Anita Graef

March 9, 2020, 8:00 pm

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Cellist Anita Graef will be joined by collaborative pianist Louise Chan, and violinist Julian Graef in music of Piazzolla, Mozart, Debussy, and Rachmaninoff for this Live From WFMT broadcast. Maggie Reberg hosts.

Described as “a world class musician” (Galena Gazette), cellist Anita Graef has earned recognition for her music making as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer. Recent appearances include Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert series, and “Concerts from the Library of Congress.” She has also performed in recital as a guest of various radio programs, including those of NPR, “Live from WFMT,” and others. She performs with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, originally as a CCM-CSO Fellow, as well as the Louisville Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic and others. Upcoming appearances include debuts in San Francisco, Toronto, San Diego, and performances throughout North America and Europe.

She has performed at various festivals, including fellowships with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, as principal cellist of Brevard Music Festival, the Catskills Chamber Music Festival, as assistant principal cellist of Miami Music Festival, as well as Credo Chamber Music Festival at Oberlin Conservatory. She is a member of the Juliani Ensemble, where she has collaborated with members of both the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera Orchestra, among others. The Juliani Ensemble, as well as the Juliani String Quartet-an extension of the ensemble-performs extensively throughout the city of Chicago, including appearances at Preston Bradley Hall and on 98.7 WFMT. She has been a prizewinner at numerous competitions, including First Prizes at the Golden Classical Music Awards and Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition, Third Prize at The North International Music Competition, and Silver Prize at the Muse International Competition.

In the past, she has had occasion to work with and perform for musicians such as Stephen Geber, Johannes Moser, Felix Wang,Roberto Diaz, Joel Smirnoff, Eric Kim, Charles Pickler, Yehuda Hanani, Martin Katz, Paul Watkins of the Emerson Quartet, Anne Martindale Williams, the Shanghai String Quartet, the Calidore Quartet, and the Chiara Quartet. Former teachers include Anthony Elliott, Marc Johnson, Hans Jorgen Jensen, and several members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, including Jonathan Pegis, Richard Hirschl, and Brant Taylor. She has performed in several orchestras under the baton of maestros such as Leonard Slatkin, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, James Gaffigan, Peter Oundjian, David Efron, JoAnn Falletta, Rossen Milanov, Louis Langree, James Conlon and Keith Lockhart.

Born into a family of professional musicians, Anita grew up surrounded by music. She began piano studies at age two, while beginning to study cello at age four, going on to make her concerto debut at age twelve. She went on to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, where she studied with professor Anthony Elliott. Following this, she completed studies for a Master’s Degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of Ilya Finkelshteyn.

When not making music, Anita enjoys reading, cooking, weight lifting, hiking, spending time with friends and family, and exploring new cities.

Anita performs on a modern Italian cello by Ferdinando Garimberti, dated 1923.

Biography courtesy of the artist’s website.

Pianist Louise Chan, a native of Ottawa, Canada, has performed as a solo and chamber musician for audiences across North America, including Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Weill Hall in New York, and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. She is a past winner of the Canadian Music Competition, and has appeared as a soloist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Northwestern Summer Orchestra. She and violinist Kate Carter, as Blue Violet Duo, released their debut CD, American Souvenirs, in the fall of 2018, which was featured as WFMT 98.7’s Album of the Day. They perform regularly in the Midwest, including repeat engagements at the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts. Dr. Chan has served as principal pianist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and on the faculty of Northeastern Illinois University. She is currently on faculty at the Music Institute of Chicago, and performs as a keyboardist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. She is a member of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s College of Examiners. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University.

Born in Evanston, IL Julian Graef started his musical schooling at the age of five, studying violin, learning from Li-Kuo Chang, Assistant Principal Viola and Allison Dalton, violin of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. At fourteen, Mr. Graef started playing viola and continued to study as he was accepted to the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of professor George Taylor. In 2018, Julian graduated from Eastman with a Bachelor’s Degree in Viola Performance and a minor in history. Julian will return to the Eastman School for a Master’s Degree in both violin and viola.
Mr. Graef has been a participant of chamber music festivals throughout the United States and Canada,  including The North American Viola Institute at Orford Academy, Canada, Credo Music Festival at Oberlin Conservatory and Brevard Summer Music Festival in Brevard, North Carolina. Previously, Julian performed in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Youth in Music Winter Festival, Riccardo Muti, director. In addition, Mr. Graef has also worked with renowned artists such as Leonard Slatkin, The Ying Quartet, Keith Lockhart, and Jeff Beals. In hs work with the Juliani Ensemble. Julian enjoys performing chamber music concerts with members of the ChicagoSymphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera Orchestra.
*On-demand audio featured on this site may have been edited in order to comply with U.S. copyright regulations.
  • Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor (1915), by Claude Debussy

  • Duo for Violin and Viola in G Major, K. 423, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
    arr. violin and cello

  • Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 19, by Sergei Rachmaninoff
    Lento – Allegro moderato
    Allegro scherzando
    Andante
    Allegro mosso