[LIVESTREAM] The Roots Of Our Culture

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “folk music is the

original melody of man; it is the musical mirror of the world.” Folk music

has the power and wisdom to capture the breadth of humanity. From

times of joy and celebration to those of sorrow and pain, it serves as

consolation to our body, mind and soul. The last concert of Kallos’ 5th

season reflects on the relationship of music and humanity through

chamber music deeply rooted in folk traditions. We showcase Copland’s

take on the Wild West, Suk’s deeply embedded flavors of Bohemia, and

Brahms’s homage to the Roma peoples.

Please click the link below to read the Program E-book

https://flowcode.com/p/Os3lo8XZY

PROGRAM

Aaron Copland:   Waltz and Celebration from ‘Billy the Kid’ (Version

1900-1990            for violin and piano)

Josef Suk            Piano Quartet in A minor, Op.1

1874-1935

Johannes Brahms      Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25

1833-1897

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

Kevin Zhu, Violin

Kevin Zhu has amassed an outstanding record of concert performances and

competition wins since he began playing violin at age three. Praised for his

“awesome technical command and maturity” (The Strad) and “absolute

virtuosity, almost blinding in its incredible purity” (L’ape musicale), Kevin has

performed on the world’s largest stages, ranging from Carnegie Hall in New

York to London’s Royal Festival Hall to the Forbidden City Concert Hall in

Beijing. Initially coming to international attention after winning the 2018

Paganini Competition and 2012 Yehudi Menuhin Competition, he has

established himself as a leading figure among the next generation of musicians,

astonishing audiences with his peerless technical mastery and inimitable artistic

voice.

In the 2022-23 season, Kevin will make concerto debuts with the Des Moines

Symphony and at the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, and embarks on a project

to record the 24 Paganini Caprices on Paganini’s famed violin ‘Il Cannone’,

something never done before in history. He performs the complete Caprices in

Italy, Singapore, and Germany, and makes his Merkin Hall recital debut with a

program inspired by ballet and operatic masterpieces.

In addition to his efforts on stage, Kevin serves as a Culture Ambassador of the

Lin Yao Ji Music Foundation of China. He has been featured on ABC

Eyewitness News, BBC Radio 3, and RAI Radio 3, and is the recipient of a 2021

Avery Fisher Career Grant and Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant.

Tanner Menees, viola

Born in Orange, CA in 1993, Violist Tanner Menees is forging an enviable

career as a chamber musician. Mr. Menees has collaborated in chamber music

performances with a range of notable artists including Miriam Fried, Lynn

Harrell, Frans Helmerson, Gary Hoffman, Kim Kashkashian, Laurence Lesser,

Danny Phillips, Marcy Rosen, Mitsuko Uchida, and Donald Weilerstein.

Tanner Menees has performed internationally at festivals such as the Marlboro

Music Festival, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Caramoor Evnin Rising Stars,

Chamberfest Cleveland, Menuhin Festival String Academy, Edinburgh Music

Festival, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, and with NEXUS Chamber Music

Chicago. Menees has performed as a soloist with the Colburn Orchestra under

maestro Thierry Fischer and with Symphony New Hampshire. Menees is featured in 

Mike Grittani’s video, Dreaming of Boccherini, shot in Guarneri

Hall as part of the NEXUS Chamber Music Festival in 2019.Tanner received his 

Bachelor of Music degree and Artist Diploma from the

Colburn School, where he studied with Paul Coletti. Later he studied with Kim

Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory where he earned a Master of

Music degree. Tanner plays on a viola of the Tarasconi school made in Milan,

Italy c. 1880 courtesy of Guarneri Hall NFP and Darnton and Hersh Fine Violins.

Joshua Halpern, cello

Joshua Halpern has appeared on stages around the world as a soloist,

chamber musician, and orchestral principal cellist. As a chamber

musician, he has collaborated with artists including Jonathan Biss, Gary

Hoffman, Kim Kashkashian, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Anthony McGill,

and Itzhak Perlman, and appeared at music festivals including the Ravinia

Steans Institute, Music@Menlo, the Perlman Chamber Music Workshop,

La Jolla Summerfest, and Krzyzowa-Music. He has worked personally

with composers such as Richard Danielpour, Kevin Puts, and Kaija

Saariaho. In 2023, he appears numerous times as guest principal cello

with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, as well as guest with the

Varian Fry Quartet.

Josh is the founder and artistic director of the Cultural Caravan, a

Colorado- based organization operating at the intersection of small

businesses, social-service nonprofits, municipal organizations, and local

artists. The Cultural Caravan has since presented over 50 artists with

backgrounds ranging from Zimbabwean Afropop to Venezuelan jazz to

Classical Music in coordination with over 40 local businesses and

community organizations.

Josh completed his Artist Diploma at The Curtis Institute in

Philadelphia, where he studied with Carter Brey and Peter Wiley. As an

undergraduate at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, he

studied with Desmond Hoebig. He is currently a member of the Karajan

Akademie of the Berliner Philharmoniker, in which he plays as a member

of the Berliner Philharmoniker and is mentored by Ludwig Quandt.

Min Young Kang, Piano

Praised as “an absolute gem” by Montecito Journal, Korean-born pianist Min

Young Kang enjoys a versatile career as a chamber musician, collaborative

pianist, and music director. For the past ten years, Min Young has performed in

concerts and recitals throughout the United States, France and South Korea, at

venues that include Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Château de

Fontainebleau, and the Sejong Center M Theater.

Min Young recently released her first record “Remembering Russia” with

PENTATONE with Spanish Violist Jesus Rodolfo in Oct 2021 and her playing

was described as ‘sensitive’ and ‘nuanced with a lyrical right hand’ in the review

by Tarraco Culture Club. A prize winner at both the J.C. Arriaga Chamber

Music Competition, Artur Balsam Duo Competition, and Lillian Fuchs

Chamber Music Competition, Kang has also been recognized with numerous

awards and scholarships, including the Talisman Energy Emerging Artist

Award, Kraeuter Musical Foundation Award, Prix special du Directeur and Prix

de Musique de chambre from Ecoles D’Art Americaines de Fontainbleau, the

Renee and Richard Hawley Scholarship and the Manhattan School of Music’s

President’s Award Scholarship.

Kang received a Master of Music (MM) as a full scholarship student from

Eastman School of Music, where she studied collaborative piano and chamber

music with Dr. Jean Barr. She completed a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in

collaborative piano with a full scholarship and Kraeuter Musical Foundation

Award from Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Heasook

Rhee. Min Young completed a Collaborative Piano Fellowship at the Yale

School of Music, where she worked with instrumental students in recitals,

lessons, and master classes, while also providing rehearsal coaching. She is a

Founder/Artistic Director of Kallos Chamber Music Series in New Haven, CT,

and also a current staff pianist at Mannes School of Music in NYC.