Four Seasons in Music – Meet the Artists

Meet the extraordinary musicians who will perform in the Winter 2022 concert in the Four Seasons in Music series:

Kathryn Lockwood 2Kathryn Lockwood, Viola and Artistic Director

Kathryn has been hailed as a violist of exceptional talents in reviews around the country. The Cleveland Plain Dealer proclaimed, “…Lockwood played the vociferous viola cadenza with mahogany beauty and vivid character.” Kathryn is the violist of the internationally renowned Lark Quartet and the unique viola and percussion duo, duoJalal.  She is the Artistic Director of the Four Seasons in Music concert series at the Sands Point Preserve, Long Island, NY, now in its second year.

She moved from her homeland of Australia to the United States in 1991 and captured some of the most sought-after awards in the country, including the Naumburg Chamber Music Award. As a member of Lark, she recently released two CDs on Bridge records: an All Higdon CD and Composing America. With duoJalal, she released A Different World on Innova Records of which the Toronto Star wrote: “Lockwood is all slow, sensuous allure with her bowing arm one moment, a tempest of notes the next.”

As an original member of Pacifica Quartet, Kathryn has performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall, Corcoran Gallery, St. Lawrence Center, and University of Thessaloniki / Greece, and has been heard live on NPR’s Performance Today. She collaborated with violist Michael Tree on an all Dvorak CD and composer Easley Blackwood on recordings released by Cedille Records. In 2005, Kathryn released a solo recital CD of Viola Music by Inessa Zaretsky, Fireoptics, about which Strad declared “Lockwood is absolutely inside the music’s idiom finding appropriate tonal shadings.”

Kathryn is currently on faculty at University of Massachusetts/Amherst and the John Cali School of Music at Montclair State University, previously serving on the faculty at Rutgers University in NJ, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Music Institute of Chicago, and National Music Camp in Australia. She earned her Master’s Degree with Donald McInnes at the University of Southern California, and her Bachelor of Music Degree from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with Elizabeth Morgan. www.kathrynlockwood.com

YYousif Sheronickousif Sheronick, Percussion 

Hailed by the New York Times for his “dazzling improvisations” and his “wizardry on a range of humble frame drums” Yousif Sheronick enjoys an active career as percussionist, composer, producer and educator.  Having studied classical percussion through a Masters degree at Yale, Yousif went on to study music from Brazil, India, Africa and the Middle East which he seamlessly incorporates into his playing.  Yousif’s unique skills in both World and Classical music have led him to perform with a diverse range of ensembles and musicians including Philip Glass, Yo-Yo Ma, Laurie Anderson, Ethos Percussion Group, Lark Quartet, Silk Road Ensemble, Branford Marsalis, Sonny Fortune,  Glen Velez and Paul Winter. His many musical influences are highlighted in duoJalal, his venture with violist and wife Kathryn Lockwood.  A feature article in Drum! Magazine highlighted Yousif’s versatility in an article titled “At The Corner Of The World”.

Always wanting to build bridges through music, Yousif has become a major force in bringing world percussion into contemporary/classical music.  He has had the luxury of in-depth work with composers Evan Ziporyn, Derek Bermel, Kenji Bunch, Ljova and John Patitucci, all of whom were eager to compose for his exotic instruments.  As a composer himself, Yousif’s compositions have been premiered and performed around the world at both the collegiate and professional level.

In demand as an educator, Yousif has conducted residencies and master classes at top universitiesincluding Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, University of Michigan, University of Kentucky, the Queensland Conservatorium and National University in Australia.  In 2018 Yousif established his online frame drum school www.framedrumschool.org.

Yousif has appeared throughout North and South America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia.  Prestigious venue performances include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl, Royal Festival Hall (London) and Wigmore Hall (London). Yousif holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Iowa.  www.yousifsheronick.com

duoJalalduoJalal, Ensemble in Residence

Racing along with our new global society, duoJalal surprises the music world with their diverse and stunning artistry. duoJalal “are fearless seekers and synthesizers of disparate instruments and cultures” raves the Toronto Star.  Like the marriage between Kathryn Lockwood and Yousif Sheronick, their music represents an organic amalgam of cultural traditions and musical styles. Audiences are enthralled as a classically trained violist from Australia ignites her instrument with passion – one minute embodying a medieval rebec, the next a Shakuhachi (Japanese flute). Yousif, of Lebanese descent, dazzles as he manipulates sound by simply snapping his fingers at the edge of an Egyptian frame drum or dragging his foot across the Peruvian cajon. From their chamber music foundation, duoJalal moves from Classical to Klezmer, Middle Eastern to Jazz, with a skillful confluence that is natural, exploratory and passionate. Inspired by their namesake, 13th century poet Jalal a din Rumi, whose visions and words brought together people of different religions, cultures and races, duoJalal opens their doors to all communities for a diverse and stimulating inter-cultural experience.

