An all French program which includes the Nocturne et Cortège of Lili Boulanger, the Violin Sonata in C Major of Reynaldo Hahn, and the Violin Sonata #1 in A Major, Op. 13 of Gabriel Faure.
Nocturne et Cortège, Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
Violin Sonata in C Major, Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947)
I. Sans lenteur, tendrement
II. Véloce
III. Modéré, très à l'aise, au gré de l'interprète
Violin Sonata #1 in A Major, Op. 13, Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
I. Allegro molto
II. Andante
III. Scherzo: Allegro vivo
IV. Finale: Allegro quasi presto
This concert is made possible, in part, with the generous support of Apple Bank.
Laura Hamilton was Principal Associate Concertmaster for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, where she led hundreds of performances over a tenure of 33 years. She was concertmaster for many of the MET's popular “Live in HD” videocasts, including Carmen, Parsifal, Turandot, Faust, Salome, and Madama Butterfly. Previously a member of the Chicago Symphony, she appeared with that orchestra as concerto soloist with Maestro Georg Solti. Before Chicago, her first orchestral position was with the New Jersey Symphony, where she was Principal Second Violinist for two years.
Laura is currently Artistic Director and Concertmaster for the summer festival Classical Tahoe in Incline Village, Nevada, as well as a concertmaster for Festival Napa Valley. As a chamber musician, she has performed with Berkshire Bach and other New England festivals including Marlboro, Manchester, and Bard; in summer festivals in Norway and Greece; and on the MET Chamber Ensemble series at Carnegie Hall. She appeared as guest concertmaster for the Seattle Symphony, the American Symphony Orchestra, the Welsh National Opera, and the Adelaide Symphony in Australia. In 2014, while on leave from the MET, Laura served for one season as concertmaster for Opera Australia at the Sydney Opera House. A highlight of her Sydney experience was a galaconcert with famed tenor Jonas Kaufmann; her rendition of Massenet's Meditation from Thais garnered rave reviews praising her “radiant,” “serenely beautiful interpretation.”
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Laura received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Manhattan School of Music, where she was the Nathan Milstein Scholarship recipient. Laura teaches violin and chamber music at New York University, and she has been a visiting instructor at New World Symphony, Manhattan School of Music, and Bel Canto Institute in Florence, Italy. In 2021, she was a juror for the 14th International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Making Competition in Poznan, Poland.
Pianist Martha Locker leads a vibrant musical life as a soloist, collaborative artist and teacher. Born in Chicago, Martha began her piano studies at age 4. Her family relocated to Pittsburgh in 1984, where she studied with Natalie Phillips through high school.
At the age of 9 she won the Pittsburgh Symphony's concerto competition and had the opportunity to solo with the orchestra. Martha has also appeared as soloist with the
Knoxville Symphony, the Orchestra Nova, the Westmoreland Symphony, the New Juilliard Ensemble, the New York University Orchestra and the Danbury Music Center Orchestra.
Martha has been a fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, and has also participated in the Kyoto International Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, and the Chautauqua Institution summer piano program.
One of the top collaborative artists in New York, Martha regularly performs in recital with many esteemed soloists. Some collaborative highlights have included performances with Sherban Lupu, violinist, Keith Underwood, flutist, and Joseph Alessi, trombonist. With Alessi, Martha has toured in the US and Russia as well as being one of the regular pianists for his seminar. Martha has also been one of the official pianists for NYU Summer Strings, the International Trombone Festival, the Southeastern Trombone Symposium and the International Double Reed Society Convention.
Martha can be heard in recording on many albums, including “the Phenomenon of Threes” as part of the NYU Woodwind Faculty Trio, “Parts to Play” with violinist Moonkyung Lee, and three albums with her late uncle, cellist Richard Locker.
Martha has lived in New York since 1995 and holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Juilliard School, where she studied with Peter Serkin, Jacob Lateiner, and Jerome Lowenthal. She also completed an Advanced Certificate in Music Education at New York University where she studied with Miyoko Lotto. Martha is an adjunct faculty member at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn and a collaborative pianist at Juilliard and NYU. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, trombonist Tom Hutchinson.