Wrapping Up

2014 Juilliard Gala: Till Eulenspiegal with conductor Alan Gilbert
Photo Credit: © Nan Melville 

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of wrapping up the semester and my time at Juilliard. I performed as Concertmaster for my last Juilliard Orchestra concert, pictured above with Alan Gilbert for the Juilliard Gala. My graduation jury, final projects, papers, and exams, and my graduation recital promptly ensued.

Graduation Recital in Morse Hall
Photo Credit: Sayo Kosugi

With Ms. Cho and Mr. Perlman
Photo Credit: Sayo Kosugi

Immediately after my recital, I had the incredible experience of substituting with The Philadelphia Orchestra for their SingIN performance of Handel's Water Music and Messiah. The orchestra's PlayIN events allow anyone to attend and perform with members of The Philadelphia Orchestra; for this concert, there were about 1,400 people singing along for the Messiah! It was amazing to hear so many voices sing the Hallelujah chorus, which was incredibly powerful. It was surreal going to work with my mom and performing with orchestra members I have known my whole life, including my former teacher, Hirono Oka.

The Philadelphia Orchestra SingIN
Photo credit: © The Philadelphia Orchestra

With my cousin, Ellen (who also subbed) and my mother, Gloria

It's certainly been an amazing few weeks. I'm looking forward to having some time during the next few days to reflect upon and celebrate my graduation from Juilliard!

Until next time,
Francesca

Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund for the Performing and Visual Arts

Photo by Alexandra DeFurio

I am incredibly stunned and honored to be awarded a two-year career grant from the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund for the Performing and Visual Arts, which seeks to make "focused and substantial investments in a limited number of exceptionally talented young dancers, musicians, actors and visual artists as they complete their training and begin their professional life." I was nominated for the grant by the Perlman Music Program, which is one of the arts organizations the Fellowship Fund partners with. My award, which includes $50,000 a year for two years, will go towards the recording and production of a debut CD (including a newly commissioned work by an American composer), the development of educational outreach programs with a psychologist, and a recital tour of the recorded repertoire throughout the United States, implementing the educational outreach programs along the way. 

I never would have thought these artistic ventures to be possible at this point in my career and I am so grateful to receive an award that allows me to focus on my artistic development in such a special way. I'm so grateful to the Perlman Music Program for the nomination, as well as to the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund for choosing me as one of its recipients. 

For press coverage, check out the New York Times announcement, as well as the Philadelphia Inquirer piece and the Philadelphia Daily News feature.

On a personal note, the news was publicly announced today, the anniversary of my Father's passing. I'm so grateful for the love and support my Father gave me; he believed in me before I knew how to believe in myself, and I think that, wherever he is, he must be beaming with joy.

Until next time,
Francesca

MusicalAmerica New Artist of the Month

Photo by Alexandra DeFurio

After the all-Shostakovich Juilliard Orchestra performance with Vladimir Jurowski last November, Sedgwick Clark from MusicalAmerica contacted Juilliard about setting up an interview for the New Artist of the Month feature for emerging talent in the industry. We had a wonderful time discussing the current state of the classical music industry for young professionals, the importance of educational outreach and community engagement, my family background, and our shared love of the golden age violinists and 1930s films! Read the full article here, or visit musicalamerica.com to check it out.

Until next time,
Francesca

Paris SYLFF Chamber Music Exchange

View from the Parc de Buttes Chaumont

I just returned from Paris, France, where I participated in a chamber music exchange between Juilliard, the Conservatoire National Supérior de Musique, and the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien. The exchange is sponsored by the Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund and each year one of the three schools hosts its participants. It was my first time in Paris, so naturally I fell in love with the incredible beauty of the city and its amazing food!

Inside the Cathédrale Notre Dame

The Thinker, Musée Rodin

Musée d'Orsay

Inside the Louvre

A rainy evening stroll through the grounds of the Louvre with the other students
from Juilliard

With Katy, my friend and Colburn roommate, who came to visit me on my birthday
from Lyon, where she is completing her studies as a Fulbright recipient

Théâtre des Champs Elysées for a performance by the Vienna Philharmonic
(what a string sound!)

