance of Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety, “[Soloist] Jean-Yves Thibaudet was shadowed brilliantly by the BSO’s outstanding keyboard player, Lura Johnson, on the daunting celesta part.” This collaboration was immortalized in a 2017 album released by the BSO on the Naxos label, and was also part of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s tour of the United Kingdom in 2018, with performances and telecasts at the renowned BBC Proms and the prestigious Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.
Lura has been featured as a soloist with the Baltimore and Delaware Symphonies, performing Rachmaninoff’s First Piano Concerto, Grieg Concerto, Mozart’s K. 466, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Saint-Saens Wedding Cake Waltz. She is one of few keyboardists with the versatility to perform the complete Bach Brandenburg Concerti, moving seamlessly from the continuo harpsichord role in Concertos No.1 through 4 and No. 6 to the solo role in the magnificent Concerto No. 5. Similarly, in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s 2020 production of Amadeus Live, Lura navigated the solo role in several Mozart Concerti, as well as performing the supporting role of organ continuo, eliciting the praise “meticulous and brilliant” from the Montgomery County Sentinel.
Christine Murphy, flute
Christine Murphy joined the Baltimore Symphony as Assistant Principal Flute in 2019, appointed by Music Director Marin Alsop. Prior to her appointment, Christine received a Master’s degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. She also holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Columbia University, where she was a student in the Columbia Juilliard Exchange. As an active orchestral and chamber musician, Christine has appeared at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, and Chicago’s Symphony Center. Additionally, she has been awarded solo prizes from organizations including the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, the National Flute Association, and the Chicago Flute Club. As a concerto competition winner, she has appeared with orchestras including the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, the NSO Summer Music Institute Orchestra and the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In recent summers, Christine has appeared at the Sarasota and Aspen Music Festivals. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Christine began playing the flute at age 7. Her primary teachers include Leone Buyse, Robert Langevin, and Donald Peck.
Jacob Shack, viola
Appointed Fourth Chair Viola of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2016, Massachusetts native Jacob Shack earned his Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School as a student of Misha Amory and Heidi Castleman and frequently performed as co-principal of the Juilliard Orchestra. As an undergraduate at Harvard College, Jacob enjoyed playing with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra as principal violist, including on their tours to Cuba and the Middle East. He has toured the world as a chamber and orchestral musician, performing on four continents, most recently in Hong Kong at Bright Sheng’s Intimacy of Creativity Festival and in Colombia at the Medellín International Music Festival. He has performed at several other music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, the Sarasota Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and the Tanglewood Music Center, where he was the recipient of the Maurice Schwarz Prize in 2013. In addition, he was selected to participate in Jaime Laredo’s New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall in both 2010 and 2012. In addition to his dedication to orchestral playing, Jacob has been recognized in solo and chamber music competitions, including the Washington International Competition for Strings and the Stulberg International String Competition. He has collaborated in performance with such world-renowned artists as James Buswell, Steven Doane, James Dunham, Joseph Kalichstein, Robert Levin, and Joseph Silverstein, and has received numerous awards and scholarships from Harvard University, as well as from his alma mater Phillips Academy. In the summer of 2015, Jacob served as the violist of the New Fromm Players, an ensemble-in-residence at the Tanglewood Music Center devoted to contemporary music performance.
Dariusz Skoracewski, cello
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Principal cellist Dariusz Skoraczewski has delighted audiences of many concert halls in America and Europe with his great artistic and technical command of the instrument. As a soloist he performed with numerous orchestras in the US including the National Philharmonic, Alexandria Symphony, Arlington Philharmonic, Lancaster Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In 2013 Dariusz was awarded the prestigious Baker Artist Award, the highest recognition for artists in Maryland.
As a chamber musician, Dariusz appeared in many chamber music concert series including the Candlelight Series, Music at the Great Hall in Baltimore and the Barge Music Festival in New York City. In November of 2005 he gave his Carnegie Hall debut, which was sponsored by the La Gesse Foundation. The cellist is also a member of a critically acclaimed ensemble – the Monument Piano Trio. Dariusz is a laureate of various international competitions such as the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Leonard Rose Competition in Washington D.C. and the Rostropovich Competition in Paris. Dariusz began his musical education at the age of six and spent his school years in Warsaw, Poland where his teachers were Professor Z. Liebig and Professor A. Zielinski. He completed his higher education as a scholarship recipient at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and perfected his art under the supervision of world-renowned cellist Stephen Kates. The soloist’s repertoire is extremely diverse and includes compositions from early Baroque to the present. His debut CD “Cello Populus” is a collection of solo pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries and includes works of Hindemith, Ligeti, Crumb, Penderecki and others. Dariusz’s second album “Cello Phantasia” features music by Schumann, Franck and Rachmaninov.
