Violin Fest
November 15-16, 2024
The WKU Violin Fest is an exciting event that brings together violinists and teachers
of all ages. The Violin Fest features an offering of masterclasses, group classes,
and special topic lectures from world-renowned guests. All classes will be held on
the campus of Western Kentucky University, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Artist-Faculty
includes: Dr. Ela Tokarska (Belmont University), Dr. Boris Abramov (Belmont University), Alessandra Volpi (Belmont University), and Ching-Yi Lin (Western Kentucky University).
Check in is Friday 5:00PM in front of Fine Arts Center Recital Hall. There will be
a table set up and people there to answer any questions that you have. You will get
a packet of useful information for the weekend. You will receive an invoice by early
December in the mail.
Click Below to download PDFs of the Group music
Group Music - Violin part
Group Music - Viola part
Group Music - Violin+Piano
Schedule
Friday, November 15
5:00pm - Check in at FAC Recital Hall (google maps link)
6:00pm - Faculty Recital in FAC Recital Hall
Featuring: Ela Tokarska, Boris Abramov, Alessandra Volpi, Ching-Yi Lin,
and Andrew Braddock
Saturday, November 16
9:00am - 5:00pm - Masterclasses, group classes, lectures, and more.
- Masterclasses with Dr. Tokarska and Dr. Abramov
- Group Class Schedule
- 9:00-10:00am: Beginner Class
- Ant Song, GDG, AEA with bow
- 10:00-11:00am: Suzuki Book 4
- Seitz Concerto no. 5, mvt 1
- 11:00-12:00 noon: Violin Ensemble
- Shostakovich Duet - Praeludium and Gavotte
- 1:30 - 2:30: Suzuki Book 3
- Gavotte Martini & Gavotte in G Minor
- 2:30 - 3:30: Suzuki Book 2
- Musette and Hunter's Chorus
- 3:30 - 4:30: Suzuki Book 1
- Twinkle, Long Long Ago, Allegro
5:00pm - Violin Fest recital, featuring participants and students of WKU
Travel and Parking
Park in the lot labeled “Gated Hilltop Lot” at the corner of Colonnade Dr and State
Street. The traffic pattern on campus has changed, and Google maps has not yet updated.
Access the Gated Hilltop lot from State Street. Don’t trust your phone navigation
if it navigates you through the campus on Hilltop or Colonnade drives.
This map pin is placed across the street from the parking lot. Use your GPS app to
navigate to it: https://goo.gl/maps/Dvq2WpG1GRAZdgrU8
Hotel Information
We have a special group rate at the Hyatt Place, which is within walking distance
to the music building. Reservation group link information will be posted here soon.
For more information, contact Dr. Lin at strings@wku.edu or (270) 745-5939.
Registration Form
Please fill out the registration form below.
Violin Fest is made possible through participant donations. Suggested donation for
Violin Fest 2024 is $35. Additionally, we welcome larger donations to support and
devlop future programming. You can make your secure donation here.
Faculty Members
Ela Tokarska
Dr. Ela Tokarska is a distinguished violinist, violist and pedagogue with rich musical
experience expanding throughout Europe, The United States and Asia. Dr. Tokarska performs
regularly as a soloist, chamber musician, recitalist as well as an orchestral musician.
Her performances included appearances in venues such as the Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Pomeranian Philharmonic, Zielona Gora Philharmonic in Poland, the Lutheran Ichigaya
Center in Tokyo, Julie Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts at the Auburn University,
Callaway Auditorium, LaGrange, GA, The Polish Center of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI,
and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York City.
Born in Poland, Dr. Tokarska began her formal musical education at the Arthur Rubinstein
School of Music in Bydgoszcz and continued her studies at Feliks Nowowiejski Academy
of Music in Bydgoszcz as a violin student of Prof. Jadwiga Kaliszewska. During her
time in Poland, Dr. Tokarska has won many prestigious national competitions including
the National Audition of String Instruments (2004, 2006), the Johann Sebastian Bach
National String Competition (2005), was awarded the European Center of Culture Award
(2005), as well as the Viva La Musica Foundation Award (2005-2007), and from 2007-2010
was granted the Marshal of Torun Scholarship for her musical achievements. In 2010,
Dr. Tokarska was awarded a prestigious Woodruff Scholarship that allowed her to continue
her musical education under Prof. Sergiu Schwartz at the Columbus State University,
Schwob School of Music in The United States.
