UPCOMING PERFORMANCES AT SKOKIE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Evanston Music Club Scholarship Winners Concert

When: Monday, May 20, 2013 - 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Where: Skokie Public Library at Petty Auditorium

Winners of 2013 scholarships perform.

Cellist Ben Lash: Dvorak and Tchaikovsky

When: Friday, May 24, 2013 - 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Skokie Public Library at Petty Auditorium

Cello Concerto in B minor, Opus 104 by Antonín Dvoøák (1841-1904)
I. Allegro
II. Adagio ma non troppo
III. Allegro moderato

Variations on a Rococo Theme by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Thema: Moderato assai quasi andante
Variation I. Tempo della thema
Variation II. Tempo della thema
Variation III. Andante sostenuto
Variation IV. Andante grazioso
Variation V. Allegro moderato
Variation VI. Andante
Variation VII. Allegro vivo

Benjamin Lash began studying cello at the age of six with Dean Bachus and Tanya Carey. In his early teens, as a first place winner of multiple Chicago area competitions, he performed concertos by Saint-Saens, Shostakovich, Hindemith, and Haydn. At age 17, Benjamin performed Bloch’s Schelomo with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Center. More recent concerto performances include Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations and Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major with the Colburn Orchestra. He has performed recitals on the Music in the Loft Series in Chicago and in Texel, Netherlands. Radio broadcasts include two appearances on NPR’s From the Top as well as WFMT’s Introductions. An active chamber musician, his performances include the Mendelssohn Octet with Ani and Ida Kavafian and a radio broadcast of the Mendelssohn Quartet Op. 41, No. 1 on American Public Media Performance Today. Benjamin has participated in summer festivals in the U.S. and Europe including the Sarasota Music Festival, Taos, Aspen, Holland International Music Sessions, and Fortissimo Fest in Sofia, Bulgaria. Benjamin taught in the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) mentorship program for two years and was a Colburn Teaching Fellow. In May 2013, Benjamin graduated from the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles where he studied with Ronald Leonard. In the fall, he will begin graduate studies with Ralph Kirshbaum at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Recent appearances include a Dame Myra Hess Concert series recital at the Chicago Cultural Center broadcast live on WFMT and a performance of the Dvorak Concerto with the Brentwood Symphony Orchestra. This summer Benjamin will be an orchestral fellow at the Aspen Music Festival.

Pianist Matthew Hagle is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory (B.M.) and of Yale University (M.M., M.M.A., D.M.A), where he received prizes in piano, accompanying, and music theory. Currently he is on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago, where he teaches piano and composition and is the head of the Musicianship department. A frequent and noted performer in solo and collaborative/chamber roles, his performances have been heard at the Ravinia Festival's Martin Theater, Symphony Center in Chicago, Chicago Cultural Center, National Gallery of Art, venues in England, Australia, and Japan, and throughout the United States. Mr. Hagle often appears with violinist Rachel Barton Pine, with members of the Chicago Symphony, and with his wife Mio as a piano duo. His teachers include Claude Frank, Robert Weirich, Donald Currier and Maria Curcio Diamand.

Young Steinway Concert: Alexander Campbell, trumpet and Zihan Xiong, piano

When: Sunday, June 02, 2013 - 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Where: Skokie Public Library at Petty Auditorium

Alexander Campbell, a junior at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, studies trumpet with James Davis. He plays first trumpet in his school’s concert and jazz bands and has toured Europe for three weeks with the Blue Lake International Jazz Orchestra.

Pianist Zihan Xiong, a freshman at New Trier High School in Northfield, studies piano with Brenda Huang. She was awarded honorable mention in the 2012 Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Youth Auditions and Sejong Piano Competition Junior Division, among other honors

Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo

When: Sunday, June 09, 2013 - 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Where: Skokie Public Library at Petty Auditorium

Crafted by prudence or forced by circumstances, the Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo will leave your senses burning with uncertainty about all guitar music you may have heard before, with an intense appetite for more.

Wednesdays on the Green: Midwest Dueling Pianos

When: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 - 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Skokie Public Library at Skokie Village Green

Midwest Dueling Pianos create an interactive musical comedy experience that will have you singing, shouting, dancing and laughing
as they perform songs upon request. Bring chairs or a blanket to sit on. In the event of rain, the event will be moved indoors where seating may be limited.

Sing Along the Campfire!

When: Thursday, June 13, 2013 - 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Where: Skokie Public Library at Skokie Village Green

Join us for campfire songs, s'mores and an evening of family fun. Bring your chairs or blankets and join the fun! In the event of rain, the program will be moved indoors.

Marimba Concert: Matthew Coley

When: Sunday, June 16, 2013 - 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Where: Skokie Public Library at Petty Auditorium

Internationally acclaimed marimba virtuoso Matthew Coley has distinguished himself as one of the country’s most versatile percussion artists and educators. He has performed as a soloist and collaborator with orchestras and ensembles throughout the United States and abroad, including the Millennium Chamber Players, San Francisco Sinfonietta, Kurpfalzisches Kammerorchester Mannheim, and Moldavian Philharmonic and Teleradio Symphony Orchestras. Matthew is currently serving as Lecturer in Percussion at Iowa State University.

Released in 2012, Matthew’s second album "Souvenirs" establishes him as one of the most innovative and exciting artists of his kind. T. Adam Blackstock wrote of it in the July 2012 Percussive Notes, “If you are in search of a disc with great recording quality, a high level of performance, and an eclectic collection of tracks, this title should be added to your iTunes wish list. Matthew Coley’s 'Souvenirs' delivers 80 minutes of diverse works for solo marimba, marimba and piano duo, and percussion ensemble.”

In 2012, Matthew was a finalist in the International Web Concert Hall Competition and in 2008, he placed third in the prestigious 5th World Marimba Competition in Stuttgart, Germany. He is the only American ever to place. He also placed third in the 2005 WAMSO/Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition. He was a finalist in the 2004 Houston Symphony Orchestra Ima Hogg Young Artist Competitions, and he won first place in the 2000 Music Teachers National Association Solo Percussion Competition, the 2000 Percussive Arts Society (PAS) Marimba Concerto Competition, and the 1999 Yamaha Young Performing Artist Award.