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Kutztown University Faculty Artist Series to Present Bach to Mitropoulos: A Musical Unfolding

Kutztown, PA (09/19/2017) — The Kutztown University Faculty Artists Series will present From Bach to Mitropoulos: A Musical Unfolding on Monday, Sept. 25, at 7:30 p.m. in Schaeffer Auditorium. Performing will be Dr. Maria Asteriadou, associate professor, on piano, and Kurt Nikkanen, instructor, on violin. The concert is free and open to the public.

The evening will consist of inspiring and exciting music by three great composers: Bach, the 'father' of western classical music; Dimitri Mitropoulos, twentieth century's greatest conductors; and Camille Saint-Saens, one of the Romantic Era's most beloved masters. Each different with a common thread that links them - the deep religious faith that served as inspiration and guide to each.

Heralded as "an artist with intense personality, virtuosic flair, unusual poise and intimate contact with style" by The New York Times, Greek pianist Maria Asteriadou is an acclaimed soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue.

Her performances have taken her throughout the world, appearing in recitals and as soloist with orchestra in major concert halls throughout the United States, South America, Canada and Europe. She has performed with the Moscow Radio Symphony, Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the National Symphony of Costa Rica, the Stuttgart Kamerata, Luxembourg Philharmonia, the Bucharest Chamber Orchestra, Iasi Philharmonic Romania, the Adrian (Michigan) Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Chamber Academy, the Louisiana Sinfonietta, the Athens Camerata

American violinist Kurt Nikkanen is an international soloist of the highest order. Born in Hartford, Conn., he began his violin studies at the age of three, later studying with Roman Totenberg and Jens Ellerman. At twelve he gave his Carnegie Hall debut, performing with the New York Symphony; two years later he was invited by Zubin Mehta to perform the Paganini Concerto No.1 with the New York Philharmonic for a Young People's Concert. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he was a scholarship student of Dorothy DeLay. Nikkanen regularly receives invitations from the leading orchestras and presenters in the USA and Europe, and has toured Japan and the Far East. In North America he has appeared with the Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Cleveland Orchestra, and in Europe with the BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Dresden Staatskapelle. He has worked with many leading conductors as well as the Athens and Thessaloniki State Orchestras.

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