Bach-Inspired with violist Kathryn Dey

Details:

Bach-Inspired with violist Kathryn Dey 

Gunter Theatre
Saturday, May 24 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 25 at 3:00 pm 

PROGRAM
Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major
Henri Casadesus: Concerto in C minor in the Style of J.C. Bach for Viola and Strings
Camargo Guarnieri: Concerto para cordas e percussão
Edvard Grieg: Holberg Suite

Revel in the radiant strings as they illuminate Bach’s iconic Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Then, we’ll welcome Principal Viola Kathryn Dey to the stage for some Baroque-inspired brilliance! Katie will enchant us with a concerto by French composer Henri Casadesus, a work deeply infused with the spirit of the Bach family, particularly Johann Sebastian Bach’s son, Johann Christian. Next, we head to Brazil to experience the rhythmic vitality of Brazilian composer Camargo Guarnieri’s Concerto para cordas e percussão, blending strings and percussion in a dynamic fusion of sound. Finally, we conclude with Grieg’s sparkling Holberg Suite, written in the style of eighteenth-century dances. 

GUEST
Kathryn Dey, Principal Viola  

Committed to using music as a tool for social justice, violist Kathryn Dey is originally from Lake Mills, Wisconsin. She earned degrees in viola performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a student of Sally Chisholm, and at the Eastman School of Music, where she served as teaching assistant to John Graham. Known for her innovative musicianship, Ms. Dey has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe and the Caribbean, as well as in such diverse venues as outdoor Haitian community centers, German prisons, and her own front yard. As a Surdna Foundation Fellow, Ms. Dey was awarded a grant to study and perform works for unaccompanied viola by Lillian Fuchs. She is an active supporter of the nonprofit BLUMEHaiti organization, and in addition to collecting over 3000 instruments for that organization, has been a instructor and mentor to countless Haitian musicians through workshops and residencies in that country. Ms. Dey has served as a program consultant and guest artist at the Palotti School of Music in Belize City, Belize. In addition to her performing schedule, she is also organist and music director at First Presbyterian Church in Laurens, SC.

With a unique emphasis on the interdisciplinary connections between music, creative writing and acting, Ms. Dey’s teaching has been recognized by Strings Magazine, the American String Teachers Association, the American Viola Society and Music Teachers National Association, among others. Students from her studio have been recognized at the state, national and international level and now perform and teach around the world. Ms. Dey regularly presents workshops to teachers and students throughout the United States and was a featured presenter at the 2023 International Viola Congress in Bangkok, Thailand. She is committed to building and sustaining rural South Carolina string programs, initiating projects in Chester, Fairfield, Jasper, Laurens, and Pickens counties. Ms. Dey is a long-time music faculty member at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities and is a co-founder and co-director of the Eastman Summer Viola Workshop in Rochester, NY. She speaks fluent German, is a certified yoga instructor, and spent twenty-four years renovating a home in downtown Greenville with her late husband, cellist Robert O’Brien. She and her rescue Australian Cattle dog, Zelda, are currently training for the next Ulti Mutt competition. Ms. Dey encourages anyone reading this to consider becoming an organ donor, at Sharinghopesc.org.