TESSA LARK
VIOLIN![LarkTessa_pc_BenjaminAllenM](https://imgartists.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/LarkTessa_pc_BenjaminAllenM.jpg)
TESSA LARK
VIOLIN
ABOUT
Violinist Tessa Lark is one of the most captivating artistic voices of our time, consistently praised by critics and audiences for her astounding range of sounds, technical agility, and musical elegance. Increasingly in demand in the classical realm, in 2020 she was nominated for a GRAMMY® in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category. She is also a highly acclaimed fiddler in the tradition of her native Kentucky, delighting audiences with programming that includes Appalachian and bluegrass music and inspiring composers to write for her.
Following a busy summer that saw her perform with New York’s Carnegie Hall Citywide, La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, and the Ravinia Festival, among many others, highlights of Lark’s 2023-24 season include the world premiere of Carlos Izcaray’s Violin Concerto – written for her – under the composer’s baton with the Alabama Symphony; and concerts with the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker marking both her European orchestral debut and her first performances of Gang Chen and Zhanhao He’s Violin Concerto, “Butterfly Lovers.” She reprises Michael Torke’s violin concerto, Sky – also written for her, and the 2020 recording of which earned her a GRAMMY® nomination – with Oklahoma’s Signature Symphony and the Sarasota Orchestra; returns to South Carolina’s Greenville Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic and England’s City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; and performs as a chamber musician in duos with double bassist Michael Thurber and jazz guitarist Frank Vignola.
Lark’s newest album, The Stradgrass Sessions, released in spring 2023, features an all-star roster of collaborators and composers including double-bassist Edgar Meyer, pianist Jon Batiste, mandolinist Sierra Hull and fiddler Michael Cleveland. Album selections mix original compositions by Lark and her collaborators with a sonata by Eugène Ysaÿe, a selection of Bartók’s violin duets arranged for violin and mandolin and the world premiere recording of John Corigliano’s STOMP.
The violinist has performed with orchestras, recital venues and festivals around the world. She has appeared with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; the Louisville Orchestra; and the Albany, Indianapolis, Knoxville and Seattle Symphonies; as well as being presented by Carnegie Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Music Center at Strathmore, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Cal Performances, San Francisco Performances, the Seattle Chamber Music Society, Australia’s Musica Viva Festival, and the Marlboro, Mostly Mozart, and Bridgehampton summer festivals.
Lark’s debut commercial recording was the GRAMMY®-nominated SKY, a bluegrass-inspired violin concerto written for her by Michael Torke and performed with the Albany Symphony Orchestra. Besides The Stradgrass Sessions, her discography also includes Fantasy on First Hand Records: fantasias by Schubert, Telemann and Fritz Kreisler; Ravel’s Tzigane; and Lark’s own composition Appalachian Fantasy. Invention, marking the debut album for the violin-bass duo made up of Lark and Michael Thurber, comprises arrangements of Two-Part Inventions by J. S. Bach along with original compositions by both duo partners. A live performance recording of Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires was released in 2021 by the Buffalo Philharmonic in honor of Piazzolla’s centenary.
Lark is a recipient of the Hunt Family Award, one of Lincoln Center’s prestigious Emerging Artist Awards, as well as a 2018 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and a 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant. She was Silver Medalist in the 9th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis and winner of the 2012 Naumburg International Violin Competition.
In addition to her performance schedule, Lark was recently named Artistic Director of Musical Masterworks, a chamber music presenter in Old Lyme, Connecticut. She champions young aspiring artists and supports the next generation of musicians through her work as Co-host/Creative of NPR’s From the Top, the premier radio showcase for the nation’s most talented young musicians. She also serves as Mentor and board member of the Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition.
Lark is a graduate of New England Conservatory and completed her Artist Diploma at The Juilliard School, where she studied with Sylvia Rosenberg, Ida Kavafian, and Daniel Phillips. Her primary mentors include Cathy McGlasson, Kurt Sassmannshaus, Miriam Fried, and Lucy Chapman. She plays a ca. 1600 G.P. Maggini violin on loan from an anonymous donor through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
RECENT PRAISE
THE BUSINESS JOURNALS
JANELLE GELFAND
“Lark tore up the stage with her fiddling and climbed mountains of technical challenges like a breath of fresh air.”
GRAMOPHONE
MARK SEAW
The Stradgrass Sessions’ – one of the more evocative album titles of late, conjuring late-into-the-night laughter, whiskey and musicians just having a grand old time…. The album’s highlight is Edgar Meyer’s Concert Duo for violin and bass, for which Lark is joined in performance by the composer. It’s a remarkable sound world, full of quiet, angular funk…. Her sound is bright, with no-nonsense attack and clarity of note. Sparing vibrato, combined with a gorgeously harmonic approach towards intonation, makes for a wonderful warmth on her Maggini of c1600.
VIOLINIST
DIANA SKINNER
It was one of the most glorious visual moments I have ever witnessed at a concert. Tessa’s rich tone led the way as she joined the divine musical landscape…Tessa brings forth a “humankind” in her playing that envelops you in the warmth of her Kentucky roots. She gently sways, as if her movements will gradually awaken everything around her. She exudes a graciousness that welcomes you to join her in the exploration of the music. Her sound is rich, yet always maintains an underlying purity.
Arts Knoxville
Alan Sherrod
Although I heard both performances of the Schachter concerto, I could have easily wished for a half-dozen more. This is a beautiful work with layer after layer of intriguing moments that appear and then vanish ephemerally—much like the cycle of life itself. Lark’s performance with Demirjian and the orchestra was simply stunning.
NEWS
Albums from Bell, Emersons & Lark Named to Violinist Magazine’s Holiday Gift Guide
Violinist magazine has released their 14th annual Holiday Gift Guide and have highlighted recent releases from Joshua Bell, Emerson String Quartet and Tessa Lark amongst their seasonal treats. They write: Butterfly Lovers Joshua Bell, violin Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Tsung Yeh conducting “Here is an original and beautiful version of the
Tessa Lark Gives UK Premier of Borisova-Ollas’ A Portrait of a Lady by Swan Lake on 3 March at the Barbican
Violinist Tessa Lark embarks on an enchanted journey with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Clemens Schuldt, performing the UK premiere of Victoria Borisova-Ollas’ A Portrait of a Lady by Swan Lake. The concert, at London’s The Barbican on Friday, 3 March, also features musical fairy tales from Tchaikovsky (selection
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