Program and Artist Biography

After claiming first prize and the Audience Award in the 2009 Washington International Competition for Strings; second place in the 2008 Primrose International Viola Competition; and fourth place in the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, Emily Deans is acquiring a reputation as a compelling performer of unmannered emotion and strong facility. Ms. Deans's current season includes appearances at the Olympic Music Festival and Festival du Larzac in France, Open Chamber Music at Prussia Cove, the Caramoor Rising Stars series, and the 2010 Musicians from Ravinia's Steans Institute Tour with Miriam Fried.

Ms. Deans began taking lessons with Emmanuel Borok, concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony, at age seven and made her Meyerson Symphony Hall debut shortly after. At 13 she made her first solo appearance with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Also an enthusiastic chamber musician, she has performed in ensembles with Joseph Silverstein, David Geber, Barbara Westphal, Timothy Eddy, Miriam Fried, Atar Arad, Pamela Frank, and Ronald Thomas, among others.

Ms. Deans is a recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received a bachelor of music degree in violin and viola as a student of Arnold Steinhardt, Pamela Frank, and Joseph de Pasquale, and she is currently pursuing a doctor of musical arts degree with Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory of Music.

American pianist Julio Elizalde is gaining widespread recognition for his musical depth and creative insight. In the fall of 2007, Mr. Elizalde won the Juilliard School concerto competition for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, K. 503. He gave his New York City concerto debut with the Juilliard Orchestra conducted by Anne Manson in the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Lincoln Center.

Highlights of the season include performances with violinists Pamela Frank, Robert Mann, Donald Weilerstein, soprano Susan Narucki, baritone William Sharp, and cellist Bonnie Hampton. Dedicated to the music of our time, Mr. Elizalde has worked with composer-pianist Stephen Hough, Argentinean composer Osvaldo Golijov, and American composer Leon Kirchner. Mr. Elizalde has performed at various summer music festivals including Taos, Kneisel Hall, Music Academy of the West, Olympic, Yellow Barn, and Caramoor.