Brahms Violin Sonatas To Be Performed November 22

On Saturday, November 22 at 6:30 p.m., Byron Hitchcock, violinist, and pianist Michael Finlay will perform the three violin sonatas by Johannes Brahms. The performance will be held at St. Matthews Cathedral at 104 South 4th Street, in Laramie. Admission is free, and a freewill offering will be taken.

Praised by the Boston Globe as a “fearlessly expressive” soloist with a “finely honed tone”, Byron Hitchcock is quickly building a multi-faceted career as a solo, chamber and orchestral musician.

His “brilliant” and “uninhibited” playing has won him prizes in numerous competitions, including the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition, Jefferson Symphony Young Artists’ Competition, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project Concerto Competition. As soloist, he has performed the violin concertos by Ludwig van Beethoven, Camille Saint-Saens, and the more recent work of William Bolcom.

An enthusiastic chamber player, Byron has studied with members of the Juilliard, Takacs, Cavani, Emerson and Cleveland Quartets. His chamber music exploits have taken him many places, from La Petite Maison des Arts in Montreal to the Candido Mendes Theatre in Rio de Janeiro. Other special memories remain from performances of piano quintets in Boston’s Jordan Hall, piano trios at SUNY Stony Brook, and string quartets at the Grand County concert series in Winter Park, Colorado.

An orchestral career began to take shape in 2010, and he has already had the good fortune to perform with such esteemed artists as Lorin Maazel, Eiji Oue, Semyon Bychkov, Yamandu Costa, and Jon Nakamatsu. He has filled concertmaster roles in the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, Manhattan Sinfonie, and Spoleto USA Festival Orchestra, alongside many others, and is happy to now be playing with many of the Rocky Mountain ensembles close to his Wyoming home.

Mr. Hitchcock was awarded a Bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music under David Updegraff, a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory under Lucy Chapman, and an Artist Diploma from SUNY Purchase under the tutelage of Laurie Smukler. His summer years were spent at the festivals of Blossom (home of the Cleveland Orchestra), Kneisel Hall (“the cradle of chamber music teaching in America”) and Spoleto Festival USA.

Byron currently performs on a 1998 Stanley Kiernosiak violin from Chicago.

Michael Finlay’s captivating performances have thrilled audiences all over North America. Michael Finlay’s recent concert appearances include a tour of maritime Canada with performances in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

This year, he looks forward to a busy concert season that will take him to New York, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Atlanta, Austin, and San Antonio, among other cities. He is especially invested in outreach, a passion that regularly brings him back to his native Texas to teach and to concertize.

In addition to his work as a soloist, he is an active chamber musician. He has performed piano chamber music in numerous international music festivals including the Bowdoin International Music Festival and the Banff Centre. He is also highly sought-after as a collaborative pianist and has worked with countless established vocalists and instrumentalists over the years.

Dr. Finlay holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he worked with Paul Schenly and Kathryn Brown, a Master’s from the Peabody Conservatory where he studied with Yong Hi Moon, and a Doctorate from the University of Montreal, where he studied with Marc Durand.