This weekend, Maestro Teddy Abrams returns to the podium with the Louisville Orchestra in Music Without Borders, a neighborhood concert series that reaches locations throughout the greater Louisville area. The program will include Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony and selections from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as works by Beethoven and Rossini.
Also featured will be 17 year old violinist Spencer Sharp, winner of the 2013 Louisville Orchestra Young Artist Competition. Sharp, a homeschooled student from Morrow, Ohio, is an aspiring soloist who has already performed several times at New York City's Carnegie Hall. He is currently a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra and studies with Gabe Pegis, Principal Second Violin of the Cincinnati Symphony.
When did you begin playing violin?
I started violin when I was only 4 years old, working in a local Suzuki program, when it became apparent that I had inherited my mother’s musical talent (she is a pianist with a doctorate from Indiana University). As I got older, I began to love the instrument and decided to stick with it.
This weekend you will be performing the first movement of the Dvorak Violin Concerto. How long have you been working on this piece, and why do you enjoy performing it?
I started working on the Dvorak in July of this year, and first performed it in Spain in August. It is one of my favorite violin concertos, as it has a great depth of emotion. Anyone who has heard the Brahms Violin Concerto will hear the similarities between it and the Dvorakconcerto. Dvorak was a fan of the Brahms, and gave a nod to the piece in his violin concerto, especially in the introduction. It's very exciting and dramatic, but is also underplayed, so this is a great opportunity to hear it.
When you are not practicing, what do you like to do in your spare time?
I enjoy reading, exercising, and the occasional video game. I listen to classical music all the time, and sometimes Christian music.
Why do you think people should listen to classical music?
Classical music is still relevant because the emotions it conveys are so deep and can be felt by anyone. When I play in another country, even though we don't speak the same language, they understand when I communicate through my playing. So it's also a way to unite people all over the world.
Spencer Sharp will be performing with Teddy Abrams and the Louisville Orchestra this Friday, November 21 at 7:30 PM at St. Francis in the Fields; Saturday, November 22 at 7:30 PM at Indiana University Southeast’s Ogle Center; and Sunday, November 23 at 3:00 PM at Congregation Adath Jeshurun. Tickets are $20, general admission.
For more information, please visit www.louisvilleorchestra.org
