Meet the Musicians
David Bowlin, violin
Violinist David Bowlin is active as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He is an accomplished performer of a broad range of repertoire both old and new, and has performed recitals and concertos across the US. Among these are dozens of premieres, including the 2007 world premiere at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall of Mahagoni, a violin concerto written for him by Austrian composer Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin, performed with the Bulgarian Virtuosi. He was first prizewinner in violin at the 2003 Washington International Competition and was awarded the 2007 Samuel Baron Prize from Stony Brook University.
Bowlin is a founding member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), which has toured across the US, Poland, and Mexico, in addition to having educational residencies at Columbia University, Northwestern University, and others. He is a member of the Oberlin Trio with fellow Oberlin Conservatory faculty members Haewon Song and Amir Eldan, and is also a former member of the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players, with whom he has toured in the US and former Soviet Union.
Bowlin's extensive chamber music performances include concerts in New York at Weill Recital Hall, Zankel Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd St. Y, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Merkin Concert Hall, Miller Theater, and Symphony Space. He has performed and recorded with members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, as well as toured with Kim Kashkashian and Musicians from Marlboro. Recording credits include works of Stravinsky, Webern, George Crumb, Chinary Ung, Huang Ruo, Ursula Mamlok, Dai Fujikura, Richard Wernick, Su Lian Tan, and Brian Fennelly. He is also artistic director of Chamber Music Quad-Cities, an organization that brings chamber music performances to the community in eastern Iowa and western Illinois where Bowlin is a native.
In 2007 Bowlin was appointed Assistant Professor of Violin at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, having previously served as teaching assistant to Ronald Copes at the Juilliard School. He has given master classes at such institutions as Stony Brook University, Cornell University, the North Carolina School for the Arts, Beijing's Central Conservatory, and the Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, Mexico. Teachers include Roland and Almita Vamos, Ronald Copes, Pamela Frank, Philip Setzer, Ani Kavafian, and Stephen and Kimberly Sims. (Photo by Brian Barkley)
www.davidbowlin.com
Katinka Kleijn, celloKatinka Kleijn's solo credits include appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra; the Chicago Sinfonietta; the New Millennium Orchestra; and the Illinois Philharmonic. Kleijn appeared at the Marlboro Music Festival, the Ravinia Festival's Rising Star Series, and at the Maverick Concerts Series. An avid chamber musician, she has partnered with pianists Christoph Eschenbach and Richard Goode, cellist Lynn Harrell, and joined the Chicago Chamber Musicians 2006-2010. As a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), she toured Poland and Mexico, and performed the American premiere of "Zona" for solo cello and 7 instruments by Magnus Lindberg at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Her May 2007 American premiere of "Eternal Escape" by Dai Fujikura is available on iTunes, and was described by John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune as "a five-minute tour de force, played with wonderfully incisive bravado". Additionally, she recorded the David Baker Cello Concerto, with the Chicago Sinfonietta on the Cedille label in 2003. Recently, Kleijn appeared as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Penderecki's Concerto for 3 cellos. Kleijn performs in a variety of styles. She recorded the CD "Relax Your Ears" with songwriter/guitarist Joel Styzens, as well as "Hybrid Child" with the progressive rock/metal band District 97. After winning the Dutch Princess Christina Competition at age 16, Kleijn studied with Laurence Lesser and Lynn Harrell before joining the Chicago Symphony in 1995.
Conor Nelson, flute
Praised for his long-breathed phrases and luscious tone by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Canadian flutist Conor Nelson is established as a leading flutist of his generation. Since his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, he has appeared frequently as soloist and recitalist throughout the United States and abroad. Recent performances include engagements with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Philharmonia of Yale, the Manhattan School of Music Philharmona, the Stony Brook Symphony and at the Banff Centre. The only wind player to win the Grand Prize at the WAMSO Young Artist Competition, he recently won first prize at the William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition. In addition, he has received top prizes at the New York Flute Club Young Artist Competition and the Haynes International Flute Competition.
As a chamber musician, he performs regularly with marimbist/percussionist, Ayano Kataoka as part of the Conor and Ayano Duo. Involved in several exciting commissioning projects for their genre, the duo has performed in Merkin Concert Hall, CAMI Hall, The Tokyo Opera City Hall, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Izumi Hall, and as guest artists for the Ottawa Flute Association in Canada.
A dedicated educator, Conor is currently the Assistant Professor of Flute at Bowling Green State University. Having previously taught at Oklahoma State University, he has also given master classes at schools such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Wisconsin Madison, Manhattan School of Music, the University of Iowa, The University of Minnesota, and Penn State among several others. He received degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, Yale University, and Stony Brook University where he was the winner of the school-wide concerto competitions at all three institutions. His principal teachers include Carol Wincenc, Ransom Wilson, Linda Chesis and Susan Hoeppner.
www.conornelson.com
Spencer Myer, pianoGold Medalist of the 2008 New Orleans International Piano Competition, Spencer Myer is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most outstanding pianists of his generation. Following a summer that included his debut with Guadalajara's Orquesta Filarmonica de Jalisco, an encore collaboration with the Miami String Quartet at Ohio's Kent/Blossom Music and returns to the Mendocino Music Festival and the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festivals, Spencer Myer includes in his current season his fifth return tour of South Africa, debuts with Boston's Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra and the Acadiana, Springfield and Juneau Symphony Orchestras, returns to the Wyoming and Bozeman Symphony Orchestras and his solo recital debut at London's Wigmore Hall, in addition to solo recitals throughout the United States. Spencer Myer's performances have been heard throughout North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. He has been soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, Louisiana and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestras, the Indianapolis, Knoxville, New Haven, Phoenix, Santa Fe and Tucson Symphony Orchestras, and Beijing's China National Symphony Orchestra. In May 2005, his recital/orchestral tour of South Africa included a performance of the five piano concerti of Beethoven with the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa. In 2004, Spencer Myer captured First Prize in the 10th UNISA International Piano Competition in Pretoria, South Africa. He is also a laureate in the 2007 William Kapell, 2005 Cleveland, 2005 Busoni and 2004 Montreal International Piano Competitions. Winner of the 2006 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship from the American Pianists Association, Mr. Myer also received both of the competition's special prizes in Chamber Music and Lieder Accompanying. He is also the winner of the 2000 Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition, and subsequently enjoys a growing reputation as a vocal collaborator. Mr. Myer was a member of Astral Artists' performance roster from 2003-2012 after winning their national auditions. Spencer Myer is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he studied with Julian Martin. Other teachers include Peter Takacs, Joseph Schwartz and Christina Dahl. During the course of his undergraduate studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, he was the recipient of numerous awards from that institution, while, in 2000, he was named a recipient of a four-year Jacob K. Javits Memorial Fellowship from the United States Department of Education. His Doctor of Musical Arts degree was conferred by Stony Brook University in 2005. Spencer Myer can be heard on the Dimension Records and Naxos labels, and his debut CD for harmonia mundi usa - music of Busoni, Copland, Debussy and Kohs - was released in the fall of 2007. Spencer Myer is a Steinway Artist. http://www.spencermyer.com