Inspirations of American Jazz and Musical Friendships Concert

Full of rhythmic drive and blues, this 60-minute program of violin-piano works explores how American and French composers were inspired by American jazz and musical friendships and includes William Bolcom’s Sonata No. 2, Maurice Ravel’s Sonata No. 2, Amy Beach’s “Romance,” and John Corigliano’s Sonata.

Alicia Choi
Acclaimed for her “technical flair and gleaming tone” (The Berkshire Eagle) and for “possessing a big sound and a warm tone” (TwinCities.com), violinist Alicia Choi is an engaging and passionate performer. Her current season includes performances as Guest Concertmaster of the Kingston Symphony, concerts at the Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur, the Festival de Lanaudière, and the Salle Bourgie Musée des Beaux-arts de Montréal, as well as concerts across Québec. Past performances include concerts in the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music Faculty Recitals, the New Brunswick Summer Music Festival, and the Thy Chamber Music Festival. Her solos with orchestra include performances with the Atlantic Music Festival, the Berkshire Symphony, and the Queens Symphony Orchestra under conductors Ronald Feldman, Constantine Kitsopoulos, and Julian Kuerti.

Choi has previously served as an artistic director and faculty of the inaugural Harlaxton Chamber Music Festival in Grantham England, as well as performing and teaching faculty at the University of Florida ChamberFest, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Chamber Music Workshop, and Camp Musical Père Lindsay in Saint-Côme, Québec. From 2013 to 2017, Choi was Artist-in-Residence Faculty of the University of Evansville, Associate Concertmaster of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, and a member of the Larchmere String Quartet. As a member of the LSQ, Alicia has toured and taught in various North American cities and institutions; performed at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy; won the Evansville Mayor’s Arts Ensemble Award; and released the first commercial recording of the Stephan Krehl String Quartet, op. 17 and Clarinet Quintet, op. 19 with clarinetist Wonkak Kim on the Naxos label. A graduate of Williams College and The Juilliard School, Alicia holds a Doctor of Music in violin performance from McGill University Schulich School of Music, where she has been an Instructor of Chamber Music since 2017.

Futaba Niekawa
Known for her verve and sensitivity, Niekawa pushes the boundaries of her artistry as a versatile pianist, chamber musician, and mentor across genres and disciplines. She has performed throughout the United States, Canada, England, Spain, Taiwan, and her native Japan. To date, she has released five recordings encompassing solo, four-hands, duo, and chamber music from classical to newly composed works.

In demand as a collaborative pianist, Niekawa has performed with Atar Arad, James Campbell, Charles Castleman, and members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among others. She has been engaged as a collaborative pianist at the Banff Centre, New England Conservatory, Boston Ballet School, Meadowmount School of Music, the IU Summer String Academy, and the Perlman Music Program. Niekawa is currently a Lecturer in Chamber and Collaborative Music at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. She earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music.

In addition to her Sonata Seminar, her dedication to pedagogy and mentoring is shown through her appearances as a guest teacher at universities across North America, as a performer and presenter at the Regina Chamber Music Festival and Dream Big: Music Out of Bounds conference, and as an adjudicator for the National Society of Arts and Letters. Most recently, Niekawa has been a founding member of Chamberfest Brown County, a community music outreach initiative for the local area.