Category: Classical music

         Born and raised in Boston, Jackiw made his debut at age 12 with the Boston Pops and since then the list of major orchestras where he has performed just keeps growing.  Last week, he was with the Cleveland Orchestra performing Britten and during the summer he was featured with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall. So it appears that his career is moving ahead quite well. But he was still looking for something more.

“In summer 2015, I was paired with Jay the cellist in a chamber music tour of South Korea.  I clicked with him as a person and loved his playing.  Later back in New York we said let’s find a pianist and see how it goes,” Jackiw said. 

They reached out to Tao via Facebook.  Soon after, the nascent trio gathered to read some Mendelssohn and Mozart and things continued from there.  Jackiw says the name “Junction” was chosen because it represents roads coming together and parting and that speaks to how each member continues on his own career path. 

Jackiw finds membership in a trio a more comfortable fit than taking a permanent seat in a string quartet.  In a trio the distinct character of each instrument is an inherent asset while members of a quartet strive for a sound that is cohesive, as if one voice.  “More strings means the work is more delicate, more finicky.  It’s difficult for a quartet to sound good and still be part time,” he says.

The violinist makes a point that part-time chamber groups aren’t the same as what might be called drive-by super groups.  When big stars come together for some kind of gala event and play with little rehearsal, the result can be flashy but also shallow or “half baked” as Jackiw puts it.  In contrast, Junction has had 15 bookings during 2022, mostly focusing on the same repertoire, thus assuring that they’re offering well considered and honed performances. After the recital in Schenectady they’ll finish up the year with a sold-out concert in Washington at the Phillips Collection. 

“We have different aesthetics and ideas, but our priorities are aligned,” Jackiw said.  “We all want the same thing — to present these pieces in as convincing way as possible.”  

When the Junction members return to their independent paths, they do diverge.  Tao has a solid track record as a pianist, including opening the 2017 SPAC season of the Philadelphia Orchestra as soloist in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1.  But he’s equally known as a composer. Among other projects, he’s written a concerto for Jackiw and a trio for Junction plus works that he plays in solo recitals.  Campbell, the cellist, is even more immersed in new music as a member of the Jack Quartet, which since its founding in 2005 has earned wide acclaim for its exclusive focus on new work.  Among Campbell’s solo projects are two discs of music by John Zorn.

Speaking of John Zorn, contemporary music has had an increasing presence in the annual seasons of Capital Region Classical, but spotting the name Zorn on this year’s calendar was still a surprise.  Though he’s 69 years old, Zorn can still be considered a renegade.  He rose to prominence in the late 1980s from the downtown scene of Manhattan where he played clarinet with cats from the jazz world and wrote strident pieces for more conventional forces like the Kronos Quartet. A rare solo recital by Zorn in 2013 at EMPAC was a blistering tour de force that the composer later released on disc (“The Classic Guide To Strategy, Vol. 4”).

“Ghosts” is the six-minute Zorn work that Junction will perform. According to Jackiw, it’s based on the first four bars of Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D major, Op.70 No.1 “Ghost.”  He describes it as “highly kinetic and agitated, with lots of play with texture that creates an ethereal spectral sound world.”

The real surprise comes when Jackiw explains that venues around the country have been far more resistant about music of Charles Ives rather than something by Zorn.  Both composers wrote music with a stiff spine and a certain attitude.  For Ives it might be called “cantankerous,” where with Zorn it’s “in your face.”  As to the appeal of one but not the other, Jackiw said, “the Zorn is short and has an evocative title that seems innocent.  Ives is 30-minutes long, not programmatic, with no catchy title.”

Capital Region audiences have already been well indoctrinated in Ivesian by pianist Jeremy Denk, who’s performed each of Ives’ two piano sonatas on different programs at Union over the last decade or so.  Also, Jackiw joined Denk in March 2019 for a program dedicated entirely to Ives’ four sonatas for violin and piano.  For fans of American music, all of these were special occasions and the Trio should also prove memorable. 

“The scherzo’s title is ‘TSIJ’ for ‘This scherzo is a joke’ and it’s extremely rowdy with all kinds of music influences—marching bands, honkytonk, and church hymns.  The final movement is this nostalgic reverie.  He was a thorny modernist but also deeply romantic like Brahms,” Jackiw said.

