Fontana Chamber Arts presents its season finale Friday evening, Jun 6 at Western Michigan University's Dalton Center Recital Hall, featuring internationally acclaimed cellist Amit Peled in collaboration with the Stulberg International String Competition. Cara Lieurance talks to Tina Gorter and Megan Yankee about the upcoming concert and masterclass.
The 7:30 p.m. concert showcases Peled performing works by Grieg, Fauré, Strauss, and Kopytman, accompanied by Spanish pianist Daniel Del Pino, a longtime collaborator.
Peled, a professor at Johns Hopkins University's Peabody Institute and member of the Tempest Trio, brings extensive experience to Kalamazoo. "He's been a very active supporter of the Stulberg. We've actually had him twice as a judge. The first time was in 2017, and then he returned in 2022," says Megan Yankee, Executive Director of the Stulberg International String Competition.
The collaboration allowed for the Stulberg to underwrite a masterclass Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon at WMU. Seven local student musicians will participate, including a student ensemble featuring pianist Isaac Sandlin from Vicksburg High School and cellist Braden Mies from St. Joseph High School.
Gorter is bringing a new emphasis to the importance of peer collaboration in musical education in her role at Fontana. "If we can reach the students at the middle school level when everything is being formed musically and intellectually and developmentally, they won't forget it," she says.
Tickets for Friday's concert are available at FontanaMusic.org, while Saturday's masterclass remains free and open to the public.