Dr. Tokarska established herself in recent years as an active performer and pedagogue.
In the summer of 2013, Dr. Tokarska was touring around Japan in a series of Tokarski
Duo concerts, which was supported by the Polish Embassy in Japan and the Polish Institute
in Tokyo, where she performed alongside her brother and pianist Kamil Tokarski. In
2017 Dr. Tokarska was awarded the Second Prize Winner of the American Fine Arts Festival
International Concerto Competition.
She performs regularly with prestigious ensembles across the southeast including the
Columbus and LaGrange Symphony Orchestras in Georgia, Charleston, and Hilton Head
Symphony Orchestras in South Carolina, as well as Fayetteville and Greensboro Symphony
Orchestras in North Carolina among others. As an orchestral musician she performed
with such world-renowned artists like Emanuel Ax, Olga Kern, Yevgeny Kutik, Bella
Hristova, Mayuko Kamio, and others. Besides her extensive experience as an orchestral
musician, Dr. Tokarska performs regularly as a soloist, chamber musician and recitalist
As an avid soloist Dr. Tokarska performed with such orchestras like Capella Bydgostensis
in Poland, the Estate Musicale Frentana Festival Orchestra in Italy, LaGrange Symphony
Orchestra and Schwob Philharmonic Orchestra in the US. As a chamber musician and recitalist
Dr. Tokarska recently performed at the Fundraiser Concert for Ukraine as well as the
Chamber Music Series - Rice Toyota Sitkovetsky & Friends in Greensboro NC. She served
as a guest artist at the Schwob School of Music faculty recitals, where she performed
alongside world-renowned artists such as Wendy Warner, Alexander Kobrin, and Sergiu
Schwartz.
As a pedagogue and an educator Dr. Tokarska has been working with various educational
institutions developing music programs in both her home country and in the United
States. She has been part of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic Education
Series where she presented, lectured, and performed works by Polish composers as part
of the Polish music outreach program. Since 2011 she has been teaching at the Schwob
School of Music Preparatory Division, Columbus Symphony Orchestra - Making Music Matters
Program, LaGrange Symphony Orchestra – Strings Attached Program and Ovation Summer
Music Camp Program, where she taught violin lessons, coached chamber music groups,
lead orchestra rehearsals, and orchestra sectional rehearsals, as well as worked as
a violin instructor at local elementary schools in Georgia.
In 2018 Dr. Tokarska served as an Adjunct Professor at LaGrange College in Georgia
and from 2019 to 2022 was an Instructor of Violin at the University of North Carolina
in Greensboro. She holds a Doctoral Degree in Violin Performance and Pedagogy Cognate
from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Bachelor's degree, Master degree
as well as her Artist Diploma in Violin Performance from the Columbus State University,
Schwob School of Music. Dr. Tokarska performs on a violin made by Wojciech Topa in
2016, in Zakopane, Poland.
Boris Abramov
Hailed as “a violinist of outstanding technical accomplishment and exceptional musical
talent” (Fanfare Magazine), violinist Boris Abramov has established himself as an
versatile artist, performing across the world as a soloist as well as a chamber and
orchestral musician.
Mr. Abramov began studying the violin at the age of 6, and continued his studies at
the Schwob School of Music, Columbus State University in the United States with the
renowned violinist and pedagogue Sergiu Schwartz. During his studies, Mr. Abramov
has won numerous awards at the national and international levels including a prize
at the 2009 Pablo de Sarasate International Competition in Pamplona, Spain. In 2021,
Mr. Abramov received the Young Alumni Award from Columbus State University “in recognition
of a commitment to excellence in post-collegiate life and a significant or ongoing
commitment to extraordinary work, research, volunteerism or service to Columbus State
University”.
