If quantity is any measure, the UW’s faculty cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir may be the hardest-working musician at the UW in 2018-19, with numerous appearances on the School of Music’s upcoming concert calendar, starting Oct. 16 with a faculty recital at the UW’s Meany Center. Teaming up with French-Romanian pianist Alexandra Joan for a recital centered around fin-de-siecle Vienna from a young cellist’s view, Thorsteinsdóttir performs works by Schubert, Brahms, Strauss, and Webern on the season opener of UW Music’s eclectic and diverse concert season.
Other performances by the cellist this season include an appearance Nov. 2 with the UW Symphony Orchestra, performing Bloch’s Schelomo; a duo performance Jan. 31 of Beethoven’s A Major Sonata (and variations) with pianist Craig Sheppard; and an appearance with chamber trio Frequency on Feb. 26, in which she and colleague Melia Watras premiere a new work by faculty composer Richard Karpen. Thorsteinsdóttir also appears on the March 15 concert by members of Seattle Symphony with UW Music faculty, joining faculty colleagues Melia Watras and Cristina Valdés for this special concert, in which she performs Icelandic composer Páll Ragnar Pálsson’s “Quake” with Seattle Symphony musicians under the baton of David Alexander Rahbee.
Thorsteinsdottir, who joined the UW Music faculty in 2015 as an artist-in-residence, begins fall 2018 with a new title: Assistant Professor of Music. This dynamic and talented musician has clearly made a lasting impression on her colleagues and students. To see why, plan to attend one or more of the above-mentioned performances.
Visit our events calendar at music.washington.edu/upcoming for a full list of 2018-19 concert season events.