Masterclass with Guest Artists from the November “Joy & Retrospection” concert

November 1, 2024 | 6:00 PM

Marian Chapel, Marywood University

Ariel Chu and Lillyan Chung, violins

J.S. Bach: Largo from Sonata no. 3 for solo violin, BWV 1005

Sarah Park, violin

W.A. Mozart: String Quartet No. 17 in B-flat major, K. 458, “Hunt” (first movement)

Sarah Park, violin; Lily Romanowski, violin; Claire Choo, viola; Hannah Salesky, cello

J. Haydn: String Quartet Op. 64 No. 4 (first movement)

Hosu Kim, violin; Sua Kim, violin; Aniyah Mendez, viola; Aiden Covell, cello

About the Guest Artists

Arthur Moeller has accompanied the band Vampire Weekend on Saturday Night Live, has toured Europe with The Knights, has toured the U.S. with The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, and plays in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Orchestra.  He is Acting Principal Second Violin of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra and a member of the String Orchestra of New York City.  He has recently appeared as a soloist with Paragon Ragtime and also with the chamber orchestra North/South Consonance.  He has performed chamber music in Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, and the Sculpture Garden at MoMA.  Arthur attended Juilliard, where he studied with Naoko Tanaka, Cho-Liang Lin, and Ronald Copes.  In addition to his career as a violinist, he maintains a professional portrait studio (www.arthurmoeller.com), and has photographed hundreds of New York Fashion Week runway shows.

Amadi Azikiwe, violist, violinist and conductor, has been heard in recital in major cities throughout the United States, such as New York, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Houston, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., including an appearance at the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Azikiwe has also been a guest of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at the Alice Tully Hall in New York, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He has appeared in recital at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, on the “Discovery” recital series in La Jolla, at the International Viola Congress, and at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since then, he has performed throughout Israel, Canada, South America, Central America, India, Switzerland, Nigerian, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout the Caribbean.

As a chamber musician, Azikiwe has appeared in concert with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Chester, Miro, St. Lawrence, Anderson, Arianna, Lydian, Harrington and Corigliano quartets, as well as the Felici Piano Trio and Kandinsky Piano Trio. He was also a member of the Concertante Chamber Players, and is a former member of the Ritz Chamber Players. Among Mr. Azikiwe’s prizes and awards are those from Concert Artists Guild, the North Carolina Symphony, the National Society of Arts and Letters, and the Epstein Young Artists Award from the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, with whom he still maintains a strong artistic and mentoring association.

Mr. Azikiwe was previously the conductor of the Old Dominion University Chamber Orchestra and the Atlanta University Center Orchestra. He was also a visiting faculty member of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and taught at University of Maryland Baltimore County and James Madison University. Currently, he is Music Director of the Harlem Symphony Orchestra, a member of the Pressenda Chamber Players, and Community Engagement Director of the Harlem Chamber Players. He has guest conducted for the Intercollegiate Music Association, at the Gateways Music Festival, and the Trinity Opera Company. Mr. Azikiwe has appeared as artist faculty at the Brevard Music Center, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Killington Music Festival, Mammoth Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Yachats Music Festival, and the Aria International Academy in London, Ontario.

As an orchestral musician, he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, principal violist of the SHIRA Jerusalem International Symphony Orchestra, and as guest principal violist of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. He has performed under the baton of conductors Lorin Maazel, James DePriest, Christoph Eschenbach, Gerard Schwarz, Marek Janowski, Leonard Slatkin, Seiji Ozawa, Michael Morgan, Pinchas Zukerman, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Sixten Ehrling, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Charles Dutoit, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kurt Masur, and Leonard Bernstein.

A native of New York City, Amadi Azikiwe was born in 1969. After early studies with his mother, he began his formal training at the North Carolina School of the Arts as a student of Sally Peck. He continued his studies at the New England Conservatory with Marcus Thompson and conductor Pascal Verrot, receiving his Bachelor’s degree. Mr. Azikiwe was also awarded the Performer’s Certificate from Indiana University, where he served as an Associate Instructor, and received his Master’s Degree in 1994 as a student of Atar Arad. You may find out more on his website www.amadiazikiwe.com.

Cellist Erin Ellis leads a versatile career as a performer and teacher. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician across the United States as well as in Germany, Canada, Chile, Italy, and Holland. Her CD recording of J. Dall’Abaco’s 11 Capricci for solo cello was recently released on Albany Records, with reviews noting “flawless” technique and “a fresh approach.” She is featured on several other albums, including the recently released Duruflé Requiem with the Georgia State University Choirs. Dr. Ellis is also an accomplished baroque cellist and has appeared with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Indy Baroque Orchestra, and with members of Chatham Baroque.

A dedicated music educator, she maintains an active private studio and is Associate Professor of Cello at West Virginia University, where she teaches cello, coaches WVU’s graduate string quartet (Montani Quartet), and coordinates the string chamber music program. Her students have received recognition at the MTNA Chamber Music Competition, have been Teaching Fellows at Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, and have been awarded first prize for Collaborative Faculty Student Mentored Research at WVU. Her students have also been accepted to prestigious organizations such as Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Brevard Summer Music Festival, Sewanee Summer Music Program (as an Orchestral Fellow), Carnegie Hall’s NYO2 program, and Interlochen Academy of the Arts boarding school. Recent graduates have received graduate assistantships and significant stipends for continued study, including a fellowship at the Kennedy Center. Several of her students have received scholarships for Suzuki Cello Teacher Training and are influential teachers in the region and abroad.

Dr. Ellis is a regular presenter at professional conferences, including the College Music Society’s National Conference, the WVMEA Conference, the PMEA/NAfME Eastern Division Conference, and the American String Teacher’s Association National Conference. She spends her summers in Leicester, VT, performing and coaching chamber music at Point CounterPoint Chamber Music Camp.