Tarte au Citron from one of the many neighborhood pâtisseries

Macarons from the legendary Pierre Hermé

Our concert poster

Le Grand Salon in Musée de l'Armée at Invalides, pre-performance

Invalides

View of the city center from our dressing room

I was incredibly fortunate to study and perform two beautiful works: Ravel Introduction and Allegro, as well as Jolivet Chant de Linos. I performed with students from Paris and Vienna, as well as our coach, cellist and CNSM faculty member Diana Ligeti. As a musician, we speak about the "French sound" and style, and for me it was extraordinary and something completely different to approach this after experiencing the architecture, artwork, food, and culture. It was also wonderful to get to know students of varying backgrounds, as well as get to know my fellow Juilliard students (stumbling over a foreign language together is quite the bonding experience!).

I'm very grateful for the dose of Parisian refreshment and inspiration upon returning to New York for my final semester as a Master of Music student (when did that happen?!). There are some exciting performances and experiences coming up, and I look forward to sharing them soon!

Until next time,
Francesca

Happy Holidays

My sincere apologies for the recent hiatus! The last two months of the semester were, needless to say, incredibly busy. Highlights included the Juilliard Orchestra Shostakovich concert with Vladimir Jurowski, which received very nice reviews from the New York Times and Musical America, as well as performing Bartok Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste in Carnegie Hall with Ensemble ACJW and Schubert B-flat Piano Trio at the American Irish Historical City.

Christmas provided much needed relief, filled with time spent baking and eating with loved ones [homemade rosemary pecan bark and eggnog cheesecake pictured above], cuddling with cats, catching up on episodes of Chopped, and some much needed sleep. As the year comes to a close, I am endlessly thankful for the beautiful friends, family, and musical experiences in my life right now. Here's to seeing what 2014 brings!

With the warmest wishes for a Happy New Year,
Francesca

Long Overdue Updates!

Well, I'm finally sick with the cold that's been threatening for a couple of months now. Which means, I have time to update! My apologies for the hiatus until now. The beginning of the semester was a frenzy of scheduling, e-mails, starting my teaching assistantship, and practicing like crazy. It was a big adjustment going from teaching 1 1/2 hours to 12 hours a week on top of my own practice, classes, and rehearsals! I'm absolutely in awe of how much I'm learning from this process and it's been a true joy to work with the students in Mr. Perlman's studio. 

Some highlights of the past two months include Perlman Music Program trips to Stanford, CA (a return to my Music@Meno stomping grounds!) and Stowe, VT, becoming my niece Juliette's godmother, baking multiple loaves of pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and experiencing Fall in New York (friends, it's a beautiful thing). I've also been spending a good deal of time ruminating on my future, both short and long term, something which has led to moments of giddy excitement, sheer panic, glimmers of faith, and joy.

With Radu at the PMP in Stanford reception in CA

Pumpkin chocolate chip loaf!

Pumpkin carving and general autumnal merriment

Gorgeous colors in Central Park

Snowy Stowe, VT

From the drive home after our concert in Burlington, VT

Next up on the concert prep list is the Juilliard Orchestra Shostakovich program with conductor Vladimir Jurowski, for which I will be sitting Concertmaster. In addition to the first symphony, we will be playing excerpts from Shostakovich's silent film score (who knew?!) New Bablyon, as well as his Hypothetically Murdered suite. Off to drink Emergen-C and read some ledger lines!

Until next time,

Francesca 

Music@Menlo

Greetings and my apologies for the lack of updates recently! My experience at Music@Menlo was absolutely incredible, but very time consuming. Immediately thereafter, I traveled to Saratoga Springs, New York to visit my boyfriend and my mother, who were there for music-related work. Since then, I have been busy getting settled in NYC and figuring out scheduling for the upcoming semester.

Masterclass with Wu Han
Photo courtesy of Music@Menlo

I wanted to write a post on Music@Menlo and my experiences there for awhile now! I'm not sure I can adequately sum up the sheer amount of inspiration and knowledge acquired during my time there. The schedule was very intense, usually running nonstop from 8am-12am or later. Our days were filled with coachings, rehearsals, informal lectures and discussions, formal lectures, masterclasses, and attending the performances of the Young Performers program, our fellow colleagues in the International program, and the senior artists of the festival (the quality of which was outstanding), as well as going to the parties and donor events hosted afterwards.

