Press Release | Program Details | Full Biographies
Exeter, NH (May 11, 2007)—Phillips Exeter Academy’s music department will host a faculty recital, featuring violinist Deborah Boykan with pianist George Lopez, on Tuesday, May 15, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. The concert will include works by Bach, Beethoven, Ysaye, Covell and Elgar. It is the eighth faculty performance scheduled for this year. It will be held in Phillips Church, located on the corner of Tan Lane and Front Street. The concert is free and open to the public.
Boykan is an active freelancer in the Boston area, performing with such groups as Opera Boston; Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra; the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra; Boston Ballet; Dinosaur Annex; Cantata Singers; Emmanuel Music; Boston Classical Orchestra, and many others. She won a Guggenheim Foundation Student Fellowship to Venice, Italy, and received two Massachusetts/NEA grants for chamber music recital.
A former member of the Basel Sinfonietta (Basel, Switzerland), Boykan is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Violin Performance) and Oberlin College. Currently, she directs Azalea Chamber Music, a chamber music group which performs at concerts and private functions as well as providing educational outreach to children and under-served populations. In addition to teaching at PEA, Boykan also maintains a violin/viola and chamber music studio at her home in Massachusetts.
Lopez has performed internationally as a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician. A laureate of several international competitions, he has received critical acclaim for his interpretation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. At the invitation of the Holland Music Sessions, Lopez toured in Paris, London, Cologne, New York’s Weill Recital Hall and Los Angeles. He has also performed the Beethoven Third Piano Concerto in Yverdon, Switzerland, and given recitals and master classes in Amsterdam and Groningen, Holland.
Lopez’s chamber music collaborations have included the Emerson String Quartet, Trio of the Americas and the Rainier Quartet. In New England, he has appeared with the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra, the Granite State Symphony Orchestra and the Midcoast Symphony of Maine. At 16, Lopez attended the Hartt School of Music on a full scholarship. After graduating, he went to Paris on a Franco-American study grant and was given a unanimous First Prize for the Diplôme Supérieure. He completed his Master’s Degree in Amsterdam.
For further information, please contact Patrice Baker in the music department at (603) 777-3453. A complete list of upcoming events is available on the Phillips Exeter Academy public events line at (603) 777-4309 and on the Academy’s musical performances website page at http://www.exeter.edu/news_and_events/news_events_2990.aspx. For directions to the Academy, call (603) 777-4330.
Phillips Exeter Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory school that was founded in 1781 and originated the system of instruction known as Harkness teaching in 1931. In the spirit of its charter to foster both goodness and knowledge, students come from a wide variety of geographic, economic, racial and religious backgrounds. The diverse student body comes from approximately 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and 26 foreign countries.
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PROGRAM
Sonata No. 2 in A minor, J.S Bach (1685-1750)
I. Andante
II. Allegro
Sonata No. 2 in A minor for solo violin, Eugene Ysaye (1858-1931)
I. Obsession
II. Malinconia
III. Danse des ombres
IV. Les Furies
Berceuse No. 2, Grant Chu Covell
Sonata No. 1 in D Major, op. 12, No. 1, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
I. Allegro con brio
II. Tema con variazioni (Andante con moto)
III. Rondo (Allegro)
Salut d'Amour, op. 12, Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
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BIOGRAPHIES
Deborah Boykan is an active freelancer in the Boston area performing with such groups as Opera Boston, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Boston Ballet, Dinosaur Annex, Cantata Singers, Emmanuel Music, Boston Classical Orchestra and many others. She won a Guggenheim Foundation Student fellowship to Venice, Italy, and received two Massachusetts/NEA grants for chamber music recital.
A former member of the Basel Sinfonietta, (Basel, Switzerland), Deborah is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Violin Performance) and Oberlin College (Art History and East Asian studies). Principal instructors include Kathleen Winkler and Marilyn McDonald (Oberlin) and Christine Dethier (Juilliard). Deborah directs Azalea Chamber Music, a chamber music group which performs at concerts and private functions as well as providing educational outreach to children and under-served populations. In addition to teaching at PEA, Deborah maintains a violin/viola and chamber music studio at home where she lives with her husband, two sons, and music-loving dog, Fafner.
George Lopez has performed internationally as recitalist, soloist and chamber musician. A laureate of several international competitions, Mr. Lopez received critical acclaim for his interpretation of Bach's Goldberg Variations at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and is now preparing the complete cycle of Beethoven Piano Concertos for his upcoming concert seasons. At the invitation of the Holland Music Sessions, Mr. Lopez toured in Paris, London, Cologne, New York's Weill Recital Hall and Los Angeles where he was hailed by the L.A. Times for his "...musical perspective, continuity, and kaleidoscopic colors." Mr. Lopez recently performed the Beethoven Third Piano Concerto in Yverdon, Switzerland, and gave recitals and master classes in Amsterdam and Groningen, Holland. He recently premiered a piano concerto written for him by Italian composer Romeo Melloni.
His chamber music collaborations have included the Emerson String Quartet, Trio of the Americas and the Rainier Quartet. In New England, George Lopez has appeared with the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra, the Granite State Symphony Orchestra and the Midcoast Symphony of Maine. Most recently he performed Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the NH Music Festival Orchestra. Born in Brooklyn, NY, but raised in Belize by Mayan parents, George Lopez started playing the piano at the fairly late age of 11. Upon returning to the U.S., he won his first competition at age 14 in Texas, and two years later was awarded a full scholarship to the Hartt School of Music. After graduating with honors, he went to Paris on a Franco-American study grant and was given a unanimous First Prize for the Diplôme Supérieur. He completed his Masters Degree in Amsterdam cum laude.
To learn more about Exeter's concert series, please check the Musical Events calendar page. To learn more about events at Exeter, please check the News & Events section of the website. Or, for a recorded voice line listing upcoming events, dial: (603) 777-4309.
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