Our #FacultyFriday series today highlights one of truly memorably aspects of life at the Heifetz Institute: Those moments when our world-renowned Heifetz Institute faculty. members perform alongside their students.

Today’s instance features violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi, truly one of the legends of the business. In addition to all of his other career accomplishments as a soloist and teacher, Mr. Ashkenasi held down the first violin chair of the renowned Vermeer Quartet for an astonishing 39 years. At the Heifetz Institute, is the co-director (with cellist Ralph Kirshbaum)  of the Ashkenasi/Kirshbaum Chamber Music Seminar, the elite training program for advanced players on the cusps of their careers.

One of the highlights of the 2016 summer at Heifetz is when Ashkenasi was the featured soloist with Heifetz students and Artists in Residence to perform Mozart’s masterful Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola in E-flat, K. 364, in a fresh  arrangement for solo instruments and string quartet by Mamiko Kobayakawa. The glorious middle-movement Andante features Mr. Ashkenasi as the violin soloist, and student Kunbo Xu at the viola soloist. The “orchestra” behind the soloists are Heifetz students and alums Rachell Ellen Wong and Strauss Shi, violins; Andrew Gonzalez, viola, and Coleman Itzkoff, cello.

We’re looking forward to seeing Shmuel Ashkenasi, Ralph Kirshbaum, and our Chamber Music Seminar students back on campus for #Heifetz2021.  To see the roster of faculty and application information, click here!