Concert Program:
FAURÉ Piano Trio in D minor, op. 120
DEBUSSY Selection of Preludes and other solo piano favorites
RAVEL Piano Trio in A minor
Musicians:
Eleanor Bartsch, violin
Kerena Fox, cello
Peter Henderson, piano
Details:
Musicians of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra Present “Impressionism: An Afternoon of French Chamber Music for Piano and Strings.
French Impressionism evokes images of delightfully painted Parisian cityscapes and the rural settings of the French countryside. Similarly, the extraordinary musicians of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra bring you the sweet sounds of French chamber music, featuring the Ravel Piano Trio plus a selection of Preludes and other solo piano favorites by Debussy, including “Clair de lune.” The intimacy of the White House ballroom is the perfect setting for this concert!
NOTE: Students 18 and under FREE with paid adult admission. This event is entirely in-person. No virtual tickets are available. If you are having trouble purchasing tickets, please contact culturalevents@barringtonswhitehouse.com or 224-512-4066.
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Hailed for her “clarion tone and technical aplomb” (Chicago Classical Review), Chicago-based violinist Eleanor Bartsch enjoys a diverse and vibrant career as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, concertmaster, soloist, educator, concert curator, arts administrator, and entrepreneur. She is Associate Concertmaster of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, a performing member of the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra (where she also serves on the Board of Directors), and first violinist of the critically acclaimed Kontras Quartet. She has served as Concertmaster of the Chicago Philharmonic, Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theater Orchestra, and many others. Bartsch is co-founder of Madison, Wisconsin’s Willy Street Chamber Players, an award-winning chamber ensemble with an emphasis on creating community through classical music. She is a frequent performer at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Joffrey Ballet.
As a soloist she has concertized with the Chicago Philharmonic (Bach Concerto for Two Violins with the Miami City Ballet, 2019), the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Sinfonia, and others. Solo highlights of the 2022-2023 season include Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy” with the Middleton Community Orchestra and the world premiere of Laura Schwendinger’s “Nightingales” for two violins and orchestra in consortium with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra and UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra.
An avid chamber musician, Bartsch has served as first violinist of the Kontras Quartet since 2018. Artists in Residence at Western Michigan University from 2018-2020 and Art of Elan in San Diego, CA from 2018-2022, the group concertizes extensively throughout the Chicagoland area and beyond, frequently performing live on Chicago Classical WFMT 98.7. The Kontras Quartet enjoys an ongoing collaboration with the bluegrass ensemble, the Kruger Brothers, performing a wide array of classical/bluegrass crossover chamber works and touring throughout the United States. The pairing's next album collaboration, "The Moonshine Sonata" is due for release in 2023 on Double Time Records. In 2023, the Kontras Quartet will release its first full-length album with Bartsch as a member. Bartsch has concertized with Eighth Blackbird, the Spektral Quartet, the Pro Arte Quartet, and many others.
A sought-after orchestral performer, Bartsch was Concertmaster of the Dubuque Symphony from 2016-2023. She has performed frequently with the Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Grant Park Orchestra, and the Knights.
Bartsch is professor of violin at Elmhurst University. She enjoys coaching and mentoring a combination of advanced high-school-aged students and adult learners in the intensive week-long summer Kontras Quartet Workshop- a division of the Virginia Suzuki Institute. She is currently on the faculty of the Barrington Music Academy, maintains a home studio, and has been a guest clinician at institutions throughout the United States including the University of Wisconsin-Madison, San Diego State University, the University of Chicago, Western Michigan University, and others.
Bartsch began her violin studies at the age of 4 in her hometown of St. Paul, MN at the Northern Lights School for Strings where she studied with Ellen Kim and went on to study with Young-Nam Kim. She received her master’s degree in violin performance with a certificate in business entrepreneurship from the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the tutelage of David Perry and Felicia Moye as a Paul Collins Distinguished Graduate Fellow. Bartsch also received her bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison, during which she spent her summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School studying with Paul Kantor, was a tenured member of both the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and frequently performed live on Wisconsin Public Radio.
