Frequency presents Dialogues, with guest violinist Yura Lee

Frequency is excited to welcome special guest violinist Yura Lee to the Meany Theater stage. Lee, recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, will perform duos with members of Frequency, before the trio sets its sights on Ernő Dohnányi’s Serenade. Duos by Luciano Berio, Bruno Maderna, Maurice Ravel, and Melia Watras. 

UW concert listing: Frequency presents Dialogues, with special guest violinist Yura Lee

Program Notes
Welcome to Dialogues! Frequency is thrilled to welcome violinist Yura Lee to the Meany stage. On the first half of the concert, Sæunn, Melia and I will each perform duets with Yura, before returning to the stage as a trio for the second half. The program has some of our favorite musical conversations; duos by Berio, Maderna, Ravel and our own Melia Watras, followed by the Dohnányi Serenade, one of the staples of the string trio repertoire. Notes on Melia’s pieces are below.

Many thanks to the University of Washington School of Music and Director Richard Karpen for making this concert possible.
—Michael Jinsoo Lim

Melia Watras: Lontano for violin and viola (2017)
For me, the term lontano (far-off, remote) in music conjures up something defined, yet undefined at the same time. It brings to my mind Alberto Giacometti’s minuscule sculptures. Giacometti spent a period making these works that are about the size of a finger. In them, he was able to create the effect of looking at something at a great distance, in part by the contrast between the tiny subject and the base on which they are displayed. It’s amazing how Giacometti communicates so much with very little information to the viewer. 

In my short piece, which is part of my Folk Style Project, the primary conflict is between expressive material, and the restriction of the essence of a string player’s identity, their sound.

Melia Watras: Vetur öngum lánar lið for violin and viola (2017)
Vetur öngum lánar lið for violin and viola is an adaptation of my piece for voice and cello, written for my colleague and close friend, cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir. The title (English translation: “Winter aids no one”) comes from a poem written by Sæunn’s great-grandfather, Bjarni Jónsson. That poem and an additional Jónsson work, Ævidansinn (The Dance of a Lifetime) provided the text for the music. The piece was originally written in 2016 as part of my Folk Style Project, and transcribed for violin and viola the following year.
—Melia Watras

Melia Watras: Wise Tentacles for violin and viola (2017)
Infinity arms,
Infinity tentacles,
Kusama, Y not?
—Michael Jinsoo Lim

Michael Jinsoo Lim and Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir join forces with pianist Cristina Valdés for Beethoven Triple Concerto

Freq members Michael Jinsoo Lim and Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir recently performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with pianist Cristina Valdés and the University of Washington Symphony under the direction of David Rahbee. Here's a nice photo from the dress rehearsal onstage at Benaroya Hall!

Photo courtesy of the University of Washington Symphony

Frequency gets Amped on November 17, 2017!

Join us on Friday, November 17, 2017, for a program that includes amplified strings, electronics, video and a 5-string electric violin! Works by Daniel Bjarnason, Richard Einhorn and Frances White. More info here:

Cornish Presents...Frequency: Amped

Frequency presents Bach Refractions on May 13, 2017! Free admission!

We can't wait for Bach Refractions, the final concert of our inaugural season! Come join us on Saturday, May 13, 2017 at 7:30pm in Brechemin Auditorium at the University of Washington School of Music. Admission is free! More info below:

UW concert listing: Frequency presents Bach Refractions

Program notes (excerpted):

Welcome to Bach Refractions! Refraction occurs when a wave of light or sound passes from one medium to another. When the wave passes through the second medium, it deviates from the straight path it would have otherwise taken. Tonight, Frequency takes a look at Bach from different angles. You’ll hear works by Bach in their original instrumentation, arrangements of Bach, and works by other composers who were inspired by Bach.

Bach wrote the iconic Goldberg Variations for keyboard. Tonight, we’ll perform selections from Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s transcription for string trio. Two Bach Preludes, one from a solo violin partita and one from a solo cello suite, are presented tonight, along with works that they directly influenced. Legendary Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe wrote a set of six solo violin sonatas (inspired by Bach’s six works for solo violin). In the first movement of his second sonata, Ysaÿe shows his obsession with Bach, quoting the master, while weaving in the Dies irae chant from the traditional Requiem mass. Melia Watras wrote her Prelude as an homage to her beloved former teacher, Atar Arad, and to Bach’s Prelude from his Third Cello Suite.

