Parisian Violinist Leads Quintet of International Musicians: Tickets On Sale

By Beth Dalbey (Patch Staff)

Parisian violinist Jean-Baptiste Aguessy began playing when he was 4 and has performed throughout France, and in Berlin and New York City. (Courtesy photo)

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Chamber Soloists of Detroit is bringing a quintet of outstanding international musicians together for an intimate performance known as “Quintessence!” at 7:30 pm. Monday, April 13, in Farmington Hills.

Parisian violinist Jean-Baptiste Aguessy will perform with four resident artists of Chamber Soloists of Detroit: violinists Aaron Borofsky and Kathryn Votapek, cellist Erik Ásgeirsson and pianist Pauline Martin.

The concert will feature two contrasting masterpieces for string quartet and piano--César Franck’s monumental Quintet and the stark and ingenious Quintet by Dmitri Shostakovich.

Aguessy began playing violin at age 4 and studied at the School of Music in Rouen, where his family of musicians lived. After only six months of viola study, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatory at age 17, earning a master’s degree in 2012.

Aguessy is an avid chamber recitalist and symphonic musician who has performed throughout France, as well as in Berlin and New York City. He was guest principal viola of the North Netherlands Orchestra in 2011 and became an Academy member of the Berlin Radio Orchestra in 2013. Aguessy currently teaches viola and violin in the Conservatoire Jacques Ibert du 19eme Arrondisement in Paris.

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Borofsky has toured throughout the U.S., Germany, Italy, Spain, and Canada as a soloist and chamber musician. He has performed the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas across the country and the complete Mozart violin sonatas at the International Festival of Deia in Spain.

Borofsky has received acclaim for recordings on Sony, Naxo, New Albion and other labels. He was the first violinist in the Chester String Quartet, described by The Boston Globe as “one of the country’s best young string quartets.”

Borofsky is a Juilliard alumnus and a professor of violin at the University of Michigan, where he is co-director of the university’s Baroque Chamber Orchestra. He has taught at many music festivals and is a visiting professor at Hochschule fur Musik in Germany.

Votapek has been a member of the Chester String Quartet for 15 years and is an active soloist at chamber music festivals throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. She performs with the Votapek Trio as well as in duo performances with her husband, Aaron Borofsky.

A quintet of international musicians will join at 7:30 p.m. April 13 to present an intimate performance called

Votapek is on the faculty of the University of Michigan and is associate concertmaster of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. Previously she was an associate professor of violin and artist-in-residence at Indiana University. Votapek earned a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Indiana University and a master’s from Juilliard.

Currently a member of Staatskapelle Orchestra of Weimar,Ásgeirsson has been featured as soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, Canada and his native Michigan. The prestigious Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert series will present him in his Chicago debut in August of 2015.

Having served as Principal Cellist of the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra in his youth, he captured first prize in numerous competitions before attending the Eastman School of Music at age 16. Ásgeirsson holds a master’s degree in cello performance from Hochschule Köln in Germany. He now serves as European liaison in his capacity as associate artistic director of Chamber Soloists of Detroit.

Martin, a pianist, is internationally recognized for her solo and chamber music performances and recordings. She is a founding member of the St. Clair Trio whose credits include a Grammy nomination and Chamber Music America/WZXR-FM award.

The Canadian-born Martin has collaborated with leading instrumentalists and has been featured as concerto soloist with North American orchestras including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the New American Chamber Orchestra, and Orchestra London Canada. She holds advanced piano performance degrees from Indiana University and The University of Michigan.

Chamber Soloists of Detroit presents engaging concerts performed by the Detroit area’s finest musicians with leading guest soloists who share a love of chamber music and its special connection with audiences. Led by artistic director Pauline Martin, Chamber Soloists of Detroit is advancing Detroit’s cultural image through international outreach and tours.

IF YOU GO: Each Chamber Soloists of Detroit concert features complimentary refreshments and conversation with the musicians at Just Between Us, a “talk back” immediately following the performance. Concert tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for students under 25. They may be purchased online at www.chambersoloistsdetroit.org or by calling (586) 944-5353. First Presbyterian Church of Farmington is located at 26165 Farmington Road at Eleven Mile Road in Farmington Hills.

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