Geoff, Livia, and Stephen

Tonight Livia and Stevie came over to perform Brahms Violin Concerto. Like last time, about fifteen friends showed up to listen. I'm glad to be hosting these sorts of events -- it's not often that one gets to sit ten feet away from a professional musician and listen to them play. It's very different than sitting in a concert hall watching someone perform, because you can see and hear everything -- a slight furrowing of the brow, a subtle opening of the mouth for involutary inhalations caused by a phrase or resolution in the music, the wonderful, sticky sound of the bow catching between bow strokes in fast runs (when the bow is "in the string")... Anyway, it was neat, and inspiring, because once Livia and Stephen were done playing, they mingled with the crowd and became normal people again. Poor Geoff had to turn pages, so he couldn't even listen to his wife play. :(

It's also neat to pick out a few people from a bunch of different groups and to throw them in a room to see what happens. It makes me so happy to have my friends all meet and talk to each other. I don't know why, really. I guess it's nice because it makes my social circle feel more cohesive.

Oh -- I also took some photos of Geoff for some festival brochure/program. They didn't turn out too badly, for ten minutes of work!

Gotta go to bed now. I'm not going to be posting here for about three weeks because I'm taking off for Micronesia tomorrow morning! I'm sure there will be many photos when I return. :)

geoff's festival photos
run-through at my house, earlier in the day	emile, heidi, johnvey (sp?), sean, elliot, mandy, carey, sophie
emile, heidi, johnvey	heidi and johnvey
carey and heather	mandy, munira, elliot, emile, zhenya
mandy and munira - tongues! i remember misspelling 'tongues' in elementary school once. my teacher got really mad at me.	zhenya and scott
sean, elliot, mandy, carey, sophie	stephen, sigrid and their amazingly cute 2 1/2 week old baby!

Artist Biographies
--------------------------

Livia Sohn, Violin

At the age of 12, Livia Sohn was named first prize winner of London's 1989 Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition. Since then, she has been guest soloist with such orchestras as the Boston Pops, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Oregon, and Phoenix Symphonies, the Aspen Festival and Chamber Orchestras, as well as numerous others. In 1999, NPR did a week-long feature of Livia and broadcasted it to over 400 cities in the United States. Abroad, she has been soloist with orchestras in England, Germany, the Czech Republic, Iceland, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel, Cyprus, Mexico, Finland, and Korea. She has appeared in recitals at New York's Mostly Mozart Festival, and Chicago's Ravinia Festival, and gave a recital as part of the inauguration of the new Harris Hall at the Aspen Music Festival. Highlights of this season include a return engagement with the Phoenix Symphony under James DePreist, a two week tour of England with the Czech National Orchestra, and an appearance with the Budapest Symphony in their famed opera hall. Livia went to the Juilliard School where she studied with Dorothy DeLay.

Stephen Prutsman, Piano

Active as an orchestra soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, composer, and arranger, Stephen Prutsman's artistry has been acclaimed by critics and audiences worldwide. An Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and medalist at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition and the Queen Elizabeth Competition of Belgium, Steve has performed with many of the world's foremost orchestras, including those of Los Angeles, Baltimore, Detroit, Dallas, Seattle, and Minnesota, in addition to the Belgian National Orchestra, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, and the Prague Radio Symphony. In recital, he has appeared in music centers in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Japan. The New York Philharmonic with Yo-Yo Ma recently performed an arrangement by Steve and a Blues arrangement of his is features in the upcoming film, "The Man Who Cried." His original compositions have been heard throughout the United States and abroad, and this season saw the debut of his multimedia work for piano and orchestra premiered with the Santa Cruz Symphony. Steve is the founder of the International Music Festival in El Paso, Texas, where he served as director for the past ten years, and is a frequent guest at the Marlboro Music Festival.