Evermay Concert Series
Ryuji Ueno Foundation Signature ProductionsMarch 24, 2017 (Fri)
The 6821 Quintet
The 6821 Quintet consists of international artists coming together to fulfill the understanding that music brings disparate cultures together. The group will put on performances during the National Cherry Blossom Festival in March, and will be showcasing their musical artistry at various venues around the DC area.
The 6821 Quintet
March 24, 2017 (Fri)
PROGRAM
Edvard Grieg: "Praeludium" from Holberg Suite Op. 40
Michael Djupstrom: Songs of Spring
(commissioned by and premiered at the 2016 National Cherry Blossom Festival)
Antonín Dvořák: Piano Quintet No. 2, Op. 81 in A major
The 6821 Quintet
Mayu Kishima (1st violin & group leader)
Eric Silberger (2nd violin)
Meng Wang (viola)
Clancy Newman (cello)
Michael Djupstrom (piano)
The 6821 Quintet consists of international artists coming together to fulfill the understanding that music brings disparate cultures together. The group will put on performances during the National Cherry Blossom Festival in March, and will be showcasing their musical artistry at various venues around the DC area.
BIOGRAPHY
Mayu Kishima
Violin
Appointed Visiting Producer
First Prize winner in the First Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition in 2016.
In 2000, she caused a stir in the music world when she took top prize as the youngest-ever Japanese top prizewinner in the Junior Division of the 8th Wieniawski International Competition in Lublin. In 2011 she was awarded First Prize, as well as the David Garrett Award for outstanding musical interpretation in the International Music Competition Cologne.
In June 2004, Kishima performed with the Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Spivakov. Her performance was lauded by a Russian newspaper, which said: "It's no wonder the great Mstislav Rostropovich calls her 'the world's best young violinist.' She awed the audience with her superb technique and mature understanding of the music."
In 2005, Kishima performed with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich (Rome and Madrid, February); the National Symphony (Washington, D.C., May); the London Symphony Orchestra (London, June); and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Munich and other locations, July). She was praised by the influential Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, which said: "She was made known to the world by Rostropovich in the same way that Karajan made Anne-Sofie Mutter famous and Maazel made Hilary Hahn famous."
Kishima has participated in several recordings thus far. On the strong recommendation of Vladimir Ashkenazy, who had become Music Director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, she performed "Tzigane" on Ravel: Orchestral Works. She has also released the solo albums Chaconne and Rise. The recording of her performance at the 2015 Progetto Martha Argerich festival in Lugano was included in the live recording CD Argerich & Friends, released on Warner Music in May 2016.
Currently Kishima is based in Paris and Cologne and performs frequently in Europe. Her recent activities include performances at the Martha Argerich festival in Lugano, and concerts with the Saito Kinen Orchestra and Mito Chamber Orchestra.
Kishima has received instruction from Izumi Hayashi, Kazuyo Togami, Toshiya Eto, Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki, Machie Oguri, Chihiro Kudo and others. She also participated in the Seiji Ozawa Academy in Switzerland in 2008 and 2009. In spring 2012, she graduated with the top grade from the Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne, where she studied with Zakhar Bron. In autumn 2015, she graduated at the top of her class from the graduate school of the Hochschule fur Musik, with all professors awarding her highest grades, and received Germany's national qualification for musicians.
In 2002, Kishima received a fellowship for overseas study from the Japanese Ministry of Culture.
Official website: http://kishimamayu.seesaa.net/
BIOGRAPHY
Eric Silberger
Violin
From prestigious concert halls around the world to an Icelandic volcano, virtuoso violinist Eric Silberger’s performances have been described by critics as “spine-tingling… astonishing” (The Guardian), “dazzling virtuoso playing” (The Washington Post), “impeccable level of playing, a wonderful musician” (The Strad). “... he has got everything in his favour, technique, composure and personality.” (El Pais, Spain). He is a prize winner of the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in 2011.
Eric has collaborated as soloist with the Mariinsky Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Philharmonia, St. Petersburg Philharmonia, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Danish National Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Orquesta Sinfónica de México, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, among others. Conductors Eric has worked with include Lorin Maazel, Valery Gergiev, Michael Tilson Thomas, Dimitri Kitajenko, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Donald Runnicles, Robin Ticciati, and others.
