Soliloquy is a recently formed violin/viola duo featuring two undergraduates from the The Juilliard School in New York City. Twenty year-old violinist, Ariel Horowitz, and nineteen year-old violist, Lauren Siess, are both laureates of the prestigious Irving M. Klein International String Competition, which takes place in San Francisco each June. The Klein Competition is proud to be supporting these emerging young musicians in this "mini-tour," which also includes dates in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ashland, OR, Washington, D.C., and New York City.

Ariel and Lauren share a passion for music of the present, and the tour features a commissioned new work for violin and viola duo by Joel Phillip Friedman, as well as music by other twentieth and twenty-first composers.

PROGRAM

Benedikt Brydern: Bebop for Beagles for violin and viola
Béla Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin
Joan Tower: Wild Purple for solo viola
Joel Phillip Friedman: Arias with Dance Glitch for violin and viola

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Violinist Ariel Horowitz, 20, studies with Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho at The Juilliard School as a Dorothy DeLay Scholarship recipient. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree. She was the Silver Medalist at the 2013 Stulberg International String Competition and the 4th Prize recipient in the 2015 Irving M. Klein International String Competition. Ariel’s solo appearances include performances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Neue Philharmonie Westphalia, Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, Carmel Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, and Doctor’s Orchestral Society of New York as well as recitals in the United States, Italy, France, Israel, Brazil, and Argentina. An avid chamber musician, Ariel is a member of The Jakob Quartet; coached by Joseph Lin, Catherine Cho, and Daniel Phillips. Community engagement at hospitals, nursing homes, and homeless shelters is central to Ariel’s artistic commitment. Ariel served as a Diversity Advocate (2014-15), Gluck Community Service Fellow (2014-16) and Resident Assistant (2015-16) at The Juilliard School. This past June, she conducted a workshop about music and math for Navajo students in Crownpoint, New Mexico.

Violist Lauren Siess, 19, is currently in her first year at Juilliard as a student of Paul Neubauer. A native of Portland, OR, Lauren has soloed with numerous orchestras in the Portland/Metropolitan area, including the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Portland Chamber Orchestra, and the MetroArts Young Artists Orchestra. In 2013, Lauren began studies with Helen Callus at the Colburn Music Academy, where she soloed with the Colburn Academy Virtuosi Orchestra and Colburn Chamber Orchestra, along with serving as principal of both orchestras. Lauren has participated in masterclasses with Kim Kashkashian, Paul Coletti, Yizhak Schotten, Arianna String Quartet, Jeffrey Irvine, and Lynn Ramsey. Lauren has been a member of the Perlman Music Program since 2012 - residencies include Shelter Island, NY; Sarasota, Florida; and Tel Aviv, Israel. Through PMP, Lauren has had the opportunity to work and collaborate with musicians such as Itzhak Perlman, Merry Peckham, Vivian Weilerstein, and Ronald Copes. In 2014, Lauren was a Semifinalist in the Irving M. Klein International String Competition in San Francisco. She is a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship at the Juilliard School.