Argentinian Music by Piazzolla and A. Drago

Guest Artist Oliver Yatsugafu is currently an associate professor of violin at the Federal University of Mato Grosso in Brazil. He holds a DMA in violin performance from the University of Georgia - USA, where he was a student of Levon Ambartsumian. Yatsugafu won top prizes at several national competitions in Brazil such as the VIII Strings National Competition of Juiz de Fora and the Petrobras Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. 

Levon Ambartsumian, violin
Oliver Yatsugafu, violin
Shakhida Azimkhodjaeva, viola
David Starkweather, cello
Leonardo Lorenco Lopes,  double bass

ABOUT DAVIS BROOKS

Violinist Davis Brooks comes from a diverse musical background as soloist, pedagogue, orchestral musician, studio musician, concertmaster on Broadway, conductor, and chamber musician. Having recently served as Associate Concertmaster of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra for fifteen years, Dr. Brooks was also a member of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Lincoln Center for ten years. For nineteen years, he played in the New York Chamber Symphony, which produced over twenty critically acclaimed recordings during his tenure. Dr. Brooks has been concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of New England, the Harrisburg Symphony, and the Waco Symphony. He performs frequently with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and is active in the many commercial recording studios in the Indianapolis area. As a soloist, Dr. Brooks has concertized in China, Japan, Europe, and South America. 

At Yale University, where he received a master’s degree in violin performance, Dr. Brooks studied with Broadus Erle and Syoko Aki. His doctorate, also in violin performance, is from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Other important teachers with whom he has studied include Joyce Robbins, George Neikrug, Russell Hatz, and Raymond Page; he has studied chamber music with Julius Levine, Josef Gingold, Aldo Parisot, and members of the Tokyo, Alard, and Guarneri Quartets.

Recording four CDs with the progressive rock band The Psychedelic Ensemble has been a most pleasurable diversion, as has performing with the Indianapolis band Progressive Lenses. He has performed with numerous bands including the Eagles, The Who, Barry Manilow, Rod Stewart, Chicago, Johnny Mathis, Bob and Tom, the Moody Blues, Christopher Cross, Page and Plant, Electric Light Orchestra, and Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra. He has also recorded with Arlo Guthrie. Oddly his favorite color has changed from blue to green in the last decade, and he enjoys a good cup of coffee.

“Brooks is a committed and persuasive advocate for the works throughout, adapting his impressive playing to the composers’ diverse demands.” The Strad.

ABOUT LOVRO PERETIĆ

For Thee We Sing:
The Historical Implications of Marian Anderson’s 1939 Easter Concert

Sonya G. Baker
Professor of Voice
James Madison University

Welcome! I must confess that this lecture recital is an opportunity for me to celebrate one of my idols. You have probably all heard of Marian Anderson. Many of you only know of her as an African-American classical singer. Some of you connect her name to Eleanor Roosevelt and the Daughters of the American Revolution, or DAR. Perhaps a few of you even know some of the details of the incident in 1939 which brought these names together. However, I imagine that very few of you have ever considered Marian Anderson’s 1939 Easter concert as one of the rare moments in which classical singing greatly impacted American society as a while. What other classical singers have caused millions around the world to re-evaluate American patriotism and our sense of humanity? I don’t know of any. For this reason, I appear before you today to fill in some of those gaps which may be missing for you in the story of Marian Anderson and the famous concert this Black singer gave in 1939 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Thus begins a multimedia performance about Marian Anderson’s 1939 Easter concert. Audiences see visual images shared from the Marian Anderson Collection, hear Anderson’s rendition of the aria she sang that day, and experience live performance of other works from Anderson’s concert including several spirituals and Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” The story is infinitely dramatic – involving issues of racism, patriotism, and the role of the arts in our society. It is also a historical moment which allows us to look at ourselves and the overall impact of the arts today; for in the end, seventy-five-thousand people gathered on the Mall in Washington D.C. to hear this famous contralto. There will be time for Q&A at the close of the program. It is time to celebrate this momentous occasion in American history.

Photo by Bob Adamek