Philadelphia International Music Festival Faculty Recital
featuring
Marc Rovetti, Assistant Concertmaster
The Philadelphia Orchestra
William Polk, Violin
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Kerri Ryan, Assistant Principal Viola
The Philadelphia Orchestra
John Koen, Cello
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Mark Livshits, Piano
Curtis Institute of Music
Monday, July 21, 2025
Chapel of St. Cornelius the Centurion 7:00 PM Valley Forge Military Academy & College
Violinist Marc Rovetti has been a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 2007 and was appointed assistant concertmaster in 2009. He has also served as guest concertmaster of the Houston, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh symphonies. Prior to his time in Philadelphia, he was a member of the New World Symphony and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). He also performed as a member of the award-winning Rothko String Quartet in addition to touring with the Mark Morris Dance Group Ensemble.
As a soloist, Mr. Rovetti has appeared with the Atlanta and New World symphonies, the Lexington and Sacramento philharmonics, and on Chicago Public Radio with ICE. As a chamber musician, he has performed at the Bravo! Vail, Jackson Hole, and Kneisel Hall music festivals, as well as with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Mr. Rovetti spent four summers at the Tanglewood Music Center, both as a fellow and as a member of the New Fromm Players, Tanglewood’s resident new-music ensemble. A passionate advocate for new music, he has worked closely with composers Augusta Read Thomas, Bernard Rands, and Magnus Lindberg, and he has collaborated with many young composers during ICE residencies at New York, Columbia, and Northwestern universities.
Born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, Mr. Rovetti holds both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School. His principal teachers include Ronald Copes, Pamela Frank, and Louise Behrend
Violinist William Polk believes that the symphony orchestra is humanity’s finest artistic institution; it is a format developed over centuries that allows for infinite possibilities of tonal color and musical expression; it is a community of 100 plus artists working together on stage to transmit pure musical thought to the minds of a live audience; it is a beautiful microcosm of society as it could be. Mr. Polk has performed as an orchestral musician with orchestras across the United States. He currently serves as a member of the first violin section of The Philadelphia Orchestra, having joined the ensemble in 2007. He previously served as associate principal second violin of the Minnesota Orchestra beginning in 2005. Prior to that he was guest principal second violin of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
An active chamber musician, Mr. Polk is a member of the Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble, the oldest continuously performing chamber music ensemble in the Delaware Valley. The group presents concerts throughout the year at Historic Old Pine St. Church (1768) in the heart of Society Hill. He also enjoys performing chamber music with his Philadelphia Orchestra colleagues and others at various venues throughout the region and at music festivals throughout the country. Together with his wife, Kerri Ryan, now assistant principal viola of The Philadelphia Orchestra, violinist Vali Phillips,
Reminder:Please silence cell phones and other electronic devices for all performances. PIMF is a program of Sandy Marcucci International Camps, Inc.
and cellist Joseph Johnson, Mr. Polk founded the Minneapolis Quartet, which performed to critical acclaim from 2002 to 2007 and won a McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowship in 2006.
A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mr. Polk is an alumnus of Louisiana State University and the University of Minnesota. He is very thankful for the foundational and inspirational instruction he received from his violin teachers, Sally O’Reilly and Camilla Wicks.
Assistant Principal Viola Kerri Ryan joined The Philadelphia Orchestra at the beginning of the 2007-08 season. She came to Philadelphia from the Minnesota Orchestra, where she was assistant principal viola for seven seasons. Following her graduation from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1998 she served as associate concertmaster of the Charleston Symphony. Ms. Ryan and her husband, violinist William Polk, are founding members of the awardwinning Minneapolis Quartet.
In Philadelphia, while pursuing a violin performance degree at Curtis, Ms. Ryan began studying viola with Karen Tuttle. Ms. Ryan also studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music as a member of its Young Artist Program. Her violin teachers include Lee Snyder, Jascha Brodsky, Rafael Druian, and Arnold Steinhardt.
John Koen has been a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1990. He appears regularly on the Orchestra’s Chamber Music series, and performed during Wolfgang Sawallisch’s 1993 Opening Week Festival and the subsequent National Public Radio broadcast of Schumann’s Piano Quintet with Maestro Sawallisch as pianist. Mr. Koen has been a frequent guest on the Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble series since 1993 and is also a member of the Mondrian Ensemble and the Network for New Music. He performed with the ensemble 1807 & Friends Chamber Music Society from 1990 to 1993.
Mr. Koen has appeared as a soloist with the New Symphony Orchestra of Sofia, Bulgaria, under the direction of Rossen Milanov. Mr. Koen also appears regularly as a soloist with the Lansdowne (PA) Symphony, of which he has been principal cello since 1992. He was a nominee for the 1998 Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards (GLAMA) for his performance of Winter Toccata for solo cello by Robert Maggio, which Mr. Koen commissioned, and is featured on a recording of works by Mr. Maggio entitled Seven Mad Gods (Composers’ Recordings, Inc.).
