Ms. Buchanan appeared by special arrangement with Curtis Artist Management at the Curtis Institute of Music.

• Program
• About the Artists
  • Maya Buchanan
  • Sophiko Simsive

Program

Full Program (PDF)

About the Artists

Maya Buchanan

Recognized for her enchanting performances and exceptional bel canto-like lyricism, Indian American violinist Maya Anjali Buchanan is gaining wide appeal as a dynamic young artist with extraordinary musicality. Named Yamaha’s 2020 Young Performing Artist for Classical Music/Violin, she has performed on three continents, performing in recital and as the featured soloist with numerous orchestras throughout the United States, China, and Europe. She appeared as a guest artist at the Peninsula Music Festival, Harpa International Academy Festival, Brevard Music Festival and made her Aspen Music Festival debut as the recipient of the prestigious 2019 Dorothy DeLay Fellowship Award, performing the Glazunov Violin Concerto with the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra.

Highlights of Maya’s upcoming engagements include performances with the Greenwich (CT), Battle Creek (MI), and Galveston (TX) Symphony Orchestras. She has also performed recently with the Evanston and Grand Rapids Symphony and the Symphony Orchestra of India in Mumbai. At sixteen, she won First Prize in the 2017 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition and made her solo debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She is the top medalist of the 2018 Washington International Competition, 2018 Stulberg International String Competition, 2016 Stradivarius International Violin Competition and 2015 Johansen International Competition. Maya is an alumnus of both the 2020 Menuhin International Violin Competition and the 2022 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.

To broaden Western classical music traditions, Maya incorporates the music of her heritage by presenting pieces unique to her Indian ancestry in recital, bridging her Eastern roots with her Western classical training. She enjoys showcasing works of Indian influence that reflect the form and improvisational quality of Eastern music, blending techniques of both cultures. An alumna of the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, she studied with Almita Vamos. She currently attends the Curtis Institute of Music in the studio of Ida Kavafian.

Maya performs with a c. 1730 Guarneri del Gesù violin, on loan through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Sophiko Simsive

Hailed as an “exceptional musician of rare talent who promises to become one of the leading pianists of her generation” by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Sophiko Simsive began her studies at the age of three and, since then, has been invited as a recitalist to prestigious venues such as Berliner Philharmonie and Concertgebouw. Simsive has performed with the Residentie Orkest, Yale Philharmonia, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Jeugdorkest Nederland, and MSM Philharmonia, and has worked with conductors such as Lev Markiz, Peter Oundjian, Jan Willem de Vriend, and Jurjen Hempel.

Simsive is the newest pianist of the prestigious Claremont Trio. She has performed with chamber groups including the Calidore String Quartet and has collaborated with prominent musicians such as Kian Soltani and Gilbert Kalish. As soloist and chamber musician, she has been featured at renowned festivals including the Yellow Barn Festival, the Music Academy of the West and the Verbier Festival.

Simsive serves as a Senior Teaching Assistant at Yale University, where she co-teaches alongside violinist Wendy Sharp. She also serves as a Chamber Music and Private Piano Instructor at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Simsive holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Solomon Mikowsky. Her past teachers include Boris Berman, Jacques Rouvier, Mila Baslawskaja, and Maka Aladashvili.

Sophiko Simsive is represented by Interartists Amsterdam Management.