Bard College Conservatory of Music Presents

Master Class: Alexandrina Boyanova, violin and viola

Alexandrina Boyanova is a mult-faceted violinist and violist, performer, teacher, and scholar. A passionate advocate for new music, her practice encompasses music of all eras, from the Renaissance to the present time. For the past several years, Alexandrina has been collaborating with Grammy- and Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun, performing as a featured soloist in the international premieres of his Water Passion in cities including Brussels, Shanghai, Athens, Philadelphia, and New York, in venues such as Bozar Hall, Shanghai Symphony Hall, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Temple of Dendur.

Alexandrina’s most recent project is focused on the extant violin works of Vasco Abadjiev, a formidable virtuoso whose life was dramatically influenced by the political climate in Europe during WWII. She performed Abadjiev’s 9 Caprices for Solo Violin and Sonata for Violin and Piano at the 50th Sofia Music Weeks Festival, and recorded these works for a CD, Tribute to Vasco Abadjiev, produced and released by the Bulgarian National Radio. Additionally, Alexandrina was the chief editor of the new editions of Abadjiev’s 9 Caprices and Sonata, published by IK Lyra.

A frequent performer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alexandrina has been featured in performances such as Arvo Pärt @ 80, Stockhausen’s complete KLANG cycle, Sara Berman’s Closet in The Women exhibition, and at TEDxMET with dancers from New York City Ballet. She has given recitals at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, and at the most prestigious music festivals in Italy and Bulgaria, exploring the vast repertoire for solo violin, which is a specialty of hers. For one of her solo violin projects she commissioned the piece Tanz.Tanz.—a contemporary take on Bach’s Ciaccona—by distinguished German composer Reiko Füting.

As a chamber musician, Alexandrina has performed with artists such as Antonio Meneses (Beaux Arts Trio), Bruno Giuranna, and Salvatore Accardo, and has been mentored by members of the Alexander, American, Orion, and Emerson String Quartets. She is the cofounder of TRAKT, a duo with cellist Issei Herr dedicated to performing innovative concert programs in New York City. TRAKT is often guest performing at the Met Museum’s Balcony Bar.

In theater, Alexandrina has curated the music for the Off-Broadway production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew at Baruch Performing Arts Center, where she had both an acting and playing role onstage. She was also the violin chair in the critically acclaimed production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, subsequently Off-Broadway.

Since her first appearance with the Orfei Chamber Orchestra at age 10, Alexandrina has been featured as a violin soloist with the Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra, Saint Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra Klassika, Lima Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra della Toscana, among others.

As a recording artist, Alexandrina can be heard on Bulgarian National Radio’s first recordings of Luciano Berio’s Sequenza VIII for solo violin, Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto d’Estío for violin and orchestra, and Vasco Abadjiev’s 9 Caprices for Solo Violin and Sonata for Violin and Piano. 

Alexandrina recently completed her coctorate at The Juilliard School, with a dissertation on Salvatore Sciarrino’s Six Caprices for Solo Violin. She also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, and has been mentored by Salvatore Accardo in Italy. The President of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Minister of Culture of Bulgaria have both awarded Honorary Diplomas of Recognition to Alexandrina. In her family lineage, Alexandrina is a third-generation violinist and a fourth-generation teacher. 

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For more information, call 845-758-7196, e-mail conservatoryconcerts@bard.edu,
or visit https://bard.edu/conservatory.

Time: 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: László Z. Bitó '60 Conservatory Building

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