The Malcolm Sherman Memorial Concert
Founded in 2004 by three friends who love and embrace chamber music, The Monument Piano Trio has quickly proven itself a rising star, in high demand. After a critically acclaimed debut, the Trio was invited to be the first Artists-in-Residence at An die Musik in Baltimore. Coming from different award-winning musical backgrounds, each artist in this ensemble brings a unique style to the group, creating a distinctive sound that critics have called “one intricately voiced stream of music, taking the audience through lands of wonder, worry, pleasure and pain.”
In the 2010-2011 season, the Monument Piano Trio, whose members are violinist Igor Yuzefovich, cellist Dariusz Skoraczewsky and Michael Sheppard, pianist and composer, was heard on the “Music In the Valley” series at St. John’s Church in Glyndon and the “Sundays at 3:00” series in Columbia. The trio also presented a concert at Charlestown, was featured in on the well known and highly regarded Community Concerts at Second in Baltimore, and performed two concerts plus a special student program on the prestigious “Chamber Music Tulsa” series in Oklahoma.
Igor Yuzefovich - violin.
Born in Moscow, Russia, critically acclaimed violinist Igor Yuzefovich is the Assistant Concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Yuzefovich began his violin studies at the age of 5, and was soon accepted into the Gnessin Music School where he studied with Irina Svetlova. In 1990, while on a musical exchange with the Rubin Academy in Tel Aviv, Igor Yuzefovich performed on Israel's national television. Since 1991, Mr. Yuzefovich has resided in the United States, where he studied with Jody Gatwood, Leri Slutsky and Victor Danchenko.
A winner of numerous competitions, Mr. Yuzefovich has performed in many countries around the world: his concerts have taken him from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Cairo Opera House in Egypt. He has also performed in cities across the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Russia, Italy, France, Austria, Israel, Jordan and South Africa.
An active chamber musician, Igor Yuzefovich was a prizewinner at the 1996 Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition as a member of the Russia Quartet. In 2004 he co-founded the Monument Piano Trio, which debuted to critical acclaim in Baltimore, Maryland.
Mr. Yuzefovich has been invited to lead numerous masterclasses and is in high demand as guest concertmaster. In addition to a busy schedule with the Baltimore Symphony and the Trio, Mr. Yuzefovich is the Concertmaster of the Lancaster Symphony, a position he has held since 2004. Visit www.igory.net and www.bsomusic.org to learn more.
Dariusz Skoraczewski - cello.
A member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2000, Dariusz Skoraczewski became the orchestra's assistant principal cellist several years later and in 2011 became the orchestra's principal cellist. In 2005 Dariusz joined the Momument Piano Trio. He began music studies in his native Warsaw, Poland when he was six years old and continued on full scholarship at the Peabody Conservatory where he studied with the late world-renowned cellist Stephen Kates.
Dariusz is a laureate of such international competitions as the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Rostropovich Competition in Paris and the Leonard Rose Competition in Washington D.C. and was first prize winner in compeitions in California, Virginia and Maryland. Dariusz has an extensive and varied repertoire and has performed with orchestras and in chamber music concerts across the United States, including the Barge Music Festival in New York and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2005 sponsored by the La Gesse Foundation.
In 2010 Analog Arts released Dariusz' solo cello CD entitled "CELLO populus" that features music of 20th and 21st century composers and is available on various internet outlets. For further information see www.dskora.com and www.bsomusic.org
Michael Sheppard - piano.
Already a rising star of his generation of artists, Michael Sheppard is a pianist of dazzling virtuosity and penetrating musicianship. Trained at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, he studied with the great Leon Fleisher and Ann Schein.
As one of two 2003 Classical Fellows of the American Pianists Association he toured Southern Asia and the Middle East in the fall of 2003 in collaboration with the Cultural Programs Division of the United States Department of State. Throughout the tour he played concerti with national orchestras, was guest soloist with resident chamber music groups, played public solo recitals as well as private recitals for the diplomatic community, gave masterclasses at higher institutes of music and conducted informal presentations in secondary schools and universities. Upon his return he made his Kennedy Center debut. Last season he made his debuts with orchestras in the Midwest, Southeast and Pacific Northwest in addition to solo recitals throughout the nation and Europe. In November 2004 he was featured on the in-flight audio channel of ATA Airlines.
Sheppard has received critical acclaim as a grand interpreter of transcriptions of operatic tunes as well as American musical theatre in addition to the traditional piano repertory. Deeply committed to new music, he has worked closely with composers Nicholas Maw, Michael Hersch, Robert Sirota and John Corigliano. Sheppard is a composer in his own right and often programs his original compositions.
In addition to being a Classical Fellow of the American Pianists Association, Sheppard has also been a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and the La Gesse Foundation and a prizewinner in the National Federation of Music Clubs National Competition. A native of Philadelphia, he resides in Baltimore.
For more information about the Monument Piano trio see: http://www.monumentpianotrio.com.