Also among the Bach-inspired pieces is Paul Hindemith’s Passacaglia, from his Viola Sonata, Op. 11, No. 5. The work is influenced by Bach’s famed Chaconne for solo violin, with notable similarities in form and structure. And it wouldn’t be a Frequency concert without something new on it, so tonight you’ll hear the world premiere of a creative arrangement by Melia of several themes from Bach’s solo cello and violin works.

Melia Watras featured in January 2017 issue of Strings Magazine

Frequency violist Melia Watras is featured in the January 2017 issue of Strings Magazine. Melia wrote about the experience of recording her latest CD, 26, and collaborating with friends such as Atar Arad, Garth Knox, Michael Jinsoo Lim, Richard Karpen and Judith Sherman. Click the link below to read the article:

http://stringsmagazine.com/violist-melia-watras-on-the-joys-of-recording-with-friends/

Liquid Voices video premiere

Frequency violist Melia Watras collaborated with video artist Ha Na Lee for a video of Watras's composition, Liquid Voices. One of the tracks from Watras's upcoming album, 26, Liquid Voices is performed by Watras and her fellow Freq, violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim. The video was premiered on Second Inversion's website: http://secondinversion.org/2017/01/12/video-premiere-liquid-voices-by-melia-watras-presented-with-sono-luminus/

Friday night is concerto night!

On Friday, November 4, Frequency members Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir and Michael Jinsoo Lim will be performing concertos simultaneously in Seattle! Sæunn will play Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with David Rahbee and the University of Washington Symphony at Meany Theater at UW, while Michael will play the Stravinsky Violin Concerto with Emil de Cou and the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra at McCaw Hall. Both performances begin at 7:30pm. In addition to Friday night, Michael will perform the Stravinsky twice on Nov. 5, and also on Nov. 10, 11, 12 and 13.   Click the links below for more info!

https://music.washington.edu/events/2016-11-04/uw-symphony-saeunn-thorsteinsdottir-cello

https://www.pnb.org/season/16-17/brief-fling/

Frequency welcomes special guests Cristina Valdés and Cordula Merks

Frequency is excited to perform with special guests: pianist Cristina Valdés and violinist Cordula Merks on our debut concert on Sunday, Oct. 23! Cristina is on the faculty at the University of Washington, where she teaches piano and directs the Modern Music Ensemble. Cordula is Assistant Concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony and Concertmaster of the San Francisco Ballet. Cristina and Mike will play Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata, and Cordula will join Mike, Melia and Sæunn on Janacek's String Quartet No. 1 ("Kreutzer Sonata"). We are thrilled to have Cordula and Cristina play with us! 

Pianist Cristina Valdés; photo by Monica Jane Frisell

Considered one of today’s foremost interpreters of contemporary music, Cristina Valdés is known for presenting innovative concerts with repertoire ranging from Bach to Xenakis.  She has performed across four continents and in venues such as Lincoln Center, Le Poisson Rouge, Miller Theatre, Jordan Hall, and the Kennedy Center.  Ms. Valdés has appeared both as a soloist and chamber musician at festivals worldwide including New Music in Miami, the Foro Internacional de Musica Nueva in Mexico City, Brisbane Arts Festival, the Festival of Contemporary Music in El Salvador, Havana Contemporary Music Festival, and the Singapore Arts Festival.

An avid chamber musician and collaborator, Ms. Valdés has toured extensively with the Bang On a Can “All Stars”, and has performed with the Seattle Chamber Players, the Mabou Mines Theater Company, the Parsons Dance Company, and Antares.  She has also been a featured performer on both the Seattle Symphony’s Chamber Series and [UNTITLED] concerts.

Cristina has appeared as concerto soloist with the Johns Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Seattle Philharmonic, Philharmonia Northwest, the Eastman BroadBand, and the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra.  Most recently, she performed the piano solo part of the Ives 4th Symphony with the Seattle Symphony.

Cristina Valdés joined the faculty of the UW School of Music in Fall 2014 as an artist in residence in the keyboard program. 

Violinist Cordula Merks; photo by Larry McDaniels

Violinist Cordula Merks joins the University of Washington School of Music in Fall 2016 as an artist-in-residence in the strings program.