He has appeared at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Louvre in Paris, the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, The Moscow International House of Music in Russia, Shanghai Grand Theatre in China, Royal Festival Hall in London, Seoul Arts Center in Korea, the National Arts Centre in Canada, and more. Among numerous television and radio appearances in the United States, Asia, and Europe, he was featured on Radio France, STV in China, KBS in Korea, and WQXR, WFYI, FOX 59, WISH-TV, and NPR, among others.
2018-19 highlights include performances with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra on tour in Russia, a tour in Spain with the Munich Chamber Orchestra, and a performance with the San Francisco Symphony. Highlights of the 2019-2020 season include performances of Tchaikovsky Concerto in Carnegie Hall, Beethoven Concerto in Alaska and Paganini Concerto No. 1 in Wisconsin, a recital playing the three Brahms Sonatas in Berlin, and a concert tour in South Korea.
Eric received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Columbia University and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. Mentors have included Glenn Dicterow, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, and the late Maestro Lorin Maazel.
Eric plays on a rare J.B. Guadagnini violin made in 1757 on generous loan from the Si Yo Music Society Foundation and Sau-Wing Lam collection. Eric is a co-founder of the Hawaii International Music Festival and Executive Director of Strings at Classical Bridge International Music Festival of New York City.
BIOGRAPHY
Meng Wang
Viola
Violist Meng Wang has established himself as a soloist, an avid chamber musician and a prominent orchestral musician. He has been a member of The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since 2007 and regularly plays with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Prior to this, at age 23, he was hired as the Principal Viola by the Kansas City Symphony.
Deeply committed to chamber music, Mr. Wang has collaborated in chamber settings with distinguished artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Lars Vogt, Sharon Robinson, Chao-Liang Lin, Jaime Laredo, Joseph Silverstein, Pinkas Zukerman, Lang Lang, Barbara Westphal and the pop star Bono. His performances have taken him throughout the United States and his native China, performing at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Library of Congress, Kennedy Center and the Beijing National Theater.
Mr. Wang has performed in many highly respected summer festivals such as the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland, the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, Music Academy of the West and the Sarasota Music Festival. He also appeared as faculty at the International Music Festival in Maine and the Utah Chamber Music Festival. As a Pittsburgh Symphony featured artist and a member of Kansas City Chamber Music Society, his playing has been broadcasted frequently in many public radio stations.
Mr. Wang graduated from The Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with renowned violists Michael Tree, Roberto Diaz and Karen Tuttle. He began his violin studies at the age of 5 in China. After attended the Central Music Conservatory in Beijing, he then moved to the United States where he pursuited viola studies at the New England Conservatory.
Currently Mr. Wang is the principal viola coach for the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra and teaches both viola and chamber music at Carnegie Mellon University School of Music and Duquesne University The Mary Pappert School of Music in Pittsburgh.
BIOGRAPHY
Clancy Newman
Cello
Cellist Clancy Newman, first prize winner of the prestigious Naumburg International Competition and recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, has had the unusual career of a performer/composer. He received his first significant public recognition at the age of twelve, when he won a Gold Medal at the Dandenong Youth Festival in Australia, competing against people twice his age. Since then, he has performed as soloist throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia.
He can often be heard on NPR’s “Performance Today” and has been featured on A&E and PBS. A sought-after chamber musician, he is a member of the Clarosa piano quartet and a former member of Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center and Musicians from Marlboro. As a composer, he has expanded cello technique in ways heretofore thought unimaginable, particularly in his "Pop-Unpopped" project, which been ongoing since 2014. He has also written numerous chamber works and has been a featured composer on series by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Chicago Chamber Musicians. In March 2019, his piano quintet, commissioned by the Ryuji Ueno Foundation, was premiered at the opening ceremony of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC.
Mr. Newman is a graduate of the five-year exchange program between Juilliard and Columbia University, receiving a M.M. from Juilliard and a B.A. in English from Columbia.
