St Luke’s, Hot Springs Music Festival to present benefit concert
Violinist Kiril Laskarov and pianist Scott Carrell will perform the music of Chopin and Brahms to benefit the Mark Ayers Scholarship of the Hot Springs Music Festival at 3 p.m. Sunday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 228 Spring St.
Laskarov is concertmaster of the Arkansas and Texarkana Symphony orchestras. The audience will have the pleasure of hearing Laskarov perform on a very special instrument: Le Brun, crafted by Antonio Stradivari, dating from 1721, on loan from an anonymous owner. The violin takes its name from its first recorded owner, M. Le Brun from France, where the instrument spent much of the 19th century. This violin is also linked to the 19th-century virtuoso Niccolo Paganini and it dates from what is considered the violin mak- er’s “golden period.” Laskarov will be playing the Brahms Sonata for Violin and Piano in D Minor, Op 108, a news release said.
Carrell has presented numerous performances as a soloist, chamber musician and concerto soloist in France, Germany, Italy, China, and the United States. A graduate of Southwestern Univer- sity, the University of Illinois, and the University of North Texas, he is the recipient of several awards and prizes, including the Dutilleux prize at the 1996 French Piano Institute Festival in Paris. As a composer, he has premiered works for solo piano and various chamber ensembles. Carrell is a professor at Harding University, where he teaches music theory, piano, and related courses. For a solo work, he will play the Chopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72.
While all apprentices are on a full-tuition scholarship, fees must be paid to cover room and board. “Mark Ayers served on the board of directors of the Hot Springs Music Festival and was deeply committed to ensuring no deserving student was denied participation in the Festival due to lack of funds,” said Executive Director Lynn Payette.
There is no charge for admission, but contributions to the Mark Ayers Scholarship will be gratefully accepted. Call 501-623-4763 or visit hotmusic. org for more information.