Albany, NY -- The Music Program of the University at Albany’s Department of Music and Theatre is pleased to present a Next Generation Spotlight concert at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center on the uptown University at Albany campus at 1400 Washington Avenue. Violinist Julia Jones and pianist Nitai Feldman will present a recital featuring music by Bach, Lieberman, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Paganini and Ysaye.

The Music Program is proud to begin this annual series which seeks to spotlight young performers from music schools around the nation. It gives young, emerging artists a chance to share their artistry and hone their performing skills while bringing to the UAlbany community a taste of the broader musical world.  The inaugural program will be presented by two 19-year-olds: Jones who is studying at the Juilliard School in New York and Feldman, a student at Indiana University in Bloomington.  Jones will perform several works for solo violin, including Bach Sonata No 2, Paganini Caprice No. 4 and the Ysaye Sonata No 5 with Feldman offering several works for solo piano, including Debussy “Reflets dans l’eau” from Images, three Rachmaninoff Preludes and Chopin Grande Polonaise Brillante in E-flat Major.  To close, they will perform together the magical Fauré Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, op 13. 

Feldman was born in Jerusalem and raised in New York City. He studied at the Special Music School in New York and Thelma Yellin School of the Arts in Givatayim, taking lessons at the Lucy Moses School and the Givatayim Conservatory. He has performed in venues such as the DiMenna Center, Merkin Hall and Weill Hall in New York City, Recital Hall, Ford Hall and Auer Hall at Indiana University and the Real Collegio in Lucca, Italy. Besides solo performing, he is an active collaborator and avid chamber musician. He has participated in the New York Youth Symphony chamber program and has played in various chamber groups in New York and at Indiana University. As part of the Mediterranean Trio, he participated in the Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival in Lucca, Italy. He has also sung in choirs, including the Thelma Yellin Chorus performance in Berlin and the IU University Chorale. A recipient of the William Gammon Henry Scholarship and a member of the Hutton Honors College, he is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying with Professor Evelyne Brancart.

Jones is from New York City. She began her studies at the age of five and is currently studying with professors Li Lin and Itzhak Perlman at Juilliard.  She has participated in many prestigious festivals and programs such as the International Music Academy in Cremona, International Academy of Music in Castelnuovo di Carfagnana, Crans-Montana Classics Masterclasses, Concertate Masterclasses, Kaufman Music Center’s SummerFest, Taipei Music Academy and Festival and the Perlman Music Program. She has also taken part in esteemed events such as the annual gala for the Kaufman Music Center, the Dorothy DeLay Masterclass Series, the Online Shlomo Mintz String Academy, and Joshua Bell’s “Musical Evening” fundraising event. In 2019, she was invited to perform the Bach Double Concerto with European Youth Spirit Orchestra (EYSO) in various locations around Italy with conductor Igor Coretti Kuret. Julia has also given solo recitals at Christ Church, NYC, Ann Goodman Hall at the Kaufman Music Center, Schloss Hohenprießnitz in Germany, and Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Italy.

Date and Time: Sunday, April 7, 2024 at 3pm

Location: UAlbany Performing Arts Center, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222

Admission to this event is free. No reservations or tickets are required. For further information, contact the UAlbany Performing Arts Center’s main office at (518) 442-3995 or [email protected].