Quad City Symphony Orchestra's “Up Close with Scandinavia, Nordic Dreams" at Augustana College -- March 17.
Thursday, March 17, 7:30 p.m.
Augustana College's Centennial Hall, 3703 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
A celebration of Nordic music and a half-dozen esteemed composers, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra presentation Up Close with Scandinavia, Nordic Dreams will find a trio of marvelous musicians performing at Augustana College on March 17, the concert event boasting the talents of QCSO concertmaster Naha Greenholtz, QCSO principal cellish Hannah Holman, and pianist Juliana Han.
Born in Kyoto, Japan, where she began her violin studies at age three, Greenholtz performs on a 1778 Antonio Gragnani violin. She began her professional career in 2007 with the Louisiana Philharmonic, and later played with the Milwaukee Symphony. Since her solo debut at age 14, the musician's concerto performances have included engagements with the San Francisco Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and National Repertory Orchestras, as well as the Vancouver, Quad City, Burnaby, and Kelowna Symphonies. In the Madison, Wisconsin area, Greenholtz makes regular solo appearances with the Madison Symphony and the Middleton Community Orchestra, and also maintains an active career as an orchestra musician. In addition to her duties as concertmaster of both the Madison and Quad City Symphony Orchestras, Greenholtz's past performance highlights include guest-concertmaster appearances with the Oregon, Omaha, and Memphis Symphonies, the San Francisco Ballet, and the Calgary and Louisiana Philharmonics, among many others.
An active chamber musician and principal cellist for the QCSO, Hannah Holman studied at the Eastman School of Music and Michigan State University, where she completed her Bachelor of Music degree, and obtained her Master of Music Degree with Fritz Magg at the New England Conservatory. A founding member of the Beaumont Piano Trio, which performed around the United States and England, Holman was also a founding member of Quadrivinium, a music ensemble-in-residence at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. From 2002 to 2011, she was a member of the Maia Quartet, the University of Iowa's quartet-in-residence, which toured China, Japan, and throughout the United States, including teaching residencies at Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Great Wall International Music Academy in China, and the Austin Chamber Music Center. Holman regularly performs in chamber ensembles with musicians from throughout the United States, and Fanfare magazine raved that “her tone and technique are the stuff that cello legends are made of.”
Based in Seattle, pianist Han is an active collaborator, chamber musician, and soloist, lauded not only for her inspired performances but also for her musical lectures, which illuminate classical works for diverse audiences. She has performed in notable venues across North America and Asia, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the National Taichung Theater, and is also co-artistic director of the Piedmont Chamber Music Festival, an annual summer festival in the Bay Area featuring internationally renowned performers. Han's additional festival appearances include Music Academy of the West, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, and the artist has taught on the faculties of the Juilliard School, where she received her doctorate, and Augustana College, where she served as assistant professor of piano.
The repertoire for Up Close with Scandinavia, Nordic Dreams includes: Dieterich Buxtehude's “Trio Sonata Op. 2, No. 6 in E Major”; Kaija Saariaho's “Dreaming Chaconne”; Arvo Pärt's “Mozart-Adagio for Piano trio”; Esa-Pekka Salonen's “Iscrizione”; Jean Sibelius' “Impromptus Op. 5, No. 5”; and Edvard Grieg's “Peer Gynt Suite 1, Anita's Dance” and “Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 36.” Patrons are also invited to join the performers and host Kai Swanson in the concert hall one hour before the performance for an informational, pre-concert conversation to hear about the works on the program.
Up Close with Scandinavia, Nordic Dreams will be presented in Augustana College's Centennial Hall on March 17, admission to the 7:30 p.m. concert is $10-25, and a $25 live-stream/digital-access option makes the performance available for viewing for 30 days following the live event. For more information and tickets, call (563)322-0931 and visit QCSO.org.
