Danielle Belen, April 3 2021

Courtney Crappell, Director

A. I. Lack Master Series

VIOLIN MASTERCLASS

DANIELLE BELEN Saturday, April 3, 2021 Virtual Performance 9:00 am

PROGRAM Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 61

Camille Saint-Saëns

II. Andantino quasi allegretto

(1835–1921) Iwona Augustyn, violin Brian Suits, piano

Piano Trio, Op. 97 "Archduke"

Ludwig van Beethoven

II. Scherzo

(1770–1827) Miranda Hollingsworth, violin Mitchell Wright, cello David Pham, piano

Polonaise No. 2, Op. 9

Karol Jósef Lipinski (1790–1861)

Konrad Rudowicz, violin 1 Iwona Augustyn, violin 2 Rosa Cole Avendano, viola Slava Dobrushkin, cello

Sonata No. 1 in G minor for Solo Violin II. Fuga

J.S. Bach (1683–1750)

Takeru Niihara, violin

Recently appointed Associate Professor and full-time Violin Faculty at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance, Danielle Belen is already making a name for herself as a seasoned pedagogue with a strong studio of young artists. A former faculty member of The Colburn School in Los Angeles, California, her students won major prizes in national and international competitions including the Menuhin, Stulberg and Klein competitions, and have been accepted into major conservatories and universities across the country.

Winner of the 2008 Sphinx Competition, Ms. Belen has appeared as a soloist with major symphonies across the U.S., including the Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Nashville and San Francisco Symphonies, the Boston Pops, and the Florida and Cleveland Orchestras. Zachary Lewis from the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote "Violinist Danielle Belen... captivated every ear with an assured, impassioned performance of Ravel's "Tzigane," knocking off the daunting showpiece as if it were a trifle." She has recently enjoyed working with conductors such as Franz WelserMostt, Robert Spano, Keith Lockhart, Yehuda Gilad and Carl St. Clair.

Ms. Belen released her debut Naxos recording of works by living composer Lawrence Dillon in 2009 to much acclaim. Soon after, she commissioned "Multiplicity," a piece by Dillon for six virtuoso violins, which she premiered along with her students at The Colburn School.

A graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music and the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles, where she studied with Robert Lipsett, Ms. Belen joined the faculty of the Colburn School in 2008. In addition to maintaining her own violin studio, she was also teaching assistant to Mr. Lipsett for over five years, working with talent of the highest caliber from around the world. Additionally, Ms. Belen served as the Director of the Ed and Mari Chamber Music Institute in the Colburn pre-college division. Ms. Belen frequently enjoys teaching master classes and leading community engagements across the country in conjunction with her professional performance appearances. Ms. Belen served as Concertmaster of the New West Symphony and performed as soloist with the orchestra numerous times.

In 2010, Ms. Belen founded Center Stage Strings, a summer camp and performance festival for gifted young musicians in California. After gaining national attention, CSS has now moved to the campus of The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor as part of MPulse, a summer program run by the School of Music, Theatre and Dance. As Artistic Director and pedagogue, she has attracted students and seasoned artists from around the world. Artists, including Lynn Harrell, James Ehnes, Arnold Steinhardt, Sarah Chang and Stefan Jackiw have joined to perform in support of Center Stage Strings.

Ms. Belen plays on a violin made in Mantua, Italy by Stefano Scarampella.

The A. I. Lack Master Series at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music annually presents distinguished classical performers and recognized pedagogues in a series of free master classes and recitals, which provide a wider educational experience for its students as well as the Houston community at large. The endowment that supports the series was established in memory of Abram I. Lack in 1989. Lack’s daughter, legendary violinist and teacher, Fredell Lack Eichhorn, held the C. W. Moores Professor of Violin at the University of Houston where she served for 50 years, until her retirement in 2009.