K a t i e S c h l a i k j e r & L e o n L i v s h i n
Katie Schlaikjer, cellist, has performed extensively as a chamber musician. During her three years as a member of the Avalon String Quartet, the quartet received the Concert Artist's Guild's grand prize in its 1999 competition, grand prize at the 1998 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and top prizes at the 1999 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and the 1998 Banff International String Quartet Competition. In addition to holding residencies with the Vermeer Quartet at Northern Illinois University and with the Emerson Quartet at the University of Hartford, Katie participated with the quartet in Issac Stern’s chamber music encounters in both Jerusalem and Carnegie Hall and the Amadeus Quartet’s quartet seminar at the Royal Academy of Music in London.A native of Boston, Katie received her early training through the New England Conservatory and attended the Conservatory’s affiliated high school, the Walnut Hill School for the Arts. Katie completed her Bachelor’s degree at the Conservatory as a student of Laurence Lesser with distinction in performance in 1996. She was a resident artist at the Banff Centre for the Arts where she worked with David Takeno, Edgar Meyer, Scott St John, and John Perry.Katie left the Avalon Quartet in 1999 to pursue her Master’s degree with Timothy Eddy at Stony Brook University. During her studies at Stony Brook, she has maintained an active freelance career in New York. Her recent New York performances include concerts with the new music ensemble, Newband, Brooklyn’s Barge Music concert series, Zankel Hall’s inaugural concert of 2003 with Renee Fleming, and with SONYC (the String Orchestra of New York City). She has also been a regular performer with the Caramoor Virtuosi in Katonah, NY. Additionally, she has participated in the Rivinia, Yellow Barn, Tanglewood, Kneisel Hall, Norfolk and Aspen music festivals. Katie is a member of the chamber music faculty at Stony Brook’s preparatory training program and teaches cello privately in Stony Brook, Long Island.
Leon Livshin is a Lithuanian pianist who has performed extensively throughout Europe and the United States. He received his music education at Lithuanian Music Academy, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Stuttgart Hochschule, and Eastman School of Music. Mr. Livshin won several piano competitions in Europe and performed with Moldavian State orchestra, Lithuanian Philharmonic and Chamber orchestra, Odessa Chamber Orchestra, Stuttgart Musikhochschule orchestra, and the North Shore Symphony of Long Island.In 1997, Leon came to the United States to study at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He was privileged to receive a full scholarship from the Liberation Foundation and a grant from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with the renowned American pianist and pedagogue Barry Snyder. After graduating from the Eastman School of Music with a Master of Music degree, he entered the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the Stony Brook University of New York to study with well-known pianist Gilber Kalish.Mr. Livshin currently resides in NY, where he combines a busy performing schedule with teaching at Stony Brook University. Recently, Leon has appeared with North Shore Symphony of Long Island and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as in recitals in France and Lithuania and in a special performance at George Bush’s ranch in Texas. In 2002, Leon established the keyboard series, “Music Momentos” in Port Jefferson, NY, which has been successively run for the past three seasons.
Photos from the West Point Sax quartet concert