For the past twelve years duoJalal has performed throughout the United States, Australia and Brazil regularly performing world premiers of works composed or arranged for the group by Philip Glass, Andrew Waggoner, Derek Bermel, Kenji Bunch, Evan Ziporyn and Giovanni Sollima.

Their project The Rumi Experience was premiered at the Williams Center in Easton PA and continues to intrigue audiences with the coupling of poetry, multi media and music.  duoJalal released their first CD on Innova Recordings titled A Different World. Critics hail the CD as an “exhilarating sonic and somewhat mystical experience” (Jordon Times). And their second CD on Bridge Records titled Shadow & Light.  The Toronto Star exclaimed, “If this is what the world music’s future holds, bring on the party.”

Always eager to collaborate, the duo embarks on a new venture as the ensemble in residence for the Four Seasons in Music concert series in Long Island in 2019 and 2020.  The duo collaborate with the string quartet, voice, clarinet, and dancers.

Also known for their outstanding teaching skills, duoJalal offers masterclasses and clinics for string soloists and ensembles as well as world drumming to both children and adults. Recent masterclasses were held at Manhattan School of Music, New York University and the Percussive Arts Society’s International Convention.

WINTER GUEST ARTISTS:

Deborah Buck - ViolinistDeborah Buck, Violin

Described by Strad Magazine as “Particularly impressive for her surpassing degree of imagination and vibrant sound,” violinist Deborah Buck has built a strong musical career as chamber musician, concertmaster, soloist, professor, and artistic leader. For seventeen years, Ms. Buck enjoyed concertizing, commissioning, and recording works by many of America’s most celebrated composers as a member of the Lark Quartet. In 2019, Ms. Buck was awarded a  Music Faculty Incentive Research Grant by the SUNY Purchase College Conservatory that facilitated two commissions: one for solo violin by John Harbison called DeBut, and another for violin and piano called Fantasia on Beethoven’s Spring Sonata by Bruce Adolphe. Ms. Buck has held the position of Assistant Professor of Violin and Head of Chamber Music at SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Music since 2013. Since 2017, Ms. Buck has led the Stamford Symphony (CT) as it’s Acting Concertmaster; she was the tenured Concertmaster of the Brooklyn Philharmonic from 2008-2013. Ms. Buck is the Co-Executive Director of the Kinhaven Music School in Vermont. She graduated from the Juilliard School as a student of Dorothy DeLay and earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Southern California where she studied with Robert Lipsett. Ms. Buck performs on a violin by Vincenzo Postiglione, graciously on loan by the family of Ray and Marcia Corwin. www.deborahbuck.net

Rebecca FischerRebecca Fischer, Violin 

Praised for her “beautiful tone and nuanced phrasing (Boston Musical Intelligencer),” violinist Rebecca Fischer was the first-violinist of the Chiara String Quartet for 18 years until the group’s final season in 2018. With the quartet she held residencies at Harvard University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, performed world-wide, and recorded the complete string quartets of Brahms and Bartók and a Grammy-nominated album of Jefferson Friedman’s Quartets. One half of the multidisciplinary duo The Afield (voice, violin, video and other media), Ms. Fischer has premiered works for solo violin and singing violinist by Lisa Bielawa, Nico Muhly, Augusta Read Thomas, Byron Au Yong and others. A graduate of Columbia University and The Juilliard School, Ms. Fischer is a devoted violin teacher, chamber music coach and arts advocate, and currently teaches at the Mannes School of Music. Follow her writing on creativity in Strings Magazine and on her website: www.rebeccafischerviolin.com

Gregory Beaver - CellistGregory Beaver, cello

Cellist of the Chiara String Quartet for 19 years, Gregory Beaver performed over 500 concerts in concert halls on 3 continents, garnered a Grammy nomination, premiered 40 works, and recorded 7 major albums. In 2016, the quartet presented all 6 of Béla Bartók’s string quartets memorized in a 2 day period at the Ravinia Festival and regularly performed concerts with the quartet by heart. Gregory has composed several works for solo cello, duo, choir, and other ensembles. He is also a Senior Software Engineer and Manager at Citrine Informatics, where he helps create new sustainable materials with his software. He lives with his wife, violinist Hyeyung Yoon, 2 daughters and cat in Jersey City, NJ. He plays on a fine Roman cello made in

1725 by David Tecchler.

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