Dr. John
Fadial, associate professor of violin at UNCG, and
Beth Vanderborgh, principal cellist with the Greensboro
Symphony, will travel to France to perform May 8-23.
During their stay, they will play the French premiere
of American composer William Bolcom’s “Suite
for Violin and Cello.”
The premiere will be given at the historic Salle Poirel
in Nancy, France, as part of the 20th anniversary
celebration of the city’s Stanislas Ensemble.
The Stanislas Ensemble is comprised of the principal
players of symphonies in the Lorraine region of France.
Bolcom’s “Suite for Violin and Cello”
is an action-packed piece with five movements.
“The piece is challenging and flashy with rhythmic
drive. It’s complex but is a good audience piece,”
Fadial said. “French presenters always request
that we bring American music.”
Fadial and Vanderborgh have been invited to give a
lecture on this piece and others at the American Library
Lecture Series in Nancy. They will also give six additional
recitals in cities in north eastern France during
their stay. In addition to the Bolcom work, the husband
and wife duo will play a collection of rags by William
Ryden, the Passacaglia by Halvorsen and the Duo Sonata
by Maurice Ravel. They also will join the Stanislas
in performances of Brahms' Sextet in G, op. 36.
The Fadial-Vanderborgh Duo has had a decade-long connection
with the Stanislas Ensemble. The musicians where introduced
through cellist and Woman’s College (now UNCG)
alumna Emily Porter, who first heard the duo perform
in 1992 at the Kennedy Center. She immediately hoped
to bring Fadial and Vanderborgh to Nancy, France,
where she resided.
The duo made its first trip to Nancy in 1994 and met
and performed with the Stanislas Ensemble. Fadial
says the two groups “really hit it off,”
and that visit turned into many repeat trips and collaborations.
In 1995, they jointly started the Academy for Chamber
Music at Mirecourt, a training camp for young musicians.
In 1998, their mutual friend, Emily Porter, died and
in her honor they established the Emily Porter Foundation.
The foundation provides scholarships for French and
American students to attend festivals worldwide. It
even has funded students attending Greensboro’s
Eastern Music Festival.
