Folk Fire

​Casual Concert: September 15th, 2024 @ 7 PM
Avoca Coffee Roasters (Foch St. Store), Fort Worth

Salon Concert: September 16th, 2024 @ 7:30 PM
Private Home (near TCU), Fort Worth
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Throughout the history of classical music, composers have found a surprising amount of inspiration in simple folk tunes. There is something about the directness of expression and structure, combined with a visceral connection to culture and humanity, that allow these melodies to persevere and inspire. Join us for a program filled with chamber music masterpieces by three composers who honored and elevated folk music to a degree that kept this tradition alive through the Romantic Era and into Modernity. 

The Casual Concert on September 15th at 7 PM will be held at Avoca Coffee Roasters (Foch St.). Doors open at 6:30 PM, with hand-crafted coffee and snacks available for purchase. Sip on perfection while enjoying high-level classical music in a laid-back environment! Tickets are $25 for adults and $5 for students. ​​

Our Salon Concert on October 16th at 7:30 PM will be presented at a beautiful private home in Fort Worth. The concert includes a complimentary pre-concert reception with refreshments and hors d’oeuvre. Enjoy this wonderful chamber music concert played by outstanding artists in a private atmosphere. Share the moment with fellow music lovers and artists. Tickets are $70 per person.  
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Program
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Antonín Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96, “American”, 2nd movement 
Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56
Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115

Musicians
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Ke Mai (a.k.a. MaiKe) is originally from China and began violin study at age four under his father’s influence. 

Before he joined the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in 2018, he was violinist of Dallas Opera Orchestra and the second violin principal of Des Moines Metro Opera.
 
MaiKe studied the art of violin playing with former Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony, Emanuel Borok and received the Performance Diploma from SMU, Meadows School of Art in 2014.

After Maike acquired Masters and Bachelor degrees in Violin performance in the National Music Academy of Ukraine in 2007，he won the position of the first violin of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine. In 2011, after a global online audition, MaiKe was selected as Principal Second Violinist for the 2011 YouTube Symphony Orchestra in Sydney, Australia, 

As an active chamber music musician, Maike is the founding member of Cezanne Quartet, which was awarded the Peak chamber music fellowship in Meadows school in SMU in 2014 and won the second prize in the Coltman chamber music competition in Austin in 2015.

Maike plays a rare fine violin made by Carl Becker in 1919.
Nikayla Kim joined the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in the summer of 2023. She began her studies in violin at the age of 6 in South Korea, where she won accolades in competitions such as the Nanpa National Music Concours, The Journal of Music Concours, and the Korean National Concours of Culture and Art. After moving to Pennsylvania, she attended the Juilliard Pre-College Division in 2015. She is also a former prize winner of the Juilliard Pre-College Violin Concerto Competition and the Kenneth Symphony Competition.
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As an active chamber musician, Ms. Kim has been featured in masterclasses conducted by the Emerson and Aizuri Quartets. During her studies at Juilliard, she was selected as a member of the Juilliard Honors Chamber Program and won the WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition. She had the privilege of learning chamber music from esteemed musicians including Samuel Rhodes, Laurie Smukler, Natasha Brofsky, Roger Tapping, Darrett Adkins, Jerome Lowenthal, and Janet Sung.
Nikayla graduated from the Juilliard School with a Bachelor's Degree, studying under the guidance of Masao Kawasaki. She recently completed her Master’s Degree at DePaul University School of Music, graduating under the tutelage of I-Hao Lee, and also served as a graduate assistant during her time there.
Ukrainian violinist Anna Kolotylina is a graduate of The Colburn School (Los Angeles), Lviv National Music Academy (Ukraine), and the International Menuhin Music Academy (Switzerland). Her otherworldly musicianship sent her performing throughout Europe and USA ultimately landing her in Fort Worth where she is currently Associate Principal Viola in the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

Anna has collaborated and shared a stage with world-known musicians like Alberto Lysy, Maxim Vengerov, Jeremy Menuhin, Michaela Martin, Frans Helmerson, Liviu Prunaru, Ebene Quartet, Kodaly Quartet, Tokyo Quartet, and the Guarneri Quartet. Her previous positions include Bern Symphony Orchestra, Berbier Festival Orchestra, Camerata Menuhin, and the Oregon Symphony Orchestra. Notable performances include the South Bay Chamber Music Society, Music at the Main, Colburn Chamber Music Society, and the Verbier and Menuhin Festivals.
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She extends her gratitude to her Viola mentors, Ettore Causa, Nobuko Imai, and Paul Coletti.
Praised for her “impressive artistry” and “wonderful bowing technique” (San Francisco Classical Voice), French cellist Juliette Herlin has performed throughout Europe, the U.S., and Asia. As a soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist, she has appeared in prestigious venues such as the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Musée du Louvre, and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Alice Tully Hall in New York, and the Zhuhai and Chongqing Grand Theaters in China. Juliette is the cellist of the Aletheia Piano Trio alongside pianist Fei-Fei and violinist Francesca dePasquale. The Trio has presented recitals in series such as the Shenson Chamber Music Concerts (D.C.), Friends of Chamber Music (PA), Chamber Music Society of Logan (UT), Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach (FL), and the Busan Maru International Music Festival (Busan, Korea), which included Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the Gustav Mahler Orchestra. Juliette is Assistant Professor of Cello at TCU School of Music. She has been invited to give masterclasses at Oberlin Conservatory, University of Michigan, University of North Texas, Utah State University, Baylor, and University of Houston. Her performances are frequently featured on NPR’s Performance Today, WFMT, KUSC, and France Musique, France’s main classical music station. Juliette studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, the Juilliard School, and the University of Southern California.
 An "eloquent" clarinetist with "incredible artistry” Russian-born Stas Chernyshev has established a versatile career as an orchestral musician, soloist, chamber musician, and educator (Dallas Morning News, Theater Jones). Principal clarinetist of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Chernyshev has performed at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall in New York, Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as in Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Russia, South Korea and Japan. A devoted chamber musician, Mr. Chernyshev has collaborated with Grammy-winning ensembles Eighth Blackbird and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, commissioned new works for his instrument. He has been featured on WQXR -New York’s classical music station and WHYY’s television program - On Stage at Curtis. He is the founder and artistic director of Fort Worth Performances for Autism, and a co-founder of Opus Nova Chamber Music Series. Mr. Chernyshev holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and a Master’s degree from St. Petersburg Conservatory. 
Ann Hung, born in Taipei, Taiwan, began her musical studies at a young age, starting with piano at age five and clarinet at age nine. Dr. Hung is an active performer in the Dallas and Fort Worth area who regularly performs in the realms of both the orchestral and chamber music. She has shared the stage with the Fort Worth Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the faculty of the Juilliard School. Dr. Hung is always pushing the boundaries of her repertoire and skills, such as collaborating with jazz musicians and commissioning new composers. As a proponent of new music, she has avidlycommissioned new works including a wind quintet with her quintet Opus Now premiering in Symphony Space in NYC. One of the new works that Dr. Hung commissioned is included in a recently released album “Stained Glass Story” by Eldad Tarmu. Dr. Hung is currently teaching in Lewisville ISD, Burleson ISD as private lesson instructor and often plays with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. She is the associate director of the Fort Worth Performances for Autism and co- founder of Opus Nova Chamber Music Series.
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