Rounding out the program is the beloved Ravel Trio which was completed in 1915, almost the exact time frame as the Ives. “There’s this kinship with the slow movement of the Ives,” the violinist said. “Ravel is speaking of memory and nostalgia and looking backward.  The piece may be the most opulent in creative writing for the trio.”

Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy.

Krutarth Shitut came to Windsor, Ont., for a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, but it’s his tabla performances that are getting him noticed.

The tabla is a pair of hand drums from South Asia, known for its distinct bell-like tones and bass strokes. The sound is considered essential when it comes Indian classical music.

But it’s Shitut’s impressive abilities to fuse the sound with some of pop music’s biggest hits that’s gaining him attention in the city. 

“When I moved here, I was very much, you know, depressed in in the beginning, because everyone has homesickness when one is away from home, so at that time, when I was practicing music,” Shitut, who is originally from Gujarat, India, told CBC News.

“It actually kept me away from all those negative feelings, and it also gave me a new personality here as a tabla player, so I feel very nice.”

Shitut said he began playing the instrument when he was about seven years old, and says he was hesitant to bring the tabla with him to Canada for fear it would take up too much space. He did it anyway, since he loves it so much. 

Soon after being in Canada, he started to be asked to play at restaurants, weddings and for private lessons. 

“It was just a blessing,” he said. 

As for what Shitut plays along to, he says he started choosing mainstream music in 2016 and has fun playing along with popular songs. 

“It’s actually free-styling,” said Shitut.

“I have been playing for a number of years so it’s actually listening to the song and playing at random so even I don’t know what I’m playing but it kind of goes with the song.”

© Provided by The Financial Express
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Sarod maestro

At the recently concluded 26th edition of the Parampara Series: The National Festival of Music and Dance held at Natya Tarangini in the national capital, sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan mesmerised the audience with his soulful music. We spoke with him about the state of Indian classical music. Edited excerpts from an interview:

You’re among the few prominent sarod artistes in India, also the pioneers of classical Indian music. Do you see your legacy being carried forward by upcoming sarod players in India? Do your grandchildren, too, show an interest towards the musical instrument?Covid has done lot of damage to the entertainment world but during the time the schools were closed, (my son) Ayaan (Ali Khan) started teaching Abeer and Zohaan, my grandchildren, and by the grace of God, both of them have shown a lot of interest. They are ready to practise for 2-3 hours a day. With great humility, I would like to mention that anybody playing sarod today, directly or indirectly, belongs to our gharana, which is known as Senia Beenkar gharana.

How do you define the present state of Indian music? Indian classical music and instruments seem to have lost their popularity in times of fast music, and remixes. Your thoughts on the same?Classical music was never popular. Certain musicians became popular and trendsetters. We are proud of Pandit Ravi Shankar and his contribution all over the world in introducing our music to the western world. So, there’s no fear of classical music becoming unpopular because it was never popular. There are thousands of classical musicians—vocalists and instrumentalists, but if you look back historically, very few musicians became popular and now through YouTube you can hear them and, thanks to Google, you can find out about their background. Besides my father Ustad Haafiz Ali Khan saab, there were few more ancestors like Ustad Murrad Ali Khan saab and Ustad Ashgar Ali Khan saab who were court musicians in Raj Darbhanga (part of the Mithila region, now between India and Nepal) and they produced a lot of disciples including Ahmad Ali Khan of Rampur and Pandit Radhika Mohan Mitra. So, it all depends on the musicians —how and what they present. If people find their music appealing, they become famous.

There are very few sarod artistes in India today. Do you think the government is doing enough to promote it? What measures can be taken to preserve and promote Indian classical music and instrument playing? What financial aid/ measures must be given to musical schools in India to promote the same?We don’t expect it from the government. They are doing enough in whatever ways they have decided to contribute. The government never created the musicians; so, we never waited for government encouragement. In my younger days, I had to practise every musician who became popular and successful. That’s entirely because of their parishram, saadhna, riyaz and determination. Earlier, All India Radio (AIR) was the guru for so many young musicians. Youngsters today are in a very advantageous situation. They could earlier listen to great masters on long playing records, CDs, and now on videos. I am very happy to realise that there are about 500 sarod players all over the world. There’s a sarod player in every country. The young generation is interested in classical music, and I have witnessed how Amaan and Ayaan have been receiving blessings. Indian classical music is the identity of our country. It cannot be promoted. Classical music grows on you.