Mr. Abramov’s international performing career included appearances as a soloist with
the Jerusalem Festival, Columbus, Lagrange, Brevard, Auburn, and Verde Valley Sinfonietta
Orchestras as well as recitals in France, Belgium, Estonia, Switzerland, Norway, Russia
and across the United States. Recent engagements include performances with the American
Chamber Players as well as performances at the Killington and Montecito Music Festivals
in Vermont and California. Mr. Abramov recent chamber music collaborations include
world-renowned performers such as Alexander Kobrin, Peter Takacs, Esther Park, Carmine
Miranda, Kyung Eun Choi and Chad Ibison.
Boris Abramov’s debut album, Mozart-Beethoven Violin and Cello Duets with the renowned
cellist, Carmine Miranda was released to critical acclaim by Navona Records and was
awarded the Silver Medal at the 2017 Global Music Awards and nominated for a Hollywood
Music in Media Award.
An avid orchestral musician, Mr. Abramov served as principal second violinist of
the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (2014-2023), and regularly invited to perform with
symphony orchestras across the US including the Charleston, Albany, Columbus, Hilton
Head, and Paducah symphonies.
As an educator, Mr. Abramov serves as Vice-President of the Samuel Vargas International
Music Foundation and conducts seminars and masterclasses in some of the finest music
festivals and institutions across the world. Mr. Abramov’s students have continued
their studies in some of the world’s finest universities and hold prestigious positions
in leading orchestras and music institutions. Mr. Abramov is currently on the violin
faculty of the Schwob School of Music – Columbus State University (Columbus, GA) and
Belmont University (Nashville, TN).
Mr. Abramov performs on a Sergio Peresson violin, made in 1982 in Haddonfield, NJ
Alessandra Volpi
Italian pianist Alessandra Volpi began her piano studies at the age of four under the direction of Maestro Gaeta in
Carrara, Italy and with Busoni Competition Winner Daniel Rivera at the Livorno Conservatory,
Italy. She had her orchestral debut at age ten playing Mozart K.488 Piano Concerto
with the Boario Terme Orchestra in Lombardia and from there, furthered her studies
at the Florence and Milan Conservatory in Italy. At sixteen, she was awarded a full
tuition scholarship to continue her music education with Maestro Gary Amano of Utah
State University where she graduated Cum Laude. Ms. Volpi then spent several months
in Budapest, Hungary, learning from Liszt Academy Professor and internationally renowned
pianist Endre Hegedűs. During her career, Ms. Volpi has had the opportunity to participate
in masterclasses with many legendary mentors such as Leon Fleisher, Stewart Gordon,
Jerome Lowenthal, Olga Kern, Norman Krieger, Charles Rosen, Mitzuko Uchida, Marina
Lomazov and Joseph Rackers. Ms.Volpi has also taken part in masterclasses at Carnegie
Hall as well as Festivals at the Juilliard School in New York City, Summerfest at
The Curtis Institute of Music and Piano Sonoma at Boston Conservatory.
Ms. Volpi has played concerts with several Italian and United States orchestras including
a recent performance of the Clara Schumann piano concerto with the Nashville Concerto
Orchestra. She has appeared often on the 91 Classical Radio station in Nashville alongside
many Nashville Symphony musicians and chamber music ensembles. An avid chamber musician,
Ms. Volpi performs often with Grammy nominated chamber ensemble Alias as well as Nashville
alt-classical ensemble Chatterbird and contemporary ensemble Intersections. As part
of the 2021-2022 season of Sparks and Wiry Cries SongSlam, Ms. Volpi appeared alongside
soprano Rebekah Alexander to present a new composition by German composer Ingrid Stölzel
at the Blue Building in New York City in January 2022.
Ms. Volpi was invited to play the inaugural concert for the opening season at Palazzo
Cucchiari in Carrara, Italy where she collaborated with her long time friend and Nashville
Symphony violinist, Alison Gooding Hoffman. Some of her most recent recordings include
an avant-garde film adaptation of Weill & Brecht - Seven Deadly Sins; commissioned
by soprano Rebekah Alexander which was presented internationally in 2021, Cristina
Spinei’s Trio recorded for Minnesota Public Radio and Lukas Foss “Thirteen Ways of
looking at a Blackbird” for the Nashville based alt-classical ensemble Chatterbird.