Kevin Smith, violin
Kevin Smith, a native of Dallas, Texas, joined the Baltimore Symphony as Acting Assistant Concertmaster in 2015. Mr. Smith earned his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance as a student of Julia Bushkova at the University of North Texas. At the Cleveland Institute of Music, he earned Master of Music degree in the studio of Stephen Rose, Principal Second Violin of The Cleveland Orchestra. While attending CIM, Mr. Smith was awarded the 2015 Helen C. Webster Award for Outstanding Graduate Student. As a chamber musician, he has been coached by the Cavani, Juilliard, Shanghai, and Takács Quartets, and studied under Peter Salaff of the Cleveland Quartet. He has attended the Mimir Chamber Music Festival, the Round Top Festival Institute, and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. Mr. Smith has performed under the acclaimed conductors, Franz Welser-Möst, Osmo Vänskä, and Valery Gergiev. Before joining the Baltimore Symphony, Mr. Smith was a member of the Akron and Canton Symphony Orchestras, acted as concertmaster for the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with The Cleveland Orchestra. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, reading, and playing golf.
Vitor Trindade, clarinet
Vitor Trindade was appointed as the second clarinet of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in June 2019. He is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma at the Colburn Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Yehuda Gilad. In 2017 he finished his undergraduate studies at the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra in Portugal with Nuno Silva as his teacher. Vitor is a prize winner in many national and international competitions such as the Pasadena Showcase, Julian Menendez, Czech Art, Saverio Mercadante and Lisbon Clarinet competitions. He attended the National Repertory Orchestra festival in 2018 where he was chosen to perform as a soloist, and in 2019 he participated in the Music Academy of the West festival in Santa Barbara. Mr. Trindade collaborates regularly with the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra and the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group.
Nina DeCesare joined the bass section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in September 2020 after five years in the Oregon Symphony bass section. She has also performed with the Detroit Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony, the Sun Valley Music Festival, the Knights Orchestra, and the Oregon Bach Festival. Equally comfortable as a orchestral musician, soloist, and chamber musician, Nina regularly performs with Third Angle New Music, 45th Parallel, Chamber Music by Candlelight, and Classical Up Close.
Alongside her busy performing schedule, Nina is passionate about teaching and mentorship and in 2022, she joined the faculty at Peabody Conservatory. She has also presented masterclasses at the Pittsburgh Bass Symposium, Michigan State University, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, James Madison University, and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She has been featured as a recitalist and faculty member at the SF Bass Bash, KC Bass Workshop, the Twin Cities Bass Camp, and the Rabbath Institute Los Angeles.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Nina embarked on several “pandemic projects” including an ambitious #36daysofBach venture inspired by Alisa Weilerstein, recording all of the movements of the six Bach cello suites consecutively over six weeks. In the summer of 2020, Nina co-founded the Double Bass Lab with members of the LA Philharmonic and the San Diego Symphony, teaching weekly classes for students unable to take lessons in person due to the pandemic.
Nina began playing the bass while studying with renowned pedagogue George Vance. As a young bassist, she also worked closely with François Rabbath, Ali Yazdanfar, Ira Gold, and Hal Robinson. While still in high school, Nina won first place in both the Under 14 and 15-18 age divisions of the International Society of Bassists’ solo competition. In 2011, Nina made her solo debut with the Chesapeake Orchestra in Southern Maryland, performing the Vanhal Concerto.
Nina completed her Bachelor of Music degree at Rice University (‘14), studying with Paul Ellison. During her time at Rice, she spent her summers at the Tanglewood Music Center, Sarasota Music Festival, Moritzburg Festival Academy, Wabass Institute and Domaine Forget International Academy. In 2012, Nina was awarded Rice University's Wagoner Fellowship to spend the summer in Paris, where she studied intensively with François Rabbath. Nina also represented the Shepherd School as a part of the Conservatory Project, which culminated in a solo performance at the Kennedy Center.
In the summer of 2022, Nina will appear as faculty at Domaine Forget, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, the National Orchestral Institute, and the Golden Gate Bass Camp. She will also perform as principal bass at Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Chatter, a chamber music series in Albuquerque.
Amal Gochenour, flute
Amal Gochenour was appointed Piccoloist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra by conductor Marin Alsop in 2018. She has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, National Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, and Washington National Opera Orchestra, as well as guest Principal Flute with the Korean Broadcast Symphony. She was previously a member of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Gochenour is an active teacher and has given masterclasses and lectures for flute studios around the country. She has presented at the National Flute Association and Mid-Atlantic Flute conventions, and is on faculty at the Atlantic Music Festival in Maine.
