Juilliard Announces the 10th Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies, Tuesday, May 28, Through Saturday, June 1, 2019

NEW YORK –– Juilliard announces the 10th Starling-DeLay Symposium for Violin Studies from Tuesday, May 28 through Saturday, June 1, 2019 at Juilliard (155 West 65th Street, NYC). Held biennially, the symposium, which is dedicated to fostering the legacy of renowned teacher Dorothy DeLay, features five days of master classes, recitals, and pedagogy sessions, and provides opportunities for participants to observe and explore how to nurture and develop the exceptional student artist. Juilliard violin alumnus Brian Lewis, a faculty member of the University of Texas at Austin, is the artistic director of the symposium.

Master classes will be led by Kathleen Winkler, Starling Chair in Classical Violin at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, on May 28; Patinka Kopec, a faculty member of Manhattan School of Music and a Juilliard alumna, on May 29; Midori, a faculty member of USC’s Thornton School of Music and a Juilliard alumna, on May 30; and Mark Kaplan, professor of violin at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and a Juilliard alumnus, on June 1. Limited tickets to the master classes for $32 are available by request only at [email protected].

Recitals will be presented throughout the week. On Tuesday, May 28, at 7pm in Paul Hall, Juilliard alumnus Robert Chen, concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Juilliard piano alumna Noreen Polera, will be the featured performers; student artists will give recitals on Wednesday, May 29, and Thursday, May 30, at 7pm; and alumni, Philippe Quint and Peter Dugan will give a violin-piano recital on Friday, May 31, at 7pm in Paul Hall. Limited tickets to the May 28 and May 31 recitals for $38 are available only by requesting them at [email protected]. The student artist recitals are free.

On Friday, May 31, the symposium will feature a conversation and Q&A with Juilliard faculty member and alumnus Itzhak Perlman in Paul Hall.

Pedagogy sessions offered at this year’s symposium include Hidden Gems: Lesser Known Works for Violin and Piano and Bach Basics, presented by Brian Lewis; Presence and the Performer, presented by Daniel Pettrow; and Developing Young Artists: Teaching Virtuoso Technique to Preteens, presented by Kurt Sassmannshaus.

This year’s student artists are Maya Anjali Buchanan (age 19), Rachel Aina Call (age 17), Jacques Forestier (age 14), Caecilia Lee (age 15), Kenneth Ryu Takebe Naito (age 19), Noelle Midori Takebe Naito (age 16), Christina Jihee Nam (age 16), Audrey Park (age 16), Enrique Rodrigues (age 17), and Anna Wei (age 18).  

Symposium participants will be able to observe master classes, attend recitals and lectures, and participate in pedagogy sessions at a fee of $480 for the week of up to 20 sessions. Further information on the Starling-DeLay Symposium is available here.

About the Starling-DeLay Symposium

The Starling-DeLay Symposium is dedicated to the art of violin teaching and performance and is hosted by Juilliard. It is part of the Starling-DeLay Institute of Violin Studies, made possible by the generous support of the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation. The foundation was created in 1969 by Frank M. Starling, the husband of violinist Dorothy Starling. She trained at the Pennsylvania College of Music and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and was a professional violinist until 1930. Throughout her life, she assisted efforts dedicated to furthering interest in classical violin music. The mission of the foundation is to encourage projects that advance the study and performance of the violin.

The Starling-DeLay Symposium also continues the legacy of renowned violin teacher Dorothy DeLay, an alumna who was a member of the Juilliard violin faculty from 1948 until 2002. Itzhak Perlman, Cho-Liang Lin, Midori, Sarah Chang, Gil Shaham, Shlomo Mintz, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and Brian Lewis were all students of Dorothy DeLay.

About Brian Lewis

Starling-DeLay Symposium artistic director Brian Lewis is a dedicated and gifted performer whose passionate artistry has been heard and embraced around the world. Performances include concerto debuts in both New York's Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, as well as performances with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Berlin (Germany), Louisiana, Kansas City, Hartford, Syracuse, Odense (Denmark), Lima (Peru), Boulder, Guadalajara (Mexico), Sinfonia Toronto (Canada), River Oaks Chamber, and American Symphony orchestras, among many others. Internationally, Lewis has been a featured recitalist across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.

As a dynamic and engaging teacher, Lewis is committed to growing the legacies of the great pedagogues Dorothy DeLay and Shin’ichi Suzuki for future generations. He holds the David and Mary Winton Green Chair in String Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Texas at Austin, serves as visiting professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and is artistic director and faculty member of the Brian Lewis Young Artist Program in Ottawa, Kan. Recognized for his outreach, he taught community engagement courses at the Yale University School of Music from 2010-2012 as the Class of '57 visiting professor of music. 

Brian Lewis has recorded numerous CDs, including the world premiere recording with the London Symphony Orchestra of a commissioned work, Elements, by American composer Michael Thomas McLean. He has served as a distinguished juror for many competitions, including the 2016 Suqing Lu Shenzhen Futian International String Festival and the 2014 Menuhin International Violin Competition. Awards for his musical contributions include the 2018 American Suzuki Institute Suzuki Chair award, instrumentalist award by the 2014 Austin Critics’ Table, two teaching excellence awards at the University of Texas, ING Professor of Excellence award, Medal of St. Barthélemy, Texas Exes teaching award, Fredell Lack award, Young Audiences Artist of the Year, Peter Mennin Prize, William Schuman Prize, SONY ES Fellows award, Audio magazine award, Waldo Mayo Talent award, and two Elizabeth B. Koch Fellowships.

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