Assistant concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony,  Merks joined the first violin section of the Seattle Symphony in May of 2011. Before moving to Seattle, she held concertmaster positions with Germany's Essen Philharmonic, Bochum Symphony and Bergische Symphony. She has served as a guest concertmaster for many orchestras, including the Dresden Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, West German Radio Orchestra, Cologne Opera and Portuguese National Opera. This last summer she played as part of Claudio Abbado's famous Lucerne Festival Orchestra and toured in Europe as concertmaster of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

When not playing in the orchestra, Merks enjoys playing as a soloist and especially as a chamber musician and has performed in the US, Israel and all over Europe.

Merks was born in Germany and spent her childhood in Holland. She started playing the violin at the age of 6 and was accepted by the Young Talent Department of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague at the age of 12. Her teachers have included Shmuel Ashkenasi and Herman Krebbers, among others and she holds degrees from the Amsterdam Conservatory and Northern Illinois University.

She has won prizes at all Dutch national competitions, at various concerto competitions and at several international competitions, including the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria.

Cordula is married to Seattle Symphony contrabassoonist Mike Gamburg, and together they have a daughter, Mia.

Get to know Frequency violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim

5 Questions for Michael Jinsoo Lim :

What do you love most about being a musician?

I love that feeling, as a performer or listener, when everything else disappears, and you are completely lost in the music.

Who or what is your greatest musical inspiration?

In college, I was very fortunate to get to study with the legendary Josef Gingold at Indiana University. I can't help thinking of him every time I pick up my violin. When I started out in Mr. Gingold's class, I liked the violin. By the time I left, I loved everything about it.

What profession would you be interested in, if you weren't a musician?

I was fond of science and math in school, but for most of my childhood I wanted to be a professional basketball player. As I got older, it became evident that my vibrato was way better than my cross-over dribble, so...   Now, I think being a chef would be something I could really enjoy.

What do you like to do in your spare time? (...if you have any spare time!)

I like to cook a lot, and I spend a lot of my free time thinking about food! On Sundays in the fall, when I'm not performing, you can find me in my man-cave, glued to the TV, watching the Seattle Seahawks.

What is your favorite food/meal/restaurant?

The three things that I seemingly never get tired of eating are: pizza, steak and sushi.

For more info on Michael Jinsoo Lim, please visit www.michaeljinsoolim.com

Get to know Frequency violist Melia Watras

5 Questions for Melia Watras:

What do you love most about being a musician?

Music is such an all-encompassing endeavor. I love how I can immerse every conscious moment I have with music. I feel lucky to have the privilege of being a musician!

Who or what is your greatest musical inspiration?

My former teacher Atar Arad, who I studied with at Indiana University, is my greatest musical inspiration. I love Atar. He’s my musical hero, who I’ve modeled much of my career path after, including being active as a composer. As an artist, he always searches for more, never satisfied with conventional ways of doing things; that’s had a big impact on me. I also draw a lot of inspiration form the playing of Isaac Stern. I can listen to him play anything. It’s such strong and natural music-making, with something very human about the sound at all times. I was fortunate to get to spend time with him at the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Seminar at Carnegie Hall. It was a life-changing experience.

What profession would you be interested in, if you weren't a musician?

I’m really drawn to visual art, and could imagine myself being a painter, or possibly a sculptor (if I had had the training, of course!).

What do you like to do in your spare time? (...if you have any spare time!)

I do Pilates. As a violist, I need to keep my body functioning as well as it can, and Pilates really helps with that. My instructor, Chris Blackburn of Metropolitan Pilates, plays the viola! It was completely coincidental that I ended up with a teacher that also play the viola. He is extremely fun and creative as a Pilates teacher, and these are qualities that I try to emulate with my own viola teaching. I also love to read, but wish I had more time for it!

What is your favorite food/meal/restaurant?

Anyone who has been over to our house for dinner knows what an amazing chef my husband (and Frequency violinist) Mike is. So, I’d have to say that my favorite food is anything that is served at Chez Hubby! Most especially crab cakes, which I request every year for my birthday. Luckily for me, I know the chef and he is happy to oblige!

For more info on Melia Watras, please visit www.meliawatras.com

Get to know Frequency cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir

5 Questions for Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir :

What do you love most about being a musician?