She collaborated as research associate with Jeanne Baxtresser, former Principal Flute of the of the New York Philharmonic, on the best-selling “Orchestral Excerpts for Flute, Volume II.”
Born in Kuwait and raised outside of Washington D.C., she began early musical studies on piano before switching to flute at the age of ten. She earned her undergraduate degree at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and her Master of Music degree at Carnegie Mellon University. Prominent teachers include Alberto Almarza, Jeanne Baxtresser, Alice Weinreb, Bradley Garner and Judith Lapple. Ms. Gochenour is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
Holly Jenkins, violin
Originally from House Springs, Missouri, Holly Jenkins joined the Second Violin section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in September, 2016.
Ms. Jenkins has performed as a soloist and as a chamber musician in recitals in seven different countries. She has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Cleveland’s Trinity Lutheran Church and St. Louis’ Sheldon Concert Hall. She began her performing career at the age of 11, when she was selected to solo with the Alton Symphony Orchestra. Subsequent concerto performances have included appearances with the Oberlin Conservatory, St. Louis Chamber Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, Principia College Orchestra, Belleville Philharmonic and the Clayton Symphony. Ms. Jenkins was also a member of the New York City based conductorless string ensemble, Shattered Glass, from 2013-2016, touring the Midwest and East Coast and performing regularly across New York City.
In addition to performing, Ms. Jenkins is passionately committed to promoting peace, dialogue and cross cultural awareness through music. During the summer of 2011, she and a colleague conducted a tour of Jordan and the West Bank in cooperation with Musicians Without Borders, Nablus a Culture and several other organizations, teaching and performing in schools and community centers. In 2012, she participated in a two-week trip to Pakistan with Cultures in Harmony to perform and conduct music workshops.
Ms. Jenkins holds degrees with the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Manhattan School of Music. Most recently she has attended Bard College to play with The Orchestra Now. Her teachers have included Milan Vitek, Laurie Smukler, Amy Oshiro-Morales and Winifred Crock.
Lura Johnson, piano
Steinway Artist Lura Johnson is celebrated by critics and audiences for her insightful, emotionally impactful performances. The Washington Post describes hearing her play as “one of life’s great pleasures.” The Baltimore Sun praises her “surging expressive force... impressive bravura...” and “exceptional vitality, color, and impact.” Performing more than one hundred concerts annually as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral pianist, Lura captures, distills, and powerfully communicates the spirit and personality of the music she performs. She describes her mission this way: “My goal is to vividly and thoroughly bring to life the essence and true character of the music, the way an actor embodies a role with full commitment.”
Lura is Resident Pianist of the Baltimore Symphony and Principal Pianist of the Delaware Symphony, positions which synthesize her finely honed ensemble skills, soloistic virtuosity, and versatility. She has played principal keyboard for seven albums recorded by the Baltimore Symphony, including Bernstein’s Mass, which received a Grammy nomination in 2010. The Washington Classical Review wrote of a BSO performance of Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety, “[Soloist] Jean-Yves Thibaudet was shadowed brilliantly by the BSO’s outstanding keyboard player, Lura Johnson, on the daunting celesta part.” This collaboration was immortalized in a 2017 album released by the BSO on the Naxos label, and was also part of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s tour of the United Kingdom in 2018, with performances and telecasts at the renowned BBC Proms and the prestigious Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.
Lura has been featured as a soloist with the Baltimore and Delaware Symphonies, performing Rachmaninoff’s First Piano Concerto, Grieg Concerto, Mozart’s K. 466, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Saint-Saens Wedding Cake Waltz. She is one of few keyboardists with the versatility to perform the complete Bach Brandenburg Concerti, moving seamlessly from the continuo harpsichord role in Concertos No.1 through 4 and No. 6 to the solo role in the magnificent Concerto No. 5. Similarly, in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s 2020 production of Amadeus Live, Lura navigated the solo role in several Mozart Concerti, as well as performing the supporting role of organ continuo, eliciting the praise “meticulous and brilliant” from the Montgomery County Sentinel.
Christine Murphy, flute
Christine Murphy joined the Baltimore Symphony as Assistant Principal Flute in 2019, appointed by Music Director Marin Alsop. Prior to her appointment, Christine received a Master’s degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. She also holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Columbia University, where she was a student in the Columbia Juilliard Exchange. As an active orchestral and chamber musician, Christine has appeared at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, and Chicago’s Symphony Center. Additionally, she has been awarded solo prizes from organizations including the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, the National Flute Association, and the Chicago Flute Club. As a concerto competition winner, she has appeared with orchestras including the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, the NSO Summer Music Institute Orchestra and the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In recent summers, Christine has appeared at the Sarasota and Aspen Music Festivals. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Christine began playing the flute at age 7. Her primary teachers include Leone Buyse, Robert Langevin, and Donald Peck.
