Creative Arts Presents Karl and Stephanie Ørvik

Creative Arts in their continued collaboration with Longwood Place recently offered an evening of music presented by violinist Karl Ørvik and his wife and pianist, Stephanie. The performance entitled “A Celebration of Violin Caprices” featured music that is usually free in form and lively, and often whimsical in spirit. The program consisted of works ranging from Pierro Antoni Locatelli’s 18th century Caprice No. 9 to the contemporary The Red Violin Caprices by John Corigliano which stem from the movie of the same name for which he composed the film score. Selections by Bacewicz, Berlioz, Ysaÿe, and Kreisler were also included.

Karl Ørvik joined the Creative Arts violin faculty in fall 2010 and also teaches at the Dedham School of Music and the Waldorf School in Lexington. He graduated from the conservatoryof Lawrence University in Wisconsin and has a M. Mus. degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He was awarded a fellowship to study with the Fine Arts Quartet at the Leonard Sorkin International Chamber Music Institute in Milwaukee, and while there he developed a large violin studio and maintained an active schedule as a freelance violinist. Last summer Karl toured the Republic of Korea with the Klaritas Ensemble, and in October of 2010 he was invited to play a recital in San Francisco with the blind pianist Ayaka Isono.  A particularly meaningful aspect of this recital was his and Ms. Isono’s performance of the Brahms G Major Sonata, which they both performed from memory (she out of necessity and he in response). Typically, neither pianist nor violinist memorizes their respective parts in chamber music nowadays, and doing so proved to be an enlightening experience for Karl, as he was able to connect with both the music and his musical partner, not to mention the audience, on a much deeper level. After years of teaching and freelancing, he felt it was time to go back to school, and in 2008 he enrolled in B.U. where he is studying for his doctorate in violin performance with the esteemed teacher, Roman Totenberg.

At the age of four, Stephanie Otto Ørvik started studying the piano. When she was eleven, she won a scholarship to the summer program at the noted Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. There she won the first place in a  solo piano performance, as well as scholarships to return for three more summers.  When she was seventeen, she won a competition which gave her the opportunity to perform a concerto with the Fox Valley Symphony in Appleton, Wisconsin, her first orchestral solo.  She also attended Lawrence University where she majored in piano performance and coincidentally met her husband when she and Karl were assigned to the same piano trio. On graduation, she was awarded a teaching position at the Lawrence Arts Academy, an honor awarded to one LU piano graduate per year.  During her last summer before graduating, she studied at the prestigious Aspen Music Festival in Colorado.  While in Milwaukee, Stephanie had a one-year residency as pianist for the Leonard Sorkin International Chamber Music Institute where she played in the Caseus Trio. Her passion for chamber music has led to numerous summer festival engagements. She is currently exploring the concept of “mindfulness” in the music of various composers and is planning a solo program based on her findings this fall. 

The audience at Longwood, which included many former musicians, was greatly impressed with the virtuosity demonstrated by the Ørvik duo in their crowd-pleasing program.

Karl Ørvik teaches violin and viola on Fridays at Creative Arts and is currently accepting new students. To schedule a free lesson observation, please contact the Creative Arts office at 781.942.9600.