Mr. Koen studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with David Soyer and Peter Wiley, the original and last cellist (respectively) of the Guarneri Quartet, from 1985 to 1990, graduating with a Bachelor of Music Performance degree; he also studied at the New School of Music with Orlando Cole (1984-85). In 1988 Mr. Koen performed in the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra as solo cellist on European tours with Christoph Eschenbach, Leonard Bernstein, and Sergiu Celibidache, including a
Reminder:Please silence cell phones and other electronic devices for all performances. PIMF is a program of Sandy Marcucci International Camps, Inc.
television broadcast throughout Eastern Europe from Gorky Park in Moscow with Maestro Bernstein, and as a member of the Salzau Quartet in a performance for President Richard von Weizsäcker of Germany. Mr. Koen taught at the College of New Jersey (Trenton) from 1996 to 2001.
In 2004 Mr. Koen received The Philadelphia Orchestra’s C. Hartman Kuhn Award, given to “a musician who has shown both musical ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the musical standards and reputation of The Philadelphia Orchestra.”
GRAMMY Award winning pianist Mark Livshits is one of the most highly sought after soloists and chamber musicians in Philadelphia. He appears frequently in concert with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as with the orchestra as a substitute in the keyboard section.
In addition to performances at the Salzburg Festival, solo recitals at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, and Bilbao Philharmonic Society, Dr. Livshits has also worked closely with musicians such as Yannick Nezet Seguin, Stephane Denève, Michael Tilson
Thomas, Nikolaj Znaider, Nathalie Stutzman, Leonidas Kovakos, Gil Shaham, Lynn Harrell, Midori, Christoph Eschenbach, Alisa Weilerstein, Measha Brueggergosman, Daniel Lozakovich, Dave Brubeck and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, YeEun Choi under the auspices of IMG Artists and the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation.
In 2015, he was called to replace Yannick NezetSeguin in a chamber music performance of Brahms Third Quartet for Piano and Strings with members from the Philadelphia Orchestra and has been invited to perform in chamber programs with members of the orchestra since then. He is often called to play orchestral piano in the orchestra as well. Dr. Livshits has received invitations to perform for dignitaries such as Secretary of State Colin Powell and President Joe Biden.
Dr. Livshits currently serves on the faculty as the head of collaborative piano at the the University of Delaware and as staff pianist at the Curtis Institute of Music. He also serves on the faculty at the Philadelphia International Music Festival.
Mark Livshits is a Steinway Artist.
Reminder:Please silence cell phones and other electronic devices for all performances. PIMF is a program of Sandy Marcucci International Camps, Inc.
Terzetto Op.74
Antonín Dvořák
Introduzione. Allegro ma non troppo (1841–1904)
Larghetto
Scherzo. Vivace Trio. Poco meno mosso
Tema con variazioni. Poco Adagio Molto
Marc Rovetti, violin I
William Polk, violin II
Kerri Ryan, viola
Piano Trio No.2, Op.87
Johannes Brahms
Allegro (1833–1897)
Andante con moto
Scherzo. Presto Poco meno presto
Finale. Allegro giocoso
Piano Quartet, Op.47
William Polk, violin
John Koen, cello
Mark Livshits, piano
INTERMISSION
Robert Schumann
Sostenuto assai Allegro ma non troppo (1810–1856)
Scherzo. Molto vivace
Andante cantabile
Finale. Vivace
Marc Rovetti, violin
Kerri Ryan, viola
John Koen, cello
Mark Livshits, piano
Reminder:Please silence cell phones and other electronic devices for all performances. PIMF is a program of Sandy Marcucci International Camps, Inc.
PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL ITALY
July 28 - August 7, 2025 | Cremona, Italy
FACULTY
Kimberly Fisher
Principal Second Violin
The Philadelphia Orchestra
John Koen Cello
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Mark Livshits
Faculty Pianist
Curtis Institute of Music
Philadelphia International Music Festival – Italy (July 28 – August 7, 2025) is designed for string musicians and pianists 13-19 years of age preparing for upcoming solo performances and competitions. This exciting new program will include: three private lessons, daily 30-minute workout sessions with an assigned faculty accompanist, daily hour-long solo performance classes, five hours of required daily private practice, and a week-ending Grand Finale Recital in one of the stunning performance halls in Cremona.
Students and families will both reside in Cremona, Italy, enjoying authentic Italian-style meals throughout the week-long program. While students are in training, guests attending the “Family & Friends” program will tour the surrounding towns via Luxury Motorcoach. Destinations include Venice, Milan, Verona, Lake Garda, Bologna and Parma! Students will join the traveling adventures at the conclusion of the Grand Finale performance on August 4th, 2025
Venice
Modena Milan
Lake Garda
Verona
Bologna