Jacob Shack, viola
Appointed Fourth Chair Viola of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2016, Massachusetts native Jacob Shack earned his Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School as a student of Misha Amory and Heidi Castleman and frequently performed as co-principal of the Juilliard Orchestra. As an undergraduate at Harvard College, Jacob enjoyed playing with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra as principal violist, including on their tours to Cuba and the Middle East. He has toured the world as a chamber and orchestral musician, performing on four continents, most recently in Hong Kong at Bright Sheng’s Intimacy of Creativity Festival and in Colombia at the Medellín International Music Festival. He has performed at several other music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, the Sarasota Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and the Tanglewood Music Center, where he was the recipient of the Maurice Schwarz Prize in 2013. In addition, he was selected to participate in Jaime Laredo’s New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall in both 2010 and 2012. In addition to his dedication to orchestral playing, Jacob has been recognized in solo and chamber music competitions, including the Washington International Competition for Strings and the Stulberg International String Competition. He has collaborated in performance with such world-renowned artists as James Buswell, Steven Doane, James Dunham, Joseph Kalichstein, Robert Levin, and Joseph Silverstein, and has received numerous awards and scholarships from Harvard University, as well as from his alma mater Phillips Academy. In the summer of 2015, Jacob served as the violist of the New Fromm Players, an ensemble-in-residence at the Tanglewood Music Center devoted to contemporary music performance.
Dariusz Skoracewski, cello
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Principal cellist Dariusz Skoraczewski has delighted audiences of many concert halls in America and Europe with his great artistic and technical command of the instrument. As a soloist he performed with numerous orchestras in the US including the National Philharmonic, Alexandria Symphony, Arlington Philharmonic, Lancaster Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In 2013 Dariusz was awarded the prestigious Baker Artist Award, the highest recognition for artists in Maryland.
As a chamber musician, Dariusz appeared in many chamber music concert series including the Candlelight Series, Music at the Great Hall in Baltimore and the Barge Music Festival in New York City. In November of 2005 he gave his Carnegie Hall debut, which was sponsored by the La Gesse Foundation. The cellist is also a member of a critically acclaimed ensemble – the Monument Piano Trio. Dariusz is a laureate of various international competitions such as the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Leonard Rose Competition in Washington D.C. and the Rostropovich Competition in Paris. Dariusz began his musical education at the age of six and spent his school years in Warsaw, Poland where his teachers were Professor Z. Liebig and Professor A. Zielinski. He completed his higher education as a scholarship recipient at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and perfected his art under the supervision of world-renowned cellist Stephen Kates. The soloist’s repertoire is extremely diverse and includes compositions from early Baroque to the present. His debut CD “Cello Populus” is a collection of solo pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries and includes works of Hindemith, Ligeti, Crumb, Penderecki and others. Dariusz’s second album “Cello Phantasia” features music by Schumann, Franck and Rachmaninov.
Kevin Smith, violin
Kevin Smith, a native of Dallas, Texas, joined the Baltimore Symphony as Acting Assistant Concertmaster in 2015. Mr. Smith earned his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance as a student of Julia Bushkova at the University of North Texas. At the Cleveland Institute of Music, he earned Master of Music degree in the studio of Stephen Rose, Principal Second Violin of The Cleveland Orchestra. While attending CIM, Mr. Smith was awarded the 2015 Helen C. Webster Award for Outstanding Graduate Student. As a chamber musician, he has been coached by the Cavani, Juilliard, Shanghai, and Takács Quartets, and studied under Peter Salaff of the Cleveland Quartet. He has attended the Mimir Chamber Music Festival, the Round Top Festival Institute, and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. Mr. Smith has performed under the acclaimed conductors, Franz Welser-Möst, Osmo Vänskä, and Valery Gergiev. Before joining the Baltimore Symphony, Mr. Smith was a member of the Akron and Canton Symphony Orchestras, acted as concertmaster for the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with The Cleveland Orchestra. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, reading, and playing golf.
Vitor Trindade, clarinet
Vitor Trindade was appointed as the second clarinet of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in June 2019. He is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma at the Colburn Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Yehuda Gilad. In 2017 he finished his undergraduate studies at the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra in Portugal with Nuno Silva as his teacher. Vitor is a prize winner in many national and international competitions such as the Pasadena Showcase, Julian Menendez, Czech Art, Saverio Mercadante and Lisbon Clarinet competitions. He attended the National Repertory Orchestra festival in 2018 where he was chosen to perform as a soloist, and in 2019 he participated in the Music Academy of the West festival in Santa Barbara. Mr. Trindade collaborates regularly with the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra and the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group.