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You like it, or you dislike it, my advice to youngsters is to listen to all kinds of music. I don’t only endorse Indian classical but listen to folk, western classical as well. Every human being is born with sound and rhythm— the heartbeat is an indication of rhythm, conversation, recitation, chanting, singing is all part of music.

Do you see an interest in the present generation in classical music or is it limited to a certain section of fans and certain cultural events?Whoever likes music, be it western, Indian or south Indian classical music, they go and learn from their guru or some institution. Yes, there’s a lot of interest in the present generation. I have been doing residencies in Stanford University, Indiana University and The University of Chicago and have observed a great interest among students to learn music.

Live concerts and music festivals have helped in preserving and popularising Indian classical music. Do you think such fests play an important role and must be held more frequently?Music festivals have been a very important feature in our culture. I still remember in the late 1950s and 60s, there used to be at least 25 music festivals in Kolkata. It does give a chance to a common person to attend and listen to great masters but lately it is becoming difficult for organisers to organise fests because the prices of auditoriums have become very high. To organise a fest with famous musicians is a very expensive exercise.

Digital instruments are being increasingly used to produce sounds of classical instruments; will it lead to a decline in instrument playing?Every instrument is limited. For instance, veena is a very ancient instrument but south Indian veena or rudra veena has a very limited sound, they are very sensitive, so I have seen a lot of veena players in the south have electric connections to make the sound louder, they have used all kinds of digital electronic gadgets. And there’s nothing wrong with it. Many sitar players or sarod players have used digital electronic gadgets but whether it is digital or a normal instrument, the music has to be appealing, only then will people listen to it.

Are you working on any new renditions in the coming year?Rock and roll star Joe Walsh and I have come together with a three-song EP named Prayers as a tribute to doctors, frontline workers and for everyone who is going through these trying times. It’s a wonderful project where the east meets west with an idea to bring the spirit of sharing the great unique treasures of their own artistic traditions, as well as finding common ground at both the cellular and cosmic levels of two musical traditions, which are often held to be radically different. I am also currently a visiting professor at the University of Chicago. My latest release last month was Music for Hope with the Chinese pipa star Wu Man.

VARANASI, (IANS) – The setting could not have been better. The aesthetic Guleria Kothi on the ghat in Varanasi. The balmy afternoon sun… Just before the performance, there was a buzz among those who had come to attend the recent Mahindra Kabira Festival presented by Teamwork — ‘Did you get a chance to listen to her album ‘Home’?’

Carnatic vocalist Sushma Soma’s performances do complete justice to expectations, her vocals carrying everyone smoothly to an otherworldly space.

Soma, born in India, who grew up in Singapore was four years old when she started learning music at the insistence of her parents who wanted her ‘connected’ to her roots. She may not have been very enthusiastic at that point in time, but things changed — slowly but surely — especially after she spent half a year in Chennai, under the tutorage of Lalitha Shivakumar and now RK Shriramkumar.

For her, classical space can amplify contemporary issues and concerns — like the piece ‘The Elephant’s Funeral’ which emerged after a pregnant elephant was fed a fruit packed with firecrackers.

Although admitting that it is not easy for a youngster not from a family of musicians to mark in the classical music world, the vocalist says her journey has taught her it is not just about classes but also about being in an environment that nurtures that side of an individual.

“That kind of home is extremely important. While that was not there, my parents enjoyed music. Yes, the nurturing part of it is tough, you need ‘that’ push. And I acknowledge the privilege that I grew up with,” Soma says.

“All for collaborations, she feels the same help people as her to witness music from multiple lenses — what purpose is it serving and the connection it creates. And I want to explore the values of different music. It has been an interesting experience. Mostly, I have only worked with classical musicians and now it is with other genres too. It is important to ask — what is it doing to the music, what flavor is it creating? It can be fascinating for me to observe how I have created different narratives with different musicians and styles and conversations about this as well,” says the artiste, who was awarded the ‘Young Artist Award’, the highest honor for young art practitioners by The National Arts Council, Singapore, in December 2020.