I just got off a tour, so I would have to say the places and the people that I meet and have the privilege of collaborating with.

Who or what is your greatest musical inspiration?

Many musicians inspire me, but I am most inspired by human nature and interaction in general.  People fascinate me!

What profession would you be interested in, if you weren't a musician?

I really can’t imagine doing anything else, but if god forbid something happened so that I couldn’t play, I think I would do something completely different, like open a coffee shop.

What do you like to do in your spare time? (...if you have any spare time!)

Most of my spare time goes into sleeping and eating, and I love both of those!

What is your favorite food/meal/restaurant?

Since I was a little girl in Iceland, I have loved a simply prepared, fresh-caught fish and new potatoes. It´s not fancy, but if you have really great ingredients, the best meals are often simple and prepared with great technique.

For more info on Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, please visit www.saeunn.com

A visit to King-FM

Frequency Artistic Director Michael Jinsoo Lim visited King-FM studios in Seattle to record his appearance on the show Musical Chairs. He shares his thoughts below:

Just back from a visit with Mike Brooks, host of King-FM's popular Friday night show, Musical Chairs, where Pacific Northwest musicians come on the air to share some of their favorite music. I love the format of this show, as it allows the audience to hear some insight into the performer's background, mindset, process, etc. This was my third appearance on the program, and it's always a great pleasure to spend some time talking with Mike and getting the opportunity to share music and thoughts with the King-FM audience. The show will air on Friday, October 7 at 7pm. 

Mike is a gracious host, knowledgable and engaging, and fun to talk to. I was grateful to get the opportunity to introduce Frequency and preview our upcoming debut concert on October 23. I played solo recordings by each of the members of Frequency (Melia, Sæunn and me) as well as repertoire from our debut concert. This is a very exciting season for me: in addition to launching Frequency, 2016-17 gives me the tremendous privilege of soloing with conductor Emil de Cou and the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra on two of my favorite violin concertos: the Stravinsky Concerto and Prokofiev Concerto No. 1. I shared recordings of those pieces by two of my favorite violinists, Isaac Stern and David Oistrakh (let's hear it for old school violin playing!).

Tune in on October 7 at 7pm for King-FM's Musical Chairs to hear works by Britten, Rochberg, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Janacek, Stravinsky and Prokofiev, performed by Thorsteinsdóttir, Watras, Lim (with Emil de Cou and the PNB Orchestra), Szeryng, the Juiiliard String Quartet, Stern and Oistrakh!

One month until Frequency launches

One month from today, on October 23 at 7:30pm, Frequency will make its debut at Meany Theater at the University of Washington in Seattle. Thanks to the incredible Joanne DePue and her team in publicity and marketing at the UW School of Music for this very cool poster! We also love the photo by the amazing Michelle Smith-Lewis! We’ll be posting more info about our musicians and the concert in the coming weeks, on the FreqBlog and our Facebook page. Hope to see you at Meany in 30 days!!

UW concert listing: Frequency Debut Concert

Frequency—a dynamic new chamber ensemble comprising UW faculty members Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir (cello) and Melia Watras (viola), and Pacific Northwest Ballet Concertmaster Michael Jinsoo Lim (violin)—presents The Kretuzer Sonata, a program of interconnected works by Beethoven, Janacek and Watras, as well as improvisation. The group welcomes special guests, UW faculty pianist Cristina Valdes and San Francisco Ballet Concertmaster Cordula Merks, in the debut UW performance.

Frequency begins!

A message from Frequency Artistic Director Michael Jinsoo Lim:

Welcome to the FreqBlog! I’m absolutely thrilled to announce the formation of Frequency, with my wonderful colleagues: violist Melia Watras and cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir. Frequency will begin presenting innovative, invigorating and intriguing concerts in the 2016-17 season.

As a member of the Corigliano Quartet and Open End, and a professional chamber musician for over 20 years, I’ve had the joy and privilege of performing chamber music all over the world. As a Seattle resident now for over a decade, I am excited by the idea of Frequency contributing to the great artistic community of Seattle and beyond. 

Sæunn and Melia are two of the finest musicians I know and I’m honored to play with them. The three of us look forward to performing for you in the very near future!

Please continue to check in on the FreqBlog for all things Frequency!