Musical Dialogues with Sandy Yamamoto, Matthew Zalkind and Julio Elizalde

An interactive session - for everyone who has held violin, cello or piano.

Listen to these world-class musicians talk about their backgrounds, how they balance the travel required of a perfoming chamber trio in addition to teaching music and running a chamber music program, and share the love of music.

Described by the New York Times as playing with “explosive vigor and technical finesse,” this experienced trio brings decades of performance experience to the stage. They'll talk about their program, which will feature the timeless works of Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Schoenfeld, promising a remarkable musical experience you won't want to miss!

It is free and open to the community, as seating is available.

Sandy Yamamoto

Violinist Sandy Yamamoto has dazzled audiences in concert performances around the globe for the past three decades as a soloist and as a member of the Miró Quartet. With the Miró Quartet, she performed on the major concert stages of the world, regularly concertizing in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. As a member of the Quartet, she was a recipient of the Naumburg Chamber Music and Cleveland Quartet Awards, won First Prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and was one of the first chamber musicians to be awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Since leaving the Quartet in May 2011, she has been appointed Associate Professor of Practice in Violin Performance at the Butler School of Music and was the recipient of the Butler School of Music Teaching Excellence Award. For the 2024-25 season, she is Co-Concertmaster of the San Antonio Philharmonic under the artistic leadership of Jeffrey Kahane. Most recently, she has accepted a position as the new Artistic Director of the Austin Chamber Music Center.

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Matthew Zalkind

Cellist Matthew Zalkind performs regularly as a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician. Mr. Zalkind was awarded first prize in the Washington International Competition, as well as top prizes in the Beijing International Cello Competition and the Isang Yun Competition. Mr. Zalkind performed concerti with the Utah Symphony, Moscow Chamber Players, Albany Symphony, Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, and numerous North American orchestras. He has given solo recitals at the Kennedy Center, Phillips Collection, Tongyeong Arts Center, Moscow Conservatory, and Beijing Concert Hall, among others. Mr. Zalkind’s recently released solo album for Avie Records received critical acclaim from Gramophone, BBC, and other publications. Mr. Zalkind is the Co-Artistic Director of the Denver Chamber Music Festival and performs regularly at Marlboro/Musicians from Marlboro tours. As a former member of the Harlem Quartet, he toured extensively with jazz legends Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Gary burton. Mr. Zalkind is the Associate Professor of Cello at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, and his students have established themselves on national and international concert stages. He is a member of the Colorado Cello Quartet.

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Julio Elizalde

Hailed as a musician of “compelling artistry and power” by the Seattle Times, the Hispanic-American pianist Julio Elizalde is a multi-faceted artist who enjoys a versatile career as soloist, chamber musician, artistic administrator, and educator. He has performed at many of the world’s major music centers including Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing), Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico City), and the Esplanade Concert Hall (Singapore), among many others. Since 2014, Julio has served as the Artistic Director of the Olympic Music Festival near Seattle, Washington. He has appeared as recital partner to famed violinists Ray Chen and Sarah Chang, and has collaborated with artists such as Pablo Ferrández, Kian Soltani, and members of the Juilliard, Cleveland, Takács, Miró, Kronos, Brentano, St. Lawrence, and Dover string quartets. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Julio is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Paul Hersh. He holds master’s and doctor of musical arts degrees from the Juilliard School in New York City, where he studied with Jerome Lowenthal, Joseph Kalichstein, and Robert McDonald