Free and open to the public.

 

In 2007, Christopher Luther produced his first CD entitled Personality consisting of virtuosic bluegrass music supported by jazz concepts including original compositions. In Los Angeles, he played in soundtracks with on-screen performances, most notably in The Soloist. He collaborated with artists including Burt Bacharach, Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole, Patti Austin, Ruben Studdard, James Moody, Jon Faddis, Nancy Wilson, Richard Green and many others including a performance on the Jay Leno Show with Sarah Barrielles.

Luther was the first violist to win the string concerto competition at the University of Texas on a large-scale work, performing Bloch’s Suite 1919. He teaches violin classes at the Crossroads School for the Arts, and for Gustavo Dudamel’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles where he has been a guest conductor for all three orchestras. Luther co-founded, co-directs and teaches alternative styles at the Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp with his father and sister, now entering its 14th successful season. He has also completed certification for the entire Suzuki violin method, along with viola book nine through the Suzuki Association of the Americas.

Born in Denver, he began his performance career at the age of eight fiddling at the Colorado Renaissance Festival. Since then he has continued his diverse musical training with a Bachelor degree in Violin Performance and Jazz studies from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. Luther received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in viola performance from the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas and a Masters Degree from the Thornton School of Music at USC in violin performance. 

Kiyoshi Tamagawa is Professor of Music at Southwestern University. He has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist throughout the United States and in seven foreign countries. His association with the late violinist Eugene Fodor resulted in over thirty recitals and a CD of violin and piano music, “Witches’ Brew.” Their performances took them across the United States and also included concerts at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Mumbai, India and the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico. Tamagawa has performed at Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall and Bargemusic in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, where he was called an “excellent” pianist by The Strad magazine, and on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts series in Chicago. In February 2013 he appeared with the Austin Symphony as soloist in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 3, accompanying Ballet Austin’s presentation of Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante. He will perform with the orchestra again in November 2014 in Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C major, K. 503, and for a second time with the Temple Symphony in the spring of 2016. He has presented sessions at national conferences of the American String Teachers’ Association, College Music Society, and the Music Teachers’ National Association, as well as state and regional conferences, including the Texas Music Educators’ Association, Texas Music Teachers’ Association, and the College Music Society, South Central Chapter. His writings on musical topics have been published in American Music TeacherAmerican String TeacherAmerican Suzuki Journal and Keyboard (now ClavierCompanion. He was named as the 2013 Collegiate Teacher of the Year by the Texas Music Teachers’ Association.