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British-born cellist Kerena Fox is an active member of the Moeller Cello and Guitar Duo with guitarist Paul Moeller. Together, they concertize throughout the United States, England and Italy. They were two-time winners of the Baltimore Chamber Music Awards Competition, and were guest artists and judges of the International Guitar Competition in Lagonegro, Italy. Their CD, “My Better Half,” features cello and guitar duets ranging from Baroque to Blues. The Moeller Duo were featured artists on Maryland Public Television’s “Artworks”.
Kerena is a member of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Rockford Symphony and Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra as well as playing with many other groups in the Chicago area, including the Chicago Opera Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Kerena joined the teaching faculty of the Music Academy in Rockford and the Elgin Community College in 2009. A certified Suzuki instructor, she maintains an active teaching studio at her home.
She has performed with many orchestras including Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra (as principal), Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra and was the assistant principal cellist in the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra. While living in Baltimore, Kerena joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for tours of Europe and Japan, as well as playing on their CD of John Corigliano’s Red Violin Concerto with Joshua Bell.
Kerena has been the recipient of several awards including the Royal Northern College of Music Concerto Competition, resulting in two solo performances of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Royal Northern College of Music Chamber Orchestra. During her final year at the Eastman School of Music, Kerena held the position of Teaching Assistant to Steven Doane. She has played in masterclasses with Steven Isserlis and Ralph Kirshbaum, both at college in England and at IMS Prussia Cove, and with Janos Starker and Ronald Leonard in the United States.
Kerena received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music from the Royal Northern College of Music and a Master’s Degree in Music Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music. Kerena also received an Associate of the Royal College of Music in London England for post-graduate solo studies and a Graduate Performance Diploma from Peabody Conservatory of Music.
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A versatile pianist, Peter Henderson is active as a performer in solo, chamber and orchestral settings. Henderson is currently Associate Professor of Music and Artist-in-Residence at Maryville University, where he has served on the faculty since 2005. In 2015, Henderson was appointed Principal Keyboardist of the Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra.
During January and February 2016, Henderson was the piano soloist in the SLSO’s California tour performances of Olivier Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux étoiles… (From the Canyons to the Stars…) . Critics described him as a “powerhouse soloist” (San Francisco Chronicle) and praised his Messiaen playing for its “intense focus and thrilling vibrancy” (San Jose Mercury News). A frequent ensemble keyboardist with the SLSO, Henderson also often delivers pre-concert lectures, introducing SLSO subscription concert programs from Powell Hall’s stage.
Henderson’s discography includes collaborations with violinist David Halen, flutist Mark Sparks, bass trombonist Gerry Pagano, violist Jonathan Vinocour, and soprano Marlissa Hudson. His most recent solo album is A Celebration of African Composers for Piano (AMP AGCD 2706, released 2017). In addition to his teaching and performing activities, Henderson occasionally composes music and works as a recording producer. His composition for trombone and piano entitled Rückblick (Looking Back) appears on Gerry Pagano’s album Solitude, released December 2018.
Henderson is an advocate of new music, having given several premieres of solo piano and chamber works. He enjoys performing solo recitals exploring focused repertoire: during the 2011-12 season, he performed the thirty-two piano sonatas of Beethoven; in November and December 2012, he presented the complete piano works of Debussy; and in November 2013, he played Chopin’s twenty-seven études in a single concert.
Henderson holds the degree Doctor of Music from Indiana University, Bloomington, where his main piano instructor was Dr. Karen Shaw; he has also studied with Dr. Jay Mauchley at the University of Idaho. He and his wife Kristin Ahlstrom, the SLSO’s Associate Principal Second Violinist, live in Saint Louis with their lively, sweet beagle/terrier-mix, Zinni.