Clarissa Bevilacqua, violin
Violinist Clarissa Bevilacqua is known to enchant audiences with her dazzling technical skills and deeply inspiring musicality. Her debut album Dream Catcher gained international recognition after being recommended by Gramophone Magazine and The Strad, which hailed her playing as “luminously elevated” and “elegant and nimble.” She debuted at the Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago in front of ten thousand people when she was nine years old, and has since performed solo recitals and concerto engagements at venues throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
Recital: Sunday, January 19 at 5:00pm
Masterclass: Sunday, January 19 from 2:00-4:00pm
Location:
New Music School
900 N Michigan Ave, Level 6, Chicago
IN RECITAL
THE PLAYLIST
A. Beach: Romance
A. R. Thomas: Sun Plaits - Bridges and Links
J. Brahms: Violin Sonata n. 1 in G Major, Op. 78
I. Vivace ma non troppo
II. Adagio
III. Allegro molto moderato
F. Waxman: Carmen Fantasy
Clarissa will be presenting a recital in our very own Concert Hall along with NMS faculty member, Jeffrey Panko - piano. The program will include works by Amy Beach, Johannes Brahms, and the Carmen Fantasy arranged by Franz Waxman. The main feature will be a USA Premiere of NMS Artist Faculty Composition Chair Augusta Reed Thomas’s “Sun Plaits - Bridges and Links.”
The composer describes the work as follows:
“While upholding the independence of the approximately 200 countries on planet Earth, I yearn to collaborate and celebrate the furthering of bridges and links that help to facilitate interdependence. Citizenship is both local and global. Every person has a unique identity. Our shared humanity is precious.
Words that leap to mind when I think of the sun include universal, energy, qi, ripples, vitality, life, spirituality, hope, renewal, radiance, and braids of light. “Plaits”, “bridges”, and “links” all function both as nouns and verbs. The dimensional meanings and images of the combination of the four words propelled the spiraling invention and creation of Sun Plaits — Bridges and Links.”
“Across a 6-minute duration, this composition unfolds a labyrinth of musical interrelationships and connections that showcase the soloist in a joyous, virtuosic display of rhythmic agility, double-stops (playing 2 notes at once), counterpoint, energy, dynamic range, timbre, clarity, and majesty. Throughout the kaleidoscopic journey, the work passes through several lively and lyrical episodes, never losing its sense of radiance, effervescence, and expressiveness. The abundance of double-stops symbolizes “links” while the sparkling, fast-moving lines, which reach in all directions, fly out across the piece like “bridges.” Musical materials are braided in dimensional ways like ‘sun plaits’.” - Augusta Reed Thomas
Recital Tickets
Masterclass Observation
Our Masterclasses are open to observation for NMS and Non-NMS students alike. Any Non-NMS observers will be charge $25 for the experience.
Mini-Residency
About
NMS Mini-Residencies allow students a unique opportunity to work directly with world-class artists in a condensed format. These musicians perform regularly in renowned performance venues, such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, and at Symphony Center in Chicago.
Each mini-residency can provide students with the following: private lesson(s), a masterclass, a performance opportunity, discussion and Q&A with the artist. Students wishing to participate are required to submit an application, found below, listing the work they wish to study during the residency.
Please use the forms below to apply for the Mini-Residency, sign-up to observe the masterclass, or reserve tickets ($15 suggested donation).