Composer
Cellist Clancy Newman, first prize winner of the Naumburg International Competition and recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, has had the unusual career of a performer/composer. He has performed as soloist throughout the U.S., as well as in Europe, Asia, and Australia, and he has been a member of Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center and Musicians from Marlboro, and is a current member of the Clarosa piano quartet. He has been a featured composer on series by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Chicago Chamber Musicians, and his "Pop-Unpopped" solo cello project has expanded cello technique in ways heretofore unimagined. He is a graduate of the five-year exchange program between Columbia University and The Juilliard School. www.clancynewman.com
BIOGRAPHY
Michael Djupstrom
Composer, Piano
Composer and pianist Michael Djupstrom's work captured first prizes in the international composition competitions of the UK’s Delius Society, the American Viola Society, the Chinese Fine Arts Society, and has received awards from prominent institutions including the American Academy of Arts and Letters (Charles Ives Fellowship, Charles Ives Scholarship), Pew Center for Arts & Heritage (Pew Fellowship), New Music USA, S&R Foundation (Grand Prize, Washington Awards), Meet the Composer, American Composers Forum, Music Teachers National Association, Académie musicale de Villecroze, and the Sigurd and Jarmila Rislov Foundation, among many others. In 2017, the MacDowell Colony awarded him one of its prestigious artist residencies for the composition of his String Quartet No. 2.
Recent commissions have come from the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, National Cherry Blossom Festival, Eugene Symphony Orchestra, Santa Rosa Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Great Falls Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Tanglewood Music Center, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program, Music From Angel Fire, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, International Opera Theater, Lyra Society, Lotte Lehmann Foundation, and the Cavatina Duo, among others.
Djupstrom’s music is presented regularly across the USA by ensembles including Network for New Music, Dolce Suono, Lyric Fest, Brooklyn Art Song Society, Music from Copland House, Definiens Project, Sound Ensemble, Dinosaur Annex, Juventas, Sounds New, and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and has been performed and broadcast in the UK, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Romania, Austria, Germany, Canada, South Africa, Chile, Colombia, Taiwan, China, and Japan. In recent seasons, his special interest in Romanian classical music led him to present at the 2017 George Enescu Festival of McGill University and to pursue advanced language study in summer 2019 with the assistance of a Romanian government scholarship. In November 2019, he presented a recital highlighting contemporary Romanian and American works at the annual Meridian Festival in Bucharest.
As a pianist, Djupstrom has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia-based new music ensemble Relâche. His passion for chamber music has led to concerts for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, the British Library, S&R Foundation, Brooklyn Art Song Society, Astral Artists, Yale University, and many other presenting organizations. His festival appearances include Hong Kong’s “Intimacy of Creativity,” Music From Angel Fire, Tanglewood, Brevard, and the Académie musicale de Villecroze; he has performed in major metropolitan cities throughout the world, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Washington DC, Houston, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Paris, London, Madrid, Bucharest, Tokyo, Shenzhen, Montréal, and Aix-en-Provence. He has recorded for American Public Media's popular "Performance Today" radio program, Radio Television Hong Kong's Radio 4, and the Equilibrium, American Modern, and Meyer Media labels.
A committed educator, Djupstrom teaches the composition seminar and is Coordinator of the composition
department at the Curtis Institute of Music. He previously taught at Boston University, the University of Michigan, and Settlement Music School, and has been a guest teacher at Rice University, Westminster Choir College, Montana State University, Rowan University, Shasta Community College, National University of Music of Bucharest, International School of Brussels, Paris Conservatory, and Yichao Music Training Center in Shenzhen, China.
Djupstrom received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, where he studied with composers Bright Sheng, William Bolcom, Susan Botti, Karen Tanaka, and Eric Santos. Djupstrom pursued further studies in Paris with Betsy Jolas, whom he later worked for as assistant. He also holds an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he was a student of Jennifer Higdon and Richard Danielpour. He lives currently in Berlin.
Official website: http://www.michaeldjupstrom.com
Composer
The work of composer and pianist Michael Djupstrom has been recognized through honors and awards from institutions such as the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Chinese Fine Arts Society, and the Académie musicale de Villecroze, among many others. Djupstrom was born in St. Paul, Minnesota (USA) in 1980. He studied composition formally at the University of Michigan and the Curtis Institute of Music. Other training included fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Center and the Aspen Music Festival, as well as studies in Paris with Betsy Jolas. He currently lives in Philadelphia, where he teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music.
Official website: http://www.michaeldjupstrom.com