Considering the fact government supports for arts in Singapore is “fantastic”, she attributes her growth to that fact. “The initial funding came from the council that supported the album. I think they recognize artists, and that art needs to grow. While I am not able to comment on the government support in India as I did not grow up here, it is important that every government extends support to the arts. Not everyone grows up in privileged households. You also start thinking about music as a career only if can support the family. Of course, money is not the only thing, but let us acknowledge that the same gives you the freedom to follow your passion. The state must recognize talent and how they can help the person grow.”

Stressing that corporates have a major role to play too, the vocalist adds that there needs to be an evolved ecosystem where private players, as they do abroad, also contribute.

“Spending on art and culture is a way of giving back to society.”

When she was in Singapore, Shoma saw her gurus once or twice a week, but things changed in 2005 when she came to India to learn.

“I would even eat lunch with her, it was not an hourly contract, and we were a part of each other’s lives. My current mentor welcomes me in the same way and it’s very sacred, we disagree and agree. There has always been a space for those conversations, to grow and learn and as well. Yes, I have read accounts of harassment. I hope there’s a space for people to get out when it is not healthy,” she concludes.

Although many of the Christmas songs (‘Les chants de Noël’) that we know in English have been translated into French – some French children even think that Jingle Bells was originally a French song – France has many popular Christmas carols and songs of its own.

Here are eight of our favourites.

Best French Christmas songs

‘Petit Papa Noël’ (‘Little Father Christmas’)

This song was made famous by the French singer Tino Rossi, who performed it in Richard Pottier’s film Destins in 1946. The original words – by Xavier Lermercier – described a young boy’s prayer to Father Christmas asking for his father, who was a prisoner of war in Germany, to come home.
But the lyricist Raymond Vincy later rewrote them, moving all allusion to the war. Since then it has become possibly the most popular secular hymn in France, sung by children all over the country.

‘C’est Noël’ (‘It’s Christmas)

The composer Henri Batti allegedly wrote this touching and cosy song for the first Christmas he spent with his baby daughter in 1950. Switching between a modern celebration of Christmas and a retelling of the Nativity, it was meant to be one of four songs sung by the French actor and singer Fernandel in the 1956 film Honoré de Marseille. But it was cut in the editing, and in the end only appeared in a recording released the same year.

‘Entre le boeuf et l’âne gris’ (‘Between the Ox and Grey Donkey’)

Dating back at least as far as the 16th century, and possibly the 13th century, ‘Entre le boeuf et l’âne gris’ (‘between the ox and grey donkey’) is one of the oldest French carols that is still sung today. Simple but beautiful, the lyrics refer to the animals surrounding Jesus’s manger, whose breath, according to popular tales, would have warmed the newborn

‘La Noël de la Rue’ (‘Christmas in the Street’)

The legendary chanteuse Édith Piaf, whose life was marred by illness, injury, disappointed love and addiction, was not known for writing Christmas songs. And this rare example, recorded in 1951, does not exactly deliver festive cheer: ‘The light and the joy are behind the windows,’ go the lyrics, ‘Not for you, not for me. It is for your neighbour.’ But it is beautifully poignant.

5. ‘Noël à Paris’ (‘Christmas in Paris’)

Charles Aznavour, the famous French-Armenian singer descended from the cook of Tsar Nicholas II, sang this nostalgic Christmas song on his 1978 album ‘Un enfant est né (A Child is Born)’. His warm, gravelly voice – not for nothing was he often described as the French Frank Sinatra – was a perfect fit for it.

‘Il est né le divin enfant’ (‘The Divine Infant is Born’)

This popular Catholic carol is about the birth of Jesus and the 4000-year wait for the event as foretold by the prophets. It was first published in 1874 and has since been interpreted many times by artists including Édith Piaf, Annie Lennox and Placido Domingo.

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‘Noël au bout du monde’ (‘Christmas at the End of the World’)

This charming children’s song is one of many written by the late French singer-songwriter Anne Sylvestre, who appeared several times on the French television show Discorama in the ’60s. It tells of the people around the world who celebrate Christmas in their own way, with a special shout out to those who put tinsel on banana trees.

8. ‘Venez divin Messie’ (‘O Come, Divine Messiah’)

The melody to this French advent Christmas song was taken from ‘Laissez paître vos bestes’ (‘Let your animals graze’), a 16^th century French Christmas hymn. In this version, however, the original lyrics were changed with all references to Heaven and Hell removed to conform to Progressivism.

