ArtLink presents
ArtLink presents Black Oak Ensemble, Pallavi Mahidhara and Rabia Brooke
Black Oak biography
The Black Oak Ensemble’s latest CD release, “Avant l’orage,” a double album of French string trios, reached #1 in the Billboard Classical Charts in July 2022 and was featured as Album of the week on Symphony Hall Sirius XM and in November nominated for a 2023 ICMA International Chamber Music Award. Since then it has been lauded in the U.S. and International press, including Canada, Finland, The Netherlands and Germany.
Fanfare Magazine said, “the players fully inhabit the spirit of whatever work they are playing at themoment, performing each one with as ardent a flame as if they had written it themselves.”
Praised for its “insightful, committed and masterful performances” (Classics Today 10/10) and “fierce eloquence” (London Times), the Black Oak Ensemble is one of the most innovative and exciting chamber ensembles on the international stage.
Black Oak’s debut album, “Silenced Voices” (Cedille Records), is dedicated to Jewish composers, most of whom lost their lives during the Holocaust.
It has been featured in Gramophone and Strings magazines and on BBC Radio 3, The Violin Channel and Sirius XM.
The ensemble has collaborated with renowned artists such as guitarists Mak Grgic, Goran Ivanovic, Denis Azabagic and José Ferreira, harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, members of Eighth Blackbird, and flutist Eugenia Molinar. As passionate advocates of new works, they have commissioned and premiered string trios from renowned composers such as Michael Nyman, David Ludwig, Mischa Zupko, and Conrad Tao and discovered works by Dick Kattenburg, Geza Fríd, Gustave Samazeuilh, Henri Tomasi and Robert Casadesus.
Recent international tours have taken the Black Oak Ensemble to Amsterdam, Geneva (a special performance dedicated to human rights), the Everlasting Hope Festival in Terezin, (in honor of composers persecuted and murdered by the Nazis during the occupation of Prague), Paris, Grenoble, Lyon, Rennes, Corsica, Prague, and Athens. In the summer of 2022, the ensemble collaborated with violinist Rachel Kolly and cellist Nadege Rochat for sold out performances at the Schubertiade in Fribourg, Switzerland.
In the U.S. they have appeared at the Newport Music Festival, Music at the Morgan, Ravinia Festival, New York University, Chicago Cultural Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Latino Music Festival (Chicago), University of Oregon and many other venues. Passionate advocates of new works, the ensemble has commissioned and premiered string trios from renowned composers such as Michael Nyman, Conrad Tao, and David Ludwig.
As dedicated educators, their students and ensembles have been prize winners of national and international competitions and have held residencies at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, St. John’s School for the Arts (USVI) and Arizona State University. They are proud to collaborate with ‘In Crescendo’ based in Colombia, South America, Evanston Young Artists, Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative and the RAVINIA Festival’s El Sistema program.
The Black Oak Ensemble consists of violinist Desirée Ruhstrat and cellist David Cunliffe, members of the GRAMMY-nominated Lincoln Trio, and violist Aurélien Fort Pederzoli, a founding member of the ground-breaking, GRAMMY-nominated Spektral Quartet.
They are currently ensemble-in-residence at New Music School in Chicago.
Rabia Brooke biography
Rabia Brooke is known for her passion and sincere artistry that has captivated audiences worldwide. She is equally at home as a solo, chamber, and orchestral player. Ms. Brooke has collaborated with some of today’s most compelling musical voices including commissioning projects with composers Shawn Okpebholo, Jennifer Higdon, Clarice Assad, Chen Yi, Lei Liang, Juhi Bansal, Elizabeth Younan, Stacy Garrop, and Mischa Zupko. She is equally at home as soloist, chamber and orchestral player.
Most recently as a soloist Ms. Brooke has appeared in Carnegie’s Weil Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, and at the RAVINIA Festival alongside Maestro George Stelluto and Jaimie Bernstein performing the Berstein Serenade celebrating the Legacy of her father Leonard Bernstein. Rabia’s collaborations as a chamber musician include Rachel Barton Pine, Black Oak Ensemble with pianist Pallavi Mahidhara, Formosa Quartet, principal players from London’s Royal Philharmonic and Royal Orchestras, Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, and 5th House Ensemble.
Ms. Brooke has been a laureate of numerous competitions, including the Cooper International, Fischoff National Chamber Competition, and the Musicians Club of Women where she garnered the Farewell Trust Award. In addition, Ms. Brooke has been a frequent performer on Chicago’s WFMT Radio Programs.
Ms. Brooke has appeared at the Kronberg Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Orford Musique Festival, Vivace Festival, Sounding Point Academy Festival, Musique Dans la Gers, Tibor Vara Academy and Masterclasses, and the Curtis Institute of Music of Young Artists Program serving as concertmaster under the baton of Joshua Gersen of the New York Philharmonic. Other projects include collaborations with Daniel Rowland for the filming of Beethoven Documentary and an appearance with Grammy-nominated banjoist Noam Pikelny and bluegrass band, Special Consensus. Rabia was featured on a special episode with renowned violinist Gil Shaham on Violinist.com.
A Chicago native, Ms. Brooke holds a BM from the Juilliard School of Music where she studied with Joseph Lin and Cathy Cho. She plays on the Lady Jeanne violin by Antonio Stradivarius crafted in Cremona, Italy c. 1731 courtesy of Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins.
Pallavi Mahidhara Biography
PIANO
Praised for her unique artistry and charismatic stage presence, Indian-American pianist Pallavi Mahidhara has appeared in solo and orchestral concerts across five continents, including performances at the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Teatro del Lago in Frutillar, Chile, and the Bolshoi Zal in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She is the Second Prize winner and of the 69th Geneva International Piano Competition, and of the VI International Prokofiev Competition in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Other awards include the Olivier Berggruen Prize at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, the Steinway Förderpreis in Germany, the Astral Artists National Auditions in the US, and on multiple occasions, the “Sobresaliente” Award from the hands of Queen Sofía of Spain.
Pallavi is the Executive Producer, Writer, and Host of the “The Conscious Artist”, a podcast designed to promote Mental Health Awareness for musicians, artists, and all human beings. She holds degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, and studied with Dimitri Bashkirov at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía. As the first female Indian pianist to attend these institutions and host a podcast on mental health in Western classical music, she fervently embraces her role as cultural ambassador, artist, and mentor.
Pallavi has performed at important festivals such as Marlboro Music, Verbier Festival, Klavier Festival Ruhr, and Gstaad Menuhin Festival. She has given chamber music performances with renowned artists such as Black Oak Ensemble, Gary Hoffman, Diemut Poppen, Wolfram Christ, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Arnold Steinhardt, Peter Wiley, and Michael Rusinek, István Várdai, Pablo Ferrández, Josef Spacek, and Theo Fouchennert. She has performed under the direction of Arjan Tien, Thomas Sanderling, Daniel Boico, Róbert Farkas, Daniel Abad Casanova, and Pablo Gonzalez, among others.
Upcoming performances in the 2024-2025 season include concerto and recital appearances in South Africa, Asia, Europe, and the US. She will also make several debuts this season, in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Israel. Pallavi is a Steinway Artist.