Vision Duo

This one-hour program features works by classical and contemporary composers and improvisation. Percussionist Britton-René Collins is a Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Chicago International Music Competition. Ariel Horowitz, violin, is a recent graduate of the Yale School of Music. She previously studied with Itzhak Perlman and is a prizewinner of the Grumiaux, Stulberg, and Klein International Competitions.

If you plan to purchase 6 or more tickets this season, check out our Pick 6 and Pick 10 packages for best savings.

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Ariel Horowitz, violin, Hailed by The Washington Post as “Sweetly Lyrical,” violinist Ariel Horowitz cannot remember life before loving music. In October of 2020, Ariel won the Concert Artists Guild Ambassador Prize and joined the Concert Artists Guild roster. A recent graduate of the Yale School of Music under the tutelage of Ani Kavafian, Ariel previously studied with Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho at The Juilliard School. Ariel is a prizewinner of the Grumiaux, Stulberg, and Klein International Competitions as well as the Salon De Virtuosi Career Grant. In the Fall of 2019, Ariel joined the faculty of Mount Holyoke College, teaching violin and chamber music.

Ariel enjoys an active concert schedule, frequently programming beloved staples of the classical canon alongside both lesser-known works by composers from backgrounds historically underrepresented in classical music as well as her original songs for violin with voice. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Kammerphilharmonie Hamburg, and the Santa Fe ProMusica Orchestra, and in recitals across the United States, Europe, Israel, and South America. In recent seasons, Ariel premiered her original works at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall and the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater. In 2017, Ariel traveled to Auschwitz with with Eva Kor, a survivor of both the Holocaust and the medical experiements performed on twins by the infamous Dr. Joseph Mengele. During this trip, she performed a short concert alongside bassist Sebastian Zinca featuring an original co-composition for violin, bass, and spoken word for Kor on the selection platform, or in Eva’s words, “the final place that I saw my family.” This performance was broadcast on The Violin Channel, and the duo performed this music across Poland. Alongside several of her friends, Ariel performed compositions by the students of Daniel’s Music Foundation – an NYC based organization providing music education to the disability community – with DMF students in both the DMF 2017 NYC Gala and at a concert organized by Ariel and her friends at The Juilliard School. In 2013, Ariel and two of her colleagues organized a concert and food drive during their first semester at The Juilliard School to benefit the Food Bank For New York City.

Ariel is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Heartbeat Music Project, a tuition-free program providing instruments, music, and Navajo (Diné) cultural knowledge to young people in grades K-12 living in the Navajo Nation. Central to HMP’s mission is the acknowledgment of the impact of past and present colonialism to Indigenous peoples and respectful engagement with Diné music, cultures and customs. Since its inception in 2016, the Heartbeat Music Project has grown to serve over sixty students and their families with year-round music education, including the annual Summer Academy, Winter Program, and lessons for students in violin, piano, guitar, oboe, recorder, voice, jazz band, and cultural learning with Diné Cultural Knowledge Holder, Executive Director Sharon Nelson. During the era of COVID-19, the Heartbeat Music Project shifted its focus to address the dire pandemic-related needs of the Navajo Nation. Through HMP’s efforts, including a benefit concert featuring HMP students and teachers as well as the music of both European and Diné composers generously streamed by The Violin Channel, HMP has raised nearly eight thousand dollars for Navajo Nation COVID-19 Relief efforts. In 2020, The Heartbeat Music Project became the home of the American Indian Musicians’ Scholarship, a program founded by HMP Teaching Artist Renata Yazzie, Diné pianist and ethnomusicologist. AIMS seeks to provide funding for college-aged Indigenous music students, and in November of 2020, HMP and AIMS hosted a benefit concert performed entirely by Indigenous musicians and was successful in raising over five thousand dollars for the first round of scholarship awards in 2021. The Heartbeat Music Project is a grateful recipient of The Lewis Prize for Music COVID-19 Community Response Fund, The Mockingbird Foundation Prize, the From the Top Alumni Leadership Award, and The Juilliard School Community Engagement and Entrepreneurship Grants.

Britton-René Collins, marimba, Percussionist Britton-René Collins has dedicated her artistry to shaping an equitable community for all musicians to thrive equally. Britton-René is a winner of the 2020 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, receiving the Ambassador Prize for exceptional musicianship and demonstrating an active passion for creating social change through her music.

A Grand Prize winner of the 2022 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition and the 2021 Chicago International Music Competition, Britton-René has performed as a soloist in the United States, Canada, and Europe. She has made several concerto appearances, including the Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Valdosta Symphony, and the Meridian Symphony. In addition to her active solo career, Britton-René enjoys life as a chamber musician with New York City-based Excelsis Percussion Quartet. She is also the co-founder of Vision Duo alongside violinist Ariel Horowitz.

As an advocate for new music, Britton-René’s current projects involve premiering new compositions and commissions for multi-percussion and marimba. Recent highlights include attending the soundSCAPE new music composition and performance exchange in Italy, making her PASIC artist debut, and participating in the Banff Centre’s Evolution: Classical program. As an artist, Britton-René proudly endorses Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Zildjian cymbals, Marimba One instruments, and Remo drumheads.

Born in the United States, Britton-René began playing the piano at age five. She discovered percussion at eight years old when she became intrigued by the drum set. She quickly fell in love with playing rock, jazz, and pop music on the drum set, which ignited her enthusiasm to explore various percussion instruments and styles of music. She received her B.M. at the University of Toronto with Aiyun Huang, Beverley Johnston, and John Rudolph, where she won the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. She is currently pursuing her M.M. at the University of Michigan with Doug Perkins, Ian Antonio, Tom Sherwood, and Jeremy Epp.

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PROGRAM

Seyfried, Blues Train

Garner, Misty, arr. Collins and Horowitz

Chee, Coyotes, arr. Collins and Horowitz

Bach, Violin Partita No. 2 in d minor, BWV 1004, arr. Collins

Bah, iii. Adagio ma non tanto, from Violin Sonata in E Major, BWV 1016, arr. Collins

Piazzolla, Histoire du Tango, arr Collins

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6:45 pm, free
James Yan, piano

James Yan is a current junior at Hempfield High School. He has been playing piano since the age of five. James has performed at recitals in multiple retirement homes, and recently, the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute. He also plays the cello, and currently is in the Franklin and Marshal College Orchestra. James’ favorite composer is Chopin, and he enjoys listening to his ballades.
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