Photo: Roman Eisele

© Provided by Vancouver Sun
The Vancouver Chamber Choir hosts a November extravaganza.

A Choral Feast

When: 2:30 p.m., Nov. 27

Where: Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver

Info and tickets: vancouverchamberchoir.com

The Vancouver Chamber Choir has assembled a remarkable new event for this waning year’s choral calendar, a multi-choir extravaganza featuring a half dozen ensembles singing in the Orpheum.

The idea for a grand choral get-together has been in the works for over a year, initially a somewhat dreamy notion of what might be possible when musical life established some sort of normalcy.

“VCC artistic director Kari Turunen and I came up with the notion well over a year ago, when it was just wishful thinking: Why don’t we do something choral and invite as many of our friends as we can?” said executive director Steven Bélanger.

As months passed, wishful thinking evolved into a definite possibility and now a practical reality.

The Chamber Choir has long enjoyed priority user status at the Orpheum and receives a civic grant to rent the theatre for special occasions.

“The pandemic has been really lethal for choirs,” Bélanger said.

And the concept of a grand choral mash-up which showcased ensembles who rarely sing in the Orpheum seemed especially appropriate after two-plus-years of struggle. An opportunity to mark the resurgence of choral music after difficult times, and to reflect on the diversity of our choral scene, became a way to truly celebrate.

The idea was to invite choirs, give each a segment of the afternoon program to present a sample of its particular repertoire, then conclude with a piece or two which involved all the singers.

Of course there were a few practical considerations.

“There is a limit to the number of people we can fit onto the Orpheum stage, so it became a sort of tasting menu,” said Bélanger. “We’d be singing for each other with no audience if we had absolutely everyone.”

This time around, just smaller and medium-sized ensembles are involved. And in the future?

”If this proves successful, we will have established a framework for future collaborations,” said Bélanger.

The afternoon will begin with all the singers and the Vancouver Youth Choir’s Carry Tennant leading Nitohtamok Askîy by Sherryl Sewepagaham, a composer of Cree-Dene ancestry from the Little Red River Cree Nation in Northern Alberta and a graduate of Capilano University’s music therapy program.

Then Tennant’s own group stays on stage to sing a folk song from Indonesia and Northern Lights by Eriks Ešenvalds. The subsequent set by Lars Kaario’s Laudate Singers includes the oldest work on the program, Claudio Monteverdi’s Zefiro torna e’l bel tempo rimena from 1614.

The Vancouver Cantata Singers directed by Paula Kremer round out the first part of the program with three 21st-century works by Tracey Wong, Arvo Pärt and Hussein Janmohamed.

After the interval there will be more contemporary music by Leslie Uyeda and Andrew Balfour from musica intima, then Mahler and Hrušovský from the Phoenix Chamber Choir, conducted by Dave Rosborough.

The Vancouver Chamber Choir’s set features a piece by Michael Dellairamore and one by Edmonton-based Laura Hawley.

Then it’s time for the grand finale as Turunen conducts music by Mendelssohn and Rheinberger.

“We end with two pieces in which everyone sings together,” said Bélanger. “Two hundred singers in the finale!”

ENCORE: There’s more choral music at the Orpheum in early December. Christmas with the Bach Choir (2 p.m., Dec. 4) is another extravaganza with eight VBC choirs. And then it’s the Vancouver Bach Choir’s turn to present Handel’s Messiah (7:30 p.m., Dec. 10), Leslie Dala conducting the choir, with a quartet of soloists and members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra. Go to vancouverbachchoir.com for details.

Venerable label Deutsche Grammophon has launched STAGE+, a new high resolution classical music streaming service. It joins IDAGIO, and, whenever Apple gets around to it, the successor to Primephonic in the classical streaming app niche. Deutsche Grammophon is owned by Universal Music Group.

“We are about to enter an exciting new era for streamed classical performances,” says Deutsche Grammophon’s Vice President Consumer Business, Robert Zimmermann, in a media statement. “STAGE+ will explore the limitless creative and curatorial possibilities that digital technologies have to offer to bring the creative work of DG’s artists — and beyond — closer to their audience.”

