WPMA is excited to invited Kevin Lawrence, the chair of the string department at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts to give a violin masterclass at the William Pu Music Academy.
When: Friday, March 9, 2018 at 7pm
Where: William Pu Music Academy Recital Room
Free Admission to Public
“I provide a thorough grounding in the foundations of violin playing as developed by Ivan Galamian and his school, with a teaching style that belongs to today’s young musicians—emphasizing dialogue, personal connection and respect for the spirit of inquiry.” ~ Kevin Lawrence
Praised for his “vibrant intensity,” (The Times, London) and playing “supremely convincing in its vitality,” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) violinist Kevin Lawrence has consistently elicited superlative responses for his performances throughout the United States and Europe. His assertive style and strong musical personality have thrilled audiences at Merkin Hall, Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and in Houston, Chicago, London, Frankfurt, Rome, Prague, St. Petersburg, and Amsterdam, where the Dutch press described him as “simply miraculous” (Het Vaderland). His recital tours of Europe include concert appearances in Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy. Lawrence’s release of the complete violin works of the American composer Arthur Foote on the New World label was “highly recommended” as “beautifully played” by the Washington Post, and heard on the Ken Burns series “Not for Ourselves Alone,” broadcast on PBS; his second CD of American violin sonatas, released recently by New World, was hailed as “vital playing” and “a labor of love” by Classics Today.com. In July of 2012, Bridge Records released his recording of chamber music with distinguished flutist Carol Wincenc and three other artists of the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, which was named as 2012 Critics Choice by American Record Guide.
Kevin Lawrence received his musical education at the Juilliard School as a scholarship student of Ivan Galamian and Margaret Pardee. While at Juilliard he also studied chamber music with Felix Galimir and continued his chamber music study with Josef Gingold at the Meadowmount School in Westport, New York. Appointed to the Meadowmount faculty by Ivan Galamian in 1980, he taught there each summer until 1994, when he became the Dean of the Killington Music Festival in Vermont. He served as Killington’s Artistic Director from 1997 through 2004, when he founded the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. Lawrence has given master classes throughout the United States, and in Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic, Russia, Israel, Korea, Thailand, Costa Rica and Venezuela. He is currently the chair of the string department at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, which recognized him with its Excellence in Teaching Award in 2007.
