Chamber Music Concert
Week of December 14, 2024
Concert with Rita Sloan, Piano, Martha Aarons, Flute, Lev Polyakin, Violin
Rita Sloan, Martha Aarons and Lev Polyakin invite you to a concert covering a broad spectrum of music featuring piano, flute and violin. The program will include works by composers of several countries and eras, and the music ranges from charming to extremely virtuosic. Join us in Oaktree, where the acoustics are perfect and the atmosphere is casual!
Rita Sloan is recognized internationally as soloist, accompanist, chamber musician, and leading teacher of piano and collaborative piano. In 1999 she was appointed a piano faculty member and director of the collaborative piano program of the University of Maryland. At the Aspen Music Festival and School, where she is also a piano faculty member, she founded and heads the collaborative artist program and was one of the recipients of Aspen’s prestigious New Horizons Fellowships. Residencies and master class presentations include London’s Royal College of Music, the Academy of Music in Vilnius (Lithuania), and the Juilliard School. Ms. Sloan regularly performs with orchestra, in recital, and in chamber music throughout the U.S., Europe, and Japan. She has been a returning guest in chamber music venues such as New York’s Bargemusic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chamber Music Series. She was also a featured artist at the Twenty-Fifth International William Kappell Piano Competition. Ms. Sloan is one of the founding members of the Aspen Ensemble, featured on NPR’s Performance Today. Recordings include a disc with internationally renowned trumpeter, Chris Gekker.
Martha Aarons’ professional career began with her appointment as principal flute of the North Carolina Symphony. Subsequently she played with the Cleveland Orchestra for 25 years. After becoming a freelancer, she performed often with the Philadelphia Orchestra. During this time, she appeared as guest principal flute with the Metropolitan Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and Mostly Mozart Festival. Ms. Aarons served as Artist Faculty with the Aspen Music Festival for 19 years. Her teaching credits include the Cleveland Institute of Music, Duke University, University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill, Oberlin College, Skidmore College, Shanghai Conservatory and Eastman School of Music. She has been soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, and with the Aspen Festival Chamber and Festival orchestras. Her first solo CD, The History of the Tango, is recorded on the Azica label and additionally features pianist Frances Renzi and Grammy-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux. Her newest release is the CD Last Silence with violinist Lev Polyakin and pianist Frances Renzi. Martha is also an avid runner and has qualified for her fifth consecutive Boston Marathon in April 2025!
Lev Polyakin was appointed co-concertmaster of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra at age 21. In that position he was regularly featured as soloist. In the U.S. he served as assistant concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, as well as concertmaster of the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen Music Festival. Lev has won several prizes in international violin competitions, including the Beethoven Prize in Carl Flesch in London, and Gold Medal and Special Prize in Brescia, Italy. In addition to solo performances with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, he has appeared as soloist with the London Mozart Players, Royal Philharmonic, and Cleveland Orchestra. Recording credits include Melodia, BBC, National Public Radio, and Decca. He is prominently featured on an album entitled Cafe Music comprising chamber music by Paul Schoenfield, which was nominated for a Grammy. Lev has a special interest in jazz and has recorded three CDs, entitled Russian Blue, The Other Side of the Road, and Christmas Kaleidoscope. He is also featured in the recent release by Azica Records entitled Last Silence, with flutist Martha Aarons and pianist Frances Renzi.