Content

What does STAGE+ have to offer? It’s based, of course, on unique access to Universal Music Group’s artist roster. The streaming service offers subscribers:

• New repertoire, with partnerships with opera companies, orchestras, concert halls, and festivals that allow access to new performances on a weekly basis;
• Livestreamed events from all over the world, including long form concerts and operas;
• Opera and concert performances from the archives;
• New and archived DG and Decca audio releases in 4K resolution and Dolby Atmos;
• Documentaries and behind-the-scenes interviews.

What they call “optimized metadata” will enable detailed advanced searches, even to specific opera scenes, for example, and audio content will be available in Hi-Res Lossless format.

DG, founded by Emil Berliner, the inventor of the gramophone, in 1898, has partnered with Siemens and its Arts Program to create STAGE+.

“There’s an enormous appetite for great classical music content online,” comments Frank Briegmann, Chairman & CEO Universal Music Central Europe & Deutsche Grammophon in a media statement. “We’ve seen significant growth in demand for livestreamed concerts and opera performances since launching DG Stage almost two years ago. STAGE+ will transform the space for online classical music. I wish to thank our incredible team and our partner organisations for all their hard work and dedication to STAGE+. They have built something special that’s sure to delight and inspire the global classical audience.”

What’s on

One of the first festivals to be featured will be Bayreuth, including performances from over the decades, right up to the 2022 Ring cycle of last summer.

Other early offerings include:

• Víkingur Ólafsson performing his latest album From Afar in full from Harpa, Iceland;
• Bach’s Christmas Oratorio performed at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London;
• Max Richter’s Voices from Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie on Human Rights Day;
• A Mahler cycle from Vienna’s Musikverein.

Dickon Stainer, President and CEO of Global Classics & Jazz and Verve Label Group, welcomes the new level of outstanding audience engagement. “STAGE+ uniquely immerses the fan in a dedicated multi-dimensional classical experience of the highest quality, complementing the breadth of our repertoire presented on our partners’ services,” he said. “It offers artists the place for their live and filmed performances to sit directly alongside their studio recordings, enabling an integrated experience for classical artist discovery by devoted fans of the genre.”

The STAGE+ service can be accessed via web or mobile app, or TV.

You can find out more here.

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Anya Wassenberg is a Senior Writer and Digital Content Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an experienced freelance writer, blogger and writing instructor with OntarioLearn.

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Released on Orchid Classic’s Backlash Music, this is the first entirely instrumental arrangement of Puccini’s famous opera for violin and piano

A subsidiary of the Orchid Classics label, the Berlin-based Backlash Music produced the entire La Bohème opera transcribed for violin and piano — with violinist Mathieu van Bellen of the Busch Trio and pianist Mathias Halvorsen.

Bellen and Halvorsen arranged Giaccomo Puccini’s full La Bohème score themselves, uniting the parts of the soloists, the choir, plus the orchestra, into a highly virtuosic work for two instruments. 

Recorded live, the duo drew on styles and techniques from Puccini’s contemporaries violinist Fritz Kreisler and pianist Leopold Godowsky, while showcasing a wide range of colors and textures. The arrangement aimed to reflect Puccini’s orchestration and create imagery to bring the opera’s characters to life.

Additionally, since April 2019, the duo have been touring new productions of Puccini’s La Bohème and Tosca, featuring subtitles alongside their performance.

“The project was initiated as part of the program BeBeethoven, investigating new ways of interpreting classical core repertoire,” Backlash Music posted . “Inspired by the theater company Forced Entertainment and their legendary stagings of Shakespeare, van Bellen and Halvorsen set out to find a new way to approach opera.”

“We are performing Puccini’s La Bohème in its full unbridled glory,” Halvorsen said. “We have finally managed to boil the parts of the choir, the orchestra, and the soloists down to a piece for violin and piano. The aim is to do this without losing any of the drama.”

To purchase and listen to the album, click here.

Bellen has been a finalist in the Yehudi Menuhin Competition, Wieniawski Competition, and prizewinner of the Princess Christina and the Oskar Back Competitions. She also won the Grachtenfestival prize in 2015. Performing concerts worldwide and as part of the award-winning Busch Trio, Bellen has been the artistic director of the Netherlands’ Het Reizend MuziekGezelschap since 2018.

A member of the German fellowship program BeBeethoven between 2018 and 2020, Halvorsen’s mentors included Jiri Hlinka and Gerald Fauth. Playing internationally in many prestigious venues, Halvorsen is also co-founder of the Podium festival in Haugesund, Norway.