Violin Master Class with Ani Kavafian

Ani Kavafian, violin
Violinist Ani Kavafian is enjoying a prolific career as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and teacher. She has performed with virtually all of America’s leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of St. Louis, Delaware, Detroit, San Francisco, Atlanta, Seattle, Minneapolis, Utah, and Rochester. Her numerous solo recital engagements include performances at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully, as well as in venues across the country.

In recent years, she has premiered and recorded a number of important new works written for her, including Henri Lazarof’s Divertimento for Violin and String Orchestra with the Seattle Symphony, Todd Machover’s concerto Forever and Ever, for computerized violin and orchestra with the Boston Modern, and Michelle Ekizian’s Red Harvest with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. In addition, Ms. Kavafian gave the west coast premiere of Aaron Kernis’ Double Concerto for Violin and Guitar, with guitarist Sharon Isbin and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Ms. Kavafian has appeared around the country with her sister, violinist and violist Ida Kavafian. Together in recital, and as soloists, they have performed with the symphonies of Detroit, Colorado, Tucson, San Antonio, and Cincinnati, and have recorded the music of Mozart, Mozkowski and Sarasate on the Nonesuch label. They will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of their first performance at Carnegie Hall in the fall of 2008 with a concert at Lincoln Center.

Ani Kavafian is an Artist-Member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York, touring with them throughout the U.S., Canada, and Taiwan in addition to performing, since 1979, in their regular series at New York’s Alice Tully Hall. She is in great demand at renowned summer music festivals such as Norfolk, Chamber Music Northwest, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, OK Mozart, Virginia Waterfront International Arts Festival, Music from Angel Fire, and Bridgehampton.

She is a member of the Trio da Salo with violist Barbara Wesphal and cellist Gustav Rivinius. She is also a founding member of The Triton Horn Trio with William Purvis and Mihae Lee. Recently, Ms. Kavafian has joined with clarinetist David Shifrin and pianist Andre-Michel Schub performing as violinist and violist with them. Along with cellist Carter Brey, she is the artistic director of the New Jersey chamber music series “Mostly Music”.

Ms. Kavafian’s list of prestigious awards includes the Avery Fisher Prize and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. She has appeared at the White House on three separate occasions and has been featured on many network and PBS television music specials. Her recordings can be heard on the Nonesuch, RCA, Columbia, Arabesque, and Delos. Recently, Ms. Kavafian and Kenneth Cooper released a live recording of Bach’s Six Sonatas for Violin and Fortepiano on the Kleos Classics label of Helicon Records. A recording of string trios by Mozart and Beethoven by the Trio da Salo has just been released also on Kleos. In 2007, a recording of Mozart Piano and Violin Sonatas with pianist Jorge Federico Osario was released by Artek.

This season, for a limited time, Ms. Kavafian will again serve as one of four concertmasters of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, a new roll she has added to her busy career. The Kavafian/Shifrin/Schub Trio will be touring during October of 2008 as well as in March of 2009. She will also be on tour with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in February, 2009. Last March, she gave the East Coast premier of the Ross Edwards concerto for violin and orchestra with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

As a dedicated teacher, she has taught at Manhattan, and Mannes Schools as well as McGill University in Montreal and Stony Brook University where she was until her appointment as full professor of violin at Yale University.

Born in Istanbul, Turkey of Armenian descent, Ani Kavafian began her musical studies with piano lessons at the age of three. At age nine, shortly after her family moved to the United States, she began the study of the violin with Ara Zerounian and, at 16, won first prize in both the piano and violin competitions at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. Two years later, she began violin studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian, eventually receiving a master’s degree with highest honors.

Ms. Kavafian resides in Northern Westchester, New York with her husband, artist Bernard Mindich. Their son, Matthew, graduated this past summer from the University of Puget Sound.. She plays the 1736 Muir McKenzie Stradivarius violin.

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