Ching-Yi Lin
Violinist Ching-Yi Lin’s recent performances and masterclasses have taken her to the
Barratt Due Institute of Music in Norway, the Shenyang and Xi’an Conservatories in
China, Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of British
Columbia. She’s also performed in New York on the Museum of Modern Art’s Summer Garden
Series, at Sejong Center in South Korea, and in Taiwan at the National Concert Hall
in Taipei.
Her recent album on MSR Classics features sonatas for violin and piano by Charles
Ives, William Bolcom, and John Corigliano. In reviewing the album, Gramophone noted
the “panache and warmth” of Ms. Lin’s playing and described her interpretations as
“a series of tender, lively, and challenging conversations.”
A dedicated and creative teacher, Ching-Yi Lin is Associate Professor at Western Kentucky
University and also serves on the faculty at the Indiana University Summer String
Academy and the WKU Summer String Institute. Previously, she served on the faculty
of the Sommersymfoni i Kristiansand in Norway and Chicago Chamber Music Festival.
In 2013, Ching-Yi was presented with the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service
in Washington, DC, recognizing her work in bringing music into the lives of young
people throughout her community. And in 2017, Ching-Yi received a Sisterhood grant
from Western Kentucky University to direct student teachers and volunteers in teaching
the violin to refugee children in Bowling Green, KY. In 2020, this program developed
into a non-profit organization called Bridging Cultures with Music. The program offers
college music majors an opportunity to teach, inspire, and make an impact in a global
classroom setting.
Ching-Yi regularly presents at the American String Teachers Association National Conference
and is an active clinician and adjudicator. As a board member for the Daraja Music
Initiative, a non-profit organization in Moshi, Tanzania, Dr. Lin founded a beginning
strings program for students of the Majengo Primary School in 2016. Over 60 string
instruments were donated from across the United States for this endeavor. She also
currently serves as the Secretary and on the Board of Directors of the Suzuki Association
of the Americas.
Dr. Lin holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music, and she undertook additional studies at the Vienna Conservatory.
She plays on a violin made in 1863 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume.
www.chingyilin.com
Andrew Braddock
Violist Andrew Braddock’s teaching and performing career has recently taken him to
the Sejong Center in Seoul, South Korea, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan,
and the International Viola Congress in Rotterdam.
A passionate educator, he has given masterclasses at Vanderbilt University, the Chinese
Culture University in Taipei, Taiwan, Bowling Green State University, and many others.
He teaches at Western Kentucky University (WKU) and is the co-director of the WKU
String Academy. In the summers, he teaches at the Indiana University Summer String
Academy and directs the WKU Summer String Institute, an intensive summer camp for
students ages 4 to 18 based around chamber music and orchestral performance. His creative
teaching led him to co-found Bridging Cultures with Music, a 501(c)(3) organization
that supports various pedagogical and outreach programs in his community and abroad.
Research, writing, and intellectual discovery are central to his artistic mission.
His writings have appeared in publications such as The Strad and the Journal of the British Music Society. He is currently the editor of the American Suzuki Journal, a quarterly publication of the Suzuki Association of the Americas. From 2017 to 2021,
Dr. Braddock was the editor of the Journal of the American Viola Society, the most prominent peer-reviewed publication for viola scholarship. The journal
presents musicological and music theory research relating to the viola, in addition
to pedagogical insights and current reviews. Dr. Braddock spearheaded an issue devoted
to the 40th anniversary of George Rochberg’s viola sonata, examining it from various
musicological, historical, and theoretical perspectives. He previously served as the
journal’s New Music Editor and on the board of the American Viola Society.
He is the principal violist of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, and he regularly plays
with the Nashville Symphony and the Nashville Opera. He holds degrees from Indiana
University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Kentucky. His principal teachers
are Atar Arad, Kathryn Plummer, and John Graham. He plays a viola made by Giovanni
Pistucci, ca. 1920.
Visit his personal website for his recordings, research, and arrangements for viola:
andybraddock.com
