Program

Leoš Janáček
Violin Sonata, JW VII/7
     I. Con moto
Sam Weiser, violin
Heemin Park, piano

Dimitri Shostakovich
Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77
     Passacaglia
Kiarah Boughen, violin
Amy Chiu, piano

 Eugène Ysaÿe
Violin Sonata No. 4 in E minor
     Allemanda: Lento maestoso
Ji Soo Lee, violin

About Francesca dePasquale

Described by critics as “scintillating” and celebrated for her “rich, expressive playing” (MusicalAmerica), violinist Francesca dePasquale is the First Prize winner of the 2010 Irving M. Klein International String Competition and recipient of the prestigious 2014-2016 career grant from the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund for the Performing and Visual Arts. Earning her the 2015 Classical Recording Foundation Young Artist Award, her self-titled debut album released in March of 2016 encompasses works that scope from Bach to a new commission from composer Paola Prestini for violin and electronics.

2018-2019 season highlights include recital and chamber music appearances for Noree Chamber Soloists, Open Chamber Music at IMS Prussia Cove (Cornwall, England), Manhattan Chamber Players, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society with Marinus Ensemble, and Music at Bunker Hill. Additionally, this season marks debut appearances for Play the Classics at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (Bethel, NY) and Shenson Chamber Music Concerts (Washington D.C.) with the Aletheia Piano Trio.

Since her debut as soloist at age 9 touring Spain with the Main Line Chamber Orchestra, Francesca has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Bach Festival of Philadelphia, Colburn Orchestra, Galesburg Symphony, Peninsula Symphony, and Santa Cruz Symphony. As recitalist, she has collaborated with artists Meng-Chieh Liu, Natalie Zhu, John Root, and Reiko Uchida on series such as the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, National Sawdust, Rutgers University, the University of Pennsylvania, California Music Center, and the Perlman Music Program.

An active chamber musician, Francesca has performed with renowned artists Adrian Brendel, Paul Coletti, Thomas Cooley, Jennifer Frautschi, Kim Kashkashian, Nicholas Kitchen, Ronald Leonard, Robert Levin, Pavel Nersessian, Merry Peckham, Itzhak Perlman, Jeffrey Sykes, Roger Tapping, Richard Todd, Donald Weilerstein, and Helena Winkelman. She has performed for the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth, Open Chamber Music at IMS Prussia Cove, Chameleon Arts Ensemble, Busan Maru International Festival, Macon Concert Association, Friends of Chamber Music, Broyhill Chamber Ensemble, Chesapeake Chamber Music, Heifetz International Music Institute, Marinus Ensemble, Lyrica Chamber Music, Music at Bunker Hill, 23Arts Initiative, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, Manhattan Chamber Players, Music in the Vineyards, Olympic Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Colburn Chamber Music Society, and the Perlman Music Program. Francesca is the violinist of the Aletheia Piano Trio alongside pianist Fei-Fei Dong and cellist Juliette Herlin.

Francesca is a member of the violin faculty at Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts and Visiting Assistant Professor at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, as well as Assistant Violin faculty and Chamber Music faculty for the Juilliard School Pre-College Program. Additionally, she is a member of the violin faculty at the Heifetz International Music Institute Program for the Exceptionally Gifted, as well as assistant chamber music faculty for the Perlman Music Program Sarasota Residency. Previously, Francesca served as the Starling Fellow teaching assistant to Itzhak Perlman from 2013-2016 and teaching assistant to Catherine Cho from 2013-2018 at the Juilliard School. A graduate of the Juilliard and Colburn Schools, Francesca studied with Itzhak Perlman, Catherine Cho, and Robert Lipsett. Previous teachers include Hirono Oka and William dePasquale, with additional mentorship from Norman Carol and Arnold Steinhardt. Francesca performs on a 1968 Sergio Peresson violin and a François Nicolas Voirin bow.