Coaching on Dvorak American with Jorja Fleezanis
Photo courtesy of Music@Menlo

While I was there, I gave two performances each of Dvorak Piano Quintet in A major, Beethoven "Ghost" Piano Trio, Dohnanyi Piano Quintet no. 2, Dvorak American Quartet, and Mendelssohn Piano Trio no. 2 in C minor. We had anywhere from 2-5 days to put together these works, receiving numerous coachings from many different artists (I think we saw 7 different people for the Dvorak Piano Quintet prior to our performances!).

Performance of Beethoven "Ghost" Piano Trio
Photo courtesy of Music@Menlo

In addition to all things musical, we also had lots of development related sessions, including time with the marketing, events, and public relations staff. We even were lucky enough to work with the photography interns to receive new head shots!

Photo credit: Diana Lake

I will always be grateful for my experience at Music@Menlo. I learned so much about myself, what it means to sit down and interpret a work, and how to deal with such a busy schedule and still be the best version of myself as a musician and as a person. To hear more about my experience, check out the video Music@Menlo "To Be an IP", put together by the talented videographers at Music@Menlo.

Until next time,
Francesca

PMP and Vacation in Romania

Hello there! My apologies for the month-long hiatus. The first two and a half weeks of June was spent at the Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, marking my third summer of attendance. My experience there was amazing as always...sight-reading with friends and faculty, performing with Mr. P, sitting on the dock watching the sunset, bonfires on the beach, and hours of rehearsal spent with incredible people.

View of the campus from the Lauder Fiddle House

Sight reading with Mr. P

View of the sunset with the moon

PMP was extra special for me this summer, because my boyfriend Radu also attended! He went to the Littles program in high school and this was his first summer back. If it weren't for PMP, he would not have attended Colburn and we would not have met. After the workshop ended, the two of us went to visit his family in Romania. I have visited the country twice before and this time was even better. We spent the first day or so exploring Bucharest before traveling to Radu's home town, Drobeta Turnu Severin. I loved seeing the architecture and colors of the houses and buildings, as well as experiencing the food!

with Radu and my mother in front of the Danube 

view of Drobeta Turnu Severin from the water castle tower

view of Drobeta Turnu Severin from the water castle tower

view of the Danube

Tismana Monastery! Romania is famous for its monasteries, and this
small one in the mountains was gorgeous

Now I'm back in the states and, after a few days of frustrated phone calls to locate my suitcase from its Parisian vacation (read: it was left in Paris during my layover between flights), I'm ready to kick into high gear preparing for Music@Menlo! See their recent announcement of the International Program participants here.

Until next time,
Francesca

Juilliard Global in São Paulo

I spent the last ten days participating in the Juilliard Global and Santa Marcelina Cultura residency of teaching, coaching, and performing in São Paulo, Brazil. Santa Marcelina Cultura is the government-funded program which runs GURI and EMESP, which provide group lessons and orchestra for over 50,000 kids in Brazil. In addition to performing concerts and interactive performances, we also played in orchestra rehearsals, ran orchestra sectionals, and taught solo masterclasses. I always find any kind of educational performance and engagement incredibly rewarding, but being apart of something this special in a completely different country was amazing. The kids were all so enthusiastic, respectful, and very dedicated.

View from the hotel room: concrete and lush greens

Hanging meats at Sancho Tapas in Rua Augusta

Rehearsal! Note our creative hotel room set-up

Hanging lanterns, graffiti, and foliage at Exquisito 

On our way to perform at a CEU, the community centers

Up front and personal with the Queen of Samba at Ó do Borogodó

Rehearsal space for the GURI Orchestra

With Kimayr, who heard me perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, 6 years ago in São Paolo! 

Collage of photos from our Interactive Performances at the CEU community centers. Photo credit: Claire Bryant

News coverage of the residency

Aside from the enriching musical experience, I also had a fantastic time in São Paolo learning how to speak broken Portugeuse, eating cheese and bread at practically every meal (!), dancing to choros, drinking caipirinhas, and meeting wonderful people. Next, I'm off to Shelter Island for the Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop. Please check my website events page soon for more information on concerts (I am performing with Mr. P this summer!).

Until next time,

Francesca