Special Guest:
Kevin Lin, Concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
Originally from New York, violinist Kevin Lin has received international recognition for his musicianship and “soulful” playing (The Arts Desk). Lin currently serves as Concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Lin is a highly sought after Concertmaster, previously holding the position of Co-Leader in the London Philharmonic Orchestra. His Guest Concertmaster appearances have included the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Lin has performed as a soloist and recitalist across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, and South Korea. In recent years, Lin has received prizes from the Irving M. Klein International Competition (Fourth Prize) and the Schmidbauer International Competition (First Prize), as well as competed in the George Enescu International Violin Competition and Menuhin International Violin Competition.
In addition to solo performances, Lin has collaborated with artists such as the Tokyo and Ebène Quartets, Edgar Meyer, Cho-Liang Lin, Orion Weiss and Andrew Bain. Lin spent his early years studying with Patinka Kopec in New York, and later with Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree. He continued his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia as a recipient of the Mark E. Rubenstein Fellowship, under the pedagogy of Aaron Rosand.
Hosts:
Dr. Mélanie Clapiès, Professor of Violin
Born in Paris, Mélanie Clapiès studied and developed her musical career in Europe before moving to the United States. A passionate chamber musician, she has collaborated with artists such as Roger Tapping, Anthony Marwood, Pavel Vernikov, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Adam Laloum, Guillaume Vincent, Patrick Hemmerlé. Together with cellist Yan Levionnois she recorded the album “Pierrots Lunaires” which was released by Fondamenta. She was also the co-founder of the chamber music festival “En attendant…” in Semur en Brionnais, France.
As an orchestra musician, she regularly performed with the Paris Opera, Lyon’s National Orchestra (ONL), Bordeaux’s National Orchestra (ONB), the conductorless ensemble Les Dissonances, and the period orchestra Le Cercle de l’Harmonie. Dr. Clapiès has held previous violin faculty positions at the Jacques Thibaud Conservatory in Bordeaux, the Toulon Provence Méditerranée Conservatory (Conservatoire TPM), and also taught at the École Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris. She received a master’s degree and Artist Diploma in violin performance from the Yale School of Music where she studied with Syoko Aki, and worked with Mark Steinberg while completing a doctorate at the Manhattan School of Music.
Beyond her love for the traditional classical style, Dr. Clapiès has wide ranging musical interests as a composer and improviser, including new and experimental music, electronic music, and period performance practice. In her spare time, when she is not hiking with her husband Matt Moldover, she loves drawing and writing fiction.
Dr. Lisa Brooks, Dean of the Jordan College of the Arts, Professor of Violin
Lisa Brooks came to Butler in 1994 as a member of the violin faculty. Prior to her appointment as Dean of JCA, she served as Chair of the School of Music and Director of the Graduate Music Program. She held previous faculty appointments at Baylor University, the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, Messiah College, and Dickinson College. Brooks received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in violin performance from West Virginia University. Her doctorate in violin performance is from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
As an orchestral musician, Dr. Brooks is currently principal second violinist of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and a frequent substitute musician with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra on both violin and viola. She presents the pre-concert lectures for the Ensemble Music Society, and is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the International Council of Fine Arts Deans.
In 2013, Brooks received the inaugural Faculty Award for Distinguished Service and Leadership from Butler University, and in 2001, she received a Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis.