April 2024
Valtchev- Tchekoratova Duo, (Eastern European folk music and classical)
Ann Nicole Nelson Hall
Tuesday, Apr 2, 2024 7:00 PM



Georgy Valtchev, violin and Lora Tchekoratova, piano

Duo Biography

Performing together as violin
and piano duo since 1996, Valtchev and Tchekoratova were first presented to the
public at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in concert, entitled Musical Treasures from Bulgaria under
the sponsorship of the
Cyril
and Methodius International Foundation.
Ever
since, the artists have appeared together in numerous recitals and chamber
music collaborations throughout the United States and Europe to great audience
and critical acclaim.



Their adventurous programming has led them to musical explorations and
collaborations with contemporary composers and has inspired them to create
platforms for cultural exchange between the United States and other cultures.
The duo often presents the works of American composers in Bulgaria and vice
versa, brings music from the Balkans to the Western stages.





The duo appears regularly at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, the 92nd
Street Y, the Kennedy Center, and at many international chamber music festivals
and concert series, including Sofia Music Weeks, Varna Summer, and Apolonia in
Bulgaria, Baståd Chamber Music Festival in Sweden, the Deerfield Memorial Hall
Summer Concerts and the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Blue Hill,
Maine.



The artists’ program "East of Budapest", featuring composers from
Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Albania, was presented at universities across
the country, including New York University (Institute for the Study of the
Ancient World), Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA, and Salisbury
University in Salisbury, MD. Their debut CD of Béla Bartók's Violin and Piano
Rhapsodies and Sonatas is available on Gega New through ArkivMusic.




Lora and Georgy are both distinguished Juilliard graduates. Lora received her
Doctorate of Musical Arts under the guidance of the great American pianist
Seymour Lipkin and the contemporary music champion Joel Sachs. Georgy was a
pupil of the world renowned violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay. Their duo projects
have been supported by numerous grants and awards by the American Foundation
for Bulgaria, the Kitteridge Fund, The Arthur Foundation, The Puffin
Foundation, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.



The Duo has performed the majority of the standard classical Violin and Piano
repertoire, most notably the complete Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin
(in three concerts), the three Brahms Sonatas for Piano and Violin as well as
the sonata for Violin and Piano of Ravel, Debussy, Strauss, Mozart, Faure,
Franck, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Grieg. In addition, they frequently program
the works of Yanacek, Enescu, Bartok, Vladigerov, Leviev, Tabakova, and many
other 20th and 21st century masters.



 



In August, 2018, Lora and
Georgy launched “The Off the Beaten Path Chamber Music Festival” in the village
of Kovachevitsa, South Western Rhodope mountains, Bulgaria. Since then, the
festival has become a beloved summer destination for music lovers from Bulgaria
and beyond and a nature sanctuary for renowned chamber music artists to
rehearse, perform, and commission new works. In addition to presenting the
festival, the musicians also bring music education to the area and are involved
in the restoration of the cultural center of the village.






Backtrack Vocals
Ann Nicole Nelson Hall
Sunday, Apr 21, 2024 3:00 PM

Backtrack Vocals

A Cappella Quintet

  • Winners of the 2017 International Championship of A Cappella Open

  • World-class workshops for students of all levels

Backtrack Vocals is an accomplished a cappella quintet that performs unique arrangements of pop, Broadway, and standards, and have appeared on stages across the nation. They have been featured on major network shows on NBC, FOX and PBS, and have won numerous awards and accolades, including first place in New York's Got Talent Season 6. Backtrack Vocals is a fresh, high-energy group that will appeal to audiences of all ages.

Backtrack knocked it out of the park!- Layne Thompson-Payne, Executive Director, Riverside Arts