Spruce Peak Chamber Music Society “Music Beyond Borders”

Music has no boundaries or limits. It comes to us equally as human beings. In this special evening, we will not only bring the timeless classics such as the Schumann Piano Quartet, loved by audiences for decades and centuries but also bring a brilliant work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Caroline Shaw. In addition, we will have music by the Argentinian composer, Astor Piazzolla, a gorgeous work by Amy Beach who was the first American female to gain success for her larger-scale works in the 19th C. This program will tell beautiful stories of true humanity across many borders near and far. 

Music Beyond Borders will feature Yannick Rafalimanana, piano; Robyn Bollinger, violin; and Caitlin Lynch, viola; (bios below) with Artistic Director Jia Kim, cello.

Featuring the below repertoire: 

• Amy Beach – Romance 
• Caroline Shaw – Thousandth Orange 
• Astor Piazzolla – La Calle 92 
• Robert Schumann – Piano Quartet in E-flat Major

Artist Bios:

Daring, versatile, and charismatic, American violinist Robyn Bollinger is recognized for her musical creativity, rich tones, emotional depth, and technical mastery. Having made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut at age twelve, Ms. Bollinger has since performed with orchestras throughout the United States, and she regularly appears as Guest Concertmaster and in chamber music and recital on national and international stages.  In addition to a prestigious 2016 Fellowship from the Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship Fund for her multimedia performance project entitled “CIACCONA: The Bass of Time,” Bollinger has received top prizes at international competitions.  Her 2017 debut solo CD and DVD, “CIACCONA: The Bass of Time” received critical acclaim in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, and others. A sought-after collaborator and a passionate educator, Bollinger is a member of the Grammy-nominated, Boston-based ensemble A Far Cry, and she is a faculty member at New England Conservatory Preparatory School.

Violist and Grammy Award recipient Caitlin Lynch has performed across the globe in collaboration with artists from Itzhak Perlman to Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. She is violist of the Aeolus String Quartet, and a member and co-Artistic Director of the conductorless chamber orchestra A Far Cry. Ms. Lynch’s performances as a chamber and orchestral musician, soloist with orchestra, and recitalist have spanned fourteen countries across five continents – from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House to the United Nations – and include appearances with members of the Tokyo, Cleveland, Juilliard, and Guarneri String Quartets. Passionate about collaborations with other art forms, she enjoys performing with dancers (Mark Morris Dance Group, Wendy Whelan), artists from other musical genres (Bjork, The National), and on film
(Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!). Ms. Lynch is the founder and Artistic Director of Project Chamber Music: Willamette Valley, a nonprofit organization that supports public school music programs and provides funds for private instrumental lessons for students for whom the cost would be otherwise prohibitive. She was an Artist in Residence at Cleveland’s Judson Manor senior living community, an intergenerational relationship that continues today and has been celebrated by CBS and NBC News, The Plain Dealer, and the New York Times. Recent and upcoming highlights include performances at the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center and Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Series with the Aeolus Quartet, the Kennedy Center with A Far Cry, and BAM’s Next Wave Festival. Ms. Lynch performs on an 18th century viola made by English luthier William Forster, and thanks to the generosity of the Five Partners Foundation, a viola by Samuel Zygmuntowicz.

French pianist Yannick Rafalimanana has developed an international concert career, performing recitals and chamber music concerts regularly throughout Europe, the United States, South America, Africa and Middle East. Winning the first prize in the 2012 Tufts/New England Conservatory Soloist Competition, he made his US debut in Symphony Hall in Boston, playing Schumann Concerto with the Boston Pops Orchestra under the baton of Keith Lockhart.
He recently performed at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Kennedy Center in Washington, live on the radio in Boston on WGBH, in Jordan Hall. He has shared the stage with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Don Weilerstein, Viviane Hagner, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Kim Kashkashian or Thomas Riebl. As a soloist, he has performed regularly with the Orchestre CNR de Lille, Orchestre Impromptu, and the Ensemble Parisien. He has also founded and conducted the LFO – a chamber orchestra based in Boston, involving NEC students, with whom he has also played as a soloist.
From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Rafalimanana was teaching Chamber Music at the Folkwang University of Arts in Essen, Germany.

This Season is made possible through the generous support of Spruce Peak Chamber Music Society’s members and sponsors including:

Season Sponsors: Richard and Clea James (In honor of Irene Bareau), The Netter Foundation, The Stires-Stark Family Foundation, and Jill and Roger Witten;

Residency Sponsors: Robi and Jim Hodge;

Artist Sponsors: Leslie Abramson and Fred Rossman, Joan and Henry Binder, Lisa Hagerty and George Gay, Natalie and Tom Hubbs, Caren and Howard Merson, Laura and Chris Ott, Sylvia and Bill Pope, and Barbara and David Siegel. 

Event Sponsor: NJoy Weddings and Events; Lodging Sponsors: Dianne and Robert K. Brown, Edson Hill, and Intimate Weddings; Beverage Sponsor: Farrell Distributing; and Media Sponsor: Front Porch Forum. 

Season Sponsors: