The fifth concert in the Printempo series is Jossalyn Jensen’s recital, Harriety Hale Woolley Scholar and resident at the Fondation des États-Unis. She will play pieces by Bach, Schumann and contemporary composers. Throughout the history of classical music, Bach has been at the heart of innovation and excellence. His name and music are known even by those who know nothing else about classical music. Composers throughout time and all over the world honor him for his influence. Jensen explains her programming choices as follows :
“In this concert, I wish to share with my audience his influence on the viola repertoire. Although we have no solo music directly from him, we are privileged to play the solo music he wrote for both violin and cello. I will be performing three works (one of which I commissioned) that are derived from the solo works. Coupled with these I will also play the first violin fugue. The last piece on the program is Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, which does not have a direct connection to Bach, but for me, no recital is complete without chamber music. So I have invited my wonderfully talented friend, Lucas Belkhiri to join me for this beautiful piece from the melancholy opening to its joyful and brilliant conclusion.”
-Jossalyn Jensen
Program
Garth Knox (1956-)
Fuga Libre
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Sonata no. 1 in G minor (arr. for viola in C minor)
II. Fugue
Ichiro Nodaïra (1953-)
Transformation III, five pieces on J. S. Bach
Andrew Stock
The french suites
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Suite no. 1
II. Lamento
VI. Moto Perpetuo
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Fantasiestücke op. 73 (with Lucas Belkhiri on the piano)
Biographies
Jossalyn Jensen, American violist, began her musical studies at age 4. Her solo debut with orchestra was at the age of 9 and she has since appeared in concert across the United States and Europe in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Elbphilharmonie, and the Théâtre de Champs-Élysées. She can be heard on several American radio shows, including NPR’s From the Top and Performance Today. As a fellow, she has attended the New York String Orchestra Seminar (2012), the Aspen Music Festival and School (2009-2011, 2014), the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme (2017), and the Verbier Festival Academy (2017). Ms. Jensen received her Bachelor of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Jeffrey Irvine, where she graduated with honors and was presented with the Milhaud Award and the Arnold Award in Viola. She completed her Master of Music at The Juilliard School, studying with Heidi Castleman and Misha Amory, where she was a recipient of the Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship and the Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Artist Award. Ms. Jensen is a laureate of 2016-2017 Fulbright Grant to study with Jean Sulem at the Conservatoire National supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Jensen has participated in the Juilliard School Winter ChamberFest (2015), the Finckel-Wu Han Chamber Music Studio (2014), the Cleveland Institute of Music Intensive Quartet Seminar (2012-2013), and the Music Academy of the West String Quartet Seminar (2012). She has performed with members of the Cleveland Quartet as well as Darrett Adkins, Jorja Fleezanis, David Halen and Jerome Lowenthal in addition to appearances as a chamber artist at the Caroga Lake Music Festival, the Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence and Les Nuits Pianistiques in Aix-en-Provence. Ms. Jensen is passionate about bringing the arts to those who have limited access to classical music and live performances. Since she was a child, she has performed in retirement centers, hospitals, libraries, parks, community centers, and public schools throughout her home state of Utah as well as Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. She has been a frequent artist for Classical Revolution Cleveland, a member of the Cleveland Community Service Outreach Program and a recipient of the Gluck Community Outreach Fellowship from the Juilliard School. As an advocate of new music, Ms. Jensen has participated in the New Music Ensemble at the Cleveland Institute of Music and most recently in projects with Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Matthias Pintscher at the Lucerne Festival Academy (2017). She has commissioned works from emerging composers and is currently working on a project to commission six young American composers to write six new pieces for solo viola in homage to J. S. Bach. Ms. Jensen began teaching violin at the age of 12 and has continued to become more and more invested in pedagogy and sharing what she has learned with others. She taught ear training and solfège as a Teaching Fellow at the Juilliard School and has continued in Paris. She is honored to be a 2017-2018 Harriet Hale Woolley fellow and resident musician at the Fondation des États-Unis.
Lucas Belkhiri began playing the piano at the age of 8 with Marie Hélène Barrier, at the Houilles Municipal Conservatory and then at the Sartrouville Conservatory with Pascal Mantin. He completed his training by attending master-classes and summer academies, notably with Anne Queffélec, Jean-François Hesser and Marie-Josèphe Jude. He holds a degree in musicology from the Sorbonne and a DNSPM in piano, obtained in June 2016 in Michel Béroff’s class at the CNSMDP, where he is currently finishing his Master 2 at Florent Boffard. Passionate about chamber music and also interested in teaching, he obtained his DE in piano then entered in 2017 in CA training at the CNSMDP as well as in piano accompaniment courses. He enjoys giving solo recitals as much as he enjoys playing in various classical formations or other musical styles.