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Charles W. Bolen Faculty Recital: Igor Kalnin, violin
Saturday, September 23, 2023 , 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm CDT
Award-winning Duo MemDi was founded by violinist Igor Kalnin and pianist Rochelle Sennet in the summer of 2010, when they served on the faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan. The objective of Duo MemDi is to perform music that embraces the diversity of world cultures. Particularly, they focus on commissioning and performing music of composers from underrepresented groups. All of the Duo’s live performances are from memory – a rare feat in the world of chamber music. They feel that it allows for a connection to composers’ ideas in a more holistic, insightful way. These ideals inspired the name of the duo: Mem[ory] and Di[versity] = MemDi. They will present a recital on Saturday, September 23 at 7pm in Kemp Recital Hall, performing music by prominent African American composers Irene Britton Smith and H. Leslie Adams, as well as by celebrated Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Violinist Igor Kalnin has performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and an orchestra leader, including solo engagements at Carnegie Hall in New York and Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Currently, he is Artist-Teacher of Violin/Assistant Professor at Illinois State University. A native of Russia, he started his professional career as a faculty member at Glinka State Conservatory in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, and later joined Russian String Orchestra in Moscow. After relocating to the United States in 2004, he served as Violin Instructor at Yale University, Assistant Professor of Violin at Luther College, and a leader for several orchestras on the East Coast and in the Midwest
Pianist Rochelle Sennet has established herself as a well-known performer, teacher, and scholar. Her recital programs showcase her versatility at the keyboard, with frequent performances of works by J.S. Bach and Black composers such as Leslie Adams, Jeffrey Mumford, and Pulitzer-Prize winning composer George Walker. She was co-winner for the Krannert Center Debut Artist Competition, national finalist at the MTNA Steinway & Sons Young Artist piano competition, and a prize winner in numerous competitions such as the Kingsville International Piano competition, and the US Open Music Piano Concerto Competition. She is the inaugural Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she also serves as Associate Professor of Piano in the School of Music. Dr. Sennet is a Yamaha Artist and